Back To School Lunch Tips

My guest Denay Davis provided these bag lunch ideas:

It should be noted that most children do not like unusual textures and/or flavors. Children like the foods they are accustomed to PB&J (for those who like it, American Cheese, simple cold cuts, bologna, ham, & turkey.

The real key is to keep it simple, fresh and familiar. Parents who feel the need to experiment should save it for the weekend when children are home and they can experience first hand the child's reaction to a new food. There is nothing worse that going to school and finding out at lunchtime that your parent has stuffed your lunch pail with a food you have never eaten.


Advice for creating good lunches:
No child likes to eat a lunch that is "smashed."
No child likes to eat messy food, e.g. boiled eggs (they also smell bad) oranges, bananas etc.

No child likes soggy bread.

Lunches should not be an after-thought; parents must put time and effort into what they are feeding or not feeding their children.

Bag-lunch ideas that require no refrigeration:

1. Mozzarella string-cheese sticks (other hard cheeses are great too) and whole-wheat/multi-grain crackers, Fruit cups. Whole-wheat carrot and/or apple muffins.

2. Bagel spread with cream cheese (you may want to try mini-bagels for small children) Sugar snap peas. Box of raisins.

3. Tortilla rolled up with a slice of mild cheese. Fresh green beans.
Small tangerines (Clementines, if in season).

4. Banana bread spread with peanut butter and a little honey. Cucumber slices.
Melon cubes.

5. Cream cheese and apple and/or pumpkin butter on whole-grain bread. Veggie mix (baby carrots, snap peas). Dried apricots or mixed dried fruits.

6. Half of a pita stuffed with shredded carrot and mild cheese (or peanut butter).
Individual cup of applesauce.

Bread:

Pita (either small individual size or half of a regular-size)
Quick bread (banana, pumpkin, apple, etc.)
Whole-wheat bun (hamburger or hot dog)
Bagel
Tortilla
Raisin bread

Fillings:

Peanut butter, plain or with (pick one) honey, banana, jelly, shredded carrot, raisin
Cream cheese, plain or with (pick one) jelly, apple butter, shredded veggies
Mild cheese
Hummus

Veggies:

Baby carrots or carrot sticks
Fresh green beans
Sugar snap peas
Cucumber slices
Crisp, tender broccoli florets (small ranch dressing cups)
Zucchini sticks

Fruits:

Half a banana
Small apple
Orange wedge
Raisins or other dried fruits
Drained pineapple chunks (or fresh)
Individual applesauce container
Melon cubes


Food Safety
Use a thermos to keep soups, stews and casseroles warm. Wash the thermos with soap and hot water after every use.
Place a frozen juice box or bottled water next to cold food items.
Use an ice pack to keep foods cold. (use puncture proof ice packs.
Use an insulated lunch container to help keep temperatures stable.


Listen to the entire interview at The Recipe Box with Barbara Howard.

Go to the The Recipe Box Show website (www.BlogTalkRecipes.com) to download recipes, contests and more!

The Sexualization of Our Young Girls

Special guests: Elizabeth Atkins, Anthony Reeves, Esq. and Christine Lowe-Woolard.

Recently I read article online about little girls receiving pedicures as young as six years old, and "Hooker Barbie" being released by Mattel in September. The Mommy blogger sites lit up with commentary on this subject. Most of them crying "Enough is enough!" What are we teaching our girls? What is the key to positive healthy body image and self-esteem? What's your opinion? Join us and share your thoughts.

My guests for tonight's show:
Elizabeth Atkins has appeared on Montell Williams and Oprah. She is a best selling author and nominate for a Pulitzer Prize. She is an expert speaker on the topic of multi-racial identity.

Christine Lowe-Woolard is a Yale grad, educator, entrepreneur, homeschooler, and prolific blogger.

Anthony Reeves, Esq is a mentor, motivational speaker, martial artist, talk show host, an active member of Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity and a member of the Florida State Bar.

www.BlogTalkRadio.com/TheRecipeBox
Friday, August 15th
8:00pm ET
You can stop by and listen to the archives or download through iTunes.

My BTR Podcasts - What's Going On?

Hello all ~

I rarely use this blog to promote my podcasts at BTR. Just wanted to post a quick message here for my listeners about a few things that I'm working on.

You may have already noticed a few changes on the schedule with the time slot fluctuating between 2:30 and 8:00pm, ET.

Also, I am spending more time behind the scenes helping others develop new programs and marketing the podcasts of experienced hosts.

One method is by featuring guest hosts and/or recurring co-hosts. The BTR team has been very supportive, as usual. And I appreciate each and every one of you. I'm very excited about all of the new opportunities and possibilities that have opened up for me by reaching out to others in the community. You can visit the website for more details - www.BarbaraHowardTalkRadio.com - Expect great things!

Blessings,

Barbara

Goals & Personal Happiness

Did you know that goals and your personal happiness can be linked? You may not know this because it because of the success of making it to your goals that you will find personal happiness. You will also find that there are many other things that you can build happiness with, but you will find that good health, spiritual comfort, money, power, and beauty are all because of goal setting. They do make us happy, however, you will get all and more when you learn how to reach for your personal goals and find a way to your personal happiness.

Right now you must have at least two goals; one short term and one long term goal. You will want to think about how you feel when you do end up reaching these goals. You will want to make sure that you take your time to explain your feelings, because in the end you need to find your happiness. Do you think that your current goals will find your happiness? Do you really think that you can work on being a better person by changing your goals? It is very important that you learn how to be a happier person, but it is more important to seek out the goals that you truly believe will make you happy.

Keep in mind that true happiness and your personal success doesn't just happen by chance. You will also find that luck has nothing to do with it either. The thing is that you need to figure out what it is that you need to be happy and then you will need to work hard to achieve those goals. You will also need to face the facts that cheating and money will not buy you happiness. It can buy you success, but there is a factor of integrity that makes you feel good about reaching a goal. If you do not have integrity, then you might as well just give up on your personal happiness.

Also, you can't compare the way you feel to the way others feel. You will not be able to find the same happiness that others find in specific goals, because it has to truly be in the heart. Happiness is actually a condition and it's completely in your head. You will need to set some goals along with objectives so that you can reach out for bigger and better things. The fact that you try your hardest for something will also make you feel very happy in the end. Also, keep in mind that this is just you. You can't make happiness for anyone else, specially your family. Your mate may become happy because you are happy, but their true happiness lies in your smile or confidence. Keep in mind that happiness is only good for one person; however, you can strive with your mate and possible reach happiness together.

http://www.Vigilant-Communications.com

Book: A Day For The Animals

My new book - A Day For The Animals




The story: What if you said a prayer and then changed your mind. But before you could take it back, God answered it? When Roger Grayson said the animals should rule the world, God was listening. And his family will never be the same again.

For one day the Graysons live among the animals and learn the meaning of love, courage and commitment. 3rd grade reading level; 80 pages. ISBN: 978-1-4382-4033-6

View the trailer here:

A Day For The Animals

What people are saying:

"Congratulations on your story ... I enjoyed each and every moment of the read. The story kept me captivated. While reading, I was always excited to get to the next page." - Teresa Johnson, GottiTravel, LLC (www.gottitravel.com)

"I enjoyed reading this story very much, and I think children would certainly be interested." - Janice Lowery, Founder of Saving Our Children
(www.savingourchildren.bravehost.com)

"In her latest book, A Day for the Animals, Barbara Howard takes us on a journey...a journey of faith. Through the eyes of a young boy we see how even the smallest prayer, even if we are in doubt about the specifics of the prayer, God answers - whether we want Him to or not! In the beauty of His creation lies the answers to our never ending quest for purpose and truth in our troubled world which Howard elegantly and delicately shares with her readers. This book is a must-read and not only for animal lovers!" - Dr. Kim Bloomer, veterinary naturopath, author, and host of Animal Talk Naturally.
(www.AnimalTalkNaturally.com)

"Come and meet Rodger, the kid in all of us. Barbara Howard delivers a delightful story that every child "and parent should read!"
-Antonio L. Crawford, CEO, Top Book Sales (www.TopBookSales.com)

Coming in Fall 2008 - The Sequel: Connie's Gift

In the sequel to A Day For The Animals, Mr. Grayson is hospitalized with a heart condition. The only doctor that is capable of saving his life is missing due to a plane crash while on a medical missions trip in a remote area. Roger begins having dreams about the colt from their first adventure. When the angel arrives to explain the dreams, Roger and Nathan are enlisted by God to locate the doctor and bring her home safely. As the boys proceed through their journey, they get in trouble. Connie is brought by the angel to help them. Her knowledge of art and botany are key to their survival. And her heart of compassion moves the hand of God on their behalf when one of them becomes sick and slips into a coma.

Hiring a Ghostwriter

Even if you can write, it might make more sense to hire one or more ghostwriters to provide your articles. Needing hundreds of articles in a short amount of time will make it necessary to hire several.

There are many reasons to have someone else do your writing. The hard part is, finding a good, affordable ghost writer. You can post a bid request for the work at one of the freelance sites, such as www.elance.com or www.rentacoder.com , but you may not get a writer who can do a decent job.

One of the major problems you may find at these sites is the fact that in order to get a low price, they often hire writers who don’t speak, or write, English very well. This doesn’t mean that the writer is a poor one, it simply means that they don’t know English well enough to provide the content you need.

Plagiarism is often another problem you will find at these sites. If you purchase articles from a writer at a freelance site, go to copyscape at www.copyscape.com and run each article through to make sure that the work is original.

Your best bet is to hire someone who you can use exclusively for all of your writing needs. Most of these writers are quite expensive, but you can find some that will write good articles at a reasonable price. One company that hires good writers and charges affordable rates can be found at www.writingandtranscriptionservices.com . This place offers you 300 – 500 word articles written for under ten dollars.

The best way to get what you want from another writer is to relay exactly what you are looking for. Providing the writer with a list of topics or titles for the articles is a very good idea. This allows the writer to see exactly what you are looking for. A good writer will get your articles done quickly. The time will depend on how many articles you need, and how much research the writer must do.

Most ghost writers will want part of their money before they start working for a new customer. This deposit is usually equal to one third or one half of whatever the total cost will be. Once you and your writer have established a good working relationship, however, they may allow you to pay only upon completion.

Article Marketing and How It Works

It is an estabilished fact that Article Marketing works by a large number of Internet Marketers in wide variety of niches. This has been repeatedly proven. However, those who have not ever attempted article marketing tend to think that it is harder or more time consuming than it actually is.

Starts by writing an article. This can be done by yourself or you can hire a ghost writer. The cost of ghost written articles is usually less than $10.00 for a 300 to 500 word article. It is important that the article be informative and related to your niche. The article should not sound like a sales letter.

At the end of the article, you include your ‘resource box.’ A resource box is simply information about the author, and it usually includes a link to the authors related website, a link to subscribe to a newsletter, and possibly even an email address to contact the author. If your article is ghost written, you are still the author.

Underneath the resource box, you type a statement giving others the right to reprint the article for free, as long as they don’t change it and keep your resource box attached. This allows others to help make your article viral.

Once the article is written, you should distribute it to as many article directories as you can find. It helps to also send the article to ezine publishers within your niche for consideration. You can find lists of ezines in the various ezine directories that are available on the Internet.

There is article-submission software that can be used to speed up submitting your article in. One example of this type of software is Instant Article Submitter at www.instantarticlesubmitter.com . There are also services that will manually submit your article to directories. This is highly recommended because many article directories do not allow and will not accept articles submitted with software. One such recommended article submission service is We Submit Articles at:
www.wesubmitarticles.com .

Submitting the articles yourself is a time consuming task. If you can hire someone else to do that work, you will have more time overall to concentrate your efforts on other marketing tasks, including producing more articles.