Sit Down, Don't Drive Through. The Importance of Family Dinners

“I don't know what it is about food your mother makes for you, especially when it's something that anyone can make - pancakes, meat loaf, tuna salad - but it carries a certain taste of memory.”  Mitch Albom

A Good Old Family Dinner. heights.edu

     When my mom was growing up, dinner time was steeped in ritual.  Each day of the week was assigned a specific, unchanging, meal.  Fish on Tuesday, Oyster Stew on Friday, week after week, after week.  By the time my mom grew up, and had a family of her own, though she hadn't learned to love Oyster Stew, she had gained a strong conviction of the importance of regular family dinners. 

     I love to think back, as a mother myself now, to those daily, consistent meals I experienced as a kid.  I remember walking in the back door around dinner time, greeted by good smells, clanking dishes, and instructions to help set the table.  I remember the comfort of favorite foods like mashed potatoes or peach cobbler.  I remember struggling to down one last bite of broccoli, and laughing at my brothers jokes.  I remember a sense of belonging, a sense of happy routine, and I remember love.  I wonder if my mom knew then the gift she was giving her family?  The gift of true nourishment to body and mind and spirit, through making family dinners a priority.

     For generations, families have gathered around the table, to share not just food, but time, and conversation, and wisdom.  What can we learn from this time-tested tradition of family dinners, and what do we lose when we let the frantic pace of our days push out this meaningful time, and replace it with the empty substitute of a hamburger in the car?

     Author Miriam Weinstein, in her book, The Surprising Power of Family Meals, describes this falling away from family dinners. 

     "We are living in a time of intense individualism, in a culture defined by competition and consumption.  It  has become an article of faith, that a parents job is to provide every child with every opportunity to find his particular talent, interest, or bliss.  But somehow, as we drive-thru our lives, we have given up on something so modest, so humble, so available, that we never realized it's worth.  Family supper can be a bulwark against the pressures we all face, everyday."
The Surprising Power of Family Meals 

     Do we realize the worth of family dinner?   

     Anne Fishel, a professor at Harvard Medical School, shared just how valuable consistently sitting down to a meal with our families can be, in her article in the Washington Post, The Most Important Thing You Can Do With Your Kids?  Eat Dinner With Them.

     "As a family therapist, I often have the impulse to tell families to go home and have dinner together rather than spending an hour with me. And 20 years of research in North America, Europe and Australia back up my enthusiasm for family dinners. It turns out that sitting down for a nightly meal is great for the brain, the body and the spirit. And that nightly dinner doesn’t have to be a gourmet meal that took three hours to cook, nor does it need to be made with organic arugula and heirloom parsnips"

     Ok, so I think a dinner of organic arugula and heirloom parsnips sounds pretty intriguing, actually.  But, she's right!  Dinner doesn't have to be fancy, or time consuming.  What it should be however, is consistent. 

     Fishel further explains how regular family dinners are good for us.

     "Those who eat lots of family dinners, are almost twice as likely to get A's in school, as their classmates who rarely eat as a family."

     There's more!

     "Researchers found that for young children, dinnertime conversation boosts vocabulary even  more than being read aloud to."

     And,

     "Older children also reap intellectual benefits from family dinners. For school-age youngsters, regular mealtime is an even more powerful predictor of high achievement scores than time spent in school, doing homework, playing sports or doing art."

     I know we're busy friends, but the evidence is in, consistently holding family dinners feeds the body, mind, and spirit.  We can slow down, and make time to truly nourish our families.

Today's a new day.  Let's make it purposeful!
Kara
    

How To Grow A Gardener: 4 Fool Proof Ways To Teach Your Kids To Love To Garden

  "If you look the right way, you can see that the WHOLE WORLD is a GARDEN."
                                                 Frances Hodgson Burnett


    
     I remember my shock and disbelief as a kid, when I first learned that a Dandelion was a weed.  To me, they were nature's perfect gift!  A yard full of Dandelions was an embarrassment to my dad, but hours of fun for me.  "Mama had a baby and it's head popped off."  "Do you like butter?"  Dandelions made elegant crowns and necklaces, were perfect for coloring on the sidewalk, and, you could eat them!  For kids, it's not so hard to "look the right way", and "see that the whole world is a garden". 

                                                           Image: Dandelion Lessons, by RayKLui

    
     With a little bit of direction, we can tune our kids in to the wonder and benefits of gardening.

     4 Fool Proof Ways To Teach Your Kids To Love To Garden


     1. Get Up Close And Personal With Some Bugs
    
     Do your kids know that bees and butterflies and worms are a gardener's best friend?  Teaching kids that the fuzzy legs of a bee or a butterfly pick up pollen from one flower, and drop it off on another, or that finding worms in your soil means that it is healthy and aerated, is a perfect lesson on how everyone has a part to play, every little job is important. 
     Want more of these beneficials in your yard and garden?  Consider adding some specific plants and flowers to attract them.  Butterflies love:  Hollyhock, Zinnia, Butterfly Bush, Phlox, and Queen Anne's Lace.  Adding plants like, Dill and Milkweed are also a good choice, since these are a favorite food of caterpillars.  ("Attracting Butterflies, Hummingbirds, and Other Pollinators", gardeners.com)
     Finding more bees and butterflies in your garden can be as easy as giving them something to drink.

     "Bees, birds and butterflies also all need water. Install a water garden, a birdbath or a catch basin for rain. Butterflies are attracted  to muddy puddles, which they will flock to for salts and nutrients as well as water."  ("Attracting Butterflies, Hummingbirds, and Other Pollinators", gardeners.com)

                                                                                        (Butterfly Feeder, on pinterest.com)
                 

    2. Seeds, Soil, and Sunshine

     Show your kids the miracle that is a seed!  A good place to start is to show them the abundance of seeds in their very own kitchen.  Cut open an apple, to discover the star shaped collection of seeds.  Talk about the seeds on the outside of a strawberry, and the seeds in Raspberries and Blackberries.  Compare a tiny mustard seed to an impressive Avocado seed. 
     Plant some seeds!  It can be as simple as popping a few seeds in a pot, or finding your child a little plot in your garden.  Planting the seed, thrilling at the first sight of green, peaking from the soil, and watching and waiting and caring for a plant, is a sure-fire way to plant a love of gardening in your kids. 

     3.  Grow Your Own Food

     So much of the food our children know and love, comes in a package from the store.  What powerful lessons could we teach our children if we take them back to the source of real food?  It's all so beautifully simple.  You plant a seed, and with soil, and water, and sunshine, it will grow!  Nothing tastes better than food you've grown yourself!  Show your kids the joy of a strawberry so juicy, it drips down your chin and dyes your fingers red, or corn on the cob, sweet and perfect, or a tomato, picked fresh, to beat any imposter, grocery store tomato wannabe. 

     4.  Visit a Botanical Garden or A Farm
     Just about every town has a botanical garden open to the public.  Surrounded by dozens of varieties of beautiful flowers and trees and plants, with frogs and birds and butterflies as frequent visitors, our kids are likely to make a connection, and learn to love and appreciate the beauty around them, as they make happy, garden memories. 
     The American Horticulture Society makes it easy with a "Find A Garden", link on their website.  www.ahs.org.
     Let your kids experience life on a real farm!  A lot of small farms have a you pick option, which is perfect for "instant farmer", status for our kids.  Filling baskets with strawberries or blueberries or apples, and bringing them home to turn into something wonderful like a cobbler, pie, ice-cream, jam or caramel apples, is such a great experience, and a good lesson for kids to learn.  They know the source of their food, and they helped in the process.  That is huge!

 
    
Today's a new day, let's make it purposeful!
Kara

Get Those Kids Outside!

     If I close my eyes, I'm pretty sure I can take a mental walk, the entire distance from my childhood home to my elementary school.  I remember passing the neighbor's house whose grass was mingled with wandering mint that had escaped the futile boundaries of it's flower bed, long ago. We used to stop and sit and smell for a while, to break up the long walk.  I remember the canal that would tempt us to break the promises made to our mothers to stay away, and throw in a few rocks, before we finished our walk, and crossed the busy intersection with the nice crossing guard who remembered our names, and complimented our new shoes.  I used to love this familiar walk to school.  The freedom, fresh air,  and the smells and sounds and sights of nature were a wonderful way to start my day.

     I am guessing that most of you don't have to think very long to come up with a similar childhood scenario.  Maybe you have happy memories of neighborhood games of Tag or Kick The Can.  Maybe you remember the endless hours you spent as a kid riding your bike around your neighborhood.  Maybe you had a favorite tree to climb, or a favorite spot in your backyard where you could go to think and be alone. 

     Here I go, sounding like an old person again, but, those were the good old days!  So much has changed in just one generation.  The hours of endless outdoor, free play are all but extinct.  The change in children's connection with nature is so dramatic in fact, that according to Dr. Scott Sampson, a prominent Paleontologist, and author of a new book, How to Raise a Wild Child, studies show that today's generation of children spend on average, FOUR to SEVEN MINUTES of outdoor time a day.  (From an interview with "On Point", on NPR.  Listen to this interview at onpoint.org.)  I may have uttered an involuntary gasp at this point in the interview.  I was almost unwilling to believe that this was true.  This tragic fact made all the worse by the next statistic shared by Dr. Sampson: Today's generation of children spend an average of SEVEN to TEN HOURS of screen time a day!  What?!

     That's it!  Those are fighting words for a parent who wants what is best for their child!  What can we do?  We're all busy.  Our days are often scheduled to the max, and there just isn't a whole lot of time for play.  Screens are easy.  Believe me, I'm no stranger to the "Watch one more episode of Barney so the I can finish the dishes", trick.  Surely, my friends, we can do better than four to seven minutes!

     Start Small
    Don't be guilted into forcing resisting, confused, children onto an all day, 20 mile hike.  Going from couch to Kilimanjaro is unnecessary.  Any step toward teaching your child to love and appreciate nature is progress.  Dr. Scott, mentioned in his interview, that even acts as simple as pointing out the clouds or stopping to notice a bird singing, are positive ways to get our kids to tune in to nature.  Slow down a little, notice, appreciate.  I love to apply this mantra to so many areas of my life, and it certainly applies to teaching our kids to love nature.  Make the short walk to the mailbox a little longer by stopping to sit on the grass for a few minutes, pick a dandelion, teach your child that cool trick of holding a blade of grass between your thumbs to make a whistle, feel the sun on your cheeks.  These are small, simple moments, but they make a lasting impact on our children.

     A Special Spot
     It could be as simple as a hiding spot under the Willow tree in your back yard, an empty lot on the corner of your street that is loaded with good nature play supplies, like sticks and rocks, and puddles.  Your child's special nature connection spot could be at a favorite local park, or he could find it on a Saturday morning hike to a waterfall.  For me, growing up, my special spot in nature was a field behind my backyard.  To the untrained eye, I'm sure my field didn't look like much.  Just a lot of weeds.  To me, this field was perfect!  This was my spot.  I would wander out to the field often, and let my thoughts begin to wander too.  I would chase grasshoppers, lie down in the weeds, and watch the clouds, or search for old pennies or pieces of old broken glass in the little ditch that ran along the edge of the field.  These hours I spent outside in my childhood filled me with a sense of place, gave me an escape from homework and stress, fueled my creativity, encouraged physical exercise, and filled me with a love for nature. 

     Turn Off The Dang T.V

     Sometimes, it's really that simple.  Just hit the power button of the remote.  Shoo the kids outside, and after maybe a little initial resistance, our kids will hopefully get sucked in to the allure of all that being outside in nature offers.  Let them explore, and poke and pick and touch and prod.  Let them climb trees and roll in the grass.  Resist the strong parental impulse that we all have to guide their play...at least some of the time.  Unstructured play in nature benefits our kids in countless ways. 

     In an article called, "Why Children Need More Unstructured Play", on kevinmd.com, they cited some incredible findings on the importance of unstructured play for our children. 

     "In the January 2005 Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine , Burdette and Whitaker wrote on the importance of free play. They argue that free play promotes intellectual and cognitive growth, emotional intelligence, and benefits social interactions. They describe how play involves problem solving which is one of the highest executive functions. ” Children plan, organize, sequence, and make decisions,“  they explain. In addition, play requires attention to the game and, especially in the case of very young children, frequent physical activity. Unstructured play  frequently comes from or results in exposure to the outdoors. Surveys of parents and teachers report that children’s focus and attention are improved after outdoor physical activity and free play and some small studies suggest that time spent outdoors improves focus in children with ADHD.

     We can do it!  Let's not let our kids be included in the sobering statistic of four to seven minutes of outside play a day.  It doesn't take much to make small, positive changes.  Take baby steps if you must.  As long as you are taking those steps in the right direction, out, you are making progress.  Start small, find a spot in nature your kids can connect to, and turn off the T.V.  Let's show our kids that this world is, as E.E. Cummings, in a perfectly child-like way, expressed it,

     "Mud-luscious, and puddle-wonderful"

    
Today's a new day; let's make it purposeful!
Kara
    




    

      
    

The Genius' Guide to Healthy Emotions

     The acclaimed Post-Impressionist painter, Paul Cezanne, is known to have said,

     "Genius is the ability to renew one's emotions in daily experience".  Paul Cezanne

     Renew.  I love this word!  It instantly brings to mind nice things like rest, fixing something that is broken, a fresh start, and avoiding library fines.
    
     Cezanne speaks of renewing our emotions every day, and even goes so far as to call this practice, "genius".  Does it take a genius to focus on one's emotional health?  Well, with deadlines and dishes, endless errands, and a myriad of other daily stresses, we would certainly be pretty smart to give our emotional health the attention it deserves.

     Why is it that we often neglect our emotional health?  Maybe we feel noble for pushing through a stressful day, gritting our teeth, holding on, until we collapse, exhausted, into bed at night.  While hard work and endurance are certainly to be praised, there is nothing heroic about neglecting our emotional needs.

     Let's give our emotions a little extra attention, and see what a difference it can make in helping us have a more purposeful day.  Could you maybe benefit from applying one of the following emotional boosts to your day.  I think these ideas are pretty "genius".

It's the Little Things

     Little happy moments stuck strategically here and there in your day can produce big emotional rewards.  It doesn't take much. 

     One of my favorite, super simple ideas that I came across several years ago, is to hang a sprig or two of Eucalyptus from your shower head.  The heat from the shower activates the oils in the plant, and you get a blast of that invigorating scent, and a definite mood boost.  So simple, and so effective.

manchestergardenclub.com

     Another easy and effective way to nurture your emotions throughout the day, is to take steps to make your environment more peaceful and happy.  Small changes can have a big impact.  Pick up a bunch of your favorite flowers at the grocery store next time you go shopping.  It's absolutely worth the extra few dollars to add a vase full of happiness  to your mantle or kitchen table.  Flowers can bring a little beauty to our day, and intuitively remind us to slow down, and enjoy. 

I Knew Chocolate Had to Be Good For You

sees.com

     Eat chocolate!  This is likely advice that most of us don't need much encouragement to follow.  Now, instead of feeling guilty for indulging, we can feel justified treating ourselves now and then, to a little chocolate.  Evidence shows that chocolate can,

     "...make a person feel better by directly interacting with the brain. One of the ingredients in chocolate is tryptophan, an essential amino acid needed by the brain to produce serotonin. Serotonin is a mood-modulating neurotransmitter, the brain's "happy chemical." High levels of serotonin can give rise to feelings of happiness."  Chocolate: Good For The Mind, Body, & Spirit, by Kirsti A. Dyer, MD, MS, CWS, from medicalwellnessassociation.com

Take 5 

     Take a breather.  Stop everything for just a few minutes a day, and meditate. Mediation can be very broadly defined, including, but certainly not limited to, the only meditation I knew as a kid, where one had to make a humming noise while sitting cross-legged with their eyes closed.  Meditation can also be as simple as slowing down, and taking a little time to just be still.  I am a big fan of a free app called, Calm.  This app takes away any mystery or stigma that you might associate with meditation, and offers guided, simple, quick, meditation.  It consists mostly of relaxing nature sounds, and a simple exercise of clearing your mind.  It's amazing what stepping away from your busy day for a few minutes can do, to keep us grounded and content.

marksdailyapple.com

Take a Nap

     Whether it's from staying up late with a new baby, or a sick child, burning the midnight oil studying for a test, (or writing a new blog post), most of us are not strangers to the effects of sleep deprivation.  We've all struggled with staying positive and energetic in our daily duties after a late night. 

     "Studies have shown that even partial sleep deprivation has a significant effect on mood. University of Pennsylvania researchers found that subjects who were limited to only 4.5 hours of sleep a night for one week reported feeling more stressed, angry, sad, and mentally exhausted. When the subjects resumed normal sleep, they reported a dramatic improvement in mood.^{"
healthysleep.med}

     A little extra sleep changes everything!  It's amazing the emotional boost that comes with a quick afternoon power nap. 

theaustralian.com

     So, go ahead, put your feet up, take a deep breath, eat a little chocolate.  You deserve it!

Today's a new day; let's make it purposeful!
Kara

A Good Book Is A Great Excuse For A Party

     I completely sympathize with the brilliant author, L.M. Montgomery, when she said,

     "I am simply a book drunkard". 

     There are few things I love more than a good book!  I can't get enough, and I blame it all on L.M. Montgomery!

     I wasn't much of a reader when I was a kid.  Who had time to sit down and read a book when there were trees to be climbed,  forts to be made, and endless games of HORSE to be won?  Occasionally, on a rainy day with nothing to do, I might pick up a book to read.  It wasn't until I married a book lover however,  that I began to see the appeal of reading.  My husband was always in the middle of a good book.  I was intrigued by his fascination with books, and now, being a little less enamored with fort building, and a lot enamored with my husband, I decided that maybe I wanted to be a reader too.  Once I dipped my foot in the pool of beautiful literature, I was sunk. There was no getting out of the pool, and I was ok with that. 

     There was a specific book for me, that more that any other I had read up to that point, touched my heart, and changed me just a little.  "Anne of Green Gables".  I was swept up, from page one, with this authors gift for weaving words, and with the charm and imagination of Anne Shirley.  I will forever be in love with this book for teaching me the power of a good book.  And thus, I blame it all on L.M. Montgomery, (and a little on my husband, too.)  

     One book.  It only takes one book, that we really connect with, to turn us into readers.  Knowing this, and knowing the joy that can come from a love of reading, I am determined to find that "one book", for my kids.   

     It's not always easy to convince our kids to sit down and read.  Believe me, I know, the pull of fort building and tree climbing is strong, (or maybe, sadly more accurate, the pull of TV, and video games, is strong).  With all the competition for our children's time, sometimes we have to be a little creative. 

     In my quest to find "the one", book for my kids, I've found a method that works well for us.  We call it, a Book Party. 

     The whole idea behind a book party, is to make reading a book an event, something to look forward to, to get them excited about spending time together, reading. 

     It all starts with choosing the right book; one that you think might resonate with your kids.  Next comes a little negotiating.  Tell your kids that if you can read this book together, when you finish, you will have a fantastic, book themed, party to celebrate.  Don't worry, this negotiation is usually only necessary to convince my kids to sit still and listen to me read, for the first chapter.  After that, they're usually hooked on the book, and actually look forward to our time reading together.  We usually stick to one chapter a day, unless we are at a particularly good part, then two chapters becomes necessary.  There is something about reading a book aloud with your kids that engages them on a different level than when they read individually.  I love to watch the faces, and see the reactions of my kids, some of whom were initially reluctant to sit and listen, as I read.  By the end of the chapter, usually everyone is caught up in the story. 

     When you have finally managed no small feat, of finishing the entire book, it's time for the party.  Here are some examples of how we party, book style:

To celebrate finishing the book Matilda, by Roald Dahl, we dressed up like our favorite characters, watched the adorable movie from 1996, with Mara Wilson, and ate a chocolate cake, in honor of Bruce Bogtrotter, who finishes off a giant chocolate cake to defy the evil Ms. Trunchbull.  (One of my kid's favorite parts of the book).

After finishing one of my, and my kids, favorite books ever, The Penderwicks, by Jeanne Birdsall, my kids again dressed up like a character from the book, we ate gingerbread and brownies, both significant in the story, (read it to find out why!), and in general, celebrated this wonderful book that had changed us just a little. 

I think my favorite book party yet, would have to be the party for Anne of Green Gables.  (Are you surprised?)  This party happened a little differently than the others.  Since reading the book myself, I could hardly wait for my girls to grow up, so I could read it to them...so, I didn't wait.  I tried once when my oldest two were about three and five years old.  I didn't make it much past the wordy and descriptive first page before their little minds wandered off and they were bored.  I patiently waited several more years, and begged my girls to let me try again.  My oldest agreed, but Grace wasn't interested.  Emma loved the book, and the day, a few years later, that Gracie finally agreed, and read the book on her own, we just had to celebrate!  For the Anne of Green Gables party, we braided the girls hair, in a very Anne-like style, donned aprons like she might have worn, made up a batch of Raspberry Cordial, and watched the perfect movie from the 80's, with Megan Follows.

 

       
      

        
  
     More than just a good party with brownies and cake, with each book party, we can achieve memories to last a lifetime, and with a little luck, we might just stumble across that "one book", that will forever change our kids and bring them into the happy group called readers.
    
Today's a new day; let's make it purposeful!
Kara



  

    
      
  

You Can Have Your Cake and Broccoli Too

     At some point every December, my husband will put on an apron, and whip out the candy thermometer and a staggering amount of brown and powdered sugar.  These are the tell-tale signs of our kid's favorite Christmas tradition, Danish Fudge!  Instantly, impatient for a taste, little one's will gather around to watch.  This is no ordinary fudge! This fudge might be the very best thing I've ever put into my mouth.  It is creamy, caramel, maple, perfection.  Several years ago, after a taste of this long-anticipated treat, my little boy exclaimed, bursting with feeling,

     "Fudge is my favorite vegetable!"

     It's moments like these that I start to reevaluate my family's nutritional habits.

     I could never be Scrooge enough to do away with my kids favorite Christmas tradition, no matter how sugar saturated it is.  But, I definitely could make small changes to my family's diet, to bring a little more nutritional balance.

     Here are my five favorite, small yet effective ways, to boost the nutrition in my family's diet: 

1.  Think Green
     It is common knowledge, that when it comes to food, green is not a kid friendly color.  It's not an easy job to get our kids to eat leafy greens, but it's not impossible.  Spinach, Kale, Beet and Collard Greens, are all incredible sources of vitamins A, C, and K, and essential for our growing families. My kids would revolt if I asked them to down a Spinach or Kale salad, but, they hardly notice, and even like Kale or Spinach in a smoothie, (especially when we call it a Ninja Turtle Smoothie), or chopped up and thrown in soup.  Kale is perfect sautéed with garlic, and thinly sliced potatoes in Olive Oil.  Add some Parmesan cheese, and even the pickiest eaters will try it. 

2.  Do Away With Meat, (Just Once, or Twice)  
     Double the veggies, and take out the meat.  It's not hard to go meatless, one or two meals a week.  Our family's health will benefit from giving our bodies a break from the often fatty, high in cholesterol , or sometimes highly processed meats.  Nobody will miss the meat, if you make a hearty bowl of Black Bean Chili and cornbread.  Who doesn't love a big, green salad, loaded with lots of fresh veggies, like Green Peppers, Cucumbers, and Tomatoes.  Add some homemade croutons, or garlic bread, and no one will ask, "Where's the Beef"?

3. Sub out the Sugar 
    With Christmas fudge, Valentines cookies, and Halloween candy, sugar seems to be my family's biggest nutritional stumbling block.  Thankfully, there are alternatives to using super refined, white sugar, and you don't have to give up sweet treats all together.  I love to substitute honey for sugar, whenever I can.  Honey is natures perfect gift to all who suffer from a sweet tooth.  It's delicious and sweet, works incredibly well in any recipe that asks for sugar, and it's good for you!  Did you know?  Honey is loaded with "flavonoids, antioxidants which help reduce the risk of some cancers and heart disease",  says an article on the benefits of honey, on care2.com.  I'm also a big fan of using pure Maple Syrup, and my new favorite, Coconut Sugar, as sugar replacements.  

4.  Try Something New 
      Sometimes we get stuck making the same list of meals for our families, over and over and over.  Having favorites we make often is great, but adding some variety to our meal repertoire can add some new and needed nutrition.  For example, who would have thought that my baby would love Hummus and Sushi, or that my four year old would be crazy about Asparagus and Artichokes?  I would never have known if I had been afraid to introduce them to new foods.  Try something new!  Your kid could be crazy about Eggplant Parmesan, or mashed Turnips.  You never know until you try.

5.  Magic Muffins
     Okay, this is my very favorite nutrition secret, by far.  We have a copy of a recipe for my husband's grandma's, very delicious Banana Bread.  I'm not one to mess with tradition, but in my ongoing attempt to bring balance to my families diet, I have learned that with a few, well a lot, of substitutions,  I can make a ridiculously healthy version of grandma's recipe, that is every bit as delicious.  I make these muffins regularly for my family, and here lies the magic, nobody would ever know I made any substitutions, if I didn't tell them.  I share with you now, the muffin recipe that will change your life...


Banana Muffins  (original)           
1/2 C. butter or margarine                                          
2 eggs                                                                         
1 C. mashed bananas, (about 3 bananas)                
2 C. all-purpose flour                                                  
1 C. sugar                                                           
1/8 tsp. salt                                                               
1/2 tsp. baking soda                                                     
                                                                                      
 Banana Muffins (Healthified!)
1/2 C. Coconut Oil (sometimes I still use butter,
because I really like butter).
 2 T. Ground Flax seed, mixed with 6 T. water
1 C. mashed bananas                      
2 C. White Wheat Flour
1 C. Honey or Coconut Sugar
1/8 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. baking soda

Bake at 325, until a toothpick inserted into muffin comes out clean. 


Today's a new day; let's make it purposeful!

Kara


         

How Colbie Caillat Helps me With the Dishes

                                                                   Photo From Huffington Post

     Maybe we were inspired years ago by Cinderella singing, "Sing Sweet Nightingale", while she mopped the floor.  Maybe it was Snow White's admonition to "Whistle While You Work".  My kids have always been fascinated by Pippi Longstocking's ingenious, scrub brush skates. With a happy song, Pippi makes light work of cleaning the floor, by skating through mounds of foamy bubbles. Whatever the reason, my family can't seem to clean anymore, without cranking up some tunes.  In fact, we can't seems to do anything anymore, without adding the appropriate soundtrack. 

     It is not uncommon in my house to hear my kids say things like: "Let's turn on some breakfast music," or, "We need some good rainy day music," or sometimes even, "This feels like a day for classical music."  (Ok, I am usually the one who says this one).  Why has music become such an integral part of our everyday?  The simplest answer I can find, is that music just makes it better!  Music has the power to energize us, or it can bring us peace and help us relax.  What is it about good music that makes it powerful enough to inspire us and motivate us, and make even doing the dishes tolerable?

     Music affects us in profound ways, physically and emotionally.  Renowned Neurologist, Oliver Sparks, in his article, "Wired For Sound," found in O Magazine, teaches of the incredible power of music in his patients.  He says,

     "The right kind of music can literally unlock someone frozen by Parkinson's disease, so that they may be able to dance or sing, even though, in the absence of music, they may be unable to take a step, or say a word."

     This is incredible!  This is the power of music! 

     We can also get a happiness boost from listening to music, according to a University of Missouri study, cited on Psychologies.com. 
    
     "Music can benefit psychological wellbeing, too. Research from the University of Missouri published in The Journal Of Positive Psychology found for the first time, that upbeat music can have a very positive effect on well being.
‘People were successful at raising their positive mood as long as the music they listened to was happy and upbeat,’ said Dr Yuna Ferguson, the lead author."

     If music can make us healthy and happy, what could singing in the shower,  turning on classical music while our kids do their homework, breaking out the old Clarinet you haven't played since high school, or turning off the television, and turning up some cheerful music, do to make your day more purposeful and happy.

Today's a new day; let's make it purposeful!

Kara