Education

How to Set Your Intentions for 2022

By Shirin Yadegar

Shirin Yadegar2021 was a year grounded in deep gratitude for having survived a pandemic both physically and emotionally. We locked ourselves in our homes, homeschooled our children and reevaluated our lives.

My family was lucky to have an abundance of food, emotional support and love. We had time to reflect on friendships and family dynamics. We made a pledge to get rid of what doesn’t serve us and fill our buckets with love, compassion and good energy.

Heading into 2022, I have set my intentions based on my discoveries the past year, meditation, and an abundance for readings and podcasts. Here’s what I think will be helpful if you’re willing to open your mind and your heart.

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Food

GINGERBREAD TRIFLE WITH POACHED PEARS

By Pamela Saltzman

gingerbreadSERVES 8-10
For an 8 x 8 pan of gingerbread:

  • ¾ cup unsulphured molasses (not blackstrap)
  • ¾ cup pure maple syrup
  • ½ cup unsweetened applesauce
  • ½ cup melted unrefined coconut oil or unsalted butter
  • 2 ½ cups whole wheat pastry flour or white whole wheat flour*
  • 1 ½ teaspoons aluminum-free baking soda
  • ½ teaspoon fine grain sea salt
  • 3 teaspoons (1 Tablespoon) ground ginger
  • 3 teaspoons (1 Tablespoon) ground cinnamon
  • ¾ teaspoon ground cloves
  • 1 cup hot water

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Health

4 C’s To Be Stress Free

By Michelle Valenzuela Wolf

When do you feel the most yourself? I’m talking about the four C’s totally carefree, confident, clear and content. These are the moments when we tap into the best version of ourselves. Perhaps you feel this when you’re at your job or when you’re laughing with your family. Whatever or whenever this is, we want to work towards tapping into the best version of yourself at all times. How can we unleash our fullest potential?

Something that comes along with being and feeling our best is taming the negative self-talk or nagging voice inside our head that says; Am I good enough? Particularly for women this statement is true! Oftentimes we find ourselves feeling inadequate and questioning our self-worth.

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Health

Breastfeeding Tips

By Melody Moradi Ahadian, MS, RD

Breast milk is the ideal food for infants. It is safe, clean, and contains antibodies which help protect against many common childhood illnesses. What’s more, it has a nearly perfect mix of vitamins, protein, and fat — everything a baby needs to grow.

Many medical experts, including the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, strongly recommend breastfeeding exclusively (no formula, juice, or water) for 6 months. After the introduction of other foods, it recommends continuing to breastfeed through the baby’s first year of life.

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Education

Why parents need to have the porn talk(s) with their kids

By Dr. Gail Dines

Gail DinesTeens are watching more porn than ever before, and it looks nothing like your father’s Playboy! One of the most oft-quoted studies found that nearly 90 percent of the most watched porn videos had some form of violence against women in them. While this may be a surprise to many parents who perhaps imagine porn as merely a naked centerfold, it wasn’t to researchers like me who immerse ourselves in the world of mainstream porn. We know how widespread violent, degrading, and misogynist pornography has become, as well as the implications for the emotional, physical and mental health of young people.

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Food

Halloween Recipes

By Catherine McCord

Deviled Egg Spiders(makes 12 spiders)
Prep Time: 10 mins Cook Time: 10 mins

Ingredients

  • 6 hard boiled eggs
  • 1 teaspoon dijon mustard
  • 1/4 cup mayonnaise (or vegan mayonnaise)
  • 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 15-20 whole pitted olives (black, green, or kalamata)

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Health, Health & Beauty

Strategic Snacking and Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor

By Lauren Rashap

Lauren RashapYes, while the old school of nutrition taught us to eat every 3 hours and that breakfast “is the most important meal of the day”, new research proves to the contrary. We’ve all heard of Intermittent Fasting by now, but as I teach in my practice not one size fits all. Kids and athletes may benefit with some morning healthy carbs to start their engines. Moms may need to narrow their fasting windows depending on scheduling and stages of their hormonal cycles. Everybody is different.

And, while I fundamentally believe in 2 square, balanced, nutrient dense meal per day with no snacking in between…sometimes we need that 3 PM pick up if we haven’t slept the night before due to dogs, children, stress and snoring husbands!

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Education

Back to School

Subhead: How to Help Your Children Survive and Thrive.

By Cindy Chanin

It is no surprise that parents and students are anxious about the beginning of in-person school as the 2021-2022 academic year commences. While many harbor concerns about the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic such as breakthrough transmission, controversy and inconsistency about messaging around mask wearing, and personal safety at school and events, there’s also concern about whether students are academically prepared for the upcoming year. Most importantly, social and emotional readiness are in question for families and educators. Despite the uncertainty, you and your students can do plenty to get ready for this imminent milestone. Some of the advice circulating is familiar, while some is brand new.

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Health

Empty Nester’s Reality

By Marni Battista, MAEd, CPC

There is the sound a door makes when it closes. To the ear it can be heard simply as one sound, a final beat of the drum, but what I hear in my mind is not so much that singular noise. When really listening, I hear the door closing in slow mo. If that is even a thing, hearing, in slow mo.

I can feel it too, of course, that final closure. I have known it was coming, after all. I may have heard it before it, possibly anticipating the weightiness, the sweeping dramatic finality, labeled and categorized as a phase of life: The Empty Nest. The motion of the door swinging shut leaves me with what feels like the breeze of the Maui wind coming in off the ocean on my salty skin just before sunset when the air has an imprint of heat on it. I hear, too, the series of staccato beats as it hits the frame, the metallic click, the sound it makes just before the air is pushed out as the door seals. An era over. Sealed. Shut. (more…)

Education

Tips to Set Your Student Up for Success

By Nathalie Kunin

Back to School 2021 has a completely new meaning for students and parents alike. Once again, we will be pivoting to the new normal. Since we do not know exactly what school will look like, it is natural to feel a little unsettled. However, there are some things about Back to School which never change – its time to return to the routine, even though the routine might require some flexibility.

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