Hasta La Gadget!

“I would absolutely love a milkshake right now,” is a thought that’s crossed our mind at several times in our life–okay, and maybe even several points while writing this post. The only real thing standing in the way of us having a milkshake every single morning is our kitchen’s lack of the necessary appliances. In order to make a shake, you need a blender. Well, funny story…

We at Plated love finding workarounds, offering tips, and revealing tricks in the kitchen–and this milkshake solution does all of those things. Below, we’ll show you how to make this sweet concoction with just a few ingredients and the slightest bit of upper-body strength. Follow these simple steps and you’ll be making shakes in no time. No blender? No problem.

(Pro tip: One thing you will need is a mason jar or other lidded container that stays on nice and tight, because this recipe calls for shaking things up.)

Ingredients
½ cup milk
1 tablespoon Nutella
2 cups vanilla ice cream

1. Pour the milk into the mason jar, add the Nutella and then tightly fasten the lid.

2. Shake the jar vigorously for about 20 seconds, or until evenly mixed.

Shake it in different directions for maximum effect!

3. Add the vanilla ice cream and stir to mix (about 20 seconds).

4. Shake the jar until everything is evenly mixed (about 45 seconds).

5. Pour your shake into a glass and enjoy!

READ: 7 Incredible Three-Ingredient Desserts

Try this method yourself and see how simple making a milkshake can be!

Click here to try Plated today and get your first four meals free! And share your #platedpics on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter! (After you enjoy your first sip, of course.)

While meeting new people and making new business connections can be nerve-racking to those who are uncomfortable in social settings, it’s not as difficult as you think. All great conversationalists put effort into their dialogue in order to come across as interesting and engaging. Mingling skills can be taught and those that learn them, and then put them into practice, will reap the benefits and rewards. As anxious as you may feel, most people are experiencing similar emotions. What’s the big secret to making a favorable impression on others? Shifting the focus off of yourself and demonstrating interest in the other person. Here are seven ways to come across as appealing and likable at your next networking event.

1. Focus on looking approachable. Show that you are interested in meeting others through your facial expression and body language. In other words, smile. It’s the perfect antidote to feeling nervous or awkward. Some people have a default expression that looks downright icy. Be aware of your uncomfortable “resting face” and add some spark and dazzle into your expressions.
2. Ask questions and foster dialogue. One foolproof way to come across as a brilliant communicator is to include open-ended questions. Most people enjoy talking about themselves, especially to someone who appears genuinely interested. Use this technique as a way to keep a conversation flowing, but avoid an invasive inquisition. Magnetic people cultivate conversation where both parties have a chance to contribute. Be careful not to turn a friendly exchange into a speech where you hold your new acquaintance as a captive audience member.
3. Dress your best. Understand the type of affair you will be attending and research the dress code expectations. Even at a casual pre-conference mixer, fit into the environment by wearing something that gives you the confidence of looking your best. It’s hard to relax when you are distracted by feeling under or overdressed at a networking luncheon or fundraiser.
4. Be armed with a few conversation starters. Study up on the lighter side of current events and get familiar with the latest movie reviews or popular television shows. Don’t bring up news that can lead to a negatively charged discussion. Stay observant; you might find interesting topics to talk about right in front of you. For example, the great food being served, the beautiful venue, the amazing artwork on display or even a piece of jewelry being worn by the hostess.
5. Walk up to a group. Instead of waiting for someone to approach you, join an existing conversation by saying, “May I join you? My name is Sarah Smith and I’m looking forward to meeting new people tonight.” If someone is standing by themselves, walk up to them, extend your hand for a handshake, and introduce yourself. They will be grateful for a friendly face and you will feel satisfied that you overcame your hesitation.
6. Stay focused. Give the person, or group, your undivided attention. For the duration of the festivities, turn your cell phone off, avoid checking your watch and ignore the clock on the wall. Immerse yourself in putting forth creative energy to leave a strong and lasting impression. It’s not necessary to be the life of the party, simply be a good listener that makes others comfortable to be around them.
7. Leave the conversation gracefully. When you are ready to move on to meet other people, exit by excusing yourself to freshen your drink or to say hello to someone else. Once again, extend your hand for a good-bye greeting. The role of a good guest is to mix and mingle with others, not stick to one person like glue until the end of the party. Your goal as a great guest is to make your host glad he or she invited you. Make every effort to sing for your supper!

For more of Diane’s business etiquette tips, visit her blog, connect with her here on The Huffington Post, follow her on Pinterest and Instagram and “like” The Protocol School of Texas on Facebook.

It’s often noted that one of Cuba’s most seductive aspects is the time capsule-y feel of the place. The old cars. The lack of traffic — and the horse-drawn wagons — in Havana. Unrestored mid-century architecture. For visitors, it’s enchanting. For residents, not so much so, especially when those charming old buildings are, literally, collapsing around and on top of them.

With the notable exception of the resort strip of Varadero, Cuba’s shoreline remains relatively untouched too. The lack of coastal development, relatively few tourists and tight controls on commercial fishing may not have been good for the average Cuban but they have done wonders for marine life on the island. It’s been an open secret among divers that Cuba, the largest of the Caribbean islands with 3,600 miles of shoreline, harbors some of the finest and healthiest coral reefs in the western hemisphere, if not the world.

Writing in National Geographic, novelist Peter Benchley described flopping overboard from a dinghy on a glassy Caribbean sea in the summer of 2000 and feeling as though he had “slipped backward nearly half a century into an underwater realm that had not existed, so far as I knew, since the 1950s … animals in numbers and diversity I hadn’t seen in decades, not since Lyndon Johnson was President and man had yet to set foot on the moon.”

Not much has changed in the years since. The reefs still teems with giant groupers, reef sharks, turtles, tarpon, eels and a host of smaller species. “100% coral cover and 100% biodiversity” is the way one expert, conservationist Robert Wintner, described them more recently.

With the travel ban that kept Cuba off-limits to most Americans for decades seemingly nearing the end of its days, recreational diving in Cuba is going to be far more common. Marine biologists are already fretting about the potential impact of more tourists on the pristine reefs and are making efforts to mitigate it, but Cuba’s stewardship of its offshore ecosystems has held up so far — whether out of necessity or choice remains open to debate — and there is little indication that the government is loosening the reins now.

The travel ban as it stands means that it’s still not legal for Americans to go there strictly for the purposes of diving. But there is nothing illegal about making a detour to some of the aquatic sights during one of the sanctioned educational or research tours now relatively easy for Americans to arrange. PADI-certified outfitters and guides can be found throughout the island, though the gear can be somewhat worn out at some of the more isolated dive centers, and the overall level of service is not as high as in other famous dive locales.

Here are six dive spots in Cuba worth considering:

1. Jardines de la Reina (Gardens of the Queen). The Mac-daddy of Cuba’s diving spots, named by Christopher Columbus in honor of Queen Isabella of Spain. An archipelago off the southern coast, this is Cuba’s largest marine reserve and hands-down its most spectacular. One of the most beautiful in the world, in fact. Covering about 840 square miles, it is made up of some 600 cays and mangrove islands and is said to be one of Fidel Castro’s favorite fishing spots. The reefs here are teeming with grouper, stingrays, turtles, whale sharks, bonefish and hundreds of other species, but the main attraction is the astounding number of reef sharks. Only a limited number of divers and anglers are allowed access to the reserve each year (it’s accessible only by boat), so anyone lucky enough to get there is likely to have the reef and all its inhabitants to themselves.
2. Bahia de Cochinos (Bay of Pigs). Yes, that Bay of Pigs. The bay made famous by the botched American invasion of 1961 is said to be one of the best shore-diving spots on the island. Just a couple minutes swim from the beach at Playas Larga and Giron in the Matanzas province, a steep wall drops 450 meters into the turquoise waters of Cuba’s southern coast. The cliff face is dotted with black coral, elkhorn and staghorn corals, huge sponges and all manner of crustaceans nestled into every nook and cranny. Onshore, the area is pocked with saltwater cenotes, or caverns carved into the limestone bedrock over the centuries.
3. Cayo Largo: Also off the south coast, the island of Cayo Largo is the second-largest in the Canarreos archipelago after the Isla de Juventud. There are about three dozen sites in emerald-green water where the visibility can reach 100 feet on a calm day. One of the main attractions of this area, besides the abundant underwater caves, tunnels and cliffs, are the wrecks of more than 200 ships that sank between the 16th and 18th centuries — the days when the area was a hotbed of pirate activity. The white sand beaches of the 16-mile long island itself are said to be among the best on the island. The dives tend to be on the shallow side (in the 5 to 15 meter range) and offer small mountains of brilliant coral with hundreds of species of reef fish schooling in the canyons and crevices.
4. El Colony: This area, off the Isla de Juventud in the same archipelago as Cayo Largo, hosts some 56 different dive sites as part of the Punta Frances national marine park. The area is affectionately known as the Pirate Coast. Sir Francis Drake and Henry Morgan are said to have hidden out in the island’s many coves and caves in between raids on Spanish treasure fleets. Divers are unlikely to encounter much in the way of gold among the wrecks and marine detritus scattered on the sea floor, but there is plenty that glitters. Parrotfish, angelfish, hamlets and hundreds of others dart among neon-bright tube and basket sponges. Tarpon can also be found hunting the silver glassfish of the so-called Blue Cave. Manatees and crocodiles ply the mangrove-lined channels of the island as well.
5. Maria la Gorda: There’s not much reason to come all the way to this small outpost on Cuba’s western tip, in the Pinar del Rio province, other than to dive. It is difficult to get there, but if diving is a passion then it’s worth it. In May and June turtles nest on the beaches here, and whale sharks are known to stop into the protected bay during the months of August and September. The bay is ringed by a shallow shelf that slopes gently away from the beach for about 45 feet before dropping precipitously thousands of feet, leaving divers with the impression they are swimming off the edge of the world. Sea life runs the gamut — from manta rays and barracuda to massive sponges and black coral. The only downside are the limited services (there’s only one hotel and the food options are scant) and the annoying sand fleas that make life miserable certain times of the year.
6. Marea del Portillo: This bay at the opposite end of the island, off the south coast near the eastern city of Manzanillo, is also known as a graveyard for Spanish galleons, English schooners and other ships that plied the waters between the 17th and 19th centuries. There are 18 dive sites in the area, which is sheltered by the Sierra Maestra mountains that harbored Fidel and his revolutionaries in the years prior to the 1959 revolution, most notable among them the wreck of El Real, a 36-cannon galleon, and a Spanish battleship, the Cristobal Colon, sunk by an American warship during the Spanish-American war of 1898. The weather in this area can be more finicky than others, however.

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Scott Norvell is founder and curator-in-chief of CubaNotes.com, an independent and non-partisan source of news from and about Cuba. He has been visiting Cuba since 1991.

Career burnout: It’s a problem anyone can face, but perhaps especially those in jobs requiring intense concentration and long hours.

That well describes America’s health care providers. So, not surprisingly, the problem of burnout was a topic that came up often at the recent Conference on Medicine and Religion in Cambridge, Massachusetts. During opportunities for small group discussions, physicians shared their personal stories.

One young Yale graduate and mother of two complained of her work-life imbalance, stemming from the $180k medical school debt hanging over her and no way out of a system that left her with very little free time.

Another conference attendee shared how the hospital where she works had introduced an MBSR program (John Kabat-Zinn’s “Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction”) to help minimize job stress. The program certainly appeared to make a difference in the mental states of the staff. But instead of bringing about higher productivity in the workplace, greater mindfulness about what they were doing led a surprising number of the employees to conclude that their pathway to stress reduction was to leave their jobs.

I especially appreciated the opening comments from one of the conference organizers, who said: “This conference begins with God because the starting point for knowing truthfully and living rightly is knowing God.”

His words reminded me of the Scripture: “And you will know the Truth, and the Truth will set you free.”

These are the words of Jesus, who drew multitudes to his side for healing and gave a sermon that is one of the greatest blueprints for a refreshing and satisfying life. His capacity for solving the unsolvable, working day and night and enduring both criticism and abuse with grace, humility and wisdom can be an inspiration to anyone feeling burned out.

Perhaps key to this ability was the fact he never looked to his own human strength or intelligence for truthful answers. He looked to God and always took time for prayer. Jesus reminded his followers: “I can of mine own self do nothing…”

While Jesus might feel like an example way beyond us, a tireless worker who followed his teachings discerned that there were laws behind his ability that anyone can rely on. Mary Baker Eddy articulated the nature and practical application of these laws as a Science Jesus practiced. It was an understanding that God is the infinite source of wisdom and strength that is expressed by each one of us.

Eddy described the benefits of this understanding for those in the workforce when she wrote that “. . . business men and cultured scholars have found that Christian Science enhances their endurance and mental powers, enlarges their perception of character, gives them acuteness and comprehensiveness and an ability to exceed their ordinary capacity” (Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, p. 128).

By contrast, life inevitably loses its luster when our careers revolve around a perceived personal source for our energy, intelligence, or finances.

One young doctor at the conference spoke of a time he was suffering career burnout. Prior to this, he had regularly attended church, but his rigorous schedule soon demanded his time on Sundays, too. He began to feel physically ill, worn down, and unmotivated. At that point his pastor paid him a surprise visit, bringing church right to his office. That one gesture of compassion and support was enough to get him back on track to find balance in his life again. His schedule didn’t immediately change, but his priorities did. He started to put God and prayer back at the center of his routine and the career fatigue receded.

Our light cannot be stifled by burnout when we recognize that our intelligence and purpose come from an inexhaustible, spiritual source. This knowledge brings the wisdom both to restore and maintain balance in our lives.

As we celebrate Cesar Chavez Day on March 31st, it’s important to honor the legacy of this farm worker, labor leader, and civil rights activist who lived by the mantra of ¡Si Se Puede!

Many of the gains made by the farmworker movement, particularly those aimed at protecting our health, were steadily attacked in the U.S. Congress last year. But a recent analysis by the League of Conservation Voters (LCV) shows that the vast majority of the Latino members of Congress are standing up for our communities’ health and future.

For more than 30 years Chavez devoted himself to building the voice and power of some of the most exploited workers in this nation’s history. Through his passion, determination and non-violent efforts, he and the farmworker movement were able to improve the health and working conditions of farmworkers across Arizona, California, Florida, Texas and other states.

The farmworker movement is often thought of in terms of organizing for workers rights; in fact, many of the rights fought and won were directly related to the health of not only the workers and their families, but also of our food supply, air and water. Their organized efforts resulted in access to clean drinking water on the job, protections against pesticide exposure, prohibitions on pesticide spraying while workers are in the fields, and outlawing DDT and other dangerous pesticides.

Unfortunately, the struggle for the health and dignity of Latino farmworkers and their families did not end with the farmworkers victories. Attacks on water pollution limits, weaker protections from pesticides, and assaults on restrictions on air pollution dominated Congressional debates in recent years.

Every year since 1970, LCV has produced a National Environmental Scorecard that provides detailed information about the votes by senators and representatives on the most important environmental legislation. Last month, LCV released its 2014 Scorecard in English and Spanish, as well as an analysis of how the Latino members of Congress scored.
• Nineteen of 25 Latino Democrats scored 80% or better.
• Eight of 10 Latino Republicans scored less than 5%.
• The average score of Latino Democrats is 83%.
• The average score of Latino Republicans is 3%.

Among the top Latino scorers in 2014 were Rep. Raúl Grijalva of Arizona and Rep. Loretta Sanchez of California, each with a 97 percent voting record. The high score among Republican Latino members of Congress was Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler of Washington state with 11 percent. Four members received 0%, including Republican Senators Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio and Pat Toomey, as well as Texas Representative Bill Flores.

This nation has a strong tradition of Latino leaders being environmental champions and the Latino Democrats in Congress reflected that tradition in 2014. However, the partisan divide between Latino members of Congress is stark and reflects an enormous disconnect between Republicans members of Congress and the Latino community overall.

Poll after poll, spanning decades, have shown that Latinos, regardless of party affiliation, are some of the strongest environmental advocates in the U.S. A 2014 study conducted by Latino Decisions for NRDC showed that 9 in 10 Latinos want the government to take action against the dangers of climate change. Of those, 68 percent of Republican Latinos say that it is important–including 46 percent of Republicans who say it is very or extremely important–for our government to tackle climate change.

As Cesar Chavez and farmworkers’ decades of struggle shows, change doesn’t happen overnight. The forces against us are the dirty polluting industries that profit from the contamination of our communities. Strong Congressional champions and every day families, from Albuquerque to Denver to Phoenix to Baltimore, are standing up for our health and future. As Cesar Chavez would say: ¡Si Se Puede!

You can get more information about environmental and public health issues impacting Latino communities by visiting lcv.org/latinojoin.