From the Mom

Pet Food Drive to Benefit Homeless Pets

The Healthy School Lunch Makeover

By Connie Diekman, Registered Dietitian

As a mom, you likely know what your child eats for breakfast and dinner, but what about lunch at school? Typically, kids get about 30 to 50 percent of their calories while at school.  The good news is there are several changes happening in school cafeterias across the country this year to make lunch time nutritious and delicious for students.

This year, moms will be pleased to know that school cafeterias are serving more whole grains in unexpected places (like pizza), more fresh vegetables (especially nutrient-rich leafy greens and orange vegetables), lessening sodium content and offering great-tasting flavored milk with fewer calories and less added sugar than in the past.

As the beverage of choice among students, the change to flavored milk is an important one. On average, school chocolate milk is projected to have just 31 calories more than white milk and 38% less added sugar, the result of ongoing work by milk processors with local districts across the country over the last five years.

This school year when kids pick up a carton of flavored milk with their lunch, the majority will be less than 150 calories and will have all the same nine essential nutrients as white milk – including vitamin D, calcium and potassium, nutrients that the 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans say children need to consume more of.

As a registered dietitian, I know most kids ages nine and older are far from the recommended three servings of dairy a day, and it’s important to offer a variety of choices, both flavored and white milk, to ensure kids have more opportunities to get the nutrients found in milk, versus choosing drinks with no nutritional value.

The food choices kids make today can have a big influence in shaping their future.  Providing wholesome, nutritious meals for students increases their ability to pay attention in class, provides energy for sports and exercise, and reduces the risk of health problems later in life. These nutrients are important for kids’ growth and development, and for many children, school meals may be the best source of real nutrition they get all day.

So remember, nutritious food doesn’t have to be boring!  Low-fat chocolate milk strikes a great balance between good nutrition and good fun.

For more information on school flavored milk reformulations, please visit: http://www.whymilk.com/school_milk.php.

Connie Diekman, M.Ed, RD, LD, FADA is a nutrition communications consultant in St. Louis, Missouri. Diekman is the past President of the American Dietetic Association (ADA) and is a former chair of the American Heart Association – Missouri affiliate.

She is the voice of the “Eating Right” minute, which airs daily, on WBBM radio in Chicago. She is also a former television nutrition reporter with St. Louis’ NBC affiliate and the local FOX affiliate.

Getting a Puppy!! You can too!!

School Supplies and Sweepsteaks to win a $210 Gift Card

Schools are in session and the ever-so-dreaded shopping for school supplies is in the past….for now.  Before you know it, the semester will be over and it will be time to replenish your child’s school supplies.

To make the job a little easier, St. Louis mom, Marlene Denoyer, recently launched American Student Supply, an online store where you can purchase all of your child’s school supplies with one click of the mouse.  American Student Supply works with St. Louis schools and pre-packages all of the necessary school supplies for each specific grade into a Mypack supply kit.  Best of all, shipping if FREE.

What’s unique about the Mypack supply kit is that a portion of all proceeds from each sale will be donated back to their school’s parent organization in support of their efforts of providing programs and enrichment tools that may not be provided by district budgets.

Schools also have the opportunity to become a Partner school, where parent volunteers assist American Student Supply with delivery of MyPacks helping to reduce shipping costs.  In return, the parent organization cash donations double to 10 percent of gross sales.  Find out if your school is a partner school here.

STL Facebook Sweepstakes

Let American Student Supply know what you think about their Mypack kits by participating in a short survey on their Facebook page. For completing the survey you will be entered to win a $210 Essential Balance gift card to Ginger Bay Salon in Kirkwood, Mo.

Opportunity to Help with Hunger

Did you know that a child dies every six seconds from malnutrition and related illnesses according to reports by the World Health Organization? On Friday and Saturday, October 14-15, the Danforth Center in St. Louis  is hosting a community food packaging event to commemorate “World Food Day,” a global day to increase awareness, understanding and action to alleviate hunger. It is annually observed in recognition of the founding of the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization.

The Center is hosting for a second year, a World Food Day Commemoration with a goal of packaging 500,000 meals with the help of 3,000 volunteers.  You can sign up here.  It’s a great way to help your kids get necessary community service hours for school, Scouts, etc.

The Center’s program consists of one-hour food packaging sessions, where volunteers assemble nutritious rice/soy meals to be sent to those in dire need in Africa. After packaging, participants will have the opportunity to tour the Danforth Center and learn about our long-term research to reduce hunger and malnutrition around the world.

- Minimum Age: 7

- Kid Friendly: Yes!

- Dog Friendly: No

- Non-Smoking: Yes!

Event Packaging Hours:

-          Friday, October 14 – 9:00am – 7:00pm (last packaging starts then)

-          Saturday, October 15 – 9:00am – 5:00pm (last packaging starts then)

In 2010, 1,900 St. Louis volunteers, packaged more than 350,000 rice/soy protein meals during the Center’s two day event that were sent to critically malnourished children living in Tanzania.  It’s a great event where you can join other families, sports teams, students, scouts, youth groups and corporate teams to eradicate world hunger one meal at a time.

Questions: please contact Karina Benabe at 314.587.1072 or kbenabe@danforthcenter.org. Stay updated with Twitter at #WFD (WorldFoodDay), @WorldFoodDayStl or @DanforthCenter.

For more info visit: http://www.danforthcenter.org/world_food_day/.

Each package provides nutritionally complete servings for six children. The food is designed to reverse the starvation process, help restore health, and improve mental and physical alertness. The sealed packages have a shelf life of three years.   The cost of each life-sustaining meal is approximately 25 cents. Built into this cost are all the ingredients, packaging, administration, and international shipping of the food. These costs will be covered by the Danforth Center, our generous sponsors and donations from the volunteers.

Students are asked to donate $10 and adults $20 per person for this event. Their tax-deductible contributions will be matched by other generous donors and sponsors so that the full cost of a one hour packaging session – approximately $30 per person – is covered.

Make a Plan. Get a Kit. Be Informed.

Embassy Suites Has the Competition Beat!

My husband and I and our preschooler recently stayed at the Embassy Suites in Oklahoma City and I can’t say enough about the experience. I’ve stayed at these properties before, but it’s been a few years and I’d forgotten how much better Embassy Suites is at making a stay away from home more of a vacation than a stay away from home.

You get a sense of how delightful your visit is going to be when you walk into the lobby to check-in. The lobby area is gorgeous and gives you the sense that you are staying at a resort — plus the desk staff is so efficient and accommodating that there isn’t any lobby chaos.

The rooms are large and have all the amenities. There’s a spacious front room with a nice television, comfortable couch, good size desk and swivel chair, counter and sink equipped with a coffee maker (an essential in my opinion) as well as a refrigerator and microwave. Of course, the hotel offers free wireless Internet access and I had a lot of work to accomplish while I was visiting, so the Internet speed was important to me. I wasn’t disappointed. At one point, I had a problem accessing a secure site for one of my clients and I called the front desk. I was immediately connected to tech support (which made me groan internally, suspecting that I’d be on the phone until my next birthday). Instead, I was pleasantly surprised at the efficiency and my problem was resolved effortlessly.

The bedroom area of the suite was standard and very clean. We had a room with two double beds, which was perfect for our needs. The beds were comfortable, the room temperature was easy to control, and very little, if any, noise filtered from the hallway into the back bedroom part of the suite. Housekeeping was as efficient as the lobby staff and things we needed (an extra pillow and more coffee) were delivered to our room within minutes of our requests. We enjoyed being able to rent movies in our room that are still in theaters for a cost of about $12 per movie, which made for a cheap “date night” for my husband and I after putting our youngster to bed (another plus of staying at Embassy Suites when traveling with children — there is a separate room to make them go to bed at their regular bedtime!)

The biggest PLUS of this hotel, however, is the amazing breakfast! We honestly could not believe the spread, which is free of charge! It included:

An omelet station with multiples choices including meats, cheese, peppers and even spinach (heaven!)

• Pancakes
• Waffles
• Sausage & bacon
• Hot oatmeal and toppings
• Cereals
• Fruits
• Donuts and other pastries

The hotel saw to all the details, such as warm syrups for the pancakes and waffles, hot sauces and salsa for those of us who like to spice up our omelets, jellies and jams, and even extra omelet-making stations when the lines started getting long. Even on Sunday morning when it was very crowded, we didn’t have to wait long for a custom omelet and hotel staff kept stopping by our table to see if we needed anything.

Each night, the hotel also offered a happy hour with free drinks and snacks. And we ate at the hotel restaurant one night, which offered a decent menu, good service and good eats.

The hotel is a stone’s throw from the airport and an easy drive to other Oklahoma City attractions. Rates range from about $109 to $144 (these are estimates). It’s a little higher than a few other nearby hotels, but when you factor in the money we saved on breakfasts, snacks and drinks, it’s a wash. Plus, the service, amenities and rooms are superior. I’d give it five stars and recommend Embassy Suites in Oklahoma City to everyone traveling to that destination.

Great Recipes to Help You Eat More Salad

We now in month two of the New Year — are you sticking to your resolution?  If yours was to eat healthier, these tasty and convenient salad recipes from StarKist are a must try. And check out these simply scrumptious salad tips—healthy doesn’t have to mean boring!

• Limit extras like croutons, bacon bits, and extra cheese

• Use a variety of greens like spinach, leaf lettuce, arugula, dandelion greens, kale, watercress and basil leaves – full of flavor and nutrition!

• Don’t pile on fried meat – use heart healthy tuna — a quick, easy protein (much lower in fat, saturated fat and cholesterol than many other protein choices) that works for lunch or dinner — and you don’t even have to drain OR refrigerate StarKist Flavor Fresh Tuna Pouches before opening! (I LOVE this. I keep them in my van and take them with me into the fast food places i’m sometimes forced to visit on a road trip or while tooling around town with the kids. Then I order a side salad with just greens and add the tuna on top).

• Try squeezing some fresh lemon and olive oil on your salad, or use salsa, instead of drenching your salad with dressing

Tuna, Tomato and Cucumber Salad with Lemon Yogurt-Dill Dressing

Ingredients

1 pouch (6.4 oz.) or 2 pouches (2.6 oz.) or 2 cans (5 oz.) StarKist® Albacore or Chunk Light Tuna in Water (if cans, drained and chunked)

4 plum tomatoes, sliced

1 can (2.25 oz.) sliced ripe olives, drained

1 cup Sourdough toasted croutons

4 cups mixed lettuce

½ medium cucumber sliced

1 Tbsp. minced fresh parsley

Dressing:

½ cup plain yogurt

2 Tbsp. lemon juice

1 Tbsp. white wine vinegar

¼ tsp. freshly ground black pepper

¼ cup light mayonnaise

1- ½ Tbsp. dried dill weed

Salt to taste

Directions

Make dressing. In a small bowl, combine all dressing ingredients; blend until smooth and creamy.  Chill 2 – 3 hours. Arrange 1 cup lettuce on each plate.  Top each with ¼ of the tomatoes, cucumber, olives and tuna.

Drizzle with dressing.  Sprinkle with parsley and croutons.  Serve immediately

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Serves: 4; 150 calories per serving, 7 g fat, 17 g carbs, 4 g fiber, 16 g protein.

Tuna and White Bean Salad

Ingredients:

1 (4.5 oz.) pouch StarKist Tuna Creations®, Zesty Lemon Pepper
1 garlic clove
1 tbsp. lemon juice
2 tbsp. olive oil
1 (16 oz.) can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
1/2 cup cubed red pepper
1/4 cup chopped red onion
Fresh basil, chopped, to taste
Salt and pepper, to taste

Directions:

Mince garlic and mash to a paste with the back of a spoon. Mix garlic paste with lemon juice, salt and pepper; slowly whisk in olive oil. Toss red pepper, onion, and beans together. Break apart Tuna Creations® and mix in to bean mixture. Add dressing and toss well. Just before serving, add basil. Serve at room temperature.

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Serves: 4; 190 calories per serving, 8 g fat, 17 g carbs, 5 g fiber, 12 g protein

Southwest Tuna Salad

Ingredients:

1 (2.6-oz.) pouch StarKist Chunk Light or Albacore Tuna
1/2 cup Black beans, drained and rinsed
1/4 cup Low-fat Ranch dressing
1/4 cup Mexican cheese blend, shredded
2-1/2 cups (4-oz.) Lettuce, washed and torn
1/2 cup Whole kernel corn
1/4 cup Salsa

Directions:

In a large salad bowl place lettuce, tuna, beans, corn, and ranch dressing. Top with salsa and cheese. For 2 small salads, divide all ingredients in half.

Prep Time: 5-8 minutes

Serves: 1; 230 calories, 11 g fat, 25 g carbs, 7 g fiber, 18 g protein.

Discounts for Teachers

Teachers don’t get the perks that some big corporate executives get, but there are numerous teacher discounts offered nationwide, ranging from laptops and Photoshop to museum entry and cell phone plans. Gift Card Granny has compiled a list of 66 top-notch discounts spanning nine categories, both online and off. A sampling:

• The Container Store: The organizational aficionados provide a 15 percent discount on all items through the Organized Teacher Program. Register online for a free discount card to use for in-store and online purchases. If you visit a store, be sure to have your school ID.
• Borders: Register for the Classroom Discount Card, a brand-spanking-new program that entitles librarians and teachers 25-percent off most purchases. The discount is for those who teach preschool to high school and available in-store only.
• The Limited: Show a school ID or valid pay stub when you shop at any The Limited location and snag 15-percent off your entire order. The offer is good for all items on the racks, walls or tables. In other words, everything.
• Bose: The Bose offer is prime, particularly for those in need of sonic stimulation. Variable discounts are available on all music systems and accessories. Call the Customer Focused Development Team at 1-800-353-4027 for pricing and to place an order.
• Cell Phone Companies (Verizon, AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile): This discount is a tad tricky to redeem but can save loads on a personal cell phone bill, sometimes up to 20 percent a month. Visit your providers business or discount portal and input your .edu e-mail address to check if your institution is registered. Example: Search “Verizon business discount” in an engine and click on the first result to check your discount or register.
• National Park Service: Show a valid school ID at a slew of National Park Service visitor centers across the nation and receive 15-percent off any purchase. The discount doesn’t apply to park entry or camping fees.
• John & Mable Ringling Museum of Art: Present a valid school ID at the box office to snag a discounted day pass at the estate-turned-gallery in Sarasota, Fla. The museum, named for John Ringling of Ringling Brothers circus fame, is located at 5401 Bay Shore Road.

The Gift Card Granny list provides information where a deal can be redeemed, how to register for certain reward programs and, of course, the extent of a discount. Rules and conditions change from store to store, yet nearly all of the 66 deals are available year-round for teachers of every brand, including elementary school, high school, university and home school. Download “The Complete List of 66 Teacher Discounts” to sooth these oft-neglected educators with something more rewarding than the routine “apple for teacher.”

Mother’s (Grandmother’s) Bracelet Review & Giveaway – CLOSED

I am of the school of thought that art that hangs on walls of your home should have some significance to you. For example, the picture over my fireplace is of the battery in Charleston, South Carolina — the place where my husband proposed marriage. I feel similarly about the jewelry I wear. Certainly, I own a few pieces of costume jewelry that I bought just because they go fabulously with something in my wardrobe. But the jewelry that I cherish is the jewelry that was given to me as a gift or that represents something to me.

That’s why I was so delighted to discover Lily Brooke Jewelry. This jewelry is customized to represent what women everywhere cherish most of all — our families!

Lily Brooke Jewelry creates unique mothers bracelets, baby bracelets, birthstone bracelets, and personalized bracelets.  They specialize in designing custom mothers jewelry, personalized birthstone bracelets and custom baby bracelets that are unique for each customer. Each hand-beaded custom bracelet can be personalized to include sterling silver letter blocks and Swarovski or JABLONEX (lead free) birthstone crystals.

I was delighted when Lily Brooke asked me to review one of their bracelets, and I chose a Grandmother’s Bracelet for my Mom with the birthstones of all nine of her grandchildren!! She was so excited to get it that I almost wish I’d saved it for Christmas.

My Mom displaying her Grandmother's Bracelet from Lily Brooke Jewelry

I’ve seen lots of customized jewelry with various stones, and the craftsmanship on this bracelet is top notch. The toggle clasp is beautiful and sturdy (although they offer other clasp choices if you don’t like toggles) and the beads are divine. It really is a piece that I suspect my mother will wear for years and years.

Along with offering mommy bracelets, grandmothers bracelets, baby bracelets and children’s bracelets, Lily Brooke also offers  Mommy & Me bracelet sets, awareness bracelets, wedding bracelets,lanyards and charm bracelets.

All bracelets arrive in a signature pink jewelry box and the company ships items for free within one week of ordering. And there are no extra charges for longer names or for grandmother’s who have LOTS of grandchildren.

I know the holidays are still a few months away, but a Lily Brooke bracelet would make a beautiful gift for any mother, mother-in-law or grandmother in your life. And I am absolutely vouching for the quality of the item!

Lily Brooke bracelets are truly for loved ones and make a great personalized baby gift for new baby or as christening gifts. A Lily Brooke baby bracelet is always a cherished gift for any expectant new mother. Whether you are welcoming a baby into this world, looking for Mothers Day gift ideas or honoring Grandma with a birthstone bracelet, Lily Brooke personalized jewelry will be a cherished gift.

Single strand Lily Brooke bracelets (mother’s and grandmother’s) start at $58, but here’s the good news for one lucky From the Mom reader — you can win a gift certificate for a single strand bracelet by entering the giveaway below:

Giveaway Guidelines:

To enter the contest, you MUST visit Lily Brooke and then come back here and tell me in a comment below what bracelet style you like the best. After completing this mandatory first entry method, you can gain additional entries by doing any or all of the following (but be sure to leave a separate comment for each thing you do):

1. Become an email subscriber to From the Mom. The subscribe button is in the upper right corner of the site. Once you subscribe (or if you are already a subscriber), leave a comment below telling me you did so, and make sure the email address you provide is the one you used to subscribe.
2. Blog about this contest
3. Visit my other site for Moms: Lipstick to Crayons and subscribe there, too. Tell me you did so in a comment below.
4. Tweet this giveaway on Twitter (you can do daily tweets, but leave a comment each time you do.
5. Add From the Mom to your blogroll or my button to your sidebar
6. Become a fan of Lipstick to Crayons on Facebook.
7. Post a link to this contest on your Facebook page.

This giveaway closes at 11:59 p.m. Central time October 1, 2010.  Be sure to include a valid email address with each of your entries. Winners will be randomly chosen via random.org and will be notified via email and announced on this post.

If any winner does not claim the prize by October 4, 2010, she will forfeit the prize to an alternate winner who will be drawn at random.

USA residents only please!

PRODUCT PROVIDED FOR REVIEW BY LILY BROOKE JEWELRY

THIS CONTEST IS CLOSED. CONGRATULATIONS TO LEANNA M.