Blog Posts by Real Simple Magazine

Stay healthy with these surprising ways to use everyday items.

Button Bag as Pill Carrier
When you're on the go, leave the bulky pill bottles in the medicine cabinet and place only what you need in a plastic bag. You can keep your daily dose all buttoned up.
Laura GrahamStockton, California

Contact Lens Case as Pill Storage

Easily transport non-prescription pills without all the bottles. Pop it into your handbag and you'll have a headache remedy handy when the man in seat 7A drones on about his herniated disk. Plus you'll keep pills out of contact with everything else in your purse

See More: Medicine Cabinet Makeover

Ginger Root as Burn Soother

Soothe blisters and burns by applying fresh ginger juice directly to the sore spots.

Lemon as Sore Throat Soother
Relieve a sore throat. Cut a lemon in half. Skewer one half over a medium flame on a gas stove or an electric burner set on high and roast until the

Tools and tricks for keeping track of everything from toys to keys to just-washed socks.

Wallet

1. Choose a wallet in a vivid color, so it stands out inside your dark purse. Keep it in a zippered pocket, and always return it there.
2. Try not to change bags too often. "Transferring between purses creates more opportunities for losing stuff," says Lisa Zaslow, owner of Gotham Organizers, in New York City.

TV Remote

1. Use Velcro to attach the remote to the side of the TV when it's not in use.
2. Use an electronic finder system.

See More: Turn Clutter Into Storage and Decor Solutions

Glasses

1. If you primarily wear your sunglasses for driving, "leave them in the car," says James O'Connor, president of Clutter Control, a home-organization service in Lake Forest, Illinois. "Or designate a place for them near the front or back door. Don't bring them any further into your home, where they may be misplaced."
2. Designate a fabric-lined tray for your reading glasses

To adopt healthy eating strategies, start by incorporating these foods into your diet. By Liz Welch and Lindsay Funston

See More: 23 Cooking Uses for Your Microwave

Super Foods

Real Simple asked the country's top dietitians and nutritionists to tell us which superpowered ingredients we should be incorporating into our diets regularly. Here are their combined picks, plus some simple and delicious preparation suggestions. (For more of their advice, see The No-Diet Diet: Your New Healthy-Eating Plan.)

Mushrooms

Meaty and filling, as a stand-in for beef they can slash up to 400 calories from a meal. They may also protect against breast cancer by helping to regulate a woman's estrogen levels.

Try this: Sauté sliced mushrooms and shallots until tender. Add a splash of white wine and cook until evaporated. Serve over roasted fish or chicken. Or try Grilled Steak, Mushroom, and Green Bean Salad.

Barley

Another high-fiber cholesterol fighter. On weeknights use the

Ian Dingman

The cost of many leading brand-name medicines went up by nearly double digits last year, according to a new AARP survey. Here's your antidote to higher prices. By Walecia Konrad

Opt for mail order. Most employers' prescription-drug plans offer access to mail-order suppliers, such as Express Scripts and Medco, but not all participants take advantage of the services. For people who regularly take medications (like birth-control pills or drugs for high cholesterol or allergies), these programs can yield substantial savings, since you get a long-term supply. A 90-day supply of some brand-name medicines can cost as much as $100 less than three separate 30-day prescriptions at the corner pharmacy. Talk to your benefits manager for more information.

See More: How to Save On...

Be cautious about free samples. If you take the packets of meds your doctor doles out, be aware: Freebies are often available for only the most expensive brand-name prescriptions used to treat chronic

In this era of TMI tweets and status updates, we often offer up the most trivial of personal details while keeping the important stuff to ourselves. Here, five experts weigh in on what's really worth sharing.

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Decadent chocolate sweets for your sweetheart:

Romantic Brownie Sundaes

Get the recipe.

See More: 22 Crowd-Pleasing Dip Recipes

Chocolate Panini

Get the recipe.

See More: Shortcuts to a Romantic Valentine's Day

Chocolate-Cinnamon Pudding With Raspberries

Get the recipe.

Chocolate Soufflé

Ingredients:
3 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa
3 ounces semisweet or bittersweet chocolate
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 egg yolks
2 egg whites
2 tablespoons sugar
pinch salt
pinch cream of tartar

Directions:
Heat oven to 375° F. Use 1 tablespoon of the butter to grease one 16-ounce or two 8-ounce ramekins. Coat the ramekins with the cocoa, tapping out the excess.
In a large bowl, over a pan of simmering water, melt the chocolate and remaining butter. Stir occasionally until

Get advice on how to handle sticky financial situations.

Do I Have to Buy Something From a Merchandise Party?

Q: If I'm invited to a merchandise party at a friend's house, do I have to buy something?
A: The first question is: Should you go at all? If you know there's no way that you'll buy another piece of Tupperware (check out the company's website beforehand to determine what merch might be available), skip the event. But if there's a chance you might buy something, the only rule is to attend with an open mind. "If you go with the attitude 'If there's anything I like, I will buy it. If not, I won't,' that is very different than if you go with the intention of not buying anything," says Marianne Jennings, a professor of legal and ethical studies at Arizona State University in Tempe and the author of The Seven Signs of Ethical Collapse (St. Martin's Press, $26, amazon.com). You are not obligated to purchase anything. If you choose not to buy, simply thank your host for her

From biting your nails to running late: 11 bad habits you can kick to the curb.

Middle-School flashback: You're slouched in your chair, biting your nails and yakking to Susan about Katie-that is, until Mrs. Anderson yells, "Girls!" Fast-forward to last night: You're slouched at your kitchen counter, frowning at your chewed cuticles and yakking on your cell phone to Susan about Katie. Where's Mrs. Anderson now?

Bad habits afflict us all. But whether your particular fixation is merely annoying, wastes time, or could actually hurt someone (like poor, long-suffering Katie), there are tricks and techniques to nip it in the bud. Of course, serious habitual behaviors might require years-and even some bona fide therapy sessions-to break. But psychiatrists, psychologists, and cognitive therapists agree that recognition is the first step. So you're already on the road to recovery and a lifetime of good posture, manicures, and trusting friendships.

The Habit: Fidgeting

Why you