Healthy Mother’s Day Recipes by Carolyn Scott Hamilton

It’s the day we ask mom to stop, relax, kick her feet up and be pampered by the very people she pampers all year long. Be sure you shower her with gifts, take her to be primped at her favorite spa and finish the day with a lovely meal. Check out these healthy and vegan Mother’s Day recipes as well as last year’s brunch menu!

Pink Le-MOM-Ade

• 10 sliced lemons
• 2 cups raspberries
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 6 cups water
• 2 1/4 cups tequila (optional)
• Mint, for garnish

Combine lemons, raspberries, and sugar in a large pot. Pound the mixture firmly with a large wooden spoon, extracting as much juice as possible, about 10 minutes. Stir in water. Pour through a sieve into a large bowl. Press the solids until all juice is extracted. Discard the solids, stir in tequila and serve over ice.

Water-Cado Salad

• 2 avocados, pitted and peeled and cut into small chunks – about 1/2 inch
• 1 1/2 lbs. watermelon, seeded and cut into small/med chunks – about 1 inch
• 2 limes, juiced
• 1/2 red onion, peeled and sliced thin
• 1 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/2 bunch cilantro, chopped
• salt and pepper, to taste

Add all ingredients into a bowl and toss gently.

R & R Risotto

• 3 quarts water
• 1 ounce dried porcini mushrooms
• 1 teaspoon whole black peppercorns
• 1 stick vegan butter
• 8 ounces mixed fresh mushrooms, such as porcini, chanterelle, and oyster, sliced if large
• 1 medium onion, finely chopped
• Salt and freshly ground pepper
• 2 cups Arborio or Carnaroli rice
• 1 cup dry white wine
• 1 cup grated vegan Parmesan (recipe below)

Bring water, dried porcini mushrooms, and peppercorns to a boil in a medium pot. Reduce heat, and simmer gently for 1 hour. Strain stock (you should have 7 to 8 cups); discard solids. Return to pot; cover to keep warm.

Melt 3 tablespoons butter in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Cook mixed mushrooms until tender and slightly browned all over, about 3 minutes; transfer to a plate.

Melt 3 tablespoons butter in saucepan over medium heat. Cook onion until tender and translucent, about 5 minutes. Season with salt. Stir in rice, and cook until coated, 1 to 2 minutes. Add wine, and cook until almost completely absorbed, 3 to 4 minutes.

Ladle 1 cup reserved stock over rice, and cook, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, until almost completely absorbed. Continue adding stock, 1 cup at a time, stirring constantly and waiting for each addition to be almost completely absorbed before adding the next, until grains are al dente but not crunchy, about 30 minutes. (You’ll probably only use 6 to 7 cups stock. Add remaining stock to loosen the risotto, if desired.)
Remove from heat, and season with salt and pepper. Stir in remaining 2 tablespoons butter and the vegan Parmesan. Top risotto with sauteed mushrooms (reheat if necessary), and garnish with some more Parmesan.

Vegan Parmesan

• 1 cup soaked and dried Brazil nuts
• 1 teaspoon chopped garlic
• ⅓ teaspoon salt
• Pinch nutritional yeast
• Pinch oregano

Place all ingredients in a food processor with the “S” blade on. Process until well incorporated and the consistency of bread crumbs.

Sweet and Spicy Sorbet Sandwiches

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons ground ginger
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
• 10 tablespoons (1 1/4 sticks) unsalted vegan butter, room temperature
• 1/3 cup plus 5 teaspoons sugar, plus more for rolling and flattening
• 1 egg replacer
• 1/4 cup molasses
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped candied ginger
• 1 pint vegan strawberry sorbet
• 1 pint vegan lemon sorbet

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Whisk flour, ground ginger, salt, baking soda, cinnamon, and cloves in a bowl.

With an electric mixer on medium speed, beat butter and sugar until pale and fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes. Mix in egg replacer, then add molasses and candied ginger. Reduce speed. Gradually mix in flour mixture. Wrap dough in plastic, and refrigerate until slightly firm, 15 minutes.

Using a 1 1/2-inch ice cream scoop, drop balls of dough onto parchment-lined baking sheets. Roll each one in sugar, and return to sheets, spacing 2 inches apart. Using the bottom of a glass dipped in sugar, press dough to flatten into 3-inch rounds. Bake until edges are golden brown, 8 to 10 minutes. Let cool completely.

Sandwich one scoop of sorbet with 2 cookies. Repeat, alternating sorbet flavors. Serve immediately, or freeze in airtight containers up to 3 hours.

Technorati Tags: dessert, drink, entree, gluten free recipes, Healthy recipes, mother's day recipes, salad, vegan recipes

LISTEN: Conscious Parenting with Dr Shefali Tsabary

listen to Life with Direction with Sharon Quirt  as she chats with  Dr. Shefali Tsabary on Conscious Parenting. Shefali lectures extensively on Mindful Living and Conscious Parenting around the world and currently has a private psychotherapy practice in New York city. Her first book, “It’s a Mom: What you should know about the early years of motherhood” debuted on the Indian bestseller list for four weeks. “The Conscious Parent” is her second book.

Shefali Tsabary, Ph.D., received her doctorate in Clinical Psychology from Columbia University, New York. Dr. Shefali was exposed to Eastern philosophy at an early age and integrates its teachings with Western psychology. It is this blend of East and West that allows her to reach a global audience, and establishes her as one of a kind in the field of mindfulness psychology.

Dr. Shefali has worked with a varied demographic: survivors of the Tsunami, women from economically disadvantaged countries, inner city youth, suburban families, and corporate leaders. She lectures extensively on Mindful Living and Conscious Parenting around the world and currently has a private psychotherapy practice in New York city. Her first book, “It’s a Mom: What you should know about the early years of motherhood” debuted on the Indian bestseller list for four weeks. “The Conscious Parent” is her second book.

Listen to on demand episodes of Life with Direction, here http://vividlife.me/ultimate/category/arts-entertainment/vividlife-radio/sharon-quirt/

Technorati Tags: conscious parenting, Dr. Shefali Tsabary, inspiration, Life with Direction, Mindful Living, parenting, Parenting tips, self help, The Conscious Parent, vivid life

READ: Minerals for the Mind and Food For Thought by Sue Atkins

Rude and greedy behaviour among adults is contributing to the epidemic of gang and knife crime among children according to the Government’s school behaviour adviser Sir Alan Steer who is also a well respected Headteacher of Seven Kings High School in Essex.

In my work as a Parent Coach I help parents become far more aware of the influence they wield on their children. Whether it is through the words they use, or the actions they take, parents are a role model for their children throughout their lives from toddler to teen whether they are aware of it, like it, or even accept it.

I also work with teenagers helping them set positive goals for their future as I believe kids who know where they are going are far more likely to succeed in life. While it’s fine setting goals with them it’s discipline that is the key to bridging the gap between setting goals with kids and their accomplishing them, and lots of kids find self discipline difficult. So it’s all about starting in small ways with little changes.

I think it’s helpful to role model self discipline from eating a piece of fruit each day to walking the dogs for exercise every day – because it’s always in the simple, small things that leads to building great habits over time.

I think it’s useful to get teenagers to focus on their goals and to ask them if they want to suffer from the pain of discipline or the pain of regret. The difference will be a future made up of potential or of disappointment.

So I like to help kids set up their goals and plan their discipline when they are all fired up and raring to go focusing mainly on the small little things they are going to do today and tomorrow and for the rest of the immediate week. That’s where the discipline begins and where the success and feelings of motivation and self respect starts.

The wonderful thing that seems to stem from these small steps is that there is a knock on effect in other areas of their lives too as one positive thing seems to lead to another which builds greater self esteem all round very quickly.

I believe that teenagers don’t have to change loads of things as that just makes them feel overwhelmed. A few simple changes can transform a teenager’s life – getting them to move in the more positive, hopeful direction of success. So that in 3 months, 6 months, a year or 3 years they can look back and see just how far they’ve come and how the small changes made such a difference in their lives.

I help kids look at the people they hang around with because these people influence their lives either positively or negatively and they can be nudged off course just a little at a time until they finally say to themselves “Gosh, how did I end up here?”

Then they’ve got to do the difficult bit of reflecting and taking the time to be serious about whether these influences are having a positive or a negative influence on them. They’ve got to take 100% responsibility for the choices they then make in deciding whether to keep hanging around with them or to move away from them.

That’s why teenage kids need support and help from their parents, teachers and other adults of influence around them and why they need positive role models to nurture, guide and nudge them in the right direction and to support them through the change of direction.

It’s also about setting firm, fair and consistent boundaries for them so they feel the “tough love” of being guided, protected and nurtured surrounding them and about being a positive and uplifting role model for them to follow.

It’s from here that we can slowly change, influence and enhance society over time.

Sue Atkins is a Parenting Expert, Broadcaster, Speaker and Author of the Amazon best selling book “Raising Happy Children for Dummies” one in the famous black and yellow series and the highly acclaimed Parenting Made Easy CDs. She has also just launched her 1st Parenting Made Easy app for iPhones and iPads. She is currently writing a new book for Random House called “Parenting Made Easy” which will be available in April 2012. Sue offers practical guidance for bringing up happy, confident, well behaved children from toddler to teen. She regularly appears on BBC Breakfast and The Jeremy Vine Show on BBC Radio 2 and is the parenting expert for many BBC Radio Stations around the UK. She has a regular monthly parenting phone-in on BBC Radio Surrey & Sussex and her parenting articles are published all over the world.  http://sueatkinsparentingcoach.com/

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GUILT! The Big “G” Gremlin

I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve worked with Mums  about their overwhelming feelings of guilt – whether they are working Mums, stay at home Mums or part-time Mums.  Women seem to be programmed with it and it just holds us all back, keeps us stuck and is really anger turned in on ourselves as we find it difficult to ask for help, delegate parenting jobs or share our needs with others.  It’s also about wanting to be a perfect parent – who only exists in Hollywood film I’m afraid!…

10 Tips for Showing Your Love by Iyanla Vanzant

Some say love is an emotion. Others say it is a state of mind. For some it is an addiction. For others, love is a mechanism of control. Studies have shown that enough love will save your life. Or, the absence of it determines a life not worth living. Love, they say, is what we make it. What we make it is a function of what we know and believe about it. Many of us are convinced that we know exactly what love is. Others readily admit we have no clue! Operating from either place is probably not the best way to find what we know, need, desire or…

READ: GUILT! The Big “G” Gremlin

I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve worked with Mums  about their overwhelming feelings of guilt – whether they are working Mums, stay at home Mums or part-time Mums.  Women seem to be programmed with it and it just holds us all back, keeps us stuck and is really anger turned in on ourselves as we find it difficult to ask for help, delegate parenting jobs or share our needs with others.  It’s also about wanting to be a perfect parent – who only exists in Hollywood film I’m afraid!

I felt torn and pulled into many pieces and I felt guilty no matter how hard I tried to do what was “right” for everyone.

I work with many parents who suffer from what I call “The BIG G” the gremlin of GUILT and it can come from working parents feeling guilty about their work- life balance, to parents feeling guilty about losing their temper, not playing enough with their kids, to feeling guilty about not spending enough time with their partner, their elderly mother, or feeling guilty about being separated or divorced.

The list is endless.

Guilty feelings can come from within or be handed down to you from parents, teachers or people of influence when you were young or can come from lack of self esteem or from controlling partners or ex’s.

Guilty feelings can also be tied up to feelings of remorse, regret and feelings of responsibility for others, or for situations that you find yourself in.

Guilt is also a feeling of struggling with what you “should,” “ought” and must” do and it feels like a battle between what you “want to do” or “what you’d like to do” or “what you’d like to choose to do”.

Here are my suggested steps to overcome guilt.

• Acknowledge that you have it.

• Take control and don’t keep going over and over it again and again inside your head – let it go.

• Don’t allow it to turn into feelings of inadequacy.

Grab a piece of paper and a pen and just reflect on the role guilt is playing in your life at the moment by choosing a current problem.  Now just relax and imagine I have just waved a magic wand and made the feelings of guilt disappear. What do you see, hear and feel now?

Ask your unconscious what small change you need to make to feel more in control of your life.

• Ask yourself does this problem have more than one solution?

• Do I just need to express my frustration and ask for support, help or a helping hand?

• Whose problem is it, really?

• Is it my problem or actually someone else’s?

• Am I taking on another’s responsibility and not allowing them to experience being independent?

• Am I trying to keep another from experiencing pain, hardship or discomfort?

If you discover that the problem is really someone else’s, give the problem back to the person to solve and to deal with. It’s not your responsibility.

Now imagine that “guilt” as an object that you can take out of your body and can package up in a lovely box. Give it a colour, texture and feeling and now imagine climbing to the highest mountain you can find and throwing it off a cliff for good.

If you learn to see guilt as a way to help you towards making changes in your life – then it has a positive intention. Guilt is there to allow you to learn from your mistakes, to take control of your life and to help you keep up to the standards and values that you have set for yourself in life.

So master its message and move forward driving forward in your life – not looking back in the rear view mirror.

Technorati Tags: aging parents, conscious parenting, divorce, guilt, inspiration, parenting, Parenting tips, sue atkins, vivid life, work-life balance

READ: Online Bullying

The positive uses of social media technology are vast. People are able to get in touch with old friends, increase and advertise their small businesses and connect with others. Both professionally and personally, social media technology has offered endless outcomes for adults. However, students today are growing up around social media technology. It is not a phenomenon as it is for many adults, but a way of life. Despite age requirements and rules, many children join social media groups to connect with their friends to access information.   The once school yard brawl has now taken to the internet, where children and teens do not exchange blows but publically fight with one another over social media technology. Hurtful texts, instant messages and emails have been a problem for so many families. Bullying has taken on its own evolution to the internet; an evolution that parents should be aware of.

At one point in time, a school yard bully would harass children before and after school. The behaviour of the bully is inexcusable and the bullied child would run home, into the safety net of the house. The bullying would cease until the next day.  The bullied child had a break. Today, there is no temporary sanctuary. With the connection of text messaging, Facebook, and twitter, teens and children can easily access and alter each other’s information and continue the bullying while the child is at home. Mean texts, photo shopping pictures to put the child in an embarrassing photo, or harassing emails are just some of the ways that bullying is a twenty four hour a day action.

Bullying is instant. Before the internet, gossip took its time to spread around the school. One had a chance to fix the problem or quash the rumors. Now, a simple text to each student spreads rumors instantaneously. Bullied children are depressed, often turning to their parents for help. Parents who grew up in a pre-internet world may not understand that the bullying does not end in the school yard, but is constant and that online attacks are a permanent, searchable fixture.  Harsh words and horrible gossip can never be forgotten as it festers on the internet.

The internet and social media technology has produced so many positive results. However, schools should take the time to explain to students the severity of their words. Words, typed or said can be vicious. It is the unfortunate truth that suicide from online bullying is on the rise. If students are aware of the dangers of online bullying and respecting each other’s privacy, perhaps a few lives are saved. It is integral for parents to keep informed about social media technology. By keeping up to speed, parents will have a better understanding what sites their children are joining and how important it is to teach your children to respect each other. They do not have to like each other or agree with each other but respect the fact that information can be distorted and spread to strangers. By educating ourselves, we can help our children to use the internet positively to connect with each other.

Technorati Tags: bully, bullying, Grace Ste.Croix, Harassment, Hate, Online Bullying, Peer Presure, reflection, School, suicide, vividlife

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