No doubt it is a stressful time we live in.  The more we know, the more we need to do, the more we do, the more expectations we have, the more expectations we have, the more disappointments we may have to endure.  If we don’t take a minute to keep things in perspective, stress can take over easily.  If you ever snapped out of the blue, you know what I mean.

My Mental Health Day is a campaign of the Mental Health Association of Montgomery County designed to engage us in thinking about our mental health and taking time to nurture our mental well being.  This year, My Mental Health Day is May 26th and we hope that you relax and participate in something you love.

We’re partnering with the Mental Health Association to invite you to a fundraising session on Saturday May 26.  Choose the 3 pm session and enter the password: Mental Health (case sensitive, click on submit): https://dreamdinners.com/main.php?page=session_menu

Not only will you be able to spend more family time around the dinner table with your loved one, we will also donate 10% of the proceeds to the Association on your behalf.  We are  really excited about this campaign and hope you’ll consider joining us in this effort as we raise awareness about the importance of nurturing the mental health of the people in our area.

Funds raised through the campaign will make possible the continuation of the organization’s valuable programs and services. These services include school-based mental health and supportive social services, 24/7 hotline support, military helpline services, friendly visiting to older home-bound adults, self-sufficiency and parenting education for parents of young children, case management and support to formerly homeless individuals, and mentoring to at-risk youth project

For more information about My Mental Health Day campaign, please feel free to visit the campaign website at any time: http://www.mymentalhealthday.org/

Happy Mother’s Day!

With Mother’s Day right around the corner, it’s a good time to ask: What do hardworking mothers really want on this day? It’s not flowers, jewelry or perfume thankyouverymuch. What mothers really prefer is a day to relax, unwind and spend quality time with their family without any obligations, cooking or cleaning.

It goes without saying that being a mom is hard work. Rewarding? Of course! Exhausting? You bet. Moms know to be ready at a moments notice to play a variety of roles. Whether it is a nurse, chauffeur, cook, negotiator, tutor, housekeeper, volunteer, seamstress or enthusiastic cheerleader for your child’s sports team, the work is never ending.

With financial resources still tight for many, this would be a good year for mothers to get what they really want this Mother’s Day: a day off. Here are some great ways to celebrate:

1. Go for a bike ride: May is a great month to hit the bike trails. Getting outside and enjoying the fresh air is always on the top of everyone’s list.

2. Have a picnic: Pack mom’s favorite foods and head to the park, zoo, beach, mountains or even spread a blanket in the backyard. It’s not where you are, but who are with that counts.

3. Have a movie night: Nothing is more important to a mother than having her family around her (as long as the children are in a good mood of course), so rent a family favorite movie, make Mother’s Day Sundaes, (where everyone makes their own ice cream sundaes), pull up the blankets and spend some priceless time together.

4. Plant a Mother’s Day Garden: This is the time of year where we spend lots of time in the garden planting summer flowers. If you have some extra space, then plant some seeds of your favorite flowers with your children. By watering every few days, it will be a source of excitement for everyone to go out and watch the seeds pop up.

At Dream Dinners, we understand the importance of spending quality time together. We provide all the ingredients to create your family meals. By pre-assembling your dinners in our store, then cooking at home, you have quick and wholesome meals for your family. We have gift cards available which make this the perfect Mother’s Day gift for busy moms!

Here is the true story behind why I opened the store:  I got mad at my husband over dinners.

Don’t get me wrong – my handsome husband is everything I ever wanted, but his three innocent words used to drive me up the wall.  Those three words were: “What’s for dinner?”

As you can imagine, this problem doesn’t exist any more since I have Dream Dinners on my side.  Evenings in my house now often consist of homework, a balanced meal and a stroll around the neighborhood.  Life is good.  My handsome husband is even more fun to be around than before.

So, husbands, if you always assume that your wife is fine cooking for you and the kids every night, let me share a secret with you: she would really appreciate a week off!

Giving your wife a week off from kitchen doesn’t mean that you will have to eat out every night.  (Actually, sometimes it is more taxing because you’d have to dress up, find parking and wait for service.)  It doesn’t mean that you will have to shop and chop every night.  All you need to do is give Dream Dinners a try.

Call us - we will make sure that you can give your wife a week off without breaking a sweat.  Bring the romance back to the kitchen…

Thank you all SO much who came to our store’s birthday party last Saturday.  Stephen, congratulations on winning the dinner AND the freezer!

Stephen won the chest freezer

Laurie won a free dinner!

Sharing stories with Barbara and Stephanie, our loyal customers.

Cindy having fun with her son

Brenda and Barbara loving our NEW cookies

 

Silver Spring Dream Dinners Team

 

Spring is officially here!

With an abundance of seasonal fresh vegetables and fruits now available, this would be an excellent time to go a step further and create a healthy family pantry.

By ridding your kitchen of heavily processed foods that are high in fat, artificial colors and flavors, you are one step closer to developing meals that are not only good for you, but also contribute to a healthy lifestyle.

So where do you begin? First, consider saying goodbye to white sugar, white flour and any processed foods such as cookies, crackers, soda, sugar drinks and the like. The average American is said to consume 22 teaspoons of sugar a day! If sugar is listed as the first ingredient on the nutritional chart on the package, then off the trash can it goes.

Now you can stock your pantry with these healthy alternatives:

• Olive Oil (instead of corn oil)

• Whole Wheat Pasta (instead of regular pasta)

• Diced, Crushed Tomatoes (instead of jarred sauce)

• Brown Rice (instead of white rice)

• Beans (for side dishes)

• Nuts and dried fruits (for snacks)

Having a well-stocked pantry allows you have the items on hand to make healthy, enjoyable meals. By adding fresh fruits and vegetables to your diet you are creating a lifestyle that is not only nutritiously satisfying but also beneficial to you and your family’s overall health.

At Dream Dinners, we always have brown rice, whole wheat pasta and even vegetarian options on hand to create easy meals for you. Come see how easy it is to eat well.  We have an open house this Saturday, April 14th, from 2 – 4 pm.  Tons of free tastings and give-aways.  See you there!

Some say that after age of 35, one is responsible for her own looks and skin – can’t blame it on the genes any more if one has a wrinkly, sun-damaged and dried-up face after certain age…  I have been diligent in the lotion department for a long time now, but I didn’t know until now that what I eat can be a weapon, too.

Researchers at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland gathered 35 volunteers and studied the impact of eating more fruits and vegetables on their skin tone.   They evaluated the diet and skin-color of participants at the beginning of the study and after three and six weeks.

After six weeks, the researchers found participants who increased their consumption of fruits and vegetables had visible changes in their complexions, with a more rosy glow. Their skin was also judged to appear more “healthy” and “attractive.”

Although this test group was quite small and most were of Caucasian, it is quite encouraging to know yet another potential benefit of eating more fruits and vegetables!  (By the way, potatoes don’t count.)

To see the details of the experiment, click here: http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0032988#s2

We are all for being healthy and beautiful at Dream Dinners.  See you soon!

So you think you are a savvy health nut, bet you will be surprised to find that these “health foods” are not that healthy after all.  At least I was surprised when I read the article from the Washington Post.

Regular Peanut Butter is Better then the Reduced-Fat Version

In my house we LOVE peanut butter.  Peanut butter on bread, peanut butter on apples; peanut butter on pasta (Penne with Chicken and Peanut Sauce), and peanut butter on rice (Kung Pao Chicken).  Thinking we are being healthy by using the low-fat version? – wrong!

It turns out that the oil is the healthiest part of the peanut butter. By taking the oil out, we rob the peanut butter of its health benefits. “Reduced-fat peanut butter has as many calories and more sugar than the regular,” says Bonnie Liebman, nutrition director for the Center for Science in the Public Interest.

Here are the other surprises:

• Enhanced water is not as good as regular water
• Multi-grain foods are not the same as the Whole Grain foods
• Energy bars are not as good as whole fruits and yogurt

So sometimes simpler is better.  I am really happy to enjoy my full-fat version of the peanut butter on toast this morning as I write this….  Life is good – if you know where to look for simple pleasure.

With all this craze about going organic, many of us would like to give it a try, but the price tags can be quite shocking.  Well, it doesn’t need to be an “all or nothing” approach.  If you want to go organic, but are also watching your budget, here are the ones to consider:

THE DIRTY DOZEN – most beneficial when you buy organic

• Apples
• Celery
• Strawberries
• Peaches
• Spinach
• Nectarines (imported)
• Grapes (imported)
• Sweet bell peppers
• Potatoes
• Blueberries (domestic)
• Lettuce
• Kale/collard greens

By the way, you should spend most of your time and money in the perimeter of the grocery store where the fresh produce, dairy, juices are, and avoid the middle isles where most of the pre-packaged processed foods are.

Have a Healthy Shopping Day!

Position purpose

•  Part time fun job at Silver Spring Dream Dinners (about 10 – 20 hours a week)

Responsibilities/Duties/Functions/Tasks

• Prep ingredients; Assist in event coordination; Host meal assembly sessions & Taste events

HOURS

• Tuesday AM & PM
• Friday PM & Evenings
• Saturdays AM & PM

Qualifications

Computer proficiencies; comfortable with kitchen work and long hours on feet; can lift 50LB; Must own independent transportation; LOVE helping customers and working with a group of moms. Detailed oriented and can multi-task.

Compensation

• Comprable to retail clerks in the area with three months probation.
• All dinners are 50% off
• 10% Commission on events hosted

It’s that time of the year when we are ready to pack away our winter coats, gloves and hats and start thinking about shorts, swimsuits and tank tops! While it’s difficult to predict when spring will officially arrive, it’s comforting to know that it is right around the corner.

With warmer days arriving soon, it’s time to think about fun outdoor activities that will make you jump off the couch and get active. Breathing in some fresh air is not only physically benefiting, but also emotionally healing. Reconnecting with the outside after a long winter inside is like giving your body a spring cleaning. So it’s time to shift into gear and get moving.

With heart disease, obesity, diabetes and other health problems rising among women at alarming rates, it is recommended that we get about 30 minutes of exercise five times a week. This is difficult for many given our busy lifestyles, but combining exercise with family activities can make working up a sweat a breeze.

Idea  #1: After Dinner Family Walk -

Take note: We move our clocks ahead on Sunday, March 11 at 2:00 am. So with the days getting longer, it’s time to start a traditional after dinner family walk. This is a great way to involve the entire family in an easy exercise. Walking through your neighborhood or park increases the heart rate and improves the cardiovascular system while getting reacquainted with the outside. One of our favorite things about spring is that every day, something outside changes. Spring flowers are popping up! Trees are starting to blossom! Lilacs will soon bloom and robins are scattering over your front yard. There is always a new discovery to share.

Idea # 2 : Weekend Family Biking Trip -

It’s time to dust off your bike and play like a kid! Hit the bike trails and explore nature with the kids. Bike riding is a great way to stay fit and more fun when the whole family is involved. Great for the body and soul, this aerobic exercise is associated with increased health and well being.  One of our favorite bike trails in the area is on the Kent Island.  It takes you to the Chespeake Bay, open sky and open fields.

Idea # 3 : After School Tennis Match -

Playing tennis on a regular basis can help maintain or improve mobility, strength, fitness and balance. Even if you don’t play well, it’s a great exercise that can burn up to 400 calories per hour. If you have young children, play some drills with them to get everyone running around the court. Little ones will enjoy playing tennis “volleyball” where they can’t let the ball touch the ground.  Be creative and have fun with your games.

Here at Dream Dinners, we support a healthy and active lifestyle. So enjoy the great outdoors this spring with lots of fun exercise all while eating sensibly. You will be ready for bathing suit season before you know it!