As the Keeper of our Castles, one of our responsibilities is to provide healthy meals for our families.  Soccer, football practice, dance, piano, science club, and all the other extracurricular activities can make us feel scattered and it may seem too much of a challenge to prepare something healthy.

Here is a list of ideas to include more fruits and vegetables into our diets.  I hope this helps inspire you.
1)  Try cooked pumpkin or winter squash for dinner.
2)  Make a quiche and include chopped bell peppers, onions, and spinach.
3)  Try applesauce on pancakes instead of syrup.
4)  Add lettuce and tomato to …read more

Having a fire pit at your home or at a campground is a great way to relax and enjoy the great outdoors once the sun sets and it can be a great social activity for the entire family. But because this is such a popular family activity parents must take extra care when their children are around fire pits. And of course once they are old enough to understand, there are several important points you need to make about fire pit safety.

 
Make sure your children understand basic fire safety.
Before teaching your children about fire pit safety you need to first …read more

Guest post by Sarah Russel
BMR (basal metabolic rate) is a way to determine how many calories you need per day according to your height, weight, and age. It is similar to determining your body mass index, in the sense that you can find many online calculators, although this calculation presents a new alternative toward losing weight. Your BMR is what your body needs to maintain normal functions like breathing, digestion, etc., so it is important to figure out what yours is before constructing a workout routine which may burn too many or too few calories. Determining the balance between calories …read more

It seems that anything that tastes good is loaded with fat, sugar, and calories.  It takes a lot of self-discipline to make it through all of the temptations.  This is why I like it when someone takes a recipe that is normally loaded with fat and tweaks it to make a healthier version. 

I found a recipe at the Weight Watchers website for Layered Mexican Bean Dip.  Mmmmm.  That sounds like a cool, refreshing treat to eat this summer!  Wouldn’t you like to take this dish to a summer party?  Take along some veggies or baked tortilla chips and you could sit around eating …read more

Do you enjoy McDonald’s iced coffee?  Do you find it’s an inexpensive treat in which to indulge?  Before your next coffee, you might want to read some interesting information about the ingredients in a McDonald’s iced coffee.  Rachel from Small Notebook gives us some food for thought.

I’ve been working on a recipe to make my own iced coffee and frappuccinos at home.  Reading this article is a good reminder of the preservatives and chemicals in the food we eat.  It seems almost impossible to get away from it.
Do you drink McDonald’s iced coffee?
image from sxc.hu

Today is Iced Tea Day. Yes, it seems there is a day for everything. Nevertheless, I live in North Carolina and I know how much southerners love their sweet iced syrup tea.  
In the past few years, the tea market has exploded.  You can buy bottled tea in many different flavors and some of them have herbs such as ginseng.  The question is, Do these bottled teas have the same health benefits as brewed tea?  Unfortunately, no.  Studies from Oregon State University, the US Department of Agriculture, and Consumer Reports report that bottled tea has lower levels of polyphenols and antioxidants. 
Here are some …read more

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To be honest, I had no idea that so much would be involved with getting rid of most of the dust in a bedroom, especially if you suffer from asthma. Luckily for me I don’t, but just reading about what makes up dust, just gave me the willies. As I’m typing this, I’m feeling just a wee bit queazie, but the thought of breathing in mold, fibers, and tiny dust mites, is just plain horrible. Have you seen what a dust mite looks like when magnified. It’s almost enough to send me …read more

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This morning I wanted to pass this along… just in case!  My daughter was especially picky when she was little and here’s a mistake that I made that I don’t want you to make. It almost breaks my heart when I think about it. I had read somewhere that it was really cute to write little messages on bananas and then pack them into the lunch bag. Well it might be really cute, but not if it makes them cry each day. She didn’t tell me until a couple …read more

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I haven’t been able to say that for quite a few years now. It seems that a lot of us (as we get older) manage to find ourselves with high blood pressure and salt seems to be one thing I have to stay away from. Drat! But there are lots of recipes out there for salt substitutes and come to think about it, a jar of your own blend just might make a really nice Christmas gift this year.
Garden Blend Salt Substitute
Lemon Herb Seasoning
All Purpose Salt Substitute
Pungent Salt Substitute

Jared Fogle, the Subway guy, has a very inspiring interview over at Kids Health Notes.
Jared talks about how he lost hundreds of pounds on a Subway diet. You’ll also learn about Jared’s journey from childhood to college, how he gained those pounds, and how he keeps them off. His foundation now focuses on helping combat childhood obesity through collaboration with schools across the U.S.
Says Jared:
This year, through my 10 year anniversary me and my friends at Subway, we are going to be able to launch a big campaign coming up and encourage people to donate to the foundation over …read more