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Do you believe in Santa or Do You Believe in God?

Oprah. An icon. Oprah Winfrey is the most successful talk show host ever, media mogul, philanthropist, award winning actress, and book critic – just to name a few. Everything Oprah does seems to become a success. She is smart and works hard. She also espouses eating healthfully and exercising. So why is she pushing 200 pounds?

According to an early snippet of the article “How Did I Let This Happen Again?” in the January issue of O Magazine, Oprah attributes her weight gain to thyroid problems, blood pressure, and a very hectic schedule. Based on this summary, she sounds like she’s got the same things to contend with as the rest of us. However, Oprah also has to deal with the embarrassment of being in front of the press all the time, and although this is her choice, it doesn’t make it any easier.

Despite Oprah’s list of successes, she continues to struggle with her weight. So if Oprah can control so many things around her, why not her weight? Well, if there were any easy answer to this, people wouldn’t have weight problems! Come back tomorrow for my plausible theory on weight gain and loss.

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Oprah – How Did The Woman Who Inspires Millions Let This Happen Again?

Nothing new there, but it works. Who can forget “Have a Coke and a smile” among others. In brainstorming different ideas, my marketing manager, Kim, suggested putting “Happiness is…” with several different answers, the last of which would be Zoe’s Granola. Nice idea. Simple. Everyone wants to be happy.

Then I started to over think it… happiness means so many different things to so many people. For me, happiness is…

… laughing with my family
… sharing stories with friends
… hugging my dog
… reading emails from happy Zoe’s consumers
… helping Zoe Foods to grow
… my mom’s chocolate cake

What does it mean to you?

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Happiness is…

My girls had finally both gotten rid of their slight colds and it was time to get their annual flu shot. I think I had casually mentioned it at dinner at the beginning of the week. Mistake #1. Don’t ever talk about getting a shot with your kids. The fear of getting a SHOT is far worse than the reality – try explaining that to four and six year old children.

At the end of the week, after my poor girls have had all week to stew on their upcoming flu shots, we finally go to the doctor to get them. They fuss and cry in the car almost the entire 20 minute ride there. In order to get a little peace and quiet so that I can focus on driving, I bribe them with ice cream for dessert. It works until the nurse calls us into the exam room at the doctor’s office. Mistake #2. Don’t waste a bribe too soon, save it for when you’re really going to need it.

Like many doctor’s offices, ours has a waiting room with a serpentine hall to the multiple exam rooms. There is no door to keep the patients in, or keep them out. My two girls walk very reluctantly behind me and their nanny, (Stephanie, our awesome Au Pair!). We all step into the exam room. The nurse asks the girls who will go first. Both children backup very quickly out of the exam room into the hall so that there backs are against the wall. One starts crying and fussing, the other follows suit. With 17 months between them, they take turns copying each other’s bad behavior.

Neither child will come into the exam room. The nurse is waiting and starts to look a bit impatient. Her look says “Can’t you control your own kids?”. Clearly, not I think.

Bribe #2. Whoever goes first can select some extra play gemstones from the party favors I had gotten for an upcoming birthday party. My older daughter starts to step forward hesitantly. She puts one foot across the threshold of the exam room and then makes a break for it. Before any of us can blink, she and her sister are screaming at the top of their lungs and running back into the exam room and heading for the elevators. Mistake #3. Bribes are meaningless in the face of an impending shot.

I look at Stephanie not sure if I should laugh at this ludicrous situation or be truly mortified. I look at a group of doctors and nurses all watching our spectacle, and they nod reassuringly and tell me that this is normal behavior. Hmmm… I’m not convinced.

Stephanie and I take off after the girls and pick them up, crying, thrashing and all. I take my older daughter into the exam room and have to hold her down for the shot. A really horrible experience that makes me feel like a bad parent. The shot is over before she knows it, I hug her tight and pass her to Stephanie who she clings to like a monkey around a tree. The same thing happens with her younger sister. There must be a better way…

We’re all finished and I think, thank God, maybe next year when they’re a year older it won’t be so bad. The nurse then looks at me and says, please book an appointment one month from today so that your younger daughter can get her booster flu shot since she didn’t get it last year.

You’re kidding. Right?

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Have You Ever Seen Your Child Run for Her Life?

Dear Tori:

I’m the fellow who found the carton of (expired date) Zoe’s bars in the street. You subsequently sent me some samples. And then in August, you sent me a box of Zoe’s Honey Almond Granola which I never thanked you for cuz my computer had died. Finally replaced it [my computer], ate and enjoyed the cereal, and recently spoke to the manager of Market Basket in Bellingiham where I primarily shop.  I told him about the cereal (but not how I got it) and said “too bad you don’t carry it cuz I have to go to Shaws in Milford to get it” (this was a fib cuz I never bought it at Shaw’s and didn’t even know if they carried it but I didn’t want him to know I was trying to help you). To this he replied: “get me the box and I’ll see what I can do.”  Today I went to Shaw’s, and sure enough they do carry Zoe’s Granola (Cranberries Currants). so I bought one and I’m going to empty the box of all but a small portion and take it into the Market Basket Mgr. tonight or tomorrow. It has the Zoe email address on it.  In this fashion, perhaps I can get you another account in payment for your kindness in sending me samples.  In fact I may even try this “customer technique” for fun at Stop &Shop in Franklin where I sometimes shop (but not often cuz they are very pricey).

Best,
Hollis

I think this just goes to show you that if you keep thinking about what you want to make happen, other people will start helping you to manifest your thoughts - people you don’t even know and could never dream of.

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Zoe’s Bars Run Over By a Car and The Law Of Attraction

Have a great day!

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Zoe Foods in the Boston Herald - What Fun!

The report found that girls who ate cereal for breakfast were generally healthier than those that don’t. The positive health may be associated with the ingredients found in cereals that provide fiber and protein, along with the fact that most people have milk with their cereal which provides calcium and often Vitamin D. Cereal for breakfast also contains more healthful micro nutrients, less fat, less sugars and less total carbohydrates than non-cereal breakfasts.

Lastly, the study found that eating cereal for breakfast was related to healthier eating throughout the entire day, including more fiber and less fat consumed, less soda consumption, as well as greater physical activity.

So, have a bowl of cereal and start your day off right!

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Cereal for Breakfast Associated with Positive Health

If only I had known this years ago when I actually tried to go on a diet to lose a little bit of weight. If only I had understood that my great desire to lose weight only caused me to think about food more and actually gain a little weight! So when that diet didn’t work and I had resigned myself to being several pounds heavier – poof – I lost the weight in no time and only realized it when my pants were a lot looser.

So my theory on diets is this. Only go on the “no diet, diet.” If you want to be thin and fit, just start to believe and feel that you already are thin and fit. So when faced with food choices on the “no diet, diet,”  you will make good ones because you are already feeling “thin and fit” and once you feel better, you will not want to feel worse again.

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The Law of Attraction and The No Diet Diet

This pattern of eating heavily from Thanksgiving through the end of the year conveniently leads into the next holiday as if Hallmark, the turkey farms, and all of the gyms dreamed up the idea of the New Year’s resolution to eat more healthfully, exercise, and lose the weight we had put on over the course of the last year.

I think it’s high time we reclaimed the holiday season to focus less on its commercial value and more on family and friends. So this Thursday, enjoy spending time with all of your extended family, and appreciate your family and all of the delicious food that you have to share this day and every day. By giving thanks for everything that you have received, and by this I mean to hold the thought lightly in your consciousness, you just might find that you are enjoying your meal even more, and not gorging yourself quite as much as you have in year’s past. So for your New Year’s Resolution this year, don’t worry about your diet, but rather pick something different that you’ve always wanted to achieve.

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Holidays, Diet, and Remembering to Give Thanks

In general, most people get 75% of their daily salt from prepared or processed foods. In order to cut back on the amount of salt you consume, try the following:

-    Use fresh and unprocessed foods instead of canned, frozen, or processed foods.
-    Read the nutrition facts label to find out the sodium content and select foods with less sodium than the alternatives.
-    Don’t add salt when cooking, try using more spices and herbs to add flavor instead.
-    Don’t add salt to your food once it is cooked.
-    When eating out, ask them not to add salt to your food when preparing it.

So how much salt is too much? If you are under 50 years old, your blood pressure is in a healthy range, and your overall health is good, you probably don’t have worry about how much salt you consume. However, if you are 50 years old or more, of African American descent, or have high blood pressure or diabetes, you should limit your sodium intake to no more than 2,300–2,400 mg a day. People with heart failure or kidney disease are advised to consumer less than 2,000mg sodium per day. (Source: Harvard Health Publications).

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A Low Sodium Diet Can Improve Hearth Health