Parent Talk Today

Bob Greene Helps You Feed Your Family Healthy Meals — For Less

I was so jazzed to get to interview health-and-fitness guru Bob Greene recently for makinglifebetter.com.

No, I didn't get to chat with him on Oprah. (I wish!) It was a phone interview. But boy, did his enthusiasm come right through the phone!

We talked about how busy parents can put good food on the table without breaking the bank by choosing quality over quantity, visiting the local farmer's market, skipping highly processed food, preparing and packing lunches and buying in bulk.

Check out the interview here.

A Little Ice Cream... And a Better Day Today

Several readers have e-mailed to suggest that the comment I left yesterday (in the comments section, not as a post) should be a post. So here goes: 

Today is a much better parenting day, and I even felt a bit (just a bit) bad about writing such a whining post yesterday. (Although in my "What's Parent Talk Today?" description, I do promise a bit of whining now and then!) I considered taking the (July 14) post down, but then I thought "Hey, this is real life. Some days we drive the people we love crazy, and we muddle through and move on to the next day and it all works out." That's probably a better thought to share with my fellow parents than all the hearts-and-flowers posts about mommyhood could ever be. (Although you'll find those here, too.) Because none of us is even close to perfect, and it helps, I think, to know that other moms have days when running to the grocery store, alone, feels like sweet relief. So the post stays. And the love for my son never disappears — even when I'm so frustrated with him that I want to take his video games and hold a big garage sale because he's driving me nuts. Today is a better day. But boy, that ice cream tasted good last night!

Energy Drinks: Is It Safe for Tired Moms to Get Buzzed?

Would you believe there are now are at least 200 different energy drinks on the market? Yep. It’s a billion-dollar industry. But is it a good idea to get an energy-drink buzz when the demands of parenthood are wearing you out?

“There was a time when we would get our caffeine intake from coffee and cola, but now there are a number of caffeine-containing beverages, and we need to be careful because over a period of 24 hours, that caffeine intake is cumulative,” says Dee Rollins, R.D., PhD, a dietitian with Baylor Regional Medical Center at Grapevine in Grapevine, Texas.

Experts say energy-drink consumers should keep careful track of the amount of caffeine they get in a day. “If you know that 400 milligrams a day is the upper limit, you can check the back of the labels and make sure that you don’t get more than that,” explains Rollins.

It may sound like a lot, but 400 milligrams is roughly the equivalent of just one energy drink and two cups of coffee. Getting more than that can lead to jitteriness, nausea, heart palpitations — and in extreme cases, more severe symptoms.

“It can be so bad that if you take too much caffeine you can end up in the hospital thinking you have flu-like symptoms and really it’s caffeine overdose,” says Rollins.

For most people — if they’re not getting more than around 400 milligrams of caffeine a day — these energy drinks are safe, says Rollins. But here are some important things to remember:

°    Don’t drink energy beverages while exercising. It can lead to severe dehydration.

°    Don’t ever mix these drinks with alcohol. Doing so can not only mask how intoxicated you really are, it can be extremely dehydrating.

°    Remember that, in addition to caffeine, most energy drinks contain very high amounts of sugar and sodium, which can be dangerous for diabetics or those with high blood pressure.

Hey McDonald's: Your New Pitch Doesn't Cut It For This Mom

I know McDonald's is trying to court the young-adult crowd with its new radio ad featuring an insipid-sounding young woman exclaiming "OMG!" in regard to meeting her girlfriends at Mickey D's for coffee and gossip. But as a mom, I have to speak up. (After all, McDonald's is also going after the parents of young kids, constantly, right?)

I have always taught my son, from the time he was a preschooler, the importance of not taking God's name in vain. And there are certainly better ways to mention God than exclaiming "OMG!" about coffee. I'm no over-the-top parent who writes letters to the editor and cancels magazine subscriptions over every little thing. But this ad offends me, and I don't think it's a help to parents to have it playing on the radio. As a company that markets to families as well as to young adults, McDonald's should keep this in mind.

And for what it's worth, In 'N Out has MUCH better burgers...

If you'd like to let McDonald's know how you feel about this ad, click here.

Gas Prices Got You Down? Vacation at Home

Wondering how high airline ticket prices will go as you're planning that family vacation? Thinking that a driving trip will break the bank?

There's another option. Check out my article, "Vacationing at Home," over at littlerockfamily.com. You'll find lots of tips for making family memories right in your own backyard. (And I promise, this doesn't involve mom doing any dishes! I mean, there are limits, right?)

Of course, vacationing at home still means VACATIONING. I highly recommend going out for yummy breakfasts at every opportunity... And for the price of a tank of gas these days, you can buy a lot of banana pancakes with whipped cream!