Please don't yawn in front of me

Full disclosure: I just yawned while typing that title.

Here's the thing: I am very susceptible to yawning. If I see someone yawn in front of me, I am going to yawn back at them. And when I do, I really hope that they are not also susceptible to yawning, otherwise we have entered a very dangerous yawning loop from which no woman can escape.

I said "woman" in the paragraph above, because researchers have evidence that women are more likely to yawn back when they experience a "trigger yawn." It is quite possible this is because women are more empathetic than men. Or maybe we are just more tired because we get less sleep. Whatever the reason, there is one thing for certain:

We are spending time studying yawning.

I'm pretty sure that there is some other research that we could be using these great minds for. Not everyone can work on the cure for the latest disease, but I'm sure we could find some topics more useful than yawning. For example, here's a list of things that I spent less than two minutes putting together:

• Why do children's toys come with multiple volume buttons? Who wants those toys on "loud" mode all the time?
• How much peanut butter can you eat in one week before your diet is considered off-balance?
• Why does my son wake up extra early on the weekends, but have trouble waking up during school days?
• Why is it then when we are in a hurry, children take longer to get ready?

What items would you like for researchers to spend their free time on? Add to the list in the comments.

The problems of a picky eater

At one point of my childhood, I stopped eating meat. It was a phase and didn't last too long, and my Mother just dealt with it by giving me lots of veggies. (Sorry, Mom!) When she tells this story today, she remarks that it was good timing because my brother was going through a phase of not eating vegetables and everything evened out.

My son is not a picky eater, but he definitely has a narrow range of foods that he will eat without complaint. And I do my best to roll with it. There are meals that I cook in full knowledge that they are just for me and my husband to enjoy (spicy foods, for example) and our son can have a simpler version or something completely different. This is even true on Thanksgiving when he ended up eating a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.

I pick my dinner battles carefully.

Even though it feels like there is a lot of extra work put into the nightly meal, I do count myself lucky that he is not a severely selective eater, as research has discovered that in addition to dealing with a limited range of foods, those children are more likely to have depression.

Please do not confuse picky eaters with severely selective eaters. That phrase is used to classify children with food preferences so intense that they usually cannot eat outside the home and their diet consists of only three to five items. Also, please note that there is only a correlation between selective eating and depression - one doesn't cause the other.

This study gives me perspective. Enough perspective that I don't mind whipping up a quesadilla when the husband and I are having chili. Dinner time should be about family time and togetherness and not a battlefield over pot roast.

What food aversions did you have when you were little? Tell me in the comments.

Finding the time to eat

Every evening when I come home from work, I ask my son about his lunch. Most days he gives it high praise: "It was double fantastic awesome!" Some days he gives me helpful criticism: "Please pack the crackers and the cheese separately so the crackers don't get soggy." Our deal is that he has to bring home everything that he didn't eat so I can make sure that he is consuming enough healthy food.

One day he brought home more than half his lunch, because he didn't have enough time to eat it all. His lunch that day had required some assembly on his part, but in retrospect, I could see how he had difficulty in assembling and devouring it during lunchtime.

In my son's school, they only get 20 minutes for lunch. And I worry that the short window of time is encouraging him to eat too fast (which I already have a problem with). But at least I am sure he is getting the full 20 minutes.

A study of Seattle schools across one district found that none of the schools gave their students the required 20 minute break for lunch. The study discovered that the average eating time clocked in at 13 minutes.

That is clearly not enough time to eat.

There are lots of rules in my son's school (like silent lunches) that force students to focus on eating. And my son is still in love with the fact that he brings a packed lunch to school every day, so he doesn't have to spend his eating time selecting his hot lunch. All of this reading about short lunches now makes me pay attention to what I am packing: Easy-open containers, no assembly required and portion control have become my routine. If I do my job right, he won't be ravenously hungry by the end of the day.

How long does it take you to eat lunch? Share with me in the comments. 

Thinking outside the lunch box

My son is in Kindergarten, and he is excited. He is excited about all the new classrooms, books, children and fun to be had. But he is more excited about one particular part of Kindergarten, more than anything else: He can bring a lunch from home.

Up until this point, he has eaten the provided lunches at his daycare. Or at least he has eaten part of them - there have been lots of frustrating talks at the dinner table over what he might have been served for lunch that day, since most days he claims not to remember.

But he loves the idea that he now (like Wednesday dinners) has control over what he will be eating for lunch. The problem is that he is at that magical age when he isn't interested in trying a whole lot of new foods. Since my rule is that he can't eat peanut butter and jelly more than twice a week, I've found the quickest solution was to make him partially responsible for what goes into his lunch box.

And because he is now partially responsible, he has become inventive: Grilled cheese sandwiches with macaroni and cheese in the middle, DIY pizza squares and fruity cream cheese rollups are all items that he wants to try. But before I stack all those cute little containers into his super hero lunchbox, I have to remind him of something very important:

Eat until you are full. You don't have to eat everything.

This has not always been my stance. I have been a very much "just a few more bites" Mom up to this point, But a new study from the University of Minnesota Medical School has found evidence that children who have pressure or restrictions on their eating habits often develop eating disorders or obesity later on in life.

Clearly, I do not want that. So, it's time to make sure that any comments around how much he eats or how much food he brings home uneaten at the end of the day is a conversation that takes place only in my head.

I'm up for trying the experiment and seeing how it goes. My goal is to make sure he is getting nutrition while we are both having some fun, regardless of how many bites he takes.

What lunch box tricks do you use to make lunch more appealing? Share them with me in the comments.

Bring on the peanut butter

I recently introduced my son to the joys of peanut butter and banana sandwiches (he wasn't ready to switch up his jelly game for a long time.) Upon trying a bite of mine, he declared me to be the best Mom ever. Then he stole my sandwich.

We are a peanut butter family. And we are fortunate to not have any peanut allergies that run in our family. But for those who do have nut allergies to worry about, there is a new study advising that you expose babies to peanut butter rather than avoid it like the plague. Several researchers not involved in the study corroborate its results, indicating that the early introduction of peanut buttery goodness helps prevent allergies from developing later on in life.

Which is a huge win as far as I am concerned, as I have been saddened over stories covering peanut-butter-free lunch rooms for some time. Think about it: How many children did you know with a peanut butter allergy when you were little? Way too many children are afflicted today. It's time to bring back the peanut butter.

I'm not advocating that you just start spoon feeding the stuff to your child, though. The key to this study is to pay attention to the age range. The doctors involved in the study recommend introducing peanut butter to children between the ages of 4 months to 11 months. Older children who are already at risk for developing an allergy should be tested beforehand.

So, Moms, what do you think? Are you ready to bring peanut butter back? Tell me in the comments. (I'll be making a sandwich.)

Why cookbooks are awful

This weekend, I am getting rid of the majority of my cookbooks. I'm beyond fed up with them.

Let me explain.

For my 100 challenge last year, I tried out 100 new recipes to add to the repertoire of yummy dishes my family already loves. Friends and family learned about the challenge and sent me cookbooks. And after a year of flipping through them, this what I learned:

1.  The trendier the cookbook, the worse off you are. I think that most families (especially with children) have a picky eater in them. And I really do not like having arguments at the dinner table. Yes, my family will try something new, but there are limits: I had one cookbook that touted 10 recipes that included chard. Chard. We were not going to eat that.
2. The do ahead cookbooks waste your time. Yes, there is something great to be said about doing prep work ahead of time. But, cookbooks that have you clocking in 90 minutes of prep work before you even start cooking need to go away.
3. Most of the cookbooks today are filler. If you already know how to cook, you really don't need a 100-page section of the cookbook telling you the basics. For some cookbooks, recipes are an afterthought.
4. Cookbooks are expensive. I would often only use one or two recipes out of a book that cost $28. So each of those recipes cost $14. Not worth it.

Here's how I kept my sanity throughout the project.

1. I looked for recipes online. Sites like allrecipes.com gave me access to thousands of recipes that were tried by actual people. And, I could search by ingredient to make sure that the recipe contained something that my family would eat.
2. Chopping on the weekends. I did prep work for longer recipes on the weekends, but I kept weekday meal prep time to under 45 minutes so we could eat at a decent hour.
3. Make your own recipe book. If I did find a recipe in a cookbook, I just copied it into the binder where I keep of all our family recipes. No need to keep that extra book in the house.
4. Be realistic. You can't serve new dishes every night of the week. Limit it to two. Otherwise family members will revolt.

I'll be dropping off all those extra books at my local book swap shop this weekend. (Think of the shelf space, I'll gain!)

So, only one question remains: What's for dinner tonight? Tell me in the comments.

Taking back my lunches

A few weeks ago, I wrote about how we are all eating more and more meals by ourselves. When it comes to lunches, that doesn't really bother me. What bothers me is that I am eating those meals at my desk.

Once upon a time, I used to leave my desk every day for lunch. I would find a quiet spot - outside when it was nice - and eat, relax, soak up some sun, people watch and read. (This is one of the ways I was able to complete my 100 book challenge last year.)
 
These days, I am spending my lunch hours listening to others talk during a meeting, hoping that I remembered to put myself on mute so that others don't hear me crunching on carrots.

Well, I am taking back my lunches.

Like all things, though, this will require some baby steps. So I am shooting for three lunch breaks a week away from my desk. Here are my rules:

• It doesn't have to be at lunch time. Since I work with lots of folks on the opposite coast as me, I understand that we only have so many overlapping hours during the day. I am OK with taking an hour break away from my desk at a later time in the afternoon, if needed.
• Human interaction is important, but not the goal. Sure I have my almost weekly lunch date with my husband, and I'd like for at least one other of those lunch breaks to be with another friend or coworker, but it's not a deal breaker.
• Be outside whenever possible. I don't need the vitamin D lecture from my doctor this year.

As I read more and more about how busy we are (except for me, I am totally not busy), and read more information about how we are taxing our brains to the detriment of our creativity, I know that something in my life has to change.

So, why not start with lunch and see how it goes?

What about you? Do you break for lunch every day or do I need to tell you how many germs are living on your keyboard? Let me know in the comments.

Apparently, I've peaked

I went on a date with my son. For five hours we hung out together, I introduced him to the Lego store, we ate ice cream, he went on a carousel ride and we bought some books. He told me that he wanted to go on another date with me soon because he was "happiest with Mommy."

I love spending time with him - he is affectionate, snarky, funny and my buddy. I came back from our outing in a fantastic mood and then read a study about how my happiness level supposedly peaked about a decade ago and that I was now at an age where women experience the most stress.

And I laughed so hard.

Here's the thing I love about studies: They don't always apply to everyone. So, when I read that study about how women in their 20s generally have more discretionary income and fewer responsibilities, I didn't get it. I was pretty broke in my 20s, and working a pretty tough job. More than a decade later, I find myself with a much better working situation, a better income, an amazing husband and a kid who cracks me up. Do I get stressed sometimes? Absolutely. But, most of the time, I'm ridiculously happy.

This is one case for me where a study just doesn't apply.

Little things like games of Uno, snuggles and a pb&j all make me smile. What about you? Are you happier now then you were in your 20s? What age do you think you peaked in your stress level? Tell me in the comments.

Dinner for one: Eating by yourself

I know several moms who have multiple children with active schedules. Those Moms spend their evenings and weekends chauffeuring their children to various sports activities, musical activities and dance lessons. I'm always amazed by that (think of the planning and coordination that takes), and I usually have one question for them: Where do you find the time for dinner?

This is usually followed by a sigh or a slight shake of the head and an admission that it is a struggle. I've heard stories of multiple dinners, protein-filled snacks and dinner-on-the-go. There is not a simple answer.

Turns out, meals are a struggle for a lot of families. A recent study by the NPD Group report indicates that only 50 percent of families with kids eat dinner together 5 nights a week. (I sincerely hope that the rest of those families aren't stuck in a car driving between activities.)

The same study also has some interesting stats around solo dining: More than 50 percent of meals by everyone included in the study are taking place on a solo basis.

Why are we eating alone? Several reasons:

• About 27 percent of households now consist of a single person.
• Breakfast is squeezed into various morning routines, so people come and go from the table.
• Lunch is based on quick and easy options.

I don't have much control of meals during the work week, although we do eat dinner together as a family almost every night. But weekends are another matter. My husband, who is a bit of a bear, usually doesn't join my son and I for breakfast. And I try to make sure we are all having at least one lunch together during the weekend. A lot of times chores just get in the way.

I like eating meals with my son. Mostly because we can bond over peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and he tells me amazing stories and crazy ideas. It's time for him to sit still and for him to have my complete attention. I don't want to lose that.

It's time to take back our meals.

What runaway meal do you want to take back control of? Tell me in the comments.

Go nuts, Moms

If you haven't been paying attention, I love peanut butter. I cannot quite describe my love of peanut butter accurately, but let me just say that if I was positive my husband wouldn't look at me funny, I would eat it straight from the jar with a spoon in front of him. (I may or may not have done this outside of his eyesight; I'm not telling.)

Image by Shawn Carpenter

I am saddened to think that there are lots of children who will never know the joy of peanut butter because of peanut allergies. But maybe we moms can fix that.

You see, a study published in JAMA Pediatrics suggests mothers-to-be who enjoyed a peanut-rich diet had children with significantly lower allergy levels. As long as the mother isn't allergic to nuts, she can safely eat them throughout her pregnancy (and yes, I know that the peanut is a legume, but it has the word nut in it, so I am grouping it in with all the other nuts.)

So moms-to-be, go ahead and have that handful of almonds, that macadamia nut cookie or even dip that celery stick into the peanut butter jar. It's good for you and your baby.

Anyone have any good peanut butter recipes? My husband thinks peanut butter is an ingredient and not a meal on its own, so please share them with me in the comments.

100 Posts - Just checking in before the year checks out

So, today I've reached my 100th post on this blog. Not too bad for a hobby I only started in late July. Instead of my usual ramblings about the latest news parents could use, I thought I would take this opportunity (right before the new year) to check in:

Everybody ready? (This could be bumpy.)

• My current 100 challenge is to try out 100 recipes. I am semi on-track. I have been gathering lots of new meals to try, I just have to figure out when to make them. If anyone has a great recipe to share with me, please do so at any time in the comments.
• Am I still running? Off and on. This one gets tricky when it is cold, so I need to rededicate my efforts. And in 2014, I am going to make myself more accountable to my family. (When I am accountable to others, I am more likely to do something.) I also finally have the desire to participate in some walks and runs next year, and I plan to use lots of guilt to drag them along with me.
• Do I still love peanut butter? Absolutely.
• Getting better at handing my phone to my son. Nope. I still hand him my phone too often, but I think we are both happy for the distraction while waiting for a table in restaurants.
• Paying attention to the world news. I try, but sometimes it is depressing. And I still don't really pay attention to politics, because that drives me crazy.
• My driving mantra. Sometimes I say it and sometimes I don't. My son asked me to stop for a while, because he was tired of the repetition, but I repeat it every now and then to remind us both.
• Playing the Mom Appreciation Game. I still do this all the time.
• Have I won at The Oregon Trail game yet? Nope.
• Standing up for myself so I don't die. I am happy to say that I stand up while I eat lunch four times a week as well.
• New math for fast food. Yes, I am doing a bit better at factoring my son into the equation.
• Having tough conversations with my parents. I've actually made some headway on this and it was easier than I thought it would be. My Mom was more than ready to discuss it with me. (Thanks, Mom!)
• My podcast is still hopping regularly (you can subscribe on the site link or through the iTunes Store by searching for "Stories for Grown-ups), and it now also features lots of writing contests.

And finally: this blog. I plan on still posting regularly. But I may cut out some Thursdays, because just like Arthur Dent, I never could get the hang of Thursdays (if you get that reference let me know and we can be BFFs.) 

All caught up? Great. Bring on the new year! And tell me in the comments what you want to remember best about 2013.

Welcome to dinner: Pass the pancakes

I know I don't reference my Dad a lot in this blog, but that's mostly because I am really good at apologizing to my Mom. (Sorry, Dad.) Although my parents separated when I was little, I have some very nice memories of my Dad. For example, sometimes, he would make us waffles for dinner. It was pretty cool, because waffles are awesome and it added a touch of whimsy to an otherwise regular week day. He'd even put chocolate chips into mine. I have been known to make breakfast foods for dinner in my own household (including today on topsy-turvy Christmas Eve) to rave reviews. (Well, the first time my husband was a bit skeptical, but he came around because, come on, everyone loves pancakes.)

Turns out that Dad had the right idea (kind of). A new study in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics found that teens who ate breakfast with their families every day were more likely to be at a healthy weight and had diets with higher levels of key nutrients. I just have a feeling that the study intended those breakfast foods to be eaten at breakfast time.

Still, the overall findings of the study is fabulous news...but oh wait. I eat breakfast while standing at the kitchen sink, so that doesn't work for us.

Nutritional components aside, I think there is a lot of pressure on parents to have a family meal together. But I have my own take on it. It is nice to eat breakfast or dinner together, if you can, but I believe the larger point is that you spend time together. So, here are some tips for making that happen:

Image by Shawn Carpenter

1. Create a "meal" that works for your family. Maybe you can't coordinate schedules to have everyone together for breakfast or dinner. How about a pre-bedtime ritual of hot tea or milk and a cookie or fruit before bed?
2. Create family time. We like to play board games together on Wednesday nights. Wednesdays are usually the easy dinner nights because we let our son pick dinner that week. Do we end up eating pb&j sandwiches? Yes. And we love them.
3. Find opportunities to talk. Stuck in traffic? Start a conversation. It will be so much better than just fuming at the other drivers.
4. Family sports. Consider having the entire family join a bowling league, or make time to go bicycle riding or do another sport together. You will get to talk and get exercise at the same time.
5. Consider having family meetings. Yes, it sounds a little ridiculous and Cosby Show-esque. But it only takes 20 minutes to check in with everyone and get their take on what is going right that week and what everyone needs to work on. Just make sure that everyone at the meeting gets a voice and that they are scheduled as sacred time that can't be broken.

Do you get to eat meals together as a family? Or do you have to find other ways to spend time together (if so, what do you do)?

Yes, I am going to write about peanut butter. Again.

For those of you who don't already know, I love peanut butter. Like, a lot. Because my son can't have it at school, I make sure to give him a pb&j at least once a weekend. In addition to peanut butter being crazy yummy, I love that I can use the Omega 3 variety of peanut butter to help him reach his Omega 3 daily requirements.

Image by Shawn Carpenter

What's Omega 3? Let's pause this post for a quick & dirty science lesson.There are 3 types of Omega 3 fatty acids: 
1. Eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA)
2. Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA)
3. Alpha-linolenic acid (ALA).

These fatty acids are important for brain, nerve and eye development in infants. And in children and adults these fatty acids are helpful with protection against heart disease, reducing symptoms of hypertension, depression, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, dementia, joint pain, other rheumatoid problems and they can boost immunity. 

But after reading this new study in Maternal and Child Nutrition, I realize that he still may not be getting enough Omega 3. The study says that children between the ages of 1 and 8 are consuming less than 93 mg of DHA daily, which is well below the recommended 250-500 mg of EPA + DHA for children. 

So, how do we fix this? Well, at home we only serve him an organic milk that has DHA added to it (which, looking at that list of health benefits up there, I should probably be drinking, too.) But, I need to start including more foods that have these fatty acids naturally, such as certain fish, walnuts, flax seeds and dark leafy greens.

Some of the items on that list might be a problem with a picky eater, so I may need to find more recipes that incorporate them in a way he will eat. Sounds like I have more work to do in my 100 challenge.

What about you? Do you think your family gets enough Omega 3? Were you even aware of all its benefits?

Got something yummy to share?

To all my food blogger friends and chefs debonair:

I need your help. I am on a mission to try 100 new recipes in the next year. I have lots of recipe books and websites to help me, but I thought I would reach out to the experts: Other moms.

I'm looking for tried-and-true meals to surprise and/or delight my family. Can you share a favorite recipe with me in the comments or (even better) post a link to your favorite recipe? It could be a dinner dish, a breakfast tradition or even a lunch idea...all would be welcome.

If I try one of your meals, I'll list you on my home page sidebar and definitely comment on your site (I'll probably even follow you with the hopes that you will lead me to even more yummy dishes).

Image by Shawn Carpenter

Here are some made up FAQs to help submit recipes:

1. Does your family have any allergies?
   No. Thankfully we are food allergy-free. We are all omnivorous although someone is picky about onions (but is fine if I substitute onion powder).
   
2. I have a great dessert for you to try.
   I am sure it is divine, so please do not send it to me. We are trying to eat a little healthier this year, so I prefer the meals to be non-desserts.
   
3. Any other restrictions?
   No pasta-based meals, please. We love pasta and I've accumulated a dozen too many pasta dishes, so I'm looking for something a little different.
   
4. Do you have a crock pot?
   Yes, and if you gave me a some direction of what to put into it, we could become BFFs. I love my crock pot and make a fabulous chili in it, but it gets lonely and needs me to cook more things in it.
   
5. Do you like peanut butter?
   Yes. Yes. Yes!

Thank you so  much for your help!

Milk still does a body good

Image by Walt Stoneburner.

I tried the Atkins diet once when I was in high school. I hated it, because I couldn't have milk.

I have always loved milk. (It goes particularly well with peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.) I drink about a gallon a week and think about my strong bones and lowered risk of osteoporosis. If I actually spent more time outside, it would help me out with my Vitamin D deficiency, but that's another issue.

Because I love milk so much, it makes me happy to see this new study that links drinking milk during pregnancy to taller teenagers. As someone who is fairly tall (and definitely much taller than her mother), that news makes me extra happy. I hope my milk drinking ways give my son a couple of extra inches later on in his life, because (let's face it), life is a little easier for tall people.

A love letter to peanut butter

Image by Shawn Carpenter.

A friend of mine has a daughter with a peanut allergy. Her daughter once asked what peanut butter tasted like. My friend told her daughter that she wasn't missing much. (That's what parents sometimes do: Lie to protect our kids.) 

The reality is that peanut butter is perfect.

When I was pregnant (and more emotional than usual) I would cry at a Jif commercial in which a boy makes his mom lunch. (Don't judge me.) I remember the first pb&j I made for my son - he looked at it like it was magic. After devouring the sandwich, he asked me for another one.

Somewhere in my journey to adulthood, I started thinking of peanut butter as a kid's food. Yes, you can eat a pb&j as a single adult, but when you have one with your child you feel a bit more justified about it. It's like a parenting perk.

Now I think that people would be happier if they indulged in peanut butter more often.
There's a deli that I love which serves peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. Occasionally, I will be in line behind a businessman who sees them on the menu and immediately gets happy. The deli is awesome enough to give the choice of crunchy or smooth peanut butter and a few different jelly types. I imagine that the person who orders a pb&j and then goes to a meeting is better at coping with the rest of their day.

Because of nut allergies, all forms of peanuts are banned from my son's school, so I try to make him a pb&j at least once a weekend. The last time I made him one, he told me I was the best mommy ever. Peanut butter does that. It brings people together.