The MamaZone

Hey, Mamas! H is definitely for HAPPY NEW YEAR! I do hope this is your best year yet. Set your sights on what you want to accomplish, and go for it! Be fearless in your efforts and simply refuse to quit. You can do it.

• Baking. Besides breads and desserts, you can bake seafood, poultry, lean meat, and vegetable and fruit pieces of the same size. Place food in a pan or dish (covered or uncovered) and bake. You may need to baste the food with broth, low-fat marinade or juice to keep the food from drying out.
• Braising. Braising involves browning the meat or poultry first in a pan on top of the stove, and then slowly cooking it covered with a small amount of liquid, such as water or broth. In some recipes, the cooking liquid is used afterward to form a flavorful, nutrient-rich sauce.
• Grilling and broiling. Both grilling and broiling expose fairly thin pieces of food to direct heat and allow fat to drip away from the food. If you're grilling outdoors, place smaller items, such as chopped vegetables, in a long-handled grill basket or on foil to prevent pieces from slipping through the rack. To broil indoors place food on a broiler rack below a heat element.
• Poaching. To poach foods, in a covered pan gently simmer ingredients in water or a flavorful liquid, such as broth, vinegar or juice, until cooked through and tender. For stove-top poaching, choose an appropriate-sized covered pan and use a minimum amount of liquid.
• Roasting. Roasting uses an oven's dry heat at high temperatures to cook the food on a baking sheet or in a roasting pan. For poultry, seafood and meat, place a rack inside the roasting pan so that the fat can drip away during cooking.
• Sautéing. Sautéing quickly cooks small or thin pieces of food. If you choose a good-quality nonstick pan, you can cook food without using fat. Depending on the recipe, use low-sodium broth, cooking spray, water or wine in place of oil or butter.
• Steaming. One of the simplest cooking techniques to master is steaming food in a perforated basket suspended above simmering liquid. If you use a flavorful liquid or add herbs to the water, you'll flavor the food as it cooks.
• Stir-frying. Stir-frying quickly cooks small, uniform-sized pieces of food while they're rapidly stirred in a wok or large nonstick frying pan. You need only a small amount of oil or cooking spray for this cooking method.

• Instead of salt or butter, you can enhance foods with a variety of herbs, spices and low-fat condiments. Be creative.
• Poach fish in low-fat broth or wine and fresh herbs. Top a broiled chicken breast with fresh salsa. Make meats more flavorful with low- fat marinades or spices -- bay leaf, chili powder, dry mustard, garlic, ginger, green pepper, sage, marjoram, onion, oregano, pepper or thyme.
• To bring out the sweetness in baked goods, use a bit more vanilla, cinnamon or nutmeg.

• For sandwiches, substitute tomato slices, catsup or mustard.
• For stove-top cooking, sauté food in broth or small amounts of healthy oil like olive, canola or peanut or use non-stick spray.
• In marinades, substitute diluted fruit juice, wine, or balsamic vinegar.
• In cakes or bars, replace half the fat or oil with the same amount of applesauce, prune puree or commercial fat substitute.
• To avoid dense, soggy or flat baked goods, don't substitute oil for butter or shortening, or substitute diet, whipped or tub-style margarine for regular margarine.

• Keep it lean.
• In soup, chili or stir-fry, replace most of the meat with beans or vegetables.
• As an entrée, keep it to no more than the size of a deck of cards -- load up on vegetables.

• Whole milk (regular or evaporated)
• Fat free or 1% milk, or evaporated skim milk
• Whole egg (yolk and white)
• 1/4 cup egg substitute or 2 egg whites for breakfast or in baked goods.
• Sour cream and Cream cheese: Fat-free, low-fat or light varieties in dips, spreads, salad dressings and toppings. Fat-free, low-fat and light varieties do not work well for baking.

• In most baked goods, you can reduce the amount of sugar by one-half without affecting texture or taste, but use no less than 1/4 cup of sugar for every cup of flour to keep items moist.

• Replace half or more of white flour with whole grain pastry or regular flour.

• Use herbs (1 tbsp. fresh = 1 tsp. dried = 1/4 tsp. powder). Add towards the end of cooking and use sparingly -- you can always add more.
• Salt is required when baking yeast-leavened items. Otherwise you may reduce salt by half in cookies and bars.
• Not needed when boiling pasta.

I like stuff. Have you noticed? I like unique, ingenious products that enrich our family-life and, of course, make mama's life a little easier. I also like sharing those products with you, and I'm happy to say that I've found another one that I think you'll enjoy. It's called Y Water.

Here's my little one playing with the bottles after we tested them. He thinks they're good for making dogs and puppets who can battle each other. We tried the drinks while a couple of our little friends were over for a play date, and these are the results of our esteemed review panel:

Muscle Water: Hands down, the one they most wanted to walk away from. I think one of the four year olds spoke for everyone when he said, "Interesting taste. I don't like it, but I'm gonna try to finish it anyway." I agreed about the taste, but encouraged them to finish it. It's full of potassium, magnesium, selenium and vitamins A and C.

And my rating: 4 1/2 mamas

1. Like it or love it? I like it a lot.
2. Is it kid/family approved? Two out of the four flavors were a major hit.
3. Did it deliver what was promised? Yes
4. Is it a great price? If you order online, a case of 24 will cost you $39.80 plus shipping. That's roughly $1.65 for each 9 oz. bottle. Not sure of the price if you purchase locally, but this is a little more than I'd like to pay.
5. Is it unique and creative? Absolutely. Combining a healthy drink and toy--very creative idea.

I hope you'll visit their snazzy, interactive website (loved it!) to learn more. Check their store finder to see if it's available in your area, but call first because my local Toys-R-Us was listed, but when I got there, they had no record of the product being available.

As always, if you give it a try (or if you've already tried it), leave me a comment and let me know what you think!

I received the product to review, but I received no additional compensation. For more information, read the Guide to Mama'z Product Reviews.

1. Give up on "blending." Stepfamilies come together in their own ways, and in their own time -- experts say four to 12 years! Particularly at holiday time, stepkids of any age may feel their loyalty binds more acutely ("Dad's remarried but mom's not so I should spend the whole holiday with her"). And sometimes in spite of a stepparent's best efforts, a stepchild may keep his or her distance, taking a "stand" at holiday time. Don't expect your stepfamily to resemble an eggnog smoothie during the holidays and you'll spare yourself and your marriage a lot of aggravation.
2. Let your stepfamily be what it is. One family I interviewed put up two trees every year, because it mattered that much to them all to honor their own traditions. Respecting those differences can help everyone come together in their own way.
3. Know that you and your spouse will probably argue. From deciding how much to spend on gifts for her kids, to reopening old wounds about how the stepkids behaved during holidays past, couples in a remarriage with children are under extraordinary pressure this season. Arguments aren't signs of failure -- they're opportunities to communicate. Find communication formulas and tips that work for you in Stepmonster and other books for couples with stepchildren.
4. Keep it normal. Whether they're five or 50, what kids want post divorce and remarriage is a sense of belonging. So skip the red carpet welcome and think "inclusive" and "normal." Give mom or dad some time alone with his or her kids, and then do the things you do every day and every holiday, inviting the kids to join. Let older and adult stepkids help with holiday meal planning and prep, serving and clean-up. Little ones can make place cards or holiday art for guests. This helps them feel like family, not guests. And when they're pitching in and happy, stepmom/stepdad won't feel as depleted or de-centered by their visit.
5. Choose side by side activities. Puzzles, stringing popcorn, baking, and watching a holiday movie all let you spend time together without interacting "head on," which experts like Patricia Papernow tell us can be more stressful for "steps."
6. Know your limits. Don't do or give in a way that will increase your resentment. If your stepkids habitually forget to bring anything for you, or have a history of not writing thank you notes, don't go overboard with extravagant gifts and efforts. Let them be your guide to avoid martyr syndrome ("I do and I do for them!") during (and after) the holidays.
7. Strategize ahead of time. Stepfamilies aren't first families. There may be tensions, and that's normal. Spouses might have to plan out activities and time alone ahead of time. "I think I'm going to need a break tomorrow. How about a long walk together first thing in the morning?" This is not a failure -- just a constructive way of adapting.
8. Remember stepfamily members bond best one-on-one. All-together-now activities can activate stepkids' anxieties about who's an insider and who's an outsider. Give parent and stepparent plenty of one-on-one time with kids and stepkids -- and with each other. And don't forget about yourselves as a couple. You need one-on-one time, too.
9. Get out of the house. For stepmothers especially, there can be extraordinary pressure to create that Norman Rockwell aura over the holidays. Before the pressure gets to be too much, get out to see friends and your own family. Take time to pamper, whether it's a spa visit or a coffee with pals who understand and don't judge. Getting out of your own home, away from your stepkids and even your spouse, isn't a sign of failure. It's a necessity, rejuvenating you and helping prevent stepparental burnout.
10. Let go of the guilt. Remember that even first families struggle with unrealistic expectations during the holidays. If things don't go perfectly -- if there are squabbles or hurt feelings -- have faith that this is normal and won't damage the kids or your marriage irreparably. Stepfamily members are bound to have differences and even blow-ups. By showing your stepkids that people can argue and then move on, you are modeling the kind of resilience that will serve them well for a lifetime. That might be the ultimate holiday gift.

©2009 Wednesday Martin, Ph.D., author of Stepmonster: A New Look at Why Real Stepmothers Think, Feel, and Act the Way We Do

Author Bio
Wednesday Martin, Ph.D., is a social researcher and the author of Stepmonster: a New Look at Why Real Stepmothers Think, Feel, and Act the Way We Do (2009). She is a regular contributor to Psychology Today (www.psychologytoday.com) and blogs for the Huffington Post and on her own web site (www.wednesdaymartin.com). She has appeared as a stepparenting expert on NPR, the BBC Newshour, Fox News and NBC Weekend Today, and was a regular contributor to the New York Post's parenting page. Stepmonster is a finalist in the parenting category of this year's "Books for a Better Life" award.

A stepmother for nearly a decade, Wednesday lives in New York City with her husband and two sons. Her stepdaughters are young adults.

We've hit the end of the road again, and I plan to zone out for awhile this week, while I celebrate Christmas with my family.

• I'm zoning out my first mean comment. Did you see it? I couldn't delete it fast enough.
• I'm zoning out that I'm probably not getting exactly what I want for Christmas (good thing I know it's not about me!).
• I'm zoning out the fact that I just mailed my Christmas cards and they did not turn out like I'd hoped.
• I'm zoning out the fact that I'm not prepared for Christmas dinner.
• I'm zoning out yucky cold weather.

• (T)ip: 'Tis The Season for Gift Wrapping
• (I)dea: No, I'm Not Blushing
• (D)iscovery: Help for Busy Moms
• (B)argain: Kmart Bluelight Specials
• (I)nsight: Inspiration from A-Z: G is for Giving
• (T)rials: Say Hello to Holly and Hal, Holey Donuts!
• (S)avings: Shopping for Next Christmas

Okay, I realize some of you are not even done shopping for this Christmas, but I want you to start thinking about next year anyway. I was sitting here looking around, and noticed that some of my favorite holiday decorations are the ones I bought for 75-80% off last year because I purchased them after Christmas.

• Gen gemstone earrings (reg.$ 39.99) sale $9.99
• Mushabellies (reg. $24.99) sale $7.99
• Digital Photo Keychain (reg. $19.99) sale $8.99 ( 65% off )