As summer vacation comes to an end, for many of us, thoughts turn back towards school.  Late August to early September feels as much like a beginning to me as January 1st.  It’s that school year rhythm that’s embedded deep in my psyche.  As I consider the new school year, I ask myself a few questions: “What worked well last year?” “What can I do to make things more manageable?”

If you want to make a new school year resolution, but aren’t sure where to begin, here are some suggestions.  Remember, even adopting just one of the following will yield benefits for all.  Happy New School Year!

1. Invest in a quality backpack: While it’s tempting and easy to buy a low-cost backpack featuring one of your kids’ favorite TV characters at a local big market store, spending more now for a well-made backpack will save you a nice chunk of change over the years.  A friend of mine has a daughter entering the fifth grade, and she’s had the same backpack since kindergarten!  It’s still in great shape — no holes or broken zippers; it’s washable, so it still looks fresh; and its classic styling has made it timeless.

2. Invest in a quality reusable lunch kit: Basically, everything noted about quality backpacks applies here.  A sturdy, well-made lunch bag or box and reusable water bottle, made without bisphenol-A (BPA) or lead, will keep your child’s lunches safe over the years.  There are quite a few options available that include reusable dishes, so that you and the planet can be free from endless plastic baggies.  Lunchsense washable lunch boxes can be purchased alone or with a set of reusable, multi-sized, watertight containers made of food grade plastics, an ice pack and a drink bottle.  The lunchbox itself becomes a placemat for your child’s meal.

3. Prepare more school lunches: Sending your kids to school with lunch from home is the best way to ensure that they have the option to eat the things you think are best for them (though, you can’t totally control lunchroom swaps.)  However, in a crunch or culinary imagination slump, it’s easy to quit preparing lunch and to allow kids to buy whatever the cafeteria has cooked up.  To help make preparing school lunches easier, try planning out your child’s lunch menu earlier than the night before.  Schools often send home the lunch menu for the month.  You can create a similar schedule of meals so that you can shop weekly based on the predetermined menu, and know in advance what you’re packing each day.  Having your child help with the menu selections can help you pick meals that will actually get eaten.  Also, if possible, designate a space in your pantry and fridge as the “school shelves,” so that the family will know not to eat certain items, frustrating your school lunch and snack plans.

4. Simplify your schedules:  Soccer, swim team, gymnastics, dance lessons, book clubs, community theater, birthday parties, playdates… getting overscheduled is so easy to do!  Determine your priorities for the year, and honor them.  Isn’t having a family life that is sane and cohesive more important than having a child trying to excel at everything?  Once you get a grasp on what the school workload is, try to limit extra-curriculars to what brings your child pleasure and growth, but minimal stress.  Down time is vital to health and growth.

5. Have a consistent bedtime:  Kids need to get enough sleep at night, and parents need time to unwind.  Figure out what time your kids need to be in bed each night, then schedule enough time for the evening wind down — clean up, baths, book reading — in order to have lights out by bedtime

6. Prepare a nutritious breakfast: We all know that a good breakfast supports a successful day for both kids and adults, yet the things we often associate with breakfast are not especially nutritious: pancakes, waffles, sugary cereals.  Stock your fridge and pantry with easy to prepare breakfasts — eggs, whole-grain cold and hot cereals, quality bread, low-fat yogurt, fresh fruit, nut butters – to make breakfast energizing, healthy and no fuss.  Also, remember that breakfast does not equal sweet.  Consider including savory options such as warmed up beans and brown rice or hummus with whole-grain pita on your breakfast menu.

7. Donate outgrown clothes: Kids grow and grow and grow, making some new school clothes obsolete before they’ve been thoroughly broken in.  Do yourself a favor and immediately donate outgrown clothes to a thrift store or pass them on to someone who can use them instead of cluttering up your home with them.  They will be a treasure to someone and you’ll enjoy not having overstuffed drawers and closets full of clothes no one in your home can wear.

8. Recycle paper: The volumes of paper that kids bring home from school astonishes me.  Newsletters, fundraising material, spelling lists and tests, homework assignments, flyers, doodles.  While some of this material — certain lessons and art projects — are keepers — a lot of it is not.  You know it’s coming, so be prepared.  Make it easy to dump unnecessary papers in a recycling bin or bag in your home, reducing both clutter and landfill trash.

9. Give yourself enough time in the morning:  Being rushed is anxiety-inducing, stirs up anger and is, overall, a lousy feeling.  If you have found your family consistently experiencing the morning rush, it probably means you or certain members need to get up earlier than is customary.  Sometimes a simple extra fifteen minutes is all it takes to make getting to the bus stop, make sure everything’s in the backpack, and have time for good-bye kisses the new normal.

10. Bless your life: In all of the hustle and bustle of having school-aged children, it’s easy to develop the habit of complaining or operating out of a low-grade negativity.  A definition of “to curse” is “to speak evil of.”  Instead, bless yourself, your family, your life.  These years are a passing season, and while it’s not all bliss, give your family the gift of being grateful for the good, the love, the health, the joy, the humor and the blessedness of the day.

Via Care2

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1. In study after study, research from independent organizations consistently shows organic food is higher in nutrients than traditional foods. Research shows that organic produce is higher in vitamin C, antioxidants, and the minerals calcium, iron, chromium, and magnesium.

2. They’re free of neurotoxins–toxins that are damaging to brain and nerve cells. A commonly-used class of pesticides called organophosphates was originally developed as a toxic nerve agent during World War I. When there was no longer a need for them in warfare, industry adapted them to kill pests on foods. Many pesticides are still considered neurotoxins.

3. They’re supportive of growing children’s brains and bodies. Children’s growing brains and bodies are far more susceptible to toxins than adults. Choosing organic helps feed their bodies without the exposure to pesticides and genetically-modified organisms, both of which have a relatively short history of use (and therefore safety).

4. They are real food, not pesticide factories. Eighteen percent of all genetically-modified seeds (and therefore foods that grow from them) are engineered to produce their own pesticides. Research shows that these seeds may continue producing pesticides inside your body once you’ve eaten the food grown from them! Foods that are actually pesticide factories…no thanks.

5. The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimates that pesticides pollute the primary drinking source for half the American population. Organic farming is the best solution to the problem. Buying organic helps reduce pollution in our drinking water.

6. Organic food is earth-supportive (when big business keeps their hands out of it). Organic food production has been around for thousands of years and is the sustainable choice for the future. Compare that to modern agricultural practices that are destructive of the environment through widespread use of herbicides, pesticides, fungicides, and fertilizers and have resulted in drastic environmental damage in many parts of the world.

7. Organic food choices grown on small-scale organic farms help ensure independent family farmers can create a livelihood. Consider it the domestic version of fair trade.

8. Most organic food simply tastes better than the pesticide-grown counterparts.

9. Organic food is not exposed to gas-ripening like some non-organic fruits and vegetables (like bananas).

10. Organic farms are safer for farm workers. Research at the Harvard School of Public Health found a 70 percent increase in Parkinson’s disease among people exposed to pesticides. Choosing organic foods means that more people will be able to work on farms without incurring the higher potential health risk of Parkinson’s or other illnesses.

11. Organic food supports wildlife habitats. Even with commonly used amounts of pesticides, wildlife is being harmed by exposure to pesticides.

12. Eating organic may reduce your cancer risk. The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) considers 60% of herbicides, 90% of fungicides, and 30 percent of insecticides potentially cancer-causing. It is reasonable to think that the rapidly increasing rates of cancer are at least partly linked to the use of these carcinogenic pesticides.

13. Choosing organic meat lessens your exposure to antibiotics, synthetic hormones, and drugs that find their way into the animals and ultimately into you.

14. Organic food is tried and tested. By some estimates genetically-modified food makes up 80% of the average person’s food consumption. Genetic modification of food is still experimental. Avoid being part of this wide scale and uncontrolled experiment.

15. Organic food supports greater biodiversity. Diversity is fundamental to life on this planet. Genetically-modified and non-organic food is focused on high yield monoculture and is destroying biodiversity.

Michelle Schoffro Cook, RNCP, ROHP, DAc, DNM, is a best-selling and six-time book author and doctor of natural medicine, whose works include: The Life Force Diet, The Ultimate pH Solution, and The 4-Week Ultimate Body Detox Plan. Learn more at: www.TheLifeForceDiet.com.

To learn more about Personal Chef To Go, please visit our website, find us on Facebook, or follow us on Twitter.

By Allison Ford, DivineCaroline

I may not have been an early bird since birth, but after years of training myself to jump-start my day, my body naturally wants to get a move on as soon as it�s light outside. In fact, I’m now almost incapable of sleeping past 8 a.m.

Some people may consider that a tragic flaw, but I enjoy getting up early. I like not being rushed as I prepare for work, and I enjoy the morning hour when I’m alone in the office. For some people, waking up early isn’t the easiest lifestyle to sustain, but for those who can stick it out, it offers a bevy of benefits.

1. More “Me” Time
While my fiance is hitting the snooze button repeatedly, I’m taking a leisurely shower, tidying up around the house, and catching up on last night’s Daily Show. When you wake up early, without phone calls, emails, or pestering family members, the time is yours to spend as you please, whether you meditate, exercise, read, or simply watch that television show your spouse hates. Many parents of young children find that the early-morning hours provide their only chance to enjoy a cup of coffee or relax alone before the day begins.

2. Regular Workouts
People’s motivation to exercise is high first thing in the morning. Many report that they are more likely to stick to a morning workout routine than to an afternoon or evening one, since distractions have a way of derailing later plans to get to the gym. Also, although it hasn’t been proven, some exercise physiologists believe that exercising in the morning on an empty stomach forces the body to burn stored fat, instead of other calories.

A study published in the November 2006 issue of the journal SLEEP found that exercising in the morning led to better sleep at night. The researchers theorized that the morning activity helped to properly align the body’s circadian rhythms. Test subjects who postponed exercise until the evening actually had a more difficult time falling asleep.

3. An Easier Commute
In some cities, the difference between a breezy, quick commute and total gridlock can be as little as fifteen minutes. Getting up early to beat traffic makes commuting not only more relaxing and peaceful, but also safer. Stressed driving, either because of traffic conditions or because the driver is running late, can lead to aggressive behavior, speeding, and poor decision making, increasing the chance of accidents. For those who rely on public transportation to get to work, getting up early can mean the difference between grabbing a seat on a nearly empty train or bus and cramming in next to strangers, holding on to the strap for dear life.

4. The Benefit of Breakfast
When you sleep in and hurry out the door, breakfast is often one of the first parts of the morning routine to go, and many people who sleep in very late end up skipping breakfast altogether and waiting until lunchtime to eat. Yet countless studies have demonstrated the positive effects of eating a healthy breakfast: people who do so tend to feel fuller, make better food choices throughout the day, and be a healthier weight than non-breakfast eaters. Waking up early gives us the benefit of time and energy to put together a healthy breakfast, instead of grabbing fast food or forgoing the meal entirely.

5. Family Matters
When you have time in the morning to tidy up the house, start prepping for dinner, or do errands, you can use the extra evening hours to relax and have fun with your partner, your kids, or your friends. Most people would probably rather spend their evenings enjoying a movie or eating a leisurely family dinner than doing housework. Getting your chores done at the beginning of the day makes those activities more possible.

6. High Productivity
In 2007, Yahoo! Finance surveyed twenty CEOs and high-powered executives at companies like Pepsi, Motorola, Avaya, and Xerox. One thing that all of them had in common was that they were all awake before 6 a.m. They used that time to get ahead on email, exercise, read the paper, or take care of family chores. All of the survey respondents said that getting up early was absolutely essential to their productivity.

7. A Brainpower Boost
There’s also some evidence that our brains are at their peak performance in the morning hours. In a study conducted at the University of North Texas, college students who reported getting up early had higher GPAs than students who slept in regularly.

8. Less Stress
When you get up early, you set a relaxed and comfortable pace for the whole day. Between getting yourself ready for work, getting your kids ready for school, commuting to work, and doing all the other things that have to happen before 9 a.m., things can get pretty stressful. Reducing stress has a big effect on health, since stress can result in headaches, stomachaches, hair loss, high blood pressure, and anxiety and can exacerbate other chronic ailments. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) estimates that stress-related conditions cost American businesses about $300 million every year. When you build extra time into your morning routine, you don’t feel like you’re rushing everywhere.

The biggest benefit of being a morning person is that the world operates on your schedule. Night owls may love sleeping till noon, but it’s a fact that most of life happens during the daytime, and if you’re not awake and ready, opportunity can pass you by. Waking up early isn’t the easiest thing to do, and even those of us who enjoy being early birds occasionally have days when we’re tempted to hit the snooze button (again). But it’s nice to know that once we’re out of bed, the world is ours for a few brief, shining moments…at least, until everyone else wakes up.

At DivineCaroline.com, women come together to learn from experts in the fields, of health, sustainability, and culture; to reflect on shared experiences; and to express themselves by writing and publishing stories about anything that matters to them. Here, real women publish like real pros. Together, with our staff writers, they’re discussing all facets of women’s lives from relationships and careers, to travel and healthy living. So come discover, read, learn, laugh and connect at DivineCaroline.com.

Via The LA Times Daily Dish

Thirty million children eat school lunch every day. A pretty big captive audience, and plenty of healthy-food advocates want to see some changes in the National School Lunch Program and the School Breakfast Program.

So what do food people do when they want to make a statement? They do it with food, naturally. Slow Food USA has organized "Time for Lunch," a campaign to draw attention to school food. Around the country, almost 270 pot luck "eat-ins" are planned on Sept. 7, in schools, community gardens, parks, homes and other spots. One goal is to get 20,000 people to sign a petition to the federal government asking for changes in the school food programs.

“We want to tell the story of America coming together to demand food that’s good for their kids,” said Slow Food’s president, Josh Viertel.

For Viertel and others, that means more fresh fruits and vegetables and more federal money for schools to buy food -- many child nutrition advocates would like to see $1 a day per child more -- reimbursements are now less than $3 for each free lunch a cafeteria serves.

One of the Los Angeles events will be at 4 p.m. at Fancifull Fine Food and Baskets, on Melrose Avenue near Larchmont. Computers will be available for people to sign the Slow Food petition, and there will be cooking demonstrations for children by Homegirl Cafe. People are asked to bring a dish to share.

Other eat-ins are planned in Elysian Park, Culver City, Highland Park and elsewhere around L.A.

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