Phone game for rude diners

Jan 18, 2012 by blackbook

There is nothing worse than going out for a meal and over the course of it someone your with is on their phone. I find it downright rude to take calls, text or play on your phone whilst you’re eating. It grates on me when people do it whilst your talking, however I do understand that sometimes it may be an important phone call, however if not you should not answer or reply.

I don’t like to have my phone out when having a meal, unless I’m checking the time if I don’t have a watch on or if I’m taking a photo of my friends or even the meal. However I like to wait until I get home or leave the restaurant before I jump onto to Facebook to upload them!

If you find yourself dining out with people who cannot stop themselves, texting or talking on the phone then this game might be for you. The idea came from Brian Perez, a California hip-hop dancer who wrote on his blog about the idea for his game which he dreamt up over a New Year’s Eve dinner.

What happens is: after everyone orders, the group all place their phones in a pile in the middle of the table, face down. If they ring, beep or buzz you have to ignore it, because no one can pick up their phone.  However if someone can’t resist and picks up the phone then they must pick up the tab for the whole meal!

Other people have also come out stating that they play this ‘game’ whilst out with friends so I don’t quite know where the idea came from however I must say I think it is a great idea and I really would like to implement it whilst I am out with my friends, who are bad at putting down their phones.

Obviously there may be some alterations to the rules, for those with kids who are being babysat just in case I would probably suggest a quick check at caller ID and then someone can decide if it should be answered or not. If you know no one will need to contact you then for the couple of hours it takes to eat then you should be able to manage it!

Picture courtesy of mroach

 

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Help to get you off to a healthy New Year

Jan 8, 2012 by blackbook

After the excesses of the festive season many people are looking to start the New Year on a healthy note, however over recent years the cost of ‘healthy’ foods has been increase. However now customers shopping in Asda, Co-operative Food and Aldi can look forward to discounts on healthy foods.

The Governments Change4Life initiative is aiming to tap into parents’ resolutions for themselves and their kids to eat healthier in the New Year, so supermarkets will fund price cuts on items such as fruit and vegetables and low fat yoghurt as part of the scheme.

To help you decipher the healthy food discounts Change4Life branding will appear throughout stores, there will also be information on how to make cheap, nutritious meals, dubbed “Supermeals” using the discounted items.

Many people on lower incomes do find shopping for healthier foods quite expensive, previously generous discounts were only really seen on convenience or processed foods or food stuffs which are not really considered nutritious. This new drive should see a change in trend on what we eat and hopefully help many people onto healthy and nutritious diets.

As part of the Campaign four million recipe cards with healthy meal ideas will be distributed through channels including newspapers and a direct mail campaign which means there really isn’t any excuse not to cook and eat healthy meals no matter what your budget.

From 20 January a free cookbook endorsed by celebrity chef Ainsley Harriet will be available through Change4Life media partner Daily Mirror with Fifty thousand copies available, another fifty thousand will be available to people already signed up to receive Change4life information. The cookbook contains recipes that can be made for under £5.

As part of the Governments anti-obesity drive the private sector to help pay for and promote, schemes, in 2010 the “Great Swapathon”, saw companies including Unilever and Birds Eye fund discounts on their lower fat products in only Asda stores.

Public health minister Anne Milton says: “The New Year is a good time to think about losing weight. The Supermeals campaign will give us all some great ideas for balanced meals on a budget.”

In theory the scheme does have a lot of merits and will no doubt help families who are struggling, however the Shadow public health minister, Diane Abbott has reservations, she said: “They’re calling this public health but it’s just a glorified advertisement for big business. This is a government that doesn’t take its responsibility around public health seriously.”

If you are struggling with your weight or want to lead a healthier lifestyle then this is a good place to start, later in the month we will look at exercise routines that you can easily introduce around your home and work commitments.

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Odd hangover cures

Dec 22, 2011 by blackbook

Following on from my hangover post the other day I thought I might add a small post about some of the strangest hangover cures I came across which make for some odd reading!

Irish hangover cure: Apparently said to be: “to bury the ailing person in moist river sand.”

Outer Mongolia hangover cure: Eat a pickled sheep’s eye in a glass of tomato juice. Yummy!

Puerto Rico hangover cure: Rub a lemon under your drinking arm. Not sure how this gets rid of a hangover but will mean your pits are fresh well one of them!

Turkish hangover cure: A thick soup made with tripe or the eatable stomach of livestock and then cooked with garlic and cream.

Haitian voodoo people hangover cure: Stick 13 black pins in the cork of the offending bottle.

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Helpful tips to get you through the holiday season

Dec 19, 2011 by blackbook

Hangover prevention and cures

The festive season is upon us, time for merriment and fun, which means partying and drinking a fair amount of alcohol. But there is one side effect of all this fun and that is the dreaded hangover!

Now you can’t completely prevent a hangover but you can take steps to ensure it’s not too bad. I have a list of helpful tips which if you follow before and during a night out you should find you don’t suffer from a really bad hangover the next day. I also have a few tips on what to do if you do find yourself with a really bad hangover.

Before the booze:

Eating a full meal before you start drinking is really important and the fattier the meal the better really as this is one of the times extra fat can be beneficial but not greasy food. Because fat is digested slowly, it protects you stomach from the irritating effects of alcohol, which will stop you from having that dodgy stomach feeling towards the end of the night.

Take milk thistle tablets before drink, milk thistle has been used for over 2000 years because it protects your liver against toxins. It’s good to take before you have a heavy night out on the booze to offer some protection to your liver from the damaging effects of alcohol.

Make sure you drink water as well throughout the night, at least two glasses as this will dilute the alcohol in your stomach.

Stick to lighter colour drinks, keep away from dark ones such as red wine, whisky, port and brandy, these contain large amounts of “congeners”, which is what can cause more severe hangovers. Also don’t mix drinks, this old adage is the best to follow when drinking, mixing spirits with wine and beer will lead you down the road to hangover hell!

After the booze:

Before you go to sleep, drink another two glasses of what, it may make you pee more during the night but it will stop you from dehydrating which is what generally leaves you with the thick head when you wake up in a morning.

Sleep is one of the most important ways to get over a hangover, it gives your body chance to rest and recover. You will probably find that your body naturally will sleep longer than usual to its best not to force yourself to get up. If you have to work then its best calling in sick if you have to, however better planning is more appropriate so you don’t end up in this position in the first place.

Most people reach for the coffee after a heavy night however coffee may give a quick boost however it will dehydrate you even more. If you want energy boost turn to sports drinks instead they should give you the energy you need as well as helping you fight dehydration.

Other drinks which will give you a much needed boost also include orange juice and other fruit juices for Vitamin C. Drinking alcohol causes you to lose more much needed vitamins and minerals so make sure you stock back up again after drinking.

When it comes to eating, your first response might be NO, NO, NO with the worry you will be back around the toilet bowl, however it’s better to eat something than nothing. You need a healthy pick me up so a slice of whole wheat toast lightly toasted and sprinkled with cinnamon to give you a boos and help balance out the glucose spikes which is associated with excessive alcohol consumption. Eggs are also good for fighting a hangover and they are high in cysteine, which helps break down acetaldehyde which is associated with hangovers.

If you have a dodgy feeling tummy sometimes taking Alka Seltzer Morning Relief can help, however I find sometimes it can either get rid of my yucky tummy or can make me sick so it might be a bit of a gamble, but in the end ether way I tend to feel better.

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