We had the good fortune of obtaining 2 pairs of Polliwalks.  The first, the Bubblegum “Ladybug” Clog that looks at you with real eyes. 

My daughter just loves these.  These are available right now  online and in Nordstrom and Dillards Stores.

The other pair are FishLips in Sky Blue and Fushia.   

They have an attachable back strap but they are great for swim class without the strap. These are my daughters favorites – she loves that her toes are peeking thru the mouth of the cute guppy face.  The neat thing too is that the lips change color.  These are not even available in stores yet.  We feel so privileged to have been some of the first feeties in the US to try them on.  Wow!!!

I love Polliwalks and I think you will, too.  To win a pair of Polliwalks, please go to there website, take a look around and come back and place a comment on my Blog.  Tell me the most adventerous thing you’d let your child do in these cute Polliwalks.  One lucky winner will be chosen to win a free pair.  Good luck!

Having just joined the Family Review Network, I was so excited to receive as my first product Toobeez.  These are fantastic, life sized, fun, spherical, creative building toys.  They come with long and shorter tubes that lock together using a locking system.  The colors are bright and the possibilities are endless. 

My 3 girls, ages 4 and a half years, 3 years and 18 months have had a ball creating with these Toobeez.  The 55 piece set comes with all the pieces necessary to create whatever your imagination can conjure up.  We made a puppet theatre, complete with a curtain to hide behind and had a magical time creating together.  Not only does this help to develop gross and fine motor skills, it also helps to develop imagination.

I live in Los Angeles where the houses are small but expensive and there is always the temptation to sit your kids in front of the “tube” all day.  Instead I can put a “toob” in their hands and let them create.  Thanks Toobeez!

Win it: I have a 15 piece Toobeez set to give away.  Click Here.

http://health.msn.com/nutrition/articlepage.aspx?cp-documentid=100219935&GT1=31036

This article speaks for itself.  I personally only drink WATER now.  One of the drinks listed here has more calories than most of us should consume in a day!!!

Until next time, Be Mindful,

Mamachow

Looking for something new for the holidays to WOW your family and friends?  This stuffing is seriously “Foodie” and seriously GREAT!!!  And while “StoveTop” might beckon, get, literally, out of the box (haha) and try something new.

Savory Spinach and Artichoke Stuffing with Brie

Serves 10-12

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 1/2 pounds spinach, washed (3 cups cooked and roughly chopped)
• 2 cups chopped yellow onions
• 1 tablespoon roughly chopped garlic
• 1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons Emeril’s Italian Essence, or other Italian seasoning blend
• 2 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1 1/4 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
• 3 (8 1/2-ounce) cans quartered artichoke hearts, any tough outer leaves removed
• 2 large eggs
• 1 1/2 cups heavy cream
• 2 cups chicken stock
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 12 to 14 cups cubed (1-inch) day-old Whole Wheat bread (1 loaf)
• 1 pound Brie, rind removed and cut into 1/2-inch cubes
• 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan
• 1/4 cup minced fresh parsley leaves

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9 by 13-inch baking dish with 1 tablespoon olive oil.

Bring a medium pot of water to a boil. Add the spinach and cook until just wilted, about 30 seconds. Drain and rinse with cold water. Once cool, squeeze as much water from spinach as possible, then roughly chop, and reserve.

Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onions and cook until golden brown and tender, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic, 2 teaspoons of Italian Essence, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper, and cook, stirring, until the garlic is fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the artichokes and cook, stirring, another 2 minutes. Remove from the heat and reserve.

Combine the eggs, cream, chicken stock, lemon juice, remaining 1 tablespoon Italian Essence, remaining 2 teaspoons salt, and remaining 1 teaspoon pepper in a large bowl. Whisk to combine. Add the bread, spinach, artichoke mixture, brie, 1/4 cup Parmesan, and parsley and stir to combine. If bread does not absorb all of liquid immediately then let rest until this happens, about 20 minutes.

Pour the bread pudding mixture into the prepared dish. Sprinkle remaining 1/4 cup Parmesan over the top and drizzle with remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil. Bake until firm in the center and golden brown, about 1 hour. Serve warm.

We found ourselves at AZUL on Palm Canyon Drive (the main drag) and had an incredible drink/tapas experience.  We got two food items, both were quite healthy and tasty.  The first, The Pan Asian Tuna Roll with Wasabi Sauce and Chili Oil was sooo good and healthy (although, we should all watch our portions of tuna and not overdo it.)  The other, Herb Goat Cheese, Portabella Mushroom and Tomato Tower in Pomegranate and Black Truffle Vinaigrette – this was seriously one of the best things I’ve EVER tasted.  And it was very healthy, especially for a late night snack.  We also got two fabulous cocktails and it was a great night out.

Needing to wake up in the morning for our long drive back to LA, we found ourselves at Koffi.  This place had some serious coffee drinks.  It’s hip and clean and felt very Palm Springs.  They have a very open lawn area in the back frequented by the colorful and well groomed locals.  Lots of dogs and hip/trendy folks.  Lors of FUN!!!

Check these two fabu venues out the next time you are there.  We hope to go back again soon.  Palm Springs is old world enjoyment with Hip and New Trends.

Until next time, Be Mindful,

MamaChow

In the interest of time, I am posting my husbands blog address for you to read his review of “Gabys”.  I am actually craming for my midterm in Nutriton 1, which might sound easy, but it is pretty darn hard.

So, go to http://caferolz.blogspot.com/2008/10/authentic-mediterranean-cuisine-in.html and read about our experience there.

Wish me luck on my midterm and be mindful…Mamachow

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/24/world/europe/24diet.html?_r=1&ref=health&oref=slogin

You see, a few years ago, in 2001, right before 9/11, I lived on the island of Cyprus, a beautiful Greek Speaking sovereign nation in the Mediterranean. I was lucky enough to be singing in a show there with a few other Americans.  We enjoyed the gorgeous beaches, the rich culture and the AMAZING food.  So fresh, so healthy.  I actually LOST weight while living there because we ate so well.

I remember dining outside while eating mezethes, traditional Greek appetizers, and drinking red wine until I didn’t know where I was anymore, nor did I care.  The weather would be in the 80′s at night with a stunning ocean breeze – it was just tremendous.

Now, I read in this article that people all over the Med are starting to have the same health problems that we are seeing in record numbers here in the states.  Instead of people there keeping to their diet of lean protein, nuts, olive oils and bountiful fruits and veggies, they have adopted our “Western” ways – Pizza, Fried Foods, Red Meat to excess…

Just recently, my instructor told us that the Mediterranean Diet has had a ton of research done on it and it is believed to be one of the most balanced diets of any people on earth. We can take so much from that and change ourselves here in the states.  We, especially living here in California, have such a huge plethora of fresh produce at our fingertips.  There is no reason to chose eating what we just KNOW is bad for us.  We have choice.

Give me a holler and let me know one thing that you can adopt from the Mediterranean Diet this week. 

Here are some examples:

Whole Wheat Pitas with Grilled Chicken and Veggies, Fresh Veggies Basted in Lemon and Olive Oil and roasted, Greek Salad with Grilled Salmon and Roasted Veggies with Feta Cheese, Grape Leaves with Rice (Dolmas)

Let’s pool our ideas and really start to change ourselves, one TBSP of Olive Oil instead of butter at a time.

Blessings and be mindful, MamaChow

You don’t know me yet, so I thought I’d give you the rundown of why I’m spending what little and precious time I have pouring my heart out on the net. 

10 years ago, if you asked me who I was,  I would have just said that I am a singer and an actress. I grew up in a “Hollywood” family, went to Hollywood High School where I won Best Actress, I trained in New York City, traveled all over the world singing for a living.  I lived the actors life of staying out late and waking up at noon.  I partied and didn’t really care all that much about my health or how healthy my relationships were.

At 27, I had a roomate who took me to church with her and I accepted Christ as my Savior.  After that lifechanging experience, I got injured in a show at 27 and was basically told I could never dance again.  Not that dancing was my forte, however, it’s hard to make a living in Musical Theater if you can’t even fake it anymore..

During the run of that show, before my injury, I started dating my now husband and after I was sent home to “recover” from my exploded disc injury, my husband and I fell very deeply in love and got married a year later.  Very soon after our wedding, 26 days to be exact, I got pregnant with our first daughter.

While I was pregnant, I found out that I had gestational diabetes. I had to be put on insulin and go on a very restricted diet.  I had to work extremely closely with a dietitian.  While I was MISERABLE at the time, I now see why this had to happen…

I was actually being given a gift from God.  He wanted me to see that I not only was I genetically predestined to be a diabetic, if I didn’t start eating within healthy limits, but also, that I had a real passion for healthy food and healthy living!!!  And, he wanted me to share this gift with others!!!

So, 3 pregnancies later and having been gestationally diabetic each time, I can say now that I am not a diabetic and don’t ever plan to be one.  I have finally connected how vital food and health are and I am no longer unmindful while eating.  I eat with purpose – to feed my body the nutrients and energy that it needs.

The other change is that I am no longer just thinking of myself as an actress and a singer.  Not that those aren’t good things – they are.  But there is a reality to the fact that I am now a Mom and I want to be home to raise my kids.  It is an unfortunate truth that to be a professional Musical Theatre actress, you really have to travel.

So the true blessing that came from my injury was that I realized that I can do something else with my life and feel fulfilled and enjoy the outcome for others.  So, now I am going back to school to be a Registered Dietitian so that I can help people, especially moms, feed themselves and their families well.  Because honestly, so much of our health is dependent upon what we put in our bodies. 

One thing that is lacking in our culture is proper information about food – how to get it,  what kind to purchase, how much of it to eat…especially because NO ONE makes any money off of us eating better.  These big companies with their processed foods certainly don’t want grassroots, organic, whole food companies stealing their thunder.

So, I guess my basic mission here is to relay info that I learn in school or thru my different reading with you.  I am hoping to put my little dent in this EPIDEMIC of obesity that we have in this country. And, if you are a mom reading this, you have a HUGE responsibility to change the projected outcome for not only yourself as a woman but also for your children: who are only eating whatever you give them.

So now, I would describe myself first as a child of God, a wife to my awesome husband, a Mom to my three beautiful daughters, a singer and actress and now, a student - who hopes to one day be a Registered Dietitian.  Wish there wasn’t all that darn math but, oh well…

Please read my blog as I share interesting info about Nutrition, Health, Wellness and how to keep these things a priority in your life.  God Bless and be mindful, Mamachow