Just about every household will have some leftover turkey this month, so here are three creative ideas to help you enjoy those leftovers the second time around:

Turkey Cranberry Rollup Spread some cranberry sauce on a flour tortilla ( or a piece of bread), put some turkey on top of it, and roll it up. It’s got all the flavor of Thanksgiving with almost none of the work!

Turkey Quesadillas Spray a frying pan with cooking spray and place one flour tortilla on the bottom. Add turkey, jalapenos, cheddar and jack cheese, then top with another tortilla. Cook on low for a couple of minutes until the tortilla is lightly browned, then flip and cook the other side.

Turkey Salad Shred the turkey and add chopped hardboiled egg, chopped celery, and chopped onion. Toss with a bit of mayo and season with salt and pepper. This makes a great spread for a sandwich or cracker topper.

Turkey is often blamed for making people sleepy after a Thanksgiving feast, but the truth is that the bird and the miniscule amount of L-tryptophan (a sleep inducing amino acid) it contains have nothing to do with post-dinner fatigue.

The real culprits are overeating, alcohol, and fat consumption (digesting fat requires more energy, so your body redirects blood to the digestive system to get the job done, which zaps your energy).

Are you getting enough sleep? According to an Institute of Medicine study, about 50 million Americans are not. Sleep deprivation, even if minor, can cause fatigue, daytime sleepiness, clumsiness, weight gain or weight loss, headaches, memory loss, and even depression.

Adequate rest is as vital to health and peak performance as exercise and good nutrition, so don’t take sleep for granted. Here are some tips to help you catch your Z’s:

• Go to bed and get up at the same times every day – even on days off. This will help regulate your body’s internal clock to help you get the average 7-8 hours sleep most adults require.
• Establish a relaxing bedtime routine. Try a warm bath, light reading, or listening to pleasant music. In fact, listening to classical or New Age music at bedtime has been shown to help insomnia sufferers fall asleep. This may be due to how the music matches body rhythms and slows the heart rate.
• Lower the lights. As your bedtime nears, start turning off the lights in the house. Your body will naturally start to react to the lower light level and begin winding down for sleep.
• Skip stimulants such as caffeine and nicotine from late afternoon on. And don’t use alcohol to induce sleep. As its sedative effect wears off, alcohol can trigger wakefulness. Don’t rely on sleeping pills. They can disrupt your sleep/wake cycle if you depend on them too much.
• Squeeze in daytime fitness. In one recent study, regular exercisers not only slept almost an hour longer than non-exercisers; they also fell asleep in half the time. Regular exercise helps us de-stress and relax, plus it can help control weight and improve heart health. Consider these relaxing activities: yoga (burns 170 calories per hour), walking at a brisk pace (259 calories), hiking (400 calories), swimming at a moderate pace (477 calories), and biking with just a light effort (410 calories).
• Get help if your sleep has been disturbed often during the past month, or if sleep problems interfere with your ability to function normally during the day. Talk with your doctor about your sleep habits. He or she may be able to help recommend some additional tips, prescribe medication, or determine if you need more assistance from a sleep specialist.

For more information about sleep, call the National Sleep Foundation 1-888-673-7533.

When it comes to caring for pets, most people think of the “fun” stuff: feeding, walking, playing, and cuddling. But anyone who’s ever owned a pet knows that the responsibilities include a lot more than that. Sadly, many animals are returned to pet stores or brought to shelters because their owners are unprepared to care for them.

To keep cats and dogs healthy, happy and in loving homes, the best person to ask for advice is your vet. So if you’ve brought a new animal in the house or if you’re considering adopting one, here are a few questions to ask:

1. What will my pet cost? One of the top reasons people don’t or can’t keep their animals is cost. Food, vaccines, parasite prevention, spay/neuter surgery – it all adds up. As pets get older, their medical costs can increase too. Talk with your vet to get a ballpark figure on expenses now, so you can avoid sticker-shock later.
2. What identification does my pet need? Every dog and cat (even if it’s strictly an indoor cat) should get a microchip. Collars and tags are also important; however, they can fall off. If your pet gets lost and is brought to a shelter, they can scan your animal, look up the microchip ID number, and contact you.
3. What food should my pet eat? The type of diet your pet needs will depend on their age, breed, lifestyle, and health. Certain diseases will require special prescription foods that may only be available through your vet. If you’d like to prepare home-cooked meals for your pet, discuss your plan with your vet to make sure your animal gets all the nutrients it needs.
4. Which vaccines does my pet need? Vets usually divide vaccines into two groups: core and noncore. Some core vaccines, like rabies, are required by law. While others depend on where your animal spends most of its time: indoors, out in the backyard, or out in the country (such as hunting dogs).
5. What does my pet’s behavior mean? Behavioral problems are another top reason why animals end up in shelters. Be sure to tell your vet about any behavioral issues, even small ones, like how the dog growls at a child for taking its bone, or how the cat urinates outside the box. Sometimes, these behaviors are clues to an underlying illness.

Regardless of the situation, remember this: when in doubt, always ask your vet for more information.

By now, the days have grown shorter, the temperatures have grown colder, and it’s time (if you haven’t done so already) to bring plants indoors and prepare them for winter.

For most of us, the focus will soon be on holiday gatherings and decorations, not on caring for plants. So if you don’t want to have to replace wilted or dried out plants next year, take some time now to get them situated. Here are a few tips:

Try to match their light requirements. Generally, flowering plants prefer stronger light, and foliage plants will tolerate low light conditions. This is iimportant to keep in mind when you choose which plants to put near windows and which to tuck into corners.

Be aware of hot and cold spots. Some plants cant’ tolerate drastic changes in temperature. So avoid placing plants near drafty windows or furnace vents.

Give the a gentle cleaning. Indoor plants can accumulate dust and outdoor plants can bring in insects. Take a damp, soft sponge and gently wipe (do not scrub) the tops and bottoms of leaves to remove dust and dirt residue. Check stems and the undersides of leaves for pests.

Ease up on the fertilizer. If you’re used to adding fertilizer in the spring and summer, cut back over winter. Your plants’ growth rates will naturally slow due to the lower light conditions, so fertilizer won’t have much of an effect.

Water carefully! The number one killer of houseplants in winter is over-watering. Houseplants will tell you that they are getting too much water when their lower leaves turn yellow and drop off. Sometimes brown or black spots will appear on the leaves, and the roots will become mushy.

To see if your plant needs water, don’t use the surface soil as an indicator. The top layer generally dries out quickly as a result of the household furnace. Instead, poke your finger into the soil to about the root depth. For a 4-inch pot, poke your finger in the soil to at least your first or second knuckle; deeper for larger pots. If the soil feels dry, it’s probably time to water. If it still feels moist, check again in a day or two.

Houseplants offer a lot of benefits to your home. For instance:

• They’re Nature’s air filters. Houseplants help clean the air inside your home. The natural filtration process within plants can remove up to 87 percent of VOC’s (volatile organic compounds) from the air.
• They’re living decorations. Plastic plants and shrubbery are no substitute for the real thing. The natural colors and shapes of houseplants offer unique and beautiful elements to any decor.
• They help you relax. Studies show that being surrounded by natural green and growing things helps reduce stress.