Week Six Information

Making It Easy for Mom
I'm just a mom on a budget, trying to keep my family healthy.  

The grocery list and meals will come out on Saturday.  

My Kids

"There is no such thing as an essential carbohydrate."  Gary Taubes

It's not easy to diet.  In fact people hate dieting!  So why do we do it?  Is the obesity epidemic really a result of too many calories?  Or perhaps are the calories we are eating so void of nutrition it is causing us to overeat?  What is the definition of insanity?  According to Albert Einstein it's, "Doing the same thing over and over again, and expecting different results."  Here's an idea for you...

Start eating real food that is full of essential minerals, vitamins and nutrients, to lose weight and feel great. If we eat food that balances our blood sugar and doesn't cause a our insulin to spike, we can eat as much of it as we need to feel satiated, without having to worry about gaining weight.   

I recently listened to a fascinating podcast of the idea that our genes that control weight are turned on in utero.  The theory is that if while your mother is pregnant, she doesn't get the proper nutrition, then your genes that help you to survive in famine are turned on.  Once they are turned on they can't turn off.  If then when you are born, you are fed a diet high in sugar (think all processed carbs here), then you are going to be obese because your genes are telling you to eat eat and eat to get the proper nutrition.  And diets high in processed foods don't offer nutrition.  So you keep eating.  And the cycle goes round and round.  But you can stop that genetic cycle by eating real food.  

In Canada, the nutritional standards  for babies and their first foods were just revised.  No more recommendations to hold off on all those typical foods related to allergies.  Steak and eggs is being advised as a first real food meal.  I know you are thinking, that's crazy, but maybe not.  When both my kids were babies, we were living in Bogota, Colombia.  There was not iron fortified baby cereal readily available.  Babies ate real food.  My babies first foods were meat, eggs, avocados, and many exotic fruits.  I did not have the luxury of jarred foods.  And guess what?  I do believe that is a large part of the reason my kids eat real food.  Now Canada has caught on too.  Eating patterns are established in a family as the family's eating culture.  What is your family's eating culture?

Try my menu for a week.  Perhaps balancing your blood sugar and eliminating processed foods, will help you to look and feel great!  

Book Recommendation:  Why We Get Fat, and What to Do About It
Taubes, Gary (2011).  Why We Get Fat, and What to Do About It. New York, New York:  Anchor Books. 

"We don't get fat because we overeat; we overeat because we're getting fat."  Gary Taubes

Taubes places the blame for our obesity epidemic on the types of food we are eating not the amount.  Giving multiple examples of indigenous cultures being exposed to a Western diet and finding themselves obese, he suggests that the whole notion of "calories in, calories out" is wrong.  Have scientists ever been wrong before?  Taubes presents research that proves his theory that weight gain is related to insulin secretion.  If we are secreting too much insulin, we are telling our bodies to store fat.  Which leads Tubes to show that if we can lower our insulin secretions, then we can lose weight.  How do we do that?  Well, simply by changing our diet.  Guiding the readers with many examples, Taubes teaches us that we need to stop eating processed foods (because they spike your insulin), and return to real foods.  If you have found yourself in that insane cycle of weight gain, dieting through calorie restriction, only to go back to gaining weight after the diet, I highly suggest you read this book.  

Web Article Recommendation:  
Most of our processed food contain high fructose corn syrup. Why?  Because there is an overabundance of it and big food industry found a new way to use (and PROFIT from) what would otherwise have been waste.  So if most processed foods are made with HFCS, it must be fine, right?  Well, read this article, and decide for yourself.  

Something my kids have taught me this week:  I received a notice that my daughter's class will be handing out Easter eggs filled with candy, and we parents need to bring each child an egg filled with candy.  I bet you all already know my view on candy for celebrations, so no need for me to get into that.  However, my daughter was so excited about it.  She wants to feel a part of her classroom celebration too.  But I secretly inside am cringing at the idea of toxic plastic eggs filled with HFCS candies that are artificially colored.  Instead of just buying the cheap, gross candy at the store, I placed an order at The Natural Candy Store.  While the prices are a bit more expensive, you are getting fair trade, organic, HFCS-less, naturally colored candies.  And guess what?  We have used these candies for our kids in the past, and they taste great too!  They even have non-toxic, biodegradable eggs. Perhaps you can help your kids this Easter to celebrate American style, with some healthier options.

Brain Power Idea:  Family Joke Book

Laughing is amazing for you.  Do you and your family do it enough?  My husband is, without a doubt, the funniest person I know.  His clever humor has passed on to the kids, and they love to make jokes and laugh.  I am constantly surprised at how my son is now able to create jokes that are also clever.  

Here is an example, we were in the bath and he asked why you could see through tupperware.  I told him it was transparent, or see through.  Later that night he said, "Mom, what do you call a parent you can see through?  Transparent."  And that was the day the family joke book was born.  My four year old also has thought of some jokes.  The best part about all this, it that the kids are training their brains to pay attention to details and synthesize these details into something new.  Maybe you could start a family joke book too.  

Methods to get your kids to eat new foods: I received a question asking about how to get your kids to try new veggies.  The key word here is try because once they have tried them, about 10-13 times, they will eat them because they like them.  They might not like every veggie, but they will find some to be delicious.  I have found that giving the raw version of the fruit or veggies is the tastiest, and let's be honest, easier to prepare.  On top of that, the raw version is almost always the most nutritious way to eat veggies and fruits.  Okay, drumroll please...I bribe my kids.  Isn't that what all good parents do?  Here is strategy five of six. 

Method 5:  I call it "The next thing that will go into your mouth" strategy:  It is what it says.  I put the plate into the fridge if they don't want to eat it.  Then, when the next meal comes, guess what, you are eating what you didn't finish.  This helps me to stay completely calm with my strong willed child.  She gets her way and I get mine.  When the plate comes out at the next meal, she knows I am not going to budge and she is hungry, so it's a lot easier to get her to try something.  Pavlov said, "Hunger is the best sauce."  You will only have to do this a few times before your kids start trying to make a deal with you.  I accept deals of, "Mom if I taste it, then can I be done?"  Absolutely!  Remember the "they will like it after 10-13 times of trying it" rule here.  

Week Five

Making it Easy for Mom

I’m just a mom on a budget, trying to keep my family healthy.

"In 2001, Newsweek reported that six million kids in America were seriously overweight.  We have tripled that number in a decade, and the numbers are now surpassing twenty million.  Yet for all the media attention, visibility, discussion, and weight loss programs, even Michelle Obama can't put the genie back in the bottle."  Robert H. Lustig, M.D.

Lustig, Robert H., M.D. (2012) Fat Chance:  Beating the Odds Against Sugar, Processed Food, Obesity, and Disease.  New York, NY:  Penguin Group.

Weren't we just saying last week that our children today are facing so many issues.  Could our fat intake be directly related to our brain's ability to function?  We have eliminated foods that contain real, natural fat, and look where we are,  sick, overweight, and miserable.  Wouldn't it be nice to look AND feel good?  What if the combination of real food with fat, not eating sugar, good sleep and supplementation could help our children, and us, to be emotionally stable, educationally ready to learn, and happier people.  Wouldn't that be fantastic?  Only you can make that change.  Perhaps it's time to explore adding real fat into your diet.   

Book Recommendation: Brain Building Nutrition:  How Dietary Fats and Oils Affect Mental, Physical, and Emotional Intelligence

Schmidt, Michael A. PhD. (2007)  Brain Building Nutrition:  How Dietary Fats and Oils Affect Mental, Physical, and Emotional Intelligence.  Berkeley, CA: Frog Books.

I've mentioned often how important fat is in our diet.  Brain Building Nutrition:  How Dietary Fats and Oils Affect Mental, Physical, and Emotional Intelligence,  is an incredible resource for anyone looking to  nourish their brain so it can function at its best.  Our brains need specific types of fat to be able to achieve the highest standard of ability.  Schmidt explores the impact of fat in our diets related to bipolar disorder, age-related memory loss, reading and learning problems in children, and intelligence in children.  The book opens with a quiz to check your fatty acid intake levels.  It's simple, but accurate.  

Brain Building Nutrition helps to steer the reader in the direction of good fats and good fatty acids.  Do you remember when I said last week to buy fresh fish not farmed?  This is based on the ratio of omega-6 and omega-3 fatty acids.  We eat fish to get omega-3 fatty acids, but when a fish is farmed, the fish eats grains, usually GM (genetically modified) grains full of omega-6 fatty acids.  Essentially you are missing out on the true benefit of fish.  We are eating too many omega-6 fatty acids in everything we eat.  Therefore our natural balance is a mess.  This book will also teach you the factors that might be blocking your ability to make your own brain fats.  The Appendix is an amazing resource to show you a step by step process to heal and recover your brain's ability to function at a peak level.  

So get reading, and start watching the physical and mental changes in yourself.  It won't take long for you to be convinced we need good fats too.

Something my kids have taught me this week:  For some unknown reason, I don't ask my kids for much help around the house (perhaps I am a controlling perfectionist?).  In fact, my son recently told me, "boys don't clean", and I realized that I am not doing him any favors by not showing  him how to help.  So we created an age appropriate chore chart.  And the best part?  They get stickers for their sticker charts if they do their chores without attitude or being asked.  Another situation where everyone wins!  

Brain Power:  Game: What am I going to say?  I must give credit here to the kids because they created this game.  We play it a lot to help my four-year old with her speech, remember "fwen"?  Basically you say two words out loud, and then you ask which word am I going to say, and you form your mouth to the beginning sound of the word, but don't say it.  For example, you can give the words cat and mouse.  I bet you are saying the words right now, aren't you?  Notice how differently the shape of your lips and mouth begin for each word.  It's fun, and I'm sure creates all sorts of good connections in their brains.   

Methods to get your kids to eat new foods: I received a question asking about how to get your kids to try new veggies.  The key word here is try because once they have tried them, about 10-13 times, they will eat them because they like them.  They might not like every veggie, but they will find some to be delicious.  I have found that giving the raw version of the fruit or veggies is the tastiest, and let's be honest, easier to prepare.  On top of that, the raw version is almost always the most nutritious way to eat veggies and fruits.  Okay, drumroll please...I bribe my kids.  Isn't that what all good parents do?  Here is strategy four of six. 

Method 4:  Let them pick:  Just as I mentioned before, when you allow your child to control the situation, he or she is more likely to eat.  Perhaps you could put 4-5 kinds of veggies on a plate and have your child pick one or two.  If he or she is still resistant, remind them that you are not leaving the table until you pick and try one.  If that threat isn't going so well, switch to bite for bite.  But stand firm.  

You might also want to leave out veggies and fruits in an area they can walk by and pick one without being told to do it.  In the picture shown, you see my "play date snack holder".  When we host a play date, I fill it up with healthy choices and just leave it out.  On this occasion, my kids decided it would be "green day", and yes in the bottom right hand cube, those are the amazing kale chips.  Many times parents say to me that their child has never tasted broccoli or carrots or whatever is in the holder.  Simply by leaving it out and not giving other options, kids eat.  Positive peer pressure also helps in this situation. 

And for the record, the kale chips were the first item devoured.  

Featured Food:  Chile Cheese

Chile Cheese

Or at least that's what we called it growing up.  This can be a dip or a sauce to put on top of food.  We use it on eggs, meat and potatoes, or tacos.  What you do is cut up one yellow onion, 3-5 jalapenos (with seeds to make it spicy, without for  a milder taste), one large tomato, and 2 cloves of garlic.  In a pot put some olive oil and fry up your onion, garlic and jalapenos.  When the onions are transparent, add enough gluten free flour to give everything a light coating of flour.  Next slowly add water to make it saucy not thick, but not too thin either.  Let that simmer for a few minutes.  Check that it isn't too thick.  Then add as much shredded cheese (we use cheddar or a Mexican blend) that your heart desires.  Also add some salt to taste.  And then throw in your cut up tomato.  Let that all simmer for a bit, and there you go, Chile Cheese sauce.  

Snacks:  
-Fruit
-Organic Cheese Sticks
-Olives
-Nuts

Grocery List:  This is based on a family of four.

Produce:  This week I will be buying apples, bananas, pears and clementines.  I get organic apples and pears.  The bananas and clementines are conventionally grown.  Do you know how to tell the difference with the stickers on your produce?  If it begins with a 9, then it’s organic.  If it begins with a 3 or 4, then it’s conventionally grown.  If it begins with an 8, then it’s a GMO.  Costco, as much as I love them, has a lot of produce that is genetically modified.  At Costco look above the produce at the sign, if there is no sticker on the produce.  The number on the sign will tell you how it was grown.  

-1 bag of organic apples
-1 bag of organic pears
-2 bunches of bananas
-1 bag of clementines
-2 large boxes of either organic spinach, organic lettuce or one of each
-2 red onions
-10-15 avocados (good fats!)
-3 yellow onions
-3 large tomatoes
-2 organic cucumbers
-2 organic bell peppers (whatever color for salads)
-3 bunches of organic green onions
-2 limes
-4 organic baking potatoes
-3-5 jalapenos
-Bunch of organic garlic
-Bunch of fresh organic cilantro

Meat:
-Bacon, sausage or both to add to your morning eggs
-Lunch meat
-2 lbs grass fed beef stew meat
-Rotisserie chicken for Tuesday night’s dinner (best to get on Tuesday)
-1-2 lbs of grass fed ground beef
-2 organic or free range chicken breasts

Cold Stuff:
-Organic Cheese Sticks
-3-4 dozen cage free or organic eggs
-Van’s frozen waffles
-2 large bags of mild roasted green chiles
-Tub of cream cheese
-3 bags of organic mexican shredded cheese
-1 box of organic butter
-Small tub of organic sour cream
-1 container Organic Valley heavy cream
-1 loaf of Udi’s gluten free bread

-Bag of organic cheese sticks

Dry Stuff:
-Olives
-Nuts for snacking
-Mary’s Gone Crackers
-Can of organic corn
-1 box organic chicken stock
-1 package of corn tortillas
-Bag of almond accents
-Canned salmon (for Friday’s lunch, one can per person)
-Package of tortillas (if you want)

-Can of almonds

-Container of olives from the olive bar

Check your pantry:
-Olive Oil
-Coconut Oil
-Gluten free flour
-Salt
-Pepper
-Garlic Powder
-Onion Powder
-Paprika

Breakfast:  At this point I hope you agree with me that a breakfast filled with protein is a wonderful way to start your day.  Your blood sugar is balanced and you feel great.  So, let’s keep it up.

Option 1:  Eggs with veggies, bacon or sausage, or an omelette is great too.  I put secret things in the center of the omelette.  The kids think it’s fun.  You can cook your eggs in butter or try coconut oil.  We use organic, cold pressed coconut oil.  Costco has huge tubs for $15.00.  That is a great price and it tastes great too.  

Option 2: Protein shake or Van’s waffles

Monday:
Breakfast: Option 1

Lunch:  Salad with meat and/or hard boiled eggs
You can choose what to put in your salad, spinach, avocado, red onion, etc..., but also add your hard boiled eggs, and some lunch meat.  Top it with some shredded cheese.  If you like almond accents, add a few of these too.  Eat some fruit too.  

Dinner:  Green Chile Stew
I first have to apologize if you aren’t from TX or NM because you can’t get our Hatch, NM green chiles.  You’ll have to improvise.  Or if you know my Mom, she has a hoarder's stash in the garage freezer. She might share. Start with 2 lbs grass fed beef stew meat.  Brown your meat with 1-2 cubed yellow onions.  When the meat is browned and the onions are transparent, add about 3 Tablespoons of gluten free flour.  Let that brown and coat your beef and onions.  Then add water until it is soupy.  You want it thick, but not too thick.  Then add salt, pepper, a bag of mild roasted green chiles, and 2 cubed tomatoes.  Let it cook for about an hour.  You can also put it in the crock pot on low.  

Make some avocado cups and fruit too.

Tuesday:
Breakfast:  Option 1

Lunch:   Eat some leftover green chile stew.  It tastes even better day two.  

Dinner: Rotisserie Chicken Salad
I love the Costco rotisserie chicken.  They have no MSG, no preservatives, and no hormones.  While they aren’t organic or free-range, they are the best I’ve found.  So we usually just cut up the chicken and put it on top of a big salad.  I like it with spinach and lettuce mixed, tomatoes, cucumbers, green onions, bell peppers, and avocados.  You can make your dressing with fresh squeezed lime and olive oil.  Add salt and pepper to your liking.  Very easy dinner, huh?

Wednesday:
Breakfast:  Option 1

Lunch:  Meat roll-ups
Use about 5-6 pieces of meat and roll each one up with some cream cheese.  Sometimes I put green onions in the cream cheese too.  I like to eat these with Mary's Gone Crackers.  Make sure to eat some fruit too.  

Dinner:  Meat, Potatoes, and Corn (and make some Chile Cheese too)
This is a recipe from week three.  I feel like a Wednesday is a good day to make something we already know.  I brown about 1-2 lbs of ground beef.  In a separate pan I fry in a little olive oil with about 4 peeled, cubed brown baking potatoes.  I season the potatoes with garlic powder, onion powder and salt.  Then when everything is cooked, I combine the meat and potatoes together and add a can of organic corn.  I top this with some chile cheese.  I also cut avocados in half (we eat them plain and scoop them out with a spoon) and cut up some fruit.  Perfectly balanced, healthy, fast meal.  

Thursday:
Breakfast:  Option 1

Lunch:  Make a burrito out of the dinner from last night.  Or just put some in a tupperware and eat it without the tortilla.  

Dinner: Chicken Enchiladas
Okay boil 2 chicken breasts and then shred them.  Season the shredded chicken with garlic powder, onion powder, and salt.  

Then make your sauce.  Take about a half a stick of butter and melt it.  When it’s melted add about 3 Tbsps of gluten free flour.  Let that brown.  Then pour in ⅔ of a box of chicken stock.  Add about 1 cup of sour cream.  Season this sauce with paprika, salt and garlic powder.  Add one half of your bag of green chiles to this sauce.  Let it all simmer.  

In a separate pan, put a little olive oil and fry up the shredded chicken with one cubed onion and half the bag of green chiles.  Then add some heavy cream to make it creamy, but not soupy.  Season with salt, pepper, and paprika.  Next warm up your corn tortillas either in the microwave of the oven.  You just want them to be warm enough to be flexible without breaking.  Then roll up each tortilla with the chicken mixture and some shredded cheese on top.  You will put them in a large pyrex.  Once all your enchiladas have been rolled up, pour the sauce mixture over the entire creation.  I always add another layer of shredded cheese on top.  Cover the pyrex with tinfoil and bake in the oven at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes.  

When you take them out of the oven, top with fresh organic cilantro.

Make a salad for the side, and some fruit for dessert.

Friday:  We are Catholic, so no meat during Lent on Fridays.  Also we fast on Fridays, so there will only be one real meal at lunch.
Breakfast:  Option 2

Lunch: Canned Salmon Salad Sandwich
Costco has cans of wild Alaskan pink salmon.  I use one can for each person.  I mix it with cream cheese, green onions and almond accents.  I season it with salt and pepper.  Then I put it on a sandwich with Udi’s gluten free bread.  You can add some spinach on the sandwich too.  

Dinner: Salad
A great time to use up all your veggies and lettuce.  Pour some nuts and avocados on that salad too.  You can also add a hard boiled egg and some cheese.  

Week Four

Making It Easy for Mom

I’m just a mom on a budget, trying to keep my family healthy.

"A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step."

Ancient Proverb

Are we becoming too tolerant with the declining health of our children?  My four-year old daughter struggled with some very ugly eczema for about 7 months before we finally got it under control.  Not just a little rash, but oozing, bleeding, skin scarring eczema.  I read everything I could about what might cause it and how to fix it.  Two things we might not often consider, when thinking about allergies and skin reactions, are diet and gut health.  My daughter taught me a lot about how to truly figure out allergies.  While an allergist can do a test, they aren't always reliable nor do they show food sensitivities.  What I know now is that the best way to know if something is working, is if you are healing.  So, guess what?  She has been eczema free since November.  What did we do?  Well, first we stopped putting anything on the eczema.  Next we added more fat to her diet as well as fish oil supplements (great source of fat and omega-3 fatty acids).  We also added zinc and a multivitamin with niacin.  Both niacin and zinc have been shown to help with skin issues.  We then eliminated gluten and dairy.  We also completely eliminated food dyes and preservatives.  This is actually much easier than it sounds because when you eat real food, you don't have to read a label.  She also began taking probiotics three times a day.  The probiotics were and continue to be a crucial part of her healing.  We also take her every three weeks to get adjusted at our chiropractor, Dr. Thomas Georges.  Since November we have added back in organic whole milk yogurt, heavy organic cream, organic butter and organic cheese, but gluten only on a rare occasion.  When she does have gluten, she begins to itch.  We do not drink any kind of cow's milk (other than what is used in the yogurt).  We did have an allergist perform a food allergy test, and it came back negative.  But remember, just because you don't have an allergy, doesn't mean you don't have a food sensitivity.  The best way to figure that out is through the elimination diet.  So, I am proud to say my baby doesn't even think about her "exzy" (her name for it) anymore.  And on the plus side, all of these changes have made her a calmer child, better sleeper, better eater, healthier weight (used to be kind of underweight), and happier kid.  

Could changing your child's diet or adding some supplements help with a health issue you or your children are facing?  

Book Recommendation: Healing the New Childhood Epidemics, Autism, ADHD, Asthma, and Allergies

Bock, Kenneth, M.D. & Stauth, Cameron (2008) Healing the New Childhood Epidemics Autism, ADHD, Asthma, and Allergies.  New York, NY:  The Random House Publishing Group Inc., Ballantine Books.  

I can't think of a single family I know that has children without some kind of allergy, attention issue, learning disability, asthma or autism.  Why are we all facing all these issues with our children today?  Toxins, nutritional deficiencies, gut bacteria imbalances, viruses, and family history all have some impact. But the biggest change is our toxic exposure on a daily basis.  Are we really thinking about what kind of toxins we are coming into contact with each day or are we just blindly trusting that if it's in the store, it's fine.  If the doctor says take it, I should.  If lawmakers are setting the pollution limits, then we are okay.  Another vaccine added to the schedule, ok.  Sugar, yes please.  Hmmm I think we need to recognize that our bodies are daily being asked to detox on a level never seen before.  

A girlfriend I had recommended this book to said, "'I'm fascinated with this book. I think every parent should read it as should anybody that has allergies and asthma. I only wish I had read it earlier! I had to do my own detective work to get Ryan's system normalized but now I wish I could have done more for Alexander's year of monthly ear infections and Niki's breathing problems at around a year old. I never once considered what vaccinations could be doing to them. Thank you for recommending it to me!"

Bock and Stauth separate each epidemic, so while it's an easy read cover to cover, you could also select the section most relevant to your life.  The stories of real families and what they did to better their personal struggles are inspiring.  I thought the best part of this book was the nutritional strategies, supplements, and detox strategies offered at the end.  Think of a world with more kids healed through detoxing and supplementation combined with good nutrition as opposed to medication.  That's the world I want to leave for my children and grandchildren.  

Web Article Recommendation:  One of my favorite researchers is Chris Kresser.  He is an incredible scientific researcher.  This article talks about why we have so many allergies and so much asthma in today's children.  If you have kids that suffer from either of these conditions, please read Dirt.  

After reading dirt, you might want to check out the section in my menu called non-toxic products.  I've added a section about safe cleaning and bathing products (no plant based estrogens here).  Please check it out and consider eliminating some of the toxic everyday products you are using in your home.  

Something my kids have taught me this week:  We need physical activity daily!  It's winter.  It's cold.  I get it.  Kind of...we live in the desert, but I did grow up in Chicago.  And don't be too jealous that it's warm here because we are in windy season.  Here is a great indoor game that will wear those kids out!  That's every parents daily goal, right?

Hot Lava- I've lived in a lot of places, and I must say that if you try to talk about Hot Lava anywhere other than the Midwest, you get blank stares.  So for those of you that grew up anywhere else, you are fortunate today to learn to play this special game.  What you do is cover the floor with pillows, blankets, couches, chairs, or whatever you can find to jump on.  Then you make a path through the house where you have to jump on these items.  The floor is obviously hot lava that will burn you.  You wouldn't believe how long kids can play this game.  And three of my favorite things about this game are it's using your imagination, promoting teamwork, and it's free.


Brain Power Idea:  Bananagrams

Remember the friend that bought my kids a globe?  Well she also bought them Bananagrams.  I know, you want a friend like her too.  Well, if you don't know this game it's like scrabble, but a race, and using an individual word board.  We've tried to follow the rules of Bananagrams, but the kids are a bit too young.  Instead, we use the letter tiles to make words.  For those of you with toddlers in need of a good word list, try the high frequency words.  Sometimes I leave out breakfast words or sentences that they can read.  Then, remember word stairs (week two)?  We change around or add letters to make new words.  There is something special about having a manipulative that gets kids excited to learn.  And when they are mature enough to actually play Bananagrams, we can follow the real rules.  

My speech pathologist "fwen" assured me that my four year old's speech issue will more than likely disappear on it's own.  But she does like to use invented spelling.  And hey, she spells it like she says it.  

Methods to get your kids to eat new foods: I received a question asking about how to get your kids to try new veggies.  The key word here is try because once they have tried them, about 10-13 times, they will eat them because they like them.  They might not like every veggie, but they will find some to be delicious.  I have found that giving the raw version of the fruit or veggies is the tastiest, and let's be honest, easier to prepare.  On top of that, the raw version is almost always the most nutritious way to eat veggies and fruits.  Okay, drumroll please...I bribe my kids.  Isn't that what all good parents do?  Here is strategy three of six. 

Method 3:  The Sticker Chart:  I have sticker charts to thank for my sanity.  Whatever you are trying to accomplish in parenting, a sticker chart can help.  For small children I would suggest having a treasure box where after perhaps 3 stickers on their chart, they get to go pick a toy.  With my 4 and 6 year olds we let them choose a toy to work towards and put a price on it with stickers.  They usually pick something from Target, and they have tried to pay the cashier with their sticker charts. I have used sticker charts for potty training, learning to read, sleeping in your own bed, being nice to each other, and respecting mom and dad.  You name it; it works.  Never take a sticker away.  Once they have earned a sticker, they have earned it.  But, you can always remind them, "If you want a sticker you have to..."  Or, "Is this behavior going to earn you a sticker?"  Also I only give one sticker at a time.  Below are two examples of sticker charts.  The orange one I created.  The blue one was created by my son after we went to Target.  He saw a toy he wanted and came home, created this sticker chart, and asked me what he could do to earn stickers.  I love the motivation!

Mom made chart

Kid made chart

Featured Food:  Berries and Cream
Fat, Fat, Fat!!!!  I keep saying we need it.  It’s true.  If you are someone that has trouble sleeping at night, a high fat bedtime snack might be just what you need.  I usually fresh or frozen organic berries and make my own whipped cream out of organic heavy cream.  Using a hand blender, just whip it up until it looks like whipped cream. Store bought whipped cream is sugar plus preservatives. Yuck! I also put some dark chocolate chips on top.  Believe it or not, eating this right before bed will help your brain’s health (which is mostly fat) and promote more restful sleep.  Don’t believe me?  Try it, and let me know.

Grocery List:  This is based on a family of four.

Produce:  I am going to use pears, apples, clementines, and some frozen berries this week.  Choose whatever fruits are best for you.  
-6lbs organic apples
-10 organic pears
-1 bag of clementines
-1 red onion
-1 orange pepper
-head of garlic
-4 tomatoes
-5lb bag of organic potatoes
-Bag of organic carrots
-Bunch of organic celery
-Bunch of organic green onions
-1 container organic spinach
-5 avocados
-1 lime

Cold Stuff:
-2 bags frozen organic strawberries
-2-3 dozen cage-free or organic eggs
-1 package of bacon
-1 roll of Jimmy Dean natural sausage
-1 loaf of Udi’s gluten free bread (frozen aisle)
-1 box of Van’s gluten free waffles
-Butter
-Probugs yogurt for one a day for each kid
-1 container of Greek yogurt
-1 container organic heavy cream (for featured food)


Meat:
-4lbs organic ground beef
-3 organic chicken breasts
-Bag of Sockeye salmon (Costco has this at a great price)
-1 box of lunchmeat
-1lb ground turkey

Dry Stuff:
-1 jar almond butter
-Protein powder
-2 containers of coconut milk
-1 lb organic pinto beans
-Bag of tortillas
Three boxes of organic chicken stock (I buy it in bulk at Costco.)
-Small can of organic tomato sauce
-Bag of almond accents

Check your pantry/fridge:
-Kosher salt
-Organic maple syrup
-Garlic powder
-Onion powder
-Pepper
-Soy sauce
-Olive oil
-Italian seasoning
-Worcestershire sauce
-Gluten free Panko breadcrumbs
-Organic ketchup
-Either quinoa or organic white rice
-Vegenaise
-Costco no-salt seasoning
-Turmeric
-Bragg’s nutritional yeast

Sunday: Make a pot of organic pinto beans
Boil water with about 1 Tbsp of kosher salt.  When the water is boiling, add the beans.  When the beans begin to boil, transfer all the contents of this pot to the crock pot.  Cook on high 4-6 hours.  We will use these beans a lot during the week.  And I have a new way to refry them.  

Breakfast:  If you are still having trouble with my eggs and bacon, then please read the articles attached to the links.  Also, in our house we have eggs every morning except for Fridays.  Friday we have a special breakfast of Van’s gluten free waffles or option 2.  All of us function better with daily eggs and bacon, eggs and sausage, or eggs with veggies.

Option 1:  Scrambled eggs and bacon, or scrambled eggs and sausage, or scrambled eggs and veggies, but this week save some of that bacon grease we are going to use it.  I let it cool and put it in a jar in the fridge.  Cut up fruit.  Pour a glass of coconut milk.  My kids daily have a probugs yogurt with breakfast.  

Option 2:  Udi’s gluten free bread with almond butter and a protein shake.  Mix one scoop of protein powder with some frozen berries, and coconut milk.  

Monday:
Breakfast: Option 1

Lunch:  Make some bean burritos and bring some fruit.

Dinner: Picadillo or as my kids say “picadillos” (make enough for a lunch burrito tomorrow)
Brown your ground beef (1-2lbs depending if you and your husband want to bring it for lunch).  Drain most of the fat, but leave some.  Add diced red onion, clove of diced garlic, and diced orange pepper.  Season with garlic powder, onion powder, salt and generous amount of pepper.  When the onion is transparent, add two cut up tomatoes.  Cover and simmer for about 30 min.  You can use this for tacos, burritos or make some sprouted grain corn chips and serve nachos.

Let’s do something different and delicious with our beans.  Take about 1 Tbsp of your bacon grease and put it in a pan.  When it’s liquid, add one scoop of beans per person.  Let them bubble, then smoosh them up.  I bet your kids will love their beans like this!   And bacon grease is a fantastic fat to balance blood sugar.

Cut up some fruit too.

Tuesday:
Breakfast:  Option 1

Lunch:  Picadillo burritos and fruit

Dinner:  Chicken with Blasted Veggies
My mom is the creator of the blasted veggies.  All you do is cut into large pieces your favorite veggies.  I use potatoes, green onions, tomatoes, and carrots.  Then cover and blast them at 450 degrees until they are soft.  This usually takes about 45-60 minutes.  While you are blasting the veggies, hammer out a couple of chicken breasts and in a little olive oil, fry them.  I always season them with garlic powder, salt, onion powder, and I splash a bit of soy on both sides.  Then I cut up a little fruit, and done!

Wednesday:
Breakfast:  Option 1

Lunch: Make some bean burritos and bring some fruit.

Dinner:   Muffin Tin Meatloaf (make enough to have leftovers tomorrow)
I figured since it’s Wednesday, let’s do something you already know. Take your 1-2 lbs of ground beef and add a mix of seasonings to your taste (I use kosher salt, garlic powder, onion powder, and italian seasoning).  I also add a little Worcestershire sauce to make it the color brown.  Then beat 1-2 eggs and throw them in the mix.  I also use about a cup per pound of gluten free panko bread crumbs.  Mix it all together and put it in your muffin tins.  Smoosh it in all in there. I’ve found one pound makes 6-8 muffins.  Then spread some ketchup on top of each meatloaf and throw that muffin tin in the oven at 400 for about 30 minutes.  

While that is baking, take one cup of quinoa or rice and fry it in some olive oil.  Add one small can of tomato sauce and the difference of chicken stock according to the bag of liquid needed (per one cup of quinoa is 2 cups total liquid)   Add some kosher salt and following the timing instructions on your quinoa bag.  

Let’s try making a salad with spinach and avocados.  This week let’s squeeze one-half of a fresh lime and a little bit of olive oil.  Put mineral salt and pepper to taste.  

Cut up some fruit for dessert.  


Thursday:
Breakfast:  Option 1

Lunch:  Meatloaf and fruit

Dinner:  Salmon Salad

If you don’t like fish, you should really start trying to like it.  It’s a pretty 

important part of a balanced and healthy diet.  Perhaps you can do bite for bite strategy from week three.  You have to choose salmon carefully.  See if it’s farmed, then you are missing out on the omega-3 fatty acids.  If it’s colored, well that isn’t good either.  So, the best and cheapest I have found is Sockeye salmon at Costco.  Take one fillet per person and cover it in Vegenaise.  Then put some mineral salt and pepper on it.  Bake according to instructions on the bag.  When it’s done, put it over spinach or a spring mix and avocados.  Top it with some almond accents.

Friday:
Breakfast:  Option 2

Lunch:  Make a sandwich with Udi's gluten free bread, spinach, Vegenaise (mayo), and lunchmeat.  On the side have some fruit and yogurt.  

Dinner:  Magic Meatballs with Veggies

This is using our meatball recipe and combining it with potatoes and veggies.  First pour one box of organic chicken stock into a pan.  Next, make your meatballs from last week.  I call them magic because everyone loves them no matter what's inside of them.  Basically I use meatballs to clean out my fridge.  I sautee anything that is about to spoil.  Typically this includes, onions, jalapenos, tomatoes, garlic, kale (food process it up so it's tiny), really the options are endless.  Then for each pound of ground turkey, I add one beaten egg, a generous amount of Costco's no-salt seasoning mix, salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, and turmeric.  You can also put some nutritional yeast (extra b vitamins).  I like Bragg's brand of nutritional yeast.  Also put enough worcestershire sauce to turn that mixture a light brown.  Then add in your sauteed mix and some type of breadcrumb.  Either use Panko gluten free breadcrumbs or you can crush up the Mary's Gone Crackers from last week.  Mix that all up and roll them into really big balls.  Next cut up into cubes 4 potatoes, 4 carrots, and 4 stalks of celery.  Let all that cook covered, on medium heat for about 35-45 minutes, or until all your chicken stock has evaporated.  

We are usually stuffed with just this, but cut some fruit up if anyone is still hungry.