Just stuff....

We are in the full swing of things with school now. I think we are establishing a routine here any minute. I am getting used to Amara being gone all day now. I am getting used to entertaining Miles all by myself now! Amara was really good at that.

I am trying to teach more classes too. Not that I want to, but it's easy money so why not!?!?

Miles has been without a nap for 5 days in a row now! I am not too happy about that, mainly because he is crabby. If he could go without a nap and still be normal, I would not mind as much. I am wondering and kind of hoping he will crash and burn this weekend and then start napping again. If not, then I can probably get more hours to work at the YMCA. I try to be done working in time for Miles to take a good nap, but this week--no so much! I tried everyday to lay him down and he was up causing trouble. He is lucky he is so dang cute.......

Amara is on mile 13 of her kids marathon! We did not run 1 time this week either. She (we) still have 12 more to get in by the 16th in order to make it. I think we will cut it way to close, but it will get done. She's a tough kid and she wants to earn a medal!

She has been asking to buy hot lunch at school. Yuck. I took a look at the menu and was appalled at most of the choices. I don't even think she would like most of the items. I think I will let her buy hot lunch once a month starting this month. We get the menu for the whole month so we will go over it this weekend and choose a day. It's making me think about Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution that was on TV last summer. Her school serves breakfast pizza too. It's just regular pizza, served in the morning. What a concept. She understands it's only a treat to get lunch once a month. I hope so. Maybe I will make her pay for it...........

Boring food.

We are in a food slump in our household. We basically eat the same thing over and over and over and I am kind of tired of it. We used to use a dry erase board and plan our meals for the week. That was a good system in theory, but it has kind of fizzled out. Even when the meals were planned I feel towards the end of the dry erase boards reign- the meals started to get boring. It was a protein, a starch and veggie. Pretty boring. It was always healthy-just started to get too boring. At the time I was probably counting calories and it was easier to just eat 4 oz. of chicken, 1/2 cup starch and 1-2 cups of veggies. No sauce and nothing else fun because I was too lazy to add up the calories! Any healthy non-boring food ideas are always welcome!
Maybe next week I will dust off the board......

Don't Let Yourself Get Hungry

This myth is based on the assumption that overweight people are not capable of controlling themselves when they are hungry. It's not so much about control as it is knowing the difference between physical hunger and head hunger. There is a big difference. The explanations are easy, but for some figuring out which one they are experiencing can sometimes be difficult. Physical hunger is when your body really needs sustenance. It's ready to be fed. You might get light headed, your belly might rumble or your blood sugar might even drop. You physically are ready to eat. Head hunger is not the same. You might see/smell something delicious that you think you need to eat RIGHT NOW! Or you put yourself on a time table of when you have to eat ( this myth will be discussed tomorrow). It's all in your head. Something might trigger your body to make it want to eat--not need to eat. Triggers were talked about in yesterdays myth.

When you really listen to your body and are in fact hungry-food is more satisfying and tastes better. If you're not hungry when you start eating, what's going to tell you to stop? You do need to recognize hunger and make sure you make time to eat before you are too hungry though. We all know the bad choices that can be made when we are starving!

Don't eat after 7 PM

Have you ever heard someone say that before?? As if it's OK to stuff your face all day long, but if you stop after 7 PM the too many calories you inhaled from 7 AM until 6:59 PM don't count!

MYTH!

For the next 6 days I will highlight a long standing myth a lot of us have heard and a lot more of us have actually fallen for when it comes to dieting. I will admit that many years ago I was told not to eat anything after a certain time of day. I lasted probably 3 days!

The above myth is exactly that. A lie! It's based on the observation ( not fact) that people that struggle with their weight overeat in the evening. Your metabolism does not automatically turn off at 7:01 PM. That would be cool though. Dinner is usually over and done with before 7 PM, so the majority of us are not eating because we are truly hungry. It's done mostly because of the main triggers- boredom, loneliness and its TV watching time--mindless eating.

It's probably a better idea to ask yourself "Am I hungry?" whenever you feel like eating in the evening. If you are then EAT! Just keep in mind that your day is coming to an end and you most likely don't need another full or heavy meal to satisfy your hunger.

If you ask yourself that question and the answer is no try to consider why you feel like eating ( IE: the triggers) and do your best to come up with an alternative activity.

Some suggestions:

Go for a walk

Chew sugar-free gum

Do a cross word

Call a friend

Organize something

Let me know if you have fallen for the Don't eat after 7 PM myth.

School is in session!! How to start the day off successfully

Now that Amara is in school everyday I need to make sure she has a good breakfast and a hearty lunch. She attends school Monday-Friday from 12:30-3:35.
Lunch time will come about an hour earlier than usual in our home now. There are things that, we as parents can do to raise the chances of school success. A full night's rest and breakfast are a good start to the day. Carbohydrates give the brain energy yo work, so choosing cereals and breads made with whole grains and add protein rich foods ( milk, peanut butter, eggs and turkey) for staying power. Research also shows that physically active students get better grades. "You can't play until you've finished your homework." may no longer be considered good parenting. Ongoing research from the American College of Sports Medicine has determined a link between kids' exercise and kids' academic success. Exercise increases memory capacity, cognitive thinking and stimulates the mind. Free play is the best type of exercise!

I am glad that Amara has time to play before school to get the blood flowing to her brain!

She does get a little snack during her short day, but I know that it is not something she would get at home ( Teddy Grahams--eek!). We are phasing out high fructose corn syrups in our home. I guess I have to loosen my control reigns for the time being. At least the HFCS was not the first ingredient! There is a positive! And Amara was quite excited to receive them. I might add she dropped more than half on the ground. I felt bad that I smiled when this happened!

Kind of....

Honey Bunnies cereal Review

This weeks review will be on a kids cereal. Honey Bunnies cereal. Amara (5) says " I like the cereal because it has honey in it. I like the shapes and it tastes yummy!" Miles (2) is too little to express his love for the cereal, but he does run to the cabinet and picks the box up trying his best to say " Honey Bunnies". That must count for something! Amara will eat hers with milk for breakfast or as a snack. I will throw some in a trail mix for her as well with some raisins and almonds and Miles will eat them dry any time of day.

It does taste pretty good. I buy it for the kids because it's low in sugar ( but sweet enough so they will eat it and like it.), is made from whole grains and has few ingredients when compared to most kids cereals these days.

*Annie's Honey Bunnies Toasted Corn & Oat Cereal - with Real Honey - bunnies and hearts made from toasted whole grain oats with just a honey glaze. Like all of our products, Honey Bunnies are as wholesome as they are delicious: 75% Organic and 100% All Natural9 grams Whole Grains (a Good Source of Fiber)Low Fat and No Cholesterol NO Icky Additives or Pesky Preservatives Grown and Processed without GMOs 0 grams Trans Fat & 0 grams Saturated FatVegetarian*

This cereal is mostly organic too. As you might already know, I don't buy all organic foods, but when it comes to my kids nutrition I try to get the most nutritious foods that I can afford. When I do buy processed foods, I look for them to be minimally processed, have few ingredients and have as natural ingredients as I can find. So this was a good choice. I recommend Honey Bunnies!