Archive for November, 2009

My Favorite Appliance: The Rice Cooker

November 9th, 2009 by Administrator | No Comments | Filed in Brandi's Life, health

I have this rice cooker from Sanyo and I just LOVE it!

Not only does it cook rice PERFECTLY, but it has this wonderful timer on it. You can put the rice in the cooker before you leave the house and tell it what time you want it to be ready. Then wallah, when you get home at 5:20 and you have a delicious, nutritious meal!

Not only that, but it can cook meat too! I also dice up chicken and throw on top of it for chicken and rice meals…frozen peas and carrots in the mix make the meal well-balanced!

My favorite easy meal: throw a thin chicken breast on top of brown rice and frozen peas/carrots, use chicken broth instead of water and season w cilantro and a splash of soy…MMMM

Oh, and it has this steam tray that inserts into the top, so you can throw some shrimp or veggies in there for about the last 15 minutes and they turn out just PERFECT!

The hubby sets it up to cook oatmeal before he goes to bed at night, so when he wakes up he has steal cut oats waiting on him! Add a little apple juice and cinnamon for oats with some flavor!

Brandi Hamrick
The “Queen B” Coach

Are Your Friends Making You Sick? Combat Toxic Relationships!

November 7th, 2009 by Administrator | No Comments | Filed in Lifestyle, Stress, dating

I want you to think about your funniest and most uplifting friend. You know, the friend that is guaranteed to make you laugh so hard your tummy hurts and is always sure to make you feel great about yourself? Doesn’t it feel great to be in the presence of someone who is so uplifting? Now think about an acquaintance who is negative, draining, and depressing. Doesn’t it feel better to be in the presence of someone who is positive? The effects of the people around us can actually last much longer than just the time we spend with them. Continuously being around stable, happy people can help our lives and success tremendously, while being around downers can have the opposite effect.

It can be hard to deal with toxic people, but it is in your own best interest to deal with the relationship accordingly.

How to tell if a relationship is toxic:

Be conscious.
Start asking yourself how you feel after being in the presence of that person. Do you feel better, worse, or the same as before?

Take note.
Listen to the words they say and how they say them. Are they usually complaining, nagging, or gossipping? As Eleanor Roosevelt said, small minds talk about people, average minds talk about events, and great minds discuss ideas.

Do they bring you down?
Ask yourself if the person lifts you up or brings you down. For example, if you are trying to eat healthy, exercise more, and/or stop smoking, a good friend should be supportive and help you succeed. A toxic friend may try to talk you into eating more, skipping workouts, and smoking just to bring you down.

What to do when you have diagnosed the relationship as toxic:

Evaluate the relationship.
We all have to deal with people we don’t like sometimes. Co-workers are good examples because the relationship is often out of our control. If you have to interact with a toxic person, keep them at arm’s length. Let the relationship be only professional, don’t be rude, but only interact when needed.

Distance yourself.
If you determine a good friend is toxic (this happens a lot when we go through personal development), but you don’t want to cut them off completely, simply distance yourself from them. Only go out in a group of people so the toxic friend won’t have your complete attention. You can also call them only during your lunch break when you have to hang up within a few minutes. This gives you a great excuse to get off, plus you will get right back to work, so whatever they say isn’t likely to stay on your mind for very long. This is a much better solution than talking in the evening before you go to bed.

Set boundaries.
It is your responsibility to look after yourself. If you don’t, know one else will. Part of this responsibility means not letting others take advantage. When you are in the presence of someone toxic, simply state your boundaries. One example might be, “Sara, I know that this situation upsets you because you bring it up a lot, and while I want to be a good friend, I don’t know how else to help you. If you need to talk about this again you should see a therapist, I know of a great one who helped my other friend.” OR “Ben, it’s great that you can eat anything you like and stay thin, but I am not the same way. I am trying really hard to eat right, not only for my weight, but my health in general. I respect your decision to eat how you choose, and would never push health foods on you, so I expect you to do the same. If you continue to try and get me to come off my diet, I simply will not be able to have lunch with you anymore.”

Soul Search
Ask yourself why it is important to have this person in your life. Are they a good friend in other ways? If not, why is it important to keep them around? Often times we stay closely connected to people who seriously weigh us down just because we have an idea in our heads of how certain relationships should be (a childhood friend, a mother and daughter, etc.). Realistically, though, an ideal relationship with that person just may not be possible.

When all else fails…
Sometimes no matter what we do or how respectfully we try and set boundaries, it is just hopeless. Some people simply aren’t in a place to treat other people well. When this happens, you may need to make the tough decision to cut them out of your life. “You are either the wind in my sail or the weight of my anchor…and I cut anchor!”

Oh, and from now on make sure every friend you let into your life lifts you up, up, up, okay?!


Brandi Hamrick
The “Queen B” Coach
www.brandihamrick.com

If We All Ate Properly There Would be 200K Fewer Deaths From Cancer a Year!

November 7th, 2009 by Administrator | No Comments | Filed in health

Yes, you read that correctly. If everyone ate all the fruits and veggies they should each day, around 200 thousand fewer people would die from cancer each year!

Wow. That’s a very strong statistic. This doesn’t imply that every case of cancer could be prevented, it just means that some cases may not exist, and others would have a better outcome.

How? Because, in lab tests, powerful antioxidants (like the ones found in bok-choy, berries, pomegranates, and the skins of red and purple grapes to name a few), not only prevented some cancer cells from forming, but they even destroyed some types of tumors. Also, the antioxidants would cause the other systems of the body to run at peak performance so it would be much easier to prevent and/or rid the body of, cancer.

Of course this doesn’t mean that a healthy diet is a cure-all for cancer. Other factors such as environment, stress, and things we don’t even know about, come into play. But, this statistic should give us all inspiration to eat a healthier diet not only because of cancer, but other diseases, and to live a better quality of life.

Here are some tips on how to get your veggies and fruit:

1. Shop local.
Local farmer’s markets are typically cost effective, and you are likely to get more vitamins and nutrients. The more time it takes to get from the ground to your plate, the less vitamins the produce will have. It’s estimated that spinach loses half of its nutritional value it just 5 days.

2. Go organic when possible.
Organic can be expensive, which is another reason to shop your local farmer’s market. Ask the farmer about what practices he uses to farm. Many small farmers actually meet the criteria of organic, but just haven’t spent the money to become USDA certified yet. Though organic fruits and veggies don’t necessarily have more nutrients, the verdict is still out on the effect of pesticides on the body. Chemicals in pesticides have been linked to nervous system disorders, Alzheimer’s, and cancer. Keep in mind that anything with a thin peeling (or peeling that you eat) will be more of a concern. Peaches, apples, and grapes are a few items you may want to splurge for organic on. Citrus fruits and other fruits with hard protective layers aren’t likely to contain as many pesticides. Which brings us to number 3.

3. Wash your produce thoroughly.
Cold running water should suffice. To go the extra mile, you can mix water with a pinch of vinegar (a natural disinfectant) or purchase produce spray. Not only will this help remove any pesticide residue, but it will help get rid of any other germs on the produce. Think other people’s hands, animal waste, and soil.

4. Hide veggies.
If you have a picky eater at your house (or are one yourself) you can sneak veggies into sauces. My favorite is to cut up squash, mushrooms, and zucchini, sautee’ until soft, and mix into marinara or spaghetti sauce. The tomato sauce flavors will overpower any veggie taste and the veggies give it some nice texture.

5. Juice.
There are some fabulous fruit and veggie juices on the market today. Just be sure to check the ingredients. You want 100% juice, with no added syrups or sweeteners.

6. Buy canned or frozen.
When you can’t get fresh, canned and frozen are the next best thing. A great way to save time and money is to buy frozen or canned. This way your veggies won’t ruin. Look for quality items with no fillers. You can also give canned veggies a good rinse under the faucet to get rid of salt. Keeping frozen strawberries, bananas, and blueberries on hand will give you no excuse to not get your fruits for the day. You can simply throw them into the blender with a few ice cubes, yogurt and/or juice, and have a super healthy treat on the go!

7. Make eating healthy a priority.
The main reasons people give for not eating their fruits and veggies? Not having enough time and/or money. Remember buy local, shop in-season, and buy frozen/canned to save money. You can also buy many pre-cut varieties at most grocery stores to save time. Better yet, buy the whole item yourself and spend an hour on the weekend washing, slicing, and putting into single sized servings. Also, it is estimated that people who spend a little more on their diet save hundreds of thousands over time in medical bills. This means you will also save time by living longer and not having to go to the doctor as often or recover from procedures!

Your assignment:
1. Each week buy one new fruit and/or vegetable that you haven’t tried before. This will keep your taste buds from getting bored, and you are likely to find items you love.
2. Over the weekend, make a list of past-due doctor’s appointments or screenings. Make these appointments on Monday. Also start your self exams if you need to.
3. Visit localharvest.org to find farmer’s markets in your area.

Brandi Hamrick
The “Queen B” Coach
www.brandihamrick.com

The Art of Delegation

November 7th, 2009 by Administrator | No Comments | Filed in Career, Goals and Obstacles, Lifestyle, Time Management

If you are like most people, you have a lot on your plate. Chances are you are busy and have a to-do list a mile long. One secret of successfully managing time is being able to delegate tasks properly. Choosing the right person for the right task is a valuable tool in getting stuff done in record time!

Whether it’s at home or work, you can benefit from learning the art of delegation:

Lose control. One thing holding many of us controlling types back from delegating is the fear that it won’t get done right. “If you want something done right, you have to do it yourself!” Remember that old saying? But, if you take the time to educate someone on how to do a task properly, it pays off in the long run.

Show your spouse and kids how to do household chores correctly, and give step-by-step guides at your workplace. Follow up with lots of positive reinforcement and only constructive criticism. Think, “It helped me out so much last week when you handled those tasks, feel free to step in whenever you can,” not “Can’t you do more around here?”

Decide what to delegate. Deciding which tasks to do yourself and which to hand over can be tricky, but starting with the chores that you are bad at, and like the least, is a good place to start. It’s not that you are dumping all the grunt work on someone else, because we all have to do chores we don’t like, but delegating things we aren’t good at can be a good use of time.

For example, if you are starting a cake decorating business, you may be super good at running a bakery. You may, however, be really bad at working with computers and have no idea how to create a website on your own. Web development may be something you should consider delegating. A virtual assistant may be able to create a nice website for you in a few days at 10-15 dollars per hour. It may take you weeks, or even months, to learn how to create the same website yourself. You could have created a lot of cakes (doing something you are good at) in that amount of time.

This holds true at your house. If your 13 year old is great at setting up the electronics, then let them!

Don’t get me wrong, learning how to do new things is a great way to help keep our minds sharp. But, unless it’s something that interests you and you have an interest in learning about, let someone else do it!

Brandi Hamrick
The “Queen B” Coach

Being Your Authentic Self to Get Ahead in Life and Business

November 7th, 2009 by Administrator | No Comments | Filed in Career, Goals and Obstacles, dating

You don’t need to own a business or have a career in sales to benefit from learning how to authentically market yourself. If you think about it, we all market ourselves everytime we meet someone new, go on a date, or have an interview for a job. We are marketing ourselves so that we can develop a mutually beneficial relationship with the other person.

However, it can be nerve-wracking when we need to market ourselves well, especially when we really want a job, a friend, or a new love interest.

Marketing yourself authentically can help calm your nerves. Here are some tips to do so:

* Marketing yourself authentically is easy because it simply means being yourself. You aren’t having to think of ways to make yourself sound more interesting. You are being you.

*Write down several interesting things you’ve done or accomplishments you’ve had. This will give you a boost of self-confidence. No more thinking you aren’t good enough.

* When you are your authentic self, you never have to worry that you won’t live up to expectations. If you are yourself on dates and job interviews, you land the job or person because they like you for you.

* When it doesn’t work out, it’s for the best. When you are your authentic self and the situation you were hoping for doesn’t work out, it’s always for the best. You don’t want to work somewhere or be in a relationship with someone who doesn’t like you for you. Not every relationship is a good fit. If one opportunity doesn’t work out for you, keep looking for one that will. You will be happier in the long run.

*To know your authentic self, get to know who you are. Know your likes, dislikes, and get your confidence to a healthy place.

Your assignment:
Practice being your authentic self whenever you come into contact with someone. Be you and speak honestly.

Brandi Hamrick
The “Queen B” Coach
www.brandihamrick.com