Beware of "Sugar Season"

Halloween is right around the corner and that means your house is about to be filled with buckets of candy and sugar-buzzed kids. Kids will be shoving Twix bars and Nerds in their mouths just as fast as they can. It's what Halloween is all about, right?

And then there's Thanksgiving. Pumpkin pie, pecan pie - it's all about food and desserts. And, of course, Christmas. How can you think about Christmas without envisioning Christmas cookies, candies, gum drops, candy canes, etc? Then as soon as we finish eating all the leftover Christmas goodies, we have Valentine's Day and all the chocolate that surrounds this lover's holiday. And for the final candy holiday crescendo - Easter!

This list is enough to make you gain weight and your teeth decay just by reading it. It's what can be referred to as "sugar season". It falls right in line with flu season and cold season. This relation isn't by chance. There's actually some scientific evidence that the two are directly related.

A high intake of sugar reduces the amount of white blood cells in your body and leads to a weaker immune system. A weak immune system leads to more illnesses. This means that when you eat all the wonderful holiday candy and desserts that's about to fill your house, you're making your body vulnerable to germs that can make you sick.

So what's a mom to do without putting herself at risk of being called a party-pooper? It's called exercising moderation.

Yes, your kids can eat the Halloween candy the night they go Trick-or-Treating, BUT after that the candy goes into your hands to be dispersed as you see fit. I let my kids eat what they want, within reason, Halloween night then I ration out a few pieces after supper for a few days, and then the candy disappears. You can take it into the office, give it away, or toss it. Yes, throwing away candy might seem wasteful but it's better than your kids' teeth rotting, having them living on a sugar high resulting in bad behavior, and putting them at risk for illness.

Use this approach for all of the sugar holidays. Kids don't need the temptation of having candy and cookies easily available all the time. Hey, we moms don't need that either! If you like to make Christmas cookies, do it; just make them in moderation and give away most to friends and families. Save some for your household but only what you really think is needed. Remember, if it's in your house, it will get eaten.

This approach can be applied to birthdays as well. Have cake the day of the birthday or party, once after lunch or supper the next day, and then it's gone. That's enough for everyone to enjoy and feel festive without over doing it.

If you monitor the sugar intake of your children throughout this "sugar season", you'll find that your children's behavior will remain in check, no teeth rot out, and there will be no unnecessary weight gain. You'll also find that your family will stay healthier because the white blood cells won't be reduced due to the overload of sugar. Those wonderful germ fighting cells will remain high and reduce the odds that your children get sick. As a bonus, you'll also be teaching your children the lesson of moderation. Something they'll need throughout their lives.

Happy Trick-or-Treating!

Calming the Morning Rush!

We all know what it's like getting our kids, spouse and ourselves out the door in the morning. It's much like that of a pit crew with people working madly trying to get the car back on the race track.

I've always enjoyed my mornings and loved getting geared up for the day. However, with each child we added to our family I quickly realized that a system was needed to keep our mornings stress-free and fun. Mornings can be a stressful event, but if you apply the techniques listed below you'll find that your mornings can actually be a peaceful way to start your family's day!

The Night Before:

1. Have all book bags, lunch boxes and anything else your children need to take with them in the morning, packed and ready to go. Place everything by the door so all the kids have to do is grab it and go. (Your children should be responsible for doing this unless they're very young.) All permission slips should be signed, notes to teachers written, etc. so there is nothing left for the morning.

2. Lay out the clothes and shoes for the next day. This includes parents' outfits too. Have your children lay everything out from their shirts to their socks so there's no mad hunt for anything in the morning. If something needs to be ironed, this is the time to do it - not in the morning.

3. Know what you're going to serve for breakfast. If you need to, you can even set the breakfast table ahead of time and put out any non-perishable items to save a few of those precious morning minutes.

4. Have your personal to-do list planned out for the next day so you know what you need. This could be anything from taking the dry cleaning, appointments to meet, to having a shopping list prepared. (Check out my blog on Aug. 30th which shows you how to simplify shopping; it makes creating a grocery list much easier.)

5. If you have a lot of things that you need to take with you in the morning, go ahead and load them in the car. This saves time and also prevents you from forgetting anything in the morning.

The Morning Rush

1. Set your alarm early enough to allow you to be ready before the kids get up.

2. Have everyone completely dressed before they are allowed to eat breakfast. This helps give them a little incentive to dress quickly. Yes, you may have to wipe off a little milk or jelly from a shirt but it's still a faster way to get through the morning.

3. Know the time when breakfast must be completed. Once that time comes, it's time to clean up. Your children should clean up their own mess. Start this habit at an early age and you will reap the benefits. Even a 3 year old can throw away a napkin and put a dish in the dishwasher - just make sure it plastic.

4. Know your load time. This is different from the time you know you have to leave. Establish a load time which allows for a last minute trip back into the house that seems to invariably happen. This gets you out the driveway on time.

5. Always, always, send your family off with a kiss and a hug! Even if your morning didn't go as smoothly as you would have liked, it's important to send the family off on a happy note. If you have just corrected your child for doing something wrong, an "I love you" goes a long way and helps everyone start the day right!

Try these tips and you should experience a sense of calmness in the morning instead of complete choas. Not every morning will go as you wish, but the majority of them will and your family will be better for it!

Lose Weight with “Flip-Flop Eating”™

Shed a few extra pounds and never be hungry by using the “Flip-Flop Eating”™ concept and incorporating small healthy snacks in between meals. This is a great way to lose weight without really changing what you eat but when you eat it.

Traditionally, we’ve been trained to think that breakfast should be a small meal, lunch a medium one and dinner the largest of the three meals. This line of thinking is actually the exact opposite of how your meals should be proportioned.

To lose weight you should “flip-flop” your meals so that your largest is early in the day and your last meal of the day is your smallest. It's true that breakfast is the most important meal because after a night of fasting your body needs food to kick your metabolism back into gear. As soon as you eat something your body begins to burn more calories and we all know that losing weight is about burning as many calories as possible. For those of you that skip breakfast you are hurting yourself because your body never revs up its metabolism which makes losing weight more difficult.

How do you “Flip-Flop Eat”™?

1. Try to eat a large breakfast as soon as possible and make sure it contains some protein. The protein helps your body feel fuller longer.
2. Have a small nutritious snack around 10:00 a.m. and then a nice sized lunch. This is the last meal that should contain any real carbohydrates – make sure they are complex carbs and not simple carbs. Complex carbs consist of wheat pasta, brown rice, 100% whole wheat bread, etc.
3. Have another small snack around 3:00 p.m. and then a small dinner that evening. This meal should be comprised of about a 3 oz. portion of low-fat protein, such as chicken or fish, and a non-starchy vegetable. Your dinner should not contain any carbs except what comes naturally from non-starchy vegetables. Some great options are asparagus, broccoli, dark leafy greens, tomatoes, collards, and Brussels sprouts.

Why does “Flip-Flop Eating”™ work?

It’s because your body’s metabolism typically peaks at midday and then begins to slow down. You want to eat the majority of your calories when your metabolism is at its highest. (I personally, love this concept because I have no problem eating spaghetti or chicken stir-fry for breakfast. In fact, a lot of times I’ll eat a salad at night with my family and then eat the meal they had for supper as my breakfast the next morning. This way I don’t feel deprived of the foods I like; I’m just eating them at a better time to help maintain my weight goal. It also helps me feel fuller throughout the day which reduces the amount of calories I’m likely to consume.)

In the evening your body slows down and will be more likely to store the food you consume instead of burning it off. This sabotages any diet effort you might be making so you want to eat as little as possible for supper. It’s also important to incorporate small healthy snacks in between your meals because it helps to keep hunger at bay and keeps your metabolism going.

Make this simple change in your diet and you’ll begin to see the numbers drop on the scale without going hungry! You’ll also find that your bathing suit will look even better with those “flip-flops” than it ever did before!

Easy, Healthy and Delicious Breakfast or Snack Recipe

I've never been a big fan of smoothies but I have been playing around with my own recipe and have found one that's a winner.

It all started when I was about to throw out some bananas that were turning brown. I don't like to waste food and didn't feel like making banana bread again. I started tossing some things in the blender and came up with a nutritious and delicious smoothie that the whole family loves! It makes for a quick breakfast, after school snack or even a dessert.

M.C.'s Smoothie
2 ripe bananas
1 cup of frozen blueberries
1 cup of frozen strawberries
1 cup of plain or vanilla yogurt (use plain if you want less sugar)
1/2 skim milk
1 cup of ice

Place all ingredients in the blender and mix until smooth.
*to make it even more healthy add 3 tbsp of wheat germ

What's not to love about this recipe? It has a lot less calories than the ones you buy at the store or restaurants and has all of the nutrients you want your family to get. It's also a great way to make use of those brown bananas that your kids refuse to eat!

Channel Frustration into Positive Energy

We all know that, at some point, we get frustrated at our children, our spouses, or our family. It's just a part of life. Even "today's ultimate moms" need to blow off a little steam now and then. The real trick is to know where to channel that steam so that it's productive and not destructive.

Think of the steam engine that knows how to use its steam to not only get itself moving, but all the freight cars behind it. We are that steam engine and the freight cars are our family. If we use our frustration the proper way we can do great things, if not, we'll just blow up in their face achieving nothing and creating other problems.

Next time you get frustrated, stop and think about what exactly you're upset about. Not only will this give you a chance to settle down some, but you'll also be aware of the moment and might be able to determine what it is that's really bugging you.

Once you figure out what's making you frustrated, think of ways that you can correct it. If you need to, jot the problem down on a piece of paper and its potential solutions. Understanding that you have the ability to correct an issue is freeing and will instantly make you feel a little bit better. If there truly aren't any solutions to your problem, then all you are left with is to fix your attitude. Harsh but true!

Take the steps to correct the problem immediately. If you don't have the time right then you can still come up with a game plan for later. For example, if your children are continuing to fight in the car even though you've warned numerous times to quit, pull the car over and move the car seats/boosters so they aren't next to each other. If you aren't able to do it right then, at least you know that as soon as you get to your destination, a change is going to occur to improve the situation. (Having a vehicle with three rows of seats helps with this example, but you get the point.)

Another example of "steam to solution" is when I used to get very frustrated with my children when they'd go into our pantry without permission and make a mess trying to feed themselves. I tried lecture after lecture and then finally I installed a little hook-and-eye lock to the pantry door. Yes, it may be a little tacky but so was having spilt food scattered all over my pantry and kitchen floor. (I bet some of you think this is a crazy solution while others are thinking of ways they can lock their pantry too!) Realizing that the temptation for my little boys was just too great, I eliminated it for them by locking it. I never got upset about this issue again because I used my steam to solve the problem instead of getting upset again and again.

Use this concept the next time you get upset and really try to create solutions. Sometimes to be better parents we just have to be smarter parents. You will, however, have to take the time to analyze what's going on so you can think through an appropriate solution. You'll also be showing your children how to handle frustration by being active in solving the problem instead of exploding about it with no solution in mind.

Do this properly and the next thing you know, you'll have all your little freight cars following in line right behind you, just like you want them!

This Blog Could Save Your Life!

My friend was 31 years old, at her ideal weight, lead a healthy lifestyle, had no family history of breast cancer, yet was diagnosed with breast cancer and died, leaving her 7 year-old son without a mother. She fought the disease for about four years before it took her life.

All of us moms in our "mommy group" were shocked by her diagnosis and crushed by her death. We quickly realized that you can never take life for granted and that no one is exempt from such diseases no matter what your lifestyle or family history.

Being that October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month I am using this as an opportunity to emphasize the importance of taking your health in your own hands - figuratively and literally.

My friend felt something on the side of her breast when she was rubbing her sore chest muscle after a workout. When she called her doctor, he took it very casually and would not schedule her for an appointment until a much later date. Since her doctor didn't seem to think it was anything to worry about, she didn't either until her friends and family insisted that she get in to see the doctor immediately.

Once in the doctor's office, the "lump" didn't even show up on a mammogram. Only a second test using a sonogram showed the pea sized cancer growth. After further testing, even at this early stage of detection, they discovered that my friend had an aggresive form of breast cancer.

This story shows that not only can anyone can get breast cancer but that relying on a mammogram alone is not a sufficient way to protect yourself. You HAVE to perform monthly self-exams. It is recommended that you do a self-exam once a month, 3-5 days after your menstrual period ends.

If you don't know how to perform a breast exam go to http://www.breastcancer.org/symptoms/testing/self_exam/bse_steps.jsp for detailed instruction and helpful information. The few minutes per month it takes you to perform the exam could save your life. If you think you are too busy or don't want to be bothered, think of it not for you, but for the family and little ones you would leave behind!

End the Battle Over Your Child's Messy Room

What parent doesn't argue with their children about the cleanliness of their rooms? Parents want their children's rooms neat, but most children don't put that on the top of their list of priorities. People have many different takes on the state of a child's room. Some feel that it is the child's room and may be kept how the child wants it, and others believe that it should be maintained in the fashion that the parents desire.

I tend to fall in between those two camps. I wish my children's rooms would be perfect all of the time but understand that it's not a realistic expectation. I know if I force constant order on my children it will be a source of great frustration to them and to me. I do, however, have a basic standard of order that I feel needs to be maintained.

So, how do you get your children to keep their room orderly without demanding too much or having to nag all of the time? Well, I think I have the answer!

After many ideas, I finally created a system that actually worked! Yes, this relieved our family of some serious stress. I finally told all four of our children that throughout the week I would check in their rooms to see how they were being kept. Then on Friday morning, right before they left for school, I would do a final inspection and if they had maintained order of their rooms, they would each get $2.00. If they had not maintained their rooms, they got nothing.

I would not nag them during the week about their rooms but I would gently remind them of who was looking like a winner and who was not. They all wanted to get the extra money and I was happy to give it to them if they had earned it. If they didn't keep up with their rooms, they simply didn't get the $2.00. The motivation was high enough that they all worked to receive the reward. It was an easy system that actually worked!

You can adjust the type of reward or amount of money to meet the ages and desires of your children. The prize could be getting out of the weekend chores, a special dessert, a small prize from a "treasure box" filled with little toys or stickers, etc. Whatever you set as the reward for keeping an orderly room, the goal is to help your children stay motivated enough to keep their room clean. Keep in mind, that you can't expect the rooms to be perfect all day, every day. I'm referring to maintaining a standard such as that beds are made in the morning and things are picked up at night before bed. We are looking for basic order, not perfection.

Some weeks, I am out-of-pocket $8.00 because all four have kept a great room but I don't mind. It's a lot cheaper than paying a house keeper and I get tidy rooms without the nagging or frustration. In my mind, that is money well spent!

Easy Family Meal

What would a mom do without the slow-cooker?
You can put the food together in the morning or the night before and then have your house smell delicious all day with a wonderful meal ready to feed your hungry family.

I love this meal because it's easy to prepare, low-fat, nutritious and everyone loves it!
I provided the grocery list you'll need to make it even easier.

Menu:
Chicken in mushroom sauce served over wheat pasta
Butter beans
Wheat rolls
Tossed salad

Grocery Lists:
4-6 boneless skinless chicken breast halves
1 can of reduced fat cream of mushroom soup
1 cup of reduced fat sour cream
1 pkg. frozen butter beans
(optional: 4-6 slices of bacon)
1 pkg. wide wheat noodles
1 pkg. wheat rolls
1 bag of romaine lettuce
1 small pkg. of pine nuts
1 pint grape tomatoes
1 cucumber
1 bottle of Ken's Steakhouse Fat-Free Sun-Dried Tomato Vinaigrette Dressing (my favorite, but you can substitute any dressing)

Chicken in Mushroom Sauce
Place rinsed chicken breasts in a slow-cooker.
Combine cream of mushroom soup and sour cream. Pour over chicken.
Cover and cook on low for 5 hours or until chicken is tender. (I tend to leave it cooking for about 8 hours and it doesn't hurt the chicken.)
* You can also add 4-6 slices of crumbled bacon to the chicken right before serving.
** You can use fat-free soup and sour cream to make it even more diet friendly and skip the bacon of course.

Cook noodles as directed on package.
Cook butter beans as directed on package. (You can add a little butter or Butter Buds for flavor.)
Toss lettuce, tomatoes, chopped cucumber, and pine nuts.
Toast rolls in oven.

Enjoy!

Beware of Dangerous Over-the-Counter Cold Medicines

Several deaths and illnesses have occurred due to the consumption of some over-the-counter cold and cough medicines. If your child has a cold or a cough, think twice before spooning out medicine to help him feel better or you may end up making him seriously ill or worse.

Due to recent reports these medications are under intense review to determine their safety. Already the FDA has stated that they recommend that NO child under the age of two should be administered any over-the-counter cold or cough medication.

Continue to watch for reports covering this issue and I will keep you updated with any research or reports I find. If your child does get a cold or severe cough, I would consult your pediatrician to decide what action should be taken to help him get better without putting him at risk.