Hello!

Welcome to Autumn, it's that time of year where we're extremely busy, back to school, bringing in the harvest, and slowly preparing for winter. In parts of the country, they've already had snow or rain depending where you are. We here in British Columbia had a beautiful, hot dry summer. With summer comes the forest fires which the interior of BC have definately had their share of this year and I welcome the cooler weather for their sakes.

As mothers, we've been sending our children back to school, and trying to send them healthy lunches along. It's very important for our children to limit their sugar content, and at the same time keep it interesting. This month I too have had some challenges and I will do my best to pass on any information to help you with this challenging task.

I hope you and your families stay healthy. Happy reading!

Heidi Zator
Editor

Contents:

1. Food for thought
2. They say you are what you eat, but do you know what you're eating?
3. Financial Corner
4. Spiritual Corner
5. Physical Corner
6. Mom's Corner
7. Recipe of the month
8. Book Review of the month
9. Info & Credits

Never part without loving words to think of during your absence. It may be that you will not meet again in life
Jean Paul Richter

They say you are what you eat, but do you know what you're eating?
By Heidi Zator

Yes, it's true you are what you eat, more accurately you are what you absorb. In today's society we are suffering from many ills. Cancer, obesity, diabetes, heart disease, digestive problems and other autoimmune diseases.

Majority of these diseases come from our diets, and lifestyles. The food choices we make affect our bodies in many different ways. If we are eating foods that are devoid of nutrition, are filled with additives, sugar, refined flour, and processed ingredients it is going to throw our body chemistry out of homeostasis (balance).

So many of the foods we are eating are dead. They are highly processed, filled with sugar and devoid of life. When these foods enter our bodies, they drain our enzyme stores, as well as our mineral stores. When these enzymes and minerals are not present in the foods we eat, our bodies have to draw from our body's storehouse.

These foods, are also filled with many chemical additives that along with their sugar content, put enormous strain on our immune systems, in turn causing body chemistry breakdown.

In Nancy Appleton's book, Lick the Sugar Habit she states that, "It is estimated that the average individual ingests at least one gallon of synthetic chemicals and additives, coloring agents, pesticides and preservatives in a year's time." These cause added stress on the body, which it needs to deal with. Many people can not tolerate these foods. They suffer food-additive intolerance, it usually occurs in the respiratory tract and skin. Symtoms that commonly occur, include respiratory infections, skin irratations, headaches, hyperkinesis, bladder urgency, joint and muscle pain, and diarrhea, other irritable bowel problems.

If you want to improve your health and live a long productive life with as little disease as possible you must understand the following:

Both disease and good health come from the condition of your body's chemistry. Health usually will breakdown, if your body chemistry is unbalanced, a body whose minerals are also out of their proper balance.

Your body's chemistry may become out of balance quickly. It depends on your body's adaptive abilities, it may stay unbalanced or rebalance quickly.

The amount of any breakdown of health is determined by how much and how long the imbalance is

The only difference between a healthy person and one with a breakdown in health is that the healthy person efficiently rebalances their body chemistry.

Through conscious and unconscious lifestyle habits, you can control whether your body's chemistry stays in balance.

Health-Promoting Habits to Lessen Body Chemistry Imbalance

Chew each mouthful of food at least 20 times Do not wash foods down with liquid. Swallow food before taking a drink. Eat portions you can easily digest. If you are upset emotionally or disturbed, eat portions that are smaller, and chew food longer. Do not overcook your food. Eat as much raw food as you eat cooked. Eat smaller meals, more often than larger meals. Check each meal and snack from the viewpoints: Will any part of this meal upset my body's chemistry. Eating small portions from a variety of foods than eating large servings of one kind of food.

If you follow these simple steps. You will less likely suffer from body chemistry imbalance, and give yourself proper digestion, assimulation, and utilization of nutrients. You will also be helping your body's ability to fight all of the lifestyle insults.

References:
Lick The Sugar Habit By Nancy Appleton, PhD.

How To Do A Family Financial Assessment
By Jeff Williams

Not starting a business with enough cash, known technically as being "undercapitalized", is probably second only to not researching your business concept as a major cause of small business failure. This outcome is usually the result of inadequate advance planning during the pre-launch phase. First and foremost you must estimate what your family expenses are and how you will assure that your business income is sufficient to pay them. You should sit down with your family and honestly discuss the minimum amount of money the household must have each month to provide security. Ask each member of the family to offer one or two areas where some expense can be reduced.

In addition to knowing your living costs, you must also be brutally honest about your current debt situation. During the 1990's many families found themselves taking on increased debt in order to just get by. If your family is one of them, you should be realistic about your ability to take on more financial responsibility. New businesses almost always require more money to keep them running than the new owners estimate before starting. Remember: every dollar you must pay each month for credit card payments is a dollar not available to invest in marketing your new company.

To help you calculate your current family financial situation you should create a worksheet, which I call: My Current Financial Situation. Listed below are the categories to include. Some research among your household financial records may be required.

Break your household expenses down into two groups:

• Fixed expenses. These are recurring expenses that don't change in dollar amount from month to month, such as your mortgage payment or auto loan payment. You may also be investing a fixed amount each month into a college savings plan.



• Variable expenses. All the rest of your monthly household expenses, which change some in dollar amount from month to month, such as entertainment, phone expenses, and groceries.

You may need to do some research.

To reveal these expenses may require going through your records. We suggest that you review your cancelled checks for the past three months. Make a worksheet with the primary expense descriptions. List the dollar amount from each check under one of the headings. Similarly, examine your past three months of statements from each credit card account you use to pay household expenses.

> Family Balance Sheet

This part of the Current Financial Situation worksheet shows two additional aspects of your family financial situation:

• What you owe (debts or liabilities) E.g. Your mortgage loan balance.



• What you own (assets) E.g. Your house, autos, furniture, etc.

Be honest. If you kid yourself about your monthly debt payments before you launch your business, the cold, hard reality will only add to your psychological stress later.

> The Business Burden

When you look at your monthly family income, you should consider what will happen financially if you quit your job to pursue your business full-time.

Your expenses will not decrease much, but your income sure will. The difference between the family expenses and the family income other than yours can be called the "business burden." What this means is that unless you want your family's lifestyle to change dramatically, you must produce enough revenue from the business to cover the shortfall between expenses and the other household income.

Every month that you do not produce enough sales to cover this amount, you must borrow to keep the family going. This is why I call this the "business burden".

About the author:
Jeff Williams worked for big business for years, until he decided to take his career in his own hands. Since 1988, he has guided more than 3,000 people to successfully go from employee to boss. He is pleased to offer his free, monthly telegroup: "Are You Ready To Leave Your Job?". Register at: http://www.bizstarters.com/ready2leave.cfm Jeff may be reached at 847-593-5305 or by e-mail at: jeff@bizstarters.com

Everything I need to know about life, I learned from Noah's Ark...

One: Don't miss the boat.

Two: Remember that we are all in the same boat.

Three: Plan ahead. It wasn't raining when Noah built the Ark.

Four: Stay fit. When you're 600 years old, someone may ask you to do something really big.

Five: Don't listen to critics; just get on with the job that needs to be done.

Six: Build your future on high ground.

Seven: For safety sake, travel in pairs.

Eight: Speed isn't always an advantage. The snails were on board with the cheetahs.

Nine: When you're stressed, float a while.

Ten: Remember, the Ark was built by amateurs; the Titanic by professionals.

Eleven: No matter the storm, when you are with God, there's always a rainbow waiting..

NOW, wasn't that nice?

Pilates: How to choose the right instructor

(ARA) - The Pilates Method, developed in the 1920s by Joseph H. Pilates, is an exercise system focused on improving flexibility and strength for the total body. The Method consists of a series of controlled movements engaging the body and mind, performed on specifically designed exercise apparatus and supervised by extensively trained teachers.

Over the past few years, the Pilates Method, once used mainly by dancers, has been discovered by legions of devoted fans, from celebrities to soccer moms. With this growing popularity comes the issue of locating a reputable instructor. So many fitness centers and trainers have hopped on the Pilates bandwagon, it is more important than ever to make sure that the instructor you choose is comprehensively trained to teach the Pilates Method.

“Comprehensively, competently trained and knowledgeable instructors are the essential elements to realizing one’s potential and enjoying the process of learning Pilates,” says Kevin Bowen, president of the Pilates Method Alliance, a nonprofit alliance dedicated to advocating high educational standards for instructors.

Practiced faithfully, Pilates yields numerous benefits including increased lung capacity and circulation through deep, healthy breathing; strength and flexibility, especially of the abdomen and back muscles; and coordination, both muscular and mental. Posture, balance and strength are all enhanced. “Pilates teaches balance and control of the body, and that capacity spills over into other areas of life,” says Bowen. “It is really the only mind/body practice native to the United States,” he adds.

While Joseph Pilates began developing his ideas in a WWI internment camp in England, it wasn’t until after he and his wife Clara moved to New York following the war, that he opened the first Pilates studio. Pilates devoted his adult life to fine-tuning and proselytizing his method. With his emphasis on extensive training, Joseph Pilates would probably not be impressed by the influx of “quickie certifications” available for would-be instructors wanting to be trained in a weekend or two. He worked at length with his own instructors, allowing them to assist and then finally teach after sometimes as long as two or three years of training.

“While excellent training programs exist in the marketplace today, some are clearly condensed and homogenized, producing less than adequately qualified instructors,” says Bowen. He offers the following guidelines for choosing a qualified Pilates instructor:

• How long have the instructors been teaching Pilates?


• Are the instructors trained through a comprehensive training program?


• Did that training program require a written and practical test, lecture, observation, practice and apprentice hours?


• How many total hours were spent in the training program?


• Does the instructor have any other movement related teaching experience?


• What is the instructor’s or studio’s philosophy and specialty? Are they able to handle special needs, injuries and rehabilitation?


• Does the instructor or studio teach the full repertoire of Pilates on all pieces of apparatus?

The Pilates Method Alliance’s Web site has a list of members, all of whom have completed rigorous training programs; you will also find information on the history of Pilates, and much more. Visit the Web site at www.pilatesmethodalliance.org You can also reach the Alliance toll-free at (866) 573-4945.

Courtesy of ARA Content

Five Tips for Raising Charitable Children

Teach Kids to Care about Their Local and Global Neighbors

(ARA) - Every day, American children are inundated with messages about must-have toys, computer games, designer-label apparel, and more. In a ‘me-centered” culture, it can be quite a challenge to educate children about the needs of the less fortunate in our neighborhoods and around the world.

Making charitable giving a priority can bring children a new awareness of the world and their place in it, and can instill a sense of gratitude and appreciation for what they have. World Vision, a humanitarian organization serving the world’s poorest children and families in 100 countries, including the United States, offers these five recommendations for raising charitable children:

1. Expect your children to give. Set the giving standard and see if they don’t rise up to meet it. Children of all ages typically respond well to reasonable yet challenging expectations.
2. Show them what and where you give. Some people will find this difficult because we were taught from a young age to be very private about our giving. However, mentoring means modeling. Show your children what you give and where. Talk about why you give and how you chose the organizations. By introducing children to good charities and by sharing examples of giving, you will encourage trust and a sense of team spirit.
3. Match their giving. When you match your children’s giving, you begin to understand what touches their hearts and they discover that you value these things. But training children to give away your money effectively is not the same as encouraging them to be givers themselves; however, they will ultimately make personal giving decisions for themselves.
4. Take them with you on visits to charities. You may be surprised how much children learn just from being with you in any visits you make to charities. Being exposed to the work can open up a variety of ideas and conversations, and give children experiences to think about for weeks to come. In time, they will want to go on their own, and they will know what to watch and ask for.
5. Celebrate their giving. Find ways to catch children in the act of giving. Let them know you notice and approve of their giving. Keep a light attitude and an accepting countenance. Remind them that cheerful giving is one of life’s great pleasures.

It’s important to talk with children about making giving a habit rather than an isolated holiday activity. By making it an ongoing habit, even if only in small ways, you are moving from a model of ’giving in order to receive‘ to a compassionate way of life that they will carry with them,” says Dan Rice, national director of gift planning for World Vision.

For more information on family philanthropy and options for giving through World Vision, please visit www.worldvisiongifts.org or www.worldvision.org/giftplanning.

Courtesy of ARA Content

EDTIOR’S NOTE:
Founded in 1950, World Vision is a Christian humanitarian organization, serving the world’s poorest children and families in nearly 100 countries. World Vision maintains health, education, agriculture, water, sanitation, and small business projects. The organization helps millions of people in their communities, and transforms the lives of children and families in need without regard to their religious beliefs, gender, race, or ethnic background. For more information, visit http://www.worldvision.org

Pass that Cole Slaw
By Arleen M. Kaptur

Cole Slaw is always a welcome salad addition to any summertime meal. Whether you prefer creamy, sweet/sour, or a special family favorite, serve cole slaw. with burgers, hot dogs, sandwiches, grilled or fried chicken, grilled fish, thick, juicy steaks, or even meatloaf. Coleslaw adds crunch, flavor, and color to any entree. It is versatile, and lends itself to almost any menu plan. So serve coleslaw and give your meal that extra special taste treat.

COLESLAW -MAYONNAISE

1 head
green cabbage (about 2 lbs.), shredded
1 red onion, finely
chopped 1/4 green bell pepper, chopped
1 carrot, shredded 1/2 cup chopped parsley
3/4 cup mayonnaise
3/4 cup sugar
1 tsp. celery seed
1 tsp. mustard seed
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. black pepper
Sprinkling of paprika
Combine the vegetables (cabbage, onion, bell pepper, carrot, 1/2 of the parsley). In a bowl, combine the dressing ingredients, except the paprika. Pour the dressing over the vegetables. Refrigerate 3 hrs. before serving. When ready to serve, sprinkle lightly with paprika and add the remaining chopped parsley for garnish.
*****

SWEET/SOUR COLESLAW

1 head green cabbage, shredded
4 ribs celery, finely chopped
1 white onion, finely chopped
1 green/or red bell pepper or a combination, finely chopped
1/2 cup fresh parsley, chopped
2 cups sugar
1/2 cup
cider vinegar
2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. celery seed
1 tsp. mustard seed
1/2 tsp. fresh tarragon, chopped (Optional)

Combine the vegetables in a bowl (cabbage, celery, onion, bell pepper, 1/2 of the chopped parsley). In another bowl, combine the sugar, vinegar, salt, celery seed, mustard seed, and tarragon, if using. Stir well to dissolve the sugar completely. Pour the dressing over the combined vegetables, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 5 hours, or preferably overnight. When serving, sprinkle the remaining parsley on top. *****

PICNIC SLAW

1 head green cabbage, shredded
1/4 cup chopped white onion
1/4 cup finely chopped red/green bell pepper
1/4 cup shredded carrot
1/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup spicy ketchup
1/3 cup white vinegar
1/4 cup chopped parsley

Combine sugar, ketchup, and vinegar in a pan. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly until sugar is completely dissolved. Pour this dressing over the shredded cabbage. Combine gently but thoroughly. Cover with plastic wrap and chill in refrigerator for 3-4 hours. When serving, sprinkle with parsley for garnish. *****

©Arleen M. Kaptur 2002 March
(Taken from Fresh and Flavorful Salads by Arleen M. Kaptur)

About the author:
Arleen Kaptur has written numerous articles, cookbooks, and the novel: SEARCHING FOR AUSTIN JAMES

Websites:
http://www.arleenssite.com
http://www.Arleens-RusticLiving.com
http://topica.com/lists/simpleliving
http://www.webspawner.com/users/rusticliving

Review of: "Lick the Sugar Habit" By Nancy Appleton PHd
By Heidi Zator

"Are you a sugarholic? Test yourself for food allergies caused by sugar. Why not end sugar-related calcium loss, heartburn and indigestion without drugs." These are just some of the aspects covered inthis very informative book written by Nancy Appleton. She has shown in this book how sugar upsets the body chemistry and devastates the endocrine and immune systems. She also shows us that sugar is the leading cause, with other contributing factors of a host of diseases and conditions, including hypoglycemia, diabetes, osteoporosis, arthritis, cancer, heart disease, headaches, allergies, asthma, obesity, periodontal disease, tooth decay, and more.

This is a very informative book, which is a must read for anyone wanting to live a long and healthy disease-free life.

Click on the cover to Buy it now at amazon.com!

The Mom's Family Health Ezine is published by Heidi Zator, Editor & Contributing Author. Every 3rd week of the month.

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