This was a great weekend for my family. My husband decided to do a 72 hour cleanse which required us to bunker up at home and make no plans. For a family who’s always on the go between school, work, family, friends and extracurricular activities … This mandatory pause was really welcomed. For one, I was able to sort through my kids’ clothes, toss what wasn’t necessary, and organize a bit. A to-do that has been on my list for about 6 months!  Secondly, we got to watch 2 movies which we’ve been wanting to see… “Fed Up” and “Hungry For Change” both excellent films. What’s great about watching documentaries such as those is that they bring you back to the “why” in eating healthy. Even if you’ve been eating clean for a long time, it’s easy to start slipping little by little. Birthday parties, weddings, dinners, holidays…all these activities and our societal culture make it difficult to stay focused on eating clean. I have found myself cheating more often than I should lately. It always starts subtly. A cookie here, a pizza there. Nothing crazy. But as time goes on and life takes over, the cheats increase. And before you know it, you need to stop, reflect and regroup. This was the third benefit of staying home all weekend. We had no external influences, healthy options available in our kitchen, and the time to prepare our meals without the rush of getting out of the house.  Even on Mother’s Day when my family did come over with Cuban treats from the bakery,  since we had regrouped and refocused, it was easy to turn away the treats. It was not a sacrifice to say no to unhealthy food…it was simply that we were back in the mindset of being clean. And that is a great place to be. 

As we wrapped the weekend up, my husband made a fantastic veggie tray for dinner last night …. One that is too good not to share.

Roasted Veggie Explosion

Preheat oven to 425

Ingredients 

• 5 medium beets peeled and  thinly sliced into rounds (like potato chips)
• 1 head broccoli chop off flowerets
• 1 head cauliflower chop and use only flowerets
• 2 thinly sliced red onion
• 2 leaks sliced
• 4 or 5 cloves of roasted garlic (we try to roast garlic in large quantities to always have in our fridge)
• 1 long yellow squash thinly sliced in rounds
• 1 long zucchini thinly sliced in rounds
• Celtic sea salt
• paprika
• curry powder

Directions 

Toss beets in olive oil in a bowl. Place on parchment paper on cookie sheet. Sprinkle with sea salt, paprika NOTE: despite red color paprika is NOT spicy! and curry powder (just use as much or as little as you want of the spices and salt). The beets go into the oven on a seperate tray since The beets take about Ten minutes more than the other veggies to cook.

In a seperate bowl toss in all other veggies and toss in olive oil. spread out and place veggies  on parchment lined cookie sheet. Season with salt, paprika, and curry powder. 

Once the beets have been in for ten minutes, leave them in and put in the veggie tray on another rack in the over for 10-12 min. (Stir them halfway through and also at this point check on texture of the beets by tasting them. If they are tender take them out…if still crunchy leave in for remainder of the time)

Take both trays out, combine the beets and other veggies, toss together and enjoy. 

What is the absolute worst part of starting to exercise when you haven’t been doing it? STARTING!

It is so tough to put those workout shoes on for the first time when you’ve been out of the habit. I’ve realized this rings as true for people who have regularly exercised as those who haven’t.

The day I got the call from my girlfriend, Betsy, asking me to join her in training for a half marathon in Puerto Rico in honor of her daughter, I felt a mix of emotions.

My first emotion was a sense of loyalty. Without question I had to do it for her and for her daughter.

My second emotion was fear. How could I train for a marathon if I didn’t even regularly exercise? How could I keep up with my girlfriend who has been exercising regularly and in much better shape than I? What if I fail?

Luckily, my sense of loyalty trumped my fear. I promised my friend that I would train with her as if I were running in Puerto Rico, however, for a million reasons I could not promise to participate in the Half-marathon.

And thus on January 26, 2015 we began training for a half marathon. Luckily, my circumstances allowed me to ultimately go to Puerto Rico, surprise Betsy, and run the half marathon with her. It was a meaningful time for me and I felt I should share some of the things I learned along the way: 

Don’t make excuses

We all make excuses not to exercise. We have so much on our plate and we are pulled in a million directions. We can find a thousand reasons not to exercise.  I often used a bunch of reasons not to exercise. In fact, despite how healthy I like to eat, I couldn’t find the time to get on a consistent workout schedule. Funny enough, when it wasn’t about me anymore; when it was for a cause greater than me… I found the time. I coordinated schedules with my husband. I got up even when I was tired. It became non optional. All of a sudden I no longer had excuses. 

Similarly my girlfriend found the time to exercise and run despite having a 10 month old, nursing, pumping, working, caring for her older kids, and still suffering from the sleep deprivation that only a mother of a child under the age of 1 can relate to. 

One of her girlfriends from high school hurt her knee during one of the earlier runs which required her to have physical therapy and treatment – but her commitment to the cause kept her running. Even though she couldn’t run more than 2 miles while her team was running double that, she did what she could and continued her training. And despite her limitations she ran and finished those 13.1 miles this weekend. 

There will always be something that holds us back, but what I learned is we need to find something that propels us forward. A meaning, a purpose, a cause… Something that is greater than us. That includes reaching a personal goal.  When you have that purpose, excuses disappear. 

Use exercise to strengthen your friendships

We all know the benefits of exercise. We feel better, we look better, it’s good for the heart and for our muscles. But I realized during this training that exercise is excellent for your relationship with the person you’re training with. While Betsy and I ran together we talked. We talked a lot. About everything. This time gave us the opportunity to get to know each other even better. It gave us a common goal that kept us from going weeks without talking to each other. And it made us accountable to each other. We were a team. I pushed her when she needed it and vice versa. 

On the same token, Betsys friends from high school were also training for this marathon. Even though they were in Puerto Rico they began a what’s app chat and they posted their workouts, their struggles, their achievements. It gave them a way to reconnect with Betsy and each other. And thanks to technology, they could do it while in different zip codes!

This got me thinking back and I realized at one time or another I have exercised with almost all of my closest friends. And I remember those  times fondly. 

If there is someone you wish to reconnect with… Invite them to train with you. It could be cross fit, boot camp, yoga, Zumba, tennis, running, cycling – your options are endless. 

Live by example 

Training for a half marathon requires dedication and TIME. I had been asked before to run a half and I declined because of the time it would take away from being with my kids. What I learned this time around, however, was the time I was spending away from kids was allowing me to be an example to them. For 2 months they saw me putting on workout clothes, coming back sweaty, eating healthy, and taking care of myself. That is a good thing. They should know that taking care of oneself is a necessity. They should see that exercise should be a priority. And I got to be an example of that. That felt great. I felt good about myself and I enjoyed them seeing me be fit. In fact, they started asking to run with me. They wanted to join in on the fun! A few weeks ago we participated in the cerebral palsy walk and my 6 year old had the opportunity to run with me. He ran the full 1.2 miles! What a pleasure it was to be able to share that with him. 

Even though we did not take the kids to Puerto Rico, Betsy and I did do a “mini” half marathon in Miami two weeks before the real one. (This was still when she didn’t know I was running the real one with her) 

My favorite part of that “mini” half was having my kids waiting for me at the finish line. I wanted them to see me reach my goal. I wanted them to know I could do it. And one day I will be able to tell them, if I can do it, you can do it…. And even better than I could have ever done it!

Speaking of examples. I had a dear friend, mentor, colleague that passed away last week. He was one of the wisest men I’ve known and I admired him greatly. I felt a very strong connection to him. His funeral service was on Friday morning just before I was to catch the plane to travel to Puerto Rico. As I solemnly walked in to the church, they handed me the program that would be used for the service.  I couldn’t believe the picture they chose for the program

I was moved, inspired and in shock to see this picture just 2 days before I was to run my first half marathon. Which leads me to my last lesson.

Open your heart to the meaning in everything

I do not claim to know if that picture was a pure coincidence or some sort of divine plan. I don’t have answers or understand most things that happen in this life. What I do know with certainty is that I open my heart to find meaning in all that I do. And for some reason,I find these meaningful signs all the time. By the time I set foot on that start line in that half marathon, I was running for so many reasons. I ran for Fofi (Betsys daughter) I ran for Betsy i ran for bill brown, I ran for my bucket list and for my kids and for my husband. I ran and ran and I crossed the finish line feeling motivated and inspired. And I realized it’s not just about exercise, it’s not just about eating healthy; it’s about being mindful and living with intention. It’s about keeping your body strong but your soul stronger. It’s about living the life we’ve been given in the most wholesome way we can and passing that legacy to our children.

Don’t wait to start your exercise…it’s worth it.

When I decided to make the switch to eating healthy, I only focused on eliminating one ingredient from my food: SUGAR. At the time that seemed relatively easy. I figured it was time to stop eating chocolate chip cookies (my ultimate addiction!) and cereal and probably that was about as much sugar as I was consuming in my daily diet. Wow was I wrong!!!!

The decision to stop eating that one ingredient led me onto an incredible journey of discovering how to read nutrition labels, ingredients, and most importantly “in between the lines”. By the time I figured out what foods had sugar I realized that I could never eat again. Kidding…but not really. So many foods have sugar or sugar substitutes or sugar alcohol….the list is never ending. Now with the “organic” movement and the “gluten free” movement, companies have put in sexy ingredients to motivate consumers to choose their products over the traditional ones – without them realizing that the products are still full of sugar.

Common “hidden” names for sugar include:

• Agave Nectar
• Evaporated Cane Juice
• Barley Malt
• Brown Rice Syrup
• Cane Juice Crystals
• Carub Syrup
• Corn Syrup
• Corn Syrup Solids
• Crystaline Fructose
• Fructose
• Fruit Juice Concentrates
• High Fructose Corn Syrup
• Glucose
• Galactose
• Maltodextrin
• Organic Raw Sugar
• Sucrose

….and there’s more that I am not listing.

In addition to these “sugar” ingredients, is the naturally occurring sugars you have in whole foods such as fruits. And of course we can’t ignore foods that rise our blood sugar (aka carbohydrates),

So the question for me became… can I absolutely eliminate sugar from mine and my family’s diet? The answer is an absolute NO.

My children inevitably eat sugary foods while they’re at school, birthday parties, halloween, and family functions.

I definitely eat less sugar than them because I don’t get a popsicle when I finish working out and no one gives me candy when I finish a motion in my law practice, but nonetheless I make exceptions just like everyone else. 🙂

So what’s the workaround for my family?

My conclusion has been that even though I can’t eliminate sugar (or junk food) in its entirety, I can definitely LIMIT it…at the very least in my home where I do have control.

I find that the best way I can limit sugar is to prepare my food at home. This can range from making homemade food from scratch or using certain already made ingredients that I feel comfortable as a base for what I am going to prepare.

I understand how hard this is. I am an attorney and work, I have 3 kids, I have hundreds of social commitments, I have to help with homework and clean the house and do laundry and take the boys to karate and soccer. I also have to exercise and make time for my husband. It is not easy to make foods from scratch. But we all have priorities and what we prioritize gets done. For some it is a priority to always look well groomed and pretty. I can easily say I never have time to put on makeup or blowdry my hair, but the reality is that makeup and blowdry is not my priority. (It probably should be!!!) For some the priority is keeping the house immaculate and in conversation a friend might confess “I don’t know how you have time to always keep the house clean, I just don’t have time to sweep every day.” You get the picture.

For me, food is a priority. So if I have to choose between making food or folding the clothes…I choose the food. And making my own foods makes my options endless. It allows me to eliminate sugar from recipes that I don’t think need it. It allows me to use the kinds of sweeteners I want to use – such as maple syrup, honey, carob or stevia. And most importantly it gives me control over quantities. Therein lies the key.

So here are 5 food items where we pack on a lot of sugar and can easily make adjustments to limit the intake and have a healthier home.

1. Yogurt. I used to buy chobani yogurt for the kids and they loved them. They are so easy to throw in a lunchbox and have real fruit…but they are super high in sugar. I eventually bit the bullet and switched over to plain greek yogurt. Now I have small containers for the kids that I can put the yogurt in and I add in the ingredients I want. Sometimes I drizzle a little bit of honey, other times I put raisins or fruit or some granola for crunch. I recently saw Fage is selling a plain yogurt with a little packet of honey on the side. It is the same concept except I would never put all the honey the packet brings as it would be outrageously high in sugar.
2. Oatmeal – I used to buy the variety pack instant oatmeal packets. My favorite was maple brown sugar and the banana one. Then I learned about the benefits of steel cut oats and I decided to make the switch. At first my kids were not thrilled with this change. They used to tell me that they like their grandma’s oatmeal better than mine. But little by little they got used to it, especially when I started doing this little trick: I make the steel cut oats with a little cinnamon and a vanilla stick but otherwise plain (sometimes I cook it with apples). I serve it on the plate and I set on the table chopped banana and a bottle of maple syrup. then I have the kids add in the banana and I help them to a little drizzle of maple syrup. They enjoy the process so much that they love the oatmeal and always ask for more. I’ve realized that when they KNOW they are adding sweet, it doesn’t have to BE so sweet. They only need a drizzle. As for me, I have begun enjoying oatmeal with unsweetened almond milk and I don’t require any sweet.
3. Muffin, pancake and waffle mixes – There are so many great recipes nowadays on paleo and healthy websites. There is really no reason to buy store bought processed mixes. In addition to controlling what kind of flour and sweeteners you use, you can also add in really great ingredients like seeds, coconut oil, raw cacao, etc.
4. Chocolate Milk- We all love my chocolate milk recipe. Unsweetened almond milk, raw cacao, a pinch of celtic sea salt, and stevia to taste. For the advanced palettes, we add a few drops of cayenne pepper.
5. Nut Butters- I love nutella. It is just delicious. But let’s face it, that is a treat for very limited occasions. There are, however, healthy nut butters that you can make to have the feel of nutella. My favorite is 1 cup of almonds, 1-2 tbsp of raw cacao, a pinch of celtic sea salt and 1 packed tbsp of coconut oil (for those with a big sweet tooth you can add a couple of drops of stevia)- blend in a high power blender. This makes a delicious nutella-like spread that goes perfectly with a banana, apple or pear or on a slice of ezekiel bread.

These simple ideas can make a huge difference in your home and keep you from piling on too much sugar onto your daily diet.

“Cleansing” has become a popular fad over the years, especially during this time of the year. There are a vast range of cleanses varying from 3 days to 30 days and involving juicing, intermittent fasting, diets, or laxatives and/or herbal detoxification products.

As I sit here on the last day before the close of 2014, I think of all the resolutions we make for ourselves right before the start of a new year. Lose weight, stop smoking, be more organized, make more money, start exercising, spend more time with the family, travel more, complain less, eat healthier…the list goes on and on.

Every year resolutions are made and eventually broken. Sometimes you hear someone say “I don’t make resolutions because resolutions are never kept” or you read somewhere not to make a resolution, but to set a goal – short term or long term. The truth is that whether you are making them or not making them or calling them a different name, the beginning of a new year makes you think about what you could do differently or what really worked for you this year. Deep down inside the start of a new year always, even subtly, gives the promise of a new beginning…in some way or other.

I, personally, love fresh starts. I love resolutions. I love goals. Why? because whether I succeed or fail at any specific resolution or goal, I am always seeking a better future.

As I reflect, I decided to propose to you one particular goal for 2015:

Don’t only focus on the year…focus on each and every day…and focus on this very moment in time. 

View every day in 2015 as a fresh start to fulfill your goals. Every day we have on this Earth is a gift. And as long as we are alive we have a choice. We have a choice to eat better, exercise, laugh more, love more, complain less, say no to our vices or addictions, be more grateful, focus on the good, let things go, help others in need. There is always a choice. We also have the choice to write the first chapter in that book we’ve been wanting to write, or work on that business idea we’ve had for years.

And even if today was a bad day; even if we made poor choices today, or are paying consequences for bad choices we made yesterday, we have the choice to make a new beginning. We don’t ever have to wait to make that choice.  So it doesn’t matter if tomorrow is January 1st or any other day in the year.

Is there something you can do this minute to make your life better? Maybe its calling someone you love that you haven’t spoken to in a while, or sitting down with your kids to do a puzzle. Maybe its going the extra mile for your client, or choosing a healthy lunch option (even if breakfast was a disaster). Maybe you don’t have a gym but you can take a walk around the neighborhood, or choose not to curse at the driver who just cut you off. Maybe all you need to do right now is turn off the tv or social media and write a list of the things you want for your life. Don’t wait until tomorrow to make a commitment to yourself.

I propose you take a deep breath and make a choice this minute. Every minute counts, every day counts, and every year counts.

May health, happiness and prosperity be present in your life this 2015.

I hope you all had a wonderful and mindful Thanksgiving. Now its back to work and time to cleanse from all that apple and pecan pies!!!!

I have to confess that my saving grace in this life are smoothies. I love knowing that the first thing my family gets in their system in the mornings is a good dose of fruits and/or veggies. I don’t make it every single day, mainly so we get a sense of variety, but I do make them almost every day. On Thanksgiving morning, I made a delicious Beet Smoothie. I do realize BEETS are a hit or miss. Some people love them, and some think they taste like dirt. To be completely honest, my kids do not enjoy eating them as a side. I’ve tried roasting them, raw, marinated with oil and vinegar., marinated in an orange/ginger sauce… but no matter what I do, I usually get a strong “I don’t like beets!” I can’t get my toddler to eat one and my older boys will eat a couple just so they get their dessert, but they don’t enjoy them.

But smoothies are a different story. Even though my kids, at first glance, complain that they don’t want beets in their smoothie, once they try it they always like it. Even my little one (my picky one) chugged 3 cups of this stuff!!! Yes I said 3!!!

Smoothies have several benefits (other than their nutritional value)

1. Peace of mind. After my child has 3 cups of a nutritious smoothie like this one, it takes the edge off for the rest of the day. I know my toddler is likely not to have dinner (the most difficult meal). I know he is likely to get some form of junk at school. And I know I’m not with him at lunch time, so I don’t know how he will do with the lunch I prepare him. But even if the rest of the day is a total disaster, I know he has been nourished.

2. Food does not go to waste. We buy highly perishable foods…and most of these foods are expensive. It is really sad when you have to throw it away because you didn’t make it within its shelf life. Smoothies allows you to use a lot of vegetables and fruits at once, especially when you see that the greens are starting to wilt or the fruit is too ripe. You can approach your kitchen more from a clean up crew perspective than anything else. Scour your fridge for any veggies/fruits that are just about to go bad (and that go well in a smoothie of course) and use those that day. If you are clueless as to a recipe for any particular item, just google it. For example, google beet smoothie and tons of recipes will show up). There are even apps for that. Tip: look through a few recipes to find one that has several ingredients you have in your fridge. You don’t have to follow the recipe exactly, it is just a guide so you know what fruits and veggies work best together. But if something calls for oranges and you only have apples…it is not the end of the world, you can use what you have.

3. Its quick and easy. All you really need for a good smoothie is a good blender. One of the best investments I have ever made is the Blendtec. Seriously. The consistency you get with a high power blender is just plain and simply worth it. Its nice that you don’t have to overthink a smoothie recipe in the morning. You grab what you’re going to use, give it a good rinse, chop what needs to be chopped (with a high power blender you only need a rough chop at best), throw it in there, and press a button. Voila!!!

4. You can boost it up. Catching a cold? Throw some vitamin C and D in the smoothie (I open up the vitamin c tablets and pour the powder in the smoothie…with vitamin D I have drops so I add some drops). Don’t like swallowing multivitamins (toss it in the smoothie). You can also add superfood, seeds, coconut oil, protein powder…your options are unlimited. A lot of these additions don’t change the texture or taste of the smoothie but really boost up the nutritional value. This does take some experimenting however. Chia seeds (for example) WILL change the texture of the smoothie… this is something you may or may not like. But this is a journey…its okay to get one thats not so great once in a while. You’ll learn and next time it’ll be better.

Here is my Beet Smoothie recipe.

• 2 Beets (raw)
• 8 ounces of orange juice (I squeezed a bunch of tangerines and put the juice from that)
• 1 long stalk of celery
• 1 apple
• 1 cup of spinach
• water

Have a fantastic week!!!!

I have just realized that it has been almost 3 months since my last post. Wow. How time has flown! There have been moments that I’ve wanted to post, ideas I’ve wanted to share, or recipes I’ve experimented on the go…but I was living in a whirlwind and I would push aside that nagging urge to write so I could focus on the urgent task which was to move out of my house. And finally today, as I feel more settled, I came back to my blog that I have loved so much over the last few years. It feels as though I am meeting with an old friend that I was so close to once, but time has separated us and I don’t know if we will pick up where we left off. So here I am hoping we can rekindle our relationship. I think the most logical first step, is to tell you where i’ve been these last couple of months.

For 7 years we have been living in a charming 3 bedroom townhouse. That home was where we began our marriage, where our 3 children were born, where they took their first steps, and where we committed ourselves to a healthy life. It was the happiest of homes, but it had become quite snug with our 3 growing boys. I did wonders in keeping the house  comfortable and organized, thanks to bloggers like Joshua Becker, Becoming Minimalist. But it all went downhill when my husband surprised us all with bicycles last December!!! At that point, without a garage, living in a small space with 3 boys and 5 bikes in my dining room became overwhelming. I don’t regret having those bicycles for one minute, however, because it is one of the most pleasant activities I have with my family. I love riding for hours on the weekend, instead of sitting at home sedentary. In fact, it was on a bike ride on a sunny saturday that we rode right in front of our new house…a house I fell in love with from the moment I saw it. To spare you the boring details, suffice it to say, that after a lot of hard work and help from my dad, all the stars aligned in our favor and we were blessed enough to finally purchase our dream home and sell our beloved townhouse. This process entailed packing up the house, moving everything into storage, and living at my mom’s and mother in law’s house off a suitcase. There went the blog.

To begin, here is something I learned. It does not matter how tidy you keep your house…when you move the dust unsettles and comes out of every corner!!! So much so, that my son had a major allergic reaction

At the same time my baby got a fever and ear infection, and we were all sniffling and coughing. We finally got out of the house, which solved a lot of our health issues, but still we were living out of a suitcase. We didn’t have our groceries and we were eating out or food at our relatives house, which limited our options. It was definitely stressful.

The only thing I took with me was my blendtec and ginger. This was mainly because the dust had made the boys sick. So I did try to make them smoothies with lots of ginger to keep up their immune system. (I also had to give Orly children’s Zyrtec while we were in the middle of the move).

But even with my blender, I did slack a lot. I was tired, overwhelmed, and uncomfortable. It was just easier to eat what was available. This was an amazing experience. It brought me back to the reality of how hard it is to maintain a healthy lifestyle if you don’t have a good system set up. There are no healthy pick up or delivery options if you’re eating on the go and often times your family members don’t eat the same as you do. And lunches?? lunches were so difficult. I didn’t have my salad containers and I didn’t have my regular groceries for my kids, so they ended up eating hot lunch at school and I would eat as good as I could.

My only saving grace was that I’ve been eating healthy for so long that my habits are very well ingrained in my being. So I would make good choices 9 out of 10 times, even if I was not eating optimally. I enlisted my husband’s grandmother to make healthy vegetable soups for us to eat. I bought smoothies next to my office and replaced the juices they use with fresh squeezed oranges or water. And no matter how chaotic it got, I never caved to a fast food restaurant. I did, however, eat a lot of pizza!!!!! It was a learning and humbling experience. It made me really see the need we need to create a community of healthy eating. It can be extremely lonely and challenging without the necessary support and resources.

There was change in all of us. Between the dust, the stress, and the food we were all feeling sick and tired. We truly felt the change.

I’m happy to report that we are back in motion. I went to Costco yesterday and finally stocked up my kitchen with all my nuts, seeds, organic frozen fruits, and lean meats. I’m adding ginger and garlic to everything I can to restore our systems. And we are blessed with a yard for the very first time. So we are lucky enough to have fruit trees and can now regularly “earth” as many like to call it. I’m really looking forward to getting my well oiled machine running again and sharing all the new recipes and tricks with you!!!!! It feels good to be back!

My eldest son has been sucking his thumb since he was in my womb. During his 1st year of life he began sleeping with a “mimi” also known as a security blanket. Since he was a baby, all I had to do was show him the mimi, or shake it (it had a rattling noise) and immediately his thumb would enter his mouth. That was his signal to go to sleep. It was a blessing!!!!! But by the age of 4 this blessing had become a curse. My son did not know how to sleep without his mimi. We were slaves to this thing…making sure never to leave home without it, or leave it where we were. True story: we were in Disney World one time and I left my purse on the train with my wallet and phone. Obviously we were upset, yet my husband turns to me and says “Caro, it could be worse…. you could have left the Mimi on the train!!!!!”

We should have eliminated the mimi when he was smaller but he is our first child and we couldn’t bear to do that to him. As he got older, he became more attached. One day, at the age of 5, my son misplaced his mimi. It was in the house but no where to be found. This was a common occurrence. We would look for it, he would cry, and eventually we would find it. But we knew as parents this had to stop. After a few minutes of looking, we stopped the search and told our son he had to go to sleep without it. It was a rough, sad night..but eventually the kid fell asleep. The next day was the same and the day after that.

What you don’t know is that my son would ONLY suck his thumb when he had the mimi in his hands. One of the reasons he was so upset when it was gone was because he felt as if he could not suck his thumb without it. By this point the dentist had already warned us that he needed to eliminate this habit. As sad as I was to see him miss his mimi so much, I was relieved that he had stopped sucking his thumb. You can imagine that when the time came that I did find the mimi, I chose not to tell him I found it. He had come so far, I was afraid it would set him back. I put the mimi in a safe place and carried on.

Fast forward months later to Easter. The Easter bunny came and left eggs, toys, and a fuzzy bunny doll. The bunny was soft and cuddly. I think the “Easter Bunny” (my inlaws) intended the bunny to be for the little ones, but the one that liked it was Orly. He clung to that bunny for dear life. He asked if he could sleep with it. He took it with him to places.  We thought he was a little too old for the bunny but we let it slide. We figured it was like having his mimi back sans the thumb sucking. That was the best case scenario.

And then the unexpected happened. A few days later, Orly approached his father with his bunny in hand and said to him “Daddy, this bunny makes me want to suck my thumb. I love it but I know sucking my thumb is not good for my teeth, so I need you to take the bunny and throw it away.”

WHAT? Did our 5 year old really just voluntarily give up something he loved only because he knew it was not good for him? yes he did. I don’t know if Orly sucked his thumb during the days he had his bunny. But I can tell you he does not suck his thumb now. I can also tell you that he doesn’t have a mimi or a bunny, although he still confesses he misses them from time to time. When my husband came to tell me what happened that day, he said “Caro, I don’t think I’ve ever been prouder of my son than I am at this moment. He has just done something most adults can’t do.” He’s right.

A plushy, cozy security blanket or stuffed animal was a 5 year old’s trigger for his addiction to sucking his thumb. How many triggers do we have for our addictions? Whether it is food, alcohol, smoking, drugs, sex, gambling…we all have triggers that prompt us to do things we know are not good for us.

What if we all did what my 5 year old did that day? What if we simply eliminated the trigger from our lives? Of course you may think, well its a lot easier to eliminate a stuffed animal than it is to eliminate all the triggers that prompt me to eat sweets or unhealthy food. That is true. But what was not easy was to make the decision to give the bunny to his dad. Confronting the problem, knowing that what you want to do is not what you should do, is the hardest part. And for a 5 year old the desire to suck his thumb was every bit as great as it is for you to have that piece of cake at a birthday party. As babies and toddlers, we have no choice but to engage in self discipline. We are weaned from the mother’s breast, weaned from a bottle, from a pacifier, from thumb sucking. We go from crawling to walking, from diapers to toilets, from the comfort of our homes to a scary classroom with strangers.

And yet for most of us, as we get older, change and discipline become more difficult. We have long forgotten the many times we were confronted with change and discipline as children. We have long forgotten how successful we were then. We forget how many times we fell before we were able to stand up and walk. We forget how many accidents we had before we finally got the concept of going to the bathroom in a toilet. And we think we are no longer capable of the same now. But we all are. So if you are reading this and know what your triggers are, then remind yourself you are the same as you were when you were born: Strong, disciplined, and capable of adapting to change.

Make the decision to identify what your triggers are in the problem areas of your life. Then eliminate these triggers as much as you can. The first step is to eliminate the triggers from your home. That way you have a safe place. Then slowly work on ignoring the triggers when you are out.  And if you fall, remember that’s okay too. You will get up again. After all, you’ve done it before.

Mango, quinoa, cucumbers, pears, avocados, tomatoes, shaved carrot, slivered almonds, chia seeds, hemp seeds

I made a delicious mango salad this week that I had to share.

Ingredients:

• Arugula greens
• 1/4 cucumber sliced
• 1 shaved carrot
• 1 sliced tomato
• slivered almonds
• 1/4 pear sliced
• 1/4 mango sliced
• sliced avocado
• pre-cooked quinoa
• sprinkle of chia and hemp seeds
• drizzle olive oil & balsamic vinegar to dress the salad

These measurements are for a personal salad. You can add as much or as little of each ingredient. Finding the right balance is really a matter of personal taste. I tend to go light on the fruit because it is really an accent to the salad. A touch of sweet but good.

This is so simple and fast to make. Pack it up for lunch or enjoy it with a nice piece of fish or a grilled chicken for dinner.

*I forgot to mention in my original post that I had included a leftover quinoa meal I had from the night before (kim chi fried rice). If I have leftovers from a meal that would work well into a salad I like tossing that in there to get some added nutrition. In this case I added the grains from the quinoa, kim chi, and the veggies that were in the quinoa. It was a nice touch and kept my salad authentic. You can simply add pre-cooked quinoa to add texture and grains to your salad.

Enjoy!

Here in Miami, I feel like there are mangoes falling from every tree in the city. Everywhere I turn, there are mangoes on the floor, mangoes at the store, mangoes for sale on a street corner, or in a give away bag by those generous mango tree owners.

I happen to LOVE mangoes. They are by far my favorite fruit. Problem is that I’ve always heard that they’re super fattening. They definitely taste sweet enough to feel fattening!!!!

I decided to do some research on the pros and cons of this delicious sweet fruit and this is what I found:

• About 40% of the fiber in mangoes is soluble, mainly pectin.
• It is an excellent source of vitamin A, and a good source of vitamin B6. It also contains a wide variety of carotenoids, including beta carotene, alpha-carotene, beta-cryptoxanthin and other phytonutrients, including quercetin. These substances can protect cells from damage, lower risk of cardiovascular disease, and provide other health benefits. Together; these compounds have been known to have antioxidant properties and are essential for vision. Vitamin A is also required for maintaining healthy mucus membranes and skin. Consumption of natural fruits rich in carotenes is known to protect the body from lung and oral cavity cancers.
• It is also a very good source of vitamin-C and vitamin-E. Consumption of foods rich in vitamin C helps the body develop resistance against infectious agents and scavenge harmful oxygen-free radicals. Vitamin B-6 or pyridoxine is required for GABA hormone production within the brain. It also controls homocystiene levels within the blood, which may otherwise be harmful to blood vessels resulting in CAD, and stroke.
• According to new research study, mango fruit has been found to protect against colon, breast, leukemia and prostate cancers. Several trial studies suggest that polyphenolic anti-oxidant compounds in mango are known to offer protection against breast and colon cancers.
• Fresh mango is a good source of potassium. Potassium is an important component of cell and body fluids that helps in controlling heart rate and blood pressure.
• It composes moderate amounts of copper. Copper is a co-factor for many vital enzymes, including cytochrome c-oxidase and superoxide dismutase (other minerals function as co-factors for this enzyme are manganese and zinc). Copper is also required for the production of red blood cells.

In addition to the health benefits, I found that Mangoes score a 51 in the glycemic index but score under a 5 in the glycemic load and are a high carbohydrate food but a low calorie food.

What does this all mean? In my opinion, what it means is that mangoes are a WHOLE FOOD. Exactly the kind of food we should be eating in our diets. We are supposed to have fiber and carbs and vitamins and phytonutrients in our food. Sure they are higher in the glycemic index than berries for example, but that does not mean they need to be avoided.

If you are trying to lose weight and are counting calories, look up the nutrition facts for a mango and take that into account for your daily caloric intake. Otherwise, eat it in moderation like all other whole foods should be eaten. We need carbohydrates and fiber in our diets….mangoes are a great way to get our fill assuming we are not eating excess carbs in addition to the mangoes.

I personally have been eating and feeding my children a couple of mangoes a day. It is a pleasure to enjoy a seasonal, locally grown fruit. I will take full advantage until the season ends! Stay tuned for some mango recipes coming up this week!