Fast and Super Healthy Kid-Friendly Breakfast

This quick breakfast packs in loads of omega 3 fats as well as antioxidants. Best of all - your kids are sure to love it! Serve with a side of fruit or fresh-squeezed OJ and the kids are ready for a productive day at school.

Serves 2 children under 12:

Grind the flax and sunflower seeds in a coffee grinder and keep in the refrigerator.

½ cup old-fashioned, slow cooking oatmeal

1 cup non-fat milk or organic, unsweetened (not plain)* soy milk

1 tablespoon ground flax seed

1 tablespoon ground sunflower seed

2 tablespoons chopped walnuts

2 chopped dried dates or 1 tablespoon pre-chopped dried dates

2 teaspoons unsweetened powdered cocoa (the type used in baking)

 

Place oatmeal and milk in a medium, microwave-safe cooking bowl and cook on high for 2.5 minutes. Otherwise, cook on stove top just prior to boiling and transfer to a medium mixing bowl. Do not overcook.

 

Mix in ground flax and sunflower seeds with a whisk or fork. Mix in walnuts and dates with a spoon and divide into two serving bowls. Sprinkle top of each serving with 1 teaspoon of unsweetened cocoa and serve.

 

*Plain soy milk is loaded with sugars, salt, and fillers. Only serve your children organic, unsweetened soy products.

When bulk (and sale) buying costs you more...

We've all heard the advice to take advantage of sales. Especially at the grocery store, when a product we already buy is on sale. Did you know this could be ruining your budget?

Here's an example. Our family uses 9 cups of organic, frozen blueberries each week in our daily smoothies. That's a lot of blueberries. So when they are on sale, I'd like to buy up the whole rack! We know we are going to use them (eventually). But what happens when that purchase puts me over my weekly food budget?

 

If you consistently go over your weekly budget, then your annual costs will be more. Your "budget" then becomes a fantasy and is useless. If you are only $10 over budget each week, that comes to $520 per year (or a plane ticket to Hawai'i). How much were you over budget this week?

 

Sticking to your weekly food budget applies to all purchases.  Do not be tempted to over buy when you see sales and bulk pricing. Most people can't adjust from week to week to accommodate $10 over one week and $10 under the next. The excuse, "But I will use them," just doesn't work. You either hit a budget or you don't.

 

If you have children shopping trips can be great educational tools on life-skills, budgeting, saving money for items, and living within your means.

 

Next time you see ground beef, blueberries, milk, or coffee on sale, make sure you don't over buy - stick to your budget!

Are Kids' Foods Ripping You Off?

Save Money Now! Stop buying food items labeled "baby" or that are designed especially for kids. Most of the time you'll pay almost double for the same product just because the manufacturer has packaged it for babies or kids.

For example, if you want to buy apple puree for your baby consider buying organic apple sauce in larger containers. Not only do you save money, you're helping the environment by choosing products with less packaging.

Healthy kids' cereals usually have an adult equivalent with a lower price tag. The same goes for granola bars, cheese sticks, and cracker snacks. Look for the same type of product that is for adult use. Do you give your kids fish oil supplements? Compare the price and dosage size to the adult product. And we are sure you know to look at the unit price rather than the per item price when comparing.

If you have a easy money saving tip, please share it with our Spot On Ideas community.

10 Easy Steps to Lose FAT FAST Before Your Vacation

Yikes! It's a month before our vacation and we realize that our stomach is flabby. We could lecture ourselves about life-long eating habits, or developing a daily exercise regime, but now is not the time. There is a flab emergency growing on our stomach and thighs!

Here is the tested regime we do a month before vacation. These are simple, and while you may already know them, we show easy ways to make them work. Get out a post-it and take note to start these today.

1: Keep your metabolism going all day.

• Start the day with something as simple as 20 jumping jacks, walking the dog, or jogging in place for 5 minutes.
• After dinner go for a walk, run the stairs in your house, clean, or do more jumping jacks.
• Park farther from the door, take the stairs, don't watch TV.
• Eat 6 small meals per day at least 3 hours apart and no closer than 2 hours together. For example, 6:30 AM breakfast, 9:00 AM snack, 12:00 PM lunch, 3:00 PM snack, 6:00 PM dinner, 8:30 PM egg-white snack (see below).

2: Prevent night eating.

• Cook up lots of hardboiled eggs. Somewhere between dinner and bedtime eat 2-4 egg whites (discard the yolks). The protein keeps you full and the digestion keeps up your metabolism up through the night.
• To help prevent night eating, brush and floss teeth right after eating egg whites.

3: Exercise longer.

If you get on the treadmill or elliptical machine for 40 minutes instead of 20 you will see better results in loosing fat. If you can't get to the gym each day, it's better to do 3 days of 40 minutes than 5 days of 20 minutes in battling flab.

4: Exercise on an empty stomach.

If you can do this, it helps burn fat faster. Then, eat within 30 minutes of completing your workout. This is a body-builder secret to look super lean before competitions.

5: Carry healthy, low-calorie snacks in your purse or car.

Our favorite is low-fat string cheese, the protein helps keep you full and the glycemic index is low (meaning it is low in sugars).

6: Plan and pre-prepare your meals/snacks.

Remember, we are talking about loosing fat fast - you need to be objective when you make or choose food. Make your breakfast, lunch and snacks the night before. If you are moms like us, you tend to prepare in advance everyone else's food but your own. If you divvy out your food in advance, you won't end up eating 20 corn chips with your salsa. Don't wait until you're hungry to prepare meals.

7: Eat only true serving sizes and limit carbohydrates.

You know the drill on serving sizes, meat the size of a deck of cards, half an apple, 1/3 a banana, 1 cup of berries, etc. Try WASA brand crackers in lieu of bread, take the bun off and cut that burger in half, say no to white (rice, bread, sugar).

8: Stop or reduce lattes (for a month).

You hear this all the time, but why are lattes bad? I use non-fat milk!? A non-fat latte is about 60-90 calories depending on the size and amount of milk. The problem isn't just the total calories, it's the glycemic index on non-fat milk. To your body, non-fat milk acts a lot like pure sugar creating more flab on your stomach. We switch to Americanos or drip coffee during this month. You could even put in 1 tablespoon of half and half (only 20 calories and a better glycemic index).

9: Drink 2-3 liters of water per day.

Many times when you feel hungry, your body is just thirsty. Water also helps flush out excess salts that can create fluid retention and give you a "fatter" appearance.

10: Wear a band or special bracelet each day.

We use this to quickly remember our goal. It's easier to say "no thanks" when those gourmet truffles or homemade cookies arrive in the office if we have a friendly reminder of our goal.

Join us in the battle against vacation flab! Write in how these tips helped you, or how you modified them to work. Share your tips on loosing fat fast and help other readers.

Healthy Dinner in Minutes! Make this tasty dinner tonight - help your Heart, Brain, Waistline, and Stress Level

We enjoy this dinner at least once a week and more often in the summer months. It is a great alternative on busy nights, or when we are too tired to get out the pots and pans. You can substitute a store-bought, roasted chicken for the salmon when you’d like a change. Adjust size and ingredients to suit your tastes. After you’ve made this healthy dinner one or two times, you’ll have all preparation down in just 10 minutes.

TIP: A great meal for older children to make for the whole family - it is easy and teaches healthy food options.

Smoked Salmon Salad with Red Potatoes

Got kids? If they eat salad, serve on the side with wild salmon, chicken, hardboiled eggs, or other kid-safe protein. Kids don’t eat salad? Use the other half of the apple/pear and a few pieces of carrot. Toss the kids’ potatoes with grated parmesan cheese and offer a little side of ketchup. Make the salad while your potatoes cook.

POTATOES:

• 2-4 very small red potatoes (the equivalent to 2 servings – remember, that is always less than you’d think)
• 3 pinches of dried dill
• 3 pinches of garlic powder (or ¼ tsp fresh crushed garlic)
• 1-2 pinch(es) of sea salt
• 2 tsp extra virgin, cold-pressed olive oil

Wash and quarter potatoes. Place in microwave-safe bowl and toss with other ingredients. Place in microwave for about 4 minutes and check/toss. Depending on your microwave, may be done, or may take another 2-4 minutes. If you increase the recipe size - the more potatoes, the longer the cooking process. Potatoes should be cooked, but not too soft or mushy.

SALAD:

• 4 cups mixed greens (pre-washed, bagged type)
• ½ thinly sliced apple or pear
• 2 TBLSP slivered almonds (pre-sliced)
• 1 TBLSP dried cranberries or cherries (try the type that are sweetened with apple juice vs. sugar) Want to be super brain healthy? Substitute 1 cup blueberries for the dried fruit.
• ½ sliced red bell pepper
• 1 large carrot slivered (use pre-cut carrots in bags to save time)
• ¼ cup peeled and sliced cucumber
• 4 oz. package Wild Alaskan Sockeye Pre-Sliced Smoked Salmon

Toss all salad ingredients, other than the salmon, in a bowl with your dressing. Divide onto two dinner plates. Divide salmon in ½ and lay out salmon strips on top of salad. Put potatoes on side of same plate.

Is Constipation or Stage Fright Your Travel Problem?

Traveling can interrupt your normal routine for diet and exercise and can even affect your bathroom schedule (in other words, you may suffer from constipation). If you experience constipation from traveling there are couple of simple remedies. Be proactive and take these steps to avoid problems:

• Stay well hydrated (that means 2-L or 64oz. per day)
• Eat snacks that keep you regular (dried prunes work great!)
• Stay away from lots of carbohydrates that don't provide fiber (try WASA brand crackers as an alternative - loaded w/ fiber)
• Eat as much fresh fruits and veggies as possible – we always order extra salad or fruit sides at each meal
• Pack fiber pills that may be used in a pinch (remember, effects are 24 hrs. later so consider taking 1 the night before)
• For your stage fright look for secluded and private bathrooms:
  • Starbuck’s coffee shops usually have individual bathrooms
  • Most hotels have a set of bathrooms one floor above the lobby that are less frequented – ask a staff member where the bathrooms are
  • If you are attending a work conference, use the restroom during a presentation rather than at the breaks
  • If you are staying at a relative's house, turn on the shower and fan, if that doesn’t work, offer to pick up lattes at the neighborhood Starbucks (see above)

For more information visit the MayoClinic.com.

Drink All of Your Water the Easy Way

This is a tip for everyone, but is specially targeted to senior citizens who are not used to drinking a lot of water, nursing moms who need larger daily allowances, and you busy worker bees. Get a 1-liter water bottle and fill it in the morning. By the end of the day, make sure you’ve finished 2 bottles (for 2 liters or 64 ounces total). Nursing moms usually need more. My husband and I gave all our parents a 1-liter water bottle for their birthdays. This has really helped in their daily fluid intake. Please see below note about toxicity issues with plastic bottles.

As you may have heard, it is well documented that polycarbonate resin leaches bisphenol-A (BPA) a hormone disruptor in mammals. Polycarbonate resin is what most plastic bottles are made from.

Does this mean that plastic bottles are unsafe for use? We don’t know. Any contaminant has the potential to adversely affect a biological being. Is there conclusive evidence to support the claim that drinking daily water from a plastic bottle could cause health problems in adult humans? Not yet. And what about the effects on children? You can visit this article for more information about possible effects on children: Plastic bottle chemical may be harmful: agency.

Some research shows that the leaching effect increases over time which is a good reason to forgo bottled water and use your own refillable bottle. You can go to web sites like Nalgene’s FAQs to find out more information and to see what organizations like the European Food Safety Authority and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency have to say. Just note that Nalgene makes money from selling plastic bottles.

What do we do (remember we worked in the environmental sciences) – we use re-usable plastic bottles daily and discard any water that sits in our bottles longer than 8 hours. Please research the issue and talk to your physician about any concerns.

Is Your Produce Toxic?

Did you know that some imported produce is treated with chemicals that are banned for use in the U.S.? Look for made in U.S. produce or buy organic. Not only will you be sure your fruit and veggies do not contain banned chemicals, you will be helping your planet by buying items closer to home.

For more information visit the Trade and Environmental Database of American University.

How to Cut an Avocado

Wash the outside of the avocado thoroughly.
Cut the avocado in half.
Use a sharp knife to grip the pit and twist to remove.
Slice while meat is still in peel and then pull peel back to remove meat.
Then, enjoy!

Poop on Your Produce?

Wash all produce! Just because you don’t eat the peel from a cantaloupe, avocado, or grapefruit, when you cut the skin some contaminants follow the knife and then contaminate the meat of the fruit. Manure is one of the most commonly used fertilizers.

This tip is especially advisable for pregnant women, children, senior citizens, or anyone who does not want poop on their produce.

For more information read the 2006 article in the San Diego Union Tribune.