Big Island LifeGreat Health, Great Food and Great Adventures

These tortillas are great for soft tacos and they can also be used in place of bread for sandwiches. We love to bake a couple and make tostadas with black beans, avocado, some cheese and salsa… delicious! You can even make your own tortilla chips…

You will need:

2 cups whole wheat flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 Tbsp olive or canola oil

1/2 cup warm water

These are about 70 cal and less than 1 g. fat each when yielding 12 tortillas, 60 calories each when yielding 14 depending on how big you want them to be. Keep in mind that each tortillas also provides an excellent source of whole grains, a moderate source of protein and a little fiber too.

OK, you are ready to make 12-14 awesome homemade tortillas :

1. Combine the flour and baking powder in a bowl, then add the olive oil and mix the flour thoroughly.

2. Add the warm water a little at a time (use tbsp) while mixing the flour until you have a nice ball.

3. Transfer the ball to a floured piece of wax paper (or use your imagination if you don’t have any) and knead the dough 15-20 times, then let it rest about 15 minutes.

4. Divide the dough into 12-14 pieces and roll them into balls.

Now comes the fun part!

5. Roll each ball out into a circle and cook on an ungreased griddle or skillet on medium high heat for about 30 seconds on each side.

That’s all there is to it! You have FRESH, HEALTHY and REALLY EASY to make whole wheat tortillas that can be used for anything- breakfast, lunch, dinner or snacks.

Serving Suggestions:

Breakfast:

Egg, Cheddar and Salsa Breakfast Burrito:

This burrito provides and excellent source of dairy, protein and whole grains- Use 1 whole egg and 2 egg whites and scramble them with 2 sliced white mushrooms optional). Warm the tortilla and fill it with the eggs, 1/8 cup shredded 2% cheddar or mexican style cheese, 2 tbsp of salsa and a few fresh spinach eaves (optional). Serves one, about 225 calories. Complete the meal with a nice apple or low fat yogurt!

Lunch:

Black Bean Tostadas:

These tostadas provide an excellent source of veggies, whole grains, protein and fiber- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and place 2 tortillas in teh oven for about 10 minutes or until crisp and very lightly browning. Let cool while chopping fresh lettuce of your choice (2 cups full), 1/2 cucumber, 2 small mushrooms and 1/2 medium tomato. Put 1/4 cup cooked black beans (can be canned, go for low doium or all natural if possible) on each tostada and top wtih lettuce, 1/8 cup 2% shredded cheese, 5 olives, cucumbers, mushrooms, tomato, 2 tbsp salsa and 1 tbsp low fat sour cream. Serves 1, about 350 calories.

Dinner:

Chicken Ceaser Wraps

Toss 2 ounces of chopped, cooked skinless boneless chicken breast or 2 pieces chopped chicken lunch meat with chopped romain lettuce (2 cups). Add light ceaser dressing (1 Tbsp) and then stuff 2 tortillas with the mixture. Sprinkle a tsp of parmesan cheese on top, along with a few chopped tomatos. Serves 1, about 350 calories. Complete the meal with 1/2 cup of brown rice or a cup of soup!

Snacks:

Baked Chips and Salsa

Simply cut 2 tortillas rounds into small triangles like you would a pizza, and bake them in the oven at 350 degrees for about 7 minutes or until crisp. Add salt while warm if desired and serve with 1/4 cup or salsa! Serves 1, about 175 calories.

Enjoy

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It’s been a pretty voggy few days and due to teh brush fire South of Kona everything looks extra hazy lately. The good news is that I can finally breath a bit better now but the bad news is that the fires still aren’t extinguished.

Yesterday we hiked over the lava rocks at the ocean about 1.5 miles from our house and had a great time, the air is really fresh at the ocean! I realized I don’t take enough time out to visit the water, one of my favorite places to spend time… work has been keeping me pretty busy lately which is a great thing in itself but it doesn’t help quelch the stress that comes with every day life- you know the kind I’m sure.

I have been doing really well with my 2010 goals (I hate to call them resolutions because I claim not to ever have any) in that I’m staying focused on the things I need to focus on and I’m letting all the little things go. It’s a lot easier said than done! My daily workouts help a lot and in fact get my butt out of bed before the sun even rises which is something I’ve never done before. Now I’m ready for bed by 8pm, hehe!

I did come across something I plan to experience this summer which seems TOTALLY awesome:

Umauma Zipline Experience

It seems like something that is totally up my alley and the costs aren’t too bad especially with my kamaina discount… I’l be sure to post pics for sure. Damon Tucker’s blog turned me on to the adventure using pictures of his own experience, if you haven’t seen his blog you should, it’s a must read.

Finally, if you’re interested in making some extra money online you will want to check out my next post about the humungous opportunitites available! I’ll be posting a BIG one tomorrow or Tuesday depending on when I get the content finished- it is 1st on my to do list tomorrow… until then I bid you ALOHA!

-Rach 

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I’ve spent this last week dealing with the outcome of sever electrical storms we had here, which left me extremely behind at work and behind in everything else too… what a bugger.

The storm took out our washer and dryer along with a few other things we appreciate around here- thank goodness mother nature spared our workplace! (our computers, of course… they seem fine)

Anyway, I haven’t had a chance to post any updates so I thought I’d get on here and throw out a hello! I’ll be posting quite a bti more content this week like a new recipe and some more internet marketing info. I might post some Hawaii content too! I’ve got some pics and video I’ve been meaning to put up:)

Until next time, I bid you Aloha!

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Why You Should Use Graphic Templates

When it comes to graphics for your websites, many Internet marketers tend to steer away from using pre-made graphic templates whether it’s in the form of ebook covers, website layouts or even promotional banner. This is usually because marketers firmly believe that when graphic templates are used, they are actually hurting their own business more than helping it. You know, they aren’t branding their business as professional. Marketers usually want to own a unique identity on the Internet and that’s why marketers usually end up finding a professional graphic designer to get the job done. If you don’t think a graphic template can get you results, think again!

When you purchase a graphic template, you’re able to customize it to a pretty generous extent or you can even build a totally new design based around the pre-made template you start with! The truth is that there really is no limit to the possibilities available to you when using a graphic template to build your sites.

When using a template, you’re really saving yourself a lot of time that you could otherwise spend on developing your business more and designing new products or marketing materials. When you buy a pre-made template, you only need to edit a couple of things to give it an identity of it’s own, which in turn gives you more time and flexibility to work on other stuff or to simply relax!

So you might still be wondering why you’d use a graphic template if hiring a designer to do the job is equally fast. While it’s true, you should keep in mind the amount of money it costs you ever single time you hire a professional raphic designer to do the job for you. Unless you’re looking for a totally unique identity and you’re looking to establish a strong presence in your niche market, you don’t need someone else to produce your graphics for you.

Not all graphic templates are suitable though, so don’t go click crazy and purchase the first decent looking template or graphic set you find. Quality is definately more important than price, so go for a solid product at a decent cost. Some options that I highly recommend are below.

Seriously Cool Video Templates:

CLICK HERE

Cool Templats for WordPress:

CLICK HERE

Some Squeeze Pages:

CLICK HERE

Do you have the skinny on any cool graphic templates or tools? If so, I’d love to hear about them!

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You can build your list simply by writing articles, whether you have thought of it or not.

Quite simply, you write and submit your articles on your topic of expertise or business nature to popular article directories where eZine publishers and readers are looking for the information you provide.

Leveraging your viral marketing efforts on article writing can be rewarding, if done right. In the real sense, you are actually proving your worth and demonstrating your expertise about your business through the articles you write.

So, how can this method in effect build your mailing list? The answer: the resource box you attach to your articles. In your resource box (also known as bio box), you include a brief detail about yourself and your business site together with its URL.

It is strongly suggested that your resource box URL links to your mailing list’s landing page where you can get your visitor’s name and email address, which will in turn help you build your mailing list at no cost.

If your articles are found worth sharing, eZine publishers will republish your articles together with your resource box for their readers and subscribers. The wonderful result: viral marketing without effort on your part!

You can start by writing and submitting your articles to trusted article submitter sites such as http://www.articlemarketer.com and http://www.ezinearticles.com and begin your article marketing journey right away, there isn’t a reason to wait!

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