Gov't adding fruits, veggies to WIC list

The grocery shopping list for the far-reaching Women, Infants and Children program is getting its first significant update since the 1970s. Fruits, vegetables and whole grains are being added to the program, which helps feed more than half the babies born in the U.S. To cover the cost, WIC will pay for less of the juice, eggs, cheese and milk that have been staples of the program.

Read on ... Tags: nutrition, food

Fruits: How to select, store and serve these healthy foods

Nature offers many sweet choices for eating well: juicy red cherries, plump purple plums, and orange, luscious tangerines, just to name a few.

In fact, all fruits fit into a colorful and healthy diet. Whether you eat them as snacks, main meals or trimmings, fruits offer a variety of nutrients, very little fat and relatively few calories. Find out why you need to eat fruits and the best way to select, store and serve them.

Read on ...

tags: fruit, food, nutrition

Communication Success Tip: Letter writing Writing a letter to someone who is personally important to you is a chance to give them a little more of your personality than is possible in an email and a little more to remember you by than is possible in a telephone call. More on Communication Tag: letter writing

Breast isn't best: readers tell US parenting magazine I was so sad to see this article. I know it is terribly important to uphold our standards of morality, but what is immoral about providing sustenance for your children?

Readers of a US parenting magazine are crying foul over the publication's latest cover depicting a woman breastfeeding, with some calling the photo offensive and disgusting. I was SHOCKED to see a giant breast on the cover of your magazine," one woman from Kansas wrote in reaction to the picture in Babytalk, a free magazine that caters to young mothers. "I was offended and it made my husband very uncomfortable when I left the magazine on the coffee table."

Read on ... Tags: breast-feeding

Communication Success Tip

Writing a letter to someone who is personally important to you is a chance to give them a little more of your personality than is possible in an email and a little more to remember you by than is possible in a telephone call.

More on Communication

Tag: Communication

Quote for the week. I used this quote in the ezine for families , and loved it so much, I thought I would share it here too.

We have done almost everything in pairs since Noah, except govern. And the world has suffered for it. -Bella Abzug

Tags: families

Baby fat: When to rejoice, when to worry By CHRISTINE ELLIOTT New parents learn quickly that everyone has something to say about a pudgy baby, with remarks ranging from harmless ("Look at those chubby cheeks") to hurtful ("Isn't he a little big for his age?"). "I got comments all the time from my so-called friends," says Lan Ma, recalling that her two children, as infants, had chipmunk cheeks and "rolls after rolls of flesh." Ma, of Edgewater, N.J., ignored any suggestion that Thomas, now 4, and Tyler, 2, were too big, even when both weighed in at 14 pounds — double their birth weights — at their 2-month checkups. "I was never worried about their weight when they were young, because they were both very, very healthy." Some other parents, however, can become anxious, given widespread reports that an increasing percentage of children and adolescents in the United States are overweight. Read on ... tag: childhood obesity, parenting

Herpes infections frequent in adolescent girls - Infections with the virus that causes genital herpes are common among teen girls, a new study shows. While none of the young women in the study had oral or genital herpes symptoms, some of those who tested positive for the virus were shedding it in their vaginal area, meaning it would be possible for them to transmit the infection to others, Dr. Kenneth H. Fife of the Indiana University School of Medicine in Indianapolis and colleagues report. Read on ... tag; Parenting

Nickelodeon to Kids: Go out and play

It's the heart of the summer, a time when a kid's thoughts may well turn to watching television — lots of television. But one television network is telling kids to turn off their sets, put aside their remotes and go outside and play. Read on ...

What's on in Brisbane in September http://www.brisbanecitylife.com.au/bcl/wotson-september.htmFriday 1 to Sunday 10 September - RiverfestivalSaturday 2 Sept - 2006 Kaleidoscope Festival Ipswich4 to 7 September: International RiversymposiumFriday September 8 - Fundraising Evening: Swing into SpringSaturday 9 September 2006 - Queensland State ElectionSaturday 9 September 2006 - Gluten Free Food Expo9th & 10th September - The 2006 Leisure Life Redland Spring Festival13th to 17th September - Brisbane Writers FestivalFriday 22 September - Last day of School Term 3 Qld schools