The Juon

Savvy Grocery Shopping Part II – How To Get The Most For Your Money

Part of being a savvy shopper is understanding food quality. Some of the most budget friendly items are a total rip off if you factor in the amount of nutrition you are actually buying. Here are three main points to lookout for to help you make informed decisions and get the best nutritional bargain for the money. The goal here is to get the best food possible, not necessarily the most.

Freshness:

It is best to buy foods, especially perishables like meat and produce, as fresh as possible. They will taste better and have a higher nutrient content as well. This is especially true of fresh fruits and vegetables. It may cost a little bit more bit more (or maybe not) to buy fresh, ripe fruits and veggies at the farmers market or CSA (Community Sponsored Agriculture – farmers deliver your weekly/bi weekly share), but when you do, you are getting a higher nutrient content for your money. Grocery stores buy produce from suppliers, not farmers. By the time the food has gotten to your local store, it may have been weeks or even months since it was harvested and changed hands many times. The rate at which nutrients decline varies from nutrient to nutrient, and depends on how optimally it has been stored since harvest. Values can drop significantly within days.

In general it is important to buy food from a store that has good turnover. Stores that have a high turnover of the particular items you buying are likely to have fresher supplies. Buying the same item from a store that sells it only occasionally means that the chance it has been in the store for a long time is high, and it may be well past its prime by the time it is finally purchased by the consumer. This is especially true with natural foods that do not contain any preservatives, and whole grains, nuts, and seeds because the good fats they contain have a short shelf life.

Once you get your food home, storing perishable foods including whole grains, nuts, seeds, and certain oils in the refrigerator will protect the nutrient content and flavor. Keeping your refrigerator at the lowest setting you can without freezing your food (about 33A�f-34A�f) will increase the amount of time your food stays at its optimal condition. *NOTE -not all fruits and vegetables require refrigeration. Some do better stored at room temperature!

Additionally, understanding the lingo of expiration dates will be a big help in maximizing the value you get from your food. I think it goes without saying, the fresher food is when you buy it, the longer it will last!

Expiration date – refers to the last date a food should be eaten or used. Last means last – proceed at your own risk.

“Sell by” date – Tells the store how long to display the product for sale. The “sell by” date is the last day the item is at its highest level of quality, but it will still be edible for some time after.

“Best if used by (or before)”date – This refers to quality, not safety. This date is recommended for best flavor or quality. It is not a purchase or safety date.

Ingredients to avoid:

The next step is to become familiar with and avoid certain ingredients. They will for the most part be found in processed and packaged foods, which are designed for convenience, shelf life, and “taste bud sex-appeal” – not nutritive value. Many are created in laboratories, not kitchens, and that is a clue; it is not “real” food. The less processed and prepackaged food you buy, the healthier you will be, the less reading you will have to do, and the less time it will take you to get in and out of the store.

MSG: is one of the worst food additives on the market. It is used in canned soups, crackers, meats, salad dressings, frozen dinners and much more. MSG is an excitotoxin, which means it over excites your cells to the point of damage or death. It is known by more than 20 different names; autolyzed yeast, calcium caseinate, glutamate, and hydrolyzed protein to name a few.

Hydrogenated oils: AKA Trans fat, increases blood levels of low density lipoprotein (LDL), or “bad” cholesterol, while lowering levels of high density lipoprotein (HDL), known as “good” cholesterol. It is known by many names including: margarine, vegetable shortening, and partially hydrogenated vegetable oil.

Sodium nitrite: This is a preservative, coloring, and flavoring commonly added to bacon, ham, hot dogs, luncheon meats, smoked fish, and corned beef. Studies have linked it to various types of cancer. Some experts consider it one of the most potentially harmful food additives.…

Finding the Best Online Shopping Deals

As the number of people who are using the internet is increasing these days, so is online shopping. As more and more people own computers these days and they also have access to internet, so they prefer shopping online. There are a lot researchers who have found out that the number of users are increasing day by day and in US the numbers have already crossed 139 million. Almost all the big offices have internet and it is not just them but the small online shops too which have access to this facility. It simply makes your life easier and simple as you can have access to almost everything at your step. By shopping online you can avoid going out, travelling and then finally getting the deal of your choice. All this is just possible if you sit at your own personal computer.

As all this makes life very simple and convenient, so more and more people prefer this kind of shopping. Everyone just loves the comfort of their own house and they do not want to leave that. You just have to imagine something and you will get it right there on the internet. You can search, have a look and then purchase it. It is not just the time which is saved but the money also which is saved as you do not have to travel in cars and waste petrol. They also do not have to worry to drive to the shopping malls or the local market. They also do not have to fight and worry by fighting traffic and also for a parking space.

But there are a lot of times when people actually want to visit a store and want to buy the product after seeing and touching the product. This is the only reason why some people do not prefer online shopping. But in order to avoid that hassle people are uploading videos in it so that people can actually have a look at the product from all angles. And if they are not able to do that, they try to at least upload some photograph at which the buyer can have a look. Better descriptions are provided so that they enjoy the product better. What many people do is that they often have a look at the product in the market and then they shop online.

The more number of times you shop online, the more you will be aware of the discount coupons and various shopping coupons which are available. You can track discounts and also tell other people so that they get various discounts which are available. There are a lot of forums which are there where people come and discuss about the problems they face and also about the advantages. You can take advantage of this facility to avail the various benefits.…

Selling Online – Getting More Money

Why is it good to sell online or build your own online business? If you run your own business, you know that getting customers is not always easy. Today, many people have entered the field of online business and marketing and have taken this option as their career path. Many of the people sell product online and earn an income from it, making money selling online has opened an opportunity for many people especially the unemployed to develop their own career. It offers you the chance to become independent and free from office hustle. In other words, you become your own boss and work with your own schedule.

The Internet can open up new avenues for your business to buy and sell products or services online, with such activities generically referred to as e-commerce. Selling products and services online can have major advantages for businesses, leading to increased profitability and lower costs. The growth and use of the internet is amazing. Products that you would have never expected to take off online are booming and there is no limited product, services or brand you can sell it through online, you can sell from books until electronic gadget.

Selling online has a number of advantages over selling by conventional methods, including:

– Making savings in set-up and operational costs. You don’t need to pay shop assistants, rent high-street premises, or answer a lot of pre-sales queries.

– Customer orders can automatically come straight into your orders database from the website.

– Competing with larger businesses by being able to open 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

– Reaching a global audience, thereby increasing sales opportunities.

– Improving your offerings using the data gathered by tracking customer purchases.

– Using your web store as a catalogue for existing customers.

– Using Internet marketing strategy you can spread your online business.

The other advantages of buying online are that it is quick, prices are usually lower priced, descriptions and comments can be seen by past customers. There are a large number of people buying online and if they are all satisfied you will be too and you are able to sell multiple items at low coasts. Even though there are many good reasons about selling online, there are disadvantages of selling online is you need to compete with other competitors around the world, the internet is a large place and you have to carve out a niche market for you and your online products and services.…

Organic Grocery Shopping 101

Often people believe that eating organically has to be expensive. But, it can be done economically with a little planning. Here are a few tips:

1. COMBINE COUPONS AND SALES – The basic principle is this: a grocery item usually goes on sale once every 6-8 weeks. At that time it is at it’s LOWEST price. This is when you want to buy enough to last you until it goes on sale again. Add any coupons to this and you get the lowest price possible!

2. COLLECTING THE COUPONS- Sign-up for home mailers, look for online coupons from manufacturer’s sites and places like Mambo Sprouts and , buy the Sunday newspaper, grab grocery store flyers, and pull coupons from the tear pads on the shelves. All of these are great coupon resources.

3. FREEZE PRODUCE- Buy produce when it is on sale. Wash it and freeze it for later use. The fruit isn’t great raw once it has been frozen. But, it is great to use in smoothies, oatmeal or puree and pour into popsicle molds to use as a frozen treat. Vegetables can be steamed or grilled, used in soup or sauces and taste great!

4. MEAL PLANNING- Plan your meals around what groceries, produce and meat are on sale that week or what you have stockpiled in your kitchen. That way you can have the most affordable meal possible.

5. BE PREPARED FOR UNADVERTISED SALES- Look for in store sales and manager’s specials and be sure to bring your coupon planner with you to the store in case you find an unadvertised deal. As long as the expiration date hasn’t passed, the food is still good. I find great deals on organics all the time! I always buy as much as they have on the shelf.

6. SHOP LOCALLY- Shop at a local farmer’s market or join a co-op. Not only will you save money, you will also be supporting local farmers and will have the freshesh food possible. Visit to find local farmer’s in your area.

With a few simple steps, you can eat organically and still stay within your food budget.…

A Simple Skincare Routine for Everyone

The skin is the largest organ of the body and it receives about one-third of the blood that circulates in the body. The skin can regenerate and repair itself. The skin gives protection, regulates the temperature of the body, allows you to feel sensation and allows secretion.

Thus taking care of your skin is very important. Skincare routine is simple and not complicated at all. Just follow these three components to keep your skin smooth and in best condition even as you age.

Cleansing

The first part of keeping your skin healthy is to cleanse properly. Find a gentle cleanser that would best suit your skin type. Cleansers comes in different forms like a bar soap for body cleansing or in the form of gels or foams where you have to mix it with warm water. It is your personal choice what form of cleanser you want, the most important thing in choosing your cleanser is convenience and performance.

Moisturizer

Most skin care specialist considers moisturizer as the most important part of your skincare regimen. As you age, your skin lacks the moisturize oils thus you need to replenish those natural oils to keep your skin healthy and restore its natural glow.

Moisturizer is available for all types of skin for oily skin, dry skin and combination skin. However you might need another type of moisturizer for cold weather and another type for hot weather. It really depends on how your skin reacts to different temperature. Moisturizers comes in bottle or creamy moisturizers come in a jar.

When applying your moisturizer,use a cotton ball when you get it from the jar to avoid contamination.

Use of Sunscreen

Cleansing and moisturizing is very important but the use of sunscreen in protecting your skin from the damaging ultra violet rays is important too. It slows down skin aging and prevents skin cancer. If your moisturizer contains sunscreen then you do not have to apply sunscreen separately. If it is not then you have to get one and make sure that you get one that is at least SPF 15 and above.

Simple skincare routine is easy and uncomplicated at all. Just do this regularly every morning and at night this a habit and part of your daily routine.…