Keeping your Children Healthy While Working

One of the best kept secrets for healing to ward off cold and infections during the cold season for children is, Elderberry syrup. When my youngest child was in preschool a mother shared with me this natural herbal remedy which is particularly good for children. It's no wonder as it has a sweet, pleasant syrupy flavor. As I did some research on the Elderberry it became clear that Elderberry in its purest and most concentrated forms is safe to give children and to boot it has a tasty flavor that will likely have kids asking for more. I dont endorse a particular brand but do encourage mothers and caregivers to be highly selective in choosing a brand and doing all your research before jumping on the Elderberry bandwagon. It is expensive but compared to taking days off from work and missing days out of school, it's worth the investment. Dont feel like you won't get your money's worth, the syrup is also a cooking aide, you can use it for pancake syrup, sauces, and as a sweetner. More bang for your buck for SURE! This is definately a remedy to keep close at hand during the season and throughout the year to help working mothers keep their children healthy and well.

Here's what www.herbwisdom.com has to say about elderberry:


Used for its antioxidant activity, to lower cholesterol, improve vision, boost the immune system, improve heart health and for coughs, colds, flu, bacterial and viral infections and tonsilitis. Elderberry juice was used to treat a flu epidemic in Panama in 1995.

Elderberries have been a folk remedy for centuries in North America, Europe, Western Asia, and North Africa, hence the medicinal benefits of elderberries are being investigated and rediscovered. Elderberry is used for its antioxidant activity, to lower cholesterol, to improve vision, to boost the immune system, to improve heart health and for coughs, colds, flu, bacterial and viral infections and tonsilitis. Bioflavonoids and other proteins in the juice destroy the ability of cold and flu viruses to infect a cell. People with the flu who took elderberry juice reported less severe symptoms and felt better much faster than those who did not.

Elderberries contain organic pigments, tannin, amino acids, carotenoids, flavonoids, sugar, rutin, viburnic acid, vitaman A and B and a large amount of vitamin C. They are also mildly laxative, a diuretic, and diaphoretic. Flavonoids, including quercetin, are believed to account for the therapeutic actions of the elderberry flowers and berries. According to test tube studies2 these flavonoids include anthocyanins that are powerful antioxidants and protect cells against damage.


Elderberries were listed in the CRC Handbook of Medicinal Herbs as early as 1985, and are listed in the 2000 Mosby's Nursing Drug reference for colds, flu, yeast infections, nasal and chest congestion, and hay fever. In Israel, Hasassah's Oncology Lab has determined that elderberry stimulates the body's immune system and they are treating cancer and AIDS patients with it. The wide range of medical benefits (from flu and colds to debilitating asthma, diabetes, and weight loss) is probably due to the enhancement of each individual's immune system.


At the Bundesforschungsanstalt research center for food in Karlsruhe, Germany, scientists conducting studies on Elderberry showed that elderberry anthocyanins enhance immune function by boosting the production of cytokines. These unique proteins act as messengers in the immune system to help regulate immune response, thus helping to defend the body against disease. Further research indicated that anthocyanins found in elderberries possess appreciably more antioxidant capacity than either vitamin E or vitamin C.


Studies at Austria's University of Graz found that elderberry extract reduces oxidation of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol. Oxidation of LDL cholesterol is implicated in atherogenesis, thus contributing to cardiovascular disease.


Check out this website for additional information:


http://naturalmomhealthychild.com/my-favorite-things-elderberry-syrup/


DISCLAIMER: Always check with a physician before starting any remedy. This information is for informational purposes only and it not intended for diagnosis or treatment of any medical condition or illness.

Who say's You HAVE to cook everyday?

It is well intentioned that we aspire to cook a healthy and balanced meal everyday and plan meals for the week, for the ,and all the stuff that the magazines tell you, but really who has time? We have to be realistic with ourselves, how many meals can you cook during the week that are cost-effective, nutritious, and delicious? To be honest it can be done with a little planning and a little help from those sources and philospohies which are in alignment with our own.  One idea is to gather all your friends on a Saturday and have a cook and swap healthy meals party (casseroles, quiches, salads, soups, etc.)

Let me be the first to say that I often lack the energy and motivation to cook everyday. Take tonight for instance, my husband suggested we go to EarthFare (a healthfood grocery store) for groceries. It's Thrusday and I compltely forgot that kids eat free on Thursday with the minimum purchase of a $5 adult meal. Now they are talking my lanuage because not only does this store give great weekly coupons and freebies during the week (when you sign up for their email list), they also want to feed your whole family for nearly free! To boot we had warm cider while we shopped for groceries afterwards. They get an "A" for the day in my book because Thursday's are now a no brainer for dinner. Our adult dinner total was $11.71. I spent $40 in the store but the trade-off was worth it (I can be lured with good free food-LOL).

I say all of this to say, make dinner a priority but also make it easy and inexpensive by signing up for coupons, email lists, and checking to see who's offering free meals for the kids. Also, WholeFoods has a kids membership where kids sign up and earn a free snack each time they are in the store. Can somebody say "afterschool snack" made easy and free! Hello out there, we can eat good, eat free, and be healthy all in one. Any more ideas, please share on the blog as we build a strong network support of working moms! Don't forget to pencil in that family walk from time to time and to keep up prayer : )

http://www.earthfare.com/FamilyDinnerNight.aspx

What Alicia Keys has to Say about Mothering

According to WebMd the Magazine, working moms can relax and take a deep breath because it's really not that bad! Translation, the latest research shows that children of working moms, particularly girls, are more well-adjusted than their stay-at-home peers. Can you believe it? I was just as shocked. The article continues by saying "The British study found that by age 5, children who lived with two working parents had the fewest social, emotional, and behavioral problems. Five-year-old girls whose moms stayed home, on the other hand, were twice as likely to have behavioral problems as those whose moms worked." WOW! What do you think?

Alicia Keys was featured in this months edition of the WebMd magazine and gave awesome advice on mothering and taking care of self: "If you can't love yourself, how can you take care of others? Watching what you put into your body and eliminating anything that could possibly hurt you in any way are extremely important........It's really important to care for yourself first, then you can give your love to everyone else."

Real talk , real advice : ) On to the next one-LOL!

WebMd the Magazine

Breakfast Made Easy and Nutritous

Make breakfast simple and nutritous by always keeping a few staples on hand that make for a wholesome and nutritious option. I learned from my grandmother how to keep the basics on hand: brown bread, eggs, cheese, grits, and coffee. Nowadays, I add a few more of my own flavors with grandma's voice always reminding what to keep on hand : )

I add a little fruit, nutritious juice, some vitamins, a superfood mix, turkey instead of pork for the carnivors, brown bread, brown eggs, a few veggies for a veggie omelet, butter with olive oil, farina instead of grits, and tea. This is of course for a nice Saturday or Sunday breakfast or brunch. I enlist the help of my daughters of course who are becoming little "How to Eat to Live" chefs! I have the youngest who is the "toastmaster" and the oldest who is now the "eggmaster". Breakfast made easy: enlist your children, keep healthy food on hand, a good breakfast menu, good music, good vibes: "Breakfast Made Easy and Nutritious!"

Breakfast Made Easy & Nutritious

Quality In Between Time

Quality time becomes far and few for working parents. However, the time we do have with our children we can maximize those times which make for excellent quality in between time moments. There may be a small sacrifice involved to wake up earlier or a few extra dollars in gas for the week, but isn't it worth it for your child? The quality of time and relationships with our children are priceless, well-deserved, and help to ensure we are raising positive, productive, and successful adults. Here are a few tips to get in some quality "in between time":

-Instead of having your child ride the bus, opt to take/walk your child to school and pick up from school whenever possible. This is an excellent way to get their daily course off to a good start, find out how their day went, have meaningful conversations, learn who their friends are, and build relationships with children. This is also a time to have reflection by way of gratitude and lesson learning. This is not a time to redicule children before they go to school as this may inadversely affect their and your day.

-Before school, wake up 30 minutes early to prepareg and have dinner with your child/children, have the children assist with preparing breakfast, even better, develop a morning routine involving morning prayer, light exercise such as Yoga or stretching, and breakfast. This will be a wonderful addition to your daily routine, helps knock of stress, helps get the day started properly, and promotes another way to have quality time.

-If you have mulitple children, it is important to spend quality time both separately and a family unit. Devise a way to ensure that each child gets time alone with you and time with the family unit. An evening walk every other day or every day can be done with one child or as a family. This helps everyone get some exercise, fresh air, and time to talk.

-Eat dinner together, every night. This acitivty is known and shown to be a positive risk factor for producing positive, productive, and successful children.

-Eat lunch with your child at school1 What better way to show your child you care and love to spend time with them.

-Take your child on a date! Go to the movies, the mall, the farmer's market, ice-skating, a walk in the park, a cup of tea, a museum, or any of your favorite places for a day out on the town.

-Invite your child to your job for a 1/2 day, have them assist you in the office or help you prepare for work.

Lunch Made Easy

Every week we face the challenge of "what to make for lunch". The same 'ole, same 'ole, gets very old, very fast with three children. From a mother's perspective, the goal is health, balance, and quality food that will help nurish the brain, give balanced nutrition, and provide some variety. My children on the other hand want something that is sweet, familiar, and often times popular. All of which compete with my intentions, however we are finding balance as we learn the benefits of good food, learn How to Eat to Live, and strive to make our kitchen a "Kitchen Healing Laboratory". So in essence, my children go along to get along, and along the way they learn that beneficial food does not have to taste bad or bland nor do we have to compromise much as we use various natural sweetners. They know that I strive to buy mostly organic, natural, and unprocessed foods and oftentime they turn their noses up but are slowly coming around to understanding that we MUST put the best, nutritious food in our bodies in order to think our best and function optimally.

As the only vegetarian in the house and one semi-vegetarian (my youngest) and a husband who is transitioning to vegetarianism, grocercy shopping can be quite a challenge. I strive to buy and serve less meat as possible which makes me more conscious to buy food with plenty of protein, not only for myself but to provide an alternative and supplement to meat for my carnivorous family. We are very much a work in progress and enjoying our journey on how to Eat to Live! Along our journey, I will share recipes and lunch box ideas for aspiring families alike. We maintain a household of five mouths to feed and you can be sure that we will be budget conscious, eco-friendly, and delicious! Please feel free to add your ideas, recipes, comments, and insights. Here are a few of our favorite lunch items thus far:

-Half Soup/Half Sandwhich (or either or based on parent/child preference)
-Apple, Kiwi, Plum, or Orange
-Cucumber Salad or Squash/Zucchini Slices with Herbs/Olive Oil
-Cheese String or Yogurt (optional)
-Granola Bar/Mix, Zucchini Bread, Carrot Bread, or Pumpkin Bread
-Water

For Sandwhich Bread (either meat or vegetarian) Food for Life's Ezekiel Bread ($3.98):

-Make a 1/2 sandwhich, if using meat use turkey or chicken made without the use of hormones, preservatives, steroids, and that are grass fed (AppleGate has a good variety) Add premium lettues, light mayo, cucumbers and herb seasoning. If making vegetarian, use light pesto sauce, avocado, premium organic lettuces, cucumbers, sprouts, and light herb seasoning (Yummy!).

http://www.foodforlife.com/product-catalog/ezekiel-49/breads/120C6-organic-sprouted-whole-grain-flourless-bread

Soup (prepare the night before in your crock pot) Make sure to have a good thermos for your children (bag $2.99):

-Prepare lentil soup with green beans, celery, potatoes (optional), onions, carrots, cabbage and herb seasonings

Harvest Fruit ($5/bag):

-Apple, Kiwi, Plum, Grapes, Pear, or Orange

Veggies ($5/bag):

-Cucumber Salad or Squash/Zucchini Slices with Herbs/Olive Oil

Dairy (optional) ($5/bag or box):

-Cheese string or Greek Yogurt

Snack:

-Granola Bar/Mix, Zucchini Bread, Carrot bread, or Pumpkin Bread ($2.99 box)

Drink ($5/24 pk):

-Water

Modify or replace items based on your families and children's specific dietary needs. Also read labes to ensure ingredients are appropriate (i.e., peanut, soy, wheat allergies). Water is the best drink to provde for your children's lunches, this can be in addition to a 100% juice option or 1/2 juice, 1/2 water option. Water detoxes the body, clears the mind, and helps digestion. I try to give my kids 5-6 lunch items (in child-size portions) with the expectancy that they retain 1 or 2 items for emergency or snack as needed. Children should not be "full" from their lunch, but nutritionally recharged and energized so that their minds are ready to learn and absorb proper knowledge and education!

For the week I usually avergae between $35-$40 for lunch for 3 children which averages about $13 per child or $2.67 a day, which is not bad, but striving to get even lower. Buying items in bulk is a cost saver and buying items on sale and with coupons works well also. I shop between Trader Joe's, EarthFare, Whole Foods, WalMart, and Kroger. Each store has deals. Shop around and have a list before shopping to stay on task on on budget (what budget-LOL!).

Lately, I have been cooking meals with my daughters on a regular basis. My oldest has picked up the cooking bug and I am loving it. Subsequently she is also learning more about natural and organic foods and the differences in cooking styles, tastes, herbs, nutrients, food presentation, and is even acquiring a taste for uncooked food (i.e., squash & zucchini with herb seasoning). Clearly we are having some Aha moments in the kitchen as we are transforming our kitchen into a health laboratory.

My daughter Heaven has a strong interest in science and is bringing her scientific knowlege into the kitchen by asking probing questions such as: "will the parsely decompose or break down as it cooks?", "what are enzymes?", and "what are live foods?" By the way, I was stumped on the first question, but stunned nonetheless that the kitchen easily becomes a classroom and a model learning center when the intention of a healthy healing laboratory is met with an inquiring young mind. Every morning I prepare the ritual breakfast and lunches. Now, my daughter has taken on this task lovingly and with enthusiasm. She wakes up along with me to help prepare breakfast and we have since started preparing lunch the night before. We review the nutrition of each meal and the health benefits of eating particular foods. The goal in our house is good health and we know the only way to acheive this goal is by Eating to Live and not Living to Eat! APDTA!

So in our journey we will post our healthy family recipes and delicious lunches on the blog to help our working mothers and loving daughters prepare the best of foods for our families. Check out our first video (our video won't upload, Im still trying)!

Tornado in a Capsule

The weather all over the country has been less than ideal, depending on who you ask. Today in our city of Raleigh, we have been under tornado watches since this morning. The good news, none have touched down in our area as of 9:26 when the warning expired on 9pm. I write this as I look out of the window to make sure. I have seen the scariest clouds turn all sorts of colors and different vairations of movement pass over the area within the last few hours, very creepy to say the least. I did my tornado dance (the dance where I look like a Jedhi as I move my hands in a way that shows I have power and can release the tornado into a magic capsule left to dissolve on its own). I know it works because I tried it in April during a major tornado and I still have the capsule to prove it and not a single shutter fell off the house. However today, I should have done the rain dance a bit, as a shutter did come down from a downpour earlier. To my credit, I was not home when it happened. I of course was at......you guessed it: WORK : )

Okay so in between tornado warnings and watches and getting home safely, all five of us, the homework woes begin. My youngest went into a tyriad becasue she accidently forgot/left/disregarded her spelling list at school. My son was irritated at my youngest daughter's tyriad because he now has to listen to her while trying to do his homework. I am cooking dinner, a mediocre dinner at that (i wont even mention what is was, but i will be in the grocery store tomorrow pronto). Okay, we had hotdogs, rice, and black beans (they had hotdogs, i gave up on meat in January, slowly weening the family off of it). Yes the cupboard is bare, but not for long. A Super mom knows how to fix a meal with the bare minimum. I learned this from my grandmother very well.

My eldest daughter, Heaven, (yes she is God's child, can you believe people tried to talk me out of naming her such a precious name, the place where most people want to go) snags me right after dinner as I am typing away at the computer working on, you guessed it: WORK. She has a science scavanger hunt for homework. I am looking outsite like you must be kidding. The sky is looking like something out of a movie. Dad goes out on one attempt and immeadiately hands the project over. So, In my Super mommy imaginary cloak, we go out side. Super moms know how to collect monocots, dicots, sporous seedlings,leaf from a perinneal cotyledones, pollen filled flowers, leaf from a conifer, and a small part of anything that has chloryphyll in it in 5 minutes in tornadic weather. To boot we put them in a pretty mason jar with a pretty orange ribbon tied around it : )

Oh, I forgot to mention that we accidently got locked out of the house and stood outside for 10 minutes (as everyone had retreated upstairs) before we were rescued from the elements outside. S/N, the clouds eventually passed over, good thing the tornado was tucked and locked in the magic capsule : )

Super Mom

Mothering while Working

The Aha moment finally happened (for about the 100th time) and revealed some much needed creative direction and focus In my quest at being the world's greatest working-mom (if there is such a thing). I desire to make the absolute most of it and balance the whole life-work-balance act! I am enlisting the help of all supermoms, acrobats, fortune 500 executive moms, mompreneurs, and the like to aide me in this great calling and mission. I will no longer feel guilty about leaving my children in the morning and returning late in the evening to sad faces or desperate pleas to "tuck me in", but I will now embrace my temporary position in life as a working mom and meet it with great vigor, enthusiasm, and a willingness to superceded this great challenge. When I say challenge, I must clarify, this is a labor of love as I dont take my family for granted. I am not alone in this journey. My wonderful better half is an entrepreneur with a flexible schedule which makes a perfect partenrship for raising a healthy, happy, and beautiful family!

Okay so what's the issue? My issue is that as a working mom of course you have to deal with leaving your children to the world of school and life while you work for someone else (doing the work of 2 or more people) at the expense of negating some household duties, preparing quality meals, homework instruction, quality time and parenting, and some wifey duties (I'm too tired). However, does all have to be sacrificed? No, not at all! With careful planning, intention, effort, with a strong willingness and desire to maintain quality, very little if anything has to be neglected. I have committed to uping the ainty on my motherly duties such to the point that I will become expert. Not expert by public validation, but by the validation (or lack thereof) by my own family.

So, I embark on this journey to chronicle my efforts at being the SUPER working-mom! I am a wonderful mom (if i do say so myself and so do my children). I intend to master this common phenomenon of working while mothering, managing awesome children, a husband, and a household. Wish me well, I 'll keep you posted : )

Yes I CAN!!!!!!!!!!!