This recipe is an excellent source of low-fat protein, combined with nutrient-rich zucchini.

Directions

Makes 6 servings

8 ounces dry gluten-free grain (quinoa, rice, etc.)
1/2 cup water
1 medium onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 1/2 cups sliced mushrooms
1 celery stalk, thinly sliced
2 medium zucchini, chopped
3 vegan burger patties, chopped
1 15-ounce can garbanzo beans, undrained
1/2 teaspoon salt

Cook grain according to package directions. Drain and rinse, then set aside.

Heat the water in a large skillet. Add onion and garlic. Cook over high heat for about 3 minutes, or until onion is soft. Add mushrooms and celery and continue cooking, stirring frequently, for about 5 minutes, or until mushrooms begin to brown. Add a small amount of water if the vegetables begin to stick. Add zucchini and vegan burger patties. Continue cooking, stirring often, for about 3 minutes, or until zucchini is just tender when pierced with a fork.

Purée beans and their liquid in a blender or food processor. Add to the vegetable mixture, along with grain and salt. Heat gently, stirring frequently, until hot and steamy.

Nutrition Information

Per serving (1/8 of recipe):

Calories: 212
Fat: 3.1 g
Saturated Fat: 0.4 g
Calories from Fat: 13%
Cholesterol: 0 mg

Protein: 12.4 g
Carbohydrates: 36.2 g
Sugar: 4 g
Fiber: 5.9 g

Sodium: 337 mg
Calcium: 75 mg
Iron: 4.8 mg
Vitamin C: 4.2 mg
Beta-Carotene: 225 mcg
Vitamin E: 0.7 mg

From Foods That Fight Pain by Neal Barnard, M.D.; recipe by Jennifer Raymond, M.S., R.D.

Children learn best by being given clear, firm and consistent direction from parents who are clear, firm and consistent in their approach.

How to Discipline Children by Being Clear:

Firstly find and maintain clarity within yourself and then follow through on simple, clear instructions. Clarify for your self what being clear means.

It is about being plain, obvious, and understandable in a clear, short sentence that explains exactly what you mean.

It isn’t about maybe this or maybe that.

Often parents have no idea that they chop and change their minds within minutes. To become clear about your own patterns of behavior, observe yourself and ask for your partner’s help in this.

“We are going to tidy up your toys in five minutes”, is clear and direct. Follow this with,

“Please help me tidy up your toys now” and it means just that.

Be firm with yourself about this. It doesn’t mean soon, or later, but now.

I have seen parents give out this simple instruction, then become distracted themselves by a television program, conversation or magazine. What their children observe is parents saying one thing and doing another and this gives a much distorted message. Multiplied over many times each day, is it any wonder that children cease to follow simple instructions?

How to Discipline Children by Being Firm:

Firstly find and maintain firmness for yourself and then follow through with firm clear directions in a firm, clear tone.

Clarify for your self what being firm means.

To be firm is to be certain, definite, and determined. It is also being loving, kind and calm.

It means saying no and meaning no, or saying yes and meaning yes and sticking to it. It’s about now being now. How often does your no become perhaps, later, maybe giving in, next time, soon, or alright then? This is a very common fault in how to discipline children and again it leads to numerous mixed messages for children.

Resolve within yourself and with your partner’s help to ascertain how often you are both easily swayed into changing your decisions. Are you allowing your children to manipulate you? Imagine how simple your life will become when you are clear and firm within yourself.

It is every child’s right to KNOW they can trust their parent’s boundaries. So firstly, become firm with your own boundaries and then apply this to your parenting discipline.

“It is bedtime, (bath time, meal time) in five minutes” is a clear direction. Now follow through on this.

Giving the direction in a calm, clear, firm tone of voice helps your children to understand that you mean what you say. Being firm is about being in control of both yourself and the situation.

How to Discipline Children by Being Consistent:

Firstly find and maintain consistency for yourself and then follow through with a firm, clear, consistent approach.

Clarify for yourself what being consistent means.

To be consistent is to be reliable, dependable and constant.

These words immediately convey comfort don’t they?

Let’s look at the opposite of being consistent. Contradictory, unpredictable, changeable. That’s definitely lacking in comfort and safety.

So how do you want to be seen by your children?

To begin with it can seem quite time consuming to concentrate on clear, firm, consistent guidelines. Be aware that this is very true. It takes concentrated effort and time to change old habits to new ones, but if you maintain consistency, you will be very surprised how quickly new patterns of behavior are formed.

Parenting Discipline In Summary: With parenting discipline we are teaching our children how to have self control, self discipline and to become self reliant, so they are able to make good choices for themselves.

The only way children can learn to do this is by being given the opportunities for this learning.

This means not over protecting them, or doing everything for them, but maximizing their opportunities to learn through personal experience and observation, even when this means making mistakes.

Can you see the opportunities here to change some of your own patterns of behavior into superior ones?

Clear, firm, consistent parenting is quality parenting. You learn to trust your own responses and your children are surrounded by your loving constancy.

This is the recipe for creating a happy, well adjusted family.

Now, it’s already February, which mean there is valentine day waiting to celebrate. now we discuss about how to celebrate valentine day with our family.

During childhood, most children don’t know what love is. They also don’t know how over-rated Valentine’s Day can be. As adults, we should do the best we can to keep the holiday fun for them. After all it isn’t just about couples. Kids like to get involved, also. There are many things you can do to keep your child entertained and excited on Valentine’s Day.

The classic idea for kids is to exchange cards. You can get a box of cards that has about thirty small cards in it. Help your child fill the cards out for the children in their class and other friends. Attach a sucker or a piece of candy to each envelope.

For special people in your child’s life, encourage them to make hand made cards. This is a simple, thoughtful, sentimental gift. Let your child design and create their greetings any way that they desire.

Help your child make a box to put their cards in. Use an old shoe or tissue box. You can cover it with glue or construction paper to hide the original decorations on the box. Let your child decorate their card box with glitter, paint, and stickers. (If you do not have a box available, use a plain brown paper bag to decorate.)

If you are taking your child on an outing for this special day, let them pick what they want to do. Go out to eat and then take a walk in the park. Rather than just buying your child a stuffed bear, take them to a work shop, and let them build their own. This will be a treasure for many days to come.

Encourage your child to invite a few friends over for a Valentine’s Day get together. It does not have to be a big elaborate celebration. Serve simple finger foods to the guests. You can use Holiday shaped cookie cutters to make holiday shaped sandwiches and other snacks. Make cupcakes or cookies and allow the children to decorate their individual treat the way they want it.

Fill up jars with candy hearts and let the kids each guess how many is in the jar. Let the winner take the candy hearts with them. You can also play a variation of pin the tale on the donkey with cupid. Make treat bags for each guest. You can fill them with candy and Valentine’s day gadgets and it won’t be very expensive.

Teach your child about the less fortunate. Spread Valentine’s day love and cheer by visiting a local nursing home or hospital. Fill out small cards to take. This will make the residents’ days.

There are many things that you can do with your kids to help make sure this will be a day to remember. Don’t forget to tell them you love them. After all, love is what the day is about and making your child happy is what your life is all about.

Or if we don’t have any celebration we could give something which is usefull for our family like additional life insurance or something which have a lot of meaning to show your love to our family.

We back again with another healthy recipe,

The simplicity and widespread enjoyment of this salad has made it a Cancer Project classic. Plus, it has tons of fiber to help move carcinogens, excess cholesterol, and hormones out of your body to improve overall health.

Directions

Makes about 10 1-cup servings

1/2 cup low-fat or fat-free Italian salad dressing
1 15-ounce can kidney beans, drained and rinsed, or 1 1/2 cups cooked kidney beans
1 15-ounce can pinto beans, drained and rinsed, or 1 1/2 cups cooked pinto beans
1 15-ounce can black-eyed peas, drained and rinsed, or 1 1/2 cups cooked peas
1 10-ounce package frozen lima beans (preferably fordhook lima beans), thawed completely, 1 1/2 cups cooked lima beans, or 1 1/2 cups cooked green soybeans (shelled edamame)
1 cup frozen corn, thawed completely, or cooked fresh corn, chilled
1 large red bell pepper, seeded and  diced
1/2 medium  red onion,  diced
1 teaspoon salt, or to taste
1 teaspoon black pepper, or to taste

Toss all ingredients together. Serve cold or at room temperature.

Place leftover bean salad in a covered dish and store in the refrigerator for up to three days.

Nutrition Information

Per serving (1/10 of recipe):

183 Calories
3 g Fat
0.5 g Saturated Fat
14.6% Calories From Fat
0 mg Cholesterol

9.9 g Protein
31 g Carbohydrate
2.9 g Sugar
8 g Fiber

539 mg Sodium
43 mg Calcium
2.7 mg Iron
36.7 mg Vitamin C
311 mcg Beta-Carotene
0.8 mg Vitamin E