March Newsletter

A Friendly reminder! Please pay your dues if you have not already. Only $10 for the year!! Please pay. Thank you!

Ever thought of joining the fun steering committee next year! Talk to one of the current members. Positions that will be open are a leadership role, outreach coordinator, meal coordinator, and hearts at home coordinator (this one is unfilled at the time), Social Events Planner, Childcare/snack coordinator, and Preschool craft coordinator.

If you have any questions feel free to email us at mthorebmoms@hotmail.com.

Welcome to our group:
We continue to meet the second Tuesday of each month (except for March when we will be meeting on March 12th) for discussion from 8:45-10:30 a.m. at Immanuel Lutheran Church, 310 West Main Street. If you are new to Mom's Group, park behind the church and use the door closest to the children's play area. We will have the sign-in book and name tags available near the entrance before you make your way to drop off your children. There is also an elevator in that same area that will take you upstairs near the nursery. We will gather at 8:45 to get the children situated and start our discussion meetings at 9:00 a.m. in the Fellowship Hall which is in the lower level.

Dues: The dues will continue to be $10 for the year. The dues help to cover childcare costs, snacks, crafts, postage, supplies etc. Please pay your dues to Cathy.

Childcare Coverage: We ask that each member sign up at least once for coverage in the nursery and preschool class during our meetings. We need a minimum of 4 people to assist with childcare each month.

We also need some people to sign up for the May meeting for childcare.
Notes from Preschool:

In September I sent home a "Where is (your child’s name) going? Book" that he/she made. Each month at Mom’s Group, your child will receive a coloring page about where we "went" during Mom’s group. Please have your child color the page at home (if they don't color it at Mom's group) and paste in his/her book as a journal about all the places we visit (through books, crafts, activities, etc.). You can even write down a short sentence about what your child saw/heard/did, etc. if you’d like. In January, we will “visit” a music concert. If you need another book or have any questions, please let me know.

Also, our playground time will be moved indoors and replaced with movie time in Room C/D which is right next to where the preschoolers meet. We will try to get back to the playground in March/April (weather permitting). Thanks!!

Speakers for Moms Group for 2007/2008

o Wednesday March 12th, 2008: Go Green: Robin Pharo
o April 8th, 2008: Ask the DOCTOR: Dr. Kristen Knoepke – family practice
o May 13th, 2008: Last meeting Social – 1st 30 minutes kids in childcare to go over end of year details; everyone bring healthy kids snack and recipe

Mom’s Group Social Events

March 6th - Make It/Take It night. Join Michelle Rimer, Director of the Mt. Horeb Nutrition office and make a couple of meals to "make and take" home for later. We will be meeting at the HS cafeteria at 6:30PM. There is a cost to be determined closer to the date. Please RSVP to Tina if you are interested in attending.

April 15th - Mom's Night out. Are your taxes done? Come have a drink at the Grumpy Troll and celebrate!

May 13th - 2nd annual clean out the closet clothes drive. Bring any clothes you would like to exchange/donate and put them in the boxes labeled with sizes. Any clothes left over will be donated to the Mt. Horeb clothes closet.

Book Club meeting
Next meeting is on April 29th at 6:30pm for the next book club meeting. We are reading The Birth House by Ami McKay.

Fortified foods and why we should stay away from them:
Manufacturers want us to believe that fortified foods are better than non-fortified foods. Fortified foods are foods that have had extra vitamins, minerals and other nutrients added to them. Some would not normally be found in the food. It makes the food look more nutrient dense than it really is. Sometimes the food has been stripped of its original nutrients through processing, so the company will replace them with manmade nutrients. Resulting in a highly refined product. The uneducated public thinks these foods are superior.

Omega-3 or Calcium fortified are buzz words in the media. Companies are capitalizing on this. When a consumer sees a product with these nutrients in it they think they are trying to improve their health by buying the products. The problem is consuming a lot of these products actually is the equivalent of taking supplements. The best way to get these nutrients is in its natural food state in its perfect synergy. The body is not designed to process this stuff. Eat as close to nature as possible. Eat as few of these products as possible.

Companies make refined foods because it boosts profits not to increase nutrition. Think about Twinkies and their extraordinarily long shelf life. Will never mold or grow bugs. We do not want our food to last forever. From a financial stand point it may look better right now. The truth is we need fresh whole foods to improve our health and the health of our country.

Next newsletter look for the facts on supplementation.

Recipe of the month:
Thai Chicken Stir-Fry Salad
This recipe is from pampered chef. Can serve as side dish or over rice as a main dish.
Dressing:
1 1-inch piece peeled fresh gingerroot
¾ cup creamy poppy seed salad dressing
2 garlic cloves, pressed
Salad:
1 medium cucumber
1 small red bell pepper
1 package (6 oz) fresh baby spinach leaves
1 package (12 oz) broccoli slaw mix
Chicken mixture:
¼ cup snipped fresh basil
¼ cup peanuts (optional)
2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts
For dressing, finely chop gingerroot using a chopper. In bowl combine gingerroot, salad dressing and garlic whisk until well blended and set aside.

For salad, thinly slice cucumber and bell pepper; cut cucumber slices in half. Place spinach, slaw mix, cucumber and bell pepper into bowl, refrigerate until ready to serve.

For chicken mixture, snip basil and chop peanuts. Cut chicken into ½ inch cubes. Cook over medium-high heat until chicken is no longer pink, remove from heat. Add basil, peanuts and ¼ cup dressing to skillet; toss to coat.

To serve, toss salad with remaining dressing; top with chicken mixture and serve immediately.

The Sommer House Café is open. There is a fun room upstairs with toys, books and an art easel for the kids. It's a great spot to grab a bite to eat or a coffee and they have wi-fi too! I think a spot like that needs some help staying open in this town and we can try to do our part!