Archives for October 2016

SNEAKY BLENDS
Supercharge Your Health with More Than 100 Recipes Using the Power of Purees

by Missy Chase Lapine
September 2016

Chef and author Missy Chase Lapine has made a career out of “sneaking” healthy foods into reluctant eaters. As the Sneaky Chef she has transformed the way America feeds its families by creating a unique method of using “blends” that can be added to beloved recipes to make every meal more nutritious. She has made countless television appearances demonstrating for hosts and viewers alike how to sneak nutrition into kid’s meals at home and her company Sneaky Chef Foods LLC is committed to developing products that better children’s health. In 2007 her cookbook The Sneaky Chef: Simple Strategies for Hiding Healthy Foods in Kids’ Favorite Mealsrocketed onto the New York Times Best-Seller list as parents across the country snuck hidden vegetables into breakfasts, lunches, and dinners. In 2016, however, Missy has set here sights on the adults.

I love how easy this book makes following recipes with signature base blends so easy!  One of my favorites is the Butternut Squash-Apple base blend. There are recipes for 15 base blends. There are 75 delicious dishes, each using a base blend. The recipes are not complicated and I love the beautiful illustrations!

With recipes such as Seared Salmon with Dill Sauce using the Broccoli-Pea-Spinach Base Blend, Meaty Mushroom Bolognese using the Carrot-Sweet Potato Base Blend, and the Skinny Chocolate Cake using the Black Bean-Blueberry-Baby Kale Base Blend, SNEAKY BLENDS is packed with delicious, simple recipes whipped up with nutrient-dense purees to create leaner, cleaner yet ridiculously tasty meals. It is the only cookbook readers will need to detox and transform their overall health while still enjoying delicious meals.

Missy’s fresh, irreverent approach to nutrition can be found on her website, TheSneakyChef.com.

You can purchase on Amazon.com.

The next one is a great one for New Moms!

The Minimalist Mom by Rachel Jonat.

By learning how to clear the things new parents don’t really need—expensive baby gear, piles of tiny clothes, a new SUV, an overscheduled calendar—new parents will be able to simply and joyfully embrace the space, time, money, and peace they leave behind.

This book will be really helpful for new parents!

About the author:

Rachel Jonat (theminimalistmom.com) (Vancouver) is an apartment dweller, almost Olympian, clutter buster, lover of capsule wardrobes, walkable cities, and brunch.

You can browse her archives to read more about her minimalist journey, or to find out more about her book Do Less (Adams Media, 2014). You can follower her on facebook, twitter, instagram, or Pinterest.

Eat Wheat: A Scientific and Clinically-Proven Approach to Safely Bringing Wheat and Dairy Back into Your Diet (Morgan James, January 2017) by Dr. John Douillard, DC, CAP, addresses this timely topic of food intolerances. After 3.4 million years of eating wheat and only 500,000 years of hunting meat, through Eat Wheat, Dr. Douillard reminds us that humans are actually genetically better equipped to eat wheat than meat and the true Paleo diet, clearly, included glutinous grains like wheat and barley.

Dr. Douillard is a former NBA nutrition expert and creator of LifeSpa.com. He has spent the past 30 years and has seen more than 100,000 patients in his natural health practice, helping to improve their digestive systems and begin to eat wheat again.

I found this book to be very interesting and helpful!

Eat Wheat explains how a breakdown in digestion has damaged the intestinal wall and leaked undigested foods and environmental toxins into the body’s lymphatic system, causing “grain brain” symptoms and food allergies. Although eliminating wheat and dairy from your diet may help your symptoms, it’s a temporary solution. The book addresses the root cause: the inability to digest well and break down harmful pollutants and toxins that can lead to more serious health concerns.

• Backed by more than 600 scientific studies, Eat Wheat is a revolutionary guidebook to regaining your digestive strength and safely bringing wheat and dairy back into your diet. It will also:
• Reveal hidden science on the benefits of wheat and dairy
• Help you navigate around food toxins in modern wheat and dairy
• Detail how to flush congested lymphatics linked to food intolerance symptoms
• Teach you to follow natural digestive circadian cycles
• Help bring your blood sugar back into balance
• Teach you proven exercise and detox techniques to reboot strong digestion and achieve optimal health and vitality.

You can purchase on Amazon.com.

This next one if a must-read!

“Give it a Go: Eat a Rainbow”

This delightful book is by nutrition expert Kathryn Kemp Guylay with illustrations by her son Alexander. I love how this one teaches children about healthy eating habits! It also makes nutrition more fun and super easy! It really will encourage children to eat more fruits and veggies!

Find it on Amazon.com.

This next one is really helpful for Parenting!

Positive Parenting by Rebecca Eanes.

Even well-meaning parents often disrespect their children’s personal space. How would you feel if someone licked their finger to get the smudge off your face? Or fixed your hair without asking? You respect your child if you ask first. This is only one helpful piece of advice that you can find in this book. It is full of very helpful advice!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

REBECCA EANES is the founder of Positive-Parents.org, creator of Positive Parenting: Toddlers and Beyond, and a contributing editor to Creative Child magazine.

You can purchase on Amazon.com.

When Your Child is Gay by Wesley C. Davidson and Jonthan L. Tobkes, MD is another must-read for parents!

Coming out can be fraught with difficulty for both parents and child—but Wesley C. Davidson, a popular blogger on gay rights issues, and Dr. Jonathan Tobkes, a New York City-based psychiatrist, provide a road map in When Your Child is Gay (Sterling; $14.95; June 2016) so families can better navigate this rocky emotional terrain.

Emphasizing communication and unconditional love, Davidson and Tobkes help parents untangle their own feelings, identify and overcome barriers to acceptance, encourage strong self-esteem in their child, handle negative or hostile reactions to their child’s sexual identity, and more.

Filled with case studies and interviews, along with useful action plans and conversation starters, this is a positive, progressive guide to raising healthy, well-adjusted adults.

I found this to be an insightful book that I recommend for all parents!

You can purchase on Amazon.com.

Self Disclosure: I received samples of these books to feature in our Featured Book Post. Photos and info was also provided.

Who doesn’t have mixed feelings about their middle school experience? It’s a time of transition and Middle School: The Worst Years of My Life, based on the novel by James Patterson and Chris Tebbets will bring back memories and hysterics. KIDS FIRST! Film Critic Ryan R. comments, “Many people can relate to hating school at some point in their life and that is what makes this movie so relatable. I love the animations, because they are child friendly and are very well drawn.  It shows that it’s okay for you to have and use your imagination and be creative.” Mia A. adds, “Middle School: The Worst Years of My Life is the best movie I have seen for middle school kids in a long time! It is fun and creative, and I absolutely enjoyed it.” See their  full reviews below.

Reviewed by Ryan R., KIDS FIRST! Film Critic, age 12

Interviews: https://youtu.be/T7WxlQm-Vzk

I absolutely enjoyed watching this movie because I could relate to the characters. Also the humor is great and the cast is superb. Meet Rafe (Griffin Gluck) who is entering another middle school, due to his behavior. Rafe attends his new school, but there is too many rules and Rafe doesn’t like rules. So Rafe and his best friend Leo (Thomas Barbusca) decide to break every rule in the school. Rafe does this because the principal doesn’t promote creativity and destroys his notebook which is filled with all his drawings.

Many people can relate to hating school at some point in their life and that is what makes this movie so relatable. I love the animations, because they are child friendly and are very well drawn.  It shows that it’s okay for you to have and use your imagination and be creative. Additionally, the performances of Griffin Gluck, Thomas Barbusca, Isabela Moner, Alexa Nisenson and the entire cast is fantastic. You can tell that the actors took it seriously and when they portrayed their emotions, it doesn’t seem fake. It feels very real.  The soundtrack is perfect. It gives the right tone and energy for the scenes.  I love this movie so much there is nothing I didn’t like about it.

This is Alexa Nisenson’s first featured film and she gives an amazing performance as Georgia, making me laugh many times. Also, she makes you feel her emotions throughout the movie. The humor in this movie is great. I love the pranks Rafe uses to break the school rules which are created by the mean principal. My favorite scene is when Rafe puts post-it notes all over the school because I love how he created artwork with the post-it notes.

This movie is a must see, and I think that most kids will love this movie as well including the adults. I recommend it to kids ages 6 to 18. I give this movie 5 out of 5 amazing stars. I recommend it to people who like adventure, family, comedy and book-based movies. Be aware that this movie contains some mild language and kids under the age of 6 might not understand what is going on. Also, there are a few emotional scenes, so bring your tissues. Make sure to see this film when it opens October 7, 2016 in theaters nationwide.

Middle School: the Worst Years of my Life

By Mia A, KIDS FIRST! Film Critic, age 12

Middle School: the Worst Years of my Life is the best movie I have seen for middle school kids in a long time! It is fun and creative, and I absolutely enjoyed it.

This movie is based on the book by the same name, about a kid named Rafe (Griffin Gluck) who is in middle school. He is one of those troubled kids, although we really like him. He has been expelled from many schools and this is the last school he can get into. His school is very strict and he doesn’t like it at all, so he decides a plan to try to get back at the principal for making all these horrible rules.

My favorite character is Rafe, the main character, because he is hilarious! Rafe is very creative and shows a lot of emotions. His little sister Georgia (Alexa Nisenson) is very funny and sassy. There is one scene where Georgia cries and she almost made me cry. It is so realistic! Lauren Graham from The Gilmore Girls plays the loving mom. The other adults are more like human cartoons. Their behaviors are stereotypical and over the top silly.

The music really sets the tone of the movie and gets the audience involved. I enjoyed the music a lot because it includes some of the most popular songs today. It got me more into the movie and made me think it was a real middle school that other kids attended.

I think the animation is incredible!  It looks very much like a drawing from a very artistic person and it gives your brain something to think about. The animated creatures are funny and creative and they feel like they are Rafe’s friends.  The animation helps us explore more of Rafe’s imagination as the characters come to life. I really like how the characters are very detailed, colorful and look like they are hand sketched, making you think Rafe actually drew them.

The audience was very into this movie and were on the edge of their seats. The plot is very unexpected. The audience seemed to really connect to all the characters, especially one of the main teachers, Mr. Teller (Adam Pally). He is very relatable and seems like a great teacher that a lot of kids would want to have as their own teacher.

My favorite scene is when Rafe puts sticky notes all over the whole school. It’s very creative and funny.  I loved the artwork of the vice principal’s face in sticky notes. The use of color and design to the sticky notes is very creative.
I recommend this film for ages 8 to 15 rate it 5 out of 5 stars. It opens October 7, 2016 so go see it at your local theater. Your kids are going to love it!

Credit: KIDS FIRST!