Cooking Knives Are Great; Free Cooking Knives Are Better

I enjoy kitchen cutlery as much as the next person, but I never buy new knives due to expense. Finding a free Santoku knife was like striking gold for me.

It’s weird to think about how often we use knives daily. Or, at least me anyways. Just yesterday I used a knife not only for things related to eating (buttering toast, slicing lunch bread, cutting carrots, etc) but I also used a knife to open up 2 separate things I bought as well as a package I got in the mail.

Needless to say, we use knives a lot, and they’re pretty cool. Yes, it would be much cooler to butter toast with a samurai sword, but that sounds far too dangerous, so I’ll stick with a butter knife.

Thus, when I found this offer for a free Santoku knife, I was pretty excited. (No, Santoku is not the same as Sudoku, so you can’t use this knife to solve number puzzles, sorry). I already own a knife block with some big and small knives, but the Santoku knife is different. Oh, for the sake of full disclosure, you have to pay $8.95 for shipping and handling.

I don’t know a ton about it, but I do know that Santoku knives are common in cooking Japanese food, and that the one I got free says it can be used for slicing, dicing, chopping, and fast cutting. I say adding one more knife to my kitchen arsenal—for free—can never be a bad thing.

Oh, and something else interesting about this particular item? The exact same knife is selling on Amazon for $28 plus shipping. I don’t know how this offer isn’t all over those blogs that solely promote free things, but I’m excited that it’s still available. I can’t imagine they’ll be around too much longer for free.

Anyways, the knife is just as good as my other cooking knives. You can tell I’m no knife expert, so I can’t comment on all the crazy things like angles and curvatures and whatnot, but I am an expert on saving money, and thus I can say: This may be the best $8.95 ever spent!

I love to review products and find good deals, and thus I will end my article by saying this: Go get your free Santoku knife! Your kitchen will appreciate another tool for you to use, your spouse or significant other will appreciate your thriftiness, and you will sound really cool and advanced when you tell your friends and coworkers about your new “Santoku” knife. Just the word itself makes the knife worth getting!

Neutrogena SkinID vs. Proactiv

(Mary writing again): I love to look through Yahoo answers (maybe I'm addicted lol) but I read a few people asking about facewashes and zits and acne, etc. Seeing how I have had on and off bouts with acne, here's what I've learned:

Proactiv definitely works, but in my experience, it has taken a lonnnnnng time (and of course lots of auto shipments) to get definitive results. If I'm worried about zits now, it's hard to wait 3 months to have clear skin again. Plus, the cost was hard to deal with on top of family stuff and day to day expenses.

Neutrogena has Skin ID, and it does a skin evaluation, then they send you the kit for $19.95 which was better than Proactiv's $29.99+. I felt like Neutrogena helped me get noticeable results in about 2 weeks, which seemed a lot faster than Proactiv.

I might only be saying Neutrogena is better because it's cheaper lol, but hey, if it's cheaper AND faster, what's not to like?! To check it out click here.

Younger Skin Quickly...FOR FREE! (Can you tell I'm excited?!)

(Mary writing here) So my husband's friend found this offer on Facebook and passed it along to me. It's a product called Levela and is an "anti-age" cream. Blah blah blah, totally skeptical, right?

Well the good thing about this offer is that it was FREE! I paid the $4.79 shipping and handling, and I've had the stuff for about 3 weeks. So far, so great!

I am more than pleased with the results...although still a bit too embarrassed about my "before" pictures to post them online. It has helped remove lines from my face, and I feel better about myself, which is totally worth $4.79!

There's all sorts of science and stuff behind it, but if you're interested, click below and you'll see. I think it's the best $5 I've ever spent! SO much more worth it than my morning Starbucks :-)

To read more about Levela, click here.

Weight Loss by Hypnosis? (Answer...NO!)

Is hypnosis the answer to losing weight quickly and safely? Well look into my eyes as I delve into the deepest, darkest recesses of the mind to find out. 

Hypnosis is an altered state of consciousness, usually achieved with the help of a hypnotherapist. When you're under hypnosis, your attention is highly focused and you're more responsive to suggestions, including behaviour changes that hypnotherapists say can help you lose weight. 

Many advertisers on the Internet want you to believe that because hypnosis is "natural", it cannot harm you and is therefore a superior method of weight loss. 

Firstly, it cannot be claimed that hypnosis is one of the most natural ways to lose weight, because it's obviously not natural to be in a state of induced hypnosis. But, having said that, it could be a safe method. The real question is does it work? 

One reason for weight gain is quite often psychological. Basically, it's all in the mind. So one way to effectively reach your weight loss goal is to reach deep down into your subconscious mind and change the way you think about food. 

Imagine if you could lose weight by just relaxing and listening to a pleasant and friendly subliminal message. A message that could be implanted deep into your subconscious. A powerful message that affects your attitude to eating and exercise, without you even realising. 

Hypnosis is a unique experience, but you are always in control. Hypnotherapy is rather like being in a daydream, it is a state called "trance". It might be a deep trance or it might only be a light trance. 

With hypnosis there's no right or wrong way to experience it, there's just different ways for different people. In general a hypnotic trance is a very pleasant, relaxing and tranquil xperience. While hypnotised you will be aware of all physical sensations around you, perhaps even noticing sounds you wouldn't otherwise be aware of. 

When you are fully conscious again you may be able to recall everything that happened while you were in your trance-like state, depending how deep your trance was. 

Hypnosis can help by allowing you to overcome unconscious obstacles, which prevent you from losing weight and from keeping weight off. You know that eating too much is not what you desire and you know that exercise and sensible diet are important. 

However, these are not conscious, logical issues. Successful weight loss is all about re-educating your unconscious mind and forming new healthy habits. 

Hypnosis and hypnotherapy work on a subconscious level to help you achieve a state of mind where you can actually lose weight willingly. Until you are genuinely willing to make these changes, your weight loss goals will seem very difficult to achieve. 

So, on the surface it would appear that hypnosis as a weight loss aid has something going for it. After all, hypnosis works for smokers who are trying to give up the fags, doesn't it? Well, the truth is hypnosis is slow to produce any long-lasting results and will not work for everyone. 

Studies have shown that one reason why it doesn't work is because it requires weekly consultations with a qualified hypnotist for at least 8 weeks or more in addition to any self-hypnosis or listening to some recorded message. So, In order to achieve any benefits from its use, hypnosis must be practiced on a regular basis for a significant period of time. 

And, as we all want to see results almost instantly, this method is very likely to fail because we just don't have the patience to continue. Then there's the cost to consider. Hypnotherapy sessions do not come cheap. 

Unfortunately, the only people who claim hypnosis is easy, simple, and effective are those trying to sell you their programme. So, in conclusion, hypnosis is just another method that seems to be making money for those who practice it. 


For a weight-loss plan that I've heard people have had success with, click here.

An Alternative to Satellite or Cable TV? AKA Down With DirecTV

This isn't so much for health and wellness, but rather something that has been asked a bunch lately on Facebook and elsewhere.

First, let me say I HATE DIRECTV! They have been so awful to work with, so when my contract expired (finally), I looked for an alternative.

Second, I am NOT ok with a contract, because I have no idea what life will be like in 1-2 years and do NOT want to be financially locked into something like tv. So goodbye Directv, Dish, Comcast, etc.

So I looked around for something on which I could watch sports and my wife could watch news. That's all we wanted, nothing more. Particularly, I wanted to watch the NBA Finals, the NFL season and playoffs, Major League Baseball, NHL, and New Zealand rugby (go the All Blacks!).

I had NO idea it would be so hard to find, but I did find my solution eventually. With Satellite Direct, I can watch lots of sports...LOTS! And it's all on my computer, which is nice for me.

Now a disclaimer: I DID pay for this. I think it was like $40 but in my opinion, a one-time fee of $40 is MUCH better than paying that every month for 2 years!

We have like 3,000 channels on it! News sports and whatever else you want, I think it's a good investment.

Slow and Steady Weight Loss

More and more people today are struggling with weight issues. It seems that as time goes on, more and more people are simply getting fatter and fatter. If you want to lose a few pounds, you are in good company. Recent surveys indicate that up to sixty percent of people are overweight, or clinically obese. And it doesn't seem like this problem is going to go away by itself. 

The question is why are so many of us so fat? It's not like there is a big mystery behind gaining weight. You don't wake up one morning to suddenly find you've gained a hundred pounds. You don't go to your doctor and find you've contracted some horrible disease called fatness that is completely out of your control. Most of us, if we are honest with ourselves, know that it doesn't take a rocket scientist to understand why we are so fat. We eat too much, and exercise too little. 

If you go to your local bookstore, there's plenty of books on different diet plans, filled with low fat, healthy recipes on what to cook and how to eat. You won't have any trouble finding books at your local bookstore that will give you information on exercise. If you decided to join a gym, it would be easy enough to find one, and sign up for personal training. Lack of information is not our problem. 

Our problem, it seems, is sheer lack of willpower. But is that really the case? Sure, if you suddenly change your diet and lifestyle, you would probably lose quite a bit of weight. Of course, if you ate only boneless skinless chicken breasts and broccoli, and worked out for three hours a day, then this wouldn't be an issue. However, is it really in your best interests to do this? 

I think it isn't. I believe the best way to lose weight, is the same way you gained it. Slow and steady. It took a while to gain all that weight, and it's going to take a while to lose it. So maybe you shouldn't try for so much so soon. It' just not possible. If you try for something beyond what is natural, of course you are going to run into problems. Only when you take a slow and steady approach do you have a chance of success. 

So what is the best slow and steady approach to weight loss? Walking. One foot in front of the other, again and again. It may not seem glamorous, or sexy, but walking will surely get you out and active if you've been sedentary for too long. And once you start a habit of going for a walk every single day, you'll slowly start to pick up other habits as well. Give it a whirl, you may find your life drastically improved as a result.


For a weight-loss plan that I've heard people have had success with, click here.

How to Train Like An MMA Fighter

If you’re like me, you probably have seen MMA fights and, even if you don’t like the fighting or violence, you are probably in awe of the incredible physical condition and shape the fighters are in. I mean, come on, these guys take beatings (quite literally) and yet are full of endurance and energy through it all. Not to mention the fact that they’re straight ripped as well.

So I went looking for a training system. Now, let it be known, I’m not really anything of a physical specimen. I’m pretty average in height, weight, and build for a 27 year old guy. And I really don’t even like the fight aspect of MMA, just the toughness. So, I wanted to find something to help me get ripped and stronger, along with endurance. Why? Because chicks dig it! I just wanted to know how to get in shape like an MMA fighter, or at least how to work out like an MMA guy.

Anyways, I tried a couple things I found on YouTube and a couple manuals and stuff I got from a friend. In the end, I felt like they kinda helped me in small ways (arms, abs, etc) but not as a whole.

Long story short, I ended up getting referred to Eric Wong’s site and so far, so good! I don’t know Eric personally, nor do I know anyone that knows him, but he says he’s trained some fairly big names, and his whole life is pretty much MMA training. That got my attention.

Of course, like any MMA training system, Eric’s has some pros and cons.

The pros include the fact that its only 2 days a week. Of course, everyone says, “Is 2 days a week enough to get ripped?” My answer: YES! In fact, it seems to be about all I can handle. These are tough workouts!

Another pro is Eric’s credentials. Just look at his landing page and you’ll see some of what he’s done. He’s definitely more of an expert than any other person/system I’ve trained with.

Also, his system focuses a lot on cardio and endurance. As he says, skill doesn’t matter if you run out of gas at the end. And those are 2 things I was really looking for.

As far as cons go, you do need to have a bit of equipment. It’s pretty basic, but I don’t have it in my home, so I’ve just run to the gym. It includes:

• Barbell
• Dumbbells
• Squat rack
• Bench for bench pressing
• Chinup bar
• Swiss ball

Also, like I said, these workouts are tough! If you’re down with it though, it’s worth it. But don’t get it expecting to waltz into toughness, cardio, and endurance without a little pain!

Anyways, last words—I’d recommend it to anyone. In fact, I have to quite a few people. A couple buddies of mine have started with me, and every Tuesday and Thursday we are CRUSHING these workouts. Pretty sweet stuff and I am already feeling tougher…although still not sure if I’ll actually fight.

About the author: James Malone has written for numerous health blogs and is into fitness, hanging out, getting girls, and being cool. He frequently contributes to this blog.