by Cherry Daniels

The Islamic religion decrees that some elements are not clean for the body. These ingredients are called “haram” or prohibited. On the contrary, there are ingredients that are considered healthy for eating and these are called “halal”. Examples of haram contents include pork, blood, any kind of animal meat where the animal was butchered savagely, meat from dead animals, alcohol, and food where the name of Allah was not referred to during preparation and prior to consuming.

Attempting to find halal foods is not as problematic as before. There are many halal eateries being opened that are certified to serve halal foods. Not only does this mean that they do not have pork and other haram foods on the dish, but that the dish was prepared using halal food butchering and cooking methods.

Islam followers also love having desserts when dining out. And so, halal cakes are a top pick. They come in different flavours too, including chocolate, dark chocolate, apple, custard, lemon, and berries. They can either be served as pies, tarts, or pudding. The secret to these desserts and halal cakes is that they were made without a single drop of alcohol. In regular baking, alcohol is sometimes employed to create stronger flavours and to balance the sugariness. That is why there are rum cakes, brandy cakes, and others that use alcohol.

So, do followers of Islam go without enjoying a good dessert? Definitely not. To replace the alcohol, bakers of halal cakes use apple juice and alcohol-free vanilla extract. Traditional bakers ordinarily use solid fats to make their goods and these solid fats are usually pork fat. To remove this haram ingredient, halal cakes have fruit-based solid fats instead. It’s a good substitute that does not sacrifice the flavour.

Shortenings are also created using haram ingredients. To substitute these, halal bakers utilized there are better and healthier choices such as applesauce, pureed prunes, and apple butter. These are particularly fabulous for pies.

Enjoy dining at your favourite Halal Restaurant, which offers a delicious selection of halal cakes.

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by Tarra Pitt

The recent trend to be in prefect shape has led health conscious people to either avoid certain foods or restrict their intake. These are more often than not both unhealthy and ineffective methods, as they cause weight loss only in the short run, and may slow your metabolism making it harder to lose weight in the future. Working out on a regular basis is a healthier and more effective option. Obtaining a personal trainer to assist you with this goal can be a prudent decision.

But the majority of people are uncertain about the efficacy of regular workouts under the guidance of a personal trainer and don’t feel there is a strong enough case to get into such an arrangement. Opting for a personal trainer in fact always gives you significant benefits.

People can get fit by themselves. However, they may achieve their goals slower, less efficiently, or risk hurting themselves. Others who work with a personal trainer find quicker and more amazing outcomes. Personal trainers not only develop a risk-free and progressive program based on your individual needs, but they also provide motivation, advice, and support.

Nevertheless, many people don’t recognize the advantages of getting a personal trainer. In fact, using a personal trainer has a lot of advantages.

Firstly, a personal trainer provides the inspiration that you require in order to attain your goals through a regimented exercise program. This will propel you to make the best use of your capacity in maintaining your fitness and physique.

Secondly, a personal trainer, being an expert, guides you on the right exercises and techniques to use while working out and will offer an exercise regimen and diet plan tailored to your body and its specific requirements. Thus, your homemade exercise regimen and reckless attempts at eating less will be replaced by a more planned and focused program.

Thirdly, a personal trainer will make you aware of your current standing on the health and fitness scale, and they will be quite sincere in their assessment of your fitness.

Fourthly, a personal trainer can also teach preventive measures against injury and teach you how to recuperate from an injury. Eventually with their guidance, you can become knowledgeable enough to carry on with your exercises without your trainer’s guidance.

Lastly, a personal trainer helps you maintain your good health and makes you more conscious and committed about your timetables and deadlines.

Personal training guarantees that the focus of the trainer is solely on your health and fitness. If you are conscious of the health improvements you ought to make and where you have to reach, then you can derive maximum benefits from a trainer. Make sure that check through the credentials of the trainer well in advance and make sure that you have an honest dialogue about your goals. You will have the body of your dreams in no time.

Discover a gym where you can increase your wellness and fitness.

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How can one person learn to “think outside of the box?”  For example, cut a cake into eight slices, however you have to make no more than three cuts.  Most people will have trouble coming up with a way to cut the cake.  But to solve this, you have to change the way you look at the cake and how to cut it.  One perfect solution is to cut the cake into two equal sizes and put the other half on top of the other.  Cut it again in half then stack the other half pieces on top of one another and cut them again.  That is thinking out of the box.

Another example of thinking out of a box is this:  Here are four words…  subtract, multiply, add, decrease…  Now which one does not belong to the group?  Most people would say that the word “decrease” does not belong.  Why?  Because all the other three words are mathematical functions and the latter is not.  Unfortunately, that would place you squarely in the box because the answer is “add” since it only has three letters while the others have six or more.  There are many ways to view the world.  Yet, there are only a few that demonstrate creativity and fresh thinking.

Our minds work by inserting referencing past experiences and processes.  Another good sample is when you are asked to name two days that begin with the letter “T”.  Your answer would probably be Tuesday and Thursday.  What about Tomorrow and Today?  Companies try to test a new product and are sure they are getting a design at a reasonable cost.  They look at things in the business and think that their objectives will work just as planned.  Unfortunately, these ideas are already outmoded due to their monotony and reliance on past patterns.  Patterns are helpful since they help finish tasks such as driving, eating or drinking.  However, these same patterns make it hard for people to look at the world with new eyes and create alternative solutions to dilemmas they are facing.

One important move to break the pattern is trying to reverse patterns, designs, or potential solutions in order to gain a new perspective.  Take things as they are and turn them inside out, upside down, or simply turn them around and you may be surprised with the result.  This was Henry Ford’s personal experience.  His conventional plan was to “bring people to work.”  He tried to change all this into, “bring work to the people.”  This plan generated more revenues.

In order to think out of the box, never shy away from the fact that some of your ideas could really be crazy enough to work.  Breaking the rigidity of our thinking is a way to sift through the harebrained and irrational and find ideas that are revelatory.  Start by listing several odd or absurd ideas about a certain problem.

Remember that you could be a genius in your own way.  Your thoughts come from deep reaches and are often unique.  Many times these completely different ideas are clever enough to make a difference in the end.  Being creative and out of the box is wild sometimes, but practicing creative thinking could move you to new heights of growth and self-development.  You will be surprised at how easy and differently it will be for you to address problems, find solutions, and innovate.  Start looking at the world with anew.  You will be happier, more focused, and truly think outside of the box.

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We at STR have plenty to be thankful for.  Most importantly, we want to thank you, our loyal readers, contributors, and supporters, for making this one the best economic and political blogs on the Internet.  You continue to inspire and motivate us to build a bigger and better STR.  We wish you, your family, and your friends a very Happy Thanksgiving!

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Many people believe that people learned how to distill around 800 B.C.  The first primitive distilleries were in Asia and many scholars initially believed that they were used to make perfume.  However, this theory has been disproven.

Although scholars are not sure when distilling methods reached the British Isles, they do know that the Moors were the ones who spread the knowledge.  Common wisdom states that monasteries throughout Central Europe further refined these methods.  Apparently, the patron saint of Ireland, St. Patrick, carried this trade into the monasteries in 432 C.E. on a Christian mission.  In any case, the Celts did acquire the means to make their “water of life”.  In Gaelic, it is pronounced “Uisge Beatha”.

This is how scotch whiskey came to be.  The milestone year for whiskey would have to be 1494.  This was the year that Sir Friar John Cor of Scotland ordered eight bolls of malt.  It was reportedly to be used for aqua vitae, which is the first verifiable proof of whiskey production in Scotland.

Distilling moved quickly from the monasteries to the countryside.  Private whiskey production continued unabated until 1820.  The government made a choice to prohibit citizens from running their own distilleries.  It was also during this time that distillers discovered that aging the scotch produced a smoother and mellower taste.  Before aging, many modern scotch drinkers would not like the rough and pungent scotch of yesteryear.

Widespread whisky production was geared toward the British market for many years.  However, people the world over love and appreciate the wonderful taste of whiskey.  Approximately 90% of all whisky that is produced in Scotland is used in blended whisky.  Scotch has enjoyed a resurgence among drinkers who appreciate a more refined beverage.

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Although many feel that the idea of Black History Month is outmoded, many Americans across the racial, ethnic, and ideological spectrum are still unaware of the many contributions that black Americans have made to the growth and uplift of this nation.  While most people are aware that blacks have often served as the moral center of the country and contributed immensely to American arts and culture, blacks have often gone unheralded for their contributions in economics, science, and other professional fields.  Thus, throughout the month, I will highlight black Americans that have made tangible contributions to American society.  Today: Abram Lincoln Harris.

Abram Lincoln Harris was born in 1899.  Mr. Harris grew up in Richmond, Virginia where his father was a butcher and his mother was a teacher.  After graduating from Virginia Union University in 1922, Mr. Harris furthered his education at the University of Pittsburgh.  Here, he earned an M.A. in Economics and rose to prominence with the publication of his masters’ thesis entitled The Negro Laborer in Pittsburgh.  Displaying an affinity for the writings of Karl Marx and other social reformers, Mr. Harris’ early philosophy focused on the need for a multiracial labor movement that could negotiate from a position of economic strength while working to alleviate historic inequalities that arose due to America’s long inequitable treatment of blacks.

Abram Lincoln Harris was not naïve.  Many of his writings focused on the deep racial and ethnic divisions among American laborers.  Where their common economic interests should have dovetailed into a strong movement, racial pride and prejudice kept the movement fractured for many years throughout many industries.  Mr. Harris continued to teach at various universities and publish writings exploring the state of black and white laborers in America.  He even wrote with bemusement about leftists who sought black political support, but refused to allow blacks to attend Communist Party meetings.  While Mr. Harris was committed to a broad labor movement, he was never an avowed communist.

Instead, Mr. Harris continued to study black and white laborers and the economic and social conditions that led to conflict between them.  He became the second black American to earn a Ph. D in economics.  After earning his Ph. D in Economics from Columbia University, he collaborated with Sterling Spero to write and publish the seminal work, The Black Worker, the Negro, and the Labor Movement.  In this classic book, Harris wrote about the benefits of unionism and its ability to tamp down racial antagonism.  He was critical of popular black groups that espoused an anti-union philosophy.  As a prominent member of Howard University’s faculty, Mr. Harris called for the creation of a working class political party.

Abram Lincoln Harris’ radicalism waned as the Great Depression and WWII raged.  Although Harris remained a socialist throughout the 1930s, with his appointment to the faculty of the University of Chicago, he focused more on traditional economics and most of his racial critiques ceased.  Many scholars believe that it was the influence of the famous University of Chicago economist Frank Wright that tempered much of Harris’ radicalism.  Harris’ work at Chicago repudiated many of his earlier writings and formed the intellectual foundation for many neo-conservative economists such as Thomas Sowell.

Whether one subscribes to the socialist economic views of his earlier years or the more conservative bent of his later years, Abram Lincoln Harris laid a strong intellectual foundation for the field of economics that continues to be studied and appreciated by economists to this day.  His influence on the field of economics cannot be overstated and his influence can be felt throughout late 20^th century across the political and ideological spectrum.

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Critics have been raving about how Up In The Air is destined to become a film classic.  Directed by Jason Reitman and starring George Clooney and Vera Farmiga, the movie tells the story of Ryan Bingham who travels around the country to different companies and lays off employees for cowardly bosses.  In this world, even firing has been outsourced.

Ryan lives a comfortable existence devoid of any real or meaningful human companionship.  He hates being home in Omaha, and relishes the freedom and anonymity of constant travel.  Bingham’s only goal is to achieve 10,000,000 frequent flier miles, a feat achieved by only seven people.

Ultimately, two people enter into Ryan’s life and challenge his views about living a life free of commitments.  The scenes where Ryan and his associate actually fire people are harrowing, but are undercut by the breezy overtone of the rest of the movie.  The relationship between Clooney and Farmiga is so wonderful to watch, Clooney is so affective and charming an actor that you find yourself strangely disaffected by the real world carnage that occurs when they are not meeting cute.

Critics have been praising the film’s timeliness and the way it addresses modern American life.  Unfortunately, I find the movie far too smug.  Although Reitman attempts to inject some pathos into the proceedings, the movie itself smacks of prepackaged, too-cute-by-half Oscar bait that goes down way too easily.  Think Forest Gump.  Critics arguing for the film as a time-capsule are out of touch with the general fear and malaise that has gripped our society.  Clooney’s character arc is not enough to make us forget about the pain he has left in his wake.  His redemption cannot save our society.  Those connections he craves are the ones that other people are fighting to save in the face of a world that has chewed them up and spit them out.

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Wow!  2009 has been a tumultuous year and a year of tremendous personal growth.  When we started this endeavor in December of 2008, little did we know that the site would grow the way it did and that we would reach and help so many people.  Our expectations were not only met, but exceeded.  We have no one to think but you, the STR community.  Thank you for your support, feedback, and constructive criticism.

After a nice vacation, we are back.  The world has not stopped spinning and we are primed to give you the guidance, news, and well-researched opinions that you have come to expect from us.  In addition, we continue upgrading and expanding the site in order to meet the diverse needs of our faithful readers.  We have seen firsthand what the power of thinking outside of the box can do.  Thus, we are doubly dedicated to making to seeing our long-term dreams come true.  We ask that you continue your journey with us.

In addition to STR, we are beginning to branch off into other ventures.  As these ventures begin to grow and yield fruit, we will be able to pass on that knowledge to the members of our community.  Once again, we look forward to great things in 2010 and we wish you and your families all the best in the coming year.

Warmest regards,

The STR Team

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Antique coin collecting is a fun activity that can also be financially rewarding.  It is becoming an increasingly popular hobby as people learn more about the value of antique and rare coins.  With a growing number of knowledgeable rare coin dealers and the creation of very useful coin collecting software, it is an easy hobby to learn and has great financial potential.

The most popular and lucrative types of coins are antique coins.  Antique coins may be bought from auctions, coin shows, malls, and even in tourist areas that have historical themes.  Antique coins do vary in price based on the age of the coin, its history, and its condition.

Here are some tips that you should consider before purchasing antique coins:

1.  The buyer should make ensure that the antique coin they are buying is genuine.  There are many counterfeit coins sold in the market and a buyer should thoroughly inspect any coin before buying it.

2.  Beginning collectors should collect the less expensive antique coins initially.  Coins that are more expensive should be purchased once one is familiar with collecting and has amassed a decent collection.

3. Always be aware of scams and fraud that sometimes hurt beginning collectors.  Although you may be enthusiastic about your new hobby, make sure you do the due diligence.

4.  Find reliable and trustworthy rare coin dealers that are able to assess accurately the value of the coin before you purchase it.  The real value of the coin must be correctly assessed before you make a decision.  This will prevent you from buying a coin at an inflated price.

5.  When choosing antique coins, narrow your focus down to a collection of antique coins from a specific country or a specific era.  This will make your search for collectable coins easier.

6.  You should always take excellent care of your coins in order to preserve their value.  Antique coins should be given extra care in order to preserve their appearance as well as their value.  You can also purchase coin collecting software that will enable to keep an accurate record of your coins, their condition, and their value.

In addition, antique coins do not require much cleaning because excessive cleaning will only depreciate their value. The older the antique coin looks the more expensive it becomes.

Antique coin collecting can provide so much joy for collectors.  Many people have begun making it a hobby. Remember, patience is a virtue and you should be diligent in your search for these coins since they are limited in number.  Coin collecting can be a fun and financially rewarding hobby that anyone can pick up during the recession.

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by Damian Papworth

Visiting a foreign land for the first time and clueless about where to go or what to do first?  Just find a local cafe.  Whether it is early morning, during the slow afternoon hours, or late at night, there is always something to learn at a cafe.  In fact, the best way to learn about the country or city you’re visiting is by hanging out, having a cup of coffee, and looking around.

The café lifestyle varies greatly from country to country.  The Europeans of the world wouldn’t think twice about spending a couple of hours sitting in a restaurant or cafe, drinking only coffee.  You see, it is possible to even sip a single espresso for a long time, have a couple of cookies, and enjoy your free time.  And with some of the finest coffee in the world in Italy, why wouldn’t you enjoy the fine art of beverage making?  Most of the cafes will have an espresso machine that’s older than the United States, and that will make the drink taste that much better.  But more than just the taste, it’s about the idea that it’s okay to relax, in public, drinking coffee.

A number of countries have a rather relaxed lifestyle, but others elevate their culture from simply enjoyable to intellectually important.  Over by the university on the left bank of Paris, a number of tourists flock to the cafes where Sartre and other existentialists wrote some of the most important books of the 20th century.  In a city like Paris, the cafe lifestyle is about something more than just leisure.  It’s about valuing the time to think and create on your own, but also valuing the exchanges that occur in public spaces.

A couple of cities in the United States are a close to what could have been, or rather, what was before Starbucks made carryout coffee the thing that everyone needed and wanted. At a couple of regal cafes in New York, Boston, Chicago, and San Francisco, you’ll be laughed out the door if you try to order a “tall” anything.  Families who came to the States managed to order large machines from the old country that make seriously great drinks, so it is possible to sit for a while and enjoy a decent coffee and a sandwich with the other people in the neighborhood who value such things.

Probably the biggest difference from country to country is what comes with your beverage.  In the States, there’s not going to be any free snacks coming with your cappuccino or latte, but elsewhere in the world, a cafe would not think of serving you just a coffee.  You see, the café lifestyle in places like Buenos Aires, Argentina, will practically give you an afternoon snack.  Order a coffee–any coffee–and not only will a nice Italian-style espresso-based beverage come out, it will be accompanied by a glass of sparking water, at least three packets of sugar, a couple of tasty cookies, and a variety of chips or crackers.  Likewise, if you’re in Paris, it’s sometimes cheaper to go with their special, which means that your coffee always comes with a croissant or cookies.

It says a lot about a country when snacks come with your coffee.  Because if someone is serving you enough food to nibble on for a couple of hours, they are not trying to throw you out.  They’re saying to stay, to sit awhile, to relax.  And that is an incredible and welcome change if you’re used to a society that is too fast paced.  People genuinely do seem more relaxed in places where the café lifestyle allows for leisure time.  Everyone, from businesspersons to aspiring young writers and artists, takes the time to sit down and have conversations or enjoy some private time.  There’s no societal penalty, it’s just a legitimately nice time.

And there is just something more relaxing about sitting and talking for a while.  Even though that culture might not exist in your home country, or perhaps the pace of work makes it hard to indulge in it, but it’s an important relic of a time where life was about more than just work, even when everyone was working.  And work might actually save the café lifestyle.  Because now, if you have a laptop, you pretty much have an excuse to sit as long as you like, in a public place, under the guise of work.

However, wherever you are in the world, get to know a little bit more about the city you are visiting by heading over to a well-worn looking spot.  It might have waiters in bow ties, it might have beat-up looking wooden tables, but all that matters is it has a nice view of the street, and a few customers.  You now have the best seat in the whole city to learning how things work.  Just don’t rush off now, you hear?

Damian Papworth adores coffee.  Therefore, he launched the (http://onecupcoffeemakersshop.com/) One Cup Coffee Makers website.  On this site, you can read up on your (http://onecupcoffeemakersshop.com/1_cup_coffee_maker.htm) 1-cup coffee maker.

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