The Best and Easiest Gluten-Free Cookie Recipe Ever

Posted on December 13, 2011 by viviankirkfield

Child obesity is a big problem in the United States.

With the holidays approaching, what can parents do to help their children maintain a healthy weight?

Provide healthful snacks: vegetable sticks (carrots, cucumbers, celery); fruit slices (apples, pears, orange sections), cheese cubes, whole-grain crackers.
Watch meal portions: for example, make a habit of measuring cereal before you pour it into the bowl (most cereals call for ½ to 1 cup as a serving size); use salad plates instead of dinner plates, especially for young children…you will be less likely to serve too much…this works for adults as well.
Keep eating out to a minimum and avoid fast-foods as much as possible: if you make food for your family yourself, you can pass on the additives and preservatives and high sodium content present in most restaurant offerings…and you will probably save money.
Make a batch of these nutritious cookies with your child: they are high in fiber, low in sugar, salt and fat…and no preservatives or artificial colors.

OVERNIGHT COOKIES

You will need: 2 egg whites, ¼ cup sugar, 1 cup ground almonds, 1 cup raisins, large bowl, electric mixer and a lightly greased cookie sheet.

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Beat the egg whites in a large bowl until stiff peaks form.

3. Add the sugar and mix in.

4. Add the raisins and the ground almonds and fold in gently but thoroughly.

5. Drop by tablespoonfuls onto the cookie sheet.

6. Bake for 5 minutes.

7. Turn off oven.

8. If you like softer cookies, you can remove them from the oven after about 30 minutes. If you like crispier cookies, you can leave them in for an hour…or overnight.

9. This recipe makes about 12 – 18 cookies, depending on the size you drop onto the cookie sheet.

What a fun recipe to prepare with your child during this holiday season! You could even make several batches and give some away as gifts. Cooking with children is a super learning activity…science (how do the runny egg whites change when you beat them), math (fractions, counting), better pre-literacy skills (reading the labels of the egg carton, bag of sugar, etc.). Best of all, cooking with kids is one of the best ways to strengthen the parent-child connection and build their self-esteem as they master tasks and skills.

Please visit the Show Me How website where you can find out more about the book that provides many more quick and easy cooking activities for kids along with simple arts and crafts activities and story summaries of the 100 picture books every young child should hear.

The book has received praise from many mom and dad bloggers as well as picture book authors and self-esteem experts. http://areelcoolsummer.blogspot.com/2011/08/five-gold-stars-for-show-me-how.html

The New Year is almost here…make a resolution to spend 15 minutes a day, reading or crafting or cooking with your young child…the positive impact it will have on your child cannot be measured.

Have You Abandoned Your New Year’s Resolutions: Healthy Habit Thursday

Posted on May 12, 2011 by viviankirkfield

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If you’re like me, you start the New Year off with good intentions.

All of us probably KNOW what we should be doing to stay healthy.

Every January 1^st, I make a list of New Year’s resolutions or goals.

Many of them focus on good health habits like walking every day, drinking 8 glasses of water, eating nutritious foods and getting 8 hours of sleep each night.

Then, life gets in the way!

We all lead busy lives and many of us have so many responsibilities that we often push our own needs to the back burner.

Can you believe that 2011 is almost half over?

I’m revisiting those resolutions and goals to see how realistic they were and whether or not I need to revise them.

Taking a time-management class would probably be a great thing for me to do. I know that 24 hours should be enough time to accomplish what I want to do…the problem is making sure that I am devoting the right amount of time to each task. Blogging always tends to take more time than I thought it would, but I love connecting with everyone. 🙂

I think what I need to do is write down a schedule of how I think each day should go…and then keep a log of what is actually happening…I’ll then see where I am spending time that might be better used in some other activity.

How do you plan your time? I’d really appreciate your input because right now, unless I give up sleep, there is no way I can fit everything in. 🙂

I do know that I must walk and exercise…if I let a few days go by without doing it, my muscles tighten up and my back hurts.

I do know that I need to stay hydrated by drinking enough water…if I don’t, I wind up eating more…my body seems to tell me it is hungry when really all it wants is a glass of water.

I do know that I have to get at least 7 hours of sleep every night…if I try to make do with less sleep; I have a lot less energy in the morning and am less productive throughout the day.

I do know that I need to watch what I eat…if I eat “fast food” or highly processed foods, my body complains.

So I am rededicating myself to my 2011 New Year’s resolutions and goals that focus on staying healthy. The warmer weather is here, the birds are singing, the flowers are blooming…it’s time for my walk!

Please stop by tomorrow for Follow-Me-Fridays: Where’s Miss Vivian? I have several exciting upcoming local events (Summer Soulstice in Monument, CO – June 18, and PBS kids Fun Fest in Acacia Park, Colorado Springs – June 11) to tell you about and also a new special book offer that will go up on my website this weekend.

The Calendar Doesn’t Lie

Posted on January 18, 2011 by viviankirkfield

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I glanced at the calendar this morning and almost went into shock. January 18, 2011. The month of January is already half over and it feels like I just put away the Christmas decorations. Well, actually, I did just put away the Christmas decorations. Please tell me yours are still up so I will feel better.

So we are halfway through the first month of the new year and I think it’s time to check and see how I am doing with my goals…or New Year’s Resolutions for those of you who like that title better. Here is my list…I’ve graded myself so I can see where I need to improve or what goals I might need to modify…I’m allowed to do that, right?

BLOG EVERY DAY…A. However, I’m not sure this is something I can continue throughout the rest of the year…at least not on a daily basis. It’s not that I don’t LOVE writing…because I do. The problem is TIME or the lack of it.
EXERCISE EVERY DAY…C+. I planned on doing my 25 minute low-impact Kathy Smith aerobic sequence 4 days a week and walking a mile the other 3 days. I’ve done the 4 days a week…but have found it difficult to get out and walk the other three days. Is it the weather? It has been pretty cold and I am not a cold-weather lover…however I just got my routine blood labs back (everything normal!!!), but my doctor wants me to take a vitamin D supplement because my D is on the low end of normal…if I could just get out in the sunshine several days a week, that would probably take care of it.
DRINK 8 GLASSES OF WATER EVERY DAY…C. I need to work harder on this! Does everyone have a problem with this?
GREET EVERY DAY WITH A SMILE…A. Eleanor Roosevelt, wife of President Franklin D. Roosevelt and stateswoman in her own right, said something that is so very true, “Today is a gift; that’s why they call it the present.” For me it is not too difficult because I am by nature a very positive person…but I know for some, this is not an easy task.
DO 5 THINGS EVERY DAY TO SPREAD THE WORD ABOUT MY NEW BOOK…B. It seems that no matter how much I accomplish, there is always something more I need to do. And not being too savvy about social networking often makes it take two and three times as long to post something or connect with someone. I truly welcome all feedback and insights into how I can do it better!

Giving a score of 90 for an A, 80 for a B, 75 for the C+ and 70 for the C, it looks like my report card average is an 80. Not GREAT, but not too bad. J Hopefully, with a little tweaking of the fluid intake and a little more effort on my part to get out and walk, I can improve my “grades”…but more importantly, I’ll be improving my overall health and that’s really my goal for 2011.

Do you review your goals at different times during the year to see if you are on track? And if you’re not, do you beat yourself up over it and give up for the year or do you find a way to re-motivate yourself?

Stop by tomorrow (especially if you are a parent or teacher of a preschooler) for a peek at the reading and crafting program I’m offering to local Pre-K and kindergarten classes. It’s based on the stories and crafts that appear in my new book…educational fun-filled ideas that build self-esteem, develop pre-literacy skills and create a life-long parent-child bond!