By Chris Ojakian
There comes a time in every gym-goer’s life when she feels the need to shake up her routine. Shuffle the deck. Take a break from the hamster wheel-like doldrums of the treadmill and elliptical machines. The answer to the workout blahs just may lie in a round of cardio tennis — a brilliant blend of cardio class, tennis camp, and the most enjoyable PE class you ever had. Cardio tennis gives you all the heart-pumping workout and the wacky satisfaction of a real tennis game — except that it’s OK if you’re truly terrible and have more chance of hitting the lottery jackpot than hitting the ball. (more…)
Gingerbread Cookies
By Catherine McCord
It was always a tradition when I was growing up to make holiday cookies come this time of year. I used to love rolling out the sugar cookie and gingerbread dough with my mother, cutting the cookies into fun shapes and then decorating them. I wanted to continue that tradition with Kenya, but the thought of making cookies with tons of sugar didn’t seem like such a good idea (Kenya jumping off the walls at bed time never appeals to me), so we stuck with gingerbread. This recipe does have some sugar, but not a lot. It also contains molasses, which is full or iron, a bonus for kids. Kenya and I didn’t use any icing on these because, in my opinion, they don’t need it, but if you want to put a little piping on them, I included a simple icing recipe. This recipe makes dozens of cookies (more or less, depending on the size of the cookie cutters you use), so you’ll have plenty for friends and your family during the holidays. (more…)
Does Your Child Have a Learning Disability
Identifying the Problem and Getting Help
By Jennifer Gordon, M.A. Educational Therapist
Learning disabilities are problems that affect the brain’s ability to receive process, analyze, or store information. The term Learning Disabilities sounds scary, but actually includes a very broad set of issues that are quite common and diverse, and, most importantly very addressable. The good news is that there is a vast array of resources available to help with learning disabilities. The earlier an issue is identified the better it can be addressed. Detecting and identifying problems can be challenging and navigating all the assessment options can be dizzying. (more…)
Strengthen Your Child’s Immune System
Healthy digestion creates a strong immunity.
By Jordan Hoffman, L.Ac
Most of what afflicts young children is related to immune function and digestion: colds and the flu, ear aches, belly aches, allergies, asthma and eczema. And since both Western and Chinese medicine agree that the strength of the immune system stems from the health of the digestive system, ultimately it is all about digestion. We are certainly born with some pre-disposing factors that can influence our health, but it is diet and lifestyle that can act as the trigger in most cases.
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L.A .Chef Shares Her Secrets of Making a Perfect Thanksgiving Turkey
By Cari Levin
Fall is in the air. Kids are settled into the rhythm of school and homework. You are once again enjoying the freedom of owning your life from 8 to 3 Monday thru Friday. All is good. And then it hits you, it is “YOUR year” to cook Thanksgiving Dinner.
Visions of cookbooks strewn across the kitchen counter race through your head. What is THIS year’s turkey trend? You escaped the deep fryer, the brine and the infamous ButterBall “pop-up” turkey. Friends swear by cooking it in a brown bag while you continue to wonder why that bag doesn’t catch on fire in a grease filled 350 oven. You’re mother-in-law constantly explains the importance of, “starting the turkey breast side up and FLIPPING it over midway through cooking” and again you can’t help but wonder how safe that is.
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Holiday Survival Tips
By Samara Fabrick, LCSW
The holidays are fast approaching and we all have different reactions to this time of year. Media portrays this season as a happy one filled with smiling relatives giving expensive gifts and wearing beautiful clothes. Some of you can relate to these ebullient folk as something that resembles your own holiday experiences. However, many dread this “cheery” season and know that the last thing that puts a smile on their face is dealing with their family and their spouse’s family.
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Finding the Right Fibroid Treatment to Maintain Fertility
By Bruce McLucas, MD, Fibroid Treatment Collective
Fibroid tumors are benign growths within the uterus. They affect 40 percent of women over the age of 40, and cause problems for countless younger women who wish to have a family.
Fibroids can cause the uterus to change shape, which can decrease fertility. The main problems caused by fibroids are miscarriage, loss of pregnancy, premature delivery, increased chance of cesarean section and bleeding after delivery. In addition, fibroids may cause separation of the placenta from the uterus, with the possibility of death of the fetus. Usually, we do not advise our patients to attempt pregnancy until they have undergone treatment for their fibroid problems.
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Healthy Halloween Treats On A Stick
By Annie Daulter
Fall is my favorite time of year, but my kids miss the warm summer days. I want to share a festive Fall treat that will trick your little ones into thinking it’s summer time all over again.
Harvest Pops
My 3 year old Bodhi, is a picky eater. I mean really picky, and for a mom like me who is obsessed with good foods, it often makes me crazy that he won’t eat. However, one thing he does like are popsicles! This inspired to me to start making all kinds of healthy pops and so, I did what I do…I wrote a book about it!
These Harvest Pops and many others will be featured in my newest book, Ice Pop Joy next March (Sellers, Spring 2011). So this Halloween, instead of putting candied apples on a stick, puree your apples and some butternut squash and make a fun new ice pop treat! They might sound scary, but the real trick is, they are actually a delicious treat!
Harvest Pops
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Empowering Children to Make Their Food Decisions
By Dr. Judy Bin-Nun
It is always best that we see “feeding” as a “Line of Development” as the scholar Anna Freud discussed. Anna Freud’s line went from “feeding to rational eating” as a specific developmental progression.
How to learn rational, intuitive eating unless children are able to explore foods, help themselves to food from a “family platter” or “family bowl?” The more a young child can select on his/her own meal portions, the more responsibility is taken in making independent food choices. Try not to pile food on your child’s plate, see what happens when the child begins to take responsibility for food at mealtime – make this a two-week experiment.
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Tackling the Obesity Crisis
By Peter S. Waldstein, M.D., F.A.A.P and Julia A. White, M.D., F.A.A.P
Starting a healthy lifestyle is not something you begin only after there is a problem. Proper diet and nutrition in early childhood are essential. A child’s diet in the womb, during infancy, and as a toddler can have lifelong effects on his or her health.
Researchers are showing that baby’s food preference can be traced to the womb. For the first six months of a baby’s life, nutritional needs should be summed up in two words: breast milk. Human breast milk is perfectly designed for the building of infant brain tissue. It has six times the essential fatty acids of cow’s milk. This is imperative since the type of fat a baby consumes at this stage can affect brain development and function.
Babies are usually ready for solid foods after six months, but they should continue breast-feeding until at least one year. Unfortunately, only 15 percent of American infants reach that goal, and only six out of ten breast-feed at all. Mothers should also be concerned about what they are eating during this period. Infants can develop allergies to foods passed on through breast milk.
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