Kenney Myers

Author | Actor | Producer | Kickboxer | Entrepreneur

Catch All

35 Blogs for Low Carb Living

by

low carb diet

Those of you that know me and specifically have eaten out with me recently know that I am a low-to-no carb guy nowadays.  In fact for nearly a year I haven’t had any bread (outside of communion and when I had no choice).  I found the Ideal Protein diet to be one that really worked well for me and it provided me with a lot of guidance around how to avoid the carbs I have LOVED for years (pastas, breads, cereal, etc.). While I haven’t technically been on the diet for a few months, I still adhere to the low-to-no carb philosophy and put together this list of 35 articles/blogs that may help make the low carb lifestyle easier for my friends, family and readers to get behind.

Low Carb Lifestyle
Leading a low carb lifestyle can be difficult and you may have questions about whether it’s a good idea or not.  These five bloggers will give you some insight into maintaining a low carb diet and the benefits of eating that way.

Low Carb Appetizers
If you are looking for some low carb appetizers for your next get together (especially if I am attending), you’ve come to the right place.  These five blog entries will give you some low carb appetizer options and your guests won’t even realize that they’re eating low carb.

Low Carb Side Dishes
For a low carb lifestyle you need to get out of the mindset that every meal needs to have a starch.  This method of eating stems back to the meat and potatoes generation, which is how many of us were brought up.  Here are five blog posts that have low carb side dish recipes.

Low Carb Snacks
If you’re having trouble finding low carb snacks that are satisfying and don’t break the bank, look no further.  These five blogs will give you some low carb snack ideas for the whole family.

Low Carb Desserts
It’s easy to think that you will never get dessert again if you are on a low carb eating plan, but you just need to change how you think about dessert.  If you avoid sweets most of the time, then other food becomes sweeter naturally.  These five blog posts have some low carb dessert recipes to help you.

Low Carb Menus
Coming up with menus day after day that are low carb can be quite a chore.  It’s easy to get stuck in a rut and default to making the same tried and true meals over and over (which I am infamous for).  Here are five blog posts that will help you plan some low carb menus.

Crock Pot
On those days that you are busy you can throw something in the crock pot (or convince someone else to do that for you) and still stay low carb.  These recipes are simple to prepare and are quite tasty according to these five bloggers.

A Lot of Thought Goes Into Website Logos

by

For me, the best logos tell you about the person, business, or organization they represent.  When I was working on my personal blog I wanted to reflect three aspects of my life 1) My Christian Faith 2) My Family/Friends and 3) My Fighting (passion for mixed martial arts as an athlete and fan).  I think that the following logo really nails all three perfectly.  The cross represents my faith and the boxing glove reflects fighting and the outreached hand represents that I’ll do whatever I can for my family and friends.  If you get a second, let me know what you think!  Thanks!

mylogo

VolunteerForever.com – Crowdsourcing for Church Mission Trips – Interview

by

volunteerforeverI recently wrote an article about various ways to fund church youth group mission trips (because our Jr. and Sr. High groups are both currently raising funds).  As a result Steven Weddle, the Co-Founder & CEO of VolunteerForever.com reached out to me to let me know about his site and how it might be able to help our church.  I thought it was a really interesting concept but needed to get more information from him so I asked him the following questions which he agreed to turn into a nice interview for my blog:

1) What inspired you to create this site?

I created Volunteer Forever after volunteering abroad in India in late 2011. The trip was a life-changing experience for me, but getting there was difficult since I had a hard time finding a trustworthy volunteer opportunity and paying for the trip. When I got home, it just dawned on me to build a website that would allow people to find volunteer opportunities abroad and raise money for their volunteer trip expenses.

2) Have you funded church youth group mission trips through the site and if yes, how many?

Volunteer Forever was originally designed to help individual volunteers raise money for their trips abroad. For example, our typical user was a college student or recent graduate raising money to join a position with an international volunteer organization overseas.  However, in describing the features of Volunteer Forever to my family and friends (several of whom have participated in church mission trips), I realized our website would benefit church youth group mission trip participants as well. So far, we have one family who is currently fundraising for their church mission trip to Haiti. Their mother founded an organization that raised nearly $8,000 on Volunteer Forever last year and she is using our website again for her children’s first mission trip to Haiti. Ultimately, we’d love it if every church youth group had the opportunity to use our platform to make mission trips more attainable for everyone. Each group will be able to create their very own trip page that individual fundraisers will be able to link to. Donors can then easily make a donation to the individual fundraiser of their choice and the funds are instantly placed in the fundraiser’s or group’s PayPal account.
3) Would you recommend that a youth group notify their congregation and community to support a volunteerforever.com campaign?

Absolutely, your congregation and community will likely understand your mission trip’s purpose and the benefits of participating in one. Best of all, you’ll be able to leverage the support from your church and ministry leaders to raise awareness of and advocate for your fundraising campaign. Furthermore, you’ve built trust and rapport with your congregation and community members, which are incredibly vital for a successful fundraising campaign.
4) What are some of the challenges with crowdfunding a mission trip?

One of the biggest challenges for crowdfunding for a mission trip is engaging your audience and telling a compelling story. Not everyone will understand why you are raising thousands of dollars to go on a mission trip to help people outside of your local area. When crafting a crowdfunding campaign for the trip, we encourage all of our fundraisers to clearly explain the following in their campaign description:
  • What’s your motivation for going on this mission trip?
  • What will you do there and how will the host community benefit from your presence?
  • Why do you need funding and how will the funds be used?
  • How do you plan to grow from the experience?
5) How do people normally spread the word about a project that may be on your site (social media, emails, etc.)?

Our fundraisers spread the word about their project through e-mail, Facebook, and Twitter. Typically, a fundraiser will send out a personal e-mail or Facebook message to their closest friends and family members. Then, they will share their fundraising page with their extended networks through Facebook. Facebook is an especially effective way to raise of a campaign; our data for this months shows nearly 60% of all donations on our site originated from Facebook. We’ve integrated these social media tools directly onto each fundraiser’s page so that with a single click, you can share your fundraising campaign across e-mail, Facebook, Twitter, and many other social networking platforms.
At a conceptual level, I think this is really interesting and worth looking into.  It makes a ton of sense and no matter what we end up doing for our church, this is a website that I’ll be keeping my eye on.  I definitely want to thank Steven Weddle for taking the time to tell me more about his site and how we might be able to use it.  If you end up giving it a try for your youth group, please report back and let me know how it works for you and I’ll do the same.

What in the World is a #Twacronym

by

twacronymAs you know by now, I really enjoy Twitter (@KenneyMyers) and see it as an interesting platform to explore different ways of communicating.  Ideally, I attempt to communicate some message that has a meaning whether it is hidden or overt.  Of course, I almost always have multiple meanings behind the prose I write which I think is fairly common.  In addition, the beautiful thing about written words is that the people that read them also can get completely different meanings out of what you are saying.  Okay, so back to the meaning of #twacronym…  These are simply acronyms that I plan to release exclusively on twitter.

For example, the first one I did is HOLIDAYS – Help Others Love In Different And Youthful Spirits.  Unlike with #twalliteration which honestly takes tons of time to pull off properly.  #Twacronyms are really simple.  All you have to do is capitalize the word that is the basis for the tweet, add a dash, and then one word for each letter in the base word (be sure to capitalize the first letter of each of those words).  Finally, please use the #twacronym hashtag on each one you publish.  That’s all you have to do!

It’s my hope that people will see the #twacronym each day and offer suggestions for other meanings of the base word.  That may or may not happen and retweeting is also certainly a great way to support a #twacronym too.  Most importantly, I hope that people will use this as yet another way to show their creativity to their followers.  So let’s have some fun and start using #twacronym together!

 

10 Creative Ways for Keeping Coffee Hot on the Go

by

coffeeKeeping your coffee hot enough to drink can be a difficult thing to do when you’re constantly on the run. Some tricks might keep your coffee warm but tend to make it bitter, while others just don’t seem to work at all. Here are some of the more creative ways to keep your coffee hot, especially for those of you who are drinking it on the go.

  1. Look for a Pump-Top Thermos – If you drink several cups of coffee a day but don’t have access to a coffee maker at work or on the road, consider a pump-top thermos. These contraptions are the bigger thermoses that hotels often use to keep coffee warm on tables during meetings and other long events. The coffee stays piping hot for a few hours at a time, and can hold enough java to keep even the most dedicated drinker satisfied.
  2. Invest in a Thermal Cup or Mug – This may be a more traditional way to stave off the chill when it comes to your brew, but it is a tried and true way to keep your coffee warm enough to drink for a few hours longer than it would in a regular cup. You can find these insulated travel cups in a variety of decorative themes and styles, so you’re sure to find one that perfectly complements your personal style.
  3. Put a Cozy on Your Cup – Coffee shops pass out those little cardboard sleeves to keep your hands from burning after coming into contact with a thin paper cup filled with boiling brew, but they’re also handy little insulators. If you want to mimic this effect without sending more cardboard through a recycling facility, why not whip up a few of your own with felt, fabric or by knitting a functional and funky cup cozy?
  4. Spring For Over-sized Metal Coffee Beans – Designed to look like over-sized coffee beans that keep your morning cup of joe piping hot, jumbo metal coffee beans are a fun and effective way of avoiding cold coffee.
  5. Reheat in the Microwave – Sometimes all of your efforts to keep your coffee warm will come to naught. In such cases, the microwave is your best friend. If you’re on the road, you can often stop at a gas station with a microwave and reheat your coffee. Just don’t put it in for too long, or you’ll regret it. You don’t want to have to wait an hour before you can drink your coffee because you overheated it!
  6. Keep a Hot Plate On Hand – A hot plate is a viable option, but you’ll want to be careful because it often makes the coffee a little too hot. Be aware of the possibility of burns. Also, you don’t want to leave the hot plate on when you are not in the room, as it can be a dangerous situation. Never put a metal mug on a hot plate. This can burn your skin upon touch.
  7. Wrap Your Cup in a Scarf – If you’re really in a pinch on a cold day, take your scarf and wrap it around your coffee mug or thermos to give it a little extra insulation. If you don’t have a scarf handy, you can use almost anything with layers of fabric. The more layers you have, the warmer the coffee will stay.
  8. Put Your Heated Seat to Work – If you have heated seats in your car and your coffee is getting a little on the cool side, put the seat on the highest setting and set your coffee mug on it, carefully. It probably will not be able to reheat your coffee if it’s gotten cold, but it should keep it drinkable and warm.
  9. Make Your Heating Pad Do Double Duty – When you’re traveling a lot, it’s not uncommon to suffer from back pain as a result of spending too much time in the car. So why not utilize that back warming pad in more ways than one? When it’s not being used to soothe your aching back, wrap it around your coffee mug to keep your coffee tasty and hot.
  10. Use a Candle Warmer – If you don’t have a hot plate handy, a candle warmer can do the trick just as well. Place the cup on the warmer, as long as the cup you’re using isn’t a plastic or synthetic material that’s prone to melting. In no time, your coffee will be warm once again. As with any open coil appliance, do not leave the candle warmer unattended. 

The way you heat your coffee will depend on how long you want it to stay warm. No matter which way you choose, your coffee can stay drinkable while you’re on the run if you’re prepared.

15 Blogs Showing the Pros and Cons of Consuming Artificial Sweetener

by

sugarsubWhen it comes to consuming artificial sweeteners, what’s the truth and what’s propaganda? Before you reach for your next packet of artificial sweetener, check out these 15 blog entries.

Pros

While you can find tons of articles about the evils of artificial sweeteners, you can also, amazingly enough, find some that are positive. According to some, there has been no hard evidence that artificial sweeteners cause health problems. All of the artificial sweeteners on the market have been approved by the FDA as safe for human consumption.  Read these five blog articles to learn the proposed positives of consuming artificial sweeteners.

Cons

It’s often hard to know what to believe about artificial sweeteners.  The fact that they are artificial and created in a lab may give one pause, but is it true that some may cause intestinal problems and cancer?  Check out these five blog posts to learn more about the negative reports on artificial sweeteners.        

Ways to Sweeten Food Naturally

If you can’t decide which side to take in the war on artificial sweeteners, you might just want to jump out of the argument altogether and sweeten your foods naturally.  Honey is one of the best ways to sweeten your food, and raw, local honey has the added benefit of giving you a natural protection against allergens.  To learn more ways to sweeten up your foods the natural way, check out these five blog entries.