Mom's Present

Do you have plans for Mother's Day yet? We think simplicity is the way to go.
Here are 2 great ideas to cook together with your kids for such special day: simple, beautiful and healthy!

Vegetable Flower

Slice veggies such as radish and cucumbers, and decorate with carrots, basil or spinach leaves and celery. Serve with a ranch dip! Yumm!

Fruit Flower

Just cut a few fruits such as banana, kiwi, strawberries, raspberries, licorice and mint leaves. Assemble them on a white plate. Mom will love it!

Source: Disney Family Fun

Latest Update

From Maurice Morita: LINE DANCING CLARIFICATION

"We would rather be ruined than changed; We would rather die in our dread. Than climb the cross of the moment, and let our illusions die."

We have line dancing at the following sites:  Washington Middle - Moiliili Community Center - Aliamanu Elementary - Waipahu Visayan Hall - Waipahu August Ahrens - Aliamanu Middle

We have members who only take our line dancing class - these members pay $5.00 membership fee for one calendar year Jan to Dec 2011 / We are asking the line dancers to make a donation of $5.00 to the dance location you are taking line dancing classes at every quarter

For members who register for our two dance class instructions at the same dance location, there is no fee if you want to take the line dancing class

2ND QUARTER DANCE CLASSES

The Dance Hawaii Board of Directors decided to go back to our traditional potluck social at the end of the quarter & will be decided at each dance location. The part that is missing without the potluck social is the "SOCIALIZING" - Getting to know each other. If the dance location decides to have a potluck social, it will be on an extra day your dance class in held. For example, if Dance Honolulu decides to have a potluck social, it will be on the following dates:

Dance Honolulu: Monday, June 27
Dance Aliamanu: Tuesday, June 7
Dance Moliilii: Tuesday, June 7
Dance Hawaii Kai: Tuesday, May 31
Dance Waipahu: Wednesday, June 2nd
Dance Aliamanu: Thursday, June 9th

"Dance Amore" By Dean Martin

We will provide a sign up sheet for each dance location.
Each dance location will be responsible for paper goods (plates, forks, napkins) / drinks (coffee/soda/etc) / serving utensils. Dance Hawaii will continue to thank our instructors by our gift certificates to various dining establishments

"He that will not apply new remedies must expect new evils;

for time is the greatest innovator."

14 steps to a healthy summer diet!

Here are some other useful lifestyle tips you can follow to beat the summer heat.

1. Water is the best option to quench thirst.
It is a key ingredient in keeping the body cool. With high humidity levels, sweat will not evaporate quickly. This prevents the body from releasing heat in an efficient manner. This is why it is necessary to hydrate and drink water, even when you are not thirsty. Increase water intake regardless of your activity levels.


2. Avoid caffeinated or carbonated beverages, alcoholic beverages, and those high in sugar.

All these drinks contain preservatives, colours and sugars. They are acidic in nature and act as diuretics. They cause loss of fluids through urine.

Many soft drinks contain diluted phosphoric acid, which damages the inner linning of the digestive tract and, therefore, affects its functions.

An excessive intake of soft drinks increases phosphorous levels in the blood. This separates calcium from the bones and moves it into the blood.

This calcium displacement from the bones makes them porous and brittle. It also causes plaque on the teeth, kidney stones, arthritis and bone spur.

Soft drinks also reduce mineral levels in the body to such an extent that enzymes are unable to function well, resulting in indigestion.

3. Do not drink very chilled liquids.

They do not really help cool you down in summers, though they make you cool for some time. Drinking really cold liquids when feeling hot may lead to a slight constriction of the blood vessels in the skin and decrease heat loss, which is not advisable when trying to cool down.

4. Limit all strenuous activity.

5. Eat light, nutritious and non-fatty meals.

6. Reduce intake of heaty vegetables and fruits, like spinach, radish, hot peppers, onions, garlic, beetroot, pineapple, grapefruit and ripe mangoes (if you cannot resist mangoes, soak them overnight in water).

7. Minimise the intake of dried fruits. Increase the intake of fresh fruit.

8. Use sabza (tulsi seeds) in your drinks -- this has very cooling effect on the body.

9. Include lots of fruits and vegetables in the form of salads and fresh juices, preferably without sugar, in your diet.

10. Drink lemon juice, coconut water and thin buttermilk, to replenish the fluids that are lost in sweat.

11. Avoid sugary foods, especially honey and molasses, and stick to natural sugars available from fruits and veggies.

12. Minimise the intake of hot, spicy foods and extremely salty foods. The body retains salt in the organic form found in fruits and veggies; the inorganic salt, meanwhile, is digested and needs to be thrown out of the body. And this is why you need to drink water!

13. Cut the intake of fried foods, like vadas, samosas, chips, bhajias, farsans, etc. Fat has a thermal effect.

14. Maintain good hygiene levels.

Since the sultry heat of summer increases with each degree rise in the mercury, by rooting ourselves to nature's provision of healthful food choices we can experience the bloom of our health

Source

Healthy food drive

Foods that support a healthy diet aren’t always easy to provide on a budget. The Salvation Army is hoping to alleviate some of the impact on local wallets without compromising nutrition with their local Good Food Box initiative, a part of the organization’s Dignity Project.
The food boxes will provide families and individuals with a month’s supply of fresh fruits and vegetable at a subsidized cost. The Salvation Army will buy the produce in large quantities at discounted costs and redistribute it in the boxes.
Captain Peter van Duinen said this will be the first time the Salvation Army has taken on the local dignity initiative.
“It’s being done, of course, because nutritional foods can be the most expensive to access,” he said. “A balanced nutritious diet is important.”
According to van Duinen, the box program has a tentative start date of May 18. Participants will pay one month ahead and boxes will arrive on the third Wednesday of each month.
The Salvation Army currently operates the largest food bank in the district, but van Duinen said, while it does meet a need, most food is processed and canned, and not the most nutritious.
Other community groups on board with the project include the Parry Sound District Social Services Board (DSSAB), which donated funds to the project and Sobeys, the food supplier.
“We’re looking at initially launching the program with 40 participants,” said van Duinen, who also said residents can call in to be put on a customer list.
The boxes include the good food box, a family-sized assortment of fresh fruit and vegetables, emphasizing season produce for $18, with a smaller version for singles and seniors at $13; the fruit box, $13, and the organic box with mostly certified organic produce $34 or $24.
The Salvation Army is also looking for volunteers to help with the program.

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Massage parlours under govt scanner

The Delhi government is planning to carry out a mapping exercise of massage parlours across the city. Citing reports that found 18% of massage parlours to be dens of risky behaviour and potential hotbeds for the spread of HIV, the government has proposed to National AIDS Control Organisation that an intervention mechanism for massage parlours needs to be formulated.

The decision was taken at a meeting of the State AIDS Council on Thursday. The mapping will be done to assess the knowledge, behaviour, attitude and practices of the workers, clients and owners of 1050 massage parlours and categorize them by assessing the "vulnerability factor".

Delhi is a low HIV prevalence state, with the prevalence in general population being 0.21%. The state is implementing the third phase of National AIDS Control Programme which aims at reducing the number of new infections by 40%. There has been reduction in new HIV infections by 30% since 2007.

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Fun and Easy Care....Awesome!

This play mat is so cool! Made of earth friendly materials, it is a great cushioning with fun designs, and  free from any toxic materials including phthalate.

It protects kids from hard impacts on the ground. It is soft, elastic, and slip resistant. 

What's more, it is completely waterproof, easy to clean and sanitize.

The vivid colors on both sides are a great entertainment!

Different sizes and patterns available.

By Dwinguler

Pampers Dropping "Dry Max"

Procter and Gamble is changing how it makes its Pampers Cruisers and removing the words "Dry Max" from the package. Procter and Gamble Co is making the tweaks after hearing from several parents. Thousands complained to U.S. and Canadian safety commissions. Some even sued the company.
Pampers will start selling the updated Cruisers, with a white inside liner and new Sesame Street pictures, in August.


Source: Reuters and msnbc.com