Three reasons why I advocate the family meal.

long before the family meal

I was born in the ’60s.

An era of family dinners, women mainly working inside the home, and jobs *really* being 9-5.

Life is strikingly different now.

we are strikingly different now

Many women work outside the home. Kids are crazy over-scheduled with after school & weekend activities. It’s rarely a reality to get home from an office by 6 pm (a post for a different day. that whole concept makes me sad).

If my mom-friends are any indication dinnertime has morphed into a period more of chaos than connection.

They lament the fact kids “have” to eat the evening meal in the car en route to practices.

Stories abound of one parent *consistently* eating dinner with the kids while the other is still working/stuck in a long commute home.

Screens are turned on so parents can multitask and/or catch up on work.

This approach to meal time isnt healthy for our families or our connection to partners/spouses.

ahh love. you take work.

Studies show toddlers acquire eating habits by watching us.  This study was conducted by ME in *my* home—but you get the idea.  We all know kids mimic what they see. A screen-free, mindfully eaten, conversation-filled meal together is one of the best teaching tools around. she learned this by watching me.

Studies show older children share at mealtime. Disclosure: Another study from my domicile, yet I believe it true.  Family meals offer teaching moments (Tornado knows being part of our family means helping prepare/clean up) AND provide opportunity for conversation games which give insights into a child’s day. High/low is a fave here & precisely what prompted this post. that was for ricing–but ok…

Studies show teens who experience family dinners are less likely to use alcohol/drugs. The data here isn’t clear why, but seems to indicate bonds created through family gathering encourage teens to be more open.  I’d guess it boils down to TIME.  The more TIME we spend with our kids–the more we’d *notice* if something seemed “off.”

Wait.

Did I say we never eat family dinners?

When I became a mom I quickly realized family dinners would never work for our early rising, late-at-office trio.

the late-worker in our group

As a result, I implemented the family breakfast.

While other families are sleeping or muddling through their mornings we make the time to gather.

We sit sans-screens, chat about the happenings of yesterday and share what we’re looking forward to that day.

For us this family meal time works perfectly.

We get the nighttime family meal benefits plus there’s no chance a surprise meeting/deadline will intrude on our time.

My favorite piece—and now I want to ask the husband and Tornado theirs—is how perfectly it launches my day.

I feel as though I matter.  I feel optimistic and content.  I feel *connected* to those most important to me.  All before my day truly begins.

And you?

What do you think?

Are you a believer in the family meal?

Tags: family meals, mindful eating, screens at dinner

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Colds, Flu, Bacteria and Viruses: Natural Remedies I’m Using For My Family

I’ve seen no less than 6 news headlines in the last 24 hours about evil the flu virus suddenly hitting the nation hard. Huh? This could very well be media hype created by Big Pharma to wanna stick it to you with their flu vaccine (which I will NOT get, nor have I ever had) — that choice is yours.

…but I wanted to take a sec to share with you how the Greedy Family and I are fighting back this season to bolster our immune systems to thwart colds, flu & stomach viruses, and other beastly forms of sickening misery.

Vitamin C

In addition to all of us taking those tasty gummy multi-vitamins (because gummies are fun-er), my two youngest gremlins get two, 250mg tablets daily (500mg total) of the Thompson Vitamin C chewables. As for the teenagers and us adults, we take 1,000mg Vitamin C. If a cold creeps in, we kick up the dosage to 3-4 times the normal amount. Vitamin C boosts the immune system, but if your stomach is a receptacle for all things sugary, you’re doing yourself an injustice. Sugar suppresses the immune system. Do the right thing and limit sugar intake, especially when you’re sick.

Colloidal Silver

You’ll never get me to stop talking to you about this. With over 6 months of regular daily use now, I’m a live-action colloidal silver testimony. The smaller kids get 1/2 teaspoon daily, and the greedy-teens, plus me and the hubs get 1 teaspoon daily. If a cold is knocking at our door, we increase the dosage to 3-4 times daily instead of once per day. Hold the liquid under your tongue for 30 seconds to encourage the silver ions to absorb into your bloodstream. If you’re suffering from a stomach ailment (virus, food poisoning, etc), swallow the liquid right away, preferably on an empty stomach and take every 1-2 hours.

Here’s the things about the silver. You HAVE to stay on top of your dosages and be consistent for it serve you justice. NO missed dosages or being lazy about taking it on time. See also Colloidal Silver Facts Benefits and Risks.

Hand Washing

Welp, you know the basic rule: wash your hands after you’ve graced the bathroom with the presence of your bare-assed butt cheeks. But also get your kids to wash their hands immediately when they come home after school (school time is a breeding ground for germs and stomach viruses) or anytime you and your family come in from being out of the house all day. I chatting with the kids’ pediatrician last year, and his exact words were “some of these viruses can be avoided just by washing your hands frequently”. A good immune system is the icing on the cake, of course, so please do your Vitamin C and Colloidal Silver as well.

Vinegar

Vinegar’s acidic nature is what makes it powerful against a host of bacterial and viral pathogens. In between your regular bathroom scrubbings, on a daily basis, spray down the toilet seats, bathroom fixtures, bathroom door knobs, etc with vinegar. Let it sit for a few minutes before wiping. You can also spray down kitchen counters ‘n such with vinegar. It’s cheap. It’s natural. It’s non-toxic. And it works.

So there ya have it! Our daily routine. With 6 people in my family, and because of the potential for sickness to spread so easily in my house, I have to be extremely diligent about doing all I can maintain their health. I can’t remember the last time any of us took an antibiotic — it’s definitely been at least 2 years. These remedies I’ve listed CAN and DO WORK if you use them consistently and in the manner I’ve outline. So give it a go! And please, if you have other tips, please share them in the comments. Stay well, my friends! XO

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Misfit family yoga

About five weeks ago I was lolling about and chatting at the gym working out intensely at my Lifetime fitness when I spied a flier announcing a family yoga workshop.

I read. I committed. I tweeted.

So excited for the FAMILY YOGA workshop @lifetimefitness #lifetimefitsme twitter.com/MizFitOnline/s…

— carla birnberg (@MizFitOnline) September 27, 2012

(here is where I point out this is NOT A SPONSORED POST. merely my family yoga ramblings.)

Even though Ive been slow to return to yoga it has always been a part of my relationship with the Tornado.

When she was tiny I took a yoga-for-kids teacher training just so she and I could do it together at home.

And because I can’t do anything tiny—I created ToGa. Initially that stood for TODDLER yoga till she grew and it became TORNADO yoga.

ToGa logo.

While we still do DVDs together at home I knew she wanted more.

Id frequently stumble upon her hanging out in our playroom like this:

Before I headed to Fitbloggin she presented me with a YOGA travel mug on which she’d drawn the two of us ‘mid-practice’:

She *clearly* let me know she was curious what I did when I exited the domicile (GASP!) left the DVDs behind and actually attended a yoga class.

We marked the calendar with a big bold FAMILY YOGA!!!!!! and commenced counting down the days…until finally the day arrived.

It broke my heart it was so flipping cute when she slowly & deliberately selected our footwear with an eye to easy on and off.

Yes. we still have lottsa matching stuff.

And we headed off to our workshop.

And we were both OFF THE CHARTS excited.

She couldnt believe she had her own mat!

She insisted a ‘pre-workshop drink’ at the cafe was in order and I happily consumed the caffeine complied.

She insisted we take a photo and I happily passed the smartphone.

photo credit: Tornado

And we were off to the yoga studio.

The studio which, to our dismay, WAS COMPLETELY EMPTY.

my ‘dismay’ face

You see, the workshop had been canceled (due to lack of interest. people crazy!!) and they’d forgotten to tell us.

The Tornado? She cared not at all.

The Tornado? She unfurled our mats, gathered some blocks & got to teaching *me.*

She demo’ed.

DANG bridges were easier at age 6.

She watched.

Im a one-trick MizFit

She danced.

She would not take NO or FEAR for an answer.

photo credit: The Tornado

And when she felt ‘finished’ she insisted we drive and do one last thing she **loved** to cap off our afternoon:

What did I learn from the FAMILY YOGA WORKSHOP which wasnt?

Time is still the most important gift we can give our loved ones. One on one. Being present.We dont need no stinkin’ workshop! Free reign over an empty studio and the chance to ‘be the expert’ was far more fun for the Tornado.I underestimate myself. Im too gentle with myself. When forced to feel the fear & do the wheel anyway I easily could. I hadnt tried in years. Id been afraid.I should be as resilient as the Tornado. On all levels. She quickly & HAPPILY adapted to our change in plans. She also embodies the facet of the definition (to recoil or spring back into shape after bending) I thought I NO LONGER DID until she forced lovingly helped me to do a wheel. I need to remember/mimic both of these traits more consistently.OLD SCHOOL ROCKS. Even with fancy iphone photobooth apps etc. the old time’y photobooths still bring the greatest joy.

I realize this is a long post jam-packed with obvious yet profound to me AH HA moments. Thank you for indulging me.

View the original article here

A Fit Family Day at the Mall

Only have a minute tonight but I wanted to hop on real quick and share some photos from the Fit Family Day at our local mall.

We went on a whim after Little Guy’s baseball game was canceled and I saw the article on the Patch.

When we got there they gave us 5 bracelets to track our fruit and vegetable consumption throughout the day. Every time you eat a serving you are suppose to move the bracelet from one arm to the other.

Love this idea!

Then they started little workout classes.

They did some aerobics, sit ups, pushups, even yoga…

…which was quite amusing. Even Little Bean thought so..

Overall it was a fun morning. It made me want to do more things on a local level and I inquired about possibly helping out next year or even setting up a station to give out a few copies of my cook book.

After all the activities we decided on some frozen yogurt. They opened one of those new places where you can make your own. I might have went a little nuts…

Mine was a squirt of all the fruit flavors topped with lots of fruit and a few chocolate sprinkles for fun.

I tried to share with the Bean but this is his reaction after trying almost anything in the fruit family…

He cracks me up! I can get him to eat frozen blueberries and banana SOMETIMES other than that fruit just isn’t an option. Although I must give him credit. I keep offering it and he keeps trying. Sometimes pureeing helps. One day maybe his tastes will change.

Anyway, I have one more picture to share and some of you will totally get this.

We didn’t finish them. I took a cue from the Little Guy who handed me his yogurt and said, "Here, I’m done."

I thought about it for a second and said, "Me too."

And we tossed them in the closest trash can.

I’m almost 36 years old and I think that may have been the first time I didn’t finish a bowl of ice cream.

Progress. :)

View the original article here

April Podcast: Finding Your Own Plan, Core Hurt Feelings, Helping a Family Member Lose, My Scale

This month’s podcast may be the last I do in this format. I’m hoping to shift to a "live show" in May! We’ll see I’m *this* close to figuring everything out.

That being said, this week I babble on as usual. There’s a doorbell, an echo in my empty office and a synching issue. By far not my best podcast. :(

Topics this month include…

Blogs I followFinding Your Own PlanCore Hurt FeelingsHelping a Family Member LoseMy Scale

.

Links mentioned in video in order…

View the original article here

March Podcast: Food I Eat, Family Members and Weight Loss, Motivation, Starting to Run

Man I am chatty this month. I swear I could just talk and talk and talk! It was the questions. They were so good and, ummm, emotional. I almost lost it like 3 times. It’s pretty bad.

Topics this month include…

What’s my diet and how do I prefer meals.Dealing with Family Members who want you to lose weight.How to estimate Weight Watchers PointPlus.How I make popcorn and my favorite salad dressings.Are VitaMuffins a good option for lunch?How did I become a runner.

Links mentioned in video in order…

The Most Amazing Bowl of Oatmeal EVER! A Open Letter to my Dad My Reaction to PointsPlusPost where I mentioned the Cliff Bars My Hot Air Popcorn PopperHomemade Microwave Popcorn [video] Latest creamy salad dressing creation My winter salad Mini Apple PiesThe 3 Keys of Weight Loss for MeMy Vitalicious page – use the code RonisWeigh for 10% off! First time I ever ran 5k on the treadmil

View the original article here

Another Family Review, Another Denise Austin DVD Giveaway!

When two Denise Austin DVDs arrived in the mail recently, I knew just the person to ask to review them: my sister Debbie.

Debbie introduces herself below in her review, but as her little sister, I grew up wanting to be her – to look like her, to dress like her, and to be overall cool like her. One of my favorite memories of Debbie was when we’d go camping in what our family fondly referred to as The Bear Coffin (see “Camping Adventures in the Bear Coffin.”)

As I wrote, Debbie was always kind to me, even when I stole her crutches after she’d injured her foot and after she busted me tape recording her and her boyfriend’s private conversation. She was politically active and tried explaining Vietnam and Watergate to me even though I was more interested in watching Captain Kangaroo and hanging upside down from our backyard elm tree. Mom often made us matching clothes, and during a trip to South Dakota, we both wore what I called our Wonder Woman shorts. They had white stars on blue and purple stripes and I remember being jealous of my beautiful sister who was tall and thin and filled out her shorts in a way my 8-year-old body could not (and never did, for that matter).

So now that you know her a little from my perspective, here’s Debbie and her perspectives on exercise and Denise Austin’s DVD “Quick Burn Cardio.” To throw your name in the hat to win this DVD, leave a comment or send an email to lynn.haraldson@yahoo.com. I’ll draw a winner on Sunday!

From Debra’s Mat: Exercises You’ll Actually Do

My name is Debra Haraldson, the 54-year old sister of Lynn, who asked me to review some exercise DVDs she receives on occasion. She knows to send me only those appropriate for my age and, um, mature body type. If she sends me a kick boxing, Tae Bo, cardio fat burning, boot camp DVD, she’s off my Christmas card list. I’m not a stranger to exercise but sometimes it eludes me, especially on those cold, dark mornings when the only work out I get is hitting the snooze button and pulling the quilt over my head.

Exercise is a necessary evil. When people say “I love to work out” or “I live at the gym” they are lying liars who tell lies. OK, well, perhaps they aren’t but they are INSANE. My exercise of choice is walking. If it’s light and dry at 6:15 a.m., I’m out walking. Plug in my iPod with my NPR podcasts, and I’m good to go. But when October rolls around, it’s dark and usually raining (I live in suburban Seattle) so I have to dust off the dreaded DVDs, move the ottoman to the side, open a window, turn on a fan and start my step aerobic routine.

I prefer step aerobics because the step really gets the heart pumping, and it offers low impact versions of the moves, as demonstrated on the DVD either by the woman still retaining her baby fat or the woman who just this week started an exercise program and is sweating just warming up. I used to do high impact step aerobics but then, well, I got old.

Lynn sent me Denise Austin’s “Quick Burn Cardio” to review. I like Denise Austin. She can be too bubbly at times but I like her common sense approach to working out. “Just do what you can – this is for you” she repeats often enough that I believe her. Some instructors act like drill sergeants. Been there, done that, hated it. This DVD has a 5-minute warm up and a 5-minute cool down. Just enough time for both. In between you can choose either a 20-minute “Interval Training” or a 20-minute “Cardio Weight Training” routine. Or, if you are truly crazy, both.

There’s plenty of high impact moves in the Interval Training but you can certainly convert them to low impact if your joints can’t take the blows or if you are tiring too soon. One women is there to demonstrate all of the low impact alternatives so I tended to watch her. There are also moves where you are fully standing up, then suddenly, on the floor. That isn’t so bad – it’s the getting up that’s hard! I compromised by meeting my knees halfway.

For the “Cardio Weight Training” portion, I suggest standing on thick carpet or an exercise mat. Use small weights, 1 or 2 pounds and you’ll need two of them (of the same weight.) I made the mistake of grabbing a five pounder and practically separated my shoulder from its socket. Work up to a higher weight if you want. Her floor routines were hard on my hips and knees, and I don’t have problems with them normally. Just use common sense. When the pushups began, I took that as a sign from the gods to take a break and have some water!

In my experience with exercise DVDs, the instructors have you doing a routine so long, you’ll see it in your sleep. Denise reduces these to several very short routines so that they don’t become boring. You can also follow the routines with or without her voice instructions, listening only to music.

Overall, I liked this DVD. Some instructors get so fancy with their moves that I get frustrated because I can’t keep up. Exercise should be fun (OK, so I’m a liar too) and not a modern dance audition.

Until next time.

View the original article here

Another Family Review, Another Denise Austin DVD Giveaway!

When two Denise Austin DVDs arrived in the mail recently, I knew just the person to ask to review them: my sister Debbie.

Debbie introduces herself below in her review, but as her little sister, I grew up wanting to be her – to look like her, to dress like her, and to be overall cool like her. One of my favorite memories of Debbie was when we’d go camping in what our family fondly referred to as The Bear Coffin (see “Camping Adventures in the Bear Coffin.”)

As I wrote, Debbie was always kind to me, even when I stole her crutches after she’d injured her foot and after she busted me tape recording her and her boyfriend’s private conversation. She was politically active and tried explaining Vietnam and Watergate to me even though I was more interested in watching Captain Kangaroo and hanging upside down from our backyard elm tree. Mom often made us matching clothes, and during a trip to South Dakota, we both wore what I called our Wonder Woman shorts. They had white stars on blue and purple stripes and I remember being jealous of my beautiful sister who was tall and thin and filled out her shorts in a way my 8-year-old body could not (and never did, for that matter).

So now that you know her a little from my perspective, here’s Debbie and her perspectives on exercise and Denise Austin’s DVD “Quick Burn Cardio.” To throw your name in the hat to win this DVD, leave a comment or send an email to lynn.haraldson@yahoo.com. I’ll draw a winner on Sunday!

From Debra’s Mat: Exercises You’ll Actually Do

My name is Debra Haraldson, the 54-year old sister of Lynn, who asked me to review some exercise DVDs she receives on occasion. She knows to send me only those appropriate for my age and, um, mature body type. If she sends me a kick boxing, Tae Bo, cardio fat burning, boot camp DVD, she’s off my Christmas card list. I’m not a stranger to exercise but sometimes it eludes me, especially on those cold, dark mornings when the only work out I get is hitting the snooze button and pulling the quilt over my head.

Exercise is a necessary evil. When people say “I love to work out” or “I live at the gym” they are lying liars who tell lies. OK, well, perhaps they aren’t but they are INSANE. My exercise of choice is walking. If it’s light and dry at 6:15 a.m., I’m out walking. Plug in my iPod with my NPR podcasts, and I’m good to go. But when October rolls around, it’s dark and usually raining (I live in suburban Seattle) so I have to dust off the dreaded DVDs, move the ottoman to the side, open a window, turn on a fan and start my step aerobic routine.

I prefer step aerobics because the step really gets the heart pumping, and it offers low impact versions of the moves, as demonstrated on the DVD either by the woman still retaining her baby fat or the woman who just this week started an exercise program and is sweating just warming up. I used to do high impact step aerobics but then, well, I got old.

Lynn sent me Denise Austin’s “Quick Burn Cardio” to review. I like Denise Austin. She can be too bubbly at times but I like her common sense approach to working out. “Just do what you can – this is for you” she repeats often enough that I believe her. Some instructors act like drill sergeants. Been there, done that, hated it. This DVD has a 5-minute warm up and a 5-minute cool down. Just enough time for both. In between you can choose either a 20-minute “Interval Training” or a 20-minute “Cardio Weight Training” routine. Or, if you are truly crazy, both.

There’s plenty of high impact moves in the Interval Training but you can certainly convert them to low impact if your joints can’t take the blows or if you are tiring too soon. One women is there to demonstrate all of the low impact alternatives so I tended to watch her. There are also moves where you are fully standing up, then suddenly, on the floor. That isn’t so bad – it’s the getting up that’s hard! I compromised by meeting my knees halfway.

For the “Cardio Weight Training” portion, I suggest standing on thick carpet or an exercise mat. Use small weights, 1 or 2 pounds and you’ll need two of them (of the same weight.) I made the mistake of grabbing a five pounder and practically separated my shoulder from its socket. Work up to a higher weight if you want. Her floor routines were hard on my hips and knees, and I don’t have problems with them normally. Just use common sense. When the pushups began, I took that as a sign from the gods to take a break and have some water!

In my experience with exercise DVDs, the instructors have you doing a routine so long, you’ll see it in your sleep. Denise reduces these to several very short routines so that they don’t become boring. You can also follow the routines with or without her voice instructions, listening only to music.

Overall, I liked this DVD. Some instructors get so fancy with their moves that I get frustrated because I can’t keep up. Exercise should be fun (OK, so I’m a liar too) and not a modern dance audition.

Until next time.

View the original article here