This is the third part of the Healthy Nail Care series.

So, should you grow out your fingernails or keep them short? It really depends on what you’re going to be doing throughout your day. For example, if you type a lot, you may want to keep your nails short or else it will be hard to type. I’ll explain a few reasons why you might want to keep your fingernails short. If none of the following apply to you, feel free to grow out your nails.

Photo by dreamglow (flickr)

• If you play a musical instrument or type quite a bit on the computer, you might want to keep your fingernails short. You don’t want long nails interfering with what you love to do. Not only would you get frustrated, but your nail bed might start to ache if those fingernails keep tapping on the piano or keyboard.
• If you’re constantly prone to nail breakage or play loads of sports where your fingernails break easily, you may want to keep your nails short. If you grow out your fingernails and a few of them break, your nail lengths will just look uneven and odd. My suggestion would be to trim your nails to the same height as the one that broke to keep those nails consistent.
• If your nails are naturally very wide, they might look better short rather than long. However, it’s up to you and your preferences. You may also prefer short nails due to the “cute” look they provide if the right nail polish is used.

Overall, if you’re still not sure whether or not you should keep your nails long, experiment with them! Try taking a picture of how they look short, waiting until they grow out, and then taking a picture of how they look long. Compare the two images and, if you like your nails better long, keep them that way! If you don’t, trim them down.

For part 4 of the Healthy Nail Care series, well discuss healthy eating habits to grow long beautiful nails.

Healthy Nail Care

Intro, Part 1, Part 2, Part 3

Post Your Input

• What’s your preference?
• Do you like your nails short or long?

This is the second part of the Healthy Nail Care series.

Unfortunately, you can get infections and germs when you bite your nails. Not only can the nail biting habit spread infections, but it can also cause painful tears of your fingernails from their nail bed. Moreover, you can pick up nail fungus, warts around the nail bed, and various diseases from nail biting.

Most often than not, people who bite their nails are usually nervous or suffering from tension and anxiety. Over time of only biting nails when you’re nervous, you start to bite your nails unconsciously and the habit begins. Other causes of nail biting are stress, depression, and boredom.

As you know, in my article Stop Biting Your Fingernails, I mentioned five methods to stop the nail biting habit. Fortunately, I found another method that may help. Basically, you can stop nail biting by keeping a squishy ball close by. Every time you get an urge to bite your nails, occupy your hands instead with a squishy ball by squeezing it, rolling the ball between your palms, and so on. Soon you’ll end up forgetting all about your nail biting habit.

If worst comes to worse and you can’t possibly stop biting your fingernails, I would suggest cutting your nails short. You can’t bite your fingernails when there aren’t nails to chew right? So, you can keep those fingernails trimmed. I also had written an article on how short nails are beautiful, which may give you inspiration.

For part 3 of the Healthy Nail Care series, we’ll talk about how to decide if you should have your nails short or long. Good luck stopping that nail biting habit!

Healthy Nail Care

Intro, Part 1, Part 2, Part 3

Post Your Input

• What’s your experience with biting your nails?
• How did you stop the nail biting habit?

For today’s recipe of the week, we’ll discuss how to make banana pudding. Delicious! Stay tuned for next week’s recipe by subscribing to Salad Sticks.

I’m sure most of you are used to eating vanilla and chocolate pudding. Well, it’s time to surprise those taste buds! Last week we talked about how to make tasty banana cupcakes. This week I figured we could dive into the banana goodness some more by making delicious banana pudding. Time to get to work and start pampering that tongue of yours, for you’re in for a treat!

Photo by Arnold Gatilao (flickr)

Ingredients:

• 4-5 Ripe Bananas (chopped)
• 2 tablespoons of Butter
• 2/3 cup of Sugar
• 2 Eggs
• 2 cups of Milk
• 2 tablespoons of Self-rising Flour
• 1/8 tablespoon of Salt
• 1 teaspoon of Vanilla Extract
• 12-Ounce Package of Vanilla Wafers

Instructions:

1. Add the flour, sugar, and salt to a saucepan and stir the ingredients together. Set the saucepan aside.
2. Crack the eggs into a large bowl. Using an electric mixer, beat the eggs at high speed. Add milk to the mixture as well. Keep mixing the eggs and milk until the substance is smooth and foamy.
3. Pour the egg mixture into the saucepan you set aside earlier and place the saucepan on the stove. Cook the substance on medium and stir it occasionally. The mixture is done once it’s smooth and thick. Remove the saucepan from the stove and stir in the vanilla extract as well as the butter.
4. Alternate vanilla wafers and cut up bananas in a large bowl. Spread the mixture on top of the vanilla wafers/bananas. You can add various other layers to your banana pudding as well, like whipped cream, nuts, or chocolate chips. Enjoy the treat!

Post Your Input

• Did you like this recipe?
• How do you layer your banana pudding?

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Most of you know that there has been a poll up all last week asking readers how much they read novels on a daily basis. Well, the reading results are out! What pleasantly surprised me though was how many people read on a daily basis. While the majority of people do read books everyday, 17% of people read less than once a month and 8% of people read a few times a week.

Let’s take a look at what some of us had to say about reading.

Travis, author of the personal development blog Personal Web Guide, says, “I actually make it a POINT to read everyday… even if it’s something minor! Reading enriches the mind, and there’s nothing worse than having a poor vocabulary! …I don’t think it matters so much WHAT you read, but just that you DO read. It’s like strength training for your brain, and the more active you keep it, the more responsive it’s going to be.”

Walter, author of the web development blog Lion Slinger, states,”I love to read. Reading is a learning experience. It has expanded my horizon and gave me some wisdom about life. Experience is the best teacher but reading comes in the second best.”

Both Travis and Walter are dead on when they discuss the benefits of reading. Reading improves your mind and exposes you to new experiences. Reading also has so many other benefits not yet discussed. So, we’ve heard that picking up a good book increases your vocabulary and thinking frequency, improving your mental processes. But did you know that reading improves your concentration, self-esteem, memory, and creativity?

Reading Improves Concentration

When you read, you’re forced to focus on certain things happening within the book for long periods of time. Sure, magazines and the Internet are all well and good. But did you ever pick up a magazine that had a story more than a few chapters long? I doubt it. This is where books come in. Novels actually train your mind to concentrate on events happening in the book for as long as the book is being read. So, if you have a child that can’t seem to concentrate on school work, you should set up a time each day for him/her to sit down and read a book. In a few weeks you’d be surprised how much your child has improved in his/her classes!

Reading Boosts Self-esteem

Every time you pick up a book, you gain a little bit of knowledge. Your confidence also increases because you gain knowledge. Other individuals may even begin to seek you out for answers due to the fact that you’re well read. In return, your self-esteem bursts and you feel a powerful sense of pride.

In a way, reading can help people suffering from depression because of the amazing self-esteem boost. Reading can also give these depressed individuals a way out of their everyday lives, calming them down as they step into a whole new world of their liking. I know that when I was facing depression, reading was one of the first things I turned to in order to ease my stress. And you know what? I can safely say that reading has helped me a lot in this sense throughout the years.

Reading Encourages Memory

When you read, your brain is at work and you’re required to remember the events happening in the book. For example, you’ll need to remember the plot, characters, and character personalities if you ever plan to get far in the novel. Since the book insists that you remember such details, your memory expands.

Reading Increases Creativity

When you read, you learn new things and ideas. You’re exposed to other ways of thinking, different points of view, and various aspects of life. Because your current view is challenged, reading encourages you to reach outside your boundaries. This results in an increase of creativity.

So, as you can see, reading is very beneficial to the human mind. All you have to do now is grab a few books and do your homework. Yep, you do have homework.

Homework

We all learned the various advantages reading a simple book has in store for us. So why would we let this knowledge go to waste? If you were one of those people who don’t read daily, your homework is to grab a book that you think you’ll enjoy and read a few chapters in that book every day for a week. Then, come back here and tell us your experiences. Did you feel as though you benefited from reading the book at all? Did you enjoy the reading activity? Do you think you’ll read more in the future? Good luck and have fun reading!

Post Your Input

• What do you think about the poll results?
• What have you learned during your homework experience?

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This is the first part of the Healthy Nail Care series.

So, you’ve been using artificial fingernails for years. Should you really give them up after all this time? As you know, in an earlier article I wrote on how to grow long healthy nails, I mentioned artificial nails and some negative aspects of them. Most women who wear artificial fingernails don’t know how dangerous these nails can be. They just enjoy the nice designs and how long the artificial nails make their fingernails look. I can’t blame them. However, artificial nails are damaging and not only to the natural nails underneath. Let’s take a look at some of the disadvantages of artificial fingernails.

Photo by Louise (flickr)

High Cost

Some places charge 30 bucks for a full set of artificial nails put on. Let’s do the math, shall we? If you go back to have your nails done every two weeks, then you would be spending 780 bucks a year. Costly, isn’t it? Wouldn’t you rather spend your money on other more important things, especially when you can just grow out your own natural nails and paint them yourself?

Bacteria and Fungi Infections

If you don’t care for your artificial nails correctly, you may end up with bacteria infections on or around your fingernail. These bacteria infections especially like to show up if your real nails get damaged in some kind of way. Also, if the fake nail lifts up from your natural nail at the base and you reapply the artificial nail without the proper cleaning, dirt can get in and the dirt will create the perfect environment for those nasty bacteria and fungi to grow. Fungi can also grow if the artificial nail stays on for more than 3 months. Yikes!

Fingernail Ripping

Sometimes, because of the shape of artificial nails, people like to use them as tools to clean things or take the place of a screwdriver. Doing so can result in bad consequences, such as a large chunk of the real nail underneath being ripped from the nail bed. Often times, the fake fingernail is more strongly attached to your real nail underneath. So when you misuse your artificial nails, instead of those artificial nails ripping from your natural nails, your real nail painfully disconnects from the nail bed.

Phototoxic Reaction

If you’re getting some gel-sculptured fingernails (nails that require curing with a UV light) put on and you’re taking photosensitizing medications, you may want to be careful. The bright light needed to cure the nail will sometimes cause a phototoxic reaction with your nail bed, and that’s not pretty.

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If you are truly not convinced or ready to let go of those artificial nails, by all means keep getting them put on. Some people are able to wear artificial fingernails and not experience any of these risks at all. Even so, you should know that there are chances of having any one of these disadvantages happen to you.

For part 2 of the Healthy Nail Care series, we’ll discuss why the nail biting habit is unhealthy and what to do about it.

Healthy Nail Care

Intro, Part 1, Part 2, Part 3

Post Your Input

• How do you feel about artificial nails?

Have you ever longed for long beautiful fingernails? If you’re a woman, you most likely have. For this reason, most women spend loads of money on artificial nails so that their own fingernails would appear longer than they actually are. With school coming up pretty soon, you’re probably planning on which salon to go to next to have those fake nails, in all their brilliance, strapped onto your fingers. Hold on though. I have a few questions you may consider thinking about before you make that next appointment. Would you believe me if I told you that you could forget about those artificial nails and throw those fake nail kits in the wastebasket? What if I told you that you could actually grow out your own fingernails?

Photo by Hoa Dang (flickr)

Considering how well we did in the past with our previous series Start College on the Right Foot, I figured it’s just about time for our next series Healthy Nail Care. In this series, we’ll discuss:

• The dangers of artificial nails
• Why the nail biting habit is unhealthy and what to do about it
• How to decide if long nails are right for you
• Eating habits to keep your nails healthy
• My secret to nail growth
• Further tips on how to grow out your fingernails
• How to groom and file your fingernails right
• Fancy nail polish ideas
• For a bonus, I may even throw in famous celebrities and their nail growth tips

I hope you enjoy this series as much as you did the last one. The next post in the series will begin tomorrow. Why don’t you subscribe to Salad Sticks so that you don’t miss out on any new posts?

Intro, Part 1, Part 2, Part 3

Post Your Input

• What else should I include in this nail care series?

I’m going to do something new for the blog Salad Sticks. For now on, we’ll have a recipe of the week. Each Monday, I’ll talk about a new recipe, and your job will be to try out this recipe sometime during the week. I hope you enjoy it!

For today’s recipe of the week, we’ll discuss how to make banana cupcakes. Yum! Stay tuned for next week’s recipe by subscribing to Salad Sticks.

You’ve all most likely read my article on how to peel a banana without strings, but have you ever considered what you might do with that banana other than eating it of course? There are a variety of fun recipes you can make using bananas and, as we all know, there’s nothing better than making a cupcake out of real fruit! You can also reap the benefits of dark chocolate by adding dark chocolate chips to the recipe. Surely you can’t get any more delicious than that!

Photo by joyosity (flickr)

Ingredients:

• 1 Ripe Banana (mashed)
• 1/2 cup of Butter
• 1/2 cup of Sugar
• 2 Eggs
• 1 teaspoons of Vanilla Extract
• 1/2 cup of Warm Milk
• 2 cups of Flour
• 1 teaspoon of Baking Powder
• 3/4 teaspoon of Baking Soda
• 1/2 teaspoon of Salt
• 1/2 teaspoon of Almond Extract
• Nutella Hazelnut Spread
• 1/4 cup of Dark Chocolate Chips (optional)

Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit (175 degrees Celsius)
2. Take a whole banana, cut it into slices, put the slices in a bowl, and mash it with a fork until the banana is a smooth mixture. Set the bowl off to the side.
3. Take out a large bowl. Mix the sugar and butter together in the bowl. Then add in the eggs, vanilla extract, almond extract, and mashed banana you set aside earlier. Put this bowl aside.
4. In another bowl, add 1/3 of the flour, 1/2 of the milk, and mix it all together well. Then, add another third of the flour, the rest of the milk, and the last 1/3 of flour. Mix the ingredients together until they’re well combined.
5. Dump the bowl filled with flour and milk into the other bowl with the extracts and mashed banana. Mix in the baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Stir it all together. If you wanted the dark chocolate chips in your cupcake, now is the time to mix it in.
6. Put cupcake liners in your pan and fill up the liners a little more than halfway with the mixture.
7. Put the pan into the oven. Bake the cupcakes for 20-22 minutes. Put a toothpick in a cupcake and, if it comes out clean, the cupcake is ready to come out of the oven.
8. Once the cupcakes are out of the oven, put them on a cooling rack to allow the cupcakes to cool off a bit. Put some Nutella Hazelnut Spread on the top of each cupcake and you’re ready to serve! Enjoy.

Post Your Input

• Did you like this recipe?
• How do you like to make your banana cupcakes?

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Last week we discussed what types of milk people drink. This week I wanted to talk about how much reading everyone does on a regular basis. When I say reading, I mean regular books that you would pick up at a library or a book store.

Books have been around for centuries. I thought it would be interesting to find out, after all these years, how much interest people have on reading. Like with the milk poll, I will write a follow up result post and talk a bit about the subject of reading.

The contribution we got for last week’s poll was outstanding. I hope we do just as well, if not better, with this week’s poll on reading. Please express your views in the comment section. Do you enjoy reading? If not, why? I will include a few quotes from what you put down, so include your name and website where it’s appropriate.

So How Much Do You Read?

I’m excited to see the thoughts you have on reading. Don’t forget to subscribe to Salad Sticks so you don’t miss next week’s upcoming post. After all, you might find your quote published!

Post Your Input

• How often do you read?
• Do you enjoy reading?

Now it’s time for what you’ve all been waiting for: The dreaded milk results! As most of you know, I’ve been running a poll the past week on the favorite kinds of milk people drink. Results have actually tied between whole milk and 2% low fat milk. Skim milk/non-fat milk came in a close second and 1% low fat milk came in third.

Whole Milk

Alright, everyone’s favorite (or at least mine): The big bad whole milk. Whole milk is suggested for children to help build strong bones and increase strength. This is simply because whole milk offers children the calories and fat they need to help growth and brain development. Whole milk also doesn’t taste watered down like most of the other dairy milks, so picky eaters will most often prefer the taste of whole milk than anything else.

On the other hand, whole milk is usually not recommended for people trying to lose weight, since whole milk is high in calories.

Low Fat Milk

Being another favorite, let’s talk about 2% low fat milk. Most of you know that low fat milk generally has fewer calories than whole milk does. In fact, according to About.com, 2% low fat milk has 30 fewer calories in an 8 ounce serving of milk than whole milk. 1% low fat milk has 50 fewer calories than whole milk in a serving!

However, as I mentioned before, low fat milk usually tastes more watered down. Another thing to note: Because low fat milk doesn’t have as much calories as whole milk, it’s not recommended for toddlers who need the calories to grow.

Skim Milk/Non-fat Milk

I noticed that many of you prefer skim milk in your diet. Skim milk is known to not have any grams of fat at all and only has 80 calories in an 8 ounce serving of milk. That beats whole milk by 70 calories! So, as you can see, skim milk is the ideal choice for those who want to lose weight.

The disadvantage of skim milk is pretty much the same as low fat milk. It’s just not recommended for toddlers and those that need the fat because of the lack of calories.

Soy Milk versus Almond Milk

Now that we’ve gone over the major milk preferences, let’s talk about soy and almond milk.

Both soy and almond milk are generally preferred by people who are lactose intolerant because the two kinds of milk are lactose-free. Soy and almond milk also offer basically the same, if not better, nutrient value as cow’s milk. However, there’s been mixed controversy as to whether soy milk or almond milk tastes better.

Sweetappono says, “I primarily drink soy milk. While I do like the benefits soy protein provides, I drink it more because I prefer the taste over regular milk. The Silk brand in particular is very good. They have both vanilla and chocolate flavors and the “very vanilla” tastes like liquid tapioca pudding. It’s delicious!”

On the other hand, Holiday, author of the lifestyle blog Holiday Honey, exclaims, “I drink almond milk…! I love it. I think it’s better than soy, and definitely better than cow’s.”

But what’s the difference between soy milk and almond milk? Let’s find out.

Soy milk does pretty well with lowering cholesterol and is rich in dietary fiber. If that isn’t enough, soy milk is low in saturated fat and sodium, which are nutrients you’ll want to stay away from. Most cow’s milk contains a protein called casein, which can present an allergic reaction for some people. Not soy milk!

There are two main concerns, though, when drinking soy milk.

Dr. E., author of the health blog Doctor Ellisor states firmly, “Avoid the soy. Try almond, rice, hazelnut, etc. Instead, don’t believe the hype about soy. It is not meant for human consumption. Also soy milk is a highly processed food that actually blocks the absorption of important minerals and other nutrients in your digestive system.”

Dr. E. is quite right! The first main concern about soy milk is that it’s high in phytic acid, which decreases the chances you’ll absorb needed vitamins and minerals. Another big downfall to men is that soy milk affects the production of sperm because of its high level of phytoestrogen. Phytoestrogen also decreases your testosterone levels.

What surprised me, though, was how many people drink almond milk. However, looking at the health benefits, I can kind of see why. Almond milk has no antibiotics and growth hormones, which often cause certain types of cancer. One of the best nutrient facts is that almond milk only has 40 calories in a serving. That beats skim milk and every other non-dairy milk!

So, Should I Change What Type of Milk I Drink?

Not at all! If you want to, go ahead. The main focus of this blog post was to inform readers on the various interesting facts of milk. I also found the poll results to be very interesting! If you want to switch milk types, feel free to do so. However, it’s your choice either way.

Post Your Input

• What did you find interesting about the milk poll results?
• Is there any other interesting facts you can tell us about milk?

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Do you like potatoes? How about salad? Wonderful, because today we’re going to learn how to make delicious, mouth watering potato salad! It’s simple to make, yes, but it’s also very tasty! Potato salad is a great treat for barbecues or family dinners. Potato salad is also a fabulous alternative to regular salad with lettuce and fruit salad. I understand that many people have their own versions of the perfect potato salad, so I’m just going to share mine. I hope you enjoy!

Photo by Roland Tanglao (flickr)

Ingredients:

• 6-8 Red Potatoes
• 4 Large Eggs
• 1/2 of a White or Red Onion (diced)
• Jar of Green Olives
• 2 teaspoons of Salt
• 2 cups of Mayonnaise
• 1/2 teaspoon of Celery Seed
• 1/2 teaspoon of Fresh Ground Black Pepper
• 3/4 cup of Celery (chopped)
• 1/2 cup of Red Bell Pepper (chopped)
• 2 tablespoons of Fresh Parsley (chopped)
• Pickles (chopped)

Instructions:

1. Wash the potatoes, peel them if you want, and cut them up into bite-sized pieces. Put the potatoes in a large pot and fill the pot with enough water to pass the potatoes by a few inches.
2. Put the pot on the stove and turn the stove on medium to high heat. Add a pinch of salt to the pot and let the water boil.
3. Put the eggs in another pot, fill the pot up with water so that the water completely covers the eggs, and boil the eggs on medium to high heat on the stove. Leave the eggs in for 15 minutes.
4. While the eggs and potatoes are boiling, start cutting up the onions, olives, pickles, red bell pepper, and parsley. Put these ingredients off to the side.
5. Drain the eggs and fill the pot with ice cold water. Let the eggs sit there for a bit until they cool down.
6. Take a fork and stick it into a potato to see if it’s soft. If the potato is, drain the potatoes and put them in a large bowl.
7. Take the eggs out of the cold water, peel them, and chop them up. Add the eggs to the bowl of potatoes, along with the mayonnaise and celery seed. Stir well.
8. Add the salt and fresh ground pepper. Mix good.
9. Now, add the celery, olives, red bell pepper, pickles, onions, and parsley to the bowl. Mix it all in.
10. You’re done! Now you can either let the potato salad sit in the refrigerator to cool or serve it warm. Enjoy!

Check out How to Make Mouth Watering Potato Salad on eHow!

Post Your Input

• Did you like this recipe?
• How do you make your potato salad?