Children's Tylenol/Motrin Recall

Please spread the word

As of April 30, 2010, McNeil Products voluntarily recalled many of its Tylenol/Montrin products for children.

The following link will help you identify if any of the Tylenol/Motrin products you have are on the recall list:

http://www.mcneilproductrecall.com/page.jhtml?id=/include/mpr_ndc_finder.inc

Please check the products you have before dispensing them to your child.

For more information regarding the recall, please go to:
http://www.mcneilproductrecall.com/page.jhtml?id=/include/new_recall.inc

DiY - Homemade Finger Paint

Here's a great and non-toxic recipe for all our munchkin artists:

HOMEMADE FINGER PAINT

- 2 cups water
- 1/3 cup cornstarch
- Food coloring

Bring 1 1/2 cups water to boil. Dissolve the cornstarch in the remaining 1/2 cup of water. Gradually add the cornstarch paste to the boiling water, stirring well, and cook 30 seconds. Remove from heat and when cool, add food coloring of your choice. (The mixture thickens even more as it cools.)

Makes 2 cups

Let's join Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution

Britain's famous chef, Jamie Oliver has made a new series for American TV about food – how families eat, what kids get at school and why, like the UK, the diet of processed food and snacks is causing so many health and obesity problems. The series was filmed in Huntington, West Virginia.
Jamie's challenge was to see if he can get a whole community cooking again. He worked with the school lunch ladies and local families to get everyone back in the kitchen and making tasty meals with fresh ingredients – no packets, no cheating. He's started a Food Revolution: to get people all over America to reconnect with their food and change the way they eat.

Message from Jamie

I believe that every child in America has the right to fresh, nutritious school meals, and that every family deserves real, honest, wholesome food. Too many people are being affected by what they eat. It's time for a national revolution. America needs to stand up for better food!

You live in an amazing country full of inspirational people and you have the power to change things. With your help, we can get better food into homes, schools and communities all over America and give your kids a better future. Sign the petition to save America's cooking skills and improve school food. It could be the most important thing you ever do for your family. America's health needs you now!

The American Food Revolution needs to start now! If you care about your country and the health of its children please help us make a difference. We need your support to get people back in touch with food and keep cooking skills alive before it's too late. We want to make sure every kid gets good, fresh food at school. It's proven that real food promotes more effective learning. If you want better health for your kids the junk food must go. I need to be able to show The President and industry how many of you out there really care about this issue so please don't wait, sign up today. It will only take 30 seconds.

America's health needs you!

Thank you. Please forward this to your friends, family, classmates, teachers, colleagues and anyone else who you think cares as time is short.

Sign the petition

 

    

Simple Tips for making Homemade Fish Sticks

My kids love fish sticks, but I won't go near any of the prepackaged stuff. I mean...have you read the ingredient labels on those frozen packs? yikes!
I mean...how difficult can it be to make them from scratch? right?
I made a batch last weekend, they were ok, but next time I want to make them really good. Finger licking good! :-) For that I need to learn the fundamentals of making good homemade fish sticks and of course Mark Bittman is my go-to guy for simple cooking techniques

Getty Images

His teachings are simple: know your fish, know your coatings, know your cooking methods; and the rest is just a matter of personal taste. Simple right!

Know your fish:

Fish like salmon, tuna, and mackerel are too oily and won't work; flounder and most trout are too thin and delicate for making fish sticks. The best fish for this purpose are pollock, cod, Pacific halibut, farm-raised catfish, even locally caught swordfish all work brilliantly and are sustainable choices as well.  Bittman recommends buying a piece that looks good, "with no drying or browning; fish that has been frozen at sea and well-handled (no freezer burn) is a good alternative."

Know your coatings and your cooking methods:

I'm not a fan of deep-frying, which immediately eliminates pancake-like or beer-based batters and the much-beloved tempura. For shallow-frying there are many coating options, ranging from a dusting of flour or cornmeal to breadcrumbs (specially for oven frying), to a super-light egg coating. 

No matter which coating you choose, unless you want to bake the sticks (recipe below) the procedure is the same: Cut the fish, lay out the coating, get your oil hot, and cook quickly: by the time the coating is golden, the fish is ready to turn.

Fast Fish Sticks (shallow frying)

by Mark Bittman

Serves 4

Ingredients

• About 1 1/2 pounds boneless, firm, not-too-oily fish, like cod, pollock, swordfish, or catfish
• salt and pepper
• Cornmeal (or flour) for dredging
• Olive oil as needed
• Lemon wedges or sauce of your choice for serving

Directions

In a non-stick or well-seasoned skillet, add olive oil to a depth of about 1/8-inch and turn the heat to medium. Cut the fish into sticks about 1/2-inch thick and sprinkle them with salt and pepper. Put a pile of cornmeal on a plate.

The oil is ready when a pinch of cornmeal sizzle instantly when you drop it in there. (If it instantly sizzles, turns brown, and sinks to the bottom the oil is too hot; turn the heat off and wait a couple of minutes before turning it on again.)

Turn the fish sticks in the cornmeal, trying to get it to adhere to every bit of each side but not fretting about the thickness of the coating. As each stick is done, add it to the oil. ; the amount that adheres is right.

For lightly Battered Fish Sticks: For the coating, prepare a pile of flour (cake flour is best, but if you don't have it all-purpose is fine) and a bowl with 2 or 3 beaten eggs. Dredge each fish stick in the flour, then in the egg, then put it in the pan immediately. Cook as above.

Fish Sticks (Oven Fried)

by Mark Bittman

Serves 4

Ingredients

• About 1 1/2 pounds firm filleted fish, like cod, pollock, swordfish, or catfish
• 1 1/2 cups milk, buttermilk, or yogurt
• Bread crumbs, preferably fresh, for dredging
• Salt and pepper
• 3 tablespoons melted butter or extra virgin olive oil
• Lemon wedges or sauce of your choice for serving

Directions

Cut the fish into sticks about 1/2-inch thick; soak in the milk while you heat the oven to 450°F. Put the bread crumbs on a plate and sprinkle with salt and pepper.

When the oven is hot, pull the fish from the milk and let it drain a bit. Dredge the still-wet fish in the bread crumbs, patting them to make sure they adhere. Drizzle a little of the butter or oil over the bottom of a 9 x 13-inch baking pan or large rimmed baking sheet, then lay the fish sticks in the pan. Drizzle with the remaining butter or oil.

Bake near the top of the oven for about 10 minutes, depending on the thickness; the fish will be crisp on the outside and tender and opaque when done. Serve immediately.

    

Free Artwork courtesy of "Feed your Soul: The Free Art Project"

"Feed Your Soul is a free art project. Each month artists are invited to participate and to contribute a print which is totally free and available for download. This project is coordinated by Jen Wallace of Indie Fixx to help art lovers feed their souls with art in these difficult economic times and to help artists promote their work. New prints are added on Mondays as they become available." If you are an artist and would like to submit your work for consideration, click here for more info. Remember, art can free your soul!

Above is my absolute favorite by Angela Vandenbogaard. I find this little tree very soothing and playful at the same time. I'll hang it in my office for inspiration and good energy. This original artwork and many more are available as Free Downloads

Below are a few that will make for great wall art in children's rooms.

You can download the images to a pdf which you can save, print out and frame!

    

Free Children's Music Download - Charlie Hope's Frog Song

FROG SONG
from Charlie Hope's "I'm Me! A Collection of Songs for Children"

"eating edamame all day...
wait...wait...wait...frogs don't eat edamame!!!
oh...they were eating flies with their sticky tongues all day...."


aah....we are going to be singing all day with this contagious melody.

Loved the "Frog Song"!

Want to hear it too??
You can download it for free on www.VolumMonster.com by using the code "ribbit" to redeem the song.

Want to listen to it first? go to Charlie's Facebook page and click on the Frog Song in the music player.

Thanks to Robert, from Challenge & Fun, for letting us know about Charlie Hope's music and the Free download!