You’d be surprised by just how powerful the following multi-tasking superfoods are and best of all how great they taste, how young they can make you look and feel, and more importantly how few calories are in them. Best of all the superfoods you should be eating are easy to find in your local grocery or farmer’s market.

Berries, Berries and More Berries
All berries, especially blueberries, blackberries, raspberries and strawberries are rich in fiber which is essential for a healthy digestive system and also encourages weight loss. Raspberries provide the highest content of fiber at a robust 8 grams a cup, and also contain ellagic acid, a substance that has anti-cancer attributes. A cup of blueberries has 4 grams and is loaded with antioxidants called anthocyanins, that helps keep the memory sharp as we age. One cup of strawberries has 3 grams of fiber and over a full day’s suggested dose of vitamin C, a skin firming, overall health boosting supplement.

Broccoli
It just doesn’t get much better when it comes to a power packed superfood than Broccoli which is packed with vitamins A, C and K (enhances bone health) and folate. Broccoli also provides a wholesome serving of sulforaphane, which has been shown to combat cancer by stimulating the body’s detoxing enzymes.

Fiber Rich Beans
Beans are an excellent source of iron (about 13 mg in a 3/4 cup), Beans also provide a healthy dose of fiber with most of it being the soluble kind that is known to benefit blood cholesterol levels. Navy beans along provide 7 grams of fiber in only 1/2 a cup.

Heart Healthy Nuts
Heart Healthy nuts are an abundant source of unsaturated fats. Walnuts are one of the best nut choices because of their alpha-linolenic acid (ALA) levels which is an omega 3 fatty acid that has been known to improve moods and boost heart health. Walnuts high mono and polyunsaturated fat levels in most cases reduces “bad” LDL cholesterol levels and helps maintain healthy “good” HDL cholesterol levels.

The Perfect Protein Source; Eggs
Eggs are the perfect protein source can even give your breakfast more staying power as well, leaving you more satisfied throughout the day. Even if you are required to keep an eye on the amount of cholesterol you consume, an egg a day will more than likely accommodate into your dietary plans. Egg yolks contain zeaxanthin and lutein, both antioxidants that support eye health and have been linked to reducing the risk of age related eye issues like macular degeneration. In Addition lutein is said to project the skin from the aging ravages of UV damage.

Eat Oranges
Oranges are a fantastic source of vitamin C, with a single orange containing a full day’s supply and is high in folate and fiber. Vitamin C is essential for generating white blood cells and the antibodies necessary for fighting off infections. Vitamin C also protects cells from the free radical damage, and helps produce collagen, a skin firming component.

Sweet Potatoes
Sweet potatoes contain alpha and beta carotene which your body transforms into an active variety of vitamin A which helps keep your immune system, bones and eyes healthy. A single sweet potato (around a 1/2 cup) provides almost 4 times the daily recommended amount of vitamin A, B6, C, lutein, manganese, potassium and zeaxanthin, and it contained phytochemicals also work as antioxidants that fight cancer causing and aging free radicals

If you have an occasion coming up where you need to buy a little something for a foodie-friend and are stuck for ideas; here’s your go to gift guide to the perfect culinary-inspired buys! These cute and creative kitchen accessories are guaranteed pride of place amongst the metal and plastic of any kitchen setting. Read on for ways to impress even those with even the most discerning tastes!

Image: ChefSteps

Ceramic Knife Set

No good chef should be without these staple tools of the trade! A set of ceramic kitchen knives not only look divinely stylish but are around sixty times more resistant than steel knives. Whilst they are slightly more delicate when it comes to bumps and knocks; these high quality kitchen accessories are much sharper and much more effective than your average metal block. They are crafted from zirconium ceramic; which is the most durable material known to man after diamond. They are stain and rust proof, and guaranteed to bring a whole new level of efficiency to food preparation!

Fondue Set

When it comes to entertaining nothing brings people together like sharing a fondue at a get together. Whether it’s cheese or chocolate you prefer to dip your nibbles in; a cast iron fondue set will serve as a favorite party accessory for any occasion. This makes a tasty and innovative alternative to buffet foods and is surprisingly low effort when it comes to preparation. So grab a fork and get sharing!

Mortar and Pestle

For those who love a rustic touch to their kitchen, a high quality mortar and pestle will be a welcome addition! A heavy duty marble hewn unit will hold its own as it’s in use; preventing any haphazard herb explosions in the kitchen. These traditional and charming accessories can be used to grind herbs, peppercorns and dry ingredients to create beautiful seasoning combinations. Pharmacies and apothecaries traditionally used this method to create medicines.

Image: Structures:NYC

Crème Brûlée Gift Set

Every chef’s kitchen should be equipped with its own blowtorch! This set includes a tempting cookbook of creamy dessert recipes and a set of ceramic ramekins. Now this traditional dish can be enjoyed at home rather than exclusively at fancy restaurants! For extra brownie points accompany your gift set with heat proof mats and a table protector for those who aren’t a dab hand with the blowtorch just yet!

Spice Rack

This is a great opportunity to show off your eye for design! There are so many nifty and unusual spice rack designs on the market and this is a much better storage alternative than having them all hidden away in a cupboard. Here are just a few ideas to get you inspired!

This great storage idea will ensure that important ingredients are always to hand whilst making a design statement.

Do you have any unique gift suggestions for Chefs and food-enthusiasts? Comment below to share your ideas!

Elise Lévêque is a freelance blogger and food enthusiast. She has a significant cupcake weakness and writes for Wipe-Easy Tablecloths.

Keeping our bodies fit and our minds healthy even at middle age is easier than it seems. Keeping up with kids, stress at work and caring for aging parents take a toll on the way we take care of ourselves. Exercising the mind and body will not only have great short term effects but will also last into our senior years, especially if it becomes a long term routine.

1. Stretching- It keeps your body toned and able to keep up with a broad range of activities from playing with your kids to gardening. A little goes a long way too; 15 minutes of stretching everyday will keep up your range of motion and your body active.

2. Puzzles- Exercise is not just for your body. Spending time doing word puzzles, will keep your brain sharp and helps prevent Alzheimers in old age.

3. Reading- Curling up with a good book will actually force you to set apart some time quiet and alone which will decrease stress and

also stimulate the brain. Reading a book with a group or a friend will also give you a chance for some great conversation.

4. Walking- Not only will walking give you physical exercise, it will also exercise your brain. Walking for 45 minutes a day, 4 days a week will increase blood flow to the brain making it healthier and stronger.

5. Drinking a Glass of Wine- It will lower the risk of heart disease, stroke, diabetes and help keep your bones strong.

6. Developing Relationships- This will keep you young at heart and lowers stress. Have a chat on the phone, go on a picnic, start a family heirloom project with people you love…feeling awesome isn’t just about staying physically healthy!

7. Drinking Water- Staying hydrated is the first step to keeping your body in working order. It’s also the zero calorie beverage. Swap out the soda, tea or juice drinks at each meal and just watch the weight drop.

8. Developing a Hobby- Learning a new skill or developing an old one will give your brain a good workout and will give you something to feel good about. Try planting a small vegetable or flower garden, scrapbook your kids photos that have piled up in boxes or in files on your computer, volunteer, or  learn a language.

9. Swimming- How many little old ladies do you see at the gym in their bathing suits and goggles doing laps around the pool? Swimming is the ultimate low-impact exercise because the water is easy on joints and aching bodies that make it difficult to run on a treadmill or go for long periods of time on the elliptical. Your heart rate is constantly going and the water resistance is great for toning muscles. Combined with daily stretching, swimming will get you ready for bathing suit weather in no time.

10. Cycling- Not just at the gym. Get on an actual bicycle and roam around your neighborhood. Take your kids and make it a family affair. Cycling is a great way to get your heart rate up and will keep your endurance up. Make cycling a 2-in-1 if you are at the gym and bring a book along for the ride!

It’s always hard to find time, but if losing weight is your goal, consider all of the factors that keep one healthy…body and mind. Of course, healthy meals are a big part of staying healthy too!

Mariel, MagicKitchen.com Blogger

The holidays are a time for great food, cheerful Christmas decorations and spending quality time with your family and friends. There really is no other holiday that is as universally enjoyed as the Christmas season, particularly for the kids who are thrilled to stay goodbye to school for awhile, sleeping in, eating great food and getting into the holiday spirit.

Preparation plays a big part in getting ready for all the families get togethers, shopping for or making gifts and filling the house with Christmas decorations. Why not encourage the kids to play a part in the preparations? It’s the perfect time of year for the entire family to get in on the holiday fun. Following are just a few of fun things to do with the kids during the Christmas season.

Making the Holiday Goodies
Get the kids involved in preparing the holiday treats from everyone’s favorite snicker doodles and Christmas pies to holiday cutout cookies. Christmas cutout cookies are always good for a night filled with fun, creativity and of course tasting the yummy treats you’ve created together. Before the special cookie decorating extravaganza, have the kids help cut out the cookies, bake them, and then freeze until you’re ready to decorate. When you’re ready to begin, just line the dining table with a plastic table cloth, put out all the sprinkles, candies and colored icings and have fun!

Handmade Christmas Decorations
A wonderful project to do as a family is making special Christmas decorations together and dating them in honor of the year. There are worlds of ideas out there from buying ready made ornaments to paint, to purchasing Styrofoam shapes and attaching gum drops or just about anything you want from ribbons to family photos, to sequins or your favorite Christmas image. You can even use white paper and cut out snowflake shapes or make stockings out of felt and just about anything else; all you need is your imagination and a few craft supplies.

Christmas Holiday Outings
The Christmas season always comes with a lot of special family friendly things to do together. One of our favorites is piling into the car and visiting local neighborhoods showcasing elaborate Christmas light displays. Most local Zoos and botanical gardens also light their venues for the holidays with breathtaking displays. Other popular activities are dressing up and going to see a production of the Nutcracker, hitting the mall for photos with Santa or caroling through the neighborhood.

Toys for Tots
One of the best things you can do for your children is show them how to help the less fortunate during the holidays. Programs like Toys for Tots and other community held efforts always pop up this time of year, giving you the opportunity to teach your children the art of giving.

Christmas is a happy holiday season for most of us from the kids eagerly looking forward to being out of school for a bit, to the little ones excited about a visit from Santa, to parents and friends looking forward to spending time together, sharing a meal and a smooth cup of egg nog. What truly make the Christmas holidays special however is creating memories with the kids.

Cheryl, MagicKitchen.com blogger

Here are ten ideas for perfect Christmas gifts for that hard-to-buy-for senior in your life. You love them, you want to give them a gift, but they either have everything or they have downsized and don’t want anything else. So what can you give them?

1. A Smart Finder – this little device helps you find keys, books, glasses, whatever you might have lost in a senior moment.

2. Talking Wireless BBQ and Oven Thermometer – it gets harder to see small text as you get older. This eliminates the need.

3. Jigsaw Puzzle of the Month Club – Does your favorite senior love jigsaws? Keep them going all year with this gift.

4. MagicKitchen.com Gift Certificate – Delicious healthy meals delivered.

5. The Hurrycane – does your senior have arthritis, or another reason to need a cane? This is a new cane design they might just love.

6. Original Painting of their home – are your grandparents justifiably proud of their home?  They might love an original watercolor of that home.

7. Learn to drive Steam Train – Is your senior a train buff? Give them the thrill of actually driving a steam train with this “your hand on the throttle” experience.

8. Give a gift card that can be redeemed for things you can do with them.

9. Pikstik – For anyone who has problems reaching down or reaching things on a top shelf, this clever gadget is a must.

10. Gift of Service – There may be chores your elderly person can’t do. Make a gift of coming over weekly to mow the lawn, shovel the walk when it snows, or rake the leaves. You’ll be guaranteed a big thank you, and probably cookies!

Melody, MagicKitchen.com blogger

“Roses are red.  Violets are blue.  But I’d rather have cookies.  Wouldn’t you, too?”

That might not be the way you remember this little rhyme, but let’s face it — a lot of people feel this way.  Flowers are nice, but are they really worth the money?  A tie lasts a long time – which is part of the problem if you don’t love it.  Perfume?  Headache-inducing.  A gift card? Impersonal.

Ready for the oven Apple Raisin Strudel

Which leads us to another literary reference.  Who said the best way to a man’s heart is through his stomach?  Whoever it was, they were a genius, although perhaps it is a bit sexist.  After all, isn’t the best way to anyone’s heartthrough their stomach?  And well, desserts are just the cherry on top – far surpassing any other food.

So where do you go to get gift desserts?  Some people would make a beeline to the candy store, but while there’s no doubt that chocolates are divine, they don’t really count as dessert.

What we’re really taking about is cookies, cakes, pies and puddings.  They’re referred to as “scrumptious desserts” on mostlydesserts.com, a website devoted to the truly delectable.

You could spend hours baking your own, but then you’d still need to package up this fragile surprise and send it off as expediently as possible.  So why not just save one big step and go straight to mostlydesserts.com? Here, all you have to do is find the dessert of your dreams and click.  There you’ll see, for better or worse, the ingredients and calorie count.  (I don’t recommend making that information part of the gift card).

Panna Cotta with Raspberry Sauce

Desserts are the perfect choice for almost anyone – from your grandma to your graduate, Boss’s Day or baby shower, and even your own true love.  Especially your own true love.

Desserts are not just a path to someone else’s heart; they’re a gift straight from yours.  They’re unique.  They’re fun.  They can be shared with family and friends or savored in solitude.  Yum.

They’re truly the perfect gift.  And if the giftee doesn’t like desserts?  Well then, you’ll just have to eat it yourself, won’t you?

Guest blog- Senior Living

Rugulach- delicate pastry around sweet, nutty fillings

1. Diapers. You may think that you got plenty of diapers for your baby shower but those will only last so long! You will only be able to take advantage of the newborn size for what seems like a heartbeat and even if you got 60, 3-tier diaper cakes, you’re going to need to have at least one package of each size on hand just in case one day you find they just don’t fit!
2. Two diaper bags, if not more. You really think you’re only going to need one diaper bag? It might seem silly to register for more than one diaper bag, but if you have two packed and ready to go at a moment’s notice, once you have your baby at home it will save you tons and tons of time (and sanity). Whether you store your extra bag in the hall closet, or in your backseat, make sure it is stocked with a spare change of clothes or three, bottles, blankets, diapers (of course) , powdered formula, teething biscuits, a toy or two and just to stay really well prepared, a spare dose of headache medicine for you.
3. Absorbent pads-so many absorbent pads that you think you will never need them all! But you will…
4. Housekeeping. Whether you enlist a family member or friend or a professional service, you will definitely need some help with the housework. Trust me, it is not too much to ask to have someone come and help out with a load of sheets, vacuum or a little bathroom scrub. There are low-cost private companies who will try to fit your budget too if you don’t feel like accepting help from your well-meaning family and friends.
5. Dinner. While you are spending all of your time making sure your little one has everything they need and the steady stream of meals that were overflowing your refrigerator have now dwindled down, look into a meal delivery service like MagicKitchen.com. Frozen, prepared meals that will make dinner so much easier to prepare-just heat and eat.  They stay in the freezer so when you need a little help getting dinner done, trust that you will have something tasty and healthy to go to.

  Mariel, MagicKitchen.com blogger