Healthy eating while on vacation

It can be very tempting to abandon your good sense of healthy eating on vacation. Although you may strive for healthy eating, it's easy to drift off and grab an ice cream cone here and there. There are however, ways to watch what you eat on vacation.

It's easier than ever these days to request a low fat or vegetarian meal on airplane flights. If you choose to instead drive to your destination, the quest to find healthy food can get a bit more complicated.

Rather than simply relying on greasy foods for nutrition, pack some nutritious foods in a cooler full of ice packs. Fruits and vegetables, crackers, yogurt, and sandwiches are all great to have with you on the road.

Once you arrive at your hotel, you should do yourself a favor and turn the minibar key down - as this helps to avoid the temptation. If your hotel offers a continental breakfast, stick to fruits, cereals, and proteins. If your hotel has a stove or microwave, consider bringing your own healthy food with you.

If you simply must eat out, do so only when you are hungry. Restaurants will usually serve large portions, so be careful. If you do go a bit over on a meal, simply cut back on the next.

If you find it hard to fit in three square meals a day, try to fit in six smaller meals or snacks, as your body needs fuel every four hours or so. When you eat out, avoid appetizers. Whatever you do, do not miss any meals.

When it's possible, you should avoid eating large meals at night. When your body gets ready for sleep and slows down, it also burns calories at a much slower pace. Never eat bread before bed, and make sure to avoid the butter. Choose fish or poultry for your meal instead, and include vegetables as a side dish.

Even though it may sound hard, eating healthy on vacation isn't really that difficult. All you have to do is use a little will power, and pass up foods that you know aren't good for you. This way, you'll enjoy healthy eating and a healthy lifestyle wherever you go.

The next time you go on a vacation, always remember that eating healthy is a way of life. You can afford to get something you crave, although you shouldn't make a habit of it. One ice cream cone or a pizza isn't going to matter - as long as you know when to stop.

A Good Husband Does House Work

In the real world, most men do not do housework. While studies from the Institute for Social Research at the University of Michigan confirm that this generation of couples do half the amount of housework their parents did, most of those chores are still shouldered by women. Is there a way to prevent everyday skirmishes over home-front responsibilities from escalating into full-scale wars, and still get him to put the dishes in the dishwasher? Let's look at both sides of the problem:

Her Side: “I'm tired of doing all of it all the time.” “It's the psychic energy that is so draining. I have to be responsible for things even if I'm not in charge of them!” “How come he can fix a car engine but can't figure out how to put the toilet paper on the roll?”

His Side: “When I do the grocery shopping, she says I buy the wrong tomato sauces, and then yells at me,” “She'll find one spot of food on the pot and yell, 'Is this what you call clean?'” “The fact is that I can't remember to put my socks in the hamper is not a personal attack against her. I just.... forget.”

Even the best counselors don't have a foolproof recipe for success on this one. But here are a few suggestions:
1. Figure out exactly what needs to be done and who's doing it. Keep a log of everything for a week down to the minute details: Who walked the dog, who did the laundry, who folded the clothes, who took the car in for repair, and so on. It could well be that a spouse is doing more than you gave him or her credit for. In that case, make a point of appreciating each other's efforts. By not taking chores, large or small, for granted, you create a spiral of appreciation that, in time, can erase resentment.
2. Train your kids. Instead of fostering helplessness in the next generation, make sure that your children, boys as well as girls, grow up believing that sharing the physical as well as the emotional chores at home is just what considerate people do.
3. Let go. Sometimes, when it comes to housework and children, women are their own worst enemies. You asked Daddy to dress the baby and the kid comes out with a top and a bottom that does not match? Who cares? You wanted him to do the shopping? Then let him do it his way. The principle here is simple: If you give up responsibility for a chore, you have to give up control over it, too. Besides, some things just aren't worth quibbling over.