Blog Posts by Reader s Digest Magazine

By Kristen Barricella from Cookie Cutter Lunch

Your kids will adore these cute, creative lunches.

1. Hold the lemon
Between hair appointments and your color is drab? Grab a lemon-or not. According to Best You friend, salon owner, Eva Scrivo: "…unless your natural base color is very light, [lemon juice] has a tendency to turn hair a brassy orange yellow." A better alternative? Chamomile tea. "Steep three or four tablespoons of loose chamomile until it is very strong, then pour the cooled brew in a spray bottle and spritz away," she advises.

PLUS: How to Get Beautiful Hair

2. Frizzy hair? Look at you diet
Changing hormones can wreak havoc on your hair's shape and texture, says Dr. Jeni Thomas, a beauty and grooming scientist at Proctor & Gamble. Before you run out to get a mom cut, however, consider this option. Look at your diet, says Thomas. Hair relies on nutrients in the bloodstream to grow strong and healthy, so eat a lot of protein, and make sure you're getting enough vitamins and minerals.

PLUS: More Easy Ways to Look Great

3. Use products correctly
Our friend Liz Cunnane

6:45 AM: Get Some Early Exercise
"Studies show that most people who wear pedometers clock up more steps before lunch compared to after lunch," says accredited dietitian Kate Di Prima. "Morning exercise raises your heart rate and metabolism early to give you physical energy for hours, so from that perspective it also helps burn more calories throughout the day." Depending on where you live, there are also generally lower pollution levels in the morning.

7:30 AM: Have Breakfast
"Eating breakfast kick-starts your metabolism -- especially since we don't eat for around ten hours overnight," says Di Prima. "Eggs are a high-satiety food and good to begin the day with."

Keep your carbohydrate intake light at breakfast if you're trying to lose weight; think one slice of wholegrain toast instead of two, and include beans or spinach rather than the empty calories of white bread, jam and butter.

"Aim to get 25 percent of your total day's calories at breakfast, with five other small meals

In one year you could lose over 30 pounds by making easy swaps to your daily routine.

Leftovers can be just as good the next day if you know how to reheat them properly.

Storm damage got you down and powerless? Don't become a statistic. The number one rule with power lines is to not touch them. Let the professionals take care of these potential killers. If you hear someone spouting the myths below, set them straight with these tips from NYSEG.com

Myth: Power lines are insulated. 90 percent of power lines are not insulated and even the ones that are could have lost insulation from a storm.

Myth: The line is safe because it's not high voltage. Actually, voltage is not what will kill you, amperage will. It takes 1 amp to cause fatal heart irregularities. The average house has between 100 and 200 amps running through it.

Myth: A fallen wire will shut off. No it won't because if it falls on a poor conductor, like asphalt the wire will not short circuit.

Myth: A live wire will make sparks when it falls. Not always. The line will spark when it doesn't make firm contact, with firm contact it will not.

Myth: Wood is not a conductor.

Toss these creative ingredients into your salad.

You might want to dodge their after-effects, but many of these positively unfriendly foods are good for you -- and they taste delicious. So how do you enjoy them without offending everyone around you?

GARLIC AND RAW ONION
The effects are immediate and can last for hours -- the smell on your breath will leave your companions' eyes watering and you reaching for the mouth freshener well into the next day.

Why It Happens
Garlic and onions contain sulphur compounds that are very smelly and can contribute to bad breath. The smell doesn't just come from particles of food left stuck in your teeth; as the foods are digested, the pungent oils they contain are absorbed into your bloodstream, then carried around your body to your lungs. You breathe them out until the foods are eliminated from your body.

Why You Should Eat Them Anyway
Adding herbs, spices, garlic and onions to food means you need less salt, so it's a healthier alternative, says accredited Melbourne dietitian Rebecca Valle.