Although I previously blogged about lowering your grocery bills, today’s Thursday Thirteen features some more great tips:

Photo courtesy of Daquella manera Did you know that microwaving your vegetables saves 90% of their Vitamin C? Or that steaming or boiling vegetables causes them to lose 22% to 32% of their Vitamin C?

According to Wikipedia, vegetarianism is the practice of a diet that excludes all animal flesh, including poultry, game, fish, shellfish or crustacea, and slaughter by-products.

Being responsible for your actions is the cornerstone of life. Starting at an early age, we are held to certain standards to “grow up.” How many of you remember a childhood incident that you will never forget because you did or didn’t do something that your parents, teacher, or friend may have been disappointed in you? Common negative traits, albeit frequently unwarranted, are feelings of shame, humiliation, or self-criticism.

A healthy lifestyle is defined by four basic criteria according to a study by Michigan State University: 1. Not smoking 2. Holding weight down 3. Eating right 4. Exercising Of the 153,000 respondents, only 3% participated in all four of what are termed healthy lifestyle characteristics . That’s a surprisingly low number: * 75% reported they didn’t smoke * 23% included at least five fruits and vegetables in their daily diets