Foods that help your immunity

Most of you know my kids have been sick, along with the rest of the kids on our street and what seems to be about 15% of the school.

I read on nrp that not only do we need to be careful with the actual flu this year, but if our kids get sick again right on the heal of getting over their original cold/flu.  Their defenses are already lowered so they can get worse. (http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=113700568&ft=1&f=1128)

So, I’m thinking I need to make sure I give my family good nutritious food that can help boost their immune system and nurse them back to health.  I turned to my friend Rita Heikenfeld from www.abouteating.com for some advice and tips on foods that help boost our immune system: 

·         Cook with lots of garlic and onions: Onions have quercetin which may help prevent viruses from multiplying.

·         Zinc is huge for immunity – which is in seafood, eggs, mushrooms, nuts, whole grains, and some seeds (Think of granola with whole grains, seeds, nuts, etc. – which is a great snack or breakfast.

·         Yogurt with the probiotics is for the digestive/immune system.

·         Vitamin A strengthens the body’s defenses. You can find Vitamin A in fresh veggies such as spinach, carrots, sweet potatoes, squash, the cruciferous veggies, etc.

·         Apples are good since they help prevent germs from spreading and help fight off free radicals.

·         Don’t forget about vitamin C which our bodies can’t store – citrus fruits are huge sources and awesome for the immune system.

·         Rita also suggests drinking lemon water first thing in the morning (to break the fast) and is now adding lemon in her green tea since is helps the body utilize the good stuff in green tea better.   

·         Lemon also helps absorb iron which the kids need.

 

So, I picked up some fish for us tonight and served that with roasted red onions & tomatoes with brown rice & quinoa for dinner tonight.  Dinner was delicious!  I seasoned the tilapia with salt, pepper and chili powder and grilled it on the grill pan.  For me (because nobody else likes Salmon but me),  I season the Salmon with Salt, Pepper and covered it with fresh chopped up parsley.  Added a little bit of soy sauce, seared it on both sides and then reduced the temperature and covered to cook through.

What’s on your dinner table?

Good luck fighting the cold/flu/virus this season!  Hopefully this advice will help you and your family boost its immunity so you can all stay healthy and happy.

Peace,

Betty

 

Overeating all in your mind? How can we control our portions?

Finally reading my October issue of Cooking Light magazine this Saturday morning and ran across an interesting article “10 Little secrets of Portion Control”.  The tips they offer to eat healthier and control your portions are similar to what I’ve been talking about during my Eating Healthy Lunch n Learns (some tips listed below).  What was really interesting is Cornell University food psychologist, Brian Wansink PhD’s, findings of how we think about portions.  He says “The cards are stacked against most Americans. Our bodies think we’re still hunter-gathers threatened by imminent famine at the end of every season.”  He also states; “….we’re bombarded by subtle and not-so-subtle cues that trigger instructive as opposed to conscious eating behavior.”

 

Other interesting findings in the article are:

 ·         We pour 19% more juice into a glass that is short & wide versus a tall and thin glass because because the eye is a poor judge of volume in relation to height and width.

·         Subjects who ate while watching television consumed nearly 30% more food

So I wonder, how do we change these behaviors – how do we re-program our brains?  I believe we need to continue to reminder ourselves (by writing & reading this article), and by putting key practices in place to help us keep our portions under control.  So next time you are starving and want to super-size your meal, refer back to this article: 

 

Here are some suggestions recommended in the article and some recommended by yours truly:

·        User smaller plates – 8″ – 10 ” plate is a good size 

·         Before eating, divide the plate in half, fill the largest half with fruits or vegetables, Leaving the rest for equal parts protein and starch

·         At a restaurant that provides bread as soon as you sit down, ask the waiter to remove the bread from the table

·         Also at a restaurant, reserve half of your meal to take home for lunch the next day. If you set it aside first, you’ll only eat what’s on your plate.

·         Avoid eating while watching TV or working on the computer

·         SLOW DOWN – if you eat slowly you’ll notice when your full (something yours truly struggles with all the time!)

·         Use tall thin glasses instead of short wide ones – some drinks are only empty calories

 

To read the entire article, pick up the latest issue  of Cooking Light Magazine (10/2009). You can also learn more about Dr. Wansink book at http://mindlesseating.org/index.htm or follow him on twitter – http://twitter.com/mindlesseating.

 

Happy Eating my friends,

 

Peace,

Betty

Learn about living with Alzheimers, Retirement issues in the wake of financial collapse of ‘08

“Retirement Revolution” focuses on the stories of seniors who are planning for their futures in the wake of the financial collapse of 2008. The broadcast also highlights living with Alzheimer’s disease, featuring interviews with Alzheimer’s Association staff members Bill Thies, Beth Kallmyer and two former Early Stage Advisors, Mimi Steffen and Gary Shelton.

Find out what time your local PBS station is broadcasting “Retirement Revolution.”

Or watch a clip of the segment online. Just click where it says “Living with Alzheimer’s.”

On a personal note….

Please get involved and educate yourself!  I wish I knew more about Alzheimers before my father was diagnosed. By then it was too late and my family and I suffered through multiple “deaths of who he was” until his last breath over 2 years ago.  He was only 76 – and before getting sick, he was full of life and had tons of energy.  I miss him.

If we would have known and understood the signs perhaps we would have made different decision and led dad on another path.  We can’t change the past, but we can learn from it and pray we can make better decisions in the future.  It start with education.

Join me in watching this show and learning more.

With love,

Betty

Reach 6,000+ Consumers while supporting the Mason High School Marching Band!

Reach over 6,000 people from all over the Cincinnati area!

Support the Mason High School Marching Band by advertising in their program for the annual fundraiser!

Huge Crowds from 9 am – Midnight ! Attended by over 6,000 people from all over Mason and surrounding communities.

·         $ 20 for 1/8 page (business card size)

·         $ 40 for 1/4 page

·         $ 60 for 1/2 page

·         $ 100 for full page

This is an effective and easy way to reach consumers, especially if you’re in the music industry!

The event is October 24^th at Mason High School.

Just email your business card or artwork, along with the requested ad size to Gina Kopera.  Deadline is October 1st.

By the way, your contribution is tax deductable.

Lessons from the past for memories of the future

I am treasuring the time my mom and I are spending together during her visit with us in Cincinnati.  Not only is she a HUGE help to me around the house and with the kids, I cherish the times we have to talk and reminisce over the past. 

Yesterday we talked about how much we miss my grandmother, who’s been gone almost 14 years – but seems like just yesterday.  We also remembered our battle with my dad’s mind, and how much it pains us that Alzheimer’s took his last years.

In reflecting on our conversation I realize we tend to question ourselves all the time; could have, would have, should have!  We need to understand that we did the best we could with the information and knowledge we had at the time.  I do believe we should learn from our experiences…. Here’s what I’ve learned so far:

- when our memory starts to give way, we need to seek help immediately from professionals (several if necessary).

- when our loved ones makes irrationals decisions, we need to be strong enough to help them (even though it causes some friction)!

- take hold of the quiet times where you can discuss and learn from your parents’ and grandparents’ history (I love hearing the stories of my mother growing up in Cuba!)

- take lots of pictures & video

- document special family recipes; make them often

- listen more than you speak

- tell your family members you love them each and every time you see them

- teach your children the importance of family bonding

- reduce the noise surrounding our lives and create our own family memories

What are yours? Comment here and let me know.

Peace,

Betty

How will we Spread Kindness in Miami?

As many of you know, I was born and raised in Miami, FL. I love it – I love the culture, my family, the weather, the beach, restaurants, entertainment, etc.  And, you may also know it’s been almost 13 years since I left to live in New Jersey and now in Cincinnati. 

My husband, kids and I visit Miami often as we enjoy being close to my family and the warm and sunny weather.

So perhaps I notice something that most Miamians don’t, so I’d like point it out in the hopes we can make a difference.

Here it comes…. What is the deal with so many people in Miami being so mean? Does it really help to speed up and not let someone get in front of you in traffic? How does the 30 second advantage going to help you?  How does it help to speak rudely to customers?  Never heard about that in any sales training I’ve been to! 

My goal with this post is to spread a little ‘mid-western phylisophy’.  I’m hoping to pay it forward a bit so we can start to change the attitude, one smile at at time. Will you join me?

Let’s start by:
- allowing others to get in front of you when your driving if they have their indicator on.
- smiling and saying hello to the cashier when you purchase something
- saying good morning to the other person during your morning walk
- Saying ‘excuse me’ AND waiting for someone to move when trying to get through a narrow isle in the grocery or shopping center

What other suggestions can you contribute?  Post them here.  Let’s a make  difference together.

Forwarding chain emails? Read this…

Good friend of mine sent over this information via email: thought it was good information to share…..

By now, I suspect everyone is familiar with www.snopes.com and/or www.truthorfiction.com for determining whether information received via email is just that: true/false or fact/fiction. Both are excellent sites.

Below is their advice for us.

Advice from Snopes.com

1) Any time you see an E-Mail that says forward this on to ‘10′ of your friends, sign this petition, or you’ll get bad luck, good luck, or whatever, it almost always has an E-Mail tracker program attached that tracks the cookies and E-Mails of those folks you forward to The host sender is getting a copy each time it gets forwarded and then is able to get lists of ‘active’ E-Mails addresses to use in SPAM E-Mails, or sell to other spammers.

2) Almost all E-Mails that ask you to add your name and forward on to others are similar to that mass letter years ago that asked people to send business cards to the little kid in Florida who wanted to break the Guinness Book of Records for the most cards. All it was, and all any of this type of E-Mail is, a way to get names and ‘ cookie’ tracking information for telemarketers and spammers – - to validate active E-Mail accounts for their own profitable purposes.

You can do your friends and family members a GREAT favor by sending this information to them; you will be providing a service to your friends, and will be rewarded by not getting thousands of spam E-Mails in the future! If you have been sending out (FORWARDING) the above kinds of E-Mail, now you know why you get so much SPAM! Do yourself a favor and STOP adding your name(s) to those types of listings regardless how inviting they might sound! You may think you are supporting a GREAT cause, but you are NOT in the long run. Instead, you will be getting tons of junk mail later! Plus, we are helping the spammers get rich! Let’s don’t make it easy for them!

Also: E-Mail petitions are NOT acceptable to Congress or any other organization. To be acceptable, petitions must have a signed signature and full address of the person signing the petition.

Hope this helps!  Feel free to share by posting this on your Facebook profile or Twittering about it

Having trouble measuring a process?

Come and collaborate with fellow Six Sigma and quality professionals at the Cincinnati Six Sigma Users Group!  June 11th at 5:30 in Blue Ash.

This month’s topic: Continuation of Designing MSA (Measurement Systems Analysis) for items and processes difficult to measure AND we might have a follow up to the Minitab discussion

Learn more and RSVP at: http://www.isssc3.com/cincinnati_six_sigma_user_group.asp#meeting

Internet Spammers be gone!

I just discovered that Howie’s Conversation Domination System sent a post to my Word Press Blog in which I didn’t give permission to post! I deleted it as I will not promote his product.

Howie’s tactics are what I would call black or gray hat techniques that I don’t want any part.

Why do I use Twitter?

Twitter seems to be the new buzz word around business and social circles.  Non-twitter users ask me to main questions:

- What is Twitter

- Why do you use Twitter 

Well, the “what is Twitter” has been answered all over the ‘net – but in a nut shell, it’s a micro-blogging tool that allows you to share information to whomever is reading your posts (aka: tweets).

So why do I use Twitter?  For several reasons:

1. to share information I feel others want to know or could be useful to them

2. to promote products, services and events

3. to develop relationships with other online users

And, here’s the key to folks who say they don’t have a product to promote:

4. as a person who works from home, I feel more connected to others by quickly  communicating using Twitter (and Facebook).  I can read what everyone is up to and be able to communicate out to other on what I’m doing or what my thoughts are that day.  Plus it only takes a few minutes and about 140 characters.

For home-based business owners or professionals working out of their home, Twitter is like the water cooler of the office. 

That’s my .02 — what about you?  Why do you use Twitter?