GoodGuide | Five Snacks Your Kids Should Avoid
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There are so many more than five, but I thought this was a good start. When my kids were attending public school last year, I asked them to keep a mental list of the foods their peers were eating. Here’s a partial list:
Doritos, 100 calorie snacks, Trix yogurt, muffins in a bag, Cheeze-its, Gatorade, Fruit roll-ups, rice crispy treats, Ritz Bitz, Yohoo, Cheese balls, and Goldfish.
You may wonder what’s wrong with some of these. Well, to start, there are various unpronounceable chemicals in them that our bodies don’t recognize including but not limited to flavor enhancers (MSG–a neurotoxin), artificial flavors and colors, preservatives, and copious amounts of sugar. But what to put in their lunch boxes? This is an ongoing quest of mine –to find the best snacks that are not only healthy, but environmentally friendly as well. I have my favorites and am often searching for new and different ones.
If this is your quest as well (or if it is now that you’ve read this) let me know–I can help! debpeterson@180healthonline.com
Visit Deb’s website and blog for loads of info and to consult with her today at 180 Health.
In general, I haven’t noticed too many differences between life in New Zealand & life home in the States. There are only little quirks, most of which I really like. Probably the most important is the Kiwi’s attitude towards being energy-efficient & forward thinking towards the environment. I think it has to do with the love they have for New Zealand. It’s amazing how much pride they have for their home.
Take for example the power outlets. They all have little on & off buttons, allowing you to turn off the power when something is not in use. Imagine how much energy we would save each year if the United States had those. Think of all the things we leave plugged in all day when not being used - just wasting energy away. It really is amazing. At home, it was hard for me to always remember to unplug everything every time I was through with it. But one little flick of the switch, easy as can be.
My personal favorite are the toilets. Before arriving here, everyone said to see which way the water flushed. Should be backwards, blah blah blah. But the first thing that I noticed was how tall and deep they are! But they don’t have much water and the pressure is extremely strong. Instead of the traditional flush, there are two buttons on top, giving you the option of a full or a half flush, causing them to save lots & lots of water.
In general, everyone is just more conscience – like most stores don’t offer plastic bags. And those who do charge a little extra to encourage you to bring your own. When you bring the bags in, the employee literally applauds and pats you on the back. I guess a little encouragement goes a long way.
It is SO exciting to be in a place where EVERYONE is aware and making steps to care for this world of ours. The rest of the planet should really use the Kiwi’s as an example.
Be sure visit Kristine’s Blog, The Adventure’s of Kristine, for more New Zealand goodness.
Do you remember the particular exhilaration of feeling at home in a pose for the first time? Maybe it was an arm balance, a back bend, or the first time you did Warrior II and felt strong. For me, this pose is bakasana, or crow.
There were many moments of frustration and anger trying to come into crow. In particular, one instance comes to mind. The instructor, a sweet, younger woman who tended to smile and make jokes throughout class, began to direct the posture. When people in the room realized what we were being led into, a round of groans made their way around the room. She smiled, and kept going. At one point, she exclaimed, “Hey! It’s okay to fall as long as you have fun while you’re doing it!,” which would have been an appreciated sentiment… if she hadn’t been perfectly balanced in crow while she said it.
I might have given up completely if it weren’t for my stubborn, Aries attitude. The difference this time is that I had a great time trying. I fell forward almost every time; before, I would cautiously fall backwards, almost never lifting my toes off of the mat. Placing a pillow in front of my hands, I would plop face first before rolling off to the side. Alone, with my crow, I started to laugh.
One day, I lifted, and stayed lifted. Focusing, I pressed my palms into the mat, and slowly straightened my arms. To my great astonishment, I still stayed lifted. I relaxed my breathing. I let myself smile. I held crow until I felt myself beginning to lose focus, and then I slowly lowered myself back onto my toes.
It was exhilarating, fun, and empowering. The key, however, for me to get into a balanced crow was to allow every stage of practicing the pose to be joyful. It was great to get into it and not fall over, don’t get me wrong, but it was also great (in a different way) to fall over. There’s a lot of trust in that, too.
As I kept up with crow, there were still times where I would fall over, and times when I would effortlessly come into balance. But that’s the beauty of yoga. As we grow and change, so does our practice. What might have felt like nailing a posture one week definitively does not the next. Maybe, then, there’s no such thing as really and truly nailing a pose. All we can do is continue to try. As I continue practicing crow, crow continues practicing itself on me.
This is a submission from Emma Silverman from The Joy of Yoga, which is a great blog to get you started with your home Yoga practice, or back into your own practice. You can find her very first post here on why she started The Joy of Yoga. Thanks again Emma!
Well, I am getting this in under the wire, so here it is.
Climate change is one of those environmental topics that seems hard for many to put their heads around, me included at times. Climate change isn’t as noticeable as litter. It doesn’t pile up in your kitchen, or land fill. It’s quiet and slow at times. These days, however, it’s speeding up, which is mostly because of us. Now, I am not a scientist, so I don’t know all of the data and facts. And I am not a politician, so I don’t know most of what’s out there concerning policy that can help stop things that are causing the changes to happen so rapidly. However, I can discuss one simple aspect that could help all of us understand climate change a little more, and that is awareness. Yup, it’s that simple. Let me explain.
We all know the climate changes. It naturally changes with the seasons and it has gone through major changes over the Earth’s lifetime. But, when the seasons change how much do you really see and focus on? Do you just notice if it’s hot or cold, or what foods are at their ripest? Do you notice the leaves changing, or the flowers blooming? Most of us do notice all of these things, but what about the more subtle things? Like, what birds are in your yard at certain times of the year and not only what the air’s temperature is, but how it smells. All of these things great and small are climate change. A change usually welcomed and taken as normal.
Now, take that awareness and go back to your younger years, or just your past few years, and see if you can remember things that were there, during the seasons changing, that are not here anymore. Whether it’s a farmer that you used to buy produce from that had to sell his land due to drought, or a beach that used to be, but is no longer, due to rising tides. Of course these things happen naturally. They’re suppose to, gradually. And yes at times they happen overnight. It’s the way of the natural world. But the way things are changing these days, the way the Earth is heating up faster and faster, is not natural. It is natural in a sense that we are part of the natural environment and this is the effect we are having on our world. Though, it seems like a million earth quakes would still not do the damage we are doing to ourselves and our environment. (See the Earth has Humans) Honestly, it’s not the Earth I am really worried about, it’s us. The Earth will survive the changes. The Earth is used to change and accepts it willingly. We on the other hand don’t!
The rapid changes are due to the fact that we are living our lives unaware. We are inside all day long in front of some form of technology, or riding in another. Why not for a minute, put your shoes on, or don’t, and walk out the door and take a deep breath in and a complete breath out. Just do it now and again. Bring that awareness to the outside world, and see what is and what isn’t. Overtime you will notice more and more. And who knows maybe you will actually spend more time outside. More time breathing. More time being aware of the climate around you. Let’s start making the little changes in our own lives now, before we have to make gigantic ones later. I rather learn to use my car less and less, than have to move myself and my future generations to another part of the country because where I am now is under water, or just not habitable. Wouldn’t you?
As I’ve gotten older have grown more conscience of where my food comes from. What really fueled this awareness was when I read the book, “Animal, Vegetable, Miracle” Babara Kingsolver. For one year, Kingsolver & her family took the challenge of only eating foods they either raised or bought locally. Throughout the story there were sections discussing the horrible state that US agriculture is in as well as delicious recipes for each season. I loved everything about the book. Afterward, I literally ached to be in a position where that way of life could be an option. But at the time, I was living with my family, saving money for a trip abroad to New Zealand. Wah wah, poor me, all I could do was keep that idea alive and know that someday I’d do that for myself.
Well here I am in New Zealand and it’s a dream come true! Everything you need to feed yourself is made here. I would say 9 out of 10 labels say “Made in New Zealand”. Thus far, we’ve only bought one thing internationally – garlic, grown in the United States. Funny it never dawned on me that garlic would ever be hard to come by. Could you imagine a year with no garlic? Oh no no, no thanks.
Currently my boyfriend Kyle & I are renting a place that is Gillian, our landlord’s, guest house. She is a wonderful self proclaimed country gal. Her property is breathtaking and most of her time is spent outdoors tending to the huge garden & basically loving life. And look what she gave us on only day three of living there:
Eggs from her chickens! Somehow or another one of her friends gave them as a gift, so now the chickens roam the grounds, laying eggs for our enjoyment, and surprisingly not making too much noise. And let me tell you, those were probably the most delicious eggs I have ever had. Shocking though, the yolks were bright orange. Is that how they are always supposed to be when not tampered with in any way? Gillian also has an insane veggie garden, so hopefully we’ll get to enjoy that once the weather warms up..
By far the best local tastiness I have encountered so far are the avocados, which are farmed all over town, and these:
Every Sunday there is a huge farmer’s market nearby and we picked up some mixed chili’s and cherry tomatoes. The tomatoes were indescribably sweet and delicious. I don’t know if I could ever go back to store bought. Seriously, with every bite I thanked the earth for giving us such great gifts. Mm mm mm.
About two weeks in New Zealand and I’m falling a little more in love with it each day - between the warm friendly people, nice weather, beautiful scenery, and wonderful fresh & local foods – what’s not to love? The great news is that it’s only spring! I can’t wait for apples & orange season 
Be sure visit Kristine’s Blog, The Adventure’s of Kristine, for more New Zealand goodness.
This is an amazing video that helps to show how we get all of our stuff, why we buy so much stuff, and what happens to it after we buy it. It makes you think twice about going shopping and it explains things in a simple, easy to understand way. Please visit their site after watching this video for more info. And don’t forget to share this with friends.
This is a frenzied time of the year. We are all so very busy. Though routine and busy-ness are welcomed by many, there is an undeniable level of stress that comes along with it. And as any conscious person knows, stress is no friend. At least the modern kind of stress, as opposed to the brief exhilarating kind of stress of being chased by a carnivore that was actually beneficial to us. The sad thing about it is that we’re so used to it that we almost don’t know what it’s like to NOT be stressed.
Stress takes its toll on our health. That’s no news. It doesn’t hurt, however, to be reminded. It interferes with our sleep, whether we know it or not, causes high blood pressure, headaches, digestive issues, muscle tension (hence, pain), inflammation, and many other disorders. It can also cause adrenal fatigue. However, what I most commonly see in my practice as an effect of stress is overeating. People tend to go for the simple carbohydrates that amazingly make us feel calmer. And when the calm wears off, we reach for another hit. Thus starts the addictive cycle of sugar and the ever long struggle with overeating.
People come to me for this problem, thinking if they can only eat better all would be well. And, to be honest, this isn’t far from the truth. Eating well can solve many a problem in life because healthy food makes us feel better. But we often don’t eat well because we’re too busy or depressed and eating well takes time and energy. It’s a vicious cycle.
At the school where I was trained to become a health and nutrition counselor, the philosophy was that there was Primary Food and Secondary Food. The food we eat everyday (Secondary Food) is really secondary to all the other things in life that “feed” us, our relationships, career, spirituality, and exercise routine (Primary Foods). If our Primary Food is messed up we often don’t put much effort to eating well. Or maybe we do eat well, but if our Primary Food needs aren’t met, then it really doesn’t nourish us very well anyway.
I’ve noticed when I eat under stress, it doesn’t matter what I’m eating–my digestion is compromised. A couple weeks back I remember sitting at the dinner table, which was adorned with beautifully healthy food: dark green vegetables, whole grains, free range, organic chicken. Our son was having a melt-down; my husband was reacting, and I was shoving food in my mouth like there was a bomb ticking, barely chewing. My muscles were tight as I was feeling angry with my husband and son and upset that our family meal was being disrupted. As I ate, my stomach cramped. After dinner, I had a stomach ache. Later I had gas. Regardless of it being a wonderfully healthy meal, my body rejected it as if it were greasy fast food.
And so, stress does its number on us. Of course, it’s impractical to say that we need to de-stress entirely. Our society is a stressful one and to be a member of it, it’s hard not to succumb to to its ways. But we can reduce our stress with habits most of which we are already familiar with: deep breathing, exercise, meditation.
There’s one visualization I’ve been using recently since I heard it on a radio show called Speaking of Faith on NPR. An Irish poet was being interviewed. His name was John O’Donohue. They were discussing our busy lives and how we live on surface time where we are always busy and mostly mindless, slaves to our routines and schedules. And then he brought up the analogy of the ocean. The surface is often turbulent, but just below the surface there’s a tranquility. It’s quiet and calm; a vast contrast to what it’s like just inches above. He said we all have that tranquility in us–an inner sanctuary that we just have to reconnect with. I find this true. There is a quiet there if we can just stop for a few minutes and find it. As I spend more time there, I feel my muscles relax and my breathing get deeper.
I live on the surface most of the time, being a mother and a wife, tending my business and my teaching career, living in the suburban New Jersey society that I consciously chose to move to. This is my world and as stressful as it often is, I love it. But I notice my health being compromised sometimes, which stresses me out more and I need to tend to my Primary Food. During the times where I notice stress getting the better of me, I just visualize that water–that feeling of being just below the surface, and it makes my world a much nicer and healthier place.
Sugar and I don’t mix, literally! Myself a Type 1 Diabetic, for the past 10 years now, I continually try to stay away from eating too much of it. However, I have a sweet tooth, or two, the size of Texas. If I don’t get a sugar fix at least once a day I get cranky (just ask my husband). Though I try to eat homemade, organic, and mostly vegan sweets it is all still too much. After seeing this documentary below I have found another reason why sugar is not so good. And that reason is morality! The ethical and moral treatment of others and land. In this documentary the history of sugar and it’s relationship with slavery, poverty, obesity, money, and politics are explained.
Unfortunately it is a hard truth to swallow, but it one that must be eaten (No pun intended). I do believe that, even considering the predicament we as a human race are in, we can change and free ourselves from ‘Big Sugar.’ It starts with us as consumers and as parents and mentors. We can begin to stop buying the unethical sugar companies’ products and make an effort to buy more responsibly farmed/manufactured sugar. Also, we can teach our future generations about the truth when it comes to sugar consumption and health. It is up to us! The dollar goes a long way especially when we use it in the right direction. Enjoy the film and please share your thoughts.
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These days being a parent and a Yoga teacher I give more than take, both in general and with Yoga classes. Most instructors, especially in the beginning, find that they spend a majority of their time teaching. Most parents find that they spend all of their time being parents. Put being a parent and instructor together, getting to a Yoga class rarely happens.
But never fear, the internet is hear! Though, a curse to some and a boon to others, the internet has created a an opportunity for busy people who want to take a Yoga class. Not a Yoga DVD, but an actual class. It’s called Yogaglo. They offer a wide variety of classes and styles. Levels from beginner to advanced; different length video lessons from 5 minutes to two hours. Yogaglo also offers meditation, Yoga for work, and pre natal Yoga, so now there is no reason why you can’t get to a class.
The best thing is it’s cheap. It’s only $18 per month for unlimited classes, which get updated regularly. You can now get to class without worrying about speeding through traffic, or getting someone to watch the kids.
I recently took a couple of classes and fell in love. My two year old actually liked it too. He started following the video along with me one afternoon. Also, my husband and I can even take a class after the kids have gone to bed and don’t have to worry if we can make it to class on time, or find a sitter. Though, I still think that a real live class in a studio, or with a private instructor, is key to any Yoga practice, Yogaglo is definitely a great way to add to your practice when you can’t get to a class.
For more info and to sign up visit Yogaglo.com
Namaste!
I am in the process of growing out my hair, so when I was recently asked to try HairZing I was excited to do so. Anything that can help keep my hair out of my face is a life saver. I especially needed it when I went to the gym and for my Yoga practice. At first I thought it would be a little gimmicky and not be what I needed. Boy was I wrong!! It works great and is very easy to use. No more headache from headbands and elastic hair bands. Plus, they are stylish enough for a night out, or great for a casual workout.
Another thing I did not expect were all of the compliments I received from family and friends when I wore it. Everyone asked about it and about how it works. They all thought it was beautiful too. Now I know of a perfect gift to give because they work with any hair type and have many different styles. Also, while researching the website I found out that they are also a socially responsible product/company. These products help women from Kenya and China to start their own businesses and create wonderful job opportunities for women in their area. Many of which would have to leave their families to find work otherwise. All in all, I am happy to be giving this product away and think that you will be happy with it too. Below is some more info about HairZing and how to enter this giveaway.
Announcing our first giveaway!!
- HairZing: Flexible by Design – create comfortable, fashionable, amazing hair styles with ALL types of hair.
- HairZing: Hair-Healthy – no more headaches or damaged hair.
- HairZing: Planet-Friendly – created by women artisans in neighborhood beading collectives in Africa and China.
- HairZing: QUICK Hair Styling Solution – create salon-quality hair styles in minutes for the office, prom, gym, beach, wherever!
- HairZing: Revolutionary – the first truly new, patented Hair Accessory introduced this century.
We have two HairZings to giveaway, so there will be two winners. Winners will be chosen by Random.org. Leave a comment and next Tuesday June 30th, 2009 ( I have extended this giveaway, so the winners will be chosen on Tuesday July 7th 2009) we will announce the winners. The winners can then contact us via email with there name and shipping information. If you connect an email to your comment we will also email you if you win.
Thanks for visiting and good luck!
