SATURDAY FEBRUARY 12, 2011
Delsom Park Turf, Delta, BC, Canada

Peace Arch United Blues
Versus Tswwassen Blues
Won 6-5 penalties (3-3 after extra time)
Scorers: Max 2, Oscar 1
Penalties: Oscar 1, Max 1, Malachi 1, Brownie 1, Sean 1, Justin 1

I am way behind on all games for this year but I have to start with today’s game as – I do not know about all of you lot that were also at the game – it is still sinking in what we experienced this morning!!!

Well…where do I start…

We had a sick roster with Jack out – Chayson arriving having been ill all week, Malachi been off school Thursday and Friday and Oscar, Brownie, Michael all still feeling the affects of this sickness bug going around….And Super Star Jeff was away for the weekend – and I knew we would really miss his energy!….

It was revenge time – well that is what I was hoping for – for the other semi final a couple of weeks back when we lost to the same Tswwassen team in the Conference Cup – where they got 2 lucky goals….including a dodgy penalty….and this becomes more relevant later!!!!

We started off slower than slow and we were 3-0 down within the first 8 minutes….

I was thinking damage control and how do we stop this from becoming embarrassing…

So Bevin, Ryan and I just told the boys to continue to play their passing game and whatever happens will happen…

And it did!!!

It also helped I think that Tswwassen truly believed they had won the game already and there was no way we would be able to get back in the game….So they kind of switched off and allowed us the space and room to get ourselves back in the game……

So we stepped it up a gear and Max started his boy of the match performance by hustling their defense which shook them up as that is the basis of their game playing out from the back…

I told the boys to just keep playing the ball in behind their defense and sweeper and lo and behold at last from one of Oscars through balls to Max he finished beautifully and it was 1-3 – just before half time.

The half time team talk was more of the same…just go out and play their game, keep it simple and keep working hard…

The 2nd half started in a similar style to the end of the 2nd with Max leading from the front. Malachi and Kyle were sweeping up everything from the back, and Sean picked his game up cleaning things up in the middle. Jacob came alive and became a nuisance to their midfield and forwards and Justin was playing out of his skin!!!!

And it took a bit of luck to get us back in it further, when their keeper played out a poor ball straight to Oscar and another great ball splitting their defense allowed Max to finish once more to make it 2-3. Could we really get back in this game?

There was about 10 minutes left and we started believing we could really peg them back!.

Chayson was playing as though he had not been out sick, and Michael and Brownie worked real hard – closing down their #7 which stopped the supply from the right wing….

And finally it came – and I have to say it was a great substitution from the Head Coach. I put Justin on right mid and within a minute he had made a great move into their box- drew the foul – and we were awarded a penalty.

5 minutes to go and could we possibly get level!

Oscar put it away brilliantly and it was 3-3. We saw out the end of the regulation time and it was into Extra time (ET) ((OT for you Canadians!)).

During the break talk the boys believed they could now win this game….and you could see it in their eyes…..

ET we were the better side and played with more purpose, playing our passing game and we had a couple of good chances, but finally we had to settle to win it in a penalty shoot out…

So the drama continued.

Oscar stepped up and put his kick away 1-0.
Tswwassen scored theirs.
Max and then Malachi then scored theirs with Tswwassen doing the same.
Brownie missed his knowing the goalie had moved and stepped up and nailed the retake.
And Tswwassen missed theirs – well actually Brighton pulled off a great save!!!!
Michael was unlucky hitting the post and Tswwassen scored to level the scores.
Now it was into sudden death.

Sean stepped up and put a beautiful shot into the left hand corner.
Tswwassen responded.
Justin stepped up and put his away excellently.
And just what we had been waiting for – Tswwassen missed and we were through!!!

The boys went nuts and so they should because that was one game they will remember for the rest of their lives..

The way they handled the adversity of going down 3-0 so quickly, they did not get down on themselves, they did not get on each others case, the stuck to the game plan we had talked with them about and got themselves going and back into the game…through hard work, patience and a belief that they could do it.

It was ironic that we had played at this same field 2 weeks ago when we were in the game against North delta at 1-0 down and were playing well we hit the bar twice in a row and then Delta went on to win 4-0. But well before ND scored we had given up…And I had told the boys the story of Man Utd beating Bayern Munich in the Champions league final by scoring 2 goals in the final 2 minutes of injury time……

And 2 weeks later the boys had picked themselves up and done themselves, the club and their moms and dads proud by pulling off what has to be one of the victories of the season (although there have been a few this season for sure!!)

So we head into next weeks final game against the other Peace Arch Gold team – who also made it to the final – which will also be hosted by Peace Arch – and we are now the home team by beating the #1 seed Tswwassen!! We have already beaten the other Peace Arch team once this season but they are seeded higher than us and therefore will be favourites – which we do not mind at all!

As long as we go out and play our game in the style we have been playing all season then all the boys should have a blast.

Well done to all and I believe that this is the first time that 2 Peace Arch sides have reached the district final at U12 Gold level……..

A special note to the WHOLE team and in particular Brighton in net who did not drop his head when those goals went in and made some great saves to keep us in the game when it was still 3-0 and 3-1…Well done Bri!!!!

Thanks to all you parents as well for all your support for the kids and the coaches……..it makes it all worth while!!!!!

Ian

Ok here is the scene…

Second day of pre-school for Hugo
Says he wants to stay on his own and have me leave
Teacher is quite strict
We get to school
Hugo changes his mind wants me to stay
Teacher grabs Hugo, locks me out, and he starts yelling – luckily no bad words!!!!!
I stand by the window watching, where teacher says I can stand
Hugo manages to wriggle free and does a runner to the window where I am standing
He opens it and climbs out!!!!
10 minutes later, and after more negotiation about letting him climb back for cuddles if he needs to, he goes back in through the window
Teacher says nothing to Hugo or Dad, but you can tell she is perplexed
The system works well and after 5 more escapes out the window he is now safely encompassed in the classroom
Do whatever it takes, it says in the handbooks
Do it with style say the Patel Thompsons – do it in style

Backpack and lunch bag out the window and it’s the end of school!

Cannot wait till next week…

I sure hope you don’t have kids like mine – who hate sandwiches, but also won’t take anything else to school that can’t be eaten in about 5 minutes flat. And no, they won’t eat healthy, easy things like cold chicken either.

So, I make them stuff that looks, tastes and feels like a treat, but is actually packed with protein, fruit and veggies. Oh yes, and very important: Don’t let them see you making these, or the gig’s up!

TIP: My kids LOVE the muffins and they say the cookies are “okay”. These recipes are all GLUTEN-FREE.

Raisin Almond Cookies

2 1/4 cup almond flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 cup raisins (or choc chips if you prefer)
1/4 cup (heaped) butter
1/4 cup honey
2 eggs, beaten

Mix ingredients together, bake at 350 degrees.

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Banana Almond Muffins

3 cups almond flour
1/4 cup yoghurt
1/3 – 1/2 cup honey (add 1/3 cup if you’re adding sweet raisins or choc chips, but if plain, use 1/2 cup)
1 tsp baking soda
4 eggs, beaten
2 extra-ripe, mashed bananas
Optional: can add 1 cup of raisins or chocolate chips

1. Mix dry ingredients together.

2. Then add rest of ingredients and mix well.

3. Bake in muffin tins, greased or lined with papers, at 375 F for about 20 minutes

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Zucchini Almond Muffins

3 cups grated zucchini (peeled so they don’t see the green and press out the excess water)
3 eggs, beaten
3 cups almond flour
1/3 cup melted butter
1/2 cup honey
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
Optional: If your child is super picky, add 1/4 cup cocoa to really disguise the zucchini and you can also add 1/2 cup of white chocolate or regular chocolate chips, or raisins

1. Mix almond flour, melted butter, honey and zucchini.

2. Add beaten eggs, cinnamon, salt and baking soda. Mix well.

3. Bake in muffin tins, greased or lined with papers, at 350 F for about 20 minutes

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Oh and one last quick ‘n easy winner:

Thermos Hot Dogs

Cook your organic turkey hot dogs (no carcinogenic nitrates!) at home, then tie a string (dental floss also works) around the top and lower the hot dog into a very hot thermos of water. Have the string dangle outside, down the side of the thermos and screw on the lid.

At lunchtime, your child can unscrew the lid of the thermos and lift the hot dog(s) out by the string. Presto – a hot meal ready to go. Serve either plain or with a bun and ketchup. Some kids also like to just dip the hot dog into ketchup (no bun).

Hope that helps you out, and if you’ve discovered any other great lunchtime recipes for picky kids, please post them in the COMMENTS section below.

soar higher
Jini

So they did this site especially for kids, written by them so that kids could understand the info (of course they had help from Mum too!)

http://www.RadiationEducation.com

They want other families to learn about the damage wireless devices – like WiFi, cell phones, cordless phones, Wii, etc. – are doing to people and switch to hard-wired options.

Let us know what you think of the site and tell your friends!

soar higher,

Jini

I really just have one primary driver: I don’t want any of my family to develop a serious illness. The cancer rate is now 1 in 2. That’s right, out of every single person you know, half of them will have cancer at some point in their lives.

Why doesn’t that stat live with people and permeate their lives? When you go to buy your groceries, “1 in 2″ should be playing in your head, when you spray your lawn, when you reach for your cell phone, “1 in 2″ should be repeating over and over. When you buy your kid – with their still-developing, thinner skull, a cell phone (for pete’s sake!) and a wireless computer, “1 in 2″ should be positively booming in your head.

What exactly is going on? Does every mother at my kids’ school think that her child is going to be the disease-free half of the population, so she doesn’t have to change anything? Uh….hmmm, let’s just do the math for one millisecond and we realize how ludicrous that is. Or do they just not care?

Or are they like the school board, who bases all of it’s decisions upon information put out by industry-influenced sources? Are people really that naive? Has no one learned anything from the cigarette/smoking issue? Or the swine flu fiasco?

Do I sound a tad irate? Do I sound like I just can’t take it anymore? Because you know what, I’ve already healed myself of serious, chronic illness (largely inflicted upon me by the well-meaning ignorance of my parents). And I am NOT going through that again.

People who have never had a serious illness, don’t realize that you will spend almost every minute in misery for YEARS. They don’t understand that nothing is worth that. But I do.

And that’s why I’m so beside myself at having to live in a community where everyone around me is continually making disease-producing choices and I’m the only one pushing in another direction.

And yes, I’m “pushing.” I spend every day pushing against the choices made by other parents when they give my children chemical and sugar-laden foods at playdates and birthday parties. When the school installs wireless computers and allows children to bring cell phones to school and the teachers provide sugary, chemical-laden “treats” at every holiday. When other parents send sugar/chemical “treats” to school for everyone when it’s their child’s birthday, valentine’s day, halloween, etc. And what about all the after-soccer, birthday party, post-performance celebrations at McDonald’s and Dairy Queen?

Oh yes, thank you, that’s so nice of you! Cause you know, I was having a hard time getting my kids to eat enough sugar and artificial crap without your help.

And what does that turn me into? The big, bad, nagging meanie. When I’m really a fun-loving, adventurous, dynamic person who has always lived life in the “flow”. Now every single day, I’m “pushing”. I hate it. I hate living this way.

But I hate illness even more.

When I think, I should just give up, let the kids be like everyone around them, and remove a huge stressor from my life, then I also think: Yeah, and for how long? Because one thing you learn when you have to heal yourself from a serious, supposedly “incurable” illness, is what produces disease and what produces health.

So I don’t have the benefit of ignorance. I KNOW that if I let my kids do what everyone else is doing and we live the way everyone else is living…”1 in 2″. And that’s just cancer. That doesn’t even include MS, Lupus, diabetes, Crohn’s, colitis (which is approaching epidemic levels), CFS, etc etc.

What’s the solution? Do we have to go completely “off the grid” and buy 150 acres somewhere and grow our own food, have our own water supply, homeschool our children, etc. Oy vey, and how would I have the time/energy to do all that and still run my business? And where exactly would we do that?

Or are there places where there are communities of people who are already aware of the toxicity of “normal” lifestyles and a bunch of people doing something different? I’ve heard about a development in Vilcabamba, Ecuador – but you may have to be a vegetarian, raw foodist to live there and personally the crime and the bugs don’t appeal to me.

And then if you join any kind of “community” aren’t you going to get all the whacky people and bureaucrats who just want to control everyone – kind of like a strata council (or condo owner’s association) that never stops?

You see what I mean? Now you know why I’m feeling totally gutted, trapped, exhausted, etc. I don’t actually want to move anywhere, or become a farmer.

But I don’t want my kids to develop a serious, chronic illness, even more.

A friend of mine is convinced the solution is to move to New Zealand. Who knows??

The main technique most mothers around me tend to use is some version of the Ferber Method, also referred to as “controlled crying”. This is the same technique my mother used when I was an infant, to get me to sleep by myself (in my own crib, in my own room) through the night.

I have never even considered using this technique with my 3 kids, just following my gut intuition, and I recently found an excerpt from lactation consultant Pinky McKay that so eloquently outlines why:

One of the arguments for using controlled crying is that it ‘works’, but perhaps the definition of success needs to be examined more closely. In the small number of studies undertaken, while most babies will indeed stop waking when they are left to cry, ‘success’ varies from an extra hour’s sleep each night to little difference between babies who underwent sleep training and those who didn’t, eight weeks later. Some studies found that up to one-third of the babies who underwent controlled crying ‘failed sleep school’. A recent Australian baby magazine survey revealed that lthough 57 per cent of mothers who responded to the survey had tried controlled crying, 27 per cent reported no success, 27 per cent found it worked for one or two nights, and only 8 per cent found that controlled crying worked for longer than a week. To me, this suggests that even if harsher regimes work initially, babies are likely to start waking again as they reach new developmental stages or conversely, they may become more settled and sleep (without any intervention) as they reach appropriate developmental levels.

Controlled crying and other similar regimes may indeed work to produce a self-soothing, solitary sleeping infant. However, the trade-off could be an anxious, clingy or hyper-vigilant child or even worse, a child whose trust is broken. Unfortunately, we can’t measure attributes such as trust and empathy which are the basic skills for forming all relationships. We can’t, for instance, give a child a trust quotient like we can give him an intelligence quotient. One of the saddest emails I have received was from a mother who did controlled crying with her one-year-old toddler.

“After a week of controlled crying he slept, but he stopped talking (he was saying single words). For the past year, he has refused all physical contact from me. If he hurts himself, he goes to his older brother (a preschooler) for comfort. I feel devastated that I have betrayed my child.”

It is the very principle that makes controlled crying ‘work’ that is of greatest concern: when controlled crying ‘succeeds’ in teaching a baby to fall asleep alone, it is due to a process that neurobiologist Bruce Perry calls the ‘defeat response’. Normally, when humans feel threatened, our bodies flood with stress hormones and we go into ‘fight’ or ‘flight’. However, babies can’t fight and they can’t flee, so they communicate their distress by crying. When infant cries are ignored, this trauma elicits a ‘freeze’ or ‘defeat’ response. Babies eventually abandon their crying as the nervous system shuts down the emotional pain and the striving to reach out.

One explanation for the success of ‘crying it out’ is that when an infant’s defeat response is triggered often enough, the child will become habituated to this. That is, each time the child is left to cry, he ‘switches’ more quickly to this response. This is why babies may cry for say, an hour the first night, twenty minutes the following night and fall asleep almost immediately on the third night (if you are ‘lucky’). They are ‘switching off’ (and sleeping) more quickly, not learning a legitimate skill.

Whether sleep ‘success’ is due to behavioural principles (that is, a lack of ‘rewards’ when baby wakes) or whether the baby is overwhelmed by a stress reaction, the saddest risk of all is that as he tries to communicate in the only way available to him, the baby who is left to cry in order to teach him to sleep will learn a much crueler lesson – that he cannot make a difference, so what is the point of reaching out. This is learned helplessness.

This is an edited extract from “Sleeping Like a Baby” by Pinky McKay (Penguin). Pinky is am International Board Certified Lactation Consultant, Certified Infant Massage Instructor and mother of five. For more tips to help your baby (and you!) sleep, read Pinky’s best-selling book Sleeping Like a Baby.

Personally, I feel being “left to cry” as an infant was the foundation of my fears of not feeling safe in the world – which I have spent about 20 years of healing/therapy overcoming! It is not the only contributing factor, but I think it is a root, significant one.

I once listened to a neighbour using this method with her baby and the cries of “Mommy, please help me!” had tears streaming down my face and I’m not even her mother! My own children were upset and just couldn’t conceive that a mother would do that to her own child. I thought to myself, “You know, if that were an elderly person in there, crying and calling for help, we would call the police. So why are we allowed to treat children with a lack of such basic respect and care?”

In the end, my kids and I stood underneath the baby’s open window (which is why we could hear everything) and discussed loudly what was going on and the kids called up reassurances to the baby. Whatever this made the parents feel, they came and got their baby and we didn’t have to listen to any more anguish, thank god.

So, yes, sleep disturbance/deprivation is part of what makes parenting so incredibly hard and exhausting. And yes, I know there are some times when you are a single parent (or perhaps you’re married, but you’re still doing all the grunt work) and you don’t have a support person available and you’re facing the dilemma of ‘lock them in a room or risk abusing them’ what can you do? But really, if this happens more than once or twice, it is your responsibility as the adult to change the dynamic so that you get someone else helping you when you hit the wall.

One tool that I used to help my children get to sleep easily without damaging their trust, security and attachment to me (when I was just too exhausted to read, sing, or tell them a story), is my Sleeptime Story CDs – these work great for kids aged 18 months – 6 years. Most of the time, I would lie down with my kids as they listened to a story and drifted off to sleep (the music put me to sleep too). But my husband was also able to use them to get the kids off to sleep if I wasn’t there – instead of them waiting up for me to get home!

Click here to listen to a sample of a Murray The Shark Sleeptime Story – this one’s called The Fishing Game.

But you can also record your own stories and then put them on a CD or mp3 to use when you’re not around, or when you’re too tired to do anything but lie there!

soar higher,

Jini

Question:
Dear Jini,
Thank you so much for listening to our challenges with constipation. I totally appreciate your help. Our daughter is 7 months old – she has been constipated for approximately 3 months. For the last 3 months, she has had approximately a dozen unassisted bowel movements. We have to give her an enema for her to have a bowel movement. This happens usually every 3 or 4 days – sometimes we have waited over a week. However, the longer we wait the more agonizing it is for her.

When she was on just breastmilk, she had 3 – 4 movements/day – consistency like mustardy, fatty breast-milk movements. Now, I give her Enfamil A+ with Iron. There seems to be soy in the ingredients but otherwise I can’t tell. This is what we had when we were in the hospital. Also, we gave her pablum on the advice of both of our mothers to get her to sleep through the night. Perhaps a bit early at the 4 month mark.

We have tried many things to try and help her – prune juice, water, sugar water, fruit, vegetables, massage, (3 months of acupuncture and herbs – hundreds of dollars later…). Also at first we gave her suppositories, however it seemed to be a long term issue so we stopped to avoid dependency. Now we have to give her salt water enemas – otherwise she pushes and pushes to no avail – it is heart-wrenching to watch. The water seems to flush her system and enable her to pass stool more easily. It is painful for her. What she does pass are hard nuggets usually larger than a golf ball.

Our Chinese doctor says she has a weak spleen and digestive system. The acupuncture treatment, although good, seemed to be slow and we are running out of funds. Agh!! What to do? Jini, thanks so much for any thing you might be able to offer.
C. M.
Alberta, Canada

Answer:
Your poor little darling – it must be agonizing to have her go through this! When I started my daughter on solids at 5.5 months, she became constipated for up to 6 days at a time and it nearly killed me to watch her pass those HUGE solid bowel movements. So, based on all my knowledge and personal experience, here’s my opinion on what I think would work for your girl:

1. Immediately get her started on Natren brand’s Life Start (B.infantis) probiotic. 1/4 tsp. 3 times per day. Once she’s pooping regularly, cut it back to twice a day, and then after two months of that, cut it back to only 1/8 tsp. twice a day. Once she’s eight months old, add Natren’s MegaDophilus (L.acidophilus) probiotic (1/8 tsp) as well. The best way to give her the probiotics is to put them into a little dish, dip your finger in the dish and then let her suck your finger, rub it on her gums, etc. Give it to her on an empty stomach – 15 mins. before food or formula. If you can’t give it to her this way, you can add it to her formula bottle, but it will be less effective that way. Remember to keep the probiotics refrigerated at all times. DO NOT substitute another brand of probiotic – it has to be Natren for both safety and efficacy issues. Once bowel function has normalized, continue on the probiotics for at least 3 more months. Thereafter, use only once a day, or sporadically as needed.

2. Iron is very constipating (has anyone told you this?) so if you can get an iron-free formula, do so. If you’re worried about her getting enough iron, then just puree some cooked spinach, chard, or seaweed for her (you can add fruit or yams to it if she doesn’t like the taste straight). I prefer raw goat’s milk or raw cow’s milk to any formula, so try her with that if possible – or you can also get formulas that have goat milk as the protein source – if you can’t find one locally, then check the Internet. If you’re still breastfeeding, it would be best to simply cut out the formula altogether and just feed her solids and breastmilk. Do not give her soy-based formula. Soy blocks mineral absorption, depresses thyroid function and contains massive amounts of estrogen.

3. Every time you give her an enema, you’re disrupting the bacterial flora in her bowel. An unbalanced bacterial flora (too much bad bacteria) is the primary cause of constipation. So, the probiotics (good bacteria) will address this root cause of the problem, but as long as you keep giving the enemas, you’ll also be washing out a lot of the good bacteria. So, here are two ideas on how to get round this….(a) when you give her an enema, instead of putting salt in the water, put 1 tsp. of Life Start probiotic in the enema water and/or (b) when you first start her on the Natren’s probiotic, try to wait 4 days to give it a chance to implant and see if the probiotics alone will normalize bowel function that quickly. Also the next point will also help facilitate bowel movements….

4. For her cereal, take her off any rice or wheat cereal and give her oatmeal or barley cereal instead. Mix this cereal with 2 parts pureed fruit (i.e. 1 tbsp. cereal, 2 tbsp. fruit) and 1/4 tsp.- 1/2 tsp. of Udo’s Choice Ultimate Oil Blend or Flax Oil. Not only will the oil help her bowels, but it is fantastic for brain development, skin, connective tissue, nails, hair, etc. Get the Udo’s oil if possible or, if that’s too expensive, then just cold-pressed flax oil is also good. Mix it all with a good amount of warm water – as runny as you/she wish to make it.

5. Try to get her to drink as much water as possible. We always gave our daughter a bottle of water on her tray table with her meals, so she could drink as much as she liked whilst feeding and then we left her playing with the water at the end of the meal. If she can’t hold the bottle yet, then just keep offering it to her periodically whilst feeding her solids and then again at the end of the meal. Adding extra water to her formula will not have the same effect as her drinking pure water. When you take her out, don’t take a bottle of juice, take water (filtered or spring only).

6. At some point, I would also recommend you take her for a craniosacral treatment or two. Acupuncture is good as a long-term therapy, however, I think she would see more relief (and faster) from a craniosacral treatment. Craniosacral is usually done by massage therapists or osteopathic doctors, some chiropractors have also received certification in it. In the UK there are osteopathic hospitals where EVERY newborn recieves craniosacral treatments! Make sure the person you go to is certified and, ideally, experienced with babies. Check the Yellow Pages, or go to www.upledger.com and search for someone certified at Level II or higher. In the meantime, you or your husband can do loving, gentle colonic massage on her.

When these therapies begin to take effect, she may have multiple bowel movements for days in a row. This is a good thing as she probably has a lot stuck in there that needs to be cleaned out.

Important: The probiotics do not cause bowel movements, they NORMALIZE bowel function. If she were suffering from chronic diarrhea, the treatment would be the same. If she continues to have lots of bowel movements, or they’re really liquid for more than 10 days, then cut back the amount of oil in her cereal.

Anyway, hope that helps you out and please keep me posted on how it goes. The Natren probiotics are the key and banished my girl’s constipation in 2 days – but if we missed a dose (in the first 2 weeks of therapy), she would not have a bowel movement that day.

All the best,
Jini

Follow-Up Email:
WOW!!!! thank you so much for your reply. You are a wealth of
information. I am realizing there is so much we don’t know and it is
so hard to get good information. We have implemented a diet without rice, formula, and more pureed fruit and water since your last email. She has had two bowel movements a day for the last three days. This is such an improvement!! So, for now things are improving – however, it sounds like the Life Start would normalize her system and perhaps set a foundation for the years to come. I will keep you posted on how it goes and again thank you so much!!
C.M.
Alberta, Canada

Final Note from Jini:
It is over a year later as I write this, and this baby’s bowel movements have continued to be normal.

FOR OLDER CHILDREN: a constipation remedy that almost always works is to give them magnesium citrate – which is non-addictive and safe for long-term use. See my video for how to mix magnesium citrate into a shake for adults or kids:

Raw Nutrient Milkshake
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S6Gt6BmXgnc

You can also add the magnesium to a smoothie – just add 1 tsp – 1 tbsp Udo’s or cold-pressed organic flax or hemp oil as well to help hold the powdered magnesium in suspension.

And give the shake on an empty stomach for best results. Start with a low amount (50 mg) and gradually work up to determine how much they need to produce a bowel movement. For long-term or more complicated constipation, I do recommend you get my book, Listen To Your Colon, which has complete instructions for various types of constipation and also long-term healing protocols so your child will eventually go naturally on their own, without intervention.

Enjoy!

soar higher,

Jini

We recently had a joint birthday party at my place with 54 adults and 33 kids. So many people asked for my recipes that I’ve decided to post them here on my blog.

If you’re planning a party, this mix of recipes is ideal because:

1. They can be made over a 3-day stretch before the party, so you don’t get exhausted trying to prepare everything within a day.

2. There is a nice mix of flavors and textures – sure to please every palate.

3. Except for the Singapore Meatballs, everything is vegetarian – but equally appealing to meat eaters.

For the kids, I just put out a veggie and dip plate, a fruit plate, a big bowl of plain potato chips and ordered cheese pizza. The kids received no chemicals and their only sugar was a piece of birthday cake and 1 juice box (with their pizza). Hmmm…. do you think that had something to do with the fact that we did not have ONE fight, accident, injury, etc. from 4 pm – 11 pm and all 33 kids (aged 1 – 10) played happily? I know from my own kids, if I feed them good foods (no chemicals, minimal sugar), they don’t get crazy!

Anyway, here are the recipes. They are in the normal sized amounts for a regular family or small dinner party, so if you’re having a big party, just quadruple the recipes – Enjoy!

JINI’S CAESAR SALAD DRESSING

Ingredients:

2 egg yolks
5 cloves garlic – peeled
juice of 1 lemon
1 tbsp white vinegar
1/2 tsp worcestershire sauce
1/2 tsp salt
pinch of pepper
1 tin of anchovies (50 grams), drained of oil (Millionaires brand is best)
1 cup very finely grated fresh parmigiano (parmesan) cheese from Italy
1.5 cups Italian extra virgin olive oil, at room temperature

1. Put egg yolks, garlic, lemon juice, vinegar, worcestershire, salt, pepper and anchovies in the blender and puree on low speed until liquid.

2. Keep blender running on low speed puree setting and add the olive oil in a VERY thin stream, until all the oil is gone and the dressing is now very thick.

3. Stir in the parmesan cheese.

4. Pour into wide mouth glass jar and store in the fridge. I find this dressing is fine if kept in the fridge for up to 2 months.

Mix well with romaine lettuce and then sprinkle more finely grated fresh parmesan on top. Add chicken or shrimp and you have a meal!

*Note: You must use Italian olive oil, italian parmigiano (parmesan) and very good quality anchovies for this dressing to taste right.

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SUPER CREAMY HUMMUS

Ingredients:
1 (12 oz) can chickpeas
1/4 cup tahini (from roasted seeds)
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
5 cloves of garlic
salt to taste

Garnish:
olive oil
parsley
chopped tomatoes

1.  First put the tahini and lemon juice into a blender and blend away until it’s frothy, white, and creamy.

2.  Add minced garlic and blend it into the cream

3. Open the cans of chickpeas, drain, and rinse them off in a strainer using cold water.

4.  Blend in chickpeas a little at a time until the cream has thickened, but isn’t too thick and is still pale. Add salt to taste. If it’s too thick, just add some filtered water and blend until consistency is .

5. Scoop the hummus into a bowl, sprinkle parsley and chopped tomatoes on top, and drizzle good olive oil over it. It’s best if served at room temperature or slightly warmer.

Note: The key to a good, creamy hummus is to emulsify the tahini in a water based liquid (or lemon juice) FIRST. This will NOT happen if you just put everything into a food processor all at once!

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HOT SPINACH ARTICHOKE DIP

Ingredients:

• 1 (14 ounce) can artichoke hearts, drained
• 1/3 cup grated Romano cheese
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• 1 (10 ounce) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained
• 1/3 cup cream cheese
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
• salt to taste

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a 9×13 inch baking dish.

2. In a blender or food processor, place artichoke hearts, Romano cheese, Parmesan cheese and garlic . Pulse until chopped, but not ground. Set aside.

3. In a medium bowl, mix together spinach, heavy cream, sour cream and mozzarella cheese. Stir in artichoke mixture. Spoon into prepared baking dish.

4. Bake in the preheated oven for 20 to 25 minutes, or until top is lightly browned and cheese is melted and bubbly.

5. Garnish with fresh, diced tomatoes and serve with tortilla chips, or french bread rounds.

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JINI’S TABOULEH

Ingredients:

2 cups couscous, cooked and cooled
1 medium onion, finely diced
1 cup chopped parsley
1/2 cup fresh mint leaves, chopped (optional)
1 cup chopped fresh tomatoes, peeled
5 tablespoons (1/4 cup + 1 tablespoon) olive oil
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
salt to taste

To make 2 cups of cooked couscous:

Bring 1 cup of filtered water to a boil in a pot, along with 1 tsp of olive oil and 1/4 tsp salt. Stir in 2/3 cup of couscous and bring it back to a boil again. Then immediately put a lid on the saucepan and turn off the stove. Leave it sit for 10 minutes and then fluff with a fork and turn it into a bowl to cool off. When cooled, you can use it to make the Tabouleh.

Mix all ingredients together well and refrigerate.

Serve with pita bread, tortilla chips or as a side dish to a main meal.

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UPSCALE CHEESE LOG

Ingredients:

• 2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
• 1/2 cup shredded sharp Cheddar cheese
• 3 ounces blue cheese
• 1/2 cup butter, melted
• 1 tablespoon finely minced garlic
• 1/2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
• 1/2 cup finely chopped fresh black olives
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped green onions
• 1 cup chopped, roasted pecans

1. In a large bowl, mix the cream cheese, Cheddar cheese, blue cheese, melted butter, garlic, and Worcestershire sauce until mixed smoothly. Then stir in the olives and green onions until well mixed. Cover, and refrigerate 30 minutes, until firm.

2. Shape the mixture into logs 1.5 inches in diameter, and roll each in the pecans to coat.

3. Wrap each log in wax paper and then again in plastic wrap (this prevents the transfer of toxins from the plastic into the food).

Store in fridge or freezer

To Roast Pecans: Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large frying pan, at medium heat. Add the pecans and stir constantly until they make a “pop” sound and/or smell like toasted nuts.

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SINGAPORE SWEET ‘N SOUR MEATBALLS

Ingredients:

* 1 pound ground beef
* 1 egg
* 1 onion, chopped
* 1 large carrot, diced very tiny
* 1 cup dry bread crumbs
* salt and pepper to taste
* 1 cup water
* 1/4 cup white vinegar
* 1/2 cup ketchup
* 2 tablespoons cornstarch
* 1/4 cup brown sugar or honey
* 3 tablespoons soy sauce

1. In a large bowl, combine beef, egg, onion, bread crumbs, salt and pepper. Roll into meatballs about 1 inch in size.

2. In a large skillet over medium heat, saute the meatballs until meatballs are browned on all sides.

3. In a separate medium bowl, mix together the water, vinegar, ketchup, cornstarch, carrots, sugar (or honey) and soy sauce. Pour over the meatballs, and allow sauce to thicken. Continue to heat until the sauce just starts to bubble.

4. Serve over rice.

Serves 5

p.s. we also served vegetable samosas at the party, which you can get from any “Little India” area of your city. Ours were from:

Calgary Sweets
113-7928 128 Street
Surrey, BC
(604) 591-9955

Usually, our knee-jerk reaction is to trumpet on at them about “comittment!”. Thinking we are doing a good job by teaching our children the value of comittment, of sticking it out, of seeing things through.

Or, an alternative motivation behind achieving compliance might be, as I heard one parent say, “Life sucks. Better they find out now.” Erm….

At any rate, this is can also be a source of conflict between parents, as they often hold differing views on the appropriate way to handle a kid who says, “I’m not going!”

Since this seems to be such a common parenting challenge, I’ve decided to share my thoughts on this issue and some unedited, personal correspondence between my husband and I when we recently faced this issue with our eldest son Oscar, age 9.

From birth, Oscar has been a child with lots of fears. He hates any situation where he does not feel in control and therefore doesn’t feel safe. Unfortunately, in our culture, where children are not treated as fully cognizant human beings with essential rights and dignities, this happens often.

So our challenge as parents has been to do whatever it takes to make him feel safe, whilst slowly helping him to build confidence and security in the world.

This latest incidence was sparked by Oscar’s refusal to go the the first track meet of the season. Oscar had decided he would like to join the track team at school (his first time trying track & field, and his first time joining a school team). His Dad had been getting up early 3 times a week to drive him to track practice before school. After three weeks of practices, it was time to attend his first track meet competition after school.

However, early that morning, Oscar decided he didn’t want to go. I was still in bed (having been up late working the night before), by the time he came into my room, Oscar was so upset he refused to even go to school that day.

So, I kept him home with me – on the stipulation that he was not allowed to play with his homeschooled neighbour until 3 pm. I didn’t want to reward him for staying home, but I wanted him to be able to take a day off and not be forced into attending when he was so upset. We spent a long time talking about his feelings about track, the team, the coach, his feelings about his Dad, similar incidences in the past, etc. Then we did a mind/body acupuncture tapping method together called EFT (Emotional Freedom Techniques) to release some of the fear and conflict he was feeling.

He spent the rest of the day playing with his 2 year old brother and re-doing a five-page homework assignment in hopes that he could resubmit it and get a better mark (he did).

However, my husband did not agree with my handling of this situation. He feels we should not allow Oscar’s fears to stop him, but should use various persuasive techniques to get him to ‘keep his commitments’.

If we were to do this, then let’s follow this “method” through to its natural conclusion:

- Oscar will quit unless we hammer him into going
- Oscar performs well after lots of pressure, cajoling, bribery from us
- Oscar can lie about his feelings, because he is a people-pleaser and he MOST wants to please his Dad, one of the most important people in his life. Oscar doesn’t want Dad or Grandad to feel bad. He wants the important people in his life to be happy and proud of him.

What do all of these points above have in common?

NONE of the motivation, desire, commitment etc. is coming from Oscar himself. It is all coming from external influences – i.e. the parents.

So what are we teaching Oscar through this method?

We can try to force, trick, cajole or control our child’s choices. Or we can view it as a process and be there as a support and guide as he discovers natural consequences to his actions and then asks self if that’s who he is? how he wants to live his life? etc.

Oscar had an excellent experience of consequences when his friend M. told him of his wins at the meet. Oscar was royally pissed off. This is good. This is actually positive and part of the process. This is a natural consequence.

Oscar also expressed some very valid feeling and fears when we discussed it in the morning. We did some EFT TAPPING on those fears. Do you think Oscar would participate in tapping – which he dislikes – if his fears weren’t real?

So, back to the natural conclusion of this method……

If we use these methods, we are teaching Oscar that:

1. He should do something, not because he wants to, or it’s in alignment with his goals and values as a human being, but because he’s weak enough to allow himself to be manipulated into performing the way SOMEONE ELSE wants him to behave. That’s a lesson that will serve him really well when the dominant presence in his life is not us, but his peer group. We’ll see really good results from that training when the person he most wants to please is not mum or dad, but his girlfriend, or the popular guys at school.

2. Better not try anything, because god help you if you decide you don’t like it anymore, or it’s too stressful, or just not what you expected. Because then your parents are going to FORCE you to keep going, because you made a COMMITMENT. So, best to just not try anything new, or join anymore group activities, ’cause it’s not worth the aggro.

If Oscar had come to me first that morning – before working himself into such a state of resistance and conflict with dad – he would most likely have chosen to attend the track meet.

Why?

Because my agenda is not to control him and get him to do what I think is best for him. My agenda is to find out what HE wants and talk to him about how his actions determine who he is in this world. And does he want his world to become bigger or smaller?

My agenda is to discover Oscar’s real concerns regarding the coaching and the dynamics of the other kids and how all that makes him feel. And then address those feelings using an effective tool like EFT. My agenda is to give him the FREEDOM and tools to achieve the freedom to be who HE wants to be in this life. NOT who I want him to be.

My agenda is to let him make some mistakes in his life, so he can learn about who he is, what he wants, and natural consequences of his actions. Rather than forcing, cajoling, bribing him to immediately produce the desired result (i.e. go to this track meet) I see this incidence as more than just whether he’ll go to the meet or not, no, it is far more valuable as a teaching and learning tool for Oscar’s development into a successful adult.

I am not looking to raise an obedient child who can be easily controlled by me and perform according to MY values, and what’s important to me.

I am looking to raise a strong, successful adult, who is cognizant of HIS values, what is important to him, and lives his life accordingly.

And what would be the natural conclusion of this method?

1. He will look to his OWN gut for wisdom about what he’s really feeling and what’s really important to him. Not to the dominant person in his life.

2. He will learn natural consequences for various actions NOW when the payback is not too damaging nor devastating. Why do you think most teenagers make such disastrous decisions and muck themselves up so badly? They haven’t had any practice! They’ve been CONTROLLED as children, rather than guided to find their own wisdom and ALLOWED to make good and BAD choices, so they experience the consequences and then revise future behaviour based on lessons learned.

3. He will learn the importance of using tools like dialoguing openly with someone he respects, EFT, connecting with his gut, to solve his problems and dilemmas.

4. Hopefully, over time, he will reduce his people-pleasing tendencies as he comes to put his own feelings and body wisdom before others. This will make him much happier in his life and also render him less susceptible to negative, persuasive influences. This will increase his integrity and authenticity as a successful human being in this life.

I hope that’s given you some ideas for dealing with this issue in your family, or at least sparked some good dialogue. Let me know your thoughts in the COMMENTS box below….

Soar higher,
Jini