Healthy Family Updates

Operation Declutter continues..slowly but surely. We should be done by now, but we both HATE cleaning. I am not sue why. All of my friends ( all 8 of them..ha!) have immaculate homes. I am not kidding. You could probably eat off the floor without worrying. I thought that some of their cleaning powers would rub off on me, but I am still waiting...still waiting.

Anyway. We have until Saturday afternoon to get things in order around here. Which really means Matt has until then because it's my day to run ( 15 miles that morning). My sister in law ( Hi Lisa) and her boy toy will be coming to watch the kids while Matt and I are at a wedding and reception for the night. I am not sure why we need to clean though--she has seen the madness and chaos of our home before. I guess the point of doing all this( massive cleaning) is to try and keep it up. Our biggest downfall with "stuff" is that we simply don't have the room for our things. So we think we found a good corner for it, and then it just builds and build and builds from there. The on-going cycle. I wonder if there is counseling for this. I know there is..I have seen the episode on Oprah. I am breath a sigh of relief that we are not that bad- there is no hording here--just piling and stacking!

We got Amara's room done except for the dresser and closet last night. It was my idea to do her room first since it is already the least junky of the rooms! So one room down a few more to go.

Wish us luck!

Zola Acai Superfruit Juice and Smoothie Review and Giveaway

Our philosophy is simple: To bring highly nutritious and delicious Brazilian Superfruits to consumers. Short and simple and to the point. Zola Açaí is a brand of Brazilian Superfruit juices and smoothies. The juice product line, Zola Açaí Superfruit Juices, are made from 100% unfiltered pulp of hand-harvested organic açaí berries and contain organic guaraná seed for a natural energy boost.
I was very lucky to be able to sample 5 flavors of this nutrition powerhouse!
Antioxidant Smoothie
Superfood Smoothie
Energy Smoothie
Açaí original juice
Immunity Smoothie
I can honestly say that I was very impressed with each and every one of these flavors! Not only are they at least 70% organic but they all were also at least 80% juice! I was also happy that I could read all the ingredient names. No fake stuff here. Now on to how they taste….DELICIOUS! You never really know what to expect with a lot of the so-called healthy juices out on the market today. I went in with an open mind, but half expecting to not enjoy every flavor. I did enjoy every flavor. I really did, even the ones that contained bananas, (my least favorite fruit). Usually, if banana is an ingredient it’s the only thing I taste. It was not overpowering at all. Whew! I thought they all tasted similar, but still had uniqueness about them that came through and set them apart from each other.
The Brazilian Superfruits are as follows: Açaí (pronounced Ah-sigh-EE), Acerola ( Ass-ah-ROH-lah), Caja Fruit (Kah-Jah), Cupuaçau ( Koo-poo-AH-sue), and Graviola . As strange as these fruits sound they all contain great things for your body! Some of their best qualities are providing natural energy, loads of vitamin C, calcium, beta carotene and iron.
I am very happy that I found this product. Sometimes it’s hard to eat as healthfully as we know we should. Most of us have good intentions, but fall short. I feel that Zola Brazilian Superfruits to be a great addition to any lifestyle. They taste great ( have won many awards to prove it!), are mostly organic, contain loads of antioxidant rich fruits, the bottle is recyclable, low in calories and offer much more! I could go on and on, but you need to experience this refreshing juice (or smoothie) for yourself.

The great people at Zola are offering to let you try a few (7!!) of these amazing beverages for yourself. This giveaway will include 4 smoothies, 3 juices and a Project Zola bracelet!! All you have to do is enter! Please follow the rules!

MAIN RULE (this must be followed or no other entries will count!) Log onto the ZOLA website and tell me what flavor SMOOTHIE and what flavor JUICE you would like to try.
1 extra entry-subscribe to my RSS feed (or let me know that you already have) in a separate comment.
1 extra entry- Write a post in your blog linking to my blog
1 extra entry- Write a post in your blog linking to the ZOLA site
1 extra entry-Follow me on Twitter. ( sidebar access)
1 extra entry-Tweet about this giveaway (be sure to include the link in your comment so I can check!)*you have 6 chances to enter……. Please be sure to separate your entries in the comment box.*This giveaway will close on August 10th at 11:59pm of and the winner will be announced by the afternoon of August 11th. The winner will be chosen by using Random.org from all valid entries and will be contacted via email. The winner will have 48 hours to contact me before they forfeit their prize. Giveaway is open to US residents only.

Tips on Tuesday- Tricks to getting kids to eat!

I thought of this topic yesterday before I made dinner. I planned on making zucchini and lean turkey meatballs for dinner. Amara is not a fan of zucchini and the meatballs are hit or miss since I never make them the same way each week. I asked her to help me make dinner. She was very excited to help, especially with the meatballs. I don't really follow any type of recipe for these. I just got a bunch of seasonings on the counter, an egg and some wheat germ and let her go to town. She had a lot of fun sprinkling this and that in the raw turkey. She was not sure about mixing the meat, but once she got her little hands in there she was sure that she liked it; although she asked that we might pick up some " cooking gloves like they use on The Food Network." Of course. Her favorite part by far was shaping the meat into balls. The zucchini was fun for her too I think. She got to sprinkle seasoning on the slices and I also let her put them in the pan and move them around with the spoon. It might have taken a little longer than I usually take to prepare dinner, but that's just fine. She had a great time ( so did I), and she was very proud of herself. She ate every bite of dinner too. No prompting by mom or dad either!

I also used this opportunity to teach her some kitchen safety and kitchen hygiene . We washed our hands so many times I lost count. And she did not burn herself, even when she stuck her hand in the pan to turn the zucchini over (Ooops!--lesson learned!).

Organic Garden Update

Well here it is Monday already. I am happy to announce that we had buckets of rain over the weekend that made some beautiful stuff happen in the garden. Among the very tall weeds that also did well, I found a goof amount of green beans. I was not expecting to find anything ( love my positivity) at all, but I did. I found enough to pick. I am going to attempt to cook them this afternoon. It's not enough for everyone, so I figure at least I can get the first load. I'm kind of selfish that way. I might share with Amara.
Nobody told me that squash plants are prickly! I found out the hard way. I dove right in and got a nice surprise. I was moving the leaves around looking for any actual squash ( nope-none). Those things hurt. They do have large pretty orangish yellow flowers, and I bet the next step will be beautiful prize winning worthy vegetables!! One can dream......

News You can use....kids and swimming

A new study from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development ( what a mouthful) has found that when kids between 1 and 4 take formal swimming lessons, their risk of drowning decreases significantly. Keep in mind what "formal" means though; just showing your toddler how to paddle around will not protect them. When choosing a swimming program for your aspiring Michael Phelps ( bong not included) look for these things:

An instructor who's certified

A national program such as YMCA or the American red Cross gets high marks

A positive attitude toward parents

Parents are usually involved with the kids 3 and under and sit on the sidelines for the older kids

An ideal teacher-to-child ratio

parent child class=1:1o ration and kid only=1:4 ratio

An emphasis on water safety skills

how to climb out of the pool, no running, ask before jumping in etc.

Limited use of floatation devices

good for playing games, but not ideal for most of the session

Thanks to Parenting magazine!