We must get kids moving, get kids exercising, get them away from video games…. We all hear it – America is obese.  We’ve had this drilled in our heads – so this year, lets think about going back to basics with our kids, getting them out of the house, running and playing with their friends – back before video games took over Saturday afternoons.

Green Toys (who, by the way won 2 awards from Dr. Toy this year!) has some amazing products, all made in the US, all BPA free, and all environmentally-friendly, allowing us to do our part for the environment.

How do they do it? Simple (well, ok – not really!), they use recycled milk jugs as their main tool and ingredient in their toys.  Their packaging is eco-friendly, and to top it off – because it’s local, and because it’s made right here in the US – we’re saving on all those transportation costs and fuels used up.

So, what do I have for you? Their awesome 7-foot adjustable length jump rope.

Let’s go back to basics, we don’t need talking cars and battery-operated pets that follow our kids around.  How about their 15 piece tool set, or the EcoSaucer Flying Disc?

We love their classic, simple approach to toys, and are sure you will too!

Green Toys Toy Giveaway

Dates: November 12 – November 17, 2009 (11:59 pm EST)

Whose Eligible? Anyone in the United States. Sorry,  international shipping is not available right now.

How to enter:
Respond here letting us know what toy from the Green Toys site you’d like to try the most. Make sure that your e-mail address is correct when you leave a response, we will use that to contact you.

Extra Entries:

2 for blogging about this contest, include a link in your comment so we can count it!
2 for tweeting about this giveaway on Twitter.  Include the link to your twitter so we can check in a separate response
2 for fanning us on Facebook (current fans included) – let us know who you are so that we can verify you!
2 for adding our button to your blog – let us know where you are so that we can verify you!

We will contact the winner and will wait 48 hours before moving on to selecting a new winner if we do not hear back. Winners are selected at random from random.org.

Add a salad, veggies or home made potato chips and you’re set!

Ingredients

Cooking Instructions

1. Place crackers in a large resealable plastic bag; seal bag and crush crackers until they are coarse crumbs. Add flour, potato flakes, seasoned salt, and pepper to bag and mix well.
2. Beat egg in a shallow dish or bowl; heat oil in a large skillet over medium high heat.
3. One by one, dredge chicken pieces in egg beat, then place in bag with crumb mixture, seal bag and shake to coat.
4. Reduce heat to medium and cook coated chicken in skillet for 15 to 20 minutes, turning frequently, until golden brown and juices run clear.

I’m as guilty as the next guy ( or gal!) it’s cold out there and frankly who wants to go through the whole process of bundling up (which can be a work out in itself) just to go and work out? Me personally, I’d much rather come home, climb into sweats, double up my socks and lounge on the couch under my cozy blanket.  Apparently people agree with me, because recent surveys are showing that 42% of people admitted to not exercising at all during the winter of 2008.

The frigid temps aren’t an excuse for skipping workouts. So check out some tips to get moving, even when it’s freezing!

If you’re working out outside, remember a few tips:

• Get your body and internal temp warm before going outside. Warm up inside before heading out.
• Layer up! The layers help keep the heat in and allow you to take any off if you’re too toasty!
• Just like you had to warm up before going out – let your body adjust to the temps when you go back inside before taking off all your clothes.

Ok – So working out outside just isn’t going to do it for ya? There’s tons of ways for you to still get in a good workout, so no worries! You don’t have to take over your living room with equipment just to get a work out in.

A few routes to try:

• Got a gym? There are plenty of gyms that offer winter passes (usually in 3 month increments) and can be found for about $25 a month. So if you don’t want to have a gym in your living room, find one locally to join.  Heck, if you’re lucky and it’s a big enough gym – they might have a pool you can use as well, allowing you to explore other options you might not normally do in the warmer months.
• The mall. I don’t know about yours but I know that mine is filled with wide paths to take a brisk walk through. Take your pedometer and see how far it is from one end to another. Just keep in mind that you may have to slow down for folks, so consider that when looking at your walking time.
• Your basement. There, I finally said it. There is a reason for basements, other than storage and laundry… Don’t have one, I’m sure you can section off a corner in the living room or spare bedroom.  Make your own gym.  Get a few hand weights, exercise ball and mat, and a jump rope.  No need to spend much money but it will keep you motivated when you sit down on the couch and see the collection sitting in the corner!

There’s really no excuse, but yet we all manage to come up with some, don’t we?  I’m guilty too, notice my hand flying up in the air

This website provides us the opportunity to share with you products that you might not normally hear about.  This is one of those times.  Recently I got in touch with David from Yes! to Cookies and had the opportunity to listen to him explain their product, and then receive a sample to try and let you guys know about it.

Yes! to Cookies is the first cookie filled with fiber, that replaces flour – leaving them starch free, sugar and gluten free.

I tried both the Strawberry-Banana Blitz 8 0z. Baked Cookies and  Cocoa-Liscious 8 0z. Baked Cookies. Both of these are only $9.95 each.

Because I really wanted to give these cookies the opportunity to be experienced by more than just me (because I’m such a picky eater) that I took them to work.

I took the cocoa cookies first.  My husband (who is a diabetic) and I both tried them – and the rest were consumed at work.

I didn’t love the flavor, something seemed off, because when I hear cocoa, I want to taste cocoa, and I didn’t.  My husband wasn’t much of a fan either.  It’s not so much that there’s something ‘wrong’ or awful with them, but it’s not the taste I’m looking for when I see a cocoa cookie sitting there so I think it was a bit deceiving and therefore confused my taste buds!

Same response for the most part from my coworkers, they just didn’t fly.

However – then I brought in the strawberry banana blitz – and those were a hit!  My husband and I both tried them, and when you’re used to eating low sugar/no sugar foods – there was no strange taste (the cookies are made with erythritol and Rebaudioside A – which is from Stevia), so for someone not accustomed to eating natural sweetened food, it might have an after taste.

I had them at work for people to try – and the reactions were mixed. Those who were diabetic, or one woman, who eats gluten-free regularly – loved them.  Those who were used to normal, strong sugar, all said it was good – but it had a ‘taste’ that they couldn’t pin.  It’s just like if you always drink regular soda, and then have a diet soda, it’s not that there’s something awful about it – but it’s not something you’re used to.

All in all – I think they’re amazing and I highly suggest the strawberry banana. We did not get the mix to make our own, so I can only speak for the pre-made ones

Check them out – give the website a read over. They have some amazing information that I just can’t re-explain as well as they do

These are great to prepare ahead of time (like Friday or Saturday) and then Sunday morning, wake up and have some delish pancakes!

Ingredients

Cooking Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 500 degrees F (260 degrees C).
2. In the container of a blender or food processor, combine the eggs, milk, flour, granulated sugar and vanilla. Blend until smooth, scraping down the sides of the container to make sure everything is evenly blended. Set aside.
3. Melt the butter over medium-high heat in a 10-inch (25-cm) nonstick skillet that can go into the oven. When the butter is foamy, add the sliced apples and the brown sugar. Cook, stirring occasionally, for about 10 minutes or until the apples are tender and beginning to brown. Remove from heat.
4. Pour the mixture from the blender over the apples in the pan and place the pan into the preheated oven. Immediately reduce the oven temperature to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C). Bake for 16 to 18 minutes, or until the batter is browned and slightly puffed. Remove from oven and dust with powdered sugar. Cut into wedges and serve with maple syrup, if desired.

Servings: 4

I wonder on average how long it takes for someone to adjust to this. I realize that it will vary person by person, but I feel like I’m suffering more this year than any year prior. I’m exhausted earlier, and I’m wide away at the crack of dawn.  Then I force myself to go back to sleep, because it’s way too early to get up, and then I’m grumpy when I wake up an hour later. It’s a miserable cycle.  I honestly don’t feel like I’ve ever suffered with it this much. It’s just an hour, right?

The New York Times did a  little ditty on it, and said:

“It seems that when the clock is moved forward or back one hour, the body’s internal clock — its circadian rhythm, which uses daylight to stay in tune with its environment — does not adjust. In a study of 55,000 people, for example, scientists found that on days off from work, subjects tended to sleep on standard time, not daylight time: their waking hour followed the seasonal progression of dawn.”

I agree – - my body doesn’t know what time it is, must we throw me all off schedule? What about children, and babies? I can only imagine the process their bodies go through to adjust.

Some more points to prove that it’s just not good for us, as humans.  I realize it has different effects on our environment, etc etc. I’m not here to dispute that.US News reminds us:

• Daylight saving time has mixed effects on people’s health. Transitions into and out of DST can disturb people’s sleeping patterns, for example, and make them more restless at night. Night owls tend to be more bothered by the time changes than people who like mornings, Finnish researchers concluded last year.
• There’s a spike in heart attacks during the first week of daylight saving time, according to another study published last year. The loss of an hour’s sleep may make people more susceptible to an attack, some experts say. When daylight saving time ends in the fall, heart attacks briefly become less frequent than usual.
• People are safer drivers during daylight hours, and researchers have found that DST reduces lethal car crashes and pedestrian strikes. In fact, a study concluded that observing DST year-round would annually prevent about 195 deaths of motor vehicle occupants and about 171 pedestrian fatalities.

So I don’t know about you – but I prefer my sleep undisturbed. Not to mention that it’s dark at 5pm, and so when I come home I’m mentally ready for bed…

Related articles by Zemanta

• Fall Back An Hour: Daylight Saving Ends, Standard Time Returns At 2 a.m. November 1 (huffingtonpost.com)
• Fall back into a better bedtime schedule (parentcentral.ca)
• The History of Daylight Saving Time in the US (neatorama.com)
• Do Wild Pigs Know the Daylight Savings Time? (treehugger.com)

We have some GREAT reviews and giveaways coming up – but as you can see, we haven’t announced any recent winners because well – we can’t get a hold of anyone! Also, one of the websites we like to list our giveaways on was recently hacked, and since a lot of you depend on that list to get your daily updates, we’re on hold with it at the moment. Don’t worry though – we have some tasty treats as well as a great gift for your little princess at home this Christmas.

Thatsfit.com did a great break down of the popular halloween candies, and what the nutritional information breakdown was…. Are you ready for this? Do you have any idea what you consumed during this past weekend? Well let’s check some of numbers:

Some of the bad ones:

• Snickers (1 full-size bar) — 280 calories, 14g fat
• Twix Caramel (2 bars) — 280 calories, 14g fat
• Baby Ruth (1 full-size bar) — 280 calories, 13g fat
• Butterfinger (1 full-size bar) — 270 calories, 11g fat
• Mr. Goodbar (1 full-size bar) — 210 calories, 14g fat

A few “safer” choices if you just can’t resist:

• Smarties (1 roll) — 25 calories, 0g fat
• Tootsie Roll (1 piece) — 50 calories, 1g fat
• Pixy Stix (7 straws) — 60 calories, 0g fat
• Hershey Kisses (3) — 75 calories, 1.5g fat
• York Peppermint Patty (1 piece) — 140 calories, 2.5g fat

We all know you should stick to the miniature sized candies if you’ve got a sweet tooth and just need something to hit the spot. Consuming full-size candy bars not only sucks valuable calories out of your day, it gives you a burst of sugar you just don’t need!

I don’t know for your area, but if you’re stuck at home with your kiddos candy, or candy you over bought thinking you’d have more visitors than you did, many places are collecting it, and sending it in care packages for soldiers overseas.  And some dentist offices are even collecting the candy and paying $1 a pound Think of that money as a gift to your new jeans you just discovered in the closet that you haven’t worn in a year or two!

Related articles by Zemanta

• Halloween Candy Breakdown (fitsugar.com)
• Which Halloween Candy Is Worse? (fitsugar.com)

Keep Moving is a practical program from the makers of Tylenol for people with knee or hip osteoarthritis. The program provides tools and resources needed to outsmart arthritis. Look for The “Join Now” button near bottom of page. Click and register for the Keep Moving program and receive a free DVD, Pedometer and other tools to combat osteoarthritis. U.S. only.

This summer we were lucky enough to get in touch with the great folks over at the Soft Landing.com.  They focus on BPA, PVC and Phthalate FREE products.  Everything there is super safe and affordable for your baby. After all, you only want the best for your little one, right?

We were given a copy of itsabelly’s guide to going green with baby by Jennifer Lo Prete and Melissa Moog to share with our readers!

This guide is the perfect guide for any environmentally responsible mom to have when making choices that affect her family.   This book covers all the key points – why you should go green, how to do it (yes ladies, even on a BUDGET!) and where to start with easy to find product suggestions.

There are tons of guides out there, but they’re all lacking something that makes it complete.  Some will give you all the guidelines, but no starting points or products to start with – leaving many mom’s in the dark.  Others will suggest products, but they’re either impossible to find or impossible to afford (raising a family is expensive enough these days!).

This book has great tips, expert opinions and every category you might want to go green with, including apparel, nursery furniture, diapering, teething and babyproofing – and that’s just a few categories this book has!

It’s such an awesome book – we want you to have it for your little one at home!

WIN IT TODAY!

Dates: Oct 27-29, 2009 (11:59 pm EST)

Whose Eligible? Anyone in the United States. Sorry,  international shipping is not available right now.

How to enter:
Respond here letting us know how your family can benefit from this book, make sure that your e-mail address is correct when you leave a response, we will use that to contact you.

Extra Entries (please leave separate comments for each to count as your entries):

• 1 for adding our button to your blog or adding us to your blogroll
• 2 for blogging about this contest, include a link in your comment so we can count it!
• 2 for tweeting about this giveaway on Twitter (Win Going Green with Baby with @thindependence. http://bit.ly/ffBFi).  Include the link to your twitter so we can check in a separate response.  You can do this once a day, so just leave a new comment when you do it.
• 2 for fanning us on facebook (current fans included) – let us know who you are so that we can verify you!

We will contact the winner shortly after and will wait 48 hours before moving on to selecting a new winner if we do not hear back. Winners are selected at random from random.org.