Sideline Observations

The coolest parents are really just that ... cool.  Not too many ruffled feathers to get in the way of watching their kids play.

I have laughed with, chatted among and observed some quite interesting parents in hundreds of games the past decade.  But today for some reason, it really made an impression on me the importance of training children to be good citizens.  Simple as that.

If they are argumentative on the field, disrespectful on the field that is one thing.  If the parents encourage that behavior ... well that is scary to me.  You've all seen this before if you are reading this. Correct me if I'm wrong, but shouldn't we promote some good stuff instead of the negative vibes?  Yelling at players on the fields from the sidelines is just so sad.  My daughter came home upset from her game where the other team's parents were calling her names.  Really?  How old are we?

Just sayin'...

Breed love not hate :)

Krista

"I'm not concerned with your liking or disliking me ... All I ask is that you respect me as a human being."
                                                                                                                              ~Jackie Robinson

3 Ingredients ... That's It! Mango Lassi

The Heat is On!

Yes, we're in Summer mode here in NJ for the next few days.  The humidity and sunshine is high which is a big switch from last weekend!

Our kids are all feeling the change as they were playing in 45 degrees and rain last weekend and now they will be on turf tonight with 91 degrees.  That's a big adjustment for all of us (yes, those of us watching too!  Lol!)  I went from ski jacket on Sunday to shorts tonight!  Anyway, I have a great little sweet treat for you that is easy to make and has just 3 ingredients.  This includes some protein, natural sugar and a bit of fat depending on the yogurt you use.  Remember to use the 20 minute window to refuel after events ... they are sponges at that point and it's a good idea to take advantage of it especially in the heat.  AGAIN... remind them to refuel before the event with water ... start 2 - 3 hours before and taper off as you get closer.  It's no fun to run with water sloshing around in their bellies!

I personally love it as a dessert for myself when it is hot ... and I love it thinned down with Thai spicy food!

Mango Lassi

1 cup of frozen mango cubes/1 fresh mango
6-8 ounces of vanilla yogurt
ice cubes (optional)
pinch of cardamom

Put ingredients in blender and blend until smooth.  If you're using frozen mango there is no need for more ice cubes unless you'd like to use a spoon to scoop up.  Thin with water as needed.

Two of my favorite things together!  Mango and Hibiscus!

Enjoy!
Krista
 

Hydrating those kiddies ...

After this weekend in the northeast, the idea of more water may seem a bit insane.  Although the ground needed water, all our soccer games did not!  Lol!

I noticed we are actually warming up in temperature outside!  As sports are in high gear right now, it's really important to remind your kids to drink their fluids.  Not only should they drink during their games and practices, they should drink up before getting there to prime those muscles for some action!

Page 35 from my book states this:
"Hydrate with water.  Water should be a young athlete's primary fluid.  It is difficult to compete with the ads for the sports drinks--I completely understand!  But is it really worth the money to supply these drinks?  No, there really is no benefit to using these drinks, but if you feel your child needs a little something extra, you have a few options:

• Dilute a sports drink with water to get flavor and sodium and still reap the benefits of rehydrating.
• Add a piece of fruit like a lemon or orange slice to a water bottle.
• Dilute lemonade or other fruit juice, especially in the summer months.

• Avoid the following:  carbonated drinks (causes pH leverls to change in the stomach), unfiltered apple juice (can cause cramping), caffeinated drinks (dehydrates them), high fructose corn syrup (not fully digestible and more energy is needed to process)."  

In addition to drinking before their event, it's important to flush out the toxins, rehydrate muscles, and regulate body temperature after the game or training session.

Have a blissful week everyone,
Krista

One of the three games in the rain yesterday!  Don't know how they do it!

Oh yes, the fireplace is still cranking to dry shoes, boots, etc.  Love that thing!

Momma's Day ...

Hope your Mother's Day was fantastic ... Was it what we all dream of? ... a day without laundry, cooking, cleaning or picking up dirty clothes?  Ahh yes!  Sounds like bliss!

The other night I was going through my old teaching stuff.  Yeah, it's time to finally release all the old teaching posters, books, bulletin board papers, books, etc.  I came across my old calendars from my time before kids.  What a kick!  Distances run, miles biked, weekends away, and dinners with friends were all over the boxes!  I had a good laugh and couldn't wait to show my husband when he came home with my daughter from a scrimmage late into Thursday night.  The days before kids were full of fun!  What I had no idea about was what I really was missing.  I looked at the calendar and thought  what did I really do before I became a mother?  Well, I was having fun and loved my students greatly, but I couldn't imagine life right now without them.  I'm sure you all feel the same way as being a full-time mom is sometimes over-whelming, with no time off, but you wouldn't want to change things one bit!

Hopefully yesterday gave you a few minutes to lie in bed a little longer, enjoy a meal that someone else lovingly prepared or even if you're like me you were on a field cheering on your children (I used to laugh when I'd hear parents complaining about Mother's Day games, our league doesn't ever give Mother's Day off and they were shocked we had to play)!

Time to ourselves is precious.  We are constantly doing for others and often times forget to give to ourselves.  I hear this all the time from friends and clients.  The thing is this ... if we don't make time for ourselves, our families feel the strain.  We give, give, give and eventually this gets old.  The vibe in our voices, the health of our bodies, and our relationships begin to weaken.  Here is one simple tip that I have found works for everyone:

Add Yourself to Your To-Do List!

If you really want to feel better and have a family that reflects your happiness, make time for yourself.  Even 10 minutes a day can have profound effects on your health.

*Turn off your smartphone ...  even if it is just for 30 minutes during the day.  The constant connectedness never ends ... ours brains never focus on just one thing anymore as we are constantly being pulled in many directions.  Try it ... you may like it!!!
*Schedule your time ... sometimes we just don't have enough hours in the day for ourselves.  Put the scheduled "you" time into your calendar and stick to it.  Get that walk in, go to the movies, take a nap, play that game, etc!
*Create rituals and routines ... we all know routines work but somehow we tend to avoid them.  My biggest tool lately is the sticky pad!!  I use them to remind me of my intentions for the day and rip them off my "list wall" every time something is completed.  Woohoo!  That feeling of success is motivating!

By creating some "You Time" you will be able to enjoy your family with a bit more perspective.  Before you know it, they're grown up!  I could never really appreciate this until lately, as many of my friends' kids are off to college.  My daughter begins high school in the Fall!  We will be expanding our driveway as now we will have 3 cars in the driveway in the coming year and a half. We are getting our sights set on how to find a college that fits her needs, and so on.  How did this happen so fast?  While it is really difficult to not get caught up in the "busy-ness" of the days, I try to take a step back every day and enjoy my kids and our crazy schedules!

 

Hannah's 7th birthday party!

Sophie turning 12!

Much Love and Positive Energy to You All,
Krista

Happy May Everyone! Brain Tumor Awareness Month ...

Yes, it's May already!  Did the words brain tumor just make your skin crawl?  Sorry bout that ... but it's that time of the year to raise awareness about a cause that's near and dear to my heart ... ok, my head.

Yes, I love May because it's the season of growing flowers, Mother's Day and the start of Summer!  Although I'd love a beautiful bouquet of peonies for my day, I'd love it even more if we could find a cure for this little known brain tumor diagnosis called a "meningioma."  A WHAT??!!  I screamed into the phone when I was diagnosed.  Yes, this brain tumor is the most prevalent primary brain tumor out there.

"Of all the patients diagnosed with one, 65% are women.  According to Peter McLaren Black, professor of neurosurgery at Harvard Medical School, meningioma is diagnosed in about one in 1,000 people each year and that at least 138,000 people in the U.S. are living with one."

 ~Liz Holzemer, meningioma survivor and author of "Curveball:  When Life Throws You a Brain Tumor"

These kinds of brain tumors are the ones somewhat discounted by the medical profession as they are known as the "good kind of brain tumors," as many of them are benign.  Call me crazy but in my opinion there are no good brain tumors!  Many meningiomas cause blindness (that's me), deafness, paralysis, cognitive changes, severe mood changes, depression, seizures and more.  Meningiomas have claimed the lives of too many.  It is not a simple surgery (craniotomy) that is just finished when they close you up with titanium screws.  Many people have to learn to live with disablilites and continue to wait and see if the tumor will continue to grow.

I have been blessed with great doctors here in NYC and in Pittsburgh.  Most people who are newly diagnosed have a very good chance of finding a great team of neurosurgeons who have committed their lives to researching and understanding meningiomas.  But we still don't know why people get them.  I had a nice sized tumor the size of a golf ball in my sphenoid wing.  I've always lived a healthy life, heck I'm a holistic health coach!  What causes these things??

If you are able, please consider donating to a non-profit group  called Meningioma Mommas.  Our brain tumors are underfunded  and understudied. You can make a difference!

http://www.meningiomamommas.org/donations

It was the scariest time of my life when I was diagnosed.  I thought I was going to be gone ... not being able to see my two daughters grow up, or grow old with my husband.  I didn't know anyone who had survived a brain tumor or let alone had one! If you or anyone else you know has been diagnosed please feel free to contact me!  You are not alone in your fight!

Much Love,
Krista Daley
 http://krista-daley.healthcoach.integrativenutrition.com/
 http://www.refuelyourathleticfamily.com/

I have never shown this pic to anyone but my family.  I was in the ring with a heavyweight!

Cannot believe my Mom actually wanted to remember me this way!

My love bunny was able to visit :)

Isn't that too freaky?

Here is my "mask face" from the radiation at UPMD last March.

My man smiling to see my clear MRI last June.

Umbrella Drink for You (and your fussy kid!)

It is beyond beautiful here today in NJ!  We are now into Summer for at least a day or two!  Instant happy mood for me!

Anyway I have one really fussy kid as far as getting in "real" food with colors, fiber ... pretty much everything I tell you to eat.  She's also got seasonal allergies right now (who doesn't?) and is milk sensitive.  I just wanted to share a great smoothie with you if you have one of those kids ... and honestly if you threw an umbrella and some rum into it, I'm sure the resorts would be charging $12 for a single serving!

Ok, have to throw this in ... this has a lot of natural sugar in it.  Way more than I would drink on a regular basis ... but for those young athletes it is a good idea ... they need some fiber, natural sugars, a little fat ...  great to drink after practices.  

Pineapple-Mango-Coconut-Banana Smoothie
aka Umbrella Drink

1 ripe banana
1/2 fresh mango (or frozen if you don't have fresh)
1/2 cup pineapple
1/2 cup unsweetened coconut milk or rice milk
I also added some coconut flakes ... Roasted Coconut chips that are sooo good!

(I never measure when I make these so you can just use what you have!)

Blend.
Enjoy!

Here's to more glorious Sunshine!
Krista

Yummy Skincare You Have in Your Cabinets!

Happy Friday My Healthy Peeps!

I have had a great week off with my kids and their friends this week ... no homework and crazy schedules lead to one happy Momma!  I cannot believe it's Friday already!  Soon enough it will go back to insane after school and weekend schedules - between my two girls we have 4 soccer team schedules, 2 lacrosse schedules and 1 track and field schedule ... yep, enjoying the bliss right now of peace!

One thing I wanted to pass on to you was a very simple recipe for great skin care.  If you've been reading any of the stories recently about the chemicals in all your household products, you know that everything out there contains yucky unpronouncable (is that even a word?) ingredients that have serious health risks.  I've been using some all-natural skin care products now for the last 9 months and I have to say I love them and cannot go back to using the other stuff.  I threw out all the soaps, cleaning products and skin care as I cannot stand the smell of fake stuff anymore and because they are downright bad for us and the environment.  And ... my bloodwork that I update every year actually improved in my levels of hormones ... yep, at my age the numbers actually got better :)

So here's a fantastic scrub for you to try:

Homemade Face and Body Scrub

2 teaspoons of honey (raw, organic or local if you have it)

2 teaspoons of granulated sugar (organic brown sugar works best ... the regular kind is too soft) 

1/2 teaspoon of extra virgin olive oil 

optional:  2 drops of lavender essential oil  (please contact me for ordering details)

Mix together in a bowl ... gently apply to face in circular motion and rinse!  I also get in the shower with this as to apply as an exfoliant to the rest of me!  Just make sure you don't leave any residue behind for your famiiy!

Chemical free and so much cheaper than expensive spa treatments!!

Enjoy!

xo,

Krista