Plastic /Stainless Steel Drinking Bottle?? Which would you choose? Which is the better option?

This article will discuss about the difference between a plastic and stainless steel drinking water bottle. It will unfold the criterias that you need to carefully consider before purchasing your water bottle!!

According to recent researches around the world, it is ALWAYS safer to purchase a stainless steel drinking bottle compared to a plastic bottle.

If you're unable to find a stainless steel bottle of your choice, there are a few things which you need to consider and be precaution of before and after purchasing plastic drinking water bottles:-

1. "BPA-Free"
Ensure that the plastic water bottles are labelled as "BPA-Free". Now..what does BPA stand for? Bisphenol A...it is basically a chemical which is released when plastic is heated, washed or re-used. This chemical is extremely detrimental to humans as it is said to be able to cause cancer!!!

Therefore...please ensure all your plastic made utensils, drinking bottles and etc are BPA-Free.

2. Type of Plastic
There are two different types of plastic material which should be avoided. One is known as Polycarbonate, and the other is PVC (Polyvinyl Chloride).

How do we determine the type of plastic material which has been used? Pretty simple...all you have to do is to look at the bottom of the plastic water bottles or any kind of plastic container....there will be a recycle symbol (a pyramid like sign), and in this recycle symbol you'll find a number.

These numbers are called Plastic Codes, and they come from the range of 1 to 7. Anything with the code 7 is extremely dangerous. Better alternatives of plastic materials are those with codes of 1, 2 or 5.

I've attached a schedule below, describing the various Plastic Codes and its usage (courtesy of The Plastic Web):

Plastic Codes

3. Usage

Do not use Polycarbonate (Plastic code 7) plastic containers in the dishwasher with strong detergents. Besides that, it is best if you do not reuse this type of plastic material the second time and avoid heating them up or using them to store hot liquids or hot foods.

What's the conclusion?? Well...i guess it would be much more safer if you could use stainless steel products to store food and liquid!!

Eat Healthy-Nutritional Label Part 3-Ingredients to Avoid

This is the final part of my 3 series of articles on Eating Healthy-How to Read, Analyse and Understand Nutrition Label. Learn about High Fructose Corn Syrup, Hydrogenated Oils, Refined Flour and etc here!!

In the past 2 articles, we have thoroughly learned the most efficient way of reading and understanding nutritional labels of food products, with making reference to various nutritional labels from Nutritiondata.com and the US FDA official site.

Learning to read and understand a nutritional label is a very important step when it comes to selecting and purchasing food products for your consumption. Besides being able to do the above, it is essential for you to look at the content or ingredients of the food products that you intent to purchase!!

If the food product contains ANY of these 4 ingredients.....do not consume them:-

1. High Fructose Corn Syrup

Often when we come across this ingredient....we believe that it is some kind of sugar syrup. High fructose corn syrup basically refers to processed glucose which is later mixed with 100% pure corn syrup. It is normally used in soft drinks and baked products. Highly processed sugar!!

2. Hydrogenated Palm or any kind of Vegetable Oil

Hydrogenated Vegetable Oil ( it can be peanut, soy bean, palm or other form of vegetable oil ) refers to Trans Fat!! Trans Fat is the worst form of bad fat...which must be avoided. When vegetable oils (for eg peanut, soy bean and palm oil) are processed, they turn into a white, solid substance which nutritionists refer to as hydrogenated oil ( or commonly known as trans fat ). Hydrogenated Oil can cause heart diseases, cholesterol and blood pressure when consumed in abundance. It is commonly found in peanut butters, biscuits, cookies and all fried foods.

This is the main reason why we should avoid any kind of fried foods. Always try cooking your raw poultry, seafood and vegetables by steaming or stewing them. Did you know that healthy nuts such as walnuts, pecan, hazelnuts and etc turn into hydrogenated products once you fry or bake them? This is even true for healthy oils like olive and canola....Pretty suprising rite!!

3. Refined.....

The third ingredient which you have to look out for is anything which starts with the word Refined for example Refined Wheat Flour, Refined Brown Sugar or Refined Lime Juice.

Refined food refers to processed food, of which the good substances of the raw food material are omitted when processed. Let's take Refined Flour for instance...it is basically wheat flour going through processes to remove the coarse wheat substances in the wheat flour.

Thus...by refining raw food products, the natural healthy substances gets refined too!!

4. Enriched....
Another ingredient that you must be caution about is anything which starts with the word Enriched...Enriched Soy Milk and Enriched Flour. Why??? Well it is processed food materials...Avoid them as far as possible...

Eat Healthy-Nutritional Label Part 2-How to Read,Analyse and Understand

This article is a continuation of my first article "Eat Healthy-Nutritional Label-How to Read, Analyse and Understand Nutritional Labels".

You'll be exposed to more samples of nutrition labels in this article as a means of sharpening your skill of reading and understanding nutrition labels. It would be better if you could print out these labels (courtesy of Nutritiondata.com).

Firstly....we'll compare two nutrition labels; one describing Low Fat Chocolate Milk and another Whole Chocolate Milk. Best to print them out first!!

Nutrition Label-Low Fat Chocolate Milk

Nutrition Label-Whole Chocolate Milk

Now...let's start by looking at the Serving Size and Serving Size Per Container....

Both of the milk products have the same Serving Size (i.e 1 cup 250g) and Serving Per Container (i.e 2 cups). What does this tell us??

Basically, this means that the value of the nutrients displayed in the nutrition labels of the milks can be compared directly...without any multiplication or division. It's a direct comparison because the Serving Size and Serving per Container are same for both food products.

The next step is to look at the Calories and Calories from Fat values. Looking at the Whole milk nutrition label...the Calories from fat is 74, which is about 36% of the total Calories i.e 208. On the other hand, the Calories from fat of the Low Fat Chocolate Milk is only 14% of its total Calories of 157.

Therefore, if you consumed 1 cup of Whole Chocolate Milk compared to 1 cup of Low Fat Chocolate Milk...you'll be taking in 22% more Calories from Fat into your system. This is a literal consumption of fat, which may cause heart diseases, obesity, blood pressure and diabetics!!!

1 points for Low Fat Chocolate Milk!!

Next...we'll have to consider the type of nutrients and its value in both products.

• Low Fat Chocolate Milk contains 2g of Saturated Fat and 1g of Trans Fat (as the Total Fat is 3g), while the Whole Milk contains 5g of Saturated Fat and 3g of Trans Fat (as the Total Fat is 8g). Based on this Low Fat Milk scores another 1 point!!
• Cholesterol vice...Low Fat Chocolate Milk contains 8mg in every 1 cup compared to 30mg in every cup of Whole Chocolate Milk, which gives another point to Low Fat Milk!!
• Sodium...there is 152mg of Sodium in every cup of Low Fat Chocolate Milk compared to 150mg of Sodium in a cup of Whole Chocolate Milk. Finally...1 point for Whole Milk!!
• Both milk products contain the same amount of Carbohydrate in every cup i.e 26g.
• Low Fat Chocolate Milk contains 1g of Dietary Fiber and 25g of Sugar in every cup in contrast with 2g of Dietary Fiber and 24g of Sugar in 1 cup of Whole Chocolate Milk. Based on this facts, the Whole Chocolate Milk scores 2 more points!!
• The Protein amount in both products are similar i.e 8g.
• Low Fat Chocolate Milk contains 10% of Vitamin A and 29% of Calcium compared to 5% of Vitamin A and 28% of Calcium in 1 cup of Whole Chocolate Milk.

So..which milk product will you purchase??

Based on the nutrition labels and its analysis above...the Low Fat Chocolate Milk would be a healthier choice as the Total Fat, Saturated Fat, Trans Fat, Calories From Fat and Cholesterol content are much more lower than the Whole Chocolate Milk. The amount of Vitamin A and Calcium in 1 cup of the Low Fat Chocolate Milk are also higher than its counterpart.

Even if the Sodium, Dietary Fiber and Sugar content of the Low Fat Chocolate Milk is higher than the Whole Milk...the difference is insignificant...making the Low Fat Milk a better choice!!

Try analysing these two food products now...Chocolate Cake and Doughnut...and write a comment on the selection you'll make. Stay tune for the next article: Eat Healthy-Ingredients and its Impact on riteliving.blogspot.com!!

Nutrition Label-Chocolate Cake

Nutrition Label Doughnut

Eat Healthy-Nutritional Label-How to Read,Analyse and Understand

HOW TO READ, ANALYSE AND UNDERSTAND NUTRITIONAL LABELS

The first step in ensuring that your family and you maintain a healthy way of eating is to be able to read, analyse and most importantly, to understand the nutritional labels on the food products you purchase.

Reading and analysing nutritional labels might be a hassle and an embrassment (for some) when you have to do it in a supermarket at the beginning but, once you're use to it...believe me it's not as bad as it sounds!!

Many of the images and core ideas of this article has been adapted from http://www.fda.gov.

Nutrition Label-Macaroni & Cheese

I will be referring to the above nutritional label (courtesy of US FDA) throughout this article, thus it might be easier if you could print out the word document prior reading my article.

1) SERVING SIZE AND SERVING PER PACKAGE
This is the top most section of a nutritional label, and is the first thing you'll have to look at to understand the label. It's important to know the difference between Serving Size and Serving Per Package.

Serving Size is a standard measurement. It is always presented in familiar units such as in cups, pieces, bottles and etc followed by the relevant metric values such as grams, miligrams, litres and etc.

On the other hand, Serving Per Package refers to the specific's food content in terms of the Serving Size...is it 2 times the Serving Size or 4 times the Serving Size? Well, let's look at the nutritional label above. This is a sample label of a Macaroni & Cheese Frozen Food package. Now...it says that the Serving Size is 1 cup (228g). And the Serving Per Package is 2 times the Serving Size. So...what does this mean? It tells us that the whole Macaroni & Cheese package is 2 times the Serving Size i.e the package if actually 2 cups or 456g (228g x 2) in weight.

The nutritional information and the amount of calories presented in Sections 2,3 and 4 of the nutrition label (refer to the above label) are based on the Serving Size of 1 cup or 228g of Macaroni & Cheese. Therefore, if you were to consume the entire pack of this Macaroni & Cheese....you'll be consuming twice the calories and nutrients displayed in the label.

Serving Size is essential when you compare different foods. For example...let's say there was another frozen food package Chicken Pie, and you're in the midst of deciding which would be a healthier choice for dinner...you'll have to use the Serving Size as your comparison basis. Compare the calories and nutrients of 1 cup of Macaroni & Cheese with the calories and nutrients in 1 cup of Chicken Pie!! If the Chichken Pie contains more nutrients and less calories per cup than the Macaroni & Cheese...then it's obvious that you should purchase the Chicken Pie.

2) CALORIES AND CALORIES FROM FAT
Section 2 of the nutritional label displays the Calories Information of ONE Serving Size of the food. This tells you how much of energy will you obtain from the consumption of one serving of the food.

Calories from fat tells the portion of calories which is contributed by fat. For example, from ONE cup (228g) of Macaroni & Cheese...you'll obtain 250 calories. And of that, 110 calories are contributed by fat. Can you imagine that? Almost half the calories are from fat...and that's only if you consume 1 cup of Macaroni & Cheese. If you ate the whole package i.e 2 cups of Macaroni & Cheese...you'll be putting 220 calories from fat into your system!!

3 & 4) AMOUNT OF NUTRIENTS
Section 3 and 4 of the nutritional label displays the nutrient information. Section 3(yellow coloured) shows the types of nutrient which should be consumed in moderate, while the nutrients listed in Section 4 displays the nutrients that should be consumed in abundance.

Generally, we take in the nutrients in Section 3 beyond what our body needs and consume very little nutrients in Section 4. This may cause heart diseases, malnutritions and etc.

We'll talk about the recommended intake of each nutrient and its effect on the body in another article. For now...let's just try to learn the nutritional label first...

According to the above label...1 cup (228g) of Macaroni & Cheese contains 12g of total fat, 3g of trans fat, 30mg of cholesterol and 470mg of sodium. If you ate the entire pack, you would have taken twice these amounts...i.e 24g of total fat, 6g of trans fat, 60mg of cholesterol and 940mg of sodium.

As you can see, the values of the nutrients displayed in Section 4 are not in metric values but are in percentage of the daily value. Therefore to analyse the metrical value of these nutrients, you will need to first familiarise yourself with the meaning and impact of daily values.

5) FOOTNOTE
The asterisk (*) beside the Daily Value in the nutritional label brings us to the footnote. Well, the footnote basically exist to inform you that the Daily Values (in percentages) beside the nutrients displayed in Section 3 and 4, are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. This statement (highlighted in yellow) appears in all food products and is the same for any kind of food. According to research, most of us are only required to consume 2,000 calories a day!!

However, you'll not find the amounts circled in red in all nutritional labels...they are commonly omitted from small nutritional labels. These are the Daily Values (DV) for each nutrient listed and are based on the public health experts' advice. Daily Values are the recommended levels of nutrients intakes on a daily basis. We'll discuss more on the recommended level of nutrients in the next article.

For example, it says that the DV of sodium for a 2,000 calorie diet is 2,400mg. This basically means that you are only recommended to consume 2,400mg of sodium in a day. And this is equivalent to one teaspoon of salt!! I'm sure that's a shock!!

The DVs of those who need more calories a day...such as construction workers, tractor drivers and etc..will however be higher.

6) DAILY VALUES AND %DAILY VALUE
How does daily values and %daily values relate to each other? Well...based on the above nutritional label, the recommended daily value of nutrients are equivalent to 100% daily value. Let's take the Daily Value of total fat for instance. It says that the DV of total fat is 65g, making 65g the 100% of total fat that you can consume a day.

Now...look at the DV (%) displayed beside each of the nutrients in Section 3 & 4...and search for the total fat nutrient. What do you see? One cup of Macaroni & Cheese contains 12g of total fat...which if described in a percentage...would be 18% (12g/65g x 100%). That's how you obtain the DV(%) of 18% for total fat.

Let's try another nutrient...cholesterol. The recommended DV for cholesterol is 300mg. Now look at how much of cholesterol will you consume if you ate one cup of Macaroni & Cheese...30mg...thus when this is described in percentage...it would be 10% (30mg/300mg x 100%). Voila!!

Now...how do you analyse the daily value and daily value(%) when deciding your purchase?

Simple...since you are informed that the recommended amount of total fat to be consumed in a day is limited to 65g...try not to exceed this amount!! If you consumed one cup of Macaroni & Cheese...you would have taken 18% of the daily total fat, leaving you with only 82% to consume. That's about 53g of fat which you would easily exceed through consuming other fried foods, rice, pasta and desserts!!

It's even worse when you eat the whole package of Macaroni & Cheese...you'll be consuming twice the total fat...i.e 36% of your daily total fat limit, which only leaves a room of 64%.

These information allows you to plan your meals in a healthier way. If you decide to enjoy something fatty for lunch, you can decide to eat low fat food during your dinner to stay within the total fat daily value. You don't need to let go off your favourite foods to be healthy!!

CONCLUSION

• Look at the Serving Size and Serving Per Container. Serving Size will act as your comparison base. It is also the base on which all nutrients are displayed for.
• Next would be the Calories Amount and Calories from Fat Amount. This tells the energy that you'll obtain when you consume the Serving SIze.
• Then comes the amount of each nutrient. Remember that the amounts are for one Serving Size. If you consume more than one Serving Size, you have to multiply the amounts with the Serving Per Container.
• Finally, the Daily Values and Daily Values. DVs are the recommended level of nutrient intake based on a 2,000 calorie diet. And DV (%) shows the amount in percentage form.

We'll exercise reading and understanding nutritional labels in the next article. Together with that I'll discuss about the importance of reading the ingredients of the food products.

Organise Your Life-Grocery List

CREATING A GROCERY LIST

Most of us find shopping for groceries a daunting experience. We get into the supermarket without a clue of the things we need to buy!! And finally...we end up stocking our fridge and shelves with things we will not use.

As for me, I find my shopping to be less time and cost consuming if I prepare a grocery list prior visiting the supermarket. I normally do my grocery shopping once in a month. There might be some of you who prefer to do your shopping once a week or once a fortnight. Regardless of the frequency....a grocery list is a must if you want to have a smooth shopping experience!!

How do we actually create a personalised grocery list???

Well...there are several ways of creating a grocery list...either you use an online software or generate a template manually and update it as and when you need to go shopping...

Let's discuss about generating a grocery list template manually first...

STEP 1: OBSERVATION

Visit your regular supermarket first. Bring along a piece of paper and a pencil. Walk around the supermarket and sketch out the layout of the aisles, including the items which are displayed in each of the aisles.

STEP 2: DECIDE

Once you're at home..look through the piece of paper which contained the information that you have gathered in Step 1. Now...you have to decide on the sequence of which you will be walking through the aisles in the supermarket. Are you going to start from the aisles which display raw and frozen items? Are you going to begin your shopping in the aisles which displays dry items? Or do you just prefer to start from the end of the supermarket, moving forward to the entrance? Just make sure that the sequence you decide is the most efficient in accordance with your habits of shopping.

You will also need to look at the items stored in each of the aisles, and eliminate those that you know you'll never buy. If you're not sure about an item...just leave that item.

STEP 3: PREPARE GROCERY LIST

Based on the information you have gathered in the above steps, produce your own master template. You can choose to do this by Word or Excel whichever suits you better.

Using Microsoft Word
Open a new document. Insert as many columns as you need. Type in the items which each aisle displays. Include boxes beside each of these items (you'll fill them up with the quantities you want to purchase). Leave some rows empty after listing items in each aisle to add any miscellaneous items. Save the document in a proper folder and name it as "Master Grocery Template".

Using Microsoft Excel
Open a new spreadsheet. Create as many columns as you need. Type in the items which each aisle displays. Create boxes beside each item to fill the quantities you'll like to purchase. Save the spreadsheet in a proper folder and name it as "Master Grocery Template". Leave some rows empty just in case at the end of the document.

Try to create a template which fits into one single paper. You don't want to carry several sheets of paper when you go shopping!! If you're unable to view the example grocery list attached below...kindly send me a comment or just email me at ramutha@hotmail.com. I will be happy to email the template to you directly.

Grocery List

STEP 4: SHOPPING!!
Print out the grocery list template. Affix it to your refrigerator (use magnets!!) or store it in the kitchen or some place where it's easily accessible to you and everyone at home. Train your family members to mark items which needs replenishment as soon as they go low. In this case, you do not need to spend specific time in finding out which items that need to be purchased, before you visit the supermarket.

You should also review your menu planner a few days before you shop. Ensure that your grocery list contains all the ingredients that you'll need to prepare your menus!! Items that are still in stock or those which you do not need to prepare your menu should be striked off.

And finally, don't forget to mark or colour items which are under promotion or for which you have coupons for!! It's a great way of saving some money on groceries!! You can always opt for select coupon program which notifies you about the available coupons in nearby supermarkets, by clicking on the icon in the sidebar.

If you're a person who's tech savvy or someone who uses the computer on daily basis, you can opt to use one of the various online softwares to generate and create your grocery list. The good thing about using an online software is you don't need to create a manual template...the layout and design has been created for you.

Here are some reliable and popular online softwares which you could try out:

Firefox's Add-On "Grocery List Generator (GLG)

You can download this for free from Firefox Add-ons Website. To install it, simply click on the "Add to Firefox" button and then the "Install Now" button. After that, restart Firefox and click on the pink shopping cart icon in the upper right hand corner. You're now ready to start using it. You'll be able to store your recipes (ingredients, quantities, cooking instructions and photos), grocery items according to categories of your supermarket. You can also sort the grocery list to match your supermarket's walking route (Step 2 above) which could save you a lot of time and hassle.

Everytime you need to go shopping, all you have to do is quickly access your database of recipes and choose those that you'll prepare in the coming week. GLG will generate the relevant grocery list as per your chosen recipes. Finally, just print out the list or if you prefer...save it into your mobile device or disk.

BigOven

This is a Windows-based recipe software which has the similar features as the GLG, but it comes with a money tag and a few extra features. Unlike GLG, this software allows you to generate nutritional analysis of your recipes and provides video tutorials on preparing dishes. You can choose to try or purchase the BigOven software by clicking the link in my sidebars.

Plantoeat.com
This is a website rather than a software. You will have to register and create a login name as well as a password to access the site. You are given a 30 days trial in the beginning, of which once the trial period ends...you'll need to pay a monthly subscription of $4.95 per month of $39 per year to utilise the website. You will be required to key in all your favourite recipes in accordance with categories (e.g bread, meat etc) including the relevant ingredients, quantities and cooking instructions. Once you have done that, just tick the recipes that you would like to include in your upcoming weekly menu planner. The site will automatically generate a grocery list which lists down all the ingredients that you'll need to purchase as per your chosen recipes. Just print the list or use it to directly to shop online via Amazon.com.

So guys...enjoy shopping!! And don't forget to bring along your grocery list!!

Organise Your Life-Filing System

CREATING A FILING SYSTEM

Do you maintain a reasonably efficient filing system to store your bills, important documents, certificates and agreements?? Or do you just pile up your paid bills somewhere in the store room of your home?? Do you need to sit and recall the last place you kept your certificates or your car insurance policies every time you need to attend an interview or you need to make an insurance claim??

It is so simple to establish your personal filing system at home. All it takes is some basic stationeries which you can purchase from any local book or stationery stores, and a very efficient approach.

Before further elaboration.... it is important for you to understand the two fundamental types of files; the permanent files and the temporary or current files. Permanent files generally are those files into which more permanent natured documents are filed into (e.g. sale and purchase agreements, birth certificates, education certificates, insurance policies, bank saving books and etc). Temporary files on the other hand holds documents which are temporarily needed and often replaceable (e.g your paid utility bills, bank deposit slips, copies of your CVs or salary slips etc).

There are thousands of approaches out there which you can use in establishing your filing system. However, I always prefer to follow the simplest approach available...a 4 step approach which is unambiguous and easy.

STEP 1 : CATEGORISE

The first step in establishing an efficient filing system is to clearly determine and write down the categories of your files..i.e what are the labels of your files. The categorisation of your files should reflect your lifestyle and your needs. Some would only want to file in their most important documents such as certificates and legal agreements; others would want to file in receipts of payments and their utility bills. You can easily obtain these categories from your budget listings or any budget templates available from the net.

STEP 2: ASSIGN
Once you have determined the categories of the files, assign each to be either a permanent or temporary natured. Some categories might have both versions for e.g assume one of your category is "BANK"....now you might want to have a permanent bank file (to file in fixed deposit certificates or overdraft facility agreement) as well as a temporary bank file which only stores monthly bank in slips. Just indicate whether each of your categories are P(permanent), T(temporary) of P&T(both permanent and temporary).

STEP 3: PURCHASE
Now...since you have clearly defined the category and type of your files, you will be able to determine the number of files that you'll need to purchase. Visit any bookshop or my online store and purchase the following:-

• Coloured Indexes
• 2 Different Coloured Stickers
• Label Maker or Black Marker Pen (optional)
• Arch Files

STEP 4: FILING
Start labelling your arch files. If you purchased a label maker, use it to produce and print out the labels. If not, label your files using the black marker pen. Decide which colour sticker will represent a permanent file and which one will represent the temporary files, e.g let's assume you bought green and yellow stickers...thus decide whether you want to use green for permanent files and yellow for temporary files or vice versa. Finally, file in the documents according to its dates. Remember to use the colour indexes for each type of document within a particular file, as required. I'll illustrate this using my previous example in Step 2....you've decided that you need to set up a "BANK" permanent and temporary file. You've labelled two individual arch files which you purchased with "BANK". Stick on the green sticker above this label on one file and on another, stick on the yellow one. Green sticker means permanent and yellow sticker indicates it is a temporary file. Next is to start filing in the relevant documents into the relevant files. If you come across a bank in slip...file it in the temporary "BANK" file. If you find another group of document which should be filed in the temporary "BANK" file (e.g bank interest payment slips) ...file it in too. Use the colour indexes to separate the two types of documents within the temporary "BANK" file. Simple!!! All it needs is some practice!!