Health benefits of dehydrating foods for storage and use

The art of dehydrating foods dates back many thousands of years. It has persisted over the ages, and its popularity is well-deserved. Dehydrating foods is one of the very best methods for preserving food and making it portable. Here are some compelling health benefits of dehydrating foods that will convince you to give a dehydrator a permanent home in your kitchen.

Dehydrated foods contain all of their original nutrients.

Virtually all of the vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and other beneficial compounds remain in a food when you dehydrate it. By contrast, cooking a food rather than drying it can destroy some of its nutrients and enzymes. Dehydrating is a great way to preserve food, give it a longer shelf life, and make it more portable while keeping it just as nutritious as the original. This is the ultimate health benefit over other, less nutritious snack foods out there.

Dehydrated foods can make healthy replacements for sweets and candy.

 

When a food is dehydrated, the lost water content causes the flavor of the food to be more prominent. This means that dehydrated fruits are tasty and extra-sweet. If you like to snack on sweet things, consider making a switch to dehydrated fruit slices. They are just as sweet and delicious, while providing you with tons of vitamins and other nutrients that candy doesn't contain.

The possibilities are endless. You can dehydrate virtually any type of fruit and thus have a wide variety of sweet snacks on hand all the time. Another great option is fruit leather, which is made by dehydrating fruit puree. This fruit puree can contain any combination of fruits you like, and even spices like cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, or chili powder.

Dehydrated foods have a long shelf life, with no preservatives.

There are many benefits to making food last longer. If you have a bumper crop in your garden or find a great sale on fruits, you can dehydrate it all so it won't go to waste. If you store your dehydrated food in a cool, dark, and airtight place, it can last many years. Fruits, vegetables, and grains that have been dehydrated have been known to last up to three decades. With almost no water present in the food, no microbes will colonize it and it will not rot.

Dehydrated food lasts a very long time yet is all-natural. It doesn't contain any artificial preservatives. This is great news for people who like to eat natural whole foods and avoid preservative chemicals.

More Benefits of Dehydrating Your Food

 

The health benefits of dehydrating foods are not the only type of benefit. You'll also see financial benefits and added convenience.

Dehydrating foods yourself is much, much more economical than buying them pre-made in a store. If you love dehydrated fruits, trail mix, or jerky, consider making it yourself for a fraction of the cost. Another financial benefit is that, as mentioned earlier, you can pick up large amounts of food when you see it on sale and dehydrate it at home. By taking advantage of produce sales you can save a good deal of money.

On average, dehydrated foods are less than one-sixth as bulky as their original form. Not only do they take up a lot less space, but they're also a lot lighter. This means these foods are perfect for packing as a snack before you leave for work or school, or taking them with you on a camping or hiking trip.

Dehydration is the ultimate method of food preservation. What other method improves taste, portability, and shelf life while also potentially saving you a lot of money? Once you give dehydrating your own food a shot, chances are you'll never go back. Try an effective, high-quality food dehydrator from a reputable brand like Sedona®.

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Sanitary-Health Benefits of Automatic Soap Dispensers

Automatic soap dispensers are sometimes thought of as a simple convenience. However, they are far more than just devices that save time and effort when you wash your hands.

Automatic soap dispensers can actually be thought of as the front line defense against germs and disease. These types of soap dispensers offer important benefits that bar soap and traditional pump or lever dispensers do not, because of the simple fact that the user does not need to touch anything in order to put soap in their hands.

Clean hands are a requisite for your well-being, and the right kind of soap dispenser provides a way for you to ensure consistently clean hands, at home or at work.

Protecting yourself from germs by washing your hands regularly is a must when you consider the large numbers of bacteria and viruses you are exposed to on a daily basis, usually without even realizing it.

The statistics on communicable diseases suggest that up to 20% of people develop a case of influenza during the winter flu season. Far from being a harmless disease, influenza kills 36,000 people in the United States alone every year. The common cold can infect the same people several times a year, because your body's immune system cannot detect different strains of the virus when they first enter your body.

Even more sinister diseases like Streptococcus infections can be caused by touching surfaces contaminated with bacteria and viruses that can survive outside the human body for several days.

Everyone knows that washing your hands with plenty of soap and hot water serves as a preventative against sickness. What you might not know is how important this simple prevention measure is for your health. Researchers at the Centers for Disease Control have estimated that half of the deaths caused by gastrointestinal germs could be avoided with proper hand washing.

Respiratory and even many food-related diseases could be drastically reduced as well. Globally, estimates have suggested that better hand-washing habits could save up to a million lives from being lost to disease. Truly, the power of soap and water should not be underestimated when it comes to keeping healthy.

If hand washing is such a powerful preventative measure, why isn't it more widely used? One problem is the way that conventional soap dispensers are designed. Conventional soap dispensers present a problem to the user, because they require you to dispense the soap by touching the device with dirty hands. In this manner, dirty water and disease-spreading germs end up on the dispenser handle, and sometimes the nozzle as well.

Even if you clean your restroom, kitchen, or hand-washing station regularly, this problem will still arise within a few uses of the dispenser. These conventional dispensers therefore become a potential liability for their users, and may even discourage some people from using soap when they wash. In turn, these issues can lead to serious hygienic problems whether at home or at work.

Automatic soap dispensers circumvent this problem by providing each person with just the right amount of soap for hand washing when they place their hands under the nozzle. A reliable motion sensor detects the movement, and dispenses the soap through the nozzle, without needing to pull a lever or press a handle. This way, you can wash your hands in a completely hygienic fashion, without worrying about whether you are inadvertently exposing yourself to germs as you clean your hands.

Soap and water can stop disease, save lives, and prevent absences from school and work. In order for this strategy to effectively prevent diseases, however, people need to have access to automated, rather than conventional, soap dispensers. Automated soap dispensers can help improve compliance with hand washing regulations at work, and better cleanliness at home.

People are more likely to wash their hands when they know they can do so without needing to put their hands on a bar of soap others have used, or pumps, levers, or handles that create a risk for spreading additional germs. Automation therefore provides convenience and improvements in cleanliness at the same time. With so many potentially preventable diseases out there, automatic soap dispensers are a must-have tool for maintaining your health and well-being.

Ready to buy an automatic soap dispenser? Check out the Umbra Otto Automatic Soap Dispenser from Digs!

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How To Make Great Tasting Smoothies In A Blender

With the seasons changing and the temperatures rising, this is a great time of year to get in the habit of making some healthy and delicious smoothies. The great thing about smoothies is that you can put anything you want in them, and leave out things that you don't like.

 

It is important, however, to watch the sugar content of some smoothies that you are expecting to be beneficial for your health, because if they have too much sugar they can cause your blood sugar level to quickly rise and then plummet. Here are some great tips and tricks for making some healthy smoothies and other healthy meals in your blender this summer.

Some great things to put in your blender to make a smoothie are seasonal fruits such as blueberries, strawberries, blackberries, peaches, and plums. There are also a lot of smoothie recipes that call for vegetables such as spinach and kale. This is a great way to increase your intake of fresh produce and it even gives you a chance to add some superfoods to your diet such as chia seeds and flax seed oil.

One great way to make sure that you always have what you need on hand is to find your favorite smoothie recipes and prepare the ingredients ahead of time. Chop all of your fruit and remove any seeds before packing each serving into a small plastic bag and sticking it in the freezer. This way, you can grab one on the go at any time for a healthy snack.

It only takes about five minutes to blend up a nutritious snack with your favorite healthy ingredients. You can easily add some protein with the addition of peanut butter or Greek yogurt as well. Here are some simple recipes to create in your blender.

Power Green Smoothie Recipe

1 cup fresh spinach
1/4 cup frozen berry mix (blueberries, raspberries, etc.)
1 medium banana (frozen)
1/2 cup almond milk

Peel the banana before sticking it in the freezer for at least two hours in advance. You can also keep them in the freezer for weeks in advance so you always have them prepared and ready to go. To make this recipe, simply add all of the ingredients into your blender and blend until it is smooth. Add a tablespoon of peanut butter or protein powder if you want to make it into a meal.

Peach Pie Smoothie Recipe

1½ cups of frozen peaches
1/4 cup plain Greek yogurt
1/4 cup of water
1 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp nutmeg
2 tablespoons chia seeds
1 small packet of stevia

Combine the Greek yogurt, water, stevia, chia seeds, and spices in a blender until they are mixed. Add frozen peaches and puree. Pour into a glass and enjoy.

You can also make some fun summer recipes in your blender that are more savory than sweet. For example, this gazpacho recipe is easy and perfect for a hot day. All you need to do is puree your ingredients in a blender and top it with a bit of olive oil before serving. To make this, incorporate the following ingredients into your blender:

4 large tomatoes - cored and quartered
2 slices of white bread torn into pieces
1 diced cucumber
1 medium, seeded, and chopped green bell pepper
1 clove of garlic
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1/2 teaspoon salt

There are a lot of great recipes you can make in your blender, and it is easy to make them all healthy. Avoid using liquids such as fruit juices or whole milk to cut down on calories and fat and replace these things while real fruit and nut milk such as almond milk.

If you want to make a recipe extra creamy without adding cream, try adding 1/4 of an avocado to smooth up your treat.

Love Mocha Shakes? Check out this video-

 

Fast Breakfast Smoothie Ideas-

 

 

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Are Expensive High End Juicers Worth The Money? Tribest Green Star Elite GSE 500 Jumbo Review

This high-end Juicer is worth every penny. Why: Awesome health benefits of juicing fruits and vegetables and some terrific recipes.

This high-end Juicer is worth every penny. Why: Awesome health benefits of juicing fruits and vegetables and some terrific recipes.

The Tribest Greenstar Elite GSE-5000 Jumbo Twin Gear Cold Press Juice Extractor is an impressive kitchen appliance. The twin gear press extracts a high quantity of juice filled with vitamins and minerals. It is does more than just extract nutritious juice from fresh fruits and vegetables.

This powerful appliance can be used to make nut butters, baby food, sorbets, sauces, and pates. Unlike other masticating juicers, the Greenstar utilizes crushing, slicing, and cutting functions, much the same way we masticate food with our mouths. The masticating twin gears are made of strong, non-corrosive, stainless steel.

The Elite GSE 500 produces more juice than some comparable machines. It is sized for use on a standard kitchen counter or for use in a commercial kitchen. It weighs approximately 24 pounds, making it portable. The GSE-5000 comes apart for easy cleaning. It has a 110 RPM motor to ensure freshness of the juice. This top juicer comes with a 12 year warranty.

The benefits of using a good juicer are many. You may be looking for inspiration to improve your health by adding more fruits and vegetables into your diet, or looking for inspiration to lose weight and gain more energy. The Greenstar Elite masticating juicer extracts nutrient dense juice from fresh fruits and vegetables by thoroughly breaking down the plant fibers to get the most vitamins, minerals, and enzymes available in the produce.

Features of This Top Juicer

The Greenstar Elite GSE-5000 is a versatile and powerful juicer. Here are some of the basic features.

• Horizontal twin gear masticating system
• Automatic pulp ejection
• Disassembles for easy clean-up
• 110 RPM motor speed
• 200 Watts of power
• Weighs 24 pounds
• Standard 120 or 220V
• Dimension are 6.5 x 19 x 12.5 inches
• 12 year warranty

Here is what is in the box:

• The basic machine with removable power cord
• Juicing and breadstick knobs
• Fine and course screens
• Jumbo twin gears
• Glass juice pitcher
• Drip tray
• Plungers
• Stainless steel strainer
• Cleaning brushes

Healthy Recipes

The best benefits of using a good juicer are all the healthy food options. You can extract fruit and vegetable juices, make food for your baby, churn nuts into butter, and make sauces for pasta. The possibilities are nearly endless with this top juicer.

A healthy green juice may be just what you need to get you going in the morning. 

You can make really creamy nut butter. Check out this video on demonstration of peanut butter with chocolate. You could replace the peanuts with hazelnuts for something resembling the ever popular kid’s spread Nutella.

The Bottom Line

This powerful masticating juicer and food mill gets 5 stars for its versatility and for the quality of the juice it produces. The health benefits provided by juicing fresh produce cannot be ignored. Being able to make nut butters, sauces, and desserts with the Greenstar Elite GSE 5000 takes this appliance to the next level.

 

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Health Benefits of Cold-Brewed Coffee

Cold brew coffee has exploded in popularity, often appearing on menus at trendy cafes and restaurants. Home coffee drinkers can also benefit from this alternative method of preparing coffee by using a home cold brew coffee maker to steep coffee grounds to produce cold brew coffee concentrate.

How is it made?

This method takes a bit longer than traditional coffee makers, with most experts recommending a soak in room temperature or cold water for 12 to 24 hours. The resulting cold brew concentrate is highly versatile and can be used to make either cold or hot coffee drinks, so cold brew coffee makers are actually multi-functional hot and cold coffee makers. Simply grind coffee beans on the finer side, and use a ratio of one part coffee to five parts cold water in your cold brew coffee maker. If you want your concentrate a bit stronger, just reduce the amount of water used. Leave the mixture to rest and brew overnight, and a batch of cold brew concentrate will be ready when you wake in the morning!

What are the benefits of cold brewed coffee?

Less Acid

Many coffee drinkers love the pick me up and taste of coffee, but have trouble managing all the acid. One of the major benefits of cold brewed coffee is that using cold or room temperature water for this method instead of hot water means that the process yields fewer acids and tannins, which are more easily released at higher temperatures. Slowing down the brewing means that the end result is easier on teeth and sensitive stomachs.

Smooth and Long Lasting Flavor

Coffee aficionados find that the cold brew process creates a smooth, mellow, and less bitter flavor, which can be a nice change in comparison to traditionally hot brewed coffee. One extra plus is that unlike hot coffee, the flavor of cold-brewed coffee is stable and does not degrade and become stale over time like cooling hot coffee. This means that you can use cold-brewed coffee concentrate over a period of many days without a significant loss of flavor!

Versatility

Cold-brewed coffee concentrate can be kept for up to two weeks in a tightly closed mason jar or similar container. Not only is cold-brewed coffee concentrate great for making iced coffee, hot coffee can easily be produced by adding boiling water. This is great for households where both hot and cold coffee makers in the same family are living under one roof. Brewing up a big batch of cold-brew concentrate at the beginning of the week will take the hassle out of coffee preparation, and having cold-brew concentrate on hand will make it simple to quickly make any kind of coffee drink. For those who adore coffee flavor, the less acidic cold-brewed concentrate is perfect for adding a hint of coffee to recipes for baked goods, marinades, sauces, cocktails, and ice cream.

Superior Iced Coffee

Iced coffee addicts will be particularly impressed with cold-brewed iced coffee because the reduction in acid means that more flavor of the bean can shine in an iced coffee beverage. Many professional coffee chains have switched to cold-brewed iced coffee particularly for this reason. However, perfect iced coffee results can be had at home with the help of a cold brew coffee maker, which could mean big savings on buying iced drinks from expensive coffee chains.

Want to cold brew your own coffee? Pick up these cold brew coffee jars and start enjoying the health benefits of cold brewed coffee! Still prefer to have the option to do both hot and cold coffee? Check out our post on "4 Best Coffee Maker Types".

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Awesome Health Benefits of Juicing Fruits and Vegetables

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Did you know that getting 6-8 servings of vegetables and fruits each day is much healthier than taking either more or less? Well, if you didn’t, don’t fret. Few people are actually aware of this.

According to most experts, juicing is one of the best ways to improve your overall body health, increase energy and vitality, and could even add a few more years to your life. Unlike proteins and carbohydrates, vitamins from fruits and vegetables get absorbed into the body in small and fixed amounts. That is why eating too many fruits or vegetables in one day doesn’t do you any good. However, if you fall among the people who hardly get time to peal an orange or slice an apple a day, you should definitely try juicing.

The name itself is a major clue. Juicing simply involves extracting the liquid from fruits. While some people consider juicing to merely offer convenience, it does come with some few perks which are discussed below.

Benefits of Juicing

It Helps You Effectively Absorb Nutrients

Effective absorption of nutrients is actually a big matter. People that have problems with their digestive systems are at times given drugs that improve the rate of nutrient absorption in their bodies. With juicing, on the other hand, absorption of nutrients will be much faster since particles of the fruit juice have already been broken down to the tiny pieces. Once in your tummy, the surface area of the fruit juice is larger than if you had ingested the fruit/vegetable naturally, and this aids in faster absorption. Therefore, one of the benefits of juicing is that it will help you to “pre-digest” all of the nutrients for you so that you in a more efficient way.

Wider Option of Vegetables and Fruits in Your Diet

A good number of people always end up including the same fruits and vegetables in their salads over time. Certainly, there’s nothing wrong with that. However, sometimes they may miss out on eating some fruits that are rich in certain vitamins. For instance, when was the last time you included carrots or pineapples in your juice blend? Juicing offers you the chance to get more out of the vegetables and fruits you should be taking, and especially the ones that you hardly ever consider because you either dislike their tastes or you just prefer not eating.

Less Tasking Compared to Eating Fruits Raw

If you are a carb person, you might have been told that you it is healthy to consume one pound of raw vegetables for every 50 pounds of your body weight each day. Well, there are people out there who stick to that rule without ever failing. On the other hand, if that seems tasking to you, then you should probably try out juicing since all you have to do is turn the fruits/vegetables it into a glass of vegetable juice and gulp it down in one go.

Finding the Best Juicing Recipes

 

While juicing seems straightforward, there are certain fruit combinations that might not be what you expected them to be after you’ve blended them together. That’s where a juicing recipe comes in handy. Juicing recipes can be found all over the internet. As such, you shouldn’t have a hard time finding the right blend that works for you. Another place that you can find juicing recipes is in health magazines and occasionally on the websites of fresh juice manufacturers.

To find a more specific recipes, just enter the juice recipe you are looking for in your search bar and hit enter to find a number of ideas. For example, “fruit juice recipes,” “healthy juice recipes” or the “vegetable juice recipes” will give you some nice pointers.

If you want to turn your juicing tactics around, be sure to try out the Tribest SW-2000-B Slowstar. In many ways, you could say that it is like any other juicer, but for someone who’s just embarking on the juicing journey, you’d be happy to know that it comes with a free 200-page essential recipe book for you to start you off the right way. That is a sure win-win. However, to get the most out of juicing, just remember to first rely on the recipe book and only choose fruits or vegetables that you are familiar to during the first few weeks.

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Creating Your Dream Kitchen Around Appliances and Accessories

Watch any home improvement show on television - most designers will include the kitchen in their remodeling plans. Often painting, flooring, and walls are the focus of the renovation. However, many homeowners don't have the time or want to deal with the mess of a total remodel.

Does this apply to you? Can you have the kitchen of your dreams without totally destroying your home? Of course! Here's how you can use appliances and ordinary kitchen accessories to make your culinary dreams come true!

So, what should you look for in new appliances, and what equipment is most important in a kitchen? For most, the cooktop and oven, refrigerator, and dishwasher offer conveniences people can't live without. These machines have also received major upgrades in recent years.

Let's look at how each contributes to your dream kitchen.
When preparing to buy cooking appliances, each homeowner should decide what hardware fits him or her best. Cooktops come individually or as a part of an all-in-one range and oven. Cooktops can be glass, ceramic, or metal. Some might prefer a wall oven to the all-in-one unit. Many times an individual will make purchasing decisions based on personal taste, price, and available space.

You will want to consider convection ovens versus a traditional oven (these appliances are powered by either gas or electricity). Convection ovens are more efficient in that they use twenty-five percent less energy to cook while cooking more quickly than a conventional oven. The convection oven costs slightly more, but you will soon recoup that money in savings on your power bill.

You will need no special kitchen accessories when using a convection oven, but once you've dirtied your pots, pans, and bakeware, you will want a dishwasher so that you won't have to wash everything by hand.

Few people enjoy hand-washing dishes (much less have the time), so a dishwasher is considered a necessary appliance. Dishwashers today are less noisy, use less water, and clean more thoroughly than older models. No pre-rinsing required! Many washers use up to fifteen percent less water than models only two or three years older. Others feature thirty minute washes to save both time and money; still others feature options that allow you to set a timer for washing at a more convenient time.

Perfect if your dream kitchen involves clean dishes with minimal effort! While the oven/range and a dishwasher are two of the most important kitchen appliances, one must include the refrigerator on the list of must-have items.

Not only is the refrigerator most likely the largest appliance in any kitchen, it is also probably the most important appliance you own. Food storage is imperative even for those who don't enjoy cooking. Today's refrigerators come in a variety of sizes and designs and offer a plethora of features. Like your ice cream a little on the soft side? Now certain models offer settings that allow homeowners to set more precise temperatures (no more setting ice cream out to thaw!).

Some refrigerators offer adjustable door compartments and shelving units. No longer will you be forced to sacrifice freezer space for the convenience of an ice maker as many new units feature smaller devices. LED lighting is present in most newer models as well. Whether you prefer an upright fridge/freezer unit or want a smudge-proof stainless steel model with a French door, there is a refrigerator to fit your style!
Finally, no dream kitchen is complete without the perfect set of accessories. Your perfect kitchen gadgets really depend upon you and your personal preferences! Those who enjoy cooking will covet cookware sets.

Health conscious individuals may seek out juicers and blenders for tasty smoothies. Coffee fanatics will demand the perfect pot whether it be a percolator or a coffee pod machine. A dining table and chairs will most likely complete the kitchen of your dreams; be sure not to ignore small items such as place mats to accentuate the colors of your dream kitchen.

Also, you can add inexpensive items such as clocks, decorative soap dispensers, even bulletin boards to brighten up your space!

Creating the kitchen of your dreams doesn't have to involve gutting your space! You can achieve your fantasy cooks'room with the right appliances and kitchen accessories.

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How To Develop Your Childs Imagination

Dig/s Home Goods and Housewares firmly believes your child’s room is their imagination. We also believe in our motto, “Nourish your kids imagination and you will enrich their lives beyond all measure.” Read on for some ideas on how our home goods can help enrich your child’s imaginative life.

1. Award-Winning Care for Our World Play Set by Karen Robbins & Illustrated by Alexandra Ball

Robbins and Ball’s playset for middle grade children includes two essential elements for imaginative play: a book and a hands-on activity. The nonfiction book encourages kids to think about the environment and the world’s diverse animal species. To help drive the point home, young hands can punch out dozens of stand-up plants and animals. The set encourages children to engage in imaginative play with a habitat they create for themselves and animals and plants they can manipulate.

This playset has won (or been runner-up for) three awards: 2012 Playset of the Year (Creative Child Awards), 2012 Top Toy of the Year (Creative Child Awards), and 2012 Runner-up in the Children's Books Category (Green Book Festival).

2. Award-Winning Tickle Monster Laughter Kit by Josie Bissett & Illustrated by Kevan J. Atteberry

This interactive reading experience allows kids and caretakers to play together. The kit includes soft tickling gloves for acting out the Tickle Monster while reading the bedtime - or any time - story. Finger holes in the monster mitts make it easy to turn the pages and tickle at the same time.

Books help encourage children to be curious about their world, and reading out loud helps reinforce learning skills and the importance of reading. A comforting bedtime ritual encourages regular sleeping patterns and sound sleep. The memories that your child will make with you will last them a lifetime.

If your kids enjoy the Tickle Monster Laughter Kit, they may also like the Multiple Award Winner Boogie Monster Dance Kit by Josie Bissett/Compendium.

3. Kikkerland Critter Windups Awika and Pintacuda

This collectible wind-up toy can spark all kinds of imaginative play. It doesn’t quite look like anything familiar. It’s not quite a robot, it doesn’t quite resemble an insect, and it moves like something out of a scientist’s laboratory. Children can explore motion and mechanics, getting an early start on thinking about STEM concepts, while having fun with this 3-dimensional, moving piece of art.

If your kids like this wind-up toy, they might also like Kikkerland Window-Mount Solar-Powered Heart Rainbow Maker. It makes rainbows using refraction, a beautiful and fun way to get kids started thinking about the properties of light. You might inspire a future physicist.

4. Kinetic Sand Doggy Daycare Playset

This playset is quite hands-on and interactive for loosely-structured imaginative play. Kids can experience the texture of purple and green (nontoxic) kinetic sand, then use their hand-eye coordination and crafting skills to make canine friends using the included molds. Then they can play with their new puppies in the Doggy Daycare playset. This fun and colorful activity for kids ages three and up is also easy to clean up.

5. I LIKE... A Great Big Book of Awesome Activities, Delightful Drawings, and Fantastical Fun for Kids of All Ages. (That’s You!) Written by M.H. Clark and Illustrated by Sarah Walsh

This big, hands-on activity book will appeal to kids from the middle grades on up. It encourages not passive entertainment of the kind kids get from screen time, but active imagination and interaction with the pages. Kids must use their imaginations and creativity to complete this crafty book. It’s a great addition to any bedroom bookshelf or homework nook that can also travel with kids in the car, on appointments, etc.

Conclusion

Nourishing your kids’ imagination includes filling their personal space with play items that spark interactive and imaginative play rather than passive consumption. These are only a few on the imagination-kickstarting ideas you’ll find at dig/s Home Goods and Housewares. Shop at dig/s and improve the quality of life for all the members of the family, young and old.

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4 Best Coffee Maker Designs

When it comes to coffee there are dozens of different machines and methods you can use to create the perfect cup. While personal preference does play a large role in the best coffee maker for you, there are a few popular designs that come out on top of the coffee world. Here are the top 4 best coffee maker designs to help you choose which will make the best cup of coffee for you.

#1 Drip

The drip coffee brewer is one of the best coffee makers, and also most common, on the market. You've likely seen these machines at work, at home, or even at some restaurants. Drip coffee makers simply require you to fill a tank with water, fill a paper or mesh basket with coffee grinds, and turn the machine on. Boiling water will drip through the grinds and into a carafe, usually on a hot plate.

Drip coffee makers are widely known for their convenience and ease of use. However, these features don't always result in the best tasting cup of coffee. Drip coffee makers usually lack control over specific water temperatures which affects the final taste. Filters can also alter the coffee flavor profile. The hot plate, while good at keeping coffee warm for hours, can often burn coffee leaving less than perfect flavors.

#2 Percolator

Percolators have long been debated as being terrible or the best coffee makers. Percolators work by boiling water that is then sent up through a pipe that flushes hot water over coffee grinds. The water then falls back into the main reservoir, re-boils, and falls over the grinds over and over again. This repeated process can result in rich and full flavored coffee, but others feel that re-boiling coffee ruins the flavor.

Percolators are excellent for making coffee in outdoor scenarios such as when camping or hiking. Percolators are easy to use and hard to break, as they are usually made entirely of metal. Temperature control is important, but as the re-boiled coffee simply needs to be hot enough to bubble up the center rod, percolators are simple enough to operate on a camp fire.

#3 French Press

The French press, also called a press pot or coffee press, has long been a top contender for one of the best coffee makers in the world. The simple glass container and mesh plunger make the French press an easy to use device. Temperature control is entirely up to the user as water is boiled separately before being poured into the press. Grinds are also a choice of the user, but coarser grinds are recommended so no particles will accidently pass through the filter. Brew times are subject to the user, with longer brew times resulting in stronger coffee.

The simplicity of the French press is clearly reflected in its price. Often times French presses are inexpensive, yet excellent tools for creating a wide range of coffee flavor profiles. The simplicity of design also allows gives the French press an elegant feel making it perfect for table pieces or decorations. The only complaint users tend to have is that the French press creates a more robust and richer cup of coffee. Those looking for lighter flavors may need something where coffee doesn't soak completely.

#4 Moka Pot

Lastly, the Stovetop Espresso Maker, otherwise known as a Macchinetta or Moka Pot, creates an entirely unique cup of coffee when compared to the competitors above to be the best coffee maker. The Moka pot works by creating highly pressured steam in the bottom section, which is then forced into the upper section containing finely ground coffee. The pressurized steam passes through the coffee then up through a spout before being ejected into a reservoir in the uppermost part of the container.

The resulting coffee is extremely concentrated, usually reserved for espresso or other stronger brews. Moka pots do require a bit of maintenance with rubber seals and filters but produce one of the cleanest tasting cups of coffee as the liquid is never re-boiled or reintroduced to coffee grinds. Shop Your Kitchen for the best cooking and coffee accessories to deck out your home.

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How To Get Your Child To Drink All Natural Fruit Infused Drinks

Most of us are aware of the health benefits of fresh juices over their artificial counterparts. Fresh juices are usually lower in sugar and packed with far more nutrients, thus making them the best option for not only us, but also for our children.

Getting proper nutrition to toddlers, particularly when they are young and need it most, is crucial towards their development and will also help establish strong building blocks for them to follow throughout their adult lives. Healthy toddlers are more likely to grow into healthy adults.

Here are just a few pointers to help teach your child to accept, and in fact even prefer, fresh juices over artificial or canned alternatives.

1. Introduce fruits at a young age. Even if your child is not yet accepting enough to eat what you are putting in front of them, it doesn't hurt to let your child familiarize themselves with new fruits by playing with them. Although it could get messy, allowing your child to explore all of the different colors and textures of fresh fruit will keep them interested. Make fruits a staple in your house. Most children will find at least a few options they enjoy.

2. Take your toddler to the market to shop for their own fruit. Children love to feel included. They love to feel like they are establishing their independence by making their own choices. So next time you are off to the market, let your little one do the picking. Point out a couple of options and ask them which one they would prefer. You can't go wrong with apples, oranges and mostly any type of berry. These are all great foundations for natural fruit infused drinks. Each time you go shopping, introduce your child to a few new options. Let them know when you get home, you are going to make your own drinks using their choices. One of the best ways to incorporate fresh fruit and fruit juices into your child's drink is by way of a fruit infuser, specifically designed with your child in mind.

3. Let your child add their own fruit. Just as importantly, let your child see you get excited about the process of making a fresh fruit juice drink. Enthusiasm is key and early on, the more the better. Ensuring your child feels as involved in the in the process as possible will make most children more inclined to want to drink their own creation. Seeing you excited about the creation process will have them looking forward to experimenting along with you.

Remember to let your child become acquainted with fruits early on. If you happen to have a fussy eater who just doesn't seem to enjoy the texture of fruits or just can't find anything they like, get creative. Try cutting fruit in different shapes or freezing it for a short while first. Some children absolutely love frozen berries or apple slices and these can just as easily be added to your child's drinking water if you are using an infuser. Check out silicone bottle fruit infuser that will help making your dreams a reality.

Getting proper nutrition to toddlers early on is important in order to ensure you have a healthy child. Healthy toddlers will be armed with the knowledge they will need to decide what is best for them without much of a second thought as they move through the subsequent stages of their lives.

Infusing your child's drinking water with natural fruits will provide them with a healthy alternative to unnatural, sugar-filled blends that lack the abundance of nutrients provided by fresh fruit. So go ahead and have some fun introducing your little one to the benefits of healthy hydration. Shop Your Kitchen Section to find great deals on everything to deck out your kitchen.

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