"The Muppets: Green with Envy" Teaser

Have you guys seen this yet? It's the teaser trailer for the new Muppets' movie, "Green with Envy." Judging by the clip, Muppets fans young and old are in for a treat when the film is released on Thanksgiving.

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Healthy Choices For Us

Wouldn't it be nice if we all had extra time to prepare fantastic, leisurely meals for our families everyday. The reality is that for many of us, there's almost no such thing as "spare time". But healthy food is something that is very important to me, so I was very excited to use my free coupons to try out some new Healthy Choice entrees. The meals I picked up were called Sesame Glazed Chicken, Lemon Herb Chicken, and Portabella Parmesan Risotto.
Here's some background: This Spring I decided to get my family moving,which means less time on the sofa and more time walking or putting the Wii to good use. I'm also trying to find ways to help us to do two other things - get to bed on time and eat more vegetables. The latter explains why I was completely open to putting some quick, but more wholesome, meals on the table. Recently a study that followed 60 people for 30 days showed that replacing 10 meals per week with a Healthy Choice meal can increase your dietary fiber and lower your saturated fat intake by 50 percent.
From reading the ingredients I knew that my husband and son would get lots of vegetables in each serving, if they liked the meals. I'm thrilled to report that the Glazed Chicken and Lemon Herb Chicken were hits with a couple of the world's pickiest eaters. As for the Portabella Parmesan Risotto, I kept that one all to myself by making it into a few lunch portions. I'm already a sucker for almost anything parmesan, but I really enjoyed the risotto and it helped me save money on lunches that week. Here's what I think many parents will appreciate even more than all of that: Making the meals was SO easy. Two of them only required steaming in the microwave. I really don't think getting a decent meal on the table can be any easier than that.
Have you found any quick ways to make healthy meals? If so, let me know! I need all the help I can get.

I received compensation from TheMotherhood and Healthy Choice to try the dishes and give my very honest opinions in this post.

Squirreling Away Time For Yourself

Thanks to Crystal Light for sponsoring this post. To learn more about how Crystal Light can flavor your day with 30 refreshing flavors, visit http://www.facebook.com/crystallight.


If you've ever seen a squirrel collecting nuts, you can see by his scurrying that there is no shame in his game. But a lot of us parents feel guilty about "squirreling" away time for ourselves. If you think about it, there are probably small pockets of time in your day that could be used as quiet time for yourself. For me, the most convenient time to clear my mind is after work but before going home. Each day, I take that half-an-hour to have a nice beverage and read or chat with friends. Afterwards I'm able to go home to my family refreshed and ready to take on my "second job", which usually includes making dinner and getting the little one ready for bed. The end of the workday may seem like an odd hour for quiet time, but it works for me. My philosophy is that you have to take it where you get it, or you won't have it!


Remember, visit http://www.facebook.com/crystallight to learn more about how Crystal Light can flavor your day with 30 refreshing flavors. I was selected and paid for this sponsorship by the Clever Girls Collective, which endorses Blog With Integrity, as I do.

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Cee-Lo & The Muppets at the Grammys

To be clear, the unedited version of Cee-Lo Green's current (and un-nameable) hit song is not for children. But this version of "Forget You", performed by Cee-Lo with The Muppets at the Grammy Awards this week, seems to be a lot of fun for young and old. What do you think?

Where is Your Hat???

This is a familiar phrase in my neck of the woods. Many of us can recall as children getting ready to step out into the chilly air only to hear someone call out just in time, "Where are you going without a hat?" Now this is our chance to remind you - whether you enjoy snap caps, fedora hats, panama hats, or newsboy hats - pull one on yourself and your little ones before strolling out the door. The fact is that you do lose varying amounts of body heat through your head. It's something to keep in mind until the weather warms up, and by then it will be time for sun hats.

Hooray for the Groundhog!

Winter? Over it. If you live in the Northeast or the Mid-Atlantic, chances are you are completely over this winter weather. Many of us recently dealt with (or are still dealing with) more snow than any U.S. jurisdiction can handle. I this is what's called "weather fatique" But this week, the world's most famous groundhog - that's Punxsutawney Phil in Pennsylvania - did NOT see his shadow, which means an early spring according to lore.

Let's celebrate the wise old rodent with the video we post every February: "I Hog The Ground", by Steve Burns (formerly of Blue's Clues) and Steven Drozd (of The Flaming Lips).

Kids' Foods That Aren't As Healthy As You Think

I just read some great information about foods that are touted as healthy and child-friendly but really aren't. An article on Yahoo! Shine pointed to a new study by the Prevention Institute showing that 84% of prepared foods with health labels on the front didn't even meet basic nutritional standards. This is something to think about the next time you're in the grocery store because it means that parents can't count on the labels for guidance on whether the products are healthy.

According to the study, 95% of the products contained added sugar, with more than half of the products qualifying as high sugar. Thirty-six percent of them were high in sodium, while nearly a quarter were high in saturated fats. Also, 21% contained artificial coloring, which has no nutritional benefit and some potentially harmful side effects.

What do you think?? Is this much-ado-about-nothing? Or does it concern you? What do you look out for when you're in the grocery store?

Happy New Year!

A belated happy new year to all our friends and readers. We have lots of great things in store for you in 2011!