Welcome to 2008 Tips

Martha Says...Tips For Keeping Your Veggies Fresh

We can't all shop like the fashionable French ladies who stroll by the market every night on their way home. Between the kids calling, traffic jams and the significant other held up at a meeting, the majority of us find time to go grocery shopping once a week before the family wakes up.

In many cases, you end buying more than you need and spending more than you can afford. What's worse, you don't end up using all your perishable food and it goes bad - and brown - in the fridge. Here are some tips straight from Martha Stewart's daily television show on ABC for keeping your vegetables fresh for days:

Lettuce: To keep a head of lettuce crisp for days, Martha suggests taking the lettuce apart, washing it, and spinning it very dry. Wrap the lettuce in a paper towel and a place the bulk in a plastic bag in your refrigerator. If you're feeling ambitious and want to try to hang on to that head of lettuce a few extra days, Martha says to follow the above steps, but keep the head in tact.

Mushrooms: Mushrooms are water-base vegetables, so to ensure they go don't soggy and moldy in your fridge, Martha says to plae them on a plate with a paper towel on top of the plate. Never put the put mushrooms in plastic bags.

Potatoes: If you're potato starts to sprout, it's time for a new potato. But there are ways to keep your potatoes lasting longer. Martha says to keep potatoes in a dark, cool place to ensure some extra days. In fact, the same rule applies to onions, garlic and shallots. And of course, Miss Martha has a decorating tip to boot: placing the potatoes, onions, shallots and other out-of-the-fridge vegetables in a bowl in the kitchen not only reminds you cook the food, but it makes for a nice decoration.
good in the kitchen, too!

Making the Best of a Crowded Gym

What's the most common New Year's resolution? To lose weight and get in shape! So before you go to the gym for your power workout, remember that gyms are usually most crowded during the early morning hours before work and in the evening, when many people head to the gym from work. While the easiest solution is to go to the gym during off-peak hours, that's not always realistic for many people, especially if you work 9-5. January is another problematic time of year for gym-goers because many people are working on their New Year's resolutions to get fit. The first six weeks of a new year is a notoriously crowded time at a gym. During this time, you can choose to skip the gym and work out elsewhere. Exercise outside or use fitness DVDs at your home.

If you'd rather brave the gym, many facilities offer sessions with personal trainers, some are even complimentary when you sign up. If you go to the gym during peak hours, try setting up a session with a personal trainer during that period so you are more likely to work out instead of stand around waiting for free equipment.

Try something new. If you usually run on the treadmill, but there is a free elliptical trainer, try it! If you've considered taking a yoga class and there happens to be one starting as you arrive at the gym, sign up and see if you've found a new exercise for the new year.

If you're joining a new gym and know you'll be there during peak hours, pay attention to whether machine time limits are enforced by gym employees. A typical time limit on most machines is 30 minutes.