Privacy Concerns: Don't Use Mail as a Bookmark

I recently read a letter in a Dear Abby column from a librarian who noted an alarming trend. It seems that quite often people use their mail as bookmarks, but they forget to remove the mail when they return the book! This is a huge concern with identity theft so rampant. Not only does the mail have a person’s name and address on it, but sometimes its a bill or bank statement with sensitive information. Bottom line: Don’t use your mail as a bookmark. If you don’t have a bookmark handy, then use one of the free printable ones below:

Kid Printables

DLTK’s Custom Bookmarks

Jan Brett Bookmarks

Christian Bookmarks

Back-to-School Lunchbox Ideas

Once again, its that time of year when children are starting back to school. Growing up, I always loved the start of school because it meant new clothes to buy and new boys to drool over. But other kids – like my son – dread the end of blissful summer days and the start of homework assignments. And I dread the prospect of planning daily lunches that he may or may not eat. So I’ve been on the hunt for new lunchbox ideas and the following are some tips I wanted to pass onto you:

• Use pita bread or tortilla wraps in place of traditional sandwich bread. In addition to typical lunch meats and cheese, you can also include extra “goodies” like lettuce, carrots, tomatoes, etc. I recently snuck tomatoes in a chicken wrap, and both my son and I were surprised at how much he liked them!

• Make kabobs with ham or turkey, cheese, mushrooms, olives, pickles, tomatoes, and other assorted veggies.

• Salsa and chips will definitely be more interesting than a bag of regular chips. Or try cut-up veggies with ranch dressing or pretzels and cheese sauce.

• Jell-O is almost always a hit, especially when it has been molded into fun shapes with a cookie cutter. Don’t forget to include a plastic spoon in the lunchbox!

• Crunchy granola sweetened with raisins and/or chocolate chips are a great alternative to high-fat snacks. I personally prefer to buy mine already made at Chamberlains or Whole Foods, but there is an easy recipe below if you want to make yours from scratch.

• Pack extra snacks if your child is in an after-school program so they will be properly fueled for school and play. Drinks and food generally do not retain a chilled state past 3-5 hours, so make sure they are non-perishable.

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TRAIL BARS WITH CHOCOLATE CHIPS OR RAISINS
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These bars make a nice addition to a lunchbox or backpack. They're made with chocolate chips or raisins, nuts, wheat germ, oats, and other ingredients.

1/3 cup butter
1/2 cup light brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup quick oats
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup whole wheat flour
2 tablespoons toasted wheat germ
2 eggs, beaten
1/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup blanched slivered almonds
1/4 cup flaked coconut
1/4 to cup semisweet chocolate chips (or raisins)

In a mixing bowl, beat butter with 1/2 cup brown sugar until light and fluffy. Stir in oats, flours, and wheat germ. Press mixture into a buttered 9-inch square baking pan. Bake at 350° for 10 minutes.

Stir together the eggs and 1/4 cup brown sugar; stir in almonds, coconut, and chocolate chips or raisins then spread evenly over the baked layer. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes, or until browned. Score bars while still warm.

Makes about 24 bars.

Source: Southern Foods

[Note: The above was an excerpt from our August 2007 newsletter. If you would like to see the newsletter in its entirety and get on the mailing list for the Busy Moms Recipes monthly newsletter, just click here to subscribe.]

Copyright 2007 Charlene Davis

Free Weekly Newsletter from Food Classics

FoodClassics.com offers an extensive collection of free online recipes from pasta to vegetables, beef to pork to chicken. They even have several vegetarian cuisine specialties. You will find a big selection of cooking related books in their book section. Plus they also offer a free weekly recipe newsletter! Click here to sign up!

Disaster Preparedness Tips

Recently at Busy Moms Chat we were talking about how to prepare for natural disasters such as hurricanes, blizzards, flooding, evacuations, and other types of emergencies. Loretta, who lives in the Dakotas and has "weathered" many types of storms, had some great tips and provided these links for us:

Ready.gov: Prepare; Plan; Stay Informed
Chef Noah: Helping You to Help Yourself
Emergency Preparedness
Preparedness Nuggets Pages
The Prepared Family

Loretta also recommends packing some comfort foods. "You have to remember that this is a very hard time for kids and they'll need all the comfort that you can provide them," she advises. "Also pack a bag with some games, cards, crayons, coloring books and such. Boredom is another thing that you also have to prepare for."

Copyright © Charlene Davis 2007

Milk Really IS Good for You!

Milk is not just good for the bones – it’s also good for your skin. For centuries, women have taken advantage of the beautifying properties of milk for softer, more radiant skin. Even Cleopatra took milk baths!

- Make a soothing milk compress for red, itchy skin by dipping a washcloth in a mixture of milk, water and ice (one part each), and applying it to the inflamed area.

- Add body and luster to fine, lifeless hair by making a paste of dry milk powder and water and massaging it into the hair. Wrap hair in a hot, damp towel for about 30 minutes; then rinse and shampoo.

- To make a gentle facial scrub, combine one teaspoon powdered milk with one teaspoon of honey. Gently massage into skin and rinse thoroughly with lots of water. For oily skin, add a few drops of lemon juice to the paste before applying to your face.

- Mix equal parts (approx. one teaspoon each) of milk and cucumber juice and apply it as a facial cleanser to purify the pores. For oily skin, add a few drops of lime juice.

- For glowing skin, make a facial mask from a slice of pumpkin, an egg yolk and enough milk to make a paste. Leave on your face for 30 minutes and then rinse thoroughly.

Copyright © Charlene Davis 2007

Jazzy Green Beans

I’m an old southern gal who loves garden-fresh green beans that have been cooked in salted water seasoned with a dab of bacon grease. Um good! But I also like to sample new dishes and I found some new ways to jazz up those good-for-you green beans:

- Toss steamed green beans with orange-infused olive oil

- Stir fry green beans with butter, olive oil, lemon juice and parsley

- Sizzle green beans in olive oil and soy sauce along with sesame seeds or slivered almonds

- Wrap 10-15 beans in strips of bacon (one strip for each bundle) and bake at 400 degrees for 10-15 minutes (until bacon is cooked)

- Sauté green beans and sliced mushrooms in butter and garlic until tender.

- Add pizzazz to ordinary green beans with various flavored vinaigrette dressings, such as balsamic, herb or citrus.

- Heat a can of green beans and a can of tomatoes in a saucepan; season with Italian seasoning

- Place fresh green beans and sliced sweet potatoes in a foil packet. Drizzle honey-mustard sauce over top and grill for approximately 20-25 minutes

Copyright © Charlene Davis 2007