PopSugar

Adzuki - The Most Magical Fruit of All

FitSugar — Wed, 24 Jan 2007 03:00:00 -0800

Beans, Beans, the magical fruit. The more you eat 'em, the more you - yeah yeah. We know.

But have you ever heard of adzuki ( also spelled aduki or azuki) beans? In Japan, these small reddish beans are the 2nd most popular legume after the soybean.

Like most beans, adzukis are rich in the best sort of fiber - soluble fiber - which helps to eliminate cholesterol from the body. They have 16.8g per cup (that's extra magical).

They are a good source of magnesium, potassium, iron, zinc copper, manganese, and vitamin B3.

As a high-potassium, low-sodium food, they help reduce blood pressure. And adzuki beans are higher in protein than most beans, containing 17g per cup. (Black beans contain 15g, pinto beans contain 14g, and kidney beans contain 13g.)

Not only are they low in fat, but when combined with grains, beans supply high quality protein which provides a healthy alternative to meat or other animal protein.

If you're looking to lose weight, eating beans may help - they make you feel full and take longer to digest, so you'll eat less.

Adzuki beans also contain protease inhibitors which frustrate the development of cancerous cells.

Beans are really nutritious, but the gaseous side-effects can cause you not to eat them. Want to avoid flatulence? Then read more

To avoid the gas, introduce beans into your diet gradually.
If you choose to use dried beans and soak them beforehand, THROW OUT the water after they've softened. Do NOT use the water to cook with as it is extremely gas-producing.
Choose beans that are easier to digest such as adzuki, black-eyed peas, and lentils. The hardest to digest are navy, lima, and whole cooked soybeans.
Cook beans with gas-reducing herbs such as a bay leaf, cumin, epazote, or kombu. Add 6 leaves or 2 tsp dry herb to the pot.
Avoid beans that are cooked with added sweeteners such as brown sugar, honey, or maple syrup - it could stress out your digestive system.
Try a digestive enzyme sprinkled on your beans. They help to break down the oligosaccharides before they reach the large intestine, which is where the flatulence problem begins.
Laugh about it. Everyone gets gas when they eat beans.

How Often Do You Support Small Businesses?

SavvySugar — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 06:00:49 -0700

It's a sad fact that the recession is bringing many family-run businesses to an end. Though exact stats are hard to pin down, the Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates that nearly 4.3 million businesses with 19 or fewer employees closed during 2007 and 2008. For many families, these small shops and restaurants are legacies - businesses that they've nurtured for decades, where generations have learned and passed along the family trade.

Since big names and chains dominated the city where I grew up, I always enjoyed the times I could find a unique, family-run place. There's something special about the people working there, who really know their stuff, and I always felt that there was something more authentic about my experiences in these stores.

Still, I recognize that there is a downside to shopping with smaller-run businesses. Often times, you can get a better deal shopping at a chain - there are likely more seasonal promotions, coupon savings, and discounts associated with big name retailers. And, of course, there's always the issue of convenience - finding a family-owned business off the beaten path can mean breaking your routine and sacrificing more of your time. But tell me, despite any drawbacks, do you make an effort to support your small local businesses?

Home Library: Living Large in Small Spaces

CasaSugar — Thu, 23 Aug 2007 10:45:42 -0700

Ironically, this book by Marisa Bartolucci and Radek Kurzaj about making do in small homes is astonishingly big: nearly 400 pages, to be exact. Living Large in Small Spaces: Expressing Personal Style in 100 to 1,000 Square Feet ($23.10) takes it name quite literally. Each chapter showcases a different living space, starting with a 100-square-foot dorm room and moving up in 50- or 100-foot increments until 1000 square feet never looked roomier.

The book is a must-have for anyone making creative use of limited space, but the homes contained within are so beautifully decorated, they could provide inspiration to anyone. You'll tour a tiny shotgun house in Houston, a 300-square-foot Manhattan apartment that manages to look classy despite being drenched in reddish orange, and designer Lotta Jansdotter's Victorian one-bedroom in San Francisco.

There are also countless ideas I've never seen before, and some I'll probably never see again, like a wet bar turned into a diaper-changing station and an old-timey boudoir with a bathroom sink. The trade-style paperback is also beautifully laid out and a joy to flip through.

How-To: Design Smart in Small Spaces

CasaSugar — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 11:00:27 -0700

Recently, I gave you a glimpse of a Calgary apartment that interior deisign firm Corea Sotropa renovated. One of the firm's specialties is designing for small spaces. Corea Sotropa was kind enough to share some tips for designing for small spaces. Want to see all of the firm's great advice? Then read more.

Here are a few tips from Corea Sotropa on designing for small spaces:

Choose common materials, fabrics and colour palette throughout all the rooms to bring unity to a small condo or house.
Fresh flower arrangements are a quick and inexpensive way to add luxury to a small space.
Ensure there is a place for everything - if there is not appropriate storage for everyday necessities like magazines or CDs a small space will quickly look messy.
Place accessories sparingly - overloading a small space with accessories will look cluttered.
Choose furniture pieces to suit the scale of the space. When down-sizing from a house to condo it is unlikely that you will be able to re-use many of your existing upholstered pieces due to this change in scale.

May Is Small Changes Month!

CasaSugar — Thu, 01 May 2008 16:00:43 -0700

April flowers bring small changes! That's right: May is Small Changes Month! All throughout the month, I'll be bringing you products, tips, and projects to help you make a difference in your home with minimal effort and cost. Minimal effort and cost, you say? What a lovely combination of words!? Expect to be reading about small ways you can incorporate color into your digs, how a little rearranging of your furniture can make a vast transformation, about accessories and furnishings that'll give your pad an entirely new look or function, or lighting solutions that will take a room from stage-ready to seduction-ready! Expect to be seeing a lot of Before and Afters, and prepare to submit your own as well. I'm not going to give any of my industry secrets away just yet, so you'll have to stay tuned if you want to make small changes in your home!
Source

Diet Tip: Good Things Don't Always Come in Small Packages

FitSugar — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 10:00:00 -0700

If you've been buying junk food in small packages in an effort to lose a few, you may be missing the mark.

Two new studies have found that people actually may consume more calories when the portions and packages are smaller. The idea is if there were a king-size candy bar sitting in front of you, most of us would pass on it. However, if there were a few mini candy bars, then most of us would indulge because they're smaller and we're programmed to believe that's better for us. I know that I, for one, am totally guilty of this. Sometimes I'll buy the fun-size bags of mini candies with good intentions of only eating one, and then I'll end up eating far more than one because they're so small.

I'm not saying don't indulge every once in a while, but just beware that even though the package is smaller, the contents are still the same.

Source

Can the Candidates Possibly Understand Small Town Voters?

CitizenSugar — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 07:57:51 -0700

I heard rumblings of the big Obama "bitter" comment all weekend and was about to dismiss it as a woefully insensitive characterization but relatively harmless tongue-trip - until I read the rest of the statement. At a closed door fundraiser in San Francisco last week, Obama said this of Pennsylvania voters reeling from job losses and broken political promises:

“[they] get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren’t like them or anti-immigrant sentiment or anti-trade sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations.”

To me it's not so much that he characterized the working class as gun-toting, bible-thumping, bigots - it's that he attributed those proclivities as a misguided response to very real challenges that rural voters are facing. The statement levels charges in my mind that Pennsylvania voters (in this instance) aren't politically sophisticated enough to understand the cause-and-effect of their circumstance. Are we to believe then that if a worker in Pennsylvania gets laid off his reaction is to hate people who "aren't like him?"

I'm not alone in my objection to Obama's notion. To see how, read more. A poll out this morning shows that 56 percent of Americans disagree with his statement, and 45 percent label it as "elitist." It's a curious turn as candidates have historically tried to embrace the stereotypical trappings of the non-urban as a way to assure voters that they're as far from elite as possible. Remember John Kerry in that Carhartt coat so stiff and shiny it looked like he'd just tucked the tag up his sleeve? I wasn't close to voting for him then, but that ridiculous attempt at commonality cemented his image as unsure of himself and pandering. So perhaps Obama's comment isn't so objectionable - maybe he is just being true to himself?

With Hillary out this weekend shooting whiskey and telling tales of hunting, is that behavior from candidates really what a rural voter wants? In order for a small town voter to make an informed decision, is it a prerequisite to see candidates fumble with a foreign hobby, as if voters were just sitting and whittlin' around the fire thinking, "Goldurnit, if that Hillary would just come out fer a shoot I'd think about goin' ahead and votin' fer her." As if a small town voter certainly wouldn't be able to parse the specifics of an economic policy - it might just get in the way of their hootenanny.

I grew up in a small town, where real people wear Carhartt because their jobs require it, and to them this election isn't about misplacing blame for their political or economic situation, as Obama would have you believe, or wanting a candidate to shoot whiskey with like Hillary. It's about real solutions and candidates speaking to them and understanding their situation - not mocking it or playing dress up and pretending like they do.

What do you think? Am I making a mountain out of a molehill?

Source

Big Dogs or Small Dogs?

PetSugar — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 17:30:27 -0700

While I made my choice for a Boston Terrier partially based on apartment space, I can think of breeds both big and small that I love. I have friends that strongly identify as "big dog" or "small dog" people – and frequently turn their noses up (or down) at the other – how about you?

Source

Bare Bones: Toys For Your Small Animal

PetSugar — Thu, 22 May 2008 16:00:39 -0700

Apparently it's toy mania here on PetSugar, 'cause I have yet another toy post for you today! With so many of you letting me in on your pet's toy collection, I think it's safe to say we have the doggies and kitties covered. But what about the little guys? I know there are more than a few rabbits, ferrets, and gerbils out there (to name a few) so they shouldn't be left out of the playtime fun. I've rounded up a few of my fave small animal toys, including this cute Race Track ($14) for hamsters! Just put your little critter in a specially matched toy car (complete with a running wheel) and off he goes - exercise plus fun equals one happy hamster!

Check out the rest of my fave small animal toys when you read more.

Win Tickets to Watch The Saturdays Perform Live In London!

PopSugarUK — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 08:30:00 -0800

Calling all UK-based Saturdays fans! To celebrate their new partnership with Impulse body spray "The Impulse Diaries", the girls are performing an exclusive gig in London and I've got two sets of three tickets for two lucky PopSugar Community members!

Simply leave a comment and you could win tickets to be part of the small audience at the show which will be held at London's Forum on the evening of Monday 7 December. The girls will perform their big hits as well as tracks from their new album, and the performance will be filmed for a special TV show! Please read the terms and conditions below carefully.

All you have to do to enter, is leave a comment before midnight (BST) on Sunday 29 November. Two winners will be selected at random to attend the gig with two guests each and will be contacted on Monday 30 November. You need to be a PopSugar Community member to enter, so if you're not already one and want to enter you MUST register for an account now. One entry per person; all repeat entries will be ignored. You must be logged in to make a comment and be eligible for the prize. Giveaway is open to UK residents aged 14 and over: please see the terms and conditions below for further rules regarding age requirements.

For terms and conditions, just read more.

Terms & Conditions

1. The Impulse Promotion is open to UK residents aged 14 and over.
2. If you are between the ages of 14 and 16 you must have obtained your parents' or guardian's consent before entering.
3. Each entrant may only enter the Competition once. No entrant may win more than one Prize.
4. Responsibility is not accepted for entries lost, damaged or delayed as a result of any network, computer hardware or software failure of any kind. Proof of sending will not be accepted as proof of receipt.
5. The tickets are not transferable, re-saleable or exchangeable. There is no cash alternative. The winner and attendee must be able to get to and from The Saturdays exclusive gig at the Forum in Kentish Town, London. If the winner or attendee is under the age of 18, a parent or guardian (over 21), must accompany them to, from and at the gig. To enter the gig, ticket holders must be at least 14 years old. The Promoter reserves the right to verify age of all ticket holders and refuse entry at the gig. The Promoter reserves the right to check that a parent or guardian (over 21) is present in a winners' group if one or more in the party is under 18. Anyone under the age of 18 who is attending the gig must have the permission of their parent(s) or guardian(s) to do so.
6. All winners will each be responsible for their own travel costs to attend The Saturdays gig and accommodation costs in London.
7. All entries will become the property of the Promoter. In consideration of the right to enter the Competition, each entrant automatically grants to the Promoter an irrevocable, non-exclusive, royalty-free, world-wide licence for the full period of copyright to use, reproduce, alter, adapt or sub-licence their entry in any media in perpetuity.
8. All prizes are subject to availability. In the event of unforeseen circumstances the Promoter reserves the right to substitute the prizes for alternatives of equal or greater value.
9. The Promoter shall not be liable for any loss, damage or consequential damage of any nature in contract, tort (including negligence) or otherwise caused by acceptance of the terms and conditions or in connection with the prizes (except to the extent that death or any personal injury occurs as a result of the negligence of the Promoter).
10. The Promoter reserves the right at its sole discretion to disqualify or withdraw the prize of any entrant found to be tampering with the voting process for the Competition or to be acting in any manner deemed by the promoter to be in violation of the Terms and Conditions.
11. To claim their prize, winners must confirm their attendance and names of their friends attending. If the prize is unclaimed after this time, it will lapse and the Promoter reserves the right to offer the unclaimed prize to a substitute winner selected in accordance with these Impulse Promotion rules.
12. The winners' details (name and county) will be made available on request to those writing to "The Impulse Promotion, Mindshare UK Ltd, 40, Strand, London WC2N5RF" within ten weeks after the closing date, enclosing an SAE. Each entrant consents to the use of their personal details in accordance with this clause.
13. Winners may be required to participate in publicity arising from the Impulse Promotion.
14. By entering the Impulse Promotion, all entrants will be deemed to have accepted and be bound by the rules and consent to the transfer of their personal data to the Data Controller for the purposes of the administration of this Promotion and any other purposes to which the entrant has consented. All entry instructions form part of the rules.
15. The Promoter reserves the right to amend these Terms and Conditions at any point during the Promotion if circumstances outside our control make this unavoidable. Any amendments will be explained at the top of these Terms and Conditions.
16. These terms and conditions shall be governed by English law and the courts of England and Wales shall have exclusive jurisdiction.
17. Prize draw is open to UK residents only.
18. Competition prize includes three tickets to an exclusive Saturdays performance on December 7, 2009 in London for each winner (two winners in total). No travel or accommodation is included. You MUST be able to get to London on December 7, 2009. No alternative prize will be offered if winner is unavailable.
19. One entry per PopSugar Community member.
20. The winning UK residents will be drawn at random on Monday 30 November, 2009.
Promoter and Data Controller: Unilever UK Limited, Unilever House Springfield Drive Leatherhead KT22 7GR

Good luck!

Critter-Operated Chopper ($17)	Dazzle Turn-About ($20)
Super Pet Crinkle Tunnel ($15)	Tear-riffic Tunnel ($2-$4)
Small Pet Fun Tunnel ($30)	Ware Nature Ball
Critter Ka-Bobs ($6-$14)	Bunny Flip and Toss Toys ($3)
Roll a Nest ($3-$10)	Super Pet Hamtrac Racetrack ($14)