Raines Realm

I know that there are people who are genuinely not morning people. I used to be one myself. Then I started learning about subtle shifts that I could use to make all of the difference. How we start our day is crucial. When we first wake up, our bodies need time to reboot and generally speaking, most people don't get that time. If at all possible, when you first wake up, do some light stretching in bed or lay there for a minutes saying your positive affirmations. Above all else, wait to pick up your phone or device. The importance of mornings should be respected by being present. When you're present in the moment, you are ruling the day instead of the other way around. When your present in the moment, getting dressed, having your coffee or tea, helping your children, you get the opportunity to set a positive tone for the whole day. When your rushing around, stressing about the next thing that you have to do to be able to leave on time, it causes the day to be ruled by neg...

Have you ever had that moment where you just finished cooking dinner after a stressful, hectic, crazy day, and its much later than your family's normal dinner time, and as you triumphantly announce that its ready, you realize that the table has not been set? Now dinner is getting cold while everyone pitches in, grabbing the plates, saucers, flatware, glasses, napkins, and condiments. Dinner is now cold. What's the solution? Everyone knows that I am a big planner. I am a firm believer that meal planning can make life so much easier. And meal planning is crucial for this habit to work. Its best if you know what the next meal is going to be, or at least have a basic idea of what it will consist. You can find more information on meal planning and prep  here . After you clear the table following a meal, set it for the next meal. Simple right? At minimum, put out the plates, saucers, and cloth napkins. Then, if you have children they can put out the flatware and condiments whi...

When you first wake up and you're resembling something more out of a Romero movie than your normal self, blindly staggering towards the coffee, do you ever wish for an effortless breakfast that doesn't consist of packaged convenience food? This recipe is your wish granted! This casserole is so easy because you mix it the night before. So, in the morning, all you have to do is put it in the oven and, bam, home-cooked breakfast without the work first thing in the morning. This was perfect for our Christmas morning and will probably be a weekend favorite as well. The only thing that actually has to be cooked the night before is the ground sausage. You could even take that a step further though. During your meal prep daus, you could scramble sausage to freeze as well, making this recipe that much easier. This recipe is great for building onto as well. You could add onions, peppers, ham, bacon, tomatoes, anything that you would like in an omelet would probably work i...

"Candy!" is generally the first thing that springs to mind when thinking of Halloween, but a traditional Irish fortune-telling cake is more accurate. We all know that Halloween is the modern-day celebration of the ancient Celtic holiday of Samhaim (pronounced Sow-in). It was originally celebrated as the time of year when the veil between the living and the dead was at its thinnest. This led to all sorts of fortune-telling and divination methods in hopes of learning about the future. Thus enters the barmbrack. This simple fruit bread is the delicious ancestor of the questionable fruit cakes of today. The fun part about this bread though, has nothing to do with its taste or appearance, but what it has inside. Particular "charms" are wrapped in parchment paper, evenly distributed, and baked inside. Traditionally, the items include a coin, ring, thimble, button, and scrap of cloth. The cake is then divided and whatever charm you had in your piece was you...

Chocolate cake? The kid in all of us is doing a happy dance right now and rightfully so. New studies suggest that adding chocolate cake to your breakfast routines can have a plethora of positive results. And, unlike other diet trends out there, you don't have to psych yourself up to indulge in chocolate. Scientists have conducted new studies that show eating cake occassionally for breakfast can have positive effects on your waistline. Groups that had cake as their morning meal were less likely to indulge throughout the day and saw an increase in weight loss. Eating dessert foods in the morning when your metabolism is at its highest is the best way to our those delicious calories to their best use. And chocolate has been proven to increase cognitive brain function and memory. I like to eat it because it tastes good, but hey, you can't argue with science. We should be seeing an increase of dessert menus and options at restaurants for breakfast in the coming ...