Advice and Helpful Tips

6.4 Advice from our followers.

1. During quarantine, I've found building a routine very useful. I'm not very good at sticking to schedules or time slots but just doing similar things in the same order (each day, at different times) has really helped me take back control. - heart_th_rob

2. Look in the mirror and list what's good about yourself. - brittea-

3. Orange Chicken Recipe

Ingredients (Chicken part);
- Three chicken breasts 
- Cornstarch
- Egg
- Salt and pepper
- Oil (canola/vegetable)

Breading the chicken:

First cut the chicken into small 1-inch by 1-inch pieces, and sprinkle a little bit of salt and pepper on it. Put one egg in a bag with salt and pepper, and mix it up. Then fill a bowl with half cornstarch and half flour, adding salt and pepper to that too. (Only add like a pinch of each to everything) put all of your chicken into the bag until all the chicken is well coated. Then pour into the bowl of flour/cornstarch mixture. Make sure everything is well coated.

While doing this heat up a pan on high heat and add oil until the bottom of the pan is just filled. Place chicken on the pan and wait 4-5 minutes. Don't touch it. Flip one to check and if it's golden brown flip the rest and wait 4-5 minutes again. (I've found it takes about 11 minutes per batch) put on a plate with a paper towel and wait until the sauce is ready: it doesn't matter if it gets cold.

The sauce ingredients:
- Orange zest
- Orange juice (2 tablespoons from the orange you zest)
- Green onions (about 5 depending on preference)
- Ginger (a one-inch chunk)
- Garlic (one clove)
- Red chili pepper flakes (as much as you want)
- Brown sugar (about half a cup)
- Rice wine vinegar (half a cup)
- Soy sauce (half a cup)
- Sesame oil (a dash)

Making the sauce:

Cut up the green onions, and put the greens in a bowl. Put the white part in a different bowl. Mince the garlic and ginger and put in with the white part of the onions. Add the red chili flakes to that as well.

Empty out the pan. You have to get out all the little burnt pieces of breading before doing the sauce or it will get "dusty" (I know from experience) then add a tiny sploosh of oil to the pan, along with the brown sugar, rice wine vinegar, soy sauce, and a dash of sesame oil. Let that heat up a little before putting in the bowl with the onion whites. Mix around until the onions are a soft golden brown, (add a little bit of cornstarch if it's thin) then toss in the chicken, and green onions until everything is coated and the sauce is at a simmer. Place over a bed of rice and enjoy!

Thank you so much to Dragonbite15 for this recipe!!! <3

4. Try to go outside for a run/walk at least two to three times a week if the weather permits! - sasha_80102

5. I want to give a tip that my therapist gave me when I was depressed. It had worked for me and I hope that it does for others too.

Many times we ignore ourselves, especially women are guilty of this. Our family, and sometimes our jobs come first and that might not be good for our emotional health.

So, here is how you can deal with it. Pick one day in a week and make it all about yourself. (It will be nice if you fixed one day, like Sunday. That way you won't forget) It's your day.

On this day, you treat yourself like royalty. Eat your favorite food, wear your favorite dress, go out to your favorite places, and if like me, you prefer to stay in then do just that.

Remember that this day is yours and everyone else takes a back seat. You have to do what you love the most on this day.

Do it once a week or once a fortnight, at the very least. And slowly you will feel your mood lifting and all the self-care will pay off in many ways.

Taking care of yourself first is important because only then you can take care of others. 

This tip was sent in by storieswithsoul <3

6. Chocolate cheesecake

Base:
- 175 g of biscuits
- 50 g of butter

Filling:
- 4 gelatin sheets
- 200 g any type of chocolate (I prefer dark)
- 200 g cream cheese
- 1 and a half dl of sugar
- 2 tsp of vanilla sugar
- 1 tbsp of coffee
- 3 dl of heavy cream

Start by crushing up all of the biscuits and melting the butter. Combine them and spread the combination evenly on the bottom of a cake pan, the kind where the bottom and edges can be separated from each other. If they cannot be separated, you can't get the cake out once it's done.

Place the gelatin sheets in cold water to soak for 5-10 minutes. While they're soaking, whip up the heavy cream. Next, melt your chocolate in either a double boiler or the microwave. If you do it in the microwave, stir every 10 seconds or so to prevent it from burning. Once the chocolate is melted, combine it with the sugars and cream cheese.

Take the gelatin sheets out of the water and dissolve them in the coffee. Make sure the coffee is boiling hot. (You can substitute it for hot water if you don't have coffee). Stir the gelatin in with the chocolate and other ingredients. Lastly, combine them with the whipped cream and spread the finished filling on the base.

Place the cake in the fridge for at least a few hours and store it in the fridge until it's eaten. Feel free to decorate it with, for example, candies or berries on top. You can even try putting berries or other things into the cake itself!

This recipe was submitted by Melledonna! <3