After a long, cold winter, the family and I are packing up and heading to Hawaii for the week.  Though I have enough granola bars, dried fruit and packaged nuts shoved in my carry-on to last us a hike up Kilimanjaro, I know there will come a point this week, if not tomorrow morning, when we are drawn into the allure of the airport food court, the $8 snack options at the gift shop or even Starbucks.  But is there anything worth going through airport security twice for?

Makes Me Sick:  Panda Express Orange Chicken Meal

There’s nothing worse than gut rot for a five hour flight, which is pretty much guaranteed after 1,775 calories worth of Orange Chicken, BBQ pork, fried rice and a Coke.  Maybe you should pony up $12 for some Alka Seltzer in the airport bookstore while you are at it.

Healthy Pick: Jamba Juice Protein Berry Shake with Soy Protein Boost

If anything, you’ll get some starchy pretzels on your flight, so balance it out in just 270 calories.  This shake will give you some fresh fruit and 15 grams of protein for muscle repair, you know, from that kid kicking you in the back in the row behind you.

We’ve covered why ordering a triple venti Caramel Macchiato with extra whip probably isn’t the best choice nutritionally, although you could probably get your bathroom repainted, a fence built and dinner on the table in about an hour thanks to the caffeine. I’m amazed each time I go into Starbucks now, though, as the food offerings just seem to be multiplying like the Brangelina brood. If you are wanting to keep your Angelina figure or choose a nutritious breakfast for your own little Pax or Maddox, what should you choose?

Makes Me Sick: Classic Sausage, Egg & Aged Cheddar Breakfast Sandwich

You know that saying, “A rose by any other name would smell as sweet.”  Well an Egg Mc Muffin by any other name would be just as gross.  With 500 calories and 29 grams of fat, you could couple this with a venti latte drink and meet half of your day’s calorie allotment and all of the fat you need and more.

Healthy Pick:  Perfect Oatmeal w/Dried Fruit

This is hands down Starbucks best move ever, grande Americano with a splash of soy aside.  For only 240 calories and 2.5 grams of fat, you can have a well rounded breakfast with lots of fiber and protein to keep you full.  I hate to break it to you, but you have no more excuses not to eat well at the airport or well, anywhere within a mile of a Starbucks, and as we  all know, that is anywhere at all.

Wendy’s was probably my favorite fast food restaurant as a kid for two very distinct reasons: one, the deliciously thick and creamy Frosty; and two, ketchup pumps that meant I could feed my ketchup addiction unhindered from the embarrassing task of going to the counter and asking for more packets that never seem to hold enough.  But I also remember Wendy’s as being one of the first fast food restaurants to offer healthier choices, including a salad bar, baked potatoes and chili.  Here’s how they are continuing, and breaking those trends today:

Makes Me Sick: Baconator Triple Meal

The Baconator is a gastronomical nightmare.  This pile of beef, bacon and cheese atop a white flour bun slathered with mayo has a horrific 1330 calories and 86 grams of fat.  Add on a large fries and a large Coke, and the mind blowing totals are 2,140 calories and 112 grams of fat.   I think this is the ultimate definition of “Makes Me Sick.”

Healthy Pick:  Small Chili and Side Salad with Fat Free French Dressing

This meal has only 320 calories and 7 grams of fat, meaning that if you want to tack on a Jr. Frosty (160 calories), you’ll still come in at under 500 calories.  Unfortunately though, the all you can eat ketchup will just have to fall by the wayside.

Being a West Coaster, I had no idea about the East Coast obsession with Dunkin’ Donuts, and I certainly wasn’t hip to the fact that they had a rivalry with my beloved Starbucks. But Dunkin’ is invading the nation, one annoying Rachael Ray ad at a time.  Could a restaurant that specializes in Homer Simpson’s ultimate weakness have a choice for those with a healthier lifestyle? Let’s find out, shall we?

Makes Me Sick:  Sausage, Egg & Cheese Croissant

It doesn’t take a scientist to figure out that this is a terrible choice.  With 640 calories and 43 grams of fat (17 of which are saturated), you’d be better off having TWO cake donuts for breakfast and you’d still have almost 100 calories to spare.

Healthy Pick:  Egg White Veggie Flatbread

Any donut shop that offers some form of vegetables gets points in my book.  This sandwich has under 300 calories, only 9 grams of fat and 11 grams of protein.  Though the ingredient list is a mile long, and green peppers come in about thirty ingredients from the top, it definitely isn’t the worst fast food pick you are going to come by.  Heck, it might even be healthier than a Rachael Ray meal!

I never got Hamburger Helper as a kid, and today, I realize that was a sound nutrition decision made by my parents.  We’ve discussed my obsession with the Arby’s potholder, which is far more healthy than my paralyzing fear of the Hamburger Helper glove.  Really, who wants to take diet advice from an accessory?

Still, the appeal of adding one ingredient to a box an having a dinner sometimes outweighs the benefit of fresh, healthy food.  Is there a dinner helper that can be both?  I threw off my gloves and sat own to find out.

Makes Me Sick: Hamburger Helper Double Cheeseburger Macaroni

1/5th of a box is a pretty small serving, yet if you stick to that cup of “dinner” you’ll get 320 calories, 13 grams of fat and 5 grams of saturated fat, not to mention 730 mg of sodium.  You’d be better off just getting a cheeseburger from McDonalds.

Healthy Pick: Annie’s Organics Curly Fettucini with White Cheddar and Broccoli Sauce

Choosing this dinner not only saves you a lot of preservatives and chemicals, but shaves off almost 100 calories, 4 grams of saturated fat and 300 mg of sodium.  Plus, there’s broccoli in it…that’s got to make it healthy. While fresh meals are always best, this is one quick dinner that you can find some redeeming value in, no talking gloves involved.

With a slogan of “Fresh Mex,” Chevy’s has got to be healthy right?  Like with any Mexican restaurant, there are pitfalls to avoid, namely cheese, sour cream and anything fried.  But if you can go on a diet at Taco Bell, I’m pretty sure you can find something healthy to eat at this sit-down Tex-Mex chain.

Makes Me Sick:  Grande Chimi Beef Burrito

I hope you didn’t eat breakfast OR lunch, because this massive beef, cheese, sour cream and guacamole filled monster has nearly all the calories you need in a day: 1725!  As if 90 grams of fat alone weren’t bad enough, 44 of those grams of fat are the artery clogging saturated kind.  If you make a habit of eating this, you might as well reserve your hospital room in the cardiac wing now.

Healthy Pick: Mesquite Grilled Chicken Tacos

If you want to splurge and step outside the “grilled chicken salad” box, this really isn’t a bad option.  The two tacos (not counting the side dishes) have 590 calories and 24 grams of fat, but you can shave some of that off by holding the cheese and aioli sauce.  Use some of the salsa served at the table instead.

After all, you wouldn’t dream of eating the chips, right?

A friend pointed me to a recent New York Times “Women’s Fashion” blog entry this morning, in which Jennifer Aniston, Kate Hudson and Courtney Cox were pictured under the headline: “Now Scrutinizing: A Rounder Golden Globes.”  The entry goes on to draw attention to these women’s “upper arms” and “womanly roundness.”

In defense of the writer, the overall point was to applaud that healthier images. However to hold up women who have been rumored to have eating disorders as “round,” to champion women who are still a size two and to characterize women who are at an unattainable body weight for most women as “Marilyn”-esque (Ms. Monroe was a size 14), is a crime against women and more specifically young girls.

As a mother of two girls, I work hard to shield them for society’s warped standards for women.  The fashion magazines that I occasionally flip through are stuffed away like they are Playboys.  We don’t own a scale.  And as much as I like to check my hair or lipstick in the hall mirror, I turn my head away from my reflection as much as I can.  We don’t judge others based on their body type or size.  My girls have never questioned or stared at my friend who is overweight, and we certainly NEVER use the “F” word that rhymes with “cat.”  Imagine having to explain the concept of The Biggest Loser to a four year old without using the F-word!  I must have said the words “healthy” and “unhealthy” a dozen times, but she understands now that she needs to exercise, eat right and be VERY afraid of Jillian.

Despite my efforts, it feels like a slap in the face when the New York Times, of all places, calls the very images that I protect my girls from “curvy.”  On a year when the very presence of the Red Carpet seems ridiculous, vain and insensitive, the Times takes it one step further by making comments that are even more ridiculous, more vain and more insensitive.  They may be okay with perpetuating the attitudes that have thousands of women and girls KILLING themselves to even slightly resemble these “round” women, but I’m not.

Maybe a rose by any other name wouldn’t smell as sweet.  I’m probably dating myself here, but I vividly remember when one of my childhood home’s  forbidden kid’s cereals: “Sugar Golden Crisp” changed it’s name to “Super Golden Crisp.”  The company’s rationale was that no nutrition conscious parent was going to buy their children a cereal with “Sugar” in it’s name.  You might as well name it, “Hyperactive Stick Your Tongue in a Light Socket Flakes.”  It didn’t matter what they called it, my mom wasn’t buying it.

I have the same philosophy with KFC.  Whether your name is an acronym or the actual words “Kentucky Fried Chicken,” it doesn’t change the fact that the restaurant’s specialty is fried (strike one) and mass produced, non-organic chicken (strike two).  But is there a healthy pick on KFC’s menu?

Makes Me Sick: KFC Famous Bowl with Gravy

Funny enough, it’s this very vat of sodium, saturated fat and overall disgustingness that I thought of when naming this column.  With 700 calories, 32 grams of fat and 2,260 milligrams grams of sodium this bowl is a bad idea in theory and in reality.

Healthy Pick:  Grilled Chicken Breast with Green Beans and Mashed Potatoes (no gravy)

Okay, so the chicken breast is bigger than any chicken breast has a right to be.  The mashed potatoes may or may not be instant.  Overall, though, this isn’t a bad meal speaking in numbers.  This plate has 300 calories, only 7 grams of fat and 38 grams of protein and offers something a lot of fast food restaurants don’t: green vegetables.

Maybe it’s time to for KFC to start rethinking that name again.

You can fire up your Kindle and read “Dumbo.”  You can plug in your PlayStation and strum along with the Beatles.  And soon, you’ll be able to power up your XBox and play with Elmo, Big Bird and the rest of the “Sesame Street” gang.

Warner Brothers has announced that they are partnering with Sesame Workshop to develop a series of video games featuring the characters and concepts that have been educating children on “Sesame Street” for the last four decades. Details haven’t been hammered out, but the games are expected to be both educational and entertaining, and will be for use with both the XBox 360 and PlayStation 3.

My initial thought was that turning “Sesame Street” into a video game was near sacrilege.  Growing up, “Sesame Street” was one of the few TV shows I was allowed to watch with reckless abandon.  While requests to watch “The Smurfs” or “She-Ra, Princess of Power” were rapidly declined, there was an “open door policy” of sorts with “Sesame Street.”  I never fully understood my mom’s logic on this one until I became a parent myself.  Though there are plenty of shows on TV that are educational, none compares to “Sesame Street” in its consistent onslaught of phonics, numbers and social sensitivity.  While I feel these concepts are best taught in a parent to child relationship, I appreciate the benefit of having “Sesame Street” as a resource to help.

If somehow Warner Brothers is able to translate the best parts of the show into a video game, more power to them.  Though we don’t have an Xbox 360 or a PlayStation 3, a lot of households do, and these may in fact be households that don’t honor or simply have time for that one-on-one teaching that takes place in ours.  Let’s just hope there’s no “Grand Theft Cookie” involved.

I used to think the biggest mystery at Arby’s was the identity of their talking mascot. I’d lie awake at night, my mind frantically racing to determine if the talking, googly-eyed fellow was a cowboy hat or a pot holder. While I’ve managed to put those issues to rest (potholder!), I’m now stumped on what would be a healthy choice for a meal at this fast food joint that specializes in beef, cheese and curly fries.

Makes Me Sick: Ultimate BLT Sandwich

How can a sandwich have 880 calories and 46 grams of fat? All it takes is some pepper bacon and a thick layer of mayo. Surprisingly, though, the big calorie bomb in this sandwich is not the meat or the condiments, but the honey wheat bread. Two slices have an astounding 420 calories and 16 grams of sugar. Is this bread, or is it cake?!

Healthy Pick: Ham and Swiss Melt Sandwich

With 300 calories and only 8 grams of fat, this is a surprisingly wise choice.  Who’d have thought that a ham and cheese sandwich would be one of the healthiest choices on Arby’s menu?  The potholder, that’s who.   Or is it a cowboy hat?

My luck ran out, though, when Special Agent Oso recently had a “secret mission” in which he helped the precocious “Brianna” construct a bird feeder by combining a snack and ground debris.  Someone should have done a better job at keeping this mission “secret” from my kids, because ever since they watched the episode, there has been a burning desire, and loud insistence that they too spread the bird love…and the peanut butter.  Here’s how you can do it too!

Materials

• Pine cone (preferably dry and not too dirty)
• Peanut butter (creamy works best, though crunchy is unarguably the tastiest)
• Bird seed
• Ribbon, twine or fishing line
• Butter knife for spreading

Pry the peanut butter jar from your hungry toddlers’ hands.  Spread the pine cone with peanut butter.  Sprinkle bird seed all over the pine cone, with a plate underneath to catch the extra seeds.  When the pine cone is adequately covered, roll the cone in the remaining seeds on the plate.  Tie the twine or fishing line around the top of the cone and hang it from a tree.

Their ads are cute.  Their prices are cheap.  But is Jack in the Box just your average greasy fast food burger joint or are there some healthy options on their menu, aside from an iceberg lettuce salad with a packet of low fat ranch?  You can definitely make or break your New Years’ Resolutions at this drive-thru.

Makes Me Sick: $3.49 Jumbo Deal

Jumbo is right.  That’s what you’ll be if you eat this “meal” of a Jumbo Jack Burger, two tacos, fries and a drink.  Why do you need a side of tacos to go with your burger and fries?  The stats are not surprising: 1236 calories, 66 grams of fat, 2178 milligrams of salt.  The meal is being marketed at college kids, but I’d rather have my kids take their chances at the cafeteria than to listen to a clown for dietary advice.

Healthy Pick:  Grilled Chicken Fajita Pita

If you are into eating Mexican food from a burger joint, this really isn’t too bad of a pick.  With 326 calories, 10 grams of fat and 23 grams of protein, you’ll get a filling and somewhat healthy meal.  Skip the fries and plop your pita on top of a side salad for some extra veggies.  I’ll still make a stiff argument, though, that the best thing to come out of Jack in the Box are their commercials.

If I were smart and cold-hearted, I would caution relatives and friends to just give us gift cards for Christmas.  Those I can neatly organize in my pocketbook.  But now that all the new “stuff” of Christmas is here, I brew a pot of extra strong coffee and get to work.  Here are some helpful guidelines to get you started too.

• Out with the old: The first step to making room for all of your new loot is to get rid of the old toys from last year or before.  My rule of thumb is that if my child hasn’t played with a toy in six months, they certainly aren’t going to play with it again.  I’ll unearth it, away from little grab hands that will suddenly decided it is their “most favoritest toy ever!” and put it in a pile to donate.
• Remember the season: Your child’s summer wardrobe may just be in their drawers still, like mine.  Use this as an excuse to store the warm weather clothes for the next in line for the spaghetti strapped sundress or to again get a box together of clothes to donate.  There’s no use in shoving the new velor track suit on top of the tank tops and shorts.  Believe me, I’ve tried.
• Enlist help: You’d be surprised at what your kids can help with, and they might be happy to be involved.  Assign each child a task, like finding space on the bookshelf for new books or just making a stack of the empty boxes under the tree.  Ask your spouse to take over a chore, like cleaning out the toy box while watching a Bowl Game.  Misery loves company and it also makes your load a little lighter.

Overall, try to remember that this chore only comes once a year, and the longer you put it off, the worse it is going to be.  Somehow opened Christmas presents in the hallway just aren’t as bearable in March.

Perhaps you’re traveling with your family this week and the IHOP is a familiar stop to grab a sit-down breakfast.  In the land of “Rooty Tooty Fresh and Fruity,” rivers of syrup, and generous pats of butter, is there truly a healthy option?  I was surprised and delighted to find that things aren’t as bad as they may seem.

Makes Me Sick: T-Bone Steak and Eggs

Whoever thought that a big slab of beef and two chicken eggs fried in butter was a good way to start the day?  This monstrosity has 1,325 calories and 85 grams of fat.  That’s more fat than a grown man needs in an entire day.  Following this bad boy with a long car ride or a plane trip only spells trouble.

Healthy Pick:  Country Griddle Cakes, no butter

I wouldn’t dream of depriving you of a SMALL drizzle of real maple syrup, but if you skip the butter (which one serving of has 80 calories and 9 grams of fat),  two pancakes have only 240 calories.  This means you can put some syrup on the side for dipping and still clock in at under 300 calories.  I think skipping the side of bacon goes without saying.

In addition, the cookie cutters make a great gift or gift topper for those in your child’s life.  One fun gift idea would be to make cookies shaped like the cutter of your choosing, put them in a clear cellophane bag, tie it up with a Christmas ribbon and attach your bedazzled cookie cutter.  If you just so happened to use that cutter before glittering it, so be it.

Materials:

• metal cookie cutters
• craft glue
• paint brush
• glitter
• Ziploc bags
• decorative ribbon

Put a generous amount of glitter in a Ziploc bag.  Paint craft glue all over a cookie cutter, inside and out.  Drop cookie cutter into the Ziploc bag and seal.  Shake the bag until the cookie cutter is covered with glitter.  Remove cookie cutter from bag and allow to dry for several hours or overnight.  Tie a decorative ribbon around the cutter to be hung on the tree or tied to a package.

‘Tis the season for office Christmas parties, festive play dates and holiday gatherings, all which play host to a virtual buffet of seasonal treats.  Like Thanksgiving dinner, Christmas can be a diet nightmare or a time to indulge wisely.  Here’s what to pass on and what to choose for treats over the holiday.

Makes Me Sick:  Eggnog

Heavy cream, eggs and (potentially) rum make this drink a health nightmare.  One little cup of the sweet, thick drink can have close to 350 calories and 11 grams of saturated fat.  A nice healthier option is Silk’s Nog, which has half the calories and NO saturated fat.

Healthy Pick: Gingerbread Cookies

Pass on the fudge (280 calories in two pieces) and the Almond Roca ( 260 calories per four piece serving) and choose a gingerbread cookie.  Even the traditional recipe has only 90 calories and 3 grams of fat per cookie, or try a healthier version, leaving you plenty of room in your calorie allowance to enjoy it with that cup of Silk Nog.  Make some extra cookies for Santa, while you are at it.  He can use all the help he can get.

It’s probably no big surprise that as a vegan, I’m not a huge fan of Burger King.  “Monarchs of flame broiled flesh” just aren’t my thing, no matter how gorgeously creepy their plastic masked mascot is.  So in writing this article, I played a little game with myself called, “If Someone Was About to Detonate a Nuclear Bomb and Destroy the World Unless You Ate Something From the Burger King Menu, What Would You Eat?”  Sounds fun, right?  Here’s my choice and the item that might just be worth world destruction to avoid.

Makes Me Sick: Tender Crisp Chicken Sandwich

You are shocked it’s not the Whopper, right?  Well, this sandwich packs a whopping punch of calories and fat in it’s own right (790 calories, 44 grams of fat), all wrapped up in deep fried coating, mayonnaise, cheese slices and a starchy white bun.  Kaboom.

Healthy Pick:  BK Veggie Burger, Hold the Mayo

Sure it’s just a Morningstar Garden Veggie Patty, and it’s on a white bun, but if you hold the mayo, it really isn’t too bad nutritionally at 34o calories and 8 grams of fat.  It’s not squeaky clean, but it’s also not worth blowing up the world over.

Materials:

• Brown construction paper
• White construction paper
• Red construction paper
• safety scissors
• glue
• black marker

Directions:

Trace your child’s foot and both hands on brown construction paper.  With scissors, cut out the tracings.  Glue hand cutouts to the back of the foot cutout to make “antlers.”

Cut a small red circle of paper out for a nose, and two white circles for eyes.  Use a black marker to color in eyes and draw a smile on your reindeer’s face.  Watching “Rudolph, The Red Nosed Reindeer,” eating gingerbread men and sipping eggnog while crafting is optional, but highly suggested.

Gingerbread Men Ornaments

• 2 T. canola oil
• 3 T. unsweetened applesauce
• 3/4 c. organic sugar
• 1/4 c. molasses
• 1/4 c. almond milk
• 2 c. whole wheat pastry flour
• 1/2 t. baking powder
• 1/2 t. baking soda
• 1/2 t. salt
• 1 t. pumpkin pie spice
• 1/2 t. cinnamon
• 1 1/2 t. ground ginger

Beat oil, applesauce, stevia and sugar together until well combined.  Incorporate molasses and almond milk and set aside.

Sift all dry ingredients together in a separate bowl.  Slowly add dry ingredients to the wet and mix well, but do not over mix.

Transfer dough to plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.

After 30 minutes, preheated the oven to 350 degrees and rolled out the dough on a floured board.  Cut out our men and decorated them using red hots, raisins, etc.

Bake cookies for 8 minutes.  If you want to hang your men (and not just for having selective listening or leaving beard shavings in the sink), use a toothpick to poke a small hole in the top before baking.

Allow the cookies to cool completely.  Decorate with a simple icing made from water and confectioner’s sugar.  Use ribbons or ornament hooks to hang your men on your tree.

Maybe you’ll be lured into the Panda Express in the Food Court to taste that Orange Chicken sample while Christmas shopping.  Maybe, in A Christmas Story fashion, you’ll even end up having Chinese food for Christmas Eve dinner.  In any case, you should be prepared, because though “the Panda” maybe be quick, it’s not always the healthiest.

Makes Me Sick:  Orange Chicken w/Rice

This meal of deep fried dark meat with a corn syrup sauce atop white starch, not surprisingly has 820 calories, 20 grams fat and 135 grams of carbs.  Clearly you should stop with that sample.

Healthy Pick: Broccoli Chicken w/Mixed Veggies

For about a quarter of the calories (250 versus 820), you can still get your chicken and some veggies too.  You’ll still get a fortune cookie, but you won’t have blown your calorie allowance for the day.  Just don’t think this entitles you to a Cinnabon while you’re in that Food Court.

We’ve all done it.  You’ve run by the store to pick up a few things, but it’s almost your kids’ lunchtime.  You could rush home, unload your groceries, put them away and then make lunch, hoping that your kids don’t eat each other before then, or you could just spare yourself the mess and hassle and grab something for the kids to chow on while you shop.  I admit, I used to plan my shopping trips around lunchtime just so I wouldn’t have to make yet another meal because having the kids busy with lunch is just another way to make my shopping trips that much easier.  I now realize, though, that just because I wasn’t buying them corndogs out of the deli, that didn’t mean I was making a healthy choice.  Here’s where I’ve seen the light.
Makes Me Sick: Oscar Meyer Lunchables Mini Tacos

It took my husband saying, “Isn’t that everything that you are against in a package?” for me to realize that I needed to quit buying these colorful, plastic encased salt licks for my kids.  The Mini Tacos have 450 calories and almost half of the sodium your kids need in a day, with 960 milligrams.   In my defense, I only ever bought the Turkey and Cheese variety, but their stats aren’t much better.  I knew that by giving my kids the cookies inside, I could get them to eat the “healthy” part of the meal.  Turns out I should have just let them eat the cookies.

Healthy Pick: Whole wheat bagel/Lowfat cream cheese/Banana

You’ll save your kids a whopping 600 milligrams of sodium if you just go pick up a bagel and reduced fat shmear and a banana from the produce section.  If the kids are still clamoring for a cookie, and you want to give them a treat, most supermarket bakeries give them out for free.  If you split it between the kids, they’ll still get their sweet, but you’ll feel better about your choice and maybe your kids won’t be retaining water until Christmas.

If you haven’t heard of this movie, and the true story on which it is based, you’ve likely been living under a rock, or at least not watching Sunday Night Football.  The movie starts Sandra Bullock as Leigh Ann Tuohy, a upper crust white mother living in Mississippi, who takes in a poor homeless African American youth named Michael Oher, played by newcomer Quinton Aaron.  Tuohy, her husband, played by Tim McGraw, and their two children not only teach Oher about football, at which he excels and now is a lineman in the NFL, but he teaches them the true meaning of family.

Now generally, I’m not a big “family movie” fan, and especially of plot lines that seem so transparent.  I find it hard to pay ten bucks and devote several hours of my life to sitting and watching fluff.  However, The Blind Side exceeded all of my expectations.  More than the story, which is heartfelt without being overly sappy, I was blown away by the acting.  Both Sandra Bullock, who hadn’t really taken on many roles outside of the romantic comedy box, and Tim McGraw, who I have a hard time seeing without tight jeans and a baseball cap, were beyond impressive.  By about twenty minutes in, I had completely forgotten that I was watching “the girl from Speed” and “Mr. Faith Hill.”  The cast is rounded out by the always amazing Kathy Bates and multiple cameo appearances from NCAA football coaches.

Though my girls are a little young to take to the movies, I was impressed to see fathers and their sons, as well as entire families enjoying this movie together.  There were no points when ears needed to be covered because of profanity or squirms of embarrassment from uncomfortable “adult situations.”  Maybe the “family movie” is back.  All I know, is that we loved it, and we have a little more faith in taking our kids to the movies.  First up, we’ve got a date with a Princess and a Frog.  They’ve got some big shoes to fill.

This is our family’s first Thanksgiving as vegetarians and vegans.  The task of turning our favorite dishes into meat-free and dairy-free treats has proved a little challenging at times.  Even Tofurky isn’t vegan!  One of my favorite side dishes, though, has needed no makeover, unlike Kristen Stewart (we get it, the whole greasy-haired, moody thing, but someone seriously needs to help a sister out!).  Here’s a quick and easy recipe that is about a million times better than the store bought version.  Plus, there’s really no reason to eat anything that is shaped like a can.

Can Free Cranberry Sauce

• 12 oz. fresh cranberries
• 1/2 c. water
• 1/2 c. orange juice
• 1 c. sugar or sweetener of your choice
• 2 T. orange zest
• dash of cinnamon and nutmeg

Bring water, sugar and juice to a boil in a saucepan.  Add cranberries and return to a boil,  Reduce heat and boil for 10 minutes, until cranberries have burst and sauce has thickened.  Add orange zest and spices and refrigerate until serving time.

I always make a double batch because leftovers are fantastic on pancakes, waffles, oatmeal or even toast.  And even for turkey eaters, this will help the bird down a little easier!

This week it’s not about going out to eat, it’s about going to Grandma’s for Thanksgiving dinner.  While Thanksgiving generally means indulging, the average Thanksgiving dinner has around 2,500 calories.  The key to making wise decisions at the dinner table ultimately comes down to deciding which foods are worth it to you to loosen your belt a bit.  Here is the nutritional information about two traditional favorites, to help make that decision a little easier.

Healthy Pick: Green Bean Casserole

This traditional dish, made with canned green beans, cream of mushroom soup and French fried onions is surprisingly not too bad for you.  If you use reduced fat condensed soup, and have a light hand on the fried onions, as serving can be as low as 103 calories.  Make your green beans even healthier by sautéing them lightly in olive oil, skipping the soup and sprinkling on heart healthy toasted almonds.

Makes Me Sick:  Pecan Pie

Depending on the recipe, one slice of pie can contain between 600 and 900 calories.  The nuts are naturally high in fat and calories, and after mixing eggs, corn syrup and butter with them and throwing it into a buttery crust, it’s easy to see how the numbers quickly add up.  Opt for a slice of fruit or even pumpkin pie instead, or if you really want to indulge in a slice, adjust your dinner choices accordingly.  No one ever said you couldn’t just have green beans and pecan pie for Thanksgiving dinner!

We made up this fun and creative craft that can also turn into a party game at your family gathering.  Here’s how to get started on your Sunflowers of Thankfulness.

Materials:

• paper plate
• markers
• construction paper
• scissors
• double sided tape, or Scotch tape rolled into loops
• hole punch
• yarn or ribbon

Draw a large petal shape on your construction paper.  If you are planning on using this game with guests, cut out a petal for each guest.

Cut the petals out with scissors.  Place a piece or loop of tape on the back of each petal.  Draw a circle with a brown marker in the center of your paper plate, to act as the center of your flower.

On each petal, have your child assist in coming up with things he/she is thankful for.

Affix petal to plate with tape, and continue until flower is full of petals.  In the alternative, have each of your guests write something they are thankful for on a petal as they enter for Thanksgiving dinner, and then affix it to the plate.

When the flower is completed, punch a hole in the top of the plate and run a ribbon through it.  Hang your Sunflower of Thankfulness for all to see the blessings to give thanks for this year!