Healthy food talk with my friend AND guest - McKenzie

 I would like to introduce my friend McKenzie.  She always has such great advice and yummy recipes which are also good for you!  I recently asked her for some smoothie recipes to have for breakfast and they were yummy!  I will have to have her on here again to talk about that.  A lot of people might have made New Year's resolutions to lose weight and eat healthier (myself included).  Well, I thought that it was only fitting to have McKenzie guest post on here with some really good advice for eating healthier by eating the right foods.  She doesn't talk about any diet plan (Atkins, Weight Watchers, Slimfast, NutriSlim, etc).  So, read and enjoy and I hope this encourages you to have a healthier new YOU for the New Year!  

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Hi Everyone!  My name is McKenzie.  I’m a registered dietitian with the WIC program.  I’m lucky enough to get paid to talk about food all day, while being surrounded by tons of cute little kids!  In addition to nutrition education, I also write a monthly newsletter for our program that focuses on nutrition & wellness and daily, I update the Scott County WIC Program Facebook page with health & nutrition news, parenting tips and healthy recipes! 

I’ve known Bekah for several years and our husbands have been friends for ages!  I feel so privileged to get the chance to guest post today and hope you enjoy! 

Michelle Obama has done an amazing job promoting healthy eating & physical activity.  Today I thought I’d share with you some strategies from Letsmove.gov to help you create a healthy home environment in just a few easy steps!  Since children do not usually choose what to eat and have to rely on what parents purchase, surrounding children with healthier options ensures they will eat healthier food.  Small changes in five key areas can make a huge difference and add up to real results: eat more fruits and vegetables, consume less sugar and fat, eat healthier snacks, watch portion size, and eat together as a family.

Fruits & Vegetables

•              Kids (and adults) should eat five fruits and vegetables a day

•              Serve fresh, frozen, and canned fruits and vegetables; they all count

•              Provide fruit or carrot sticks as snacks

•              Offer 100% juice, with no added sugar

•              Mix vegetables into dishes, like adding peas to rice, or cucumbers to a sandwich

Healthy Choices to Reduce Fat and Sugar

•              Switch to low- or non-fat milk, yogurt and cheese

•              Choose lean cuts of meat like skinless chicken or extra lean ground beef for burgers or pasta sauces

•              Bake or grill instead of fry

•              Substitute olive or vegetable oil for butter

•              Substitute water or low-fat milk for sodas or sweetened beverages

•              Drink less soda or sugar-sweetened drinks

•              Switch to lower sugar breakfast cereals

•              Switch desserts like ice cream and cake for fruit based desserts

Snacks

•              Reduce the number of snacks served each day

•              Leave a bowl of fruit or carrot sticks on the kitchen table

•              Differentiate between snacks that require permission (cookies), versus snacks that kids can take freely (fresh or dried fruit)

•              Have kids drink water at snack time

•              Save "treats" for special occasions

Portion Size

•              Kids are smaller than adults and should eat smaller portions

•              Use smaller plates for kids

•              Don't force kids to clean their plates if they are full

•              Portions should be about the size of the back of a fist—a child’s fist for a child’s portion

•              Start with a small portion. Children can have seconds if they are still hungry

Eat Together

•              Family meals focus on eating and enjoying food and each other

•              Eating together is a chance to model good behavior

•              Regularly scheduled meal and snack times help kids learn structure for eating

I encourage you to start small.  Make it a goal to have your family make one small change every week.  I promise small steps add up to big change!  And if you want more information, you can sign up for my monthly newsletter (give Bekah your email address) or “like” Scott County WIC Program on Facebook!

Kelly - Guest post

Amy from Mrs. Mommy - Guest Post

Hi everyone!  I'm Amy and I blog over at Mrs. Mommy.

As you probably guessed, I write about all things mommy related.  I am a SAHM to my two precious babies.  Kyla is 21 months and Kase is 10 weeks!  Things can be pretty crazy with two under two, but I wouldn't change a thing!  Ok, maybe I would have a few less dirty diapers to change.  But I love blogging about it all.  Plus a lot of other random topics - reality TV, my love of sports, my attempt at couponing, and whatever else comes to mind at 3 in the morning when I'm feeding my baby.  I've gotten really good at typing with one hand!

I try to keep it real on my blog.  Although I write about how awesome being a mom is and how my kids are the best (every mom thinks their kids are the best, right?), I also write about the hard times.  Like this post where I talk about how I wish I had just 10 minutes to myself each day to take a hot shower.  Let's be real, being a mom is amazing.  But it's also hard.  And I am certainly not perfect.  I love the support I get from my readers when I have a bad day or when I need advice.  I thought I'd share some things I've learned so far on this motherhood journey.

1.  Some days I feel like Super Mom.  Both kids are happy.  I find time to do Tot School with Kyla.  I have dinner on the table when my husband gets home.  I love these days!

2.  Some days I feel like a complete failure.  Both kids are crying.  I haven't even thought about what's for dinner when my husband gets home.  I haven't showered all day.  I feel like I'm on the verge of a breakdown.

3.  One of my favorite things to do is to just pack the kids up in the van and go for a drive.  And pray that they will fall asleep.  If they do, I keep driving.  The wasted gas is absolutely worth the peace and quiet.

4.  It's ok if they cry.  Although I hate when my babies cry, I've come to realize that sometimes it's ok.  I can only do so much.

5.  Technology can be my friend.  Our iPad has been a great investment!  Kyla loves it and I allow her about 20 minutes at night if she is well behaved all morning.  As soon as she sees that thing being pulled out, she gets so excited.  I also have some apps on my phone that I let her play with.  Right now she loves a memory game.  This can really help when she's striving for attention while I need to feed Kase.

6.  Take time for myself.  Even if it's only an hour a week.  This time away to do something for me is so important for my sanity.  It definitely makes me a better mom and wife.  Whether it's exercising, shopping, taking a long, hot bath, I need it to re-energize!

7.  Rotate toys for the toddler.  She gets bored with the same old toys so I try to switch them out each week so they seem "new" to her.  I wonder how long I can get away with this?

8.  Have support.  I have some amazing people in my life.  My husband, Tyler, is by far the best Dad in the world.  And my mom usually comes over once a week for a couple hours.  She usually takes care of Kase so I can spend one on one time with Kyla.  It works out great!  Not only is it nice to have help with the kids, it's just nice to have someone to visit with.

9.  Cherish every moment.  I know everyone always says how fast they grow up, but seriously, my baby is almost two!

10.  It's ok to bribe the toddler.  Yes, I admit it, I have bribed her with a sucker.  And just the other day I posted about her getting her way at Target and us leaving with a $20 toy laptop.  I am not proud of it, but like I said, I'm keeping it real on my little blog.

The stars of my blog!

Can any of you relate?  What have you learned?  I promise I don't only blog about my kids so even if you're not a mom, please still stop by and say hi!

In addition to my blog, you can follow along on Facebook and Twitter.  Oh, I almost forgot, along with being a full time mom, I am also a Director with Thirty-One Gifts.  I kind of love giving away our awesome products so if that's not a good enough reason to visit my blog, I don't know what is!  I actually have a giveaway going on right now and one of my other blogger friends is giving away a Target gift card.  Stop over and enter!

Thanks for having me today Bekah!

The Caccamo Clan - Guest Post - a must read

 My guest post for today comes from a woman named Kelly Caccamo.  She talks about how she is coping with the news that her husband, Joe, has rectal cancer, how their 5 kids are learning what cancer means at such young ages, and how they are learning that life may be short and every minute counts.  Oh, and with all that, they still have time to LAUGH!  After I read Kelly's posts, I start to wonder if I spent enough time with my kids and my husband today.  My answer is always NO.  I find that I take every minute of every day for granted, but don't we all?  Why is that?  Why does it take something life threatening to make us realize that we need to cherish the time with our loved ones and not bicker, fight, and nag?  When was the last time we said I Love You to our husbands and REALLY mean it?  We can all learn from Kelly. She has a great spirit and I am proud to know her and her family.  They are a great inspiration to us all.  So, thank-you Kelly for sharing and I hope I didn't embarrass you too much with the pictures!

Joe and Kelly - 9 yrs ago

Joe and Kelly - 9 yrs and 5 kids later
Avery - 7, Drew - 6, Addison - 5, Macey - 2, and Dawson - 1

We recently had “Dreams Come True” at Disney World thanks to some wonderful family and friends to whom we will forever be grateful! If you were with us or if you happened to be watching from afar our trip would have appeared more chaotic than relaxed, but what they don’t realize that is our life … crazy and chaotic! While each day we strive for less chaos and better behavior, at the end of an exhausting day Joe and I lay in bed and know that we wouldn’t have it any other way!! I do envy those families who seem to be able to manage it all, but we are not the Duggars :) !! I go to sleep dreaming of how perfect and magical tomorrow will be! Morning will come and the magic will begin, then the day will end just like it did the day before!

At Disney World the meltdowns were many, but the magical memories were more! Every morning the kids excitement could not be contained even as we barked orders, many times repeating the same order time and time again. They were not interested in the preparation, only getting there! One look into their eyes and you could see the excitement as they anticipated yet another ride, show, parade, fireworks or Tinkerbell flying from the castle!!! AWESOME!

As we ventured back to the Quad Cities, like most long road trips, their excitement was quickly replaced with agitation. Joe and I lacked patience as we knew the reality of what we were returning too …. chemo, scans and all the other realities that come with cancer. Even as Joe and I went to the hospital Monday morning our strength was replaced with agitation as we realized a hospital is no Disney World! We quickly pulled up the pictures of our vacation and reminisced about all the wonderful memories and our spirits were immediately lifted!

And then it hit me …. dreams do come true in Disney, but not because of the place, rather it encourages us to forget reality and make magical memories! This is yet another reminder that the dishes can wait, but Candy Land can’t … it is so important that we put away reality for a short time so that we can focus on our family! I realize life does not allow us to forget the craziness, chaos or meltdowns, so tonight I will not dream of a perfect day tomorrow, but rather that small moment in time when all is perfect and magical! My hope is that everyone takes the time tomorrow to play “Candy Land” and have their own small piece of Disney World in their own backyard where Dreams Come True!

Go to 'Joe's Journey by Kelly Caccamo' and "like" them on Facebook.  Follow along with them and keep them in your prayers.  

NO ONE FIGHTS ALONE