TV Worth Watching tonight.

Check out JAMIE OLIVER’S FOOD REVOLUTION 2-HOUR PREMIERE FRIDAY MAR 26 8|7c.
Then read through & follow up with this TOOLKIT put together in association with the PTA.

Thanks to Natalie Rogers. A local mom working hard to make this a reality!

Dear Task Force on Obesity... Less Talk-y, Paper Shuffley, More Do-ey...

1. FULLY fund the Child Nutrition Act - it's cued up for you. Take the shot.

2. FULLY fund FARM TO SCHOOL programs too. Kids need to reconnect to their food source. And this is a real valid learning tool.

3. No Child Left Behind ... hmmm anybody think that taking PE & Recess out of schools in order to spend more time prepping for tests is a good idea? It seems like it should be called "NO CHILD'S LEFT BEHIND should be too big to fit in their seat because we don't allow them to run around during the school day and Dang, why can't they pay attention anyway?!"

4. Parents & Task Force members... BE ROLE MODELS not ROLL models. We all have to do this together...It's not up to the government to make this one work...we do need their help but this one hits too close to home to leave it up to someone else.

5. Let's not try and solve every problem with a "tech-y" solution. Video & Computer Games are fine in small doses, but trying to get a kid to sit in front of the computer in order to learn about how to get healthy seems a little oxymoronic to me.

seeds, BIRDS | creative chickins

I just MUST post about this. My friend Rachel owns one of the coolest kid's stores I've ever been in. It's called the Seed Factory and is located on the west side of Atlanta, GA. She is hosting an event with one of the most creative artists I've seen in a long while. Have you ever seen a gigantic felted bird cage? Fantastic! Sign up & show up if you are geographically inclined. Even if you aren't, it might be worth the road trip.

What does it have to do with building healthy habits you ask? Well, inspiring kids to follow their creativity is a tremendously healthy habit!

Dr. Geary Recommends...

I like this blog (the author, Dr. Natalie Geary lives in NYC and I like that too...jealous much, am I) Check out this nice review of our Nutrition Tracking Boards.



Click here to check out all the helpful Nutrition info she has posted too!

"Keep on Cluckin'!" awarded to Local Mompreneurs!

Aside from getting to do what I love every day – The Chickin Biz – I get to meet lots of other interesting folks that are doing what they love too. I wanted to share a couple of stories about some that I find particularly inspirational for varied reasons. Keep on Cluckin' mommies!

Great news from fellow Atlanta mom-preneur, Britt Menzies who started a business based upon her passion for teaching children – Little Stinkers – to make good choices and "always be leaders of good." Britt just landed a really sweet deal with Madame Alexander to license and produce her line of plush dolls based upon the "Stinky Kids®"characters she has created. WAY TO GO BRITT. Thanks for being an inspiration to all mom/biz-owners to follow your passions and the rest will follow!

I met this mom late last year. Always thinking of ways to grow and expand, I thought about how Chickin Feed might work in the whole in-home party model – Having a Hen Party! – and my research uncovered local mom, Beth Remmes. She has built a company called ZOLA the art of living green, an eco-friendly home party business. She has a great section of links & resources. If you are a mom looking to Go Green in your home or looking to start your own home-based biz...Chick it out!

And I just met Jody Goldfarb, local mother of three, who saw a problem (school lunches) and started a business catering fresh foods to local schools to solve it: Lunch For Learners. Great idea and thanks for being Part of the Solution, Jody!

PART OF THE SOLUTION...

We need to combat the childhood obesity epidemic with KNOWLEDGE. Teaching young children AND their families about nutrition is essential if we want to tackle this massive public health issue. Giving children and their families simple, fun, interactive tools that do show them what they NEED to be putting into their bodies and that don't encourage them to sit in front of the computer is the mission of Chickin Feed (chickin is an affectionate term for children).

Aside from making eco-friendly products (locally produced & recyclable) we pride ourselves on good design. After all, if something is a well-designed tool that folks WANT to look at, interact with and take pride in possessing, rather than “some piece of paper they handed out at school that we had on the fridge but it fell off and we aren’t inspired enough to put it back up” odds are the outcome will be better.

By reconcepting the food pyramid into a user-friendly interactive board, Chickin Feed has really helped folks associate what they've HAD to eat vs. what they NEED to be eating. Actually seeing a representation of four servings of vegetables that need to be consumed each day and having to mark them off when you are done really does turn on a lightbulb! And sometimes children need tools that they can use to make good choices independent of their busy parents and well-intentioned urgings of the lunch lady.

We need some help spreading the word. Talk about healthy foods with your friends and neighbors, start an active club at your school, get involved in the local food movement or just do one small thing in your community to be part of the solution instead of focusing on the problem. It will all work out! As long as well all do too :)

Yours truly,
Mother Hen
leslie at chickinfeed dot com...

WAY TO GO EWA!!!

NEW YORK—The sixth annual Wonder Women of Toys Awards were granted in nine categories on Feb. 14. The awards, which honor achievements by women all along the children’s entertainment supply chain, were presented by networking group Women In Toys and Playthings magazine at a gala at The Penn Club in Manhattan.

Some great big kudos to our good friend Ewa Martinoff, founder & hot mamma behind Shainsware the maker of our Nutrition Tracking To Go!

She just got some much deserved recognition for her really cool innovative products. Check it out!

YAY EWA!

WE DON'T HAVE A CHILDHOOD OBESITY EPIDEMIC . . .

because children want to be overweight. I believe that we have a childhood obesity epidemic because the adults in their lives are too full of excuses to do anything about it. Thank goodness the First Lady, Michelle Obama, has brought this issue to the forefront and done so in a way that doesn't shy away from the parental responsibility that will be neccessary if we really to address the issue.

REPOSTED from Sept '09.

Let's face it, none of us launched into parenthood with the aspiration to become the "Crusher of All Dreams." The fact that 20-30 times a day we have to tell our children what they CANNOT do gets to be quite tiring. After awhile, you start giving in a little to make peace and/or to get back to work and the very important adult things that we do.

One of the places that a lot of us give in, is where food is concerned. After all, we all HAVE to feed our kids. Several times a day in fact. We all must eat! We are busy and pinching pennies and just don't seem to have time to think about something we have to do so frequently. So we give in and justify it for numerous reasons...See if any of these excuses sound familiar?

• Healthy food is too expensive.

• I just don't have time to prepare healthy foods. Eating out is so much simpler.

• They don't like vegetables and I just can't argue about one other thing today - I've picked all my battles!

• I don't want them to call me out as a hypocrite . . . "I can eat whatever I want because I'm grown but you have to eat healthy because you are still growing" Hmmm...Eat as I say, not as I do!

• My kids should be learning about nutrition at school - I pay lots of money in taxes for goodness sake! And I'm sure they will use that knowledge to make good choices once they grow up.

AND the great reason that our kids are less active these days...drumroll please,

• They can't go play outside right now, the mosquitoes are too bad and there might be a pervert lurking around the corner.

Which one is your favorite excuse? I know about three that I'll cop to on any given day. I think it might be time to grow up a little.

How are we, as the adults, going to help fix the very real obesity epidemic if we don't accept some responsibility? After all, IT'S NOT PRIMARILY OUR CHILDREN'S FAULT THAT THEY ARE OVERWEIGHT OR THE GOVERNMENT'S PROBLEM TO SOLVE. Parent-UP peeps!

Sincerely,

Leslie Smith Grant
President & Mother Hen
Chickin Feed, LLC

Un-busy a little bit.
Go play WITH your kids.
Feed them less / better...

How to PLAY with your chickins!

Ok, this seems like a no-brainer... Everybody knows how to "play" right? Well, there are some ways to get more out of it for both parents and the children. I met Dr. Kelli Ritter about a year ago. She's a hip intown mom that just happens to be a specialist in "playing" with your kids. I wanted to pass along her new lunch & learn format workshops for those of you in the Atlanta area. Chick it out! AND HAVE FUN WITH YOUR CHICKINS...IT'S GREAT EXERCISE.
Effective Parenting Workshop

Fluffing the Primer

So we recently had a publisher that was interested in Chickin Feed say that they just don't "get" our book, The Primer | a useful companion for modern families. They just couldn't quite pigeon-hole it. What category does it fit into?

Well, I take all the blame. When I was looking for some way to give my family (myself) a "health makeover" if you will – I thought up the idea for the Nutrition Tracking Board. A very simple concept. If I can SEE what we need each day to be healthy and mark it off, then I will be more aware, more accountable, and make better choices. It has worked! For myself and quite a few chickins all over the planet :) Yay!

Just after we concepted the initial idea for the Nutrition Tracking Boards we thought it would be good to have some sort of USER'S GUIDE for the board...someplace you could easily reference more info on all the good things the board addresses. Like a notebook that had been assembled over the years of all the helpful information you had collected on being a good parent, building a healthy home and healthier habits.

Putting simple to digest information in one place and designing it well so that folks want to pay attention to it seemed like a great idea at the time. So we chunked (Editor Chick, Michelle Newcome's term) the book together in sections:

• NUTRITION by Nutrition Chick, Emily Harrison- the first, most important part in easy to understand terms that you can easily explain to you chickins OR yourself!
  
• BUILDING A NUTRITIOUS KITCHEN by lot's of folks– think what Martha Stewart and Erma Bombeck's love child would be like...hmmm...it's a great chapter on how Kitchen 101.
  
• RECIPES by Chef Chick, Sheri Davis – why not show people what real food looks and tastes like? This chapter breaks the meals out by meal of the day and even let's you know how many of the different food groups you are "chicking off" as you go.
• OLD SCHOOL P.E. from Coach Brookins (Head Yard Bird) gives you some great fun FREE ways to get in a little exercise.
• DRAMA-CIZE by Drama Chick, Amy Handler is perhaps my favorite chapter since it comes from the brain of a mad woman (in a good way) gives you some really fun, creative ways to exercise your funny bone, imagination and body at the same time
• GETTING EVERYONE ON BOARD gives you tips to try and deal with the other folks that influence your lives because we all have to live with other people...
• RESOURCES is a handy little chapter that lists some of our favorite places to get more information on some of our favorite subjects that help you build a healthy life.

WHAT'S not to get? Our customers seem to get it.

We had it posted on amazon for a bit. Five Star Reviews on Amazon...

So, the original Primer is going fast...Our first edition is dwindling. If you'd like a copy they are available at a few stores and online @ www.chickinfeed.com. Hurry up Peeps! Get 'em while they are hot :)

Run! Chickins Run!

Want a great way to get active, be a role model and have a great time WITH your girlie chickins? Check out Girls on the Run. Sign your daughter up if there is one already at your school OR set one up at your school if you don't have one. BE A ROLE MODEL...not a roll model. :)

NEW YEARS RESOLUTIONS

A bit late and really not where you think I might be headed with a blog about good nutrition and exercise, but...my New Year's Resolutions include some other healthy habits:

1. Estate planning (not that we have much of an "estate" but we absolutely must make sure that we voice, legalize and protect our wishes when we are no longer here to speak. This mom blog has some good resources http://alexismartinneely.com/)

2. Always recognize friendship in whatever form it takes BUT don't mistake being a friend with "needing to fix" someone.

Thank you Wesley. God bless you!

Chickin Crafts @ the Holiday Lights and Market in Grant Park

We'd love to get a visit from lots of little chickins and their families this weekend in Grant Park. The Grant Park Conservancy (a great organization dedicated to restoring Atlanta's oldest park) is starting a new holiday tradition – revamping the European style Advent market. A three day, outdoor festival with music, vendors (Chickin Feed will be there!) and winter goodies - hot beverages...YUM! ALSO going on in Grant Park...The Grant Park Candlelight Tour of Homes & Artist Market (indoors) and take a stroll through Oakland Cemetery too!

We'll have some fun crafts and activities for the little chickins – POPCORN & CRANBERRY STRINGING – and we've got some cool ornaments that we whipped up from the fabric pile featuring "little chickin" and his Farm Grub friends (see above). We'll have some "make & take" ornament fixins for the chickins. AND we'll stay warm with a little cardio whenever we need!

And Cooking for Monkeys PAM is going to be visiting us before she goes indoors to the Artists Market at St. Paul UMC! Check out her blog about an upcoming Web MD -cast! Go PAM!

Plus! On Sunday @ 2pm, Katherine & Fletcher Moore will be performing on the stage a few tunes from the FARM GRUB REVIEW! You DO NOT want to miss this! The "Lamentation of the Rotten Zucchini" is sure to drive the crowd wild...Katherine has been practicing her yodel! :)

Come see us.

An Organics Primer

QUALITY vs. QUANTITY... Cutting health care spending starts at home. By eating a variety of fresh foods, healthfully prepared, each day, we are able to stay in better health and curb our personal health care expenditures. Buying ORGANIC foods is a great idea because they are regulated so as to minimize the exposure to pesticides and other harmful chemicals. BUT they are EXPENSIVE... Where should you draw the line about what to buy Organic and what won't make that big a difference? Based on a study by the Environmental Working Group, a list of the "dirty dozen" was put together to prioritize selections. We've formatted the information into an easy reference guide for your fridge. Because sometimes you just need good info, in a handy place.

Green Mamma Blog Interview

Sucking the marrow from the bones of the Rachael Ray appearance photo:)! Here's an interview I did with Jessica from the Green Mamma Blog. She posts some great info about being a mom & being green. Chick it out! If you don't already own a copy...it gives you some back ground on the Chickin Feed Primer.

MO' HEN . . . LESS HEN Part Deux

So, I've been enjoying the time & talents of the Healthy Weight Class @ Ponce Preventive Care for two months now. I completely intended to report more frequently on my progress in trying to amend some of my less savory habits. SO, drumroll please, I'm doing better :) BMI is better, lost some inches overall & fat has been transformed to muscle for a net loss of . . . not so much.

I have to say I was a bit disappointed after my first couple of meetings. I actually said to David (the RD running the program) that I wanted more of a kick in the pants from him. He kind of smiled and said, "OK, but that's not really my job, is it?" I went home thinking, "Well then, what IS your job and What am I paying for?" I was thinking that when I "signed up"/ "started the program" somehow I would be magically transformed because David would be nagging me to make the changes I had said I wanted to make.

During my first face to face conference with him I actually about fell out of my chair when he mentioned that maybe by "joining the program" I was trying to find a MAGIC PILL! It took me so far aback, that I think I actually started to laugh. My whole rant about not wanting to follow in my mother's footsteps and take the easy way out by looking for a "simple solution" (in her case Phen Fen, diet drinks and skipping meals & all) and look where he found me? Searching all around for the Magic Pill that would ring me up & ask me why I needed that cup of ice cream at 10pm?

A lot of gears started turning during that meeting and I really am starting to accept that the change must come from within. This whole experience is much more of a therapy session than I ever imagined. Not about reforming diets, but paying attention to choices, when I make them and making them GOOD choices so that I feel good later... HMMM heard anybody preachin' that lately?

Later...A little Less' Hen!

FARM GIRLS ROCK!

Just found out about this amazing lady, MaryJane Butter's and her really cool world in Idaho (that's not her in the picture). A potential client in AL asked if I knew about Mary Jane's Farm Magazine. She suggested I should see about advertising because she thought it would be a great fit. So I looked it up and sent an email introduction and darned if Mary Jane Butters herself didn't just call me and leave me the most wonderful message! I hope we'll get some Chickin Feed on Mary Jane's Farm soon! Check them out!

SMALL BIZ OWNERS HAVE TO BE ABLE TO TRUST EACH OTHER

I'm able to keep Chickin Feed up and running because I have received lots of help from lots folks that wanted nothing in return from me, except to see me succeed. I am so very grateful. I've also placed my trust in the hands of many people.

Each time I leave my products in a store on consignment or overnight at an event, I am participating in the unspoken agreement of trust that small business owners extend to each other every day. When I sign up to participate in an event, the organizers trust that I will participate in a way that honors their event and that I will bring my A-game. Fellow vendors trust that I will keep to myself and not take any of their merchandise while they step away from their booth (everyone has to go to the bathroom at some point!). Customers trust that I will not spam them if they sign up on my email list and the ultimate trust is given when they hand me their credit card to process. AND I've extended my trust to the customer assuming that they are handing me a valid card. Only on an occasion or two have I been stiffed and it might be because I wrote something down incorrectly and didn't get proper contact info. For the most part I've been very fortunate. I've always understood how important that extension of trust is and would never do anything to jeopardize that relationship.

If you know me personally, then you probably know that I don't have much to hide ('cept a few lbs.) and I'm always willing to help. (My husband thinks it is a sickness) I'm always happy to lend my ideas and resources as I'm able . . . ESPECIALLY to fellow business owners. Again, I wouldn't be where I am if many other people hadn't shared their resources - with no strings attached - with me. So I am particularly shocked and bothered by an event that happened to me one week ago.

Last Sunday, I exhibited at a great event called the Field of Greens (fantastic day!) I ran into a vendor that I hadn't seen since I met her at another event a few months back. We had a good time chatting and joking that day. She even helped me showcase one of my products by wearing it the whole day. We talked a lot about sources and "where can I get this and that done" and decided that we should just meet for coffee on Monday since we live in next-door neighborhoods.

We talked Monday first thing and since part of what she was interested in was how to do some iron-on transfers, I suggested that I could come over to her place to show her how to load them up and print them out on her computer. She said her roommate was sleeping, could we meet a the local coffee shop instead? Of course we could I said. She said she would bring her laptop. I brought her 10 or so iron-on transfer sheets so she could try them and wouldn't have to go to the office supply store right away. We talked for about 45 minutes - I showed her lots of places to look for things on the computer and some ideas about how to set things up so that her business ideas could be more easily expressed and about a great site where she could pop he logo on a bunch of different products for branding purposes.

Just before we were ready to leave, I got up to go to the bathroom. When I got back I noticed a deposit slip on the couch and asked if she had dropped it, she said no and I realized it was one of mine from the previous week. We chatted for a few more minute and I left.

I was headed to pick up some supplies on the north end of town and something (intuition) told me to check and see if I had brought my debit card with me that day. I looked and it was missing. I called my husband to see if he could locate it in any of my pants pockets and he could not. I decided to cancel the card - it was to our personal checking account and since we usually run close to the margins, I wanted to be safe. Later that night my husband asked if I'd had fun at Target that day.

Approximately 20-30 minutes after my "let me spend my time to help you with your business" meeting ended, a charge for $194.94 ran through at the Target five minutes up the road from where we met. I've seen the security camera tapes and it is unmistakably her. The one that I trusted to watch my purse while I went to the bathroom.

CODA: She sent me a money order for $200 later in the week with a note that apologized for her "actions" without admitting to what she had done. Since the bank covered our charges, the money is not mine to take, I've done what I should with it. And I'm really not going to spend much more of my time thinking about this, I did want to get it out and to encourage folks to trust their intuition and tote their purse to the bathroom, just to be safe.

FARM GRUB REVIEW

So I got to thinking awhile back that Lil' Chickin was a bit lonely. I've played with making him a pumpkin, a cowboy, a Santa, etc. But really what he needed was some friends. Meet: Farmer Goat, Horse, La Vaca, Duckie and – drumroll please – Piggles (my kid's personal favorite). Each character is a member of Farm Grub a new series that we're pitching that incorporates the concepts of eating Real Food, Organic Gardening, Composting, Cooking, Healthy Snacking, Un-healthy snacking :) and Pink Fluffy Cupcakes (that would fall into the latter category).

This Sunday, we'll be previewing the series with The FARM GRUB REVIEW (think A Mighty Wind on Broadway!) at the Taste of Atlanta Amica Insurance Kids Stage - Sunday @ 1:00pm. We've got Fletcher Moore on guitar, his lovely wife Katherine will be chirpin, and Drama Chick, Amy Handler will be leading chickins in some fun ways to move to the beat. You can print off the lyrics and see the Farm Critters below!

If you miss us there, plan to come by The Seed Factory on Saturday, October 24! More details on that event later chickies...

POWER OF SUGGESTION...

MO' HEN QUIZ... Who said, "You look like the Fourth of July. Makes me want a hot dog, Real Bad."

The power of the visual in what we crave is tremendous. For instance – every time I look at the little picture in the Snack Healthy article (posted on FB Page) I want to rip open the box of fruit loops that's been left in the pantry (yes, I'm confessing to weak moments in the grocery store – although I am happy that they've remained largely uneaten.) Oh, just in case you were wondering, Froot Loops help your family get healthy you know. Just look on the side of the box! ;}