Author: DrKim

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Are You Raising Snackers?

“Parents are raising a generation of snackers — kids who eat almost constantly throughout the day as they graze on cookies, salty snacks and fruit drinks.
A sweeping study of 31,337 children and adolescents released on Tuesday tracked snacking and meal trends from 1977 through 2006 using data from four national surveys. On average, children reach for cookies, chips and other treats about three times a day, consuming nearly 600 daily calories from snacks. That’s an increase of 168 snack calories compared with what children ate in the late 1970s.
While these are averages, the findings showed that half of American children snack about four times a day. And some children appear to be eating almost constantly, consuming either snacks or meals as often as 10 times a day…”

The above is taken from this article by Tara Parker-Pope published in the New York Times on Tuesday, March 9, 2010.

This is bad news, folks.

If this sounds like your family, it’s time to take control of the situation NOW.

Moms, you have the ability, the responsibility to shape your children’s eating habits. I have children who love fruit, enjoy salads, and happily eat most vegetables. They are perfectly happy drinking water and do not expect dessert every night.

You can do it too.

The younger your children, of course the more difficult it will be, but you just start with babysteps. Meaning, just make one change at a time, little by little.

Example: Your children habitually drink juice, soda, or any other drink besides water daily. So, just increase the amount of water they need to drink before they get the other drink. And limit the number of those per day. If you drink soda, limit the number per day or days per week, whatever would be a decrease for you. Then keep the habit up.

When you are drinking the proper amount of water (1/2 your body weight in ounces), a few things will happen. Besides finally being hydrated which helps relieve many symptoms-including things like headaches, asthma, skin problems—-you name it, YOUR APPETITE WILL DECREASE.

This is key. Many of us are mistaking thirst for hunger and eat when we are actually thirsty. Drink enough water, and you will not have as much desire for snacking.

Besides drinking enough water, there are 2 main changes to make:

  1. Switch from unhealthy (chips, cookies) snacks to healthy (fruit, veggie sticks) ones
  2. Break the habit of eating when you don’t need to. If you eat a nutritious meal, you will not be genuinely hungry an hour later.

You can do this. You can change your (and your children’s) snack habits. Take back the control of the health of your family!

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Making My Bed. Day 15 of Babystep Challenge To A Peaceful Home

Babystep 15 is to make your bed.

I have had this habit (regularly) for more than a year now. I love the way it makes my room look; even if other things are out, the bed being made sets the tone.

When I bought my first down comforter for the winter here (I’m from Miami; I never had one before), I was introduced to the concept of having a duvet cover for the comforter, and not using a top sheet. Using one of these makes making the bed so much easier. I used to pull the top sheet up under the bedspread, and then fold both over, exposing the top sheet. Yes, it looked very pretty, but it made making the bed take much longer than it should and therefore I didn’t do it so much.

Now I use the duvet cover even in the summertime (with a lightweight blanket, or even empty if it’s hot enough) and all I have to do is pull it up to the top of the bed before putting the pillows on.

That first duvet cover was white with eyelet. Very pretty and elegant. But, after a while, I realized that I was very bored with the lack of color and was not motivated to keep it nice.

So, I went and bought this pretty happy one. It makes me smile and that’s the best motivation to keeping your room neat. If you don’t like your bedclothes, go buy new ones! They really do not cost much and are so worth it. I have one set for the spring and fall and a different one for the summer and winter. That way I don’t get bored.

If you don’t have the habit of making your bed, keep this in mind: you have to do it IMMEDIATELY when you get up. If you wait, it doesn’t get done. That was the most important thing to learn.

Enjoy your beautiful bedroom!

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Lost In Translation

However uncommon it may be in the US to eat a little more healthfully, it is much more uncommon here (in Israel). The more recent “back to basics” way of thinking hasn’t permeated the lifestyle here, and many folks haven’t even heard of things that in the States are commonly accepted. Example: sugar is bad for your body.

My two older boys were invited to a friend’s house to play. Before they left, I reviewed the rules with them: remember manners, no TV or computer games, and eat only fruit or vegetables and drink only water. They know the drill, they understand. They’d already had a snack and would be coming home for dinner, so it’s not like they were hungry.

But Israelis like to feed people. More specifically, Israelis like to give children sweets.

About 15 minutes after my boys would have arrived (they walked), I received a phone call. In Hebrew (of course). My Hebrew is NOT good. So it sounded something like this, to my understanding: “I want to give the kids an Igloo. OK?” Now, I know they have a sugar filled popsicle here they call “Arctic”, so I figured it’s probably something like that. So I said, “No, it’s not ok.” She said it’s just water. I said no, it’s water and SUGAR. She said it’s hot, they’re hot, they want something cold. I said, “so give them water with ICE.” She said ok, she’ll just give them water.

Well, that was what I understood.

After the boys came home, they said she had basically insisted that they take it.

I was frustrated. It’s not that some sugar is that big of a deal. It’s that some sugar every day IS that big of a deal. We eat sugar. The processed kind, usually in a yummy dessert I make once a week. The kids eat cake and ice cream at parties. But it’s not a daily thing, and I know that if I am not very clear with the mothers at other houses they might visit, it will turn into a daily thing, and I can’t let that happen.

A few days later, I saw the other child’s mother and (attempted) to talk to her about it. It went something like this:

ME: What happened the other day with the Igloo? I thought I told you that they could NOT have it.

HER: It’s OK, I gave them water afterward.

ME: HUH? (I think it’s the same in all languages) I don’t understand

HER: What’s the big deal?

Typing like this is kind of annoying, so I’ll just paraphrase.

I said that the big deal was that it had SUGAR. And she said that she’s a (dental)hygienist, and so she knows about sugar and that it’s ok because she gave them water afterwards.

OH. Now I understood.

I told her that I was not even thinking about their teeth. And she actually asked me, then what was I thinking about? I told her I was thinking about their BODIES!

This is where I really couldn’t believe how many people still DON’T KNOW HOW BAD SUGAR IS FOR OUR BODIES! I told her that sugar really hurts the immune system. I told her that in our family we only eat sugar 1-2 times per week, and maybe at a party or something special. But that we don’t have it every day and that I can’t let my kids go play at houses where they are going to be fed it.

She looked at me like I had six heads. And asked what about when it’s hot, can’t they have something cold?

I explained that of course, we eat things that are cold. I make popsicles in molds out of real juice. And that the children enjoy it just as much.

And that was about the extent of my Hebrew.

Have you ever had an experience trying to explain to someone what you were doing and they just didn’t get it?

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Menu Plan Monday-June 13

Last night we had a Mexican Taco Casserole, and while I was making it I made a second one to give to a friend who is expecting a baby shortly so that they could have some extra meals frozen to eat when they wanted. That’s one of those things I love about casseroles.
And here’s our simple menu plan for the week.

Monday- Pancake supper with fresh fruit. Make mixes.

Tuesday-Cabbage & Potatoes

Wednesday-Creamy Carrot Soup and Salad. Extra soup to freeze.

Thursday- Cuban Black Beans and Rice. Salad.

Friday- Don’t know yet.

Saturday- Leftover Carrot Soup

Sunday-Father’s Day. Black Bean or Regular Burgers.

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I Can’t Catch Up. Day 14 of Babystep Challenge To A Peaceful Home

You Can’t Catch Up. It’s impossible.

This is a very important concept in life. Things keep moving, and it’s almost certain that you won’t keep up with everything. But what you do when you realize you’re “behind”, and more importantly how you feel about it will make all the difference in what you do next.

I’m struggling with these flylady babysteps. I’m falling back into the same habits I had before I began them again: I haven’t done the 15 minutes of decluttering every day. In fact, I haven’t done 15 minutes since I posted my success with it. That was days ago. Two minute hotspot, yes. Room rescue, yes, sort of(if you count me delegating it, but not if I do one myself). Daily mission, not so much.

I think my very favorite concept of Flylady’s is “You are not behind. Don’t try to catch up. Just jump in where you are.”

I’m never going to catch up. I really need to just do what I can today. It’s a new day, a fairly new week (we have Sunday as a work day here, so Monday is the second day for me). I’m going to ditch the guilt I feel and jump in where I am.

I’m also going to prioritize those things I seem to have a very difficult time getting done. I’m going to call my 15 minutes today my frog and eat it as soon as I can. I’d say “first”, but with other household things that must happen in the morning, it’s not possible. If you aren’t familiar with the “eat the frog” concept, enjoy this short (1 minute) video. I wanted to embed the player but it won’t let me. Very worthwhile.

I’m glad that today’s babystep is to read an essay about calendars and how/why to use them properly. I can handle doing that while still focusing on my frog.

What’s your frog today? What are you procrastinating on?

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Your Mission For Today: Day 13 of Babystep Challenge To A Peaceful Home

On Day 13 of Flylady’s babysteps, we are to choose one of Kelly’s missions and do it.

I love the way this is done. Each day, Kelly sends out one “mission” to accomplish. It’s something in the current zone, and usually will take less than 15 minutes. By dividing the house up into 5 zones and focusing a little extra time in it each day for the week, our houses can stay reasonably clean without much effort.

I need help with this. Just like regularly doing the 15 minutes of decluttering, I struggle to get it done, even though it really only takes a few minutes.

But they really do work.

This is a link to Kelly’s missions; they are posted daily and remain for the week.

This past week we were in the Kitchen zone. My favorite mission from that zone is the deep wipedown of the counter. I have a large countertop and need to spend most of that time putting things away that seem to collect there (beyond regular putting away kind of stuff), so I’ll usually do 15 mins + a little. And it might not all get done, but that’s ok.

I won’t get blown up if I don’t get it done!

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The Kitchen Hangover

Sometimes I don’t shine my sink. I don’t finish all of the cleanup at night. Most days I do, but on Saturday night, after a full day of relaxing and spending time with my family (which causes lots of extra dishes & stuff), my hubby and I like to have a movie night. And when it’s already late and we don’t want it to get any later, I leave things out.

Oh, I’ll pack my dishwasher, and put away any food that’s out. And even do an extra 5 minutes on top of that.

This is where I found this funny photo.

I woke up to this today. I call it my Kitchen Hangover.

It’s a good thing I know how to use my timer. I’ll go as fast as I can for 15 minutes and see what a difference I can make.

15 minutes really does a lot.


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Push Delete. Day 12 of Babystep Challenge To A Peaceful Home Day 8

On Day 12 of the Flylady’s babysteps, we are instructed to delete all of the emails that have been piling up. I really like this.

I’ve been on the mailing list for a couple of years. The reminders are good. The testimonials really are helpful and inspiring, and it’s good to realize that it’s ok to not read them all. In fact, lately, I haven’t been reading much of them at all. And that’s ok, since I’ve been exposed to this system for a while already. But if you are really just starting out, read a few each day. Then delete the rest.

Just like decluttering, just like taking out the trash, deleting emails and blog posts in my reader I haven’t read and don’t really need to helps me to get rid of guilt. I have so many things I’d like to do, I want to do, but just don’t seem to have time for. I don’t want to be reminded of what I am not doing.

So go ahead, push that button. It feels good.

More emails will come along.

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Sunshine vs. Sunscreen: Which is Worse?


I’ve heard a lot lately about Vitamin D and its almost epidemic rate of deficiency. Apparently most of us are lacking it, and its lack causes or at least contributes to all sorts of problems: cancer, heart disease, chronic pain, Fibromyalgia, hypertension, arthritis, depression, inflammatory bowel disease, obesity, PMS, Crohns Disease, MS and other autoimmune diseases.
The Vitamin D Council states that Vitamin D deficiency can also cause stroke, osteoporosis, muscle weakness, muscle wasting and birth defects.

Here is a great page of Vitamin D & Vitamin D Deficiency Links.

Apparently, we have been so taught to fear the sun (for causing premature aging and skin cancer), that we automatically spread on the sunblock, preventing us from getting what we need. So, we lack vitamin D, which as you can see, causes many, many health problems.

We need sunlight. Only 5-10 minutes each day is enough. More for those with darkly pigmented skin.

And about that sunscreen…..well, ironically, most are FULL of toxins that should NOT be put on our skin. Those toxins actually increase our chances of skin cancer, it seems.

According to this article from Enviromom, only 39 of 500 sunscreens are recommended by the EWG, for primarily 2 reasons:
1) Many sunscreens with high SPF claims don’t actually offer that much protection, giving consumers a false sense of security and potentially increasing the amount of time they spend in the sun. Sun burns and exposure to UVA radiation increase the risk of skin cancer.

2) Vitamin A is a common sunscreen ingredient and has recently been linked (via government data) to accelerated development of skin tumors and lesions.

This article on the NatualNews explains how “the idea that sunscreen prevents cancer is a myth. It’s a myth promoted by a profit-seeking tag-team effort between the cancer industry and the sunscreen industry. The sunscreen industry makes money by selling lotion products that actually contain cancer-causing chemicals. It then donates a portion of that money to the cancer industry through non-profit groups like the American Cancer Society which, in turn, run heart-breaking public service ads urging people to use sunscreen to “prevent cancer.”

And this article from Dr.Axe shares that “The great thing about the way God designed our bodies is that the very thing that can cause damage to our bodies (ultraviolet rays) also protects us from that very same damage. Dr. John J. Cannell tells us that when you are out in the sunshine, Vitamin D goes directly to your genes and helps prevent any sort of abnormality that could be caused by ultraviolet light.

That is why sunscreen can actually contribute to cancer. Aside from the high amounts of toxicity, sunscreen blocks Vitamin D production in your body and you are left without nature’s built in cancer-fighting protection.”

So pause a little before you slather on the sunscreen. Get some rays first, then use a more natural screen if you need to.

And purpose to get some sun on your skin each day. I do this while I’m hanging out my laundry. It’s my “replenish my Vitamin D” time.

What do you do for your sun time? Protection?

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Inspiring Words:Babystep Challenge To A Peaceful Home Day 11


Today’s babystep is to add an inspirational page to your control journal. I like this. As you know, I’ve done many of these things before; I already have a control journal. But I never added this page. I’m not sure why-I guess it seemed sort of silly to me and I didn’t want to waste my time.

About 6 months ago, I decided I wanted to try to change my habit of negative thinking. I felt I was heading into a depression of sorts. I’d just had my 5th baby in 7 years and I was struggling. Greatly.

I had come to believe that negative thinking is something that a person can actually become addicted to just as much as an addiction to any other drug/food/chemical. Watch this edited clip from the movie What The Bleep Do We Know. It’s fascinating and will show you what I mean.

Watch it to the very end. The most powerful statement is the very last one. “If you can’t control your emotional state, you must be addicted to it.”

If my negative thoughts are an addiction, then I’ve got to break the cycle as I would another addiction. So, I started to formulate a plan.

I remembered listening to a Flylady & Friends show on BlogTalkRadio in which Marla was describing how she helped Kelly to quit smoking cigarettes. She told her to write down some mini-missions (2 minutes or less) on little pieces of paper and put them in a jar. When she felt a strong urge for a cigarette, she was to take out an assignment and do it.

What that would accomplish is to divert her mind onto something productive, something good during the time of her desire for the negative thing. If she could get past the 2 minutes, the urge would be lessened.

I figured that something like this should work for my negative thoughts. So I started a Happy Thoughts Box. I went out and got a very cheerfully decorated box, some cutsey happy but small paper, and a girly fun pen (purple with glitter!) and started writing inspirational phrases or mini missions on each paper. I planned to put them in the box, and whenever I felt myself getting into a funk I’d pull one out and do it. I thought it sounded like a good plan.

I still think it sounds like a good plan, and though I never continued on with it (it seems like just starting the project plus a little more alone/bible time was all I needed to get me back on track) I think that I should do it now.

This inspirational page in the Control Journal is the same thing. I’m going to spend 15 minutes today writing down more thoughts for my box and start a page in my notebook. Maybe if I have something positive in there I’ll look at it more!

What are some of your inspirational quotes? What do you do to get yourself out of a funk?