Since I wrote my first blog on pesto a few months ago some people have been asking me exactly what it is. Just what is pesto? 

Well, first of all it is a sauce. The basic ingredients of pesto sauce are common to all these recipes: fresh basil leaves, cheese (either Parmigiano Reggiano or Pecorino), pine nuts or walnuts, garlic, olive oil and salt and pepper. The great debate, and the great fun, about pesto is deciding on the proper proportions with which to combine these ingredients and whether to add any extras. Ultimately, with some experimentation, you can make pesto that suits your tastes exactly.  

Traditionally, pesto sauce is made by hand with a mortar and pestle. Fortunately, we have food processors and blenders, which make the job much easier. Save your energy for other things, like making fresh pasta to go with the pesto.

Pesto can be applied to just about any shape of pasta and other ingredients can be included. Pesto is also excellent in many soups, from vegetable soups such as minestrone. Pine nuts are actually the seeds produced by certain varieties of pine tree; they are found on the pine cones, where they are covered by a hard shell. There are several varieties of pine trees that produce pine nuts, including the umbrella pine or stone pine. Most edible pine nuts grow in Southern Europe, particularly Italy and France, although some also grow in Spain, Portugal, and the southern United States. 

The greatest exponent of monounsaturated fat is olive oil, and it is a prime component of any pesto. Olive oil is a natural juice, which preserves the taste, aroma, vitamins and properties of the olive fruit. Olive oil is the only vegetable oil that can be consumed as it is - freshly pressed from the fruit. Furthermore you can’t beat pesto in terms of nutrition. Basil contains iron, calcium, Vitamin A, dietary fiber, magnesium, Vitamin A and calcium. 

Basil also contains the antioxidants that protect human cells against disease and pollution. Basil also contains estragole, linalool, cineole, eugenol, sabinene, myrcene, and limonene, which are antibacterial agents that protect against bacteria such as Listeria monocytogenes, Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli Yersinia enterocolitica, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Basil also contains cyclooxygenase that acts as an natural antinflammatory. Of course pesto is a good food for adults too.

The beneficial health effects of olive oil are due to both its high content of monounsaturated fatty acids and its high content of antioxidative substances. Studies have shown that olive oil offers protection against heart disease by controlling LDL (”bad”) cholesterol levels while raising HDL (the “good” cholesterol) levels. (1-3) No other naturally produced oil has as large an amount of monounsaturated as olive oil -mainly oleic acid.  Pine nuts contain alpha-lineolic acid, which is an amino acid responsible for keeping all of the other amino acids in the body working smoothly together. 

The cheese in pesto is also a high source of calcium.  An added bonus?  The garlic in it prevents kids from getting sick. The best thing about pesto is that many kids seem to really love it, especially if you put it on pizza or on top of spaghetti and call it something like monster spaghetti. 

Depression and burnout can creep up on a busy mom especially if she is a busy professional like a lawyer as well.  Most working moms have that stubborn Type A overachiever style of personality very few are willing to admit a weakness, such as exhaustion or depression. This is because most professionals are trained to at least impervious to any outside stress as well as to not stop pursuing a matter until it is concluded.

 Some moms on the experience a gradual worsening of symptoms and others are felled by it seemingly overnight with no warning. It really does depend on the individual and the types of stress they are under.  

Yet another insidious fact of life when it comes to depression and burnout is that not everybody experiences all of these symptoms. Some people may only find one sphere of their daily existence affected, such as their physical wellness and not appear to have problems in other areas such as work. However usually depression begins with physical symptoms that include disturbances in sleep, extreme weight gain or loss, excess snacking or no appetite, fatigue, lack of energy, loss of libido, digestive problems, headaches, difficulty concentrating, memory problems, inability to make a decision, imagining suicide, sadness, shame, guilt, irritability, emotional withdrawal, crying spells, restlessness, neglect of personal hygiene, inability to keep up and substance abuse. 

Burnout is a type of depression but the symptoms of fatigue, apathy and negativity are extreme. The person may be so tired that they may not be able to focus at all on work. They become overwhelmed by a loss of control over circumstances in life (such as a spouse leaving) or by being unable to meet deadlines. Ironically the last thing that some working moms on the verge of burnout are exhausted. 

Many use their Type A personalities to keep plugging on against great odds of success. In fact many who are actually burnt out seem to be incapable of cutting back on the number of hours they spend at work. Many people can’t get out bed when they are burnt out. It is often accompanied by illness and an abuse of recreational drugs.  By the time a person is burnt out he or she is usually also worthy of a diagnosis of clinical depression. Some doctors will also diagnose this as chronic fatigue symptom. This individual needs to come out of self-imposed isolation and talk about problems.

A life coach can also help a person suffering from depression cope with inappropriate feelings of shame and know the difference between how one feels about reality and what is really going on. This can really help a depressed or burnt out depression gain perspective and strength and move on to reorganize their lives so that they feel more health.  Sometimes what is needed is a regiment of psychological or psychiatric treatment that may or may not include drugs to treat the exhaustion or depressive aspects.

Throwing an indoor sleep over camping party for kids featuring fun campfire foods such as Cheez Whiz soup, s’mores and Dough Boys as well as interactive group games, campfire sing-a-longs and constellation watching is a great idea. A sleepover camping party for kids makes an ideal birthday party, or it can just be a way to introduce younger children to the concept. You can of course just throw this type of party out doors but all you really need is a room that is.  big enough to support enough pup tents to accommodate the number of children invited. 

If you have a fireplace you can roast hotdogs, foil wrapped fries and s’mores over the flames. With a little planning and some simple ground rules, your children’s sleepovers will be a real hit. 

First, you’ll want to come up with a plan for the evening. Have your child think of a list of sleepover mates to invite. A good rule is that your child can only invite the number of kids that corresponds with their age. For example, if your child is 5, they may invite 5 guests. The recipes below are for a children’s party of 8 or more, as that is how many hot dog buns come in a package! 

Next, you’ll want to make an enticing indoor campout invitation. One clever idea is to buy a rubber stamp in a shape that corresponds with camping theme and stamp on the front of plain cardstock. Enclosing a little laser flashlight or plastic flashlight on a keychain is a nice pre-party gift.  Fill in the time, place, date, and make it clear what items each child will need to bring. Asking them to each brings their own flashlight and pajamas are a good idea. The cheapest thing is to borrow the tents you need from the neighbors or ask the child’s parents to bring one in advance. 

Also on the invitation you will want to give the parent’s some idea of the menu. This can help them identify foods their children might be allergic to.  Ideas for food include Bubble Tea, Cheez Whiz soup, Chili Cheese Fries and Banana Boats. Hamburgers, hot dogs and beans can make great main courses. I

t is probably not a good idea to play music at this type of party as it might disturb the neighbors. However, if you play guitar you can always engage the children in a sing along.  A good game instead is to have each child make up a ghost story as they sit inside their pup tents. If they are not too young you can also encourage them to read from a book of ghost stories. Of course this entire party can be held out doors in the summer. The thing with outdoor parties is that you need strict supervision of the children by adults especially if you have a swimming pool in your back yard. However it is really nice to also cook those hamburgers and hot dogs over a real fire if it is warm enough.

An article in the Montreal Gazette written by columnist Jill Barker called Turn Excuses Into Action talks about the main excuses that couch potatoes use to get out of exercising. 

One of the biggest excuses, especially for busy moms, is that they are already wound up from chasing after kids all day.  This can no longer be an excuse. For one thing chasing kids all day can be stressful. The purpose of exercise is to release stress, not create more of it. 

If you need to be with your kids all of the time then consider exercising with them.  Play games on your front lawn or in the park with them such as ball, Frisbee or hide and seek. You can also do things like play hula hoop with your kids, hop scotch or jump rope. Yet another thing you can do is just take your kids out for an exercise session based on simple workouts. Do ten sets of simple exercises as a group.   Other athletic activities that kid love are hiking, swimming and climbing. 

Sometimes it is not the kids that are in your way when it comes to getting an exercise program off the ground. An excuse that a lot of people use is “I’m not a gym person.” You don’t have to go to a. Biking, canoeing, swimming, running or even taking a walk in the park count as legitimate forms of exercise.  This way nobody is staring at your body or if you are wearing the latest in spandex fashions.  And unless your kid is a teenager he or she is probably not going to care what you are wearing if you decide to go through a jog in the park with them. 

One of the main excuses that people use is “I am not in good enough shape to exercise.” This of course is a self-defeating excuse with no way out of the dilemma.   This includes people that feel too fatigued or too stressed to exercise. Unfortunately the more you lie around the more you are just going to want to lie around. This is a vicious circle because it can lead to depression, obesity and other problems.

 Once you feel that you are getting out of shape the best thing to do is nip the problem in the bud before it gets worse. For one thing you are setting a bad example for the kids by lying around all dyad. Barker suggests that the only way out of this one is to keep your goals attainable and start out slowly.  If you are so fatigued that you can’t do much more than walk around the block then by all means get up off the couch and walk around the block.  Ask one of your kids to take that walk around the block with you. Every little bit you do will help. In other words, get off the couch and exercise anyway!