Tag: Fruits

Hobbies Relieve Stress-Not A New Concept

Despite all of our technological advances, or maybe because of them, many in our society suffer from stress. We often have so much noise, information, and distractions coming at us all at once that it can be overwhelming. It is more important than ever for us to find effectitve ways to relieve some stress. The good news is that there are many ways to relieve stress from your life. If you’ve asked the question “do hobbies relieve stress?” I have the answer for you.

Using hobbies as a form of stress relief isn’t that new of a concept, but it is important for you to choose the right hobby for you. Before you find a hobby to participate in, here are a few things you should think about first:

1. Hobbies work when they are an escape from your other obligations and responsibilities. If you choose a hobby that puts more pressure on you, you aren’t going to get the relief you want.

For example,for many people golf is considered a hobby, but if you’re an ultra competitive person who won’t be happy unless you’re golfing at a professional level, you might want to consider another hobby since golf will likely only increase your stress level.

You should also steer clear of any activities that may put a strain on your budget. If you have a hard time paying for your hobby, it’s not going to do very much to relieve your stress, quite the opposite in fact.

2. The satisfaction of many hobbies is partly derived from the finished product. For example, the gardener gets to show off their huge tomatoes or their beautiful flowers, the builder gets to admire their new bookshelf, etc.

Finding hobbies that will provide you with a keepsake of your relaxation time can really pay off since you can get a little bit of relaxation every time you admire the end results of your hobby.

So for the biggest stress relievers consider starting a garden, or perhaps setting up your own woodworking shop so you can enjoy the fruits of your labors.

3. Most people will get some relief from stress by simply stepping outside of their everyday routines. Things such as learning a second language or learning how to sew, for example, are a few ideas of new skills that you can do that might turn into wonderfully relaxing hobbies.

Just making yourself a better person will allow you to grow as a human being which will enable you to keep things in perspective when problems arise, thus eliminating a lot of unnecessary stress.

Sometimes this will allow us to ‘get over ourselves’ which in and of itself can help us releive a lot of stress.

To answer the question, “do hobbies relieve stress?”, yes, sort of. Some hobbies will relax you more than others. As with most anything else, you have a lot of choices and to get the maximum stress relief for you it’s important to find the right hobby for you and your goals and personality.

Cooking for One

It is often frustrating to attempt to plan meals that are designed for one. Despite this fact, we are seeing more and more recipe books and Internet websites that are dedicated to the act of cooking for one. Divorce and the death of spouses or grown children leaving for college are all reasons that someone accustomed to cooking for more than one would suddenly need to learn how to adjust whole-length the cooking practices utilized before into a streamlined plan of cooking that is likewise efficient for one person creating less waste.

The mission, should you choose to accept it, is to make cooking for one a challenge rather than a trial. Operation this opportunity to try new and exciting cuisines. Maybe one of the greatest things about cooking for one is the truth that it isnt quite as expensive considering cooking for two. This means that you have a little more money in the grocery budget with which to plan and prepare your meals.

One thing you may want to keep in mind however is that when cooking for one, if you prepare foods that are freezable. It may save more time ( and in the end money ) if you achieve the full 2 – 4 servings that most recipes call for and freeze the leftovers in single operative portions for a later point in time. This leaves you with a freezer full of foods for those nights when the thought of cooking just seems beyond your capabilities. This also leaves you with doing the work once and enjoying the fruits of your efforts many times since. This is a great position to be in if you ask me.

We are finding more and more recipes and cookbooks that are designed around the concept of cooking for one. No matter what situation placed you in the position of cooking for one, there is no reason that you shouldnt enjoy great food that is exciting and pleasant simply over you are dining alone. There is no harm in enjoying a fabulous meal with a glass of wine and great music whether you are cooking for one or one hundred.

Remember you are what you eat and if you relegate yourself to boring meals that lack excitement and spice that is what you will become. However if you decide to reach peripheral and try new and exciting dishes with every meal you prepare when cooking for one, it will show in the way you embrace life in other areas as hardy. While we should not live to eat, we should further not intention ourselves to eating to live. Drink in the foods you prepare whether the portions are large or small in size.

If you do not want to invest heavily in cookbooks that relate to cooking for one, it is quite possible that your local public library will have a few from which you charge find some excellent recipes tips and resources. While you are there be sure to check out their accord of exotic food cookbooks in order to spice things up a bit. You never know what treasures you may discover on the shelves or your local library. You may even find differentiating resources on classes that center on the notion of cooking for one. If the library proves to be a carousing as far as resources go, the Internet is burly of recipes, tips, and hints for those who are cooking for one.

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How to Make Your Own Essential Oils

Essential oils are homeopathic ways to help mental issues, fatigue, stress, or even physical conditions. Essential oils are extracts from certain plants or fruits that are distilled and placed in a container. Packaged essential oils are highly potent and very concentrated. Below are basic instructions on how to extract, distill, and cultivate your own essential oils.

Buy a Distiller

The first important item you will need to make your own essential oils is to purchase a distiller. Distillers cost a few hundred dollars, so make sure the one you choose is durable and will do the job well. Distillers have several components to consider. The heater is important to properly steam and heat the plants so that you can extract the oils. The holding tank will decide how much water you will be able to use. Smaller holding tanks will mean less steam. The condenser collects the steamed mixture. The condenser collects the steam and holds it for cooling. Finally, the separator is used to separate the water from the oil.

Decide what plant you would like to use. You can also buy the harvested plants or you can choose to grow them yourself. Some expensive essential oils are only available from other countries such as France. Africa is also a host of several essential oil plants. Make sure to research which essential oil is most useful for the illness that you need to alleviate.

When you receive the plant, you need to dry the plant for the distiller. Drying the plant will dry some of the oil, but it will yield a higher extract product. Drying is a slow process and it should never be done via sunlight. Sunlight can damage the oils and render the plant useless. The distill process should be done immediately after drying is complete.

Add the water to your distiller, and pack the plant material in the container. You dont need to cut or break the plants since the distiller will extract from whole plant material. You can pack the plant matter thickly to make sure you receive enough extract.

Boil the water so that steam starts to form. Keep an eye on the distiller to make sure it does not overflow. It is also important to make sure that the water does not run out. The heat without the water can break your distiller.

You can optionally filter the solutions. By pouring the solution through a cloth fabric, you can catch some of the small imperfections and contaminates that can cause allergies. It will also remove dirt from the solution making it more pure.

Store the oil in a container. The container for essential oils should be dark glass or stainless steel. Never use clear glass or your product can spoil more quickly. The essential oils should be kept in a cool, dark place away from contaminates. Most essential oils have an approximate shelf life of 2 years.

The remaining part of the distillation process that is not the oil is the hydrosol. It contains some of the oil and fragrance material that also has therapeutic effects. You can use the water for other uses such as bath water or a light scent. For others, they prefer not to keep the hydrosol and it is thrown away.

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How Essential Oils are Made

Essential oils are actually extracts from certain plants, trees, and fruits using a technique called distillation. Since plants contain such a small amount of extract, several pounds of plants are needed to provide a small bottle to consumers. The essential oils are then refined and distilled and packaged in containers that help maintain the scent and fragrance for a good amount of time. The following is a list of treatments and extract procedures that produce the essential oils for our use in aromatherapy or creams.

Steam Distillation

Steam distillation is the most popular and the oldest distillation process available. Old time, traditional aromatherapy professionals believe this method is the best way to produce the most quality extracts. This system takes dried or fresh plants and places them into a steam chamber. The steam is put under pressure and then circulated in and out of the plant material. The heat from the pressurized steam causes the plants cellular structure to open and the essential oils pour into a holding container. This is a delicate method since the heat must be well balanced to open the plant but not too hot causing destruction of the delicate oil.

After the steam and oil are distilled into a container, the steam returns to a liquid while the oil creates a film at the top of the solution. Both the liquid and the oil are both therapeutic by-products of the process. The oils can be packaged as pure essential oil extract. The water still holds a lot of the oil properties, so it is used by cosmetic companies in toners or skin creams.

Cold Pressing

Extracts from fruits such as bergamot, grapefruit, lemon or limes use different forms of processing. The essential oils are mainly in the fruits peel, so they need to be penetrated. The fruits peel is rolled over a large array of sharp objects that cause the peel to burst and the oils extracted. Then the fruit is squeezed and the juice contained. Like steam distillation, the essential oils rise to the top of the juices as a film. They are separated by centrifugations into containers that are packaged to consumers.

Enfleurage

This method of extraction is used for flowers or plants that are very delicate. Some plants are too delicate to withstand the heat from steam distillation. Enfleurage uses animal fat to absorb the essential oils from the delicate flowers. As the petals are depleted from their oils, more are placed on the animal fats until it is completely saturated with the extract. After the fat is saturated, the fat is treated with alcohol which solvates the essential oils. Once the mixture is contained, the alcohol will evaporate leaving behind the essential oil product.

Solvent Extraction

Solvent extraction is the most efficient and affordable way to separate the extract from the plant. In this method, a solvent is used to saturate the plant and absorb the oils. After saturation, it is then treated with alcohol. Like enfleurage, the alcohol eventually evaporates and it leaves only the essential oils for packaging. This method is especially useful for more expensive extracts where each plant needs to be squeezed for its extract as much as possible. Although this method is the most cost efficient, it can leave solvent in the product which can cause side effects.

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