My late night infomercial watching has finally paid off.  I bought the Magic Bullet.

I normally don't watch infomercials unless I want a bit of a laugh.  Well, this Magic Bullet thing made me giggle, but it also made me think, hmmm... maybe I could use one of these things...

So I got it:

Magic Bullet Smoothie Maker

How to use the Smoothie Maker:

Tips to remember -

• Leave 5 or more cm from the top with nothing, not even liquid in it.  
• Make sure the lid is firmly secured
• Blend in quick bursts until desired consistency is reached
• Buy fruit and vegies in bulk, then cut up and freeze in individual Glad bags

For example, I bought an entire pineapple last week (one of those ones that has been cut and cored already).  I cut it up into little wedges (about a couple of cm wide), and froze in batches in individual Glad bags.  Whenever I want a pineapple in my smoothie, I just grab a bag and empty it in the blender.
Another good idea is to buy bunches of grapes, wash them and freeze in small amounts.  You can be creative and do what I did, freeze 5 grapes, a few pieces of pineapple, some papaya and a bit of banana in the same freezer bag.  That way you have a ready-made smoothie whenever you want it.


Ziplock Freezer Bags - your new best friend

LJP's Smoothie Recipes


Green Zinger

Little bunch of spinach
A bunch of pea sprouts, cut into sections
Some small cuts of ginger (
5 small pieces of fresh pineapple
5 red grapes
Coconut water

Blend.

This is a tasty, mild green smoothie.  The ginger and pineapple give it a tropical feel.



Red Papaya Slurpee

Large handful of frozen red papaya (bought fresh, then bagged in Glad ziplock bags)
Coconut water

Blend.

You will find that this recipe creates a smoothie with the exact consistency of a 711 Slurpee, without all the sugar and caffeine.


Pine-Green Smoothie

Little bunch of spinach
Large handful of pineapple
5 small cuts of ginger

Blend.

This one is simple, but tasty and healthy as well.



The following recipes are a guide for making smoothies that taste good and make you feel even better.   Don't use all the ingredients listed, there are far too many.
Instead, choose 2 - 5 ideas from the list (or as many or few as you need!) and mix and match.

Enjoy!


Mix & Match Smoothies

Adrenal Support
(Use 3-5 Ingredients from list)
Ginger
Sprouts
Leafy greens (eg. celery, Spinach, lettuce, parsley, coriander)
Almonds and / or pumpkin seeds / cashews / brazil nuts / pecans
Papaya or dark cherries
Banana
Raw cacao powder
Red and orange vegetables
Flax seeds
Coconut water or water
Or... Almond milk
Pinch of Celtic sea salt


Weight Loss
(Use 3-5 Ingredients from list)
Celery
Grapefruit
Tomato
Chilli
Asparagus
Spinach
Lettuce
Cherries
Grapes
Pears
Cucumber
Lemongrass
Ginger
Unsalted pistachios or sunflower seeds
Papaya
Coconut water or water
Organic coconut oil


Immunity Boost
(Use 3-5 Ingredients from list)
Garlic
Potato (organic)
Banana
Ginger
Brazil nuts
Sunflower seeds
Coconut water or water


Metabolism Boost
(Use 3-5 Ingredients from list)
Almonds
Grapefruit
Whey protein
Avocado
Chilli
Coconut water or water

Vitality AntiOx Shake
Blueberries
Dried Cranberries
Prunes
Strawberries
Cherries
Papaya
Brazil nuts / sunflower seeds / Pecans
Raw Cacao
Coconut water or water


Digestive Enzyme Booster
(Use 3-5 Ingredients from list)
Avocado
Papya
Yogurt
Fresh pineapple
Peaches
Green or red capsicum
Coconut water or water


Skin Glow Shake
(Use 3-5 Ingredients from list)
Cucumber
Celery
Avocado
Tomato / Red Capsicum / Red Chilli
Spinach
Berries
Carrot
Papaya
Apricot
Coconut water or water


Green Machine
(Use 3-5 Ingredients from list)
Kale
Spinach
Broccoli
Celery
Parsley / Coriander
Romaine lettuce
Cucumber
Coconut pieces
Strawberry
Ginger
Apple
Pear
Pineapple
Lemon
Coconut water or water

Image credits CC Public Domain

technorati tags: green smoothie, adrenal fatigue, immunity boost, weight loss, vegan smoothie, raw smoothie, smoothie, fruit smoothie

I received this lovely email from the kind hearted, generous Gina Rinehart.  Looks legit to me.

The only thing that clued me in was this line:  "...which I intend to use for CHARITY".

Gina Rinehart is notoriously tight with money, giving the tiniest percentage to charity compared with other billionaires (such as Bill Gates).  She also has the dubious distinction of withholding money from her own children until they reach the sprightly age of 75.  A great citizen of Australia indeed.

Did you know Gina Rinehart is also a poet?  Her 2012 poem "our future" was not widely acclaimed when it was released.  I can't imagine why.

I will attempt to analyse her poem. In some instances, I will try to interpret the true meaning behind this vast, meaningful work. In other instances I will use pictures. Wish me luck.


Our Future 

The globe is sadly groaning with debt, poverty and strife 
...due to the Global Financial Crisis thanks to Alan Greenspan, George W. Bush, Bernie Madoff and many others who are super rich and super greedy.

And billions now are pleading to enjoy a better life 
I am so glad that Gina has a plan for everyone who wants a better life.  Can't wait to hear it.  Hey wow, strife and life - a rhyme!  This must be a real poem.

Their hope lies with resources buried deep within the earth 
Ah, no.  Digging, exploitation, I knew there was a catch.  Freedom through slavery...  I think I've heard that somewhere before.

  Image credit:  Annabel's House of Books 

And the enterprise and capital which give each project worth 
Sorry, I ranted on so much there that I forgot to stop and appreciate the incredible wordplay of rhyming 'earth' with 'worth'.  This stuff is Gold!! - Pardon the mining pun

Is our future threatened with massive debts run up by political hacks 
Code alert:  She's talking about Labor.  How do I know?  Because I'm PSYCHIC!! 
...and because she is a right-wing redneck loon.
It was Labor who got us through the GFC and saved us from recession.
Then, in 2013/14, the LNP upped the national debt, spent twice as much as the Labor party per day, and even managed to get The Greens to approve this lunacy.  Expect many tears and stern punishments and finger pointing come budget time.  
So, ironically, over a year later, the answer is to Gina's rather prophetic question is "Yes".

Who dig themselves out by unleashing rampant tax 
The mining tax didn't dig anyone out of anything, nor was it rampant.  More like a small speedbump underneath an earth mover.  
I do however appreciate the use of the word dig.  
Incidentally, Gina Rinehart must really hate John Howard and his rampant GST.  

The end result is sending Australian investment, growth and jobs offshore 
Yes, because no billionaire wants to send jobs offshore.  Our billionaires want to exploit workers RIGHT HERE in good ol' Australia...  As long as they don't ask for Australian wages.  Or conditions. 

This type of direction is harmful to our core
Those mining puns again.  Dig, core, what's next?

Some envious unthinking people have been conned 
Code alert:  Envious = Not a billionaire.  
Unthinking? Oh, yes that's right, the people who thought voting LNP in 2013 would be a good idea. Predicting 2013 and 2014 events in 2012.  Gina Rinehart is some kind of Soothsayer!

To think prosperity is created by waving a magic wand 
No actually, it was salvaged by Wayne Swan.  Wow, that almost rhymed!

Now, about that magic wand.  You could try Gina Rinehart's method of prosperity creation:
Step 1.  Be born
Step 2.  Have a Dad who is a prosperous billionaire
Step 3.  Inherit all of billionaire Dad's billionaire assets
Step 4.  Get indignant about all those silly people who think prosperity is created by waving a magic wand


Through such unfortunate ignorance, too much abuse is hurled 
Those educated lefties, they are just so... unfortunate, and ignorant, and abusive.  And... hurly.

Against miners, workers and related industries who strive to build the world
Not so poetic.  Starting to lose the plot a bit here.  Plot? Earth? Did you see what I did there?

Develop North Australia, embrace multiculturalism and welcome short term foreign workers to our shores 
Okay, that's not a line of poetry.  That's some kind of wacky right-wing manifesto.  

Embrace multiculturism? Translation:  import people too scared to complain about conditions and remuneration, then stick them in a miners shed until it's time to rap on the corrugated iron.  But I'm pretty sure nobody has EVER been exploited on a 457 Visa.  They never mentioned it on SkyNews, anyway.

To benefit from the export of our minerals and ores
Read:  For MEEEE to benefit from the export of our minerals and ores

The world's poor need our resources: do not leave them to their fate 
...So we're going to exploit them for $2 a day!  Hey, that almost rhymed too. 

Let's see how contented a miner can be on $2 per 23 hour day.

Yep.  Everything A-OK.  No problem here at all. 


Our nation needs special economic zones and wiser government, before it is too late. 
It was a wise government that got us through the GFC, which was caused by the greed of super-rich people.  We now have Ms Rinehart's version of a "wiser government".  A super greedy, heartless, secretive, economically illiterate, batsh*t crazy, racist, sexist, violent, xenophobic, born-to-rule bunch of despots prone to cronyism and expense rorting.  
Hooray.

A cartoon from The Daily Blog sums up Gina's poem nicely:

Fun facts: Gina Rinehart was nominated for an "Australian Living Treasure 2012" award

Even more fun facts:  She didn't end up winning.




A Haiku by LJP

The ground tilts askew
Soot piles turn gold for Gina
The earth laughs later

technorati tags: Gina Rinehart Poem, Gina Rinehart email, Gina Rinehart spam, Australia, Australian politics, mining, LNP, Mining exploitation

I am a big fan of GoDaddy. It's that time of year again when I receive emails saying "your web hosting is expiring, renew now."

The best way to get through this time of year is to hunt down promo codes.  I managed to get around $30 off my hosting, which made my day.

I generally prefer to use web hosting companies that keep things simple.

The control panel for GoDaddy is easy to use, and everything is clearly laid out in a logical manner.  My only small gripe would be the username and password section.  For some reason my web browser has decided it doesn't need to remember my username and password for GoDaddy so I have to look it up every time I want to log in.  That aside, I love the convenience of pressing a button to renew my hosting packages all at the same time.

I have a couple of sites hosted with GoDaddy and they have kept me pretty happy for the last 3 years or so.  I possibly would consider another hosting company if the conditions were right, but there would have to be a compelling reason to switch over from my current hosting.

p.s. if you want to get 35% off your order here's a special promo code for new orders in 2014: WOW2014cod

technorati tags: godaddy, web hosting, hosting, coupon code 2014, godaddy coupon, godaddy promo