Tips For School Lunches

1.Start with the lunch box:

Even small children have distinct preferences about what they carry.It can be the cartoon favourite of the season or the colour they like most.Some children would eat anything you put in her favourite coloured Lunch Box unquestioningly.Take your little one with you to select his own lunch box.

2.Get kids to participate:

Keep lots of healthy food in the house,and let your child include whatever he likes best in his lunch box.

3.What will it be?

Are you planning a snack or a meal?If its a mid morning meal and your little one has breakfast at home before leaving, you can pack a small sandwich or a cookie for his meal.But if its a lunch meal, then, you need to pack more substantial meal.Seek your child's help in planning that meal.Ask her what she would prefer to eat and work with that.If she wants to eat a paratha, ask her if she would like some vegetable or curds with that.Add a fruit or cookie or a milkshake of her choice to that.The goal is to pack a protein, a grain, and a fruit or vegetable.Dessert should not be an everyday item, and milk or juice with no additives is the ideal drink.Some kids do not like messy foods and prefer finger foods.Others cant eat dry stuff.

4.Presentation:

Presentation is also important when selecting and preparing foods.Kids like fun shapes,colors, and textures.You can make a sandwich more appealing by decorating the wrapping with a sticker or by cutting the sandwich with a cookie cutter.Cut the veggies using cookie cutters so that your child will learn while he's eating...cut out his/her name in carrots,capsicum or any other firm vegetables.

5.Dont Overpack:

Too much food can be,well,just too much.If your child tends to eat half a sandwich,then just send half a sandwich.That way she wont feel pressured to eat more than she needs.

6.Find Out What Other Parents Are Sending To School:

Peer pressure is a big issue,try to coordinate lunches with parents of your child's friends.This stops competition,and its fun for the kids to discover they have identical meals.

7.Include A Few Surprises:

Think of the lunch you pack as your child's one connection to home during the day.Let her find a new pencil, key chain, or a few stickers-something totally unexpected.Personal notes and non-edible treats are big hits,because they remind kids that parents are thinking of them during school day.You can also include labels on food as your child is learning to read.

A Simple To Do-Home Manicure

Taking care of your hands is important as well as easy.Even those who think that they have no time for such treatments, can manage to take out about 5 minutes from their busy schedule, and pay some attention to those poor, neglected hands.

To make your hands look pretty as well as well-kept, start with manicure.It takes about 15 minutes, and once a week is quite enough.Once your hands are manicured, all you need is a little natural oil to keep it moisturised.

A Simple To Do-Home Manicure:
Things You Require:

For your manicure, take a small bowl of warm, soapy water.A small hand towel, a nail file, cotton wool, coconut oil for moisturizing, nail polish remover, and polish.It is much nicer to prefer pink and pearlies shades, for the daytime.Nail polish is best applied before you go to bed so that you do not have to worry about badly kept nails in the morning.Purple, violet and other dark shades, are a bit too extreme for formal dressing, but if you find that they suit your personality, as a lady with a mind of her own, please go ahead! After all, individual tastes, differ.

Manicure Steps:

A.First, remove your older nail polish and then file your nails.Long nails are best suited to people with long slim fingers, and if you have short, sturdy singers, please make sure that your nails are shaped to an oval, and not more than 1/16 th of an inch past the fingertip.

B.Next, soak your hands in the soapy water, for 2 minutes.Press back the cuticles, very gently with your towel.They are very delicate, and need moisturizing.To remove any soap deposit, wipe your nails again with nail polish remover.

C.Apply a base coat, beginning with the thumb.Base coats are normally transparent nail polishes, which are either strengtheners, or just present to stop the chemical products of the nail polish, to yellow your nails.

D.After it has dried, apply nail polish.Use only 2 light coats, allowing the first to dry completely before applying the second.

E.Finally, when the polish is completely dry, massage the coconut oil/ Almond oil/ olive oil into your hands up to the wrist.

A manicure once a week keeps your hands feeling good.As it is always preferable to use natural products, rather than expensive creams and moisturizers, go back to nature and every night, use a bit of milk cream, or milk as a natural moisturizer.A little bit of salt added to it will bleach your hands beautifully.

If you have to use your hands for washing up, gardening, or any work which needs hand care, it is always best to use hand gloves.And if you think that it is too tiresome, what is to stop you from oiling your hands too well, with coconut oil, or milk, and then washing up? For gardening, always make sure that little soap pieces are placed under your nails, so that dirt does not get caught between fingertips and nails.

Remember that very hot and very cold water is disastrous for hands.Make sure, the water is at room temperature.In the winters, it is always preferable to wash your face and hands in cold water, to keep the naturally moisturizing oil in, but make sure, you apply some oil after a wash.

Exercise For The Fingers And The Wrist:Fingers are best kept supple by exercising upon an imaginary keyboard.Put your hands out, and flap them like wings of an ostrich, then rotate your wrists, clockwise and anticlockwise.If you happen to be doing a lot of writing work, exercise your fingers by clenching your fists, and then opening out your fingers, fast.This close-open, close-open exercise can not only relieve finger fatigue, but it's also useful in keeping your fingers from gaining deposits at the joints.

A Simple To Do-Home Pedicure

Now that ladies have become more trendy, and like to experiment with skirts, and shorts, beautiful legs are about a must.Shapely and beautiful legs usually depend on the shape and length of the legs.The one test of beautifully shaped legs, is standing with feet together, and see if you can hold a coin, between your ankles, another between your calves, and another between your knees, all at the same time!Beautiful legs normally have a space between ankle and calves and between calves and knees, and a small space above the touching knees.But that does not automatically mean that just because your legs do not pass these tests, they are not attractive and well shaped.Many ladies think that their legs are too fat or too thin.Unfortunately, the actual shape of your legs cannot be easily changed.However, with exercise you can improve muscle tone, and make them look better.

Lose fat by going on a sensible diet, by cutting down on potatoes, rice and adding up on cheese, fresh fruits and vegetables.

A Simple To Do-Home Pedicure:
Ways To Have Beautiful Legs:

1.If you have too thin legs, improve them with exercises.The legs can look much more shapely with exercises.

A.Put your heels together.Rise on your toes.Sink to the ground.Bending your knees back, straight and then get up slowly.This exercise has to be repeated three times, and it is sheer cruelty!But it works.

B.Walking and bicycling are wonderful exercises for shapely legs, at the office, walk up the stairs, instead of taking the lift!.

2.Sometimes, legs may not be fat, but look heavy, because of bad circulation.Put your legs and feet up.In case, you have a feeling of water retention, drink about 6 glasses of water, and get the wastes out.

3.Smooth legs look more appealing than fuzzy legs.Creams can be used as hair removers, and there are quite a number of ladies' shaving tools present in the market.But the best natural depilatory is a turmeric paste, applying before a bath, and left onto dry.After a bath, make your skin feel good by moisturizing it.

The Perfect Simple Pedicure:

1.Preparatory Stage:�

A.Position a chair behind a clean, wide bucket filled with hot water.
B.Fold a bath towel into a square and place it at the bottom of the bucket.This will give your feet a comfortable surface to rest on when you soak them.
C.Add half a cup of Epsom salt, a natural disinfectant. You can also throw in a few cupfuls of Herbal Vapors, readily available in the markets.The best would be one that contains rosemary, eucalyptus and menthol -- three therapeutic, cleansing herbs that make the room you're in smell just like a spa.

2.Grooming Stage:�

A.Use a cotton pad soaked with nail-polish remover to take off old polish.
B.If your cuticles are dry, add a drop of olive oil to the pad before using it on your nails.
C.Clip your toenails straight across with clippers.
D.Use a nail file to smooth the edges, including the sides. Best shape: square with rounded edges.

3.Soothe Your Soles:�
A.Soak your feet in the hot water for five minutes, then rest them on the edge of the bucket.
B.Dip a foot file, in the water, then use it to smooth your heels, the balls of your feet and the outsides of your pinkie toes.
C.Pat feet dry with a towel.
D.To get cuticles under control: Use the edge of the nail file to push your cuticles back, then a nail brush dipped in an ex foliating scrub, to clean the area where your nail meets your skin.
E.If you feel that you must get rid of your cuticles, have a pro do it in a salon so you don't end up with painful, ingrown toenails.
F.Rinse, then dry feet and apply a generous amount of super-moisturizing foot lotion or cream. Massage it into your feet and calves.
G.Wash the moisturizer off your toenails with soap and water and let them dry.

4.Applying Nail Polish:�
A.Create space between toes with a foam toe separator.
B.Apply one coat of base coat, two coats of color and one coat of top coat.
C.Confused about which color to go for? For summer, say good-bye to burgundies and browns. The hot shades are bright. Think coral with a sheen to it, hot pink and orangy-red.
D.Use a Q-tip moistened with nail-polish remover to remove any polish that missed the mark.
E. Let your polish dry for a few hours before putting on close-toed shoes.
F.Apply one coat of top coat three days after your pedicure, then every third day after that to keep polish from chipping.
G. If your feet are going to be in the sun, use a top coat with sunscreen, to keep the polish from fading.

Exercises For Your Tired Feet:

Exercise 1.
a.Sit on the edge of the stool.
b.With legs raised, clasp your hands around your bent knees.
c.Rotate your feet, first outwards and then inwards, then upwards and finally downwards.
d.Repeat 30 times.

Exercise 2.
a.Sit on the edge of a stool.
b.Place a talcum powder container on the floor.Put your right foot on it and roll it backwards and forwards from the tips of the toes to the heel.
c.Repeat with other foot.
d.Do it 10 times with each foot.

Exercise 3.
a.Sit on the floor.Bend your knees and keep back straight.
b.Clasp the right foot with the right hand and left foot with the left hand.
c.Raise left and right feet alternatively.
d.Repeat 10 times.

Exercise 4.
a.Lie on your back with your legs raised resting against a wall.
b.Try to form a right angle between your legs and your body.
c.Stay in this position until you feel refreshed.

Nail Care

Nail Damage And Prevention:

1.The simplest way to avoid nail damage is to wear gloves.

2.If you can't wear gloves, you could at least use a long handled mop-this allows you to keep your hands off water and your nails will definitely benefit.

3.If you do get your hands wet, remember to rinse them well and dry them carefully after the work is done.

4.Then apply ample amounts of a moisturising cream.

5.You must also take certain other precautions:
A.Use a pencil to operate the dial;
B.Use a tin-opener to open tins;
C.Use gardening gloves;
D.Avoid contact with strong chemicals;
E.Use moisturisers liberally.

6.Wear Polish-It works as a barrier for your nails and use acetone-free nail polish remover.

7.File in one direction only-Filing back and forth is bad because this frays and weakens the nails.File your nails in one direction only for the best results.

8.Keep your nails short.

9.Manicure after a bath.It is best to do your manicure after a bath because your nails are soft.

Pamper Yourself-Manicure & Pedicure:

Cosmetics To Disguise Nail Defects:
If your nails are deformed, the first thing to do is to visit your dermatologist-a number of nail problems are temporary and improve as the new nail appears and only a very few are permanent.The appearance of your nails can also be improved considerably by the use of cosmetics-for instance, ordinary nail enamel can camouflage a number of nail defects.A broken or split nail can be mended using what are called nail-mending fluids.To do this, a piece of thin tissue is placed over the crack or break in the nail.The nail mending fluid is thenm applied.When the product dries and sets, the nail can be painted with the nail enamel.

Common Nail Problems:

1.Brittle Nails:
Brittle nails and flaking of nails are very common due to excessive dryness of the nail plate.The nail plate is made up of dead keratin cells held together by a natural glue of fats and water.Any loss of fats and water causes the cells to separate and results in flaking and brittleness of the nails.
A.Many of our domestic chores remove the natural fats from the nails resulting in brittle nails, so do wear gloves.
B.Nail polish removers also have a dehydrating effect.If you have brittle nails avoid removing your nail polish too frequently.You can use a colourless polish or a base-coat or a top-coat, because then you can keep touching it up quite happily, without having to use the remover very frequently.
C.Regular massage around the nail-base with cream can have a good effect on brittle nails.

2.Hangnails:
Hangnails are tears in the skin of the nailfolds and the cuticle.The cuticle and the nailfolds have a tendency to stick to the nail plate as it grows forward; the stretched cuticle may eventually tear.Sometimes the skin of the nailfolds also cracks, particularly if it is dry.Nervous nail biting habits, chewing nails, and picking the cuticle all encourage the developement of hangnails.
A.To avoid such conditions, keep the cuticles soft by massaging in creams and regularly loosening it from the nail-plate.
B.Clip off existing hangnails.
C.Avoid pulling off slivers as this can be very painful and can even cause infection of the nailfolds.

3.In-Growing Toe-Nails:
If the toenail is not cut properly, it penetrates into the nail-fold as it grows, causing redness, swelling and pain.
A.Don't cut them too short;
B.Don't ever cut down the side of the nail;
C.Always follow the shape of the toe;
D.Once the pain has started, try to push the nail-fold away from the sharp edge of the skin.

4.Fungal Infections Of The Nail:
When fungus infects the nails, they become thickened, broken and discoloured.Fungal infection can be easily treated- griseofulvin is given for milder infection and ketoconazole for more severe types-but let your doctor treat you.