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So even though St. Patty’s day has come and gone, I thought I’d share with you a little experiment I did in my classroom. I wanted to see if I could a) get my classroom parents in on my desire to leave processed foods with harmful food coloring and crazy amounts of sugar out of our kids’ mouths (if only for one meal) and b) get my kiddies jazzed to eat green and healthy snacks and c) have them love them and have so much fun, they wouldn’t even miss their beloved cupcakes and cookies.
Step one was getting the parents to sign up for the healthy snacks. You see, you can teach kids what’s healthy and what’s not, but if the parents aren’t on the same path, it ain’t gonna stick. Luckily, the parents in my classroom were more than happy to. They signed up for goodies like green apples, green grapes, green salad, green snap peas, green beans, guacamole (no chips…we used it to dip our veggies in!), kiwi, and broccoli. I specifically stated on the sign up sheet no cookies, no cupcakes, and no drinks….I would be providing a healthy green drink (more on that in a minute). Now, I understand that yes we can bake healthy treats and yes, occasional indulgence is ok but frankly, I think there are so many yummy and green gifts from nature that we should also celebrate those foods as well. I really wanted to show the kids and their families that healthy, all natural snacks have as much of a rightful place in celebrations rituals as do all the sugar-laden treats we have grown up with. In fact, they actually deserve it more. SO tired of all the processed foods given to kids and the way society pressures parents to purchase and serve these foods or they aren’t “letting kids be kids.” Honestly, it’s nonsense and just a whole lotta marketing.
Moving on….
To keep my part of the deal, I made a healthy green lemonade, which was basically fresh squeezed lemon juice, filtered water, a blend of xylitol and agave for some sweetness, and for the green (drum roll, please)…2 spoonfuls of liquid Chlorophyll. That’s right. Pure, unadulterated sunshine right in the lemonade. I gave the lemonade a taste test before serving it to the kids…I loved the taste but would the kids love it too or would they think the Leprechaun stole their usual lemonade and left them with sloppy seconds??
Well, the moment of truth came on St. Patty’s day. Snack time for that day was no overly processed treats and it wasn’t the usual processed, fat and sugar-laden GMO junk the school serves either (Sorry, but it’s the truth). For one day, it was all natural, all healthy, and all good. I was further impressed because my mom who brought the green salad also made a yummy, homemade vinaigrette; no processed dressing! The critics (i.e. the kiddies) voted and their response?? “Can I have more, please??” And for the lemonade? “Cheers! This is so good!” Even my parent volunteers were happy and surprised.
I really hope this motivates you to get your kids or kids you love in on serving up healthy snacks for celebrations, class parties, sleep overs, or just for everyday yum. You can even use this video to motivate them…”Look, sweetie. These kids love green snacks!” Remember, your attitude about and willingness to buy/prepare healthy foods has a tremendous effect on your child’s attitude about them as well. So…tell me…are you motivated to get your greens on today? It’s so easy, even a kid can do it!! How will you get more greens and healthy snacks into the daily diet of your child or a child you love?
(Note: All the plates, forks, and (most) cups were washed and dried, ready to be reused..very little waste! Next step, move away from plastics!)
Spring is in the air and daylight savings time is upon us! For me, that means more time to play after the work day is done! I always look forward to this time of year because I am guaranteed more hours of sunlight, which helps me feel more productive, more energetic, and helps me drop away from making excuses as to why I can’t workout.
I get it. During the winter, the colder days and longer nights can make exercising and/or making it out of the house to go to the yoga studio, park, or even for a walk/run around the neighborhood a mental tug of war (I want to look and feel good….but it’s so cozy in my house!) But now that the weather is getting warmer and the days are longer, nature is sweetly inviting you to come out of your dwellings and into the sunlight. We easily have an additional 2 hours of sunlight to take advantage of, which makes fitting in outdoor activity that much easier, at least mentally speaking.
I highly recommend that you take advantage of the weather and the sunlight and get outside as much as possible for your workouts/exercise. We need the sunlight to lift our mood and to help us get our Vitamin D levels up. Did you know that your body actually stores the Vitamin D you get in the spring and summer to help you for the rest of the year? Pretty amazing, huh? I love it when Mama Nature has a game plan!
Speaking of game plans, it’s important that you have a game plan as well to get in your outdoor activity. Some suggestions are:
One of my favorite ways to play (aka exercise) is to hop on my beach cruiser and go for a nice long bike ride. It lifts my spirits and makes me feel like a kid again. That’s exactly what I did today and because it felt more like play than working out, I went longer than I had originally planned. With such beautiful weather and all that sunlight, how could I resist?
If you your not an outdoor workout kinda person, at the very least, use the extra sunlight and weather to motivate you to get to your gym or yoga studio; just make sure that you are getting in some pure, sunscreen-less sunlight (at least 10 minutes) daily to keep your mood and Vitamin D in check!
How will you use the extra daylight hours/weather to get you moving and motivated to get your physical activity on?
Like most of you, I have been spending the last few days hearing and seeing the heartbreaking details of the tsunami in Japan and it’s spiraling disastrous effects. I live here in sunny Los Angeles and woke up last Friday not only to news about Japan but also to the news that possible destruction could hit our coast as a side effect. When tragedies of this nature happen, I feel worry, sadness, despair, and most of all helplessness. Not only that, but I can feel guilt to go on with my life as usual when somewhere else there is so much pain.
I know I’m not the only one to feel this way. I was lucky enough to find an amazing post by Tamara Kerner over at Elephant Journal who reminded me that our best defense in times like these is to do our part to help and then live our best lives. Tamara tells us “We can send the help that we are able to send and then we can turn off our televisions.” This does not mean that we shouldn’t care or want to help. By all means, we should and naturally want to take actionable steps to help our fellow man. It just reminds us that worry and fear will never alleviate a situation; it often only magnifies it.
Self-help speaker and author Byron Katie reminds us in “The Work” that there are 3 kinds of business: Your business, Their business, and God’s (or Higher Power, Universe, fill in the blank) business. And your job is to stay in your business and in that, you have power. When I first read this, it took me awhile to digest it. It seemed so cold and removed. After all, I am a teacher and a Holistic Health Counselor. I love people and I want to help them. But then I saw the benefits of this philosophy. It allows others to take ownership of their lives and relieves our worry of what will happen next in the world. The truth is, we cannot control Mother Nature and we cannot predict these types of tragedies. What we can control is the integrity by which we live our lives and how well we honor this life we are given. We can honor this one precious life we have by treating our bodies well, enjoying our bodies by moving them, by loving those around us fully and being fully present. We can care for our Mother Earth through our daily choices and how we spend our dollar. We can laugh more fully, have more authentic connections, and do the work we were put here to do. In this way, we honor life. When we are caught in patterns of worry, doubt, and anger, we lose our ability to honor life and we lose our power to create real change that will help mankind.
The tsunami in Japan reminds us of the fragility of life, as well as its uncertainty. These tragic events not only bring to the surface our deepest fears, but can also call upon us to better human beings, for those affected and for ourselves. Because nothing is guaranteed and the only constant is change, we must take time to look at our lives and give thanks for all that we have now. We must also have the courage to look at our lives and see if we are living the ones we want and truly enjoying the sweetness that comes from living an authentic life. For me, I feel less helpless knowing that I can, as Tamara stated, do what I can to help out in the crisis, be it donating money or goods, but I can also help out by sending love, my prayers, AND living my life authentically. I can see that by only concentrating on the sadness of the situation and living in a state of constant fear of what might happen next, I am then paralyzed to create any sort of positive impact.
There is only one life to live and it is happening for each of us right now. Be fully present, love what you have, and be willing to make changes in your daily life if it is not what you fully desire it to be. The changes you create, the thoughts you think, and the daily choices you make will and can make the world better.
Today, I have a personal wish for you. This is my drop in the bucket today to, hopefully, create more love and harmony in the world. I give this wish to you because I cannot control everything else out there, but I can send you my love. Here’s my wish: Live in the unique beauty that is you. Honor your gifts and share them with the world. And love fully…it is far scarier to live a life without love than to live one with heartbreak.
What negative thoughts can/will you let go of? What positive choices do you make to impact the world around you? How can you help when mankind is need and then continue to make your personal life more positive?
(And thank you, Tamara, for sharing your gifts with me and all who are lucky enough to read your beautiful words.)
*Photo by Maria Gonzalez Felton
I just can’t say enough about Marathon Kids! What is Marathon Kids? It is an amazing FREE 6 month running and walking program that is currently hosted in 9 major U.S. cities. Basically, kids in grades K-5 who sign up for Marathon Kids commit to running and/or walking 26.2 miles over 6 months (October-March). In addition, the kids also commit to eating at least 26 servings of fruits and veggies per month. All miles and fruits/veggies are logged in both a running log and food log and are based on the honor system. The kids can log their miles at school, walking to school, and any additional runs/walks outside of school hours. Not only do the kids have to commit to their running and eating program, but their parents have to also pledge to help them in their efforts. The program also advocates school gardening as well.
Most kids who join Marathon Kids join through their school site. I personally brought Marathon Kids to Kester Avenue Elementary, where I teach Kindergarten, 4 years ago and it has been a huge success! This year, we had over 400 kids who participated in the program. Teachers can opt to include Marathon Kids miles into their required 100 hours of P.E. For me, I found it helpful to delegate 2 days a week to Marathon Kids. My kids and I would run 1/2 mile every Monday and Wednesday, which we lovingly called “Marathon Mondays” and “Workout Wednesdays”. Those runs are some of my happiest memories with my students!
Marathon Kids also has 2 major events, their Kick-Off and their Final Mile Celebration. These events bring in Marathon Kids from all around the city to get them fired up at the beginning of the program and to celebrate their final mile together. At the Final Mile Celebration, each child earns a shiny medal to mark their accomplishment. In April, all the Marathon Kids will receive their finishers’ t-shirt, even if they could not make it to the final mile event. Best of all, everything is FREE!! ( I know I already mentioned that, but it is so awesome, I had to say it again!)
In Los Angeles, my hometown, we get to have our kick-off and final mile events at the gorgeous UCLA campus. That’s where I was this past Saturday. I got to meet up with my students and other students from my school, along with thousands of other Los Angeles children, to celebrate the end of their 6 month commitment. It was such a treat to share in their excitement and pride of setting a goal and accomplishing it. Not only that, I am always filled with so much pride to show my students the beautiful campus that I once attended and to get them thinking and dreaming about going to college (GO BRUINS!!). The kids are cheered on their final half mile by the UCLA athletes and even get to meet them and get posters with their signatures after their last run! I can only say that I am honored to be the Lead Teacher at my elementary school for Marathon Kids and that I deeply believe in this program.
When all the finishers’ shirts arrive to my campus, and I get them out to all 400+ participants, we will proudly wear our shirts and medals at our school morning assembly. Hopefully, this will encourage even more kids at my school to become involved and get running next year! The energy and excitement of this program is contagious!
If you have been looking for a cause to invest your time and/or money into, I highly recommend you consider Marathon Kids. They gladly take donations and in fact, that is how they have been able to keep this event free for 15 years and expand to 9 cities.
Don’t take my word for how amazing this program is! Take a look at my video…you will feel the excitement and love of good health this program brings! Run on and eat well!
Today I am giving you a simple Italian style salad along with my own homemade Italian dressing recipe. This salad can be made vegan by omitting the goat cheese. The salad and the dressing are both gluten free and the dressing is completely vegan. Put them together and you have a side or entree salad that is delish! Feel free to add or omit as you like. Definitely watch the video for lots of inside tips on everything from getting your sundried tomatoes soft and yummy to an all natural cure for allergies! Keep in mind that for the best tasting and healthiest salad possible, organic ingredients are best! Mangia!
For the salad:
One bunch of spinach leaves, well chopped
One head of red leaf lettuce, well chopped
1/2 cup of sundried tomatoes (soak these in hot water, a little olive oil and salt)
2 tbls. fresh goat cheese, chevre style (local, organic preferred)
1/4 cup red onion, finely chopped
1/2 of a large cucumber, thinly sliced
1-2 tbls. of fresh parsley, finely chopped
Directions: First, get your sundried tomatoes soaking in the above mixture; they need the extra time to soften and will go in at the very end! Then start chopping! In a large bowl, add the chopped lettuce, spinach, red onion, cucumber, parsley and sprinkle in your goat cheese. Remember, keep those sundried tomatoes soaking til the very end! Now it is time to prep your dressing. You can also do the dressing the night before or anytime just to have on hand. Then, the dressing will have more time to marinate in all the flavors!
For the dressing:
1/4 cup diced red onion
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
Juice of one fresh squeezed Meyer Lemon
1 tbls. of raw honey (local is best!)
Garlic Salt (to taste)
Big pinch of Italian seasoning
Big pinch of dried basil (fresh is best when in season!)
1-2 tbls. of extra virgin olive oil
Directions: Add all the dressing ingredients into a small mason jar and shake it up vigorously. Add more or less of the ingredients to taste.
Finally, your sundried tomatoes should be ready! You can tell they are ready once they can bend easily. Chop them up, add them to the salad. Add your dressing, toss, and presto!! You now have a yummy Italian salad!
I hope this inspires you to make your own salad and your own dressing. It is far healthier to make your own dressing than to use the bottled and preservative filled dressings that are conventionally used. Have you ever read the ingredients in those things?? Scary and often unrecognizable. I like knowing what’s in my food!
Stay tuned for more recipes that can accompany this salad nicely!
What do you like in an Italian salad? What dressings do you enjoy making?
