October 2009

Pumpkins, Pumpkins Everywhere!

The last month has been leading up to the trick or treat frenzy about to take place tomorrow. But, what happens to all those cute little pumpkins after the big day is done? Well, if you find yourself with spare sugar pumpkins that haven't been carved, roast them and you've got a base for pies, muffins and even risotto. Here's the scoop on making homemade pumpkin puree. You'll need the smaller variety of pumpkins (not to be confused with the tiny decorative gourd-like ones).

Directions:
Cut a small pie pumpkin (also called sugar pumpkins) in half, scoop out the seeds and place cut side down on a rimmed baking sheet. Bake at 400º until flesh is tender when pierced with a fork, about 30 to 40 minutes depending on the size. Let cool completely, then scoop out flesh and add to the work bowl of a food processor and process until smooth. Use as directed in recipes that call for canned or fresh pumpkin puree.

Posted in: Blog, Cooking with Jennifer Perillo, In Jennie's Kitchen on 10/30/2009

Ready, Set, Slow

When it comes to lasting weight loss, slow and steady wins the race.

Although many people take on the latest diet program, quick fix or promise of immediate results, most only find themselves right back where they started in a relatively short period of time. In fact, most people who take drastic measures to lose weight not only gain back what they lost, but gain even more leaving them more discouraged and frustrated with each attempt.

Why do we continue to put our time, effort and energy into the "quick fix" and why doesn't it work?

Dieting doesn't work for many reasons. The first reason is that drastic steps are temporary...at best. It isn't realistic to commit into a 7-day-a-week exercise program if we haven't been exercising at all or to think that we can drastically reduce our calories for the long term if we have many eating behaviors that caused the weight gain in the first place. If the changes we make can't comfortably be worked into our day, our routine, our lifestyles and our lives, whatever we take on isn't likely to continue. We may be able to commit to an overhaul in food choices or eating behaviors for a short while but when confronted with something that triggers us to overeat or abandon our best efforts, we will immediately go back to what is familiar and comfortable.

What is familiar and comfortable? Our habits. Whether they're good or bad they're what we're comfortable with. That's why when we want to lose weight those habits which originally caused the weight gain must be changed. We've all heard the saying "habits are hard to break" and because that's true, a slow and steady approach needs to be used to develop new, healthier habits to replace the old, unhealthy ones.

So how do we break the habits which lead us to gain weight?

One thing we need to look at is our "diet mentality." For many moms, we're either on or off a diet at any given time. If we have that "all or nothing" or "black or white" extreme behavior when it comes to weight loss, there's no room for error and no way to recover from any mistakes made along the way. If the road to weight loss doesn't allow for some imperfection, it is unrealistic to think that we can stick it out for the long haul.

Life throws us some curveballs from time to time, that's a given. How we handle those curveballs may require some adjustments to our eating plan. If our eating plan doesn't allow for those adjustments, where does that leave us?

It leaves us right off our diet. Angry, frustrated and discouraged, we revert right back to what is so deeply ingrained within us. Any progress made is abandoned and for many moms, here's where the negative self talk takes us even further away from believing weight loss success is possible as we berate ourselves with every bite of foods we've sworn off for good. So, if this sounds so familiar and you've had enough of "yo-yo dieting", weight cycling and diet behavior, what can you do?

1) Understand that each time you start an unrealistic diet, you chip away at your confidence and belief in your ability that you can lose weight. The more you chip away at that confidence, the less you trust yourself and the more powerless you become.

2) Understand that although it doesn't sound as appealing as a "miracle cure" or "immediate solution", weight loss is a journey. The more you discover why you gained the weight and understand that your habits can and need to be changed, the more weight loss success you'll have.

3) Focus on the fact that each habit you change serves as a stepping stone to greater confidence, trust and belief in yourself. When we isolate a habit we want to change, put our efforts into finding a solution to turn that habit into one that better suits us, we feel proud and happy with our ability to take control of our eating and our behavior. That simply feels good and enables us to see that our choices and decisions are within our control. It brings about a feeling of strength and empowerment as well as increases our confidence and self esteem.

When we feel confident, strong and empowered, we're proud of ourselves and realize that anything is within our grasp. While it may be more exciting to believe that drastic efforts bring huge results, when it comes to weight loss, the greatest results are found by making the most minimal...but consistent changes.

Do you have any tips or tricks that have worked for you to stay motivated on a slow, steady course toward a healthier lifestyle? Share them here in the comments or drop me a note!

Debi Silber, "The Mojo Coach"
www.TheMojoCoach.com

Start receiving your free gifts!*A special report on weight loss *1 year of weekly email tips about nutrition, weight loss, fitness, stress control,
emotional health, relationships and spirituality
*A subscription to Mojo Moments, a bi-monthly newsletter written just for moms
All FREE at www.TheMojoCoach.com

Posted in: Blog, The Mojo Coach on 10/29/2009

40 Pounds Ago

Since my daughter is now 10 and I can't blog about the specifics of what goes on in her daily life, what I can share is an earth shattering observation about her weight...and mine. You see, my daughter is now in 5th grade - the same year my weight started spiraling out of control and my parents contemplated signing me up for Weight Watchers.

My daughter, who is now 4 feet 7 inches tall, weighs 65 pounds. When I was her height and was 11, I weighed 106 pounds. Yes, you heard me the first time. Four feet, seven inches tall and one hundred and six pounds. I was forty one pounds heavier than my daughter is today.

When I turned 12 and the teasing at school became incessant, I did finally step inside that Weight Watchers Center and while I initially had to lose at least 30 pounds, I grew four inches and reduced the weight loss goal by 10 pounds. And so, while I managed to lose 20 pounds, I have to say that in hindsight, I was very fortunate that my parents decided to take the bull by the horns and guide me along my weight loss journey.

Today, when I think about kids who are struggling with obesity issues, it often takes me back to the days when I was standing in their shoes. And trust me, it was not fun. It was not fun to be teased, to be out of breath when I walked up a flight of stairs, and to feel completely self conscious since I was one of the few kids who couldn't fit into a pair of Jordache jeans or Sergio Valentes - and back in the early eighties, if you didn't own a pair, you were deemed uncool for school. With the help of supportive parents, I managed to reach my goal and while I've always struggled with weight as an adult, I've never let the scales tip too far over the line.

If you're a mom with a child struggling to lose weight, let me offer this word of advice. Take them by the hand and join a program where you can shed the pounds together. Start exercising with them - go bike riding, ice skating, play the Wii or just take a long walk. If you help your own child achieve their weight loss goals, they will never forget you for it. Just ask me. I'm forever indebted to my parents who realized I had a problem and helped me confront it head on!

So while those 40 pounds may be a thing of the past, they are a constant reminder that staying fit and healthy is truly a family affair.

Posted in: Blog, The Girdle Chronicles on 10/28/2009

The Parentville Fave Five - Learning, Many Different Ways

Parentville.com is highlighting some great ways your kid AND you can learn, both old and new!

Tumblon.com

After all this kids play, how do you know what he's learning? Wondering when he's going to hit that milestone, or when to call the pediatrician (without being a worried parent)? With Tumblon, you enter in your child's information, track each of your kids' developmental milestones and find children's books, toys, and creative play ideas based on your child's development. Here, you can safely preserve and share your own multi-media baby book and keep a blog. It's free, but for unlimited photo/video upload (and soon a custom domain name), it's $7/month.

Onepotato.net

Jay Bushara is a dad, full-time caregiver and founder of this terrific site. Onepotato.net offers carefully selected, book choices for kids - none of the old standards we typically hear of -- and a great selection of first books for babies. Why couldn't you just go to Amazon? You could - if you know exactly what you are looking for. With this site, you also get easy-to-find, detailed (yet brief) reviews and you can select all your books here and then check out at Amazon, while still selecting other items from Amazon for your cart. Here are some examples: Penguin and While I am Little

Kidthing.com

This is a new digital player that is downloaded to your desktop, so it's safe for kids, and there is no advertising. From the store, you can order a large range of books featuring stories and (including licenses such as Biscuit the dog, Dr. Seuss), flash cards, learning games (e.g., Mathketball or Instruments), educational and story videos and color and click activities for less than the price of the real book ($.99-$5.99).

This shouldn't replace real books, of course, but it is a great introduction to the Internet for little ones (we also view it up on our HDTV with Monster Cables), and the books have a voiceover so you can read along. It is also a wonderful learning tool for toddlers and kids. Right now, the player works with PCs and Macs with Parallels or Boot Camp running Windows XP.

LeapFrog Tag Junior

The Tag Junior is an interactive book reader for ages 2-4 (though it could be useful to start as early as 18-20 months) that ties to desktop software. You buy the books and then download the software to get audio for the reader (5 at a time). You can personalize the player with your child's name when it turns on and off, and the software also offers printable coloring pages.

The Player is easy to hold and has a large circle bottom for young kids to press onto the book. When different words or pictures are pressed several different times, the audio reads aloud and asks the baby questions, prompting interactivity.

There are a range of books including Ni Hao Kai Lan - Share, Share Share, which teaches Chinese words and listening for music/sound; Curious George Color Fun; Dr. Seuss: Mr. Brown Can Moo, Can You?; The Backyardigans Opposites; and a Dora the Explorer 1-2-3 counting book.

On Leapfrog.com's site, you can track your child's progress. This tells you how many minutes she spent on each page, her play by play turns in the book, which questions she answered and which skill sets she's accessed. New books are a great gift idea to keep interacting with the product.

Mother Goose First Puzzles from Barefoot Books

This is a set of four puzzles with four pieces each featuring different nursery rhymes, Little Bo Peep, Three Little Kittens Lost Their Mittens, The Cow Jumped Over the Moon, and Little Piggy Went to Market. The pieces are easy to put together and keeps kids busy again and again. They love to take apart and put back together. Recommended for age 3+ but great to start at 18 months and grow into them. Baby will feel a sense of accomplishment when she does each one and starts to understand the stories and relationship between people, animals, body parts and colors.

Posted in: Blog, The Parentville Fave Five on 10/26/2009

Making a Difference...One Step at a Time

In honor of Breast Cancer Awareness month, we were proud to be a part of a very special initiative, the Gal to Gal Virtual Walk. We have been involved with this innovative fundraising effort since its inception two years ago, and have joined dozens of celebrities, breast cancer patients, supporters, family and friends on a 31 day virtual walk across America. All it takes is a five dollar donation (or you could donate more) and you can help grant the wishes of dozens of stage IV breast cancer patients.

The Gal to Gal Foundation, founded by Jeanne Fitzmaurice, the founder of Design her Gals, was established in honor of two women who were very close to Jeanne who lost their battle to breast cancer. The tour kicks off every year in Boston, the hometown of Jeanne's cousin Robin and ends in San Francisco, where her dear friend, Janice lived. In fact, prior to her death, Janice helped Jeanne create the Gal to Gal Foundation by crafting the organization's mission to help patients and families battling the final stages of breast cancer.

In 2007, Dorit Shapiro, a mom of two who had been diagnosed with stage IV breast cancer, became involved with the Gal to Gal Walk when she created her gal online and encouraged friends and family to participate. In addition, Dorit shared her personal story with the local CBS affiliate in Philadelphia and then asked Jeanne how she could donate her time and energy to the cause. Over the next year, Dorit researched organizations where Gal to Gal could donate funds to assist stage IV patients. As a result, Gal to Gal partnered with Living Beyond Breast Cancer - an organization which hosts events and provides vital educational information to patients and their families. The Gal to Gal Foundation also donates funds to Making Memories, which is dedicated to granting wishes of patients battling the final stages of the disease.

In 2008, Dorit was named the President of the Gal to Gal Foundation and in honor of this appointment, the organization hosted an event in New York City where Dorit gave a heartfelt speech about her commitment to helping patients such as herself who were facing an uncertain future. Despite the fact that her health was failing, Dorit looked radiant that evening and was thrilled to be surrounded by her close family, friends and supporters who joined her for this very special occasion. Less than one week later, Dorit passed away.

It is our hope that as we enter the final week of the Gal to Gal Virtual Walk, that we honor Dorit's memory by spreading the word about the importance of helping those individuals who were unable to catch their breast cancer diagnosis in time. There are countless women and men battling stage IV breast cancer and many no longer have the funds to pay for medical expenses or grant a final wish. We hope you'll find it in your heart this October to touch the lives of someone who really needs your help.

Join now and create your personal gal or guy and start strutting side by side with celebrities like Martha Stewart, Kristen Chenoweth, Lisa Rinna, Larry King, Steve Covey, and Denise Richards on a cross country virtual walk across the nation. Plus, if you register a team on the site, you can also be eligible to win a 7 day all expenses paid vacation to Puerta Vallarta. The team to raise the most funds on behalf of Gal to Gal will win this lavish trip.

I hope you will find the time to use your computer keyboard for a great cause. It only takes a few minutes to join more than 3000 women and men who are on a mission to help stage IV breast cancer patients and their families. Visit GaltoGalWalk.org today and make a donation to this incredibly worthwhile cause.

Posted in: Blog, Role Mommy Recommends on 10/24/2009

Uma Thurman Tackles New Role: Mom Blogger

Recently, I was invited to participate in a mom blogger conference call with feature film actress and mom of two, Uma Thurman. Thurman stars in the soon to be released comedy "Motherhood" which centers on one pivotal day in the life of a stressed out, stay-at-home blogging mom. The Motherhood also stars Anthony Edwards, who portrays Thurman's husband, and Minnie Driver (love her).

As each blogger chimed in, I could sense that each of us were leading incredibly harried lives. A snapshot of our stretched-to-the-max group included one multi-tasking mom who was racing to the airport. Another was conducting the interview from her kitchen while her toddler rattled off breakfast demands. Line five featured a mom trying to calm her crying infant, while another baby gurgled and cooed on someone else's line. As a cacophony of baby sounds blasted out the typical muzak you hear before a call starts, we were given instructions on how to mute the phone. I guess a mute button lesson was in order so that when Uma called in, you'd be able to hear a pin drop, rather than hearing someone blurt out, "Mommy, I have to go poop."

Before we knew it, Uma jumped on the line and was ready for our questions. What follows is an excerpt of our favorite responses:

Question: How do you manage to juggle work and family?
Uma: It's really hard to do - basically I don't work at all the same or as often as I used to. I prefer films. It's just a matter when things get tough, you try to forgive yourself if you missed out. As much as I want to be in eight places, I can't. I try to have a rich and warm family life with all the time I do have and I try to strike a balance.

Question: Tell us about your character in The Motherhood.
Uma: This is a story where the mother is central to the experience. She's the one being seen for her actions - she's not there to focus her attention on how to relate to the person of interest. I just think that Katherine's character is so honest. She feels fulfilled and compromised in a way by totally being in baby land and not stimulating other parts of her life. I like that she has flaws and anger issues. She's funny and charming and just sort of real.

Question: How do you feel motherhood is portrayed in Hollywood films?
Uma: I think that motherhood has always been put on the third shelf down. I've had one woman say to me - why do I want to watch a movie about my own boring life? We so discredit our own experience and some believe that raising human beings is so unimportant. Some women think it's not worthy of consideration or they really appreciate it if they've experienced it.

Question: Why does your character blog?
Uma: She's someone who studied to be a writer and she's a novice novelist. She has also chosen and dedicated herself to raising her child. Having a mommy blog is a way to exercise her creativity that fits in with her life as a mother.

Question: How has having children made you a better actress?
Uma: It changed me completely. You are never the same person before and after you have children. I guess when I do get to work, I feel so appreciative of it because I don't get to do it all the time. It's made much more clear lines of my life and my work and I deeply appreciate it.

Question: What was your biggest challenge working on the film?
Uma: I was surprised by what wonderful actors the children who played my kids were and how great it was to act with them. I never really played a realistic mom before and having the chance to work with those kids on such a wonderful and warm script was such a great aspect.

Question: Do you read mommy blogs?
Uma: You know I didn't get into the blogging world. I feel guilty about it and I apologize. There is still time. I feel so badly telling you that.

Question: What are you favorite things about filming in NY and what are your least favorite things?
Uma: My favorite thing is how close it is to home. My least favorite thing is how noisy it is. The biggest challenge (in New York) is the noise challenge.

"The Motherhood" will be released in theaters this Friday, October 23 in New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Boston, and Chicago. If you'd like the chance to win tickets to a screening in one of these cities, comment now and we'll be in touch soon if we've selected you as a winner!

Posted in: Blog, Role Mommy Recommends on 10/23/2009

A Cut Above the Rest

This week, we were lucky enough to catch up with Jim McCann, the founder of 1-800 Flowers and Bruce Bozzi, Executive Vice President for The Palm Restaurant. Listen in to this inspirational chat about how these two amazing family run companies are joining forces and find out their valuable tips on running a successful business. Plus, click on this link to find out more about what The Palm and 1-800 Flowers have in store for consumers this holiday season.

Posted in: Blog, Blog Talk Radio on 10/22/2009

Out of Sight, Out of Mind

Posted in: Blog, The Mojo Coach on 10/22/2009

The 411 on Halloween

Find more videos like this on Role Mommy

Check out our latest mom blogger Halloween segment on Better TV featuring some of our favorite mom experts, Kim at Mom in the City and Jennifer at In Jennie's Kitchen!

Posted in: Blog, Role Mommy Recommends, TV on 10/22/2009

The Parentville Fave Five - Mompreneurs Know Best

Parentville.com is highlighting great products started by moms.

Here are two that were started by moms with Masters in Education who found insight through their pre-school teaching experience:

braininsights

This is a wonderful set of 40 cards, front and back, that have fantastic activities you can do with your child to maximize brain development, self esteem, and relationship building with parents and others. It was started by Deborah McNelis, who has devoted her life to developing educational programs to help children achieve their maximum potential.

The cards come in ages birth, 1, 2, 3, and 4, with 5 coming soon. The words on the front of each card have an activity, for instance, with age 2: "Lay two objects on the table. While I am not looking, put one of the items in an empty cereal box. When I look at the object left on the table, have me tell you which item is hidden in the box."

This is an inexpensive set of hundreds of ideas to do with your child - all for the price of one toy! Great gift for new parents and for trips to grandparents' house, too, if they don't have as many toys. Buy each for $9.99 or 3 for $24 (save $6) or all five for $40 (save $10).

Miss Brittany's Organic Preschool Fundough

Brittany Shapiro has a Master's Degree in Early Childhood Education and developed this completely organic play-dough from her passion for kids learning.

This is a wonderful gift set for age 3+ (2 with supervision). For $30, it comes with 3 tubs of all-natural, non-toxic, handmade dough in blue, purple and green (you can buy pink and orange separately for $8.95 each), a wood rolling pin and four wooden shapes to make imprints, plus an organic apron. Even the packaging is made from recyclable, organic and bio-degradable materials.

Momma's Jewels

This is a terrific idea started by Stacey Rosenthal. It's a sterling silver necklace (or bracelet) with beads inside it that rattle. Baby loves to grab hold and use as a teether, and the silver is cool to the touch so it is soothing. Pretty for you, safe for baby and easy to clean, plus the teether won't keep falling to the floor!

BabbaCo Car Seat Cover

Jessica Kim founded this company that produces protective covers for baby in a car seat. These come in Fleece or Flannel for colder days and cotton/mesh with SPF and UV protection 40-50+ for warmer days. While keeping baby warm and cozy, you can keep baby essentials in the pockets on either side of the cold weather version to avoid carrying another bag.

Money Savvy Pig

Susan Beacham is a mom of two and a former private banker. She saw how some of her clients had difficulty with financial terms and wanted to help kids get smart about money.

This is a wonderful transparent piggy bank that allows kids (recommended age 4+) to sort their change for four uses: Save, Spend, Donate and Invest. It teaches them the value and uses of money, especially in these economic times.

It comes with a financial literacy booklet; the pig comes in six colors and also in a cow and football shape. You can also buy with a coordinating kit for a total of $39.99 (vs. $17 for bank only), with an "at home" version of the Excellence In Financial Literacy Education curriculum for schools (ages 6-11, includes handbook, coloring & activity book and CD with presentation slides).

Posted in: Blog, The Parentville Fave Five on 10/19/2009