For quite a while now I have been wanting to try out one of the many fresh fruit/veggie home delivery services that exist in the Reno area. I have had many a client tell me about the various produce services they subscribe to, but, as always, I never quite seem to get around to doing the research and legwork necessary to find a service that works best for my family. Until now.

Over Christmas break, I had a friend introduce me to Basket Case and it was pretty much love at first sight. Here is how the company website describes their service:

Basket Case Organics is Washoe County's home, office and co-op delivery service of fresh, organic fruits and vegetables. Each week of the year we deliver the freshest organic goodies directly to your door at very competitive prices, usually lower than in-store prices.

The fruits and veggies are all organic but they are not all locally grown. I know that it would be best if it was all grown locally, but I am a busy wife/mother/business owner and I am not perfect. And on that note, I have accepted my flaws and simply go on doing the best I can. . . And I do try to eat locally as much as I can . . . and to patronize small locally-owned businesses . . . and recycle, even if it means I have to carry trash all over town . . .



Here is a quick summary of the process for those of you who are like me and want things spelled out for you:

1. First you sign up online (basic contact info) and choose the basket-size and weekly or bi-weekly delivery.
2. You get an email that tells you what your delivery day and time is (and gives you a run-down of how the process works).
3. A few days before your delivery day, you get an email with a link to the pre-selected produce list. You check out the list and make all the additions and substitutions you want (for us that means adding A LOT of fruit). This is also the time when you can opt to skip your next delivery.
4. Once you have finalized your list, you get an invoice with a link that allows you to pay online (or leave a check for the delivery person).
5. You get an email the day before delivery reminding you to put out your empty box from the last delivery (you pay a deposit for the box with your first order).
6. You happily go to you front door where Basket Case has removed your "old" box and replaced it with a new one filled with beautiful, fresh fruits and vegetables!
   
   
   
   

There are 3 sizes of "baskets" (we chose the medium sized Bountiful Basket) and we chose to have our box of yumminess delivered every-other-week (their bi-weekly service). I was out of town for our first delivery, but I did get a very happy phone call from my youngest son describing in great detail everything in the basket.

The problem with our first Bountiful Basket was that my kids ate all the fruit in less than a week. Clearly we need to make adjustments until we figure out the right size basket and the right frequency of delivery.

There are a few things that I really appreciate about Basket Case Organics and here they are:

1. I can make substitutions and additions to their pre-made baskets (with many services "you get what you get and you don't throw a fit" as my kids would say. This is understandably so because the produce is locally grown and you are simply getting what is in season). Variety and freshness is my goal right now, so being able to customize is very appealing to me.
2. I can pay online via pay pal instead of signing up for an automatic bank withdraw (this also allows for the flexibility of adjusting the amount of produce I get in each delivery). I also have the option of leaving a check on the doorstep on the day of delivery.
3. I can choose to skip a delivery if we are going out of town or something comes up (and we all know that for this family, something ALWAYS comes up.
   
   
   
   

I have to say that another really cool part of the whole process has been sharing it with my 5 year old. He loves reading through the list and making adjustments. We talk about how much we should order, what we wanted more of last time, and what dishes we might cook with our produce. Eric loves putting the old box out on delivery morning and coming home after school to inventory and unpack the new stuff. What more can I ask for than spending time with my child talking about fruits and veggies???

Alright, check them out, friends!

http://basketcaseorganics.com/index.html

In Health,
Yo

An Apple a Day is Not Enough - A Poem by Taylor Mali

Shingles, Schmingles!

No sooner did I blog about a new mystery ailment I am courting, when I was found myself suffering the joy that is Shingles. Nope, not making this stuff up. Mystery ailment has been put on hold for now.

You probably know that Shingles has something to do with the chicken pox, right? Well, I am here to tell you more. The varicella-zoster virus causes chicken pox. The varicella-zoster virus can also reside in nerve tissue in your body. When you become immunocompromised - because you have been undergoing chemotherapy, for example - the varicella-zoster virus can "awaken" and then BAM! nerve pain like you have never experienced.

Now what would have woken this little bugger up you ask? Apparently stress can trigger a Shingles outbreak. Hmmmmm.

And so another week and a zillion prescription meds later, I am forced to lie in bed for about 17 hours/day. I keep my fingers crossed that the pain will be controlled enough that I can sleep for a few of those hours.

As I sit in bed tonight I am reminiscing about this very night 7 years ago when I was looking at Todd while shaking and saying (pleading?), "this is a RI-DI-CU-LOUS amount of pain!!!". On the night of October 23, 2003 I wasn't suffering from Shingles pain, I was experiencing contractions.

Let me back up a bit. 10 weeks before my due date I suffered a torn placenta. I was in the hospital for days, passing out, losing blood, and trying to mentally prepare for a 10 week premature baby. I remember getting to the hospital where a bunch of nurses and doctors were running around me as I faded in and out of conciousness. My blood pressure kept dropping and I would pass out, come to, and pass out again. During a moment of conciousness I remember looking at Todd and saying "I swear. I promise. I will do whatever they tell me to do just as long as I don't have this baby early." And I did exactly what the perinatologist asked me to do - lie in bed, all day, everyday, until my due date. It was horribly painful - emotionally, not physically. I was desperate to lie motionless if it meant my baby would be okay.

And on October 23, 2003, my official due date, I went into labor naturally. My first born son was born the next morning and he was a silly 8 pounds 15 ounces. He was supposed to be named Eric . . . but one look at him and we knew he was not Eric. He was perfect, but he was not Eric.

Kyle Owen and I spent 40 weeks sharing a body. He and I fought like crazy for the last 10 so that he could enter the world as healthy as possible. And healthy Kyle is. This morning he played a double header and immediately went on to play a soccer game this afternoon. Kyle is fast, and smart, and kind. He isn't perfect, but he owns a piece of my heart.

Happy Birthday, Kyle . . . to both of us.

Kick A Girl While She is Down, Why Don't You

Yea, yea, so I was all excited to start blogging more regularly after months (or a year) of struggling to "only" be 10 paces behind where I needed to be. Part of my plan to get back on track was to visit some doctors and get some routine visits behind me. Mind you, at 40 I have a ridiculous amount of health issues - need both knees replaced, have narcolepsy, blah, blah, blah. I had ignored some of the more routine check-ups I needed to do because . . . oh, I don't know, my dad died, then my 19 year old cat died, and then our 12 year old golden retriever died and then my mom died (and somewhere in that 1.5 year span, my sister had a stroke, underwent major heart surgery, died twice on the table before having a pacemaker put in, and my mother-in-law suffered a rotten bout of c-diff and then had a stroke herself). Awesome, right? And let me (or any of my friends who have traveled this road with me) tell you that I am just giving you the highlights.

The moment the kids were back in school for the fall, I made some appointments and had some bloodwork done. Mission accomplished - I had taken care of myself. I must confess that I was primarily concerned about my lipid panel and blood sugar labs because I have some rotten family history in those areas. The day after I had my blood drawn I get a phone call from the nurse at one of the doc's offices telling me that I need to get back in the office ASAP because I have some disturbing lab results. REALLY? Yea, no, sorry, I don't have time. I was actually taking this phone call as I was getting ready to board a plane to NM (last minute trip to help my siblings put out yet another fire). I was going to be in NM for less than 24 hours and and then I was booked solid with work for the next week. I, somewhat defiantly, told the nurse I would not be available to be bothered with my poor health until the following week. And PS, blood sugar and lipids look fabulous. Yea. Whoop-dee-doo.

Over the next few days I start to panic. Holy crap (sorry, crap is one of my favorite words), HOLY CRAP! WHAT THE HECK IS WRONG WITH ME??? I have amazing friends, as those of you who read regularly (or are one of those amazing friends) already know. These amazing friends have knowledge in many, many areas and I have to say it is quite handy. At this time I turn to those amazing friends who have medical knowledge. They know this stuff because they have spent years of their lives practicing medicine. Their comments are equally as fabulous as they are . . . I read them my labs and they say things like "Are you dead yet?", "Whoa. That aint right", "Huh, that explains a lot.", "WHAT THE ???" and "yea, now looking back on it, you have looked pretty pale." Thanks. Gawd, I love my friends and their sense of humor. After making me laugh with their clear insensitivity they offered up sound advice . . . and an offer of valium and wine.

I tell you all of this so that you will #1, cut me some slack for slacking on the blog and #2 so that you can feel sorry for me - because I have found the sympathy that I have gotten to be quite comforting.

What lies ahead is a quest to find the answer to whatever the heck is wrong with me . . . more labs, more tests, and hopefully a treatment that gets me feeling better. While all of this is going on I hope to blog more about BEING HEALTHY and less about being unhealthy.

In Health (whatever that is),
Yo

My life as a clairvoyant OR ICK

I have heard some cra-hay-zee things as a dietitian. I am certain of it and I am also certain I can't tell you a single one of those tales. Even if I wanted to share some of the crazy with you, I simply can't remember any of it. I tried to explain this to someone recently who was hesitant to be completely open with me because we run in the same social circle. As a mom, you never show weakness. Just kidding, that was a joke. The never show weakness part, that is.

Anyway, I know that people sometimes hold back when it comes to telling me what they eat (and other personal details about their lives - and let me take this opportunity to say that those personal details make a giant difference when I am trying to help someone. The way we choose to eat is tied to all aspects of our lives. The roots run DEEP when it comes to our feelings about food). I guess clients don't want to tell me that they eat an entire cheesecake every night because I am going to remember that forever and then when I see them at Marie Callendars carrying out a week's supply of cheesecake I am going to instantly judge them and tell everyone in the restaurant all about it. Nothing could be further from the truth. In all honesty, I have somehow cultivated this fabulous skill of "out-of-body assessment and counseling". It is kinda like I am a clairvoyant, actually. People come in to talk to me and even if I know them really well, I can shut off the YO part of me and go into Yo, RD, CDE mode. I will take in everything a client is telling me and know exactly what it is I want them to learn and understand. The second they walk out the door, I re-enter my body as YO and have virtually no recollection of what we just talked about. I don't want to say it is auto-pilot, because I can tell you that I am completely engaged while in Yo, RD, CDE mode. I actually leave consults totally exhausted - emotionally and physically - because I am so thoroughly engaged in my sessions. I think part of the reason I am an RD Clairvoyant is because I have a really horrible memory. I blame it on a lifetime of disturbed sleep, untreated narcolepsy, and a roller blading accident in my 20's. The reason I am thankful for this skill is for self preservation. I could not survive if I wasn't able to shut off the food/nutrition/counseling "stuff" outside my office. I don't WANT to go out to eat with friends and judge what they are eating. Jeezus, I just want us to have a good time. And I SO don't want to run into someone at the grocery store and start telling them to put things back on the shelf. Puh-lease, that is so not my style, it benefits no one, and is most likely going to make the person shrink away in shame and order a big mac to quiet the guilt and self hatred.

Here is the one downside . . . when people ask me a nutrition question in a casual setting I can't go into clairvoyant mode 100%. One issue is that you have those people who don't really want my opinion on what fabulous new supplement they are taking - they just want to tell me all about it, agree with them about it's life changing powers and then agree to sell it for them. It doesn't take but a couple times engaging this type of person in conversation/debate to learn how to politely smile and nod (and then run). The other type of person is the person who I would absolutely love to sit down and talk to about their questions but that would require a long conversation. Every time I try to quickly answer someone's question while loading the kids in the car I end up giving an answer I am not happy with and is definately not complete. Truth of the matter is that I would love to answer their question but only if I can give them 100% and it is impossible to give 100% when you don't have my full, undivided, clairvoyant attention. You are just going to get scattered, unorganized snippets of info. So not how I like to do things.

Meanwhile, since you are probably curious about the weird stuff dietitians hear, you gotta read this RD's list of top 10 . . . uh . . . how shall we say . . . "interesting" food choices. This is the portion of this entry I call "ICK". And mind you I just read the list and the only thing I remember is that they grossed me out!

Eating Right: Quirky eaters share some of their habits NOLA.com

In Health,
Yo

Sleep and Childhood Obesity

You probably heard at least a sound bite earlier this week about the results from a study that links inadequate sleep in infants/toddlers/children etc with childhood obesity. This didn't come as a suprise to me whatsoever, but I was really happy to see the numbers. Having suffered from a variety of sleep disorders my entire life, I am really sensitive to the toll that inadequate sleep takes on a person - physically and emotionally.

It seems like americans are getting less and less sleep as time goes on. We live in such crazy times where multi-tasking, over-booking and over-scheduling are the norm. I remember going weeks with horribly disturbed sleep when the boys were infants and thinking "it is amazing a person can function on such little sleep." This doesn't mean we are functioning well, just means we are functioning.

Ofcourse just because we acknowledge that we (and the kids) need more sleep, doesn't mean the sleep fairies are gonna swoop down and make it a reality. I do, however, think that we need to at least acknowledge the fact that we need more sleep and do our best to make a plan that will help accomplish the goal of meeting our sleep requirements. Let me just say that I have found that the earlier the boys go to bed, the quicker they fall asleep and the later they sleep.

At any rate, I read a ton of articles summarizing the study's findings for you and I am giving you the link to what I thought was one of the better articles I read. I like that it outlines how many hours were considered "too little" and what the CDC recommends in terms of sleep by age categories.

http://parentingsquad.com/sleep-and-childhood-obesity

In (sleep) Health,
Yo

To-Schedule or Not-to-Schedule, That is the Question

My sister (who has successfully raised three amazing children to the ages of 29, 27, and almost 20) and I had a discussion the other day about my kid's schedules. We were reminiscing about the hours spent outside riding our bikes in the neighborhood and playing kick-the-can after dark. I was lamenting the fact that I love taking my kids to all their various activities but that it also feels like I am in the car all day long, frantically running them from one activity to another. My mother was never frantic and she was never running us from one activity to the other. She simply kicked us out of the house for the day. Here is the issue: I do not feel comfortable allowing my 5 and 6 year old to ride bikes through the neighborhood all day. And so the over-scheduling dilemma. I always said I wouldn't be the type of mom to overbook my kids. Never say never, right?

Initially we started signing up for organized activities because it is hard to keep two very active boys busy, while keeping your sanity and house in tact. Activities outside the home gave the boys and I something to do. And thank goodness for all those hours spent at The Little Gym and at Gymnastics and Swim Lessons because I met some of my closest friends in those very place and those activities helped keep me sane!

Today our activities are more about getting in daily physical activity that is so crucial in a world where kids spend more and more time inside (either because it isn't safe for them to be outside and/or their parents are neurotic freaks like Todd and I). My goal is for the kids to have an hour of organized physical activity once/day while in school. This takes the form of Swim Team twice/week, Tennis twice/week, Soccer twice/week and lots of biking and hiking and playing on the weekends. The schedule will change - soccer season will end and ski season will begin - but the goal is the same: to be outside, burning energy, clearing our heads and getting our heart rate up.

I was happy to read the article below and re-evaluate our schedule. Are the boys overbooked? Not at all. If anything, I am frantic because I am responsible for getting them where they need to be and making sure they have the appropriate equipment when they get there (and I am a type A, control freak). Do my boys get some "down time" to play and use their imagination? Absolutely! Some of our best playtime happens in the two hours before we head out to school in the morning. We still have time to get home after our "physical-activity-of-the-day", eat dinner as a family, do homework, play for a bit, read books and get to bed. And I am proud to say that the boys still sleep 11 hours/night.

My take home message? I am doing exactly what I know is best for the boys. I am teaching them to make physical activity a part of their everyday lives. I am teaching them skills and lessons that will last a lifetime through the sports they engage in. I just need to learn how to relax and enjoy it all!

ARE WE OVER-SCHEDULING OUR CHILDREN?
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/laura-vanderkam/the-notsooverscheduled-ch_b_700257.html

In Health (both physical and emotional),
Yo