Curtains, Pancakes and Broom Hockey – 12 Ways to Build Self Esteem in Kids

Few things are as rewarding as seeing your child glow from the inside out. And it happens when children have a high self esteem: when they know themselves to be unconditionally accepted, when they feel both loved and lovable, and when they feel a sense of belonging and self worth.

Here are twelve simple activities that have really made a difference in our family. These are the rituals that I find especially important to staying connected and to communicating my love and appreciation for each child.

1. Rely on rituals to help you reconnect. We have such a ritual following every school day. The kids think of it as “after school snack time” but I know it to be much more than that. It is a time when they tell me whatever they like about their day. Try to create this special time as soon as possible after their day away at school. I find that if I wait until later in the evening to ask them the same open ended questions, I hear mostly “I do not remember” and “Everything was fine.” For us, immediacy is important, and so is the ability to sit and listen without offering too much unsolicited advice. Family dinners are another wonderful time to reconnect. Continue reading “Curtains, Pancakes and Broom Hockey – 12 Ways to Build Self Esteem in Kids”

The One Recipe You Should Never Make With Your KitchenAid Mixer

A few weeks ago I was researching the KitchenAid stand mixer and I came across a blog post by someone that I thought was not the best advice. The blog post was all about making pancakes with your mixer (or any stand mixer really). Now the recipe was probably pretty good but the process is what was flawed in my opinion.

For me pancakes are all about being soft and light and fluffy. They should not be dense or chewy or gummy in any way. If I wanted that, I could make a trip to one of those all night breakfast joints and get a stack of hockey puck flap jacks.

No, for me pancakes need to be handled with care and attention. The reason is gluten. Now for a bit of food science. Gluten is a protein, actually it is a composition of 2 proteins named gliadin and glutenin. When water is added to wheat flour and then mechanically mixed, gluten forms. And it is this wonderful gluten that gives bread dough and pasta their chewy and elastic characteristics. But since the gluten content is increased by mechanical mixing or kneading, it is not something we ever want to do if we desire to have light and fluffy pancakes. Continue reading “The One Recipe You Should Never Make With Your KitchenAid Mixer”

Awesome Omelette and Pancake Recipes

Ingredients

4 eggs

A few shots of hot sauce

Half a green pepper (sliced into bits)

One onion (chopped)

Oil

Two tablespoons Butter

Continue reading “Awesome Omelette and Pancake Recipes”

The Unhealthy Convenience of Frozen Waffles and Pancakes

Okay, I’ll admit it, last week I found myself over in the frozen food section of my local grocery store looking at pancakes and grabbing a box of waffles. I even made the mistake of purchasing the box because in all reality it’s a convenience food and the kids love them. Yet, I’m no stranger to the fact that’s they’re extremely unhealthy.

We’ve all been tempted and for many of us it’s an ongoing battle. It’s easier to throw breakfast in the toaster rather than cook something from scratch. Our lives have gotten so busy that we simply don’t have time to slow down and really enjoy life.

Unfortunately, many of the foods we eat like the common waffle and pancake are loaded with chemicals and sugars. There isn’t any real nutritional value to them unless you add some fresh fruit and even then, they’re still not healthy.

Some of the ingredients you’ll find in these convenient breakfast foods are flour, partially hydrogenated soybean oil, sugar, salt, yellow # 5, yellow # 6 and reduced iron. All of these ingredients are extremely unhealthy and even dangerous.

Yellow # 5 and 6 are both dyes. So, why would a manufacturer add such an ingredient to our food source? Simple. It’s to give it an appealing color. It has no nutritional value whatsoever. Both dyes have been known to cause allergic reaction in some people including vomiting, diarrhea and swelling. It has also been linked to hyperactivity in children. Continue reading “The Unhealthy Convenience of Frozen Waffles and Pancakes”

Pancake Perfection – Tips and Tricks For Fabulous Flapjacks

Like pancakes? You’re going to love them once you read these tips and tricks that will transform you into an expert pancake chef! Learn all about ingredients, mixing, cooking, flipping, presentation, storing, reheating, and more!

Flour

Fresh flour makes a difference in pancake flavor and texture, because the simpler the recipe, the more vital high-quality ingredients are. So buy flour from a health food store, local mill, or natural foods section of the grocery store.

Try using cake flour for super light, fluffy pancakes.

Griddle

Test if the griddle is hot enough by sprinkling a few drops of water on it. If the drops dance and sizzle, it’s ready. Continue reading “Pancake Perfection – Tips and Tricks For Fabulous Flapjacks”

How To Make Flaxseed Pancakes – And Other Delicious Ways to Enjoy Flax Seed

Incorporating flaxseed into your daily diet is one of the healthiest choices you can make for your body. And in a moment, you’ll learn an easy to implement recipe for creating delicious flaxseed pancakes.

If you are reading this, you likely know the cornucopia of benefits that daily use of golden flaxseed has to the human body: Some include protection against certain cancers, heart disease, high cholesterol, diabetes, arthritis pain, symptoms of menopause, inflammatory bowel syndrome, macular degeneration, psoriasis symptoms, asthma, weight gain, disease and illness in your body…as well as a definite aid to proper digestion.

There are many ways to take your daily dose of flaxseed. Some of the easiest ways are to add 2-3 tablespoons to a small container of yogurt, or to your morning cereal, to a glass of juice, or to a bowl of ice cream. Basically, you can add your flax to any food item you wish. However, for that special healthy breakfast treat, why not try our recipe for delicious Flaxseed Pancakes? Follow the recipe below and Enjoy!! Continue reading “How To Make Flaxseed Pancakes – And Other Delicious Ways to Enjoy Flax Seed”

Interesting Facts About Pancakes

Pancakes are one of most popular breakfast items in the United States and in some other countries around the world. We especially enjoy having pancakes with maple syrup, and coffee. Sometimes we tend to eat them as snacks. Why do we love eating them so much, what is so special about pancakes? Some people often take pancakes for granted, and don’t really know their background. What is the history behind pancakes and why are they so popular?

Here are some interesting pancake facts you may not be aware of: Continue reading “Interesting Facts About Pancakes”

Using a Pancake Griddle to Make Perfect Pancakes

Probably the most important secret that you will need to learn when you want to make great pancakes is how to get the right temperature on your pancake griddle and how to maintain that temperature.

It’s important of course to start with a good pancake recipe or mix. Search the Web and you will find many excellent pancake recipes and making pancake batter from scratch will give you wonderful results. And while some may look down their nose at ready to make pancake mixes, it is usually the cooking that spoils the pancakes and not the mix.

When the kids are begging for pancakes on a weekend morning, and time is of the essence, a good premade mix and a little water will have pancakes on the table in record time. Poor preparation rather than the poor quality of pancake mix is usually the reason box mixes are looked down upon. Continue reading “Using a Pancake Griddle to Make Perfect Pancakes”

Foods For Hemorrhoid Patients

Hemorrhoids are dilated veins within the lower section of the gastrointestinal tract which is basically found in the rectum and anus. It causes pain if it protrudes especially during bowel movement. Whenever the protrusion is irritated, the skin around it becomes inflamed, swollen and painful. In some cases, these hemorrhoids bleed from simple drops to large amounts. Bleeding is manifested by the presence of bright red blood during defecation.

Hemorrhoids are somehow similar to varicose veins. When bulging hemorrhoidal veins are irritated, the surrounding membranes swell, burn, itch and becomes very painful and may bleed later on. Hemorrhoids are caused by too much pressure in the rectum and anus. The usual causative factor of hemmorhoids is too much pressure in the rectal and anal region. Blood is then forced towards the affected site which may then lead to stretching and bulging of anal veins and sometimes causes them to rupture. Continue reading “Foods For Hemorrhoid Patients”

The Delicacies of Kerala

The best part of travelling across Kerala is that one never has to eat the same typical food everywhere. You can tantalise your taste buds in every region in Kerala as every district has its own mouth-watering sumptuous delicacies which must not be missed at any cost. Almost all of the dishes are made up of rice followed by coconut and tapioca while the spices add exquisite flavours to the food which is finger-licking good. Food is cooked only in coconut oil and mostly served on banana leaves. People can here eat par-boiled rice which is called Choru in the native language, which is believed to be very nutritious.

Breakfast forms the most important part of Kerala cuisine which has savoury and yet appetizing dishes. The healthy breakfast usually consists of the following dishes:

The world famous –Idlis, Dosas and Medu wada served with traditional Sambar and coconut chutney,

Puttu (a steamed dish containing rice flour and grated coconut), Continue reading “The Delicacies of Kerala”