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Jill Amery

Jill Amery is a mom of 2 small boys and the Publisher of UrbanMommies, a stylish digital lifestyle magazine filled with fitness, style, health, recipes and savvy mom advice to help you through pregnancy, birth, and raising your kids.

The Coach Legacy Collection

GEAR, style By October 31, 2012 Tags: , , , , , , , , 1 Comment

I was in Buenos Aires recently and couldn’t keep away from the Recoleta Cemetery.  (And not to see the hoards of people looking at Evita’s grave.)  The sense of peace and solitude I felt was overwhelming.  The elaborate tombs are above ground and house every member of established Argentinian families.  It is their legacy.

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How to Paint your Face for Hallowe’en

LIVE, play By October 30, 2012 Tags: , , , , , , , , , No Comments

Our friends at Make Up For Ever have sent along a treat just in time for the Hallowe’en transformation.  You can find tips and step-by-step instructions on becoming an underworld beauty, glampire bride, otherworld beauty, skull candy character, Hallowe’en Queen, or Mod and Monstrous creepy person in these Halloween Face Charts.  FYI – They’re pretty scary so you may want to close your eyes.

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halloween pet safety

Halloween Pet Safety

grow, holidays, LIVE By October 30, 2012 Tags: , , 1 Comment

Haloween Pet SafetySafety during Halloween extends to the entire family including pets. These safety tips from PetSmart will help ensure pet parents and their pets have a safe and fun Howl-O-Ween.

·         Keep them happy. “Before having pets join in the Halloween fun, it’s important to assess whether your pet will be comfortable participating or if the festivities will cause undue stress,” says Dr. Simon Starkey, pet care expert at PetSmart. “Pets may be alarmed to find a ghost or witch at the front door so make sure there’s a quiet space away from all the activity in case your pet needs it.”

·         Make sure treats are pet friendly. Many Halloween treats are not pet-friendly, especially those containing chocolate. Make sure to choose pet-safe treats to celebrate, such as GREENIES® Dental Chews, which also keep pets’ teeth clean and ensures their breath isn’t scary.

·         Keep them safe. If you plan to walk your dog around the neighborhood in the evening, make sure they’re properly outfitted and at ease around strangers and crowds. An adult should always have control of the dog’s leash, and reflective leashes, collars or ID tags are essential accessories. Some pet costumes also offer safety features such as the glow-in-the-dark Martha Stewart Pets™ black Halloween skeleton costume.

·         Decorations without danger. Halloween decorations can be scary, but should not be dangerous. Pet parents need to make sure curious cats and dogs are unable to reach lights, decorations, candles and other festive items.

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Level The Field with Right To Play

charity, FAM By October 30, 2012 Tags: , , , , , , , 1 Comment

Liberia Health SoccerIt’s been a rough week.  My son is having a hard time with self-esteem and handling stress. He is lashing out and struggling and as his mother, I feel my heart breaking piece by piece.

But today is soccer day.  He was up, dressed and ready to get inspired by his coach and teammates.  He runs.  He plays.  He tells the kid who missed the pass that it’s ok.  Living in such a privileged community does not fix the growing pains that kids go through, but having abundant resources to help makes everything easier.  I have seen first-hand how sport and guidance help children thrive.

Liberia HealthI am honoured to be part of a new program with Right To Play called Level The Field.  The organization operates to create a healthier and safer world through the power of sport and play to help create a level field and equal opportunities for children everywhere.  Teamwork, cooperation and respect are explored in fun ways and community leaders act as coaches to change behaviours.  Right To Play’s innovative methodology is grounded in a deep understanding of social learning theory and child development needs.  Through sport and activities adapted from local traditional games, mental, physical and psycho-social well-being of the children improve.  (And I have a hunch that the parents feel pretty good as they watch their children play and laugh.)

Typically my writing is laced with wit and fluff.  But as I write today, tears are close.  I read about the children in Liberia and I think about my son’s behavior.  What do mothers feel when their children get sick because they haven’t learned that washing hands can prevent disease?  If my heart is breaking from watching my son suffer, what would it be like for parents living in disadvantaged areas of the world?  We all grow up with our own context and it is difficult to compare hardships, but I can’t help wanting to do everything in my power to help those moms smile as they watch their children thrive and grow.
Right To Play has given me the gift and opportunity to be able to help them raise awareness about the work they do every day, all over the world..  I have been partnered with Kaylyn Kyle, Vancouver Whitecaps soccer goddess and Olympic medalist.  Together, we promote how we can help level the field for children through play with a focus on how play can positively impact the health of those in Liberia.

Liberia Children Right To PlayLiberia is one of the poorest countries in the world with one of the highest incidences of malnutrition, infectious disease and other global health concerns. 85% of people live below the world poverty line*.   A massive civil war between 1989-2003 not only modeled violent combat for the children, but it created a lack of trust in people from other communities.  After Right To Play started working with local communities in Liberia in 2008, there are more organized sports and activities and people from various communities play together.  Children are less likely to reach for weapons and fists to settle conflicts.  And 183 local leaders and supervisors have been trained as positive role models.  People with disabilities are now included in play, and girls and boys are now playing together more often, in a country with a high incidence of sexual violence and a history of gender inequality.

Level The Field video

I’m embarrassed.  Not only did I not know about the work done by Right To Play, but I didn’t have a handle on how bad things are in disadvantaged countries around the world. Did you know that 26,000 children under the age of 5 die every day?  Infectious diseases such as HIV, measles and diarrheal disease are largely preventable.  I can’t stop shaking at the thought of the mothers watching their toddlers die.  We need to help. By voting for our program, or the program you feel most passionately about on Facebook, you can help us raise awareness about Right To Play’s work and also enter for a chance to accompany the team with the most votes on a visit to see a Right To Play program in-action. We need to lessen the number of broken hearts in this world.

Level The Field with Right To Play*Source: Charitywater.org

 

 

 

 

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Feast Rice

EAT, family meals By October 19, 2012 Tags: , , , , , , 1 Comment

Kids Feast RiceJennifer Low has a belief in teaching kids to cook healthy and fun meals and has developed 100 brand new recipes that use no sharp knives, no stove-top cooking and no motorized appliances.  In her new book – Everyday Kitchen for Kids, she encourages children to experience the thrill of cooking for the first time.  If you like Chinese fried rice, this recipe for Feast Rice—often served at big parties or feasts—lets you try out cool Asian ingredients to make your own version without any frying.

supplies

microwave-safe 1 1/2-quart (1.5 L) glass or ceramic baking dish, measuring cups, measuring spoons, baking spatula or wooden spoon, ordinary teaspoon, foil (or lid of baking dish), bowl, fork, kitchen scissors, oven mitts

ingredients

1 1/2 cups (375 mL) chicken or vegetable broth
2 Tbsp (30 mL) oyster sauce
3/4 cup (185 mL) long-grain white rice
1 Tbsp (15 mL) vegetable oil
1/2 tsp (2 mL) finely chopped garlic (from jar)
1 cup (250 mL) frozen mixed peas and diced carrots (or ask a helper to dice fresh carrot and celery)
1/4 tsp (1 mL) sesame oil
2 eggs
1 Tbsp (15 mL) milk pinch of salt
1 stalk green onion

Preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C).

In the baking dish and using a baking spatula or wooden spoon, mix the broth and oyster sauce. Heat in the microwave on high for 1 minute.

Remove the dish from the microwave. Using an ordinary teaspoon, stir in the rice, vegetable oil, garlic, peas and carrots, and sesame oil.

Spread out the rice evenly in the baking dish, then cover tightly with a lid or foil. Get help putting the dish in the oven. Bake on the middle rack of the oven for 30 minutes.

In the meantime, place the eggs, milk, and salt in a bowl and beat with a fork.

After the rice has baked 30 minutes, get help removing the lid or foil. Pour the egg mixture onto the middle of the rice. Do not stir. Cover the dish again and bake for another 10 to 15 minutes, until you can’t see any more liquid (If you are using a glass dish, you can see if there’s liquid bubbling around the sides of the rice. If you can’t see through your baking dish, ask a helper to help you check if the liquid is gone.)

Get help removing the dish from the oven and taking off the cover. Use kitchen scissors to snip the green onion into small pieces about the size of your smallest fingernail onto the rice. Throw away or compost the roots. Wear oven mitts, or get help, to stir the rice with a fork to fluff. Eat while warm.

Makes 4 cups (1 L).

Jennifer is inviting kids to send in pictures of their favourite recipes from the book to her website www.kitchenforkids.com

Excerpted from Everyday Kitchen for Kids (Whitecap Books) by Jennifer Low
Photo by Ryan Szulc from Everyday Kitchen for Kids (Whitecap Books)

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munchy crunchy crackers

Homemade Munchy Crunchy Crackers Recipe

EAT, snacks By October 19, 2012 Tags: , , , , , , 1 Comment

One of my biggest pet peeves as a parent is that so many store-bought crackers are filled with excess salt and bad grains.  (And to purchase all natural ones can blow your food budget.)  So I was thrilled to find Jennifer Low’s recipe for crunchy munchy crackers in Everyday Kitchen for Kids.  It’s amazing to make your own crackers! These taste so good on their own, but you can also eat them with cheese, if you like. You will need a helper with the baking step.

Supplies you will need

baking sheet, parchment paper, bowls, measuring cups, measuring spoons, baking spatula, dinner knife, rolling pin, fork, pizza wheel, cooling rack (the metal kind for cooling cookies)

Ingredients

1 cup (250 mL) all-purpose flour (spoon in, level; see page 19)
1/4 cup (50 mL) whole wheat flour (spoon in, level)
1/2 tsp (3 mL) chili powder
1/2 tsp (3 mL) dry mustard
1/2 tsp (3 mL) white sugar
1/3 cup (80 mL) milk
2 Tbsp (30 mL) butter

Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).

Cut three sheets of parchment paper, each the size of your baking sheet. Set aside.

In a bowl, mix the two kinds of flour, chili powder, dry mustard (be sure to use the back of a spoon to mash out any lumps), and sugar. Set aside.

In a microwave-safe bowl, heat the milk and butter in the microwave at 50% power until the butter is melted (about 1 minute).

Pour the milk mixture into the flour mixture. Use a baking spatula to scrape all the milk mixture into the flour bowl. Mix the ingredients into a dough, scraping sticky ingredients off the spatula with a dinner knife. When the dough gets too stiff to stir—keeping the dough in the bowl—use your hands to squeeze the dough against the crumbly bits and dry flour in the bottom of the bowl to work them into the dough.

Use a dinner knife to cut the dough into two equal-sized pieces. Put the first piece between two of the sheets of parchment paper you cut earlier. Put your rolling pin on the top sheet of parchment and roll out the dough to 1/16 inch (2 mm) (see “One- Quarter-Coin Rule,” page 17). To make excellent crisp crackers, it is very important to roll the dough that thin. First roll across the whole piece of dough to flatten it, then make it even thinner by rolling from the middle of the dough out to the edges. Press down hard. And just when you think it’s thin enough, roll it out again and check against the quarter coin. The dough puffs up a lot as it bakes.

Peel off the top sheet of parchment. Prick the rolled dough every inch (2.5 cm) with a fork. Use the pizza wheel to cut a checkerboard pattern into it. The squares should have about 1 1/2-inch (4 cm) sides. Don’t pull apart the squares of dough. Leave them exactly where you cut them, touching in rows. Slide the parchment paper—with the dough on it—onto a baking sheet. Bake for 15 minutes.

While the first batch bakes, roll out the second piece of dough between two pieces of parchment, prick and cut it the same way as the first. Bake this batch the same way as the first batch (either use a second baking sheet or cool off the first one and use it again). Keep the oven on after baking the second batch. You will still need to bake all the crackers again to crisp them.

Remove the baked crackers and parchment from the baking sheet. Put a cooling rack on the baking sheet. Pull apart the crackers into squares and place them on the cooling rack.

Put the baking sheet—holding the cooling rack and crackers— in the oven. Bake another 10 minutes or until the crackers begin to brown. Ask a helper to remove the browned crackers and put crackers that aren’t ready yet back in the oven for a few more minutes until they until they are also hard and crunchy.

Makes about 36 Munchy Crunchy Crackers.

We’ve also got Jennifer’s recipe for Real Mac ‘n Cheddar Cheese.

Jennifer is inviting kids to send in pictures of their favourite recipes from the book to her website www.kitchenforkids.com

Excerpted from Everyday Kitchen for Kids (Whitecap Books) by Jennifer Low
Photo by Ryan Szulc from Everyday Kitchen for Kids (Whitecap Books)

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Chuck Hughes Veggie Sandwich

Chuck Hughes Veggie Sandwich

EAT, lunches By October 17, 2012 Tags: , , , , , 1 Comment

So based on recent research, we’ve discovered that kids toss away much more of their lunchtime food than we originally thought..  Oops.  Based on the outcome of the study, Hellmann’s partnered with Chuck Hughes to give parents a few new lunch tricks that will keep the school trash bins from filling up.  Here is Chuck Hughes Veggie Sandwich with a garlic mayo that will keep the kids wanting more.

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Chuck Hughes Kid-Friendly Chicken Fingers

EAT, family meals By October 17, 2012 Tags: , , , , , 2 Comments

We all know that creative lunches can be hard to figure out.  But recent research By Hellmann’s indicates that we might be wasting more lunchtime food than we originally thought.  More than two thirds (72%) of Canadian parents who were polled believe that their children do not throw away lunch items while almost a third (31%) of Canadian children admit they throw out some of their lunch items, and nearly half (46%) report that they regularly trade some of their lunch items with friends.  Oops.  Based on the outcome of the study, Hellmann’s partnered with Chuck Hughes to give parents a few new lunch tricks that will keep the school trash bins from filling up.  Here are Chuck Hughes Kid-Friendly Chicken Fingers. 

Just make sure they are kept nice and cold when you send them to school.  (We love the Land’s End Madbox for this feature)!

Ingredients

  • 2 Skinless Chicken breasts
  • Half cup of whole wheat flour
  • Half cup of Hellmann’s® mayonnaise
  • 1 cup whole wheat bread crumbs or panko
  • 1 tsp of cajun spice
  • Half tsp of garlic powder
  • Salt and Pepper
  • Zest of a lemon

 

Steps

 

  1. Cut strips of chicken and dredge in whole wheat flour.
  2. Then coat the chicken with Hellmann’s® mayonnaise and toss in with the breadcrumbs, zest, cajun spice, garlic powder and Salt and Pepper
  3. Place Strips on a plaque covered with parchment paper. Pre-heat oven at 400 degrees
  4. Place in oven for approx 25 minutes flipping them half-way
  5. Serve with Honey-Mustard, ketchup and Caesar mayonnaise- see below

 

 

Caesar Mayonnaise….

  • Half cup Hellmann’s® mayonnaise
  • 1 tsp of chopped capers
  • zest of half lemon and 1 tsp of juice
  • 1 tbsp of chopped parsley
  • 2 tbsp of grated parmesan
  • Salt and Pepper

Mix everything in a bowl and serve.

 

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13 Year Old Activist Jonny Gray is the Anantara Roving Elephant Reporter

charity, FAM, International, ROAM By October 16, 2012 Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , No Comments

What do you think it would be like to have your passions and activism rewarded by being flown across the globe, given VIP access and hosted (along with your Mom) at stunning Thai resorts while you met elephants and reported on polo matches?  Cinderella meets Madagascar kind of movie, right?  Nope.  For 13-year-old elephant lover and polo enthusiast Jonny Gray of London, Ontario, the dream became a reality.  Named this year’s Roving Elephant Reporter for the 11th Annual King’s Cup Elephant Polo Tournament in Hua Hin, Thailand Sept. 12-16, 2012, he was given the experience of a lifetime.

As the Roving Elephant Reporter, Jonny became a star of the elephant polo circuit, delivering a television report and enjoying VIP access to all areas of the four-day event, including exclusive interviews with participating players, elephant experts, and celebrities.   Jonny and his mother, Jacquelyn Doucette, spent seven-nights stay at Anantara Hotels, Resorts & Spas Riverside Resort & Spa in Bangkok and Anantara Hua Hin Resort & Spa in Thailand.  UrbanMommies was granted an exclusive interview with Jonny and he shares about his love of animals, activism and his travels.

UM:  What first made you like elephants?

JG:  My first exposure to elephants was through the African Lion Safari near Cambridge, Ontario where we loved to watch the elephants have a bath. I fell in love with how they interacted with each other like a family and how they seemed so bonded with their trainers. I dreamed about seeing them one day in the wild on a safari but never thought it would be so soon!

UM:  When you were selected to become the Roving Elephant Reporter how did you feel?  Had to traveled overseas before?

JG: When I first got the news I won I was speechless and then I became scared because I was worried about the responsibility of being a reporter on this charity event. I didn’t know what to expect!  Eventually I became excited about traveling to a new part if the world and experiencing all it had to offer. I had traveled to Europe but never to Asia.

UM: What are 5 things you packed for the airplane?

JG:  The flight to Thailand was very long. It took us over a day to get there and we stopped in Belgium and India on the way. To keep me busy I packed my iPod for music, a good book, lots of snacks (gummy worms!!) and a travel pillow so that I could sleep.

UM: What would you tell other kids about rescued elephants in Thailand?

JG:  There are over 1500 elephants that live in captivity working on the streets in Thailand. Although most are treated as well as possible by their owners they still live a life of poverty without much to eat and poor living circumstances. Many people recognize that this is a big problem in Thailand and are making efforts to help them.  My experience is with the elephants which have been rescued by Anantara Resorts. They provide a wonderful life for thirty rescued elephants where they spoiled and doted on. You can visit these elephants and learn to take care of them if oh ever get a chance to visit Thailand!!

The charity polo tournament that I was reporting on helps to support these elephants as well as providing funding for an elephant hospital and ambulance, and even research with elephants.

UM: How would you advise other kids to become animal activists?

JG:  I believe that animal activism starts at home. My parents have taught me that animals need our respect and protection. We have always taken care of baby or injured birds, rabbits, chipmunks and mice that we have found on our property. We learned what they needed to eat and how to take care of them from the internet. We have also adopted dogs which needed homes and because we are on a farm we did the same with horses. Awareness that animals need our help, and learning about endangered species, is an important step towards being an animal activist. You can learn about the animal rescues in your community and see if they need volunteers, but even just spreading the word about these foundations helps to raise awareness about the needs of the animals in our communities. I think a great idea is to have a birthday party which ask for donations of pet food or toys instead of gifts to be given to your local animal rescue is a great way for kids to help!!

UM: You stayed at the Anantara Riverside Resort & Spas.  What were your favourite things about the hotels?

JG:  I had the privilege to stay at Two resorts in Thailand. The first one was the Anantara riverside resort and spa in Bangkok and the second one was their resort in Hua Hin. One thing I loved about the resorts was all the tropical plants that we don’t see in Canada. I felt like I was staying in the rain forest! The food was amazing too! However, by far the best thing about the Anantara chain of resorts was the people. They were so friendly and helpful they made me feel at home eventhough I was half a world away.

UM: Finally – tell me about the other activities you did while you weren’t busy reporting!

JG:  I was so busy in Thailand reporting on the tournament that I had to decide between two activities – a Thai cooking class and a trip to Monkey Mountain. Well, I chose Monkey Mountain because I heard it was an incredible experience and I was right! As we drove up the mountain we started to see monkeys occasionally and we were pretty excited because we had never seen monkeys in the wild before. At the top of the mountain, we met a lady who sold peanuts to feed to the monkeys. When we bought a bucket full from her, monkeys started coming from everywhere and suddenly there were hundreds of monkeys surrounding me wanting a peanut. It was crazy! The monkeys were so fast and they climbed everywhere to get a peanut, even on my head. I was really scared at first but after the peanuts were all gone, I got three more buckets just so I could experience it again!!

 

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