Cozi Blog

Eat Fresh – In-Season Foods for Spring

Fresh produce, finally! The refreshing flavors of spring and early summer produce make it easy to eat simply and healthfully. Here are five top picks to add to your spring family meals:

Asparagus
Fresh asparagus is tasty no matter how you prepare it - steamed, boiled or grilled. Trim hard ends from asparagus and rinse well. Before cooking, marinate the spears in balsamic vinegar, oil and salt. Or, cook plain and serve with a simple sauce of equal parts Dijon mustard and olive oil. Cook extra asparagus tonight to use in tomorrow's salad or over rice or pasta.

Radishes
Radishes are a crunchy addition to salads and afternoon snacks. Did you know you can even grill radishes? Slice the radishes, place on foil with garlic, butter, salt and pepper and seal the foil packet tightly. Grill for about fifteen to twenty minutes.

Spinach
Use spinach in place of light green lettuces for a nutrient boost. Not into salads? Saute spinach for a few minutes in garlic, butter or a few bits of bacon. You can even add fresh spinach leaves to many soups and stews. During the last few minutes of cooking stir in whole or sliced spinach leaves until wilted.

Strawberries
Not much can beat the taste of fresh, in-season strawberries. Enjoy strawberries from your own garden or a locally-grown supply for the best flavor. The really fresh ones don't last long once picked, though! Rinse and slice extra strawberries and freeze before they rot and use them like you would ice cubes in smoothies.

Summer squash
The term "summer squash" includes various types of zucchini, yellow crookneck, yellow straightneck, scallop and more. Slice a mixture of summer squash, tomatoes, eggplant and onions and brush with olive oil. Grill on foil or in foil packets.

Staying Sane During Spring Sports Season

 

 Spring has sprung, and if your family is full of busy, young kids, your family calendar is undoubtedly bursting with spring sports events. With baseball, lacrosse, spring soccer, tennis, and swimming all hitting between March and June, no season seems busier than spring for kids’ sports. Some of you may have multiple kids, each in a different sport, or if you’re really lucky (LOL) you might even have a child playing multiple sports simultaneously.

Fortunately, Cozi doesn’t have a limit on the number of activities you can add to any given day in your family planner, so while your family might reach the breaking point on insane busyness, your Cozi calendar won’t let you down.

In addition to adding all your kids’ sports practices, games, clinics, and tournaments to your family calendar, you can also use Cozi to help with other spring sports planning.

• Keep lists in the shopping list section for each sport or for each child. Include lists of key dates coming up so that you can see them at a glance.
• Add directions for game locations so that you can call in for directions while en route.
• Having snacks and drinks in stock can make or break your pre-game prep, so remember to keep game-day essentials in a dedicated shopping list.
• Keep a separate checklist for items to pack up on game days. For tennis tournaments, you might need stadium chairs, but for lacrosse games, you’ll need field chairs. If you keep a separate list for what you need for each sport, you’ll never find yourself without a seat!
• Kids love to have extended family cheer them on at sports events. During the spring sports season (or all year round!), consider adding extended family members to your Cozi account to allow them easy access to sports schedules. If you’ve added directions to lists in your account, family members can access game information and directions without having to ask you. (NOTE: If the extended family members have their own Cozi accounts, don’t forget to use different e-mail addresses for them in your account so that you don’t create an account conflict.)

So take a deep breath, add your key dates to your calendar, and create a slew of lists to get your spring sports season off to a winning start. The season will pass more quickly than you imagine, and you want to keep it as simple as possible and enjoy the fun!

Spring Fun!

Spring is upon us! The kids are tired of being indoors, drinking hot cocoa, and watching the snow fall. The days are longer, the sun is shining brighter, there's a hint of spring in the air, and snow is turning to rain; it's spring! The vernal equinox is a wonderful time to plan some spring fun with your children. If you want to mark the entrance of spring this year, here are some resources and ideas to enjoy:

1. Plant flowers together! Head out to your local garden center and let your kids pick out the flowers they would like to plant. Have them plant the flowers, and also water them throughout spring and watch them grow!

2. Give your children a watercolor set and white construction paper, and have them paint their own spring masterpieces to hang around the house.

3. Enjoy bird watching! Birds are now migrating north, so it is the perfect time to head out to an open field and watch them. And since it's spring, there are many opportunities to feed ducks, watch scampering squirrels, and take in the natural world coming to life.

4. When a rainy day pops up, pull on your galoshes and go splash in the puddles. Make it fun!

5. Enjoy playing leap frog!

6. Fly kites!

7. Play Frisbee. To make it more interesting, play Frisbee golf. Hang buckets from trees, and have the players toss the Frisbee into the buckets for points.

8. Purchase small terra cotta plant holders for the kids to decorate with tempera paint. They can paint bugs, butterflies, or anything else they like!

9. Gussy up lollipops to look like flowers. Use felt, googly eyes, heavy card stock, and a glue stick to create flower faces atop the lollipops--a sweet treat.

10. Make paper mache eggs. Blow up small balloons, and paper mache the balloons with liquid starch and newspaper strips. When the balloon is dry, stick a pin in to pop the balloon. Cut out a hole large enough for the goodies you will place inside. Fill your egg with the treats, and seal the flap with either paper mache or tape. Paint the eggs with tempura paint in a variety of spring colors, and have the kids write their names on their eggs with markers.

Have a great time celebrating spring with your kids and their friends this year. It will be a bloomin' good time!

Lisa Kothari has based her ambition on helping parents throw the best children's parties without the added stress that planning often creates. She is the founder of Peppers and Pollywogs, a kids' party planning company providing families with party ideas and inspiration.

Temperatures Rising? Take Dinner Outdoors

(ARA) - Hot dogs, hamburgers and pork ribs aren’t the healthiest eats in the bunch, especially if getting fit for the summertime is a priority. You won’t have to compromise these good ol’ grilling favorites at your next barbecue if lighter substitutions are made elsewhere.

“Incorporating healthy, flavorful side dishes is key when you’re serving copious amounts of barbecued meat,” says Chef Steven M. Simpson, Culinary Director at The International Culinary School at The Art Institute of Michigan. “What I like to do is take an old favorite like coleslaw that’s typically drenched in a mayonnaise dressing and modify it to create a light, refreshing alternative.” For example, Simpson makes an Asian-inspired coleslaw with several kinds of Chinese cabbages, oranges, carrots and red onion with a light dressing of orange juice, ginger and a dash of canola oil.

He also advises keeping different types of oils and vinegars on tap to make vinaigrettes, which serve as a good substitute for the heavier cream and mayonnaise dressings typically found in pasta and potato salads.

Another tip is to experiment with salad greens. “You can liven up a humdrum salad by switching out your standard iceberg or romaine lettuce with chicory, dandelion greens, Belgian endive, Bibb lettuce, watercress or arugula,” Simpson says. “Not only are these darker greens more flavorful, but they also tend to be much higher in vitamins and minerals.”

An advocate for homegrown foods and spices, Simpson utilizes herbs and various vegetables like lettuce, zucchini, tomatoes, cucumbers, beans and chili peppers from his own backyard. “When planting a garden, choose foods that you eat frequently and enjoy because if all goes well, you’ll have an abundance of them.”

If gardening isn’t your cup of tea, then Simpson suggests buying produce and meats from your local farmers market, as it’s the next best thing.

Grilling fresh meats and produce isn’t just for special occasions. According to the Propane Education & Research Council, 63 percent of parents say that barbecuing or grilling outdoors is the most fun way for a family to eat dinner together during the summer months. And facilitating family bonding isn’t the only benefit. Cooking on a grill can help food retain nutritional value if cooked properly.

Simpson cooks almost everything on the grill -- potatoes, summer squash, zucchini, sweet potatoes, greens, salmon and eggplant, just to name a few. “Aside from oil, salt and pepper, I don’t do too much to the foods I grill. It’s a flavorful and simple way to preserve the integrity of the organic products, whether bought or homegrown,” he says.

“The beauty of eating in the spring and summertime is that there is so much variety to choose from. My best advice is to keep it simple, refreshing and light, and enjoy the natural flavors of the food just as they are,” he adds.

To see what else is “cooking” at The Art Institutes system of schools check out www.artinstitutes.edu/nz.

Courtesy of ARAcontent

Protect Your Kids in Organized Sports

Parents can help ensure that kids stay safe in team sports. To make sure your children play it safe, follow this action plan from the National Alliance for Youth Sports.

Prepare Your Kids
Have your little ones warm up before games, wear safety equipment, and drink liquids throughout games and practices.

Observe the Coach
Attend a game or practice to check that the coach knows and adheres to the rules of the game, offers specific tips for improvement ("Drop your elbow when you throw") rather than generalities ("You need to throw harder") and is patient with kids who aren't stars.

If the coach doesn't perform satisfactorily in any of these areas, talk to him privately. Most coaches have kids' best interests in mind and will listen and make adjustments. If not, go to the league supervisor.

Screen the Coaches
Do a background check on the coach. The cost is usually minimal — about $15 per report. Talk to other parents and approach the league supervisor to make your request. There's strength in numbers.

Check The Condition of Equipment
Appropriate equipment should be available for each child and should be properly sized and in good shape. Point out equipment problems to the coach or league supervisor and ask that they be rectified. Or buy your child his own equipment — but be sure to label it clearly with his name.

-Making Life Better

Great Garage Sale Tips

While driving around most neighborhoods on a sunny, spring afternoon, you'll notice that garage sales are as plentiful as daffodils. And why not? Garage sales are a spring rite of passage for good reason. They’re a great way to declutter your house of extraneous items and turn your spring cleaning into an unexpected source of cash. Here are some tips for making your garage sale a success.

PUT A DATE ON THE CALENDAR: Nothing is more motivating than a deadline. Once you decide to go for garage sale gold, check your family calendar for a date when your whole family is free. Make sure you have enough time to clean out your closets and drawers before the big day, but don’t schedule it so far in advance that you have time to forget about it. After choosing the day, add an all-day appointment to your family planner for all family members, and don’t forget to add reminders!

SCHEDULE DECLUTTERING DATES: In addition to the date of the actual garage sale, schedule some family appointments to sort through all your stuff prior to your garage sale. After all, this is your big chance to turn your junk into someone else’s treasure, so let no room, closet, or drawer go untouched in your pre-garage sale sorting.

MOTIVATE YOUR FAMILY: Not everyone in your family is likely to be as excited about the garage sale as you are. To get enthusiastic cooperation for your efforts, give them a reason to feel invested in the project. Maybe you can encourage the rest of the family by telling them that all proceeds from the garage sale will go to a special family outing or purchase. Depending on how much you can sell, you might be able to fund a family day at the water park, a trip to the county fair, or a special dinner at your family’s favorite restaurant. Whatever motivates your family is the card you need to play.

PUBLICIZE: Put your kids to work making garage sale signs, and advertise in advance for your sale. You might have to add some markers and poster paper to your shopping list, but the kids will have fun on this part of the project—and your garage sale success depends on people knowing where and when to find your treasures!

GET NEIGHBORS INVOLVED: Scheduling several garage sales on the same block on the same day might seem like adding competition for your sale, but it can also increase publicity and draw out more treasure hunters for all! Bringing in additional families for a multi-family garage sale will add extra fun and more goods to pull people in.

KEEP THE KIDS BUSY: Prior to the big day, you need everyone’s help with sorting and organizing, and some kids will enjoy helping out at the garage sale, too. If your kids will need an extra diversion on the day of the sale, consider letting them host a lemonade stand or a candy stand in conjunction with the event. If other neighbors will be jumping on the garage sale bandwagon, all the neighborhood kids can get together to plan and implement an entrepreneurial side project.

National Organize Your Files Week - Yippee!

The third full week in April (4/19/09-4/25/09) is National Organize Your Files Week-- aren't you excited? How will you celebrate?

What do you mean, you're not celebrating?

Let's just get this out of the way-- Nobody really gets excited about paper. Even those of us who teach about managing paper and help others file things for a living really don't love it either. We just don't mind when it's someone else's paper. Our own papers are much less fun.

Why is that? Objectivity! If it's someone else's paperwork, you have no emotional attachments or guilt related to the decisions in the piles. You can breeze through them faster.

We talk about how all clutter ultimately is delayed decisions and actions. Paper is a very concentrated dose of this-- each pile of stacked thin sheets is compactly and efficiently holding potentially hundreds of delayed decisions and actions in a small 8.5 x 11" space.

When going through your own paperwork and mail, try to step back from it mentally and concentrate on these three questions to help you get through the piles faster:

1. What is this? What does this paper want from me? I have had years of practice refining this skill... scanning the paper to quickly figure out the bottom line. You can learn this too! Look for the first question or sentence in the letter; anything that is bolded, underlined, highlighted, large, or red; and the last sentences in the letter. Look for catch words and phrases like "Pay by," "Due Date," "Return by," "Statement Enclosed," or any actual dates on the page.

2. Does this paper fall into the category of Action, Reference, or Trash? (Just remember A.R.T.) Once you've figured out what the paper is and what it wants from you, you can decide if you want to take action on it, keep it in your files, or shred/recycle it. If it requires action, keep it separated from the papers that you're simply keeping for reference. This is half the battle, my friends. Don't mix the two together.

3. If this person or company knocked on my door or called me on the phone, would I spend time talking with them? For all of the catalogs and junk mail sales pitches directed your way, pretend that you are a super-busy executive who has time for only the things that matter most. Try to quickly bottom-line what they're selling and whether you are remotely interested, and don't fall for the trap of essentially "going out shopping" in the middle of the day by leisurely browsing through catalogs. Save the catalogs for a time when you really want to shop and put them together in a reading basket. Don't let them distract you from sorting all the way through the pile.

See if these questions will help you make the piles disappear more quickly! It leaves you more time to celebrate occasions like National Organize Your Files Week, which I plan to celebrate like author Katherine Mansfield, who said, "Tidied all my papers. Tore up and ruthlessly destroyed much. This is always a great satisfaction." Next post: dealing with the actual files already in your cabinet. Share your favorite paper tips in the comments!

Certified Professional Organizer Lorie Marrero is the creator of ClutterDiet.com , an innovative program allowing anyone to get expert help at an affordable price. She is also the author of The Clutter Diet: The Skinny on Organizing Your Home and Taking Control of Your Life (get 15 percent off with the code - cozi2009 ) Her organizing books and products are sold online and in stores nationwide. Lorie has been a spokesperson for Brother label makers and FedEx Office, and she is a sought-after expert for national media such as CNBC, Good Housekeeping, WGN News and Woman's Day.

Stop Procrastinating - Spring Into Action!

Winter months sometimes drain us and make it easy to put things off. When spring comes, it shines new light on those things. That light can expose dirty windows and dusty corners and it can bring a sense of renewed energy to tasks that seemed foreboding during the dullness of winter. Now is the time to latch on to that energy and start closing those “open circles” in your life. Here are some ideas to help you stop procrastinating and “spring” into action!

When you look at all of the projects that need your attention, begin by prioritizing. You may discover that some items are no longer worthy of your attention. They are stale and you need to let them go. Pick the top three tasks in front of you and break them down into smaller step. Many times you will find that there is a step that has you stuck and you need to get more information to move on. The treasure here is when you realize you actually need to delegate some smaller pieces. Then your project becomes do-able.

Now set goals and put things on your to do list and your calendar. Set deadlines to create some urgency and accountability to yourself. Create accountability with someone else too. Tell someone your intention and suddenly you are on a team!  Taking it one step further and getting a partner will really help you get to completion.

Insert small rewards in your process. If you think about it, you have built some pretty strong procrastination muscles by rewarding yourself every time you avoided the task and did something you liked better instead. Now reward yourself when you stick with it!

Engineer an environment that prompts you to stay on task and minimizes distractions. Use timers and alarms to keep on track. Avoid any negative self talk and just dig in. If it feels like you still don’t know where to start, just commit to work on it for 20 minutes and things will illuminate. Work in cycles with breaks and rewards so that you stay energized and motivated!

Leslie McKee is a Certified Professional Organizer and Family Manager Coach. She empowers her clients to live more simply and with purpose.

Simple Steps for Gardening With Children

What you'll need:

• A child-size garden plot
• Some child-size gardening tools
• An assortment of seeds or plants (vegetables, flowers or a mix of both)

What to do:

Get your kids involved in deciding what to plant in their garden. Some kids get really excited about the idea of growing their own fruits and vegetables. Suggest colorful vegetables, like peppers, to make the garden more beautiful and interesting to your kids. Some children prefer to stick to flowers. Sunflowers are always a huge hit with kids because of their mammoth size and spectacular appearance.

• Decide whether you want to start the garden with seeds or plants. Remember to factor in both the growing conditions in your area and your kids' patience level. The beauty of starting with plants is that you end up with an "instant garden."
• Don't expect your kids to do all the garden maintenance themselves. If you pile too many chores on them, you'll risk turning them off. It'll seem too much like work.
• Encourage your kids to keep a gardening journal so they can record of how their garden does from year to year: which plants tend to thrive and which ones don't.

--Making Life Better

The Four Things to Toss From Your Closet Right Now

Get rid of these four fashion frenemies that undermine your look and overwhelm your storage space.

Practically Boring
Sure your mother-in-law meant well when she gave you that perfectly fine but frumpy cardigan. But even your wardrobe basics should have something special about them: a great cut, unique detail or a flattering neckline. Don’t get caught in the trap of saving a serviceable item that makes you feel less than fabulous. Plus giving away drab duds won’t make a lick of difference if you never wear them.

Dress in the Moment
What good are pants that you can wear only five less pounds from now? All they do is eat up closet space and make you feel fat. Toss them. Instead of thinking that you are to blame for not fitting into these clothes, consider that it’s the clothes that don’t do anything for you. Your wardrobe should be a collection of “yes” clothes that flatter and compliment you just as you are. When you lose those five pounds, you can celebrate with new pants.

Forgotten Fashions
Perhaps a dress was a must-wear a couple of summers ago, but now it’s two seasons old and a decade away from qualifying as a red-hot retro style. Give long-lost looks to charity and make room for new favorites.

The Right Age
Is that midriff-baring top truly suitable now? Could that mid-calf pleated skirt be adding unnecessary years? Revel in your age, play up your assets and purge anything from your closet that doesn’t help you do both. Anything that went to college with you should go — even if it wasn’t that long ago. You’re out of school, and it’s time for a more polished look. Exceptions: classic pieces with good lines can stay no matter your age.

-- Making Life Better

makinglifebetter provides tips and smart strategies to help you feel good, look good, and get more out of life.