Magnificent Mommies Tips For A Flatter Summer Belly

I decided to write this newsletter because this is the time of year my phone starts to ring off the hook. Everyone wants to lose weight fast before they reveal themselves in their bathing suits. While I have many great tips I wanted to relay, some simple, effortless, and surprisingly unknown effective tummy-flattening secrets.

Tip 1: Breathing. It is one of the most effective ways to relieving stress. Stress is the culprit to late-night binging on pints of Ben and Jerry’s. There is scientific evidence that stress in itself can lead to developing excess belly fat. The stress hormone cortisol may cause your body to store more fat cells around your waist. Try taking 10 deep breaths in through your nose and out through your mouth ten times a day. This seemingly easy tip produces amazing results.

Tip 2: Sweeteners and Sodas. Another misconception I come across everyday is that if you consume a lot of artificial sweeteners and consume a lot of diet soda that you are saving calories and will lose weight. That’s a huge misconception. Aspartame and Splenda are what I call “Frankenstein foods”. Our body screams in horror when we digest it and does not recognize it, so in effect does not know how to break it down.

Tip 3: Fat does not make you fat. In actuality, a little bit of fat everyday helps to reduce fat in your body. My favorite fats are coconut oil, my new addiction. I use it for baking, cooking and even spread it on my toast. Some of my other favorite fats are almonds, avocados, nut butters, and olive oil.

Tip 4: Water. When you are craving sweets drink a large glass of water and squeeze your favorite citrus in it (orange, lime, or lemon) and drink and see within 15 minutes if your sugar craving goes away.

Tip 5: Sleep. Try to get a full 8 hours of sleep.

Tip 6: Swap your morning coffee for a cup of green tea.

Tip 7: Fill your plate with as many antioxidant fruits or veggies at every meal as possible. They replenish the body and brain, full of fiber, making you feel satisfied, unlike a quick bag of chips that would leave you craving more.

For more helpful tips: visit us on at magnificentmommies.com or Dawn Lerman on Facebook.

Dawn Lerman, MA, CHHC, LCAT
magnificentmommies.com
646-283-7051

Westchester Weekend Cooking

Had a great time baking/cooking with my friend Michelle and our kids in Westchester over the weekend. We decided to take some classic recipes; brownies, oatmeal cookies, macaroons and hummus and amp up the nutrition by adding in and swapping out various ingredients. In our hummus we added sweet potatoes, in our brownies and oatmeal cookies we used coconut oil instead of butter, and our macaroons were based on a raw food recipe. So, instead of baking we just chilled the batter in the freezer. We also made a sandwich with ratatouille and goat cheese and an amazing bean dip. Four kids two moms and a lot of delicious food!

Healthy Tips for Your Family This Summer

Eliminate All Products Containing Partially Hydrogenated Oils.

Eliminate all skin products with parabens or mineral oil, including sunscreens and moisterizers. They are highly toxic.

Give Adequate Time for kids to eat breakfast: Allowing children enough time for a proper breakfast can prevent transient hunger that leads to mood swings and digestive disorders which compromise childrens immune systems.

Eliminate High Fructose Corn Syrup: Americans consumed on average 62.6 pounds of HFCS in 2001 according to the USDA. Many of the products on the market containing HFCS are geared towards children.

Support Local Farms: Locally grown foods are are beneficial for a number of reasons... fruits and vegetables sourced locally are fresher so they taste better, resulting in kids eating more of them. The purchase of locally grown foods support the local economy and strengthens the local food system. In addition, many children are consuming more calories daily than needed, as well as choosing foods and snacks that are low in nutrients.

Pay Attention to Portion Size: Oversized packages can be especially confusing to children, who may not look at nutrition labels regarding varying portion sizes - especially worrisome because children and teenagers are getting a greater percentage of their calorie intake from snacks.

Serve More Whole Grains & Beans: The body needs good carbs and fiber to keep hunger at bay and create proper elimination and provide good B vitamins for energy. Eating whole grains may also make kids feel more satisfied for a longer periods of time so they are less cranky during those long camp days. My favorite carbs are brown rice, millet quinoa and oatmeal.

Decrease Refined Carbohydrate Foods & Snacks: Highly refined carbohydrates are rapidly absorbed into the body much like ingesting simple sugars, resulting in a spike in glucose levels. This causes individuals to still feel hungry or to become hungrier sooner, only to consume even more food. This repetitive pattern is believed to contribute to the obesity epidemic. It also increases the risk for Type 2 diabetes and heart disease.

Please join us at Sephora

Please join us at Sephora for a very special event hosted by skyn ICELAND and Magnificent Mommies! A panel of health and beauty experts will lead a discussion on the effects of stress on health and skin, the importance of eating right, and easy ways to stay in shape and look great. Beauty experts will be on hand. Magnificent Mommies and skyn ICELAND will be teaming up at Sephora for a bunch of exciting Mommy Beauty Events, free facials, health consultations, raw chocolate sampling, free samples and much more. Get ready to be energized! May 18th @ 76th & Bway 10:30am
www.magnificentmommies.com

A few things to do to help your kids to eat healthy.

Get kids cooking: If your children are involved in preparing meals, they'll be more interested in eating what they've created. Take them to your local farmers market or store, and let them choose fresh ingrediants for fruit salad, soups, trail mixes and muffins.

Make a schedule: Children need to eat every three to four hours. In a day they will be eating three meals, two snacks, and lots of fluids. If you plan for these, your child's diet will be much more balanced and they will be less cranky. When I pick up my kids from school, I always bring a healthy snack to combat meltdowns and easily wisk by the icy truck loaded with sugar and artificial flavors.

Plan Meals in advance: A good meal doesn't have to be fancy, but it should be balanced: A protein, a fat, and a good carb. Some good choices are, whole-grain pasta or brown rice, green and a colored veggies, and a protein source like grass fed meat or hormone free chicken or beans. I often make a simple entree ahead of time and then freeze it, so at dinnertime- I just heat it up.

Don't become a short-order cook: In my practice i meet too many moms who buys into the idea of kids food. Children love to pretend they are grown up and they love to imitate their parents, so why make them inferior meals. In my house i make one meal for everyone. I have never purchased from a kids menu or bought them foods marketed to kids.They dont have to eat everything but they need to try everything and since they shop with me everyone gets a chance to voice their opinion . But since most of our shopping is at the farmers market are meals are focused around fruits, vegtable,s and hormone free chicken, beef, beans and grains.

Introduce new foods slowly: Try to make meal time fun. If your kids don't love veggies cut them in difffernet shapes and dip them in hummus, salsa, tziki.

Mornings: Up your fiber in the morning by adding flax seeds, hemp seeds, chia seeds, and fresh fruit to whole-grain pancakes ,waffles, oatmeal, and yogurt.

Have fun: The more creative the meal is, the greater the variety of foods my kids eat. We make smiley-face pancakes and give foods silly names. (Broccoli florets are "baby trees" anything mini is always a hit too. I often use cookie cutters to turn toast into hearts and stars, which the children love.

Be the change you want: If you're constantly on a diet or have erratic eating habits, your children will grow up thinking that this sort of behavior is normal.

As Michael Pollan says, "...if you crave junk, make it yourself. Remember, you, not your kids are in charge of the foods that enter the house.

Dawn Lerman, MA, CHHC, LCAT
magnificentmommies .com
646-283-7051

A Poem to My grandmother (Beauty)

I remember you on this day. As the person who loved me, and kept me strong when everything else seemed to go astray.

As I raise my kids, with both hope and fears, I remember the impact that you lay upon me those first nine years.

You kept me strong, when much could have gone wrong. You taught me to walk – actually to run straight, down my own path.

It’s only been a year but I still keep listening to hear... oh how I miss your laugh.

I saw you this day, just last year, and for some reason I thought you would always be here, despite your ninety-six years.

You did your work and moved on. I will never forget all those days, my first nine years.

I love you always.

Dawn

Spring is finally here!!!

This is a great time to get inspired and take charge of our life and our health!

Diets rich in leafy greens such as dandelion, watercress and arugula have antioxidants and disease fighting properties that play a major role in the prevention of cancer and other diseases. Eating seasonally keeps us looking and feeling great.

Spring is the best and most natural time of year for a cleansing diet. The daily toxins in today’s environment have so overloaded our body’s systems and organs that they are no longer capable of detoxifying on there own, in short our systems need help.

Environmental pollution, junk food, caffeine alcohol, sugar poor elimination and stress all point in one direction- accumulation of toxins and lack of vitality. Completing a detoxification program can make you feel lighter happier and refreshed.

There are many different cleansing theroies and I will be blogging about my favorites as the month continues. So clean out your cupboards and head to your local farmers market!


Dawn Lerman, MA, CHHC, LCAT
magnificentmommies.com
646-283-7051