Lifestyle

Manny or Nanny?

Find out why a manny may serve your needs.
By Daniel Butcher

“A manny? As in, a male nanny? Oh! That’s great!”

I’ve been met with this response almost 100% of the time when parents ask (erroneously I should add), how old my kids are. It’s truthfully a testament to my abilities I’d like to think, that the children I care for show a level of comfort with me that would lead someone to assume I was their father, instead of their hired caregiver. (more…)

Kid Friendly Thanksgiving Recipes

By Catherine McCord
Pumpkin Pie ParfaitsPumpkin Pie Parfaits
(makes 10 parfaits)
Prep Time: 10 min.

I’ve got two little whipped cream addicts on my hands. It’s no mystery why to me because the apple doesn’t fall too far from the tree. Whenever my mom served pie during the holidays (usually pumpkin, chess and/or pecan) she would hand out each slice…

Ingredients
1 cup pumpkin puree
1 cup whipped cream cheese, or non-whipped at room temperature
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
3 tablespoons brown sugar
2 cups heavy whipping cream
2 tablespoons powdered sugar
2 sleeves graham crackers, crushed (about 2 1/2 cups)
10 8-ounce mason jars (more…)

How to Get Your Child to Eat More Fruits & Veggies

By Shirin Yadegar
Shirin YadegarLet’s kick off the school year with healthy snacks and lunches. As parents, we have complete control over what our kids eat throughout the day unless they are trading with their friends. We pack their lunches and snacks and if they are independently packing their lunches then make sure their options are healthy.

Use fruits and vegetables as snacks. Kids love fruit. Make a fruit salad for snack or send their favorite whole fruit if you don’t have time to prepare a fruit salad. Include one vitamin C–rich fruit, like orange, grapefruit, strawberries, melon, tomato, and broccoli. (more…)

6 Tips to Create A Balanced School Lunch

By Shani Mara Breiter, RDN
Shani Mara BreiterSummer is almost over and it’s time to get organized for the school year. Sending school lunch from home gives your child the best chance to be well nourished with fresh, whole foods. Kids enjoy school lunches that have balance, variety and include a little surprise treat that hits the spot. This allows the child not to feel deprived when friends bring less nutritious food in their lunch. Here are 6 tips to help you build a balanced school lunch box.

Tip 1: Add a healthy fat. Healthy fats provide energy, build brains, helps the body use vitamins and provide energy. Do your kids like nuts, such as almonds, pistachios, sunflower seeds, walnuts or pecans? What about avocado or guacamole? If you have a teen who likes a salad, provide a quality vinaigrette dressing with avocado or nuts. (more…)

New Food Labels Highlight Sugar

Moderpop co-founder Julie Podolec is optimistic about better labeling of our food.

By Julie Podolec
Julie PodolecI think we’re fortunate to be raising little ones in this age of awareness as it relates to foods. We have so many more reliable resources at our fingertips to help us become more educated about labels, the nutritional benefits of certain foods, and what to watch out for.

It seems as though the widespread accessibility of these resources has put the power back in the hands of the food consumers. Our collective demands for more transparency, easy to understand labels and real food are leading to big changes in grocery aisles and across food categories.

Changes are even happening at the FDA level, where revisions to nutritional labels were announced last week. The new labels will put more emphasis on calories (bolder type), and will help us delineate between natural and added sugars, as brands will be required to add an added sugars line. (more…)