There are many ways that you can be healthy, and when you are trying to be healthy, there are a few things to concentrate on. First, you need to be sure that you get the proper amount of exercise. If you sit still all the time, or if you are not exercising, it is difficult to maintain good health. The second aspect of your health is your diet. It is very important to make sure that you have a healthy diet, to make sure you do not eat more calories than you need, to keep an eye on your fat, protein, and carbohydrate intake, and to make sure you get enough vitamins, minerals, and fiber.

One of the main ways that you can avoid being unhealthy when you cook at home is to bake instead of fry your food. Frying foods in oils or grease will raise the fat content significantly, and greatly reduce the amount of nutrients that the food holds. Baking and grilling are two great alternatives to frying food. Grilling does not add any extra fat to foods, and actually keeps the nutrient levels where they should be. However, grilling is often more time-consuming than other cooking methods. You have to make sure that the BBQ is preheated, and then the baking process itself can be quite lengthy. If you are hungry and need food quickly, it is always tempting to grab something less healthy.

The Ronco Grill Wave is an appliance that helps you cook the right foods in fast and healthier ways. The Ronco Grill Wave allows you to grill food at microwave speed, which takes a lot less time than heating up your oven. It also bakes from multiple sides, which means there is no need to turn or adjust your food during baking – another time-saver!

The Ronco Grill Wave resembles a sandwich maker, in that it is a quick cooking, multi-functional appliance. There are dual heating chambers, so you can cook both the top and the bottom of your food at the same time – allowing you to cook just about any recipe in less than seven minutes!

Remember that using the Ronco Grill Wave is only a part of what you can do to maintain a healthy body. Be sure to exercise often, and to see your doctor to help you discover what a great healthy eating and exercise routine should be for you.

This weekend I heard the bad news that toll prices were going up on the PA Turnpike, and I take the PA Turnpike every day to work. To my surprise, however, as I approached my Exit I was delighted to see signs that stated “Toll Free www.mckenna.com” for my Exit off the Turnpike. I saw a few signs, so of course the first thing I did when I came into work was look up this website that apparently paid for my ride in this morning.

The website www.mckenna.com is for a weight loss book written by Paul McKenna. As it turns out, my free toll this morning was a book promotion for Paul McKenna’s book “I Can Make You Thin”. Perfect timing: free toll for me, and a new book to help lose the holiday weight. With that said, I would like to thank Paul McKenna and his book “I Can Make You Thin” for the free toll this morning off the PA Turnpike.

If you are interested in slimming down, or getting tips to help get you moving in a healthy direction, you might also like to read Eat This Not That.

For many of us, taking the time to do something different with our hair before we go to work, or go out for the night is out of the question. Either we do not have the time to style our hair, or we simply don’t know how to style our hair. How nice would it be to have a simple hair tool that allows us to do something different without taking up too much time or effort?

EZ Combs is the tool I am talking about. EZ Combs will style hair without much effort. The EZ Comb stretches over hair and will hold the hair all day long. Hair short, long, or between looks great with the EZ Combs.

The EZ Combs look different, so while the hair style may be a simple ponytail, the EZ Combs make it look elegant.

Around the holidays, it is easy for unorganized piles of gifts and decorations to take over your house. It is time to get organized! You can use these holiday storage tips to help your entire family cut the clutter in your home.

Tip #1: Ask everyone to pitch in with the organization and cleaning.
While your kids and spouse are still at home, hand them, some dust spray, brooms, and put them to work. As you organize, make sure that you label everything, and remember – even the smallest children can get involved. Start them with an organizing routine when they are just two or three, and it should stick with them as they grow. Do not be afraid to ask your family for help organizing, especially around the holidays, and you might even want to hire some help if you are feeling especially overwhelmed.

Tip #2: Keep the bathroom organized!
This year, invest in some storage for your bathroom drawers and walls. A Mounted Hair Care Holder can help you keep curling irons and blow dryers off the countertops, and a Cosmetics Tray can keep your drawers from looking like a colorful cream and powder explosion. Plan enough time so that before you leave for the night, you can clean up the bathroom. That way, it will be organized for the next day!

Tip #3: Organize your fridge.
With Fridge Roll Out Trays that can be installed in just a few minutes, you can see what is in your fridge – even in the back. This saves you time when you are looking for a specific ingredient, and it can also save you money – no more buying duplicates or throwing out spoiled food that you forgot in the very back. You will also save energy.

Tip #4: Do not store items under the tree after Christmas.
While in the days leading up to Christmas you will probably keep your wrapped boxes under the tree, when the big day is over, do not use this as a storage location. Throw away any packaging, paper, or other trash items you missed that morning. Give every item a place in your home so that it can be put away when not in use. Otherwise, things may pile up in your living room or family room long after you take down your tree.

Tip #5: Store your ornaments in special boxes.
It is easy to become complacent and simply throw your tree ornaments together in a big box when you are taking down the tree. If you do not use special ornament storage, your tree decorations could be broken when you go to use them next year. Look for a Christmas Ornament Storage Container instead that is made up of little compartments where you can place each individual ornament to prevent it from being broken and tangled with other ornaments. Along with that, keep your lights and garland rolled nicely with a Light Reel to prevent tangling during the months it is in storage.

Some of us cook, some of us don’t, some people help, and others pretend to help. Whether you are the cook or the pretend helper in the kitchen, there are some fun new kitchen gadgets any host will love.

Peeling potatoes is never a fun task. In fact when my mom spends hours cooking, of all things, peeling potatoes is her least favorite activity on her to do list. Usually I tell her that I will start a potato peeling business and peel everyone’s potatoes for them. But now there is a product called the Rotato Express which has made my potato peeling business not as necessary. The Rotato Express is a kitchen gadget that automatically peels the potato (or fruit) skin off in an easy motion. So while the Rotato Express peels the potatoes, the cook can check other things off the cooking to do list.

While my mom needs the Rotato Express to peel her potatoes, other cooks (like myself) need a gadget to help clean up the mess after peeling other vegetables. The No Mess Veggie Peeler is the cool new kitchen gadget for us. It peels vegetables, and the shavings go right into a chamber attached to the No Mess Veggie Peeler. So we do not need to worry about peeling over the sink, or trash can, or clogging the drain with the shavings.

The last new gadget is for the host of all ages. Everyone on your gift list will love the new Fizz Saver. The Fizz Saver will keep all carbonated drinks from loosing carbonation after each time the bottle is opened. So unless you or your guests like drinking flat soda, the Fizz Saver keeps soda carbonated until the bottle is empty.

So now, you don’t need to worry about what to get for the cooking enthusiast this year for the holidays. Or perhaps, buy yourself the kitchen tool that will help alleviate the worst part of preparing a holiday meal for you!

Have you seen this new product? It is a hot pink keyboard called Keyboard for Blondes. The keyboard looks like a typical computer keyboard, however, take a closer look.

You’ll notice that some of they keys are different than what we are used to seeing. The backspace button no longer erases the typo, but has become an “Ooops!” button. There is even an XOXO key and an IDK (I Don’t Know) key. Not only is there a “Useless Key” which was once the Alt key, but the row of function keys spells out “USELESS”. The most exciting feature about the Keyboard for Blondes is that it will speak when some keys are pressed.

The slogan for the hot pink Keyboard for Blondes is “A very important and glamorous thing to have,” I just think it is fun. What do you think?

If you like the Keyboard for Blondes, and you are interested in other different types of keyboards for yourself or for people in your life, check out the Oversized Keyboard. The Oversized Letter Keyboard looks just like a regular computer keyboard, but with larger letters to help those with vision problems.

Think about the answer you get when you ask children (yours or someone else’s), “What do you want for the holidays?” Some kids want toys, others want money, and some want both! If you’re like me, you want to give the best gifts to everyone on your list, including the children who want toys and money. So I came up with a few great ways of spoiling the kids who want it all and actually giving them everything they want; all-in-one toy and money gifts!

This Pinball Money Maze is the exemplary all-in-one gift we are talking about here. It’s a pinball game that can be played with but also holds the money or gift card to his or her favorite store.

If the child you’re purchasing a gift for is a bit of a thinker, and likes to solve puzzles, the One Million Dollar Cash Puzzle is the perfect gift! The only way to get the money is to figure out the puzzle. The One Million Dollar Cash Puzzle will be fun for everyone!

If you are giving a DVD or a video instead of money, the Movie Maze Gift Holder will be a fun way to watch the child try to get the gift out. The child has to solve the puzzle in order to watch the movie gift inside.

Try putting a gift card or money into the Green Bilz Box for the interactive child on your list. Green Bilz is a game puzzle, and the ball has to make it through the puzzle in order for the money or gift card to become accessible.

The Cash Shirt is not a game in itself, but it is still a fun and different way to give any child some cash for the holidays. You just fold the money and use the Cash Shirt to present the money. Who knows? Maybe the recipient will like it so much that he or she will save the money from the cash shirt…maybe.

And for the child that hates taking a shower or bath, you can entice them with the Money Soap. The money is inside the Money Soap, but the only way to get to it, is to actually use the soap.

Shaving, in general, is not the most exciting thing we do during the day. Some people hate it, others do not mind so much, but I think I can safely say that none of us like it when our razor cuts us. The Smooth Away will eliminate the razor aspect of shaving, and therefore eliminates the cuts by the razor.

The Smooth Away keeps “shaving” simple and easy. In the winter it’s difficult to get motivated to shave because we are always all covered up anyway, and in the summer we shave so frequently it becomes a chore - these problems are resolved now that the Smooth Away option is here. Smooth Away keeps skin smooth, while gently and painlessly removing hair.

Hate the feeling of getting your top lip waxed? Do it yourself now at home, without the wax and pain with the Smooth Away. The Smooth Away is safe to use to remove the hair for your top lip as well. A great and simple solution to the pains of waxing and shaving is the Smooth Away.

One of our newest items at Taylor Gifts is the Gas Gripper. When my co-worker saw the Gas Gripper, he was so excited that we carry this item. He sent me a message telling me how great the Gas Gripper is because it is so frustrating to get to the gas station and have to stand outside in the cold holding the gas pump if the automatic holder on the gas pump is broken. I thought about this, and finally agreed with his feelings on the Gas Gripper when my car was desperate for gas and it was 27 degrees outside, I did not have gloves, and I did have to hold the gas pump.

The Gas Gripper clips around the gas lever and holds it down until the gas tank is full. It is so small that it will fit right inside the gas tank door, so you never need to worry to remember the Gas Gripper from home.

For such a small device, the Gas Gripper really can be a huge help. Store the Gas Gripper in the gas tank door, simply clip it on to the gas lever, and sit in and relax in your warm and dry car while the Gas Gripper pumps your gas for you.

As the holidays approach we all need to begin to think about the gifts we will give to our families and friends. Some of us also like to take this time to buy ourselves some gifts…perhaps as a reward for finding the perfect gift for someone else. No matter who the gift is for, I personally always like to find the perfect gift for everyone on my holiday gift list. With that said, I came up with some of my favorite gift ideas that we have at Taylor Gifts. I’ll tell you the products (in no particular order) and why I think it’s great.

- Pajama Warmer: For the person who is always cold, this is the perfect gift. Just put pajamas, or socks, gloves, or scarves into the pajama warmer, and it warms up before putting the article of clothing on! My friend Joe at Book of Joe has found another use for the pajama warmer - give it to your friend who loves his/her Mac Book Air as a Mac Book Air case; as it is small enough to protect the laptop.

- Iron Gym: A great gift for the tough guy/girl in your life; or for the person who wants to become tough. The Iron Gym is a multi-functional bar that can be used to do pull-ups, push-ups, sit-ups, and dips. It’s functional and practical, and is small enough to fit in any size apartment or house.

- The Cash Shirt: What kid, or big kid doesn’t like to get cash? The Cash Shirt is a creative way to give the person on your list who needs some money the cash they are looking for.

- Arm Carpal Massager: The friend or family member who sits at the computer all day with wrists that hurt (with or without Carpal Tunnel Syndrome) will love you forever if they receive the Arm Carpal Massager from you this holiday season. While it may look like a scary device, Luke Anderson at OhGizmo believes it may feel good on the pain.

- Snuggie Fleece: For the person who likes to cuddle up in blankets while watching TV, reading, or working. The Snuggie Fleece has sleeves, just like a robe, so when you give this blanket as a gift you’re giving the gift of warmth and freedom to stay warm no matter what this person on your list needs to do.

- Counting Sorting Money Jar: Who doesn’t have the disorganized person on their list? Who doesn’t have the money saver (or the person who needs to start saving their money) on their list this year? Whichever type of person you need to buy a gift for this year, the EZ Counting Sorting Money Jar is a perfect gift. It allows your saver to save coins, the organized (or the one who needs to organize) to keep coins sorted, and the lazy to just listen to the bank tell him/her how much money is in the jar.

- Sushezi Sushi Tube: Don’t forget about the exotic food-lover on your list this year! People like sushi, and people want to make their own, but it is a difficult task. The Sushezi Sushi Tube makes the sushi-making process easy, and will make your sushi-lover friend very happy this holiday season.

- Last but not least is the GPS Cup Holder Mount: For the avid traveler (or anyone with a GPS). This is a perfect gift that your friends and family will keep forever and will use every day. It will hold the GPS so it is easy to see, without having to suction a mount to the windshield or dashboard.

These are some of my favorite gifts to give this year for the holidays, what are some of your favorites?