Remember the kitchen's Golden Rule, that when preparing a particular recipe, you should read through it once and then gather all your needed ingredients and place them in your reach as you are putting together the ingredients. In this way you are not surprised half way through preparation that you do not have something that you need.

Do you ever clean your cupboards of out dated stock items? Rule of thumb is if spices are over a year old they need to be replaced. Another NUTRITIONAL rule of thumb is that if you have anything in your kitchen that is white it is not right or good for your health. Think about granulated sugar and just what kind of nutritional value it has. I myself cannot think of a thing. (Brown Sugar is the same only with molases added), White Flour is not good for you, however it is now enriched and that makes it better for us?? I don't think so. Baking Soda has calcium carbonate and this is not good for your body, (on the other hand Calcium Citrate is good for you) What about salt? It causes high blood pressure the last I heard. I know what you are saying, "Now, I use only a little bit of that". You are not taking into consideration all of the hidden soduim in canned foods and prepared foods, and fast foods. If you have to have salt, a good sea salt has more nutritional value or a little bit of Mrs. Dash is better for you health wise.

Some food items that you can substitue if you are concerned about the health of you and your children:

EVOO (extra Virgin Olive Oil) VS Vegatable Oil, Oleo, Butter. EVOO makes great Grilled cheese sandwiches.

Splenda instead of Sugar for baking and cooking

Sea Salt or Mrs Dash instead of salt

Rice Dream or Soy instead of Milk for cooking and baking. This is also very healthy to drink if the kids will accept it.

Egglands Best Eggs instead of regular eggs, More expensive but worth it health wise.

Whole wheat flour instead of white flour

Use fresh or frozen fruits and vegetable VS canned goods

I would like to pass on to you a story of when my middle son, now 39, went through. When he was in 3rd grade he became very ill with dark circles under his eyes, bent over stomach cramps daily, very bad headaches and fatigue with lack of concentration. All he could tell us was, Mama I don't feel good. At this time we were visiting a Holestic M.D. This Dr. was very much into aternative mediicine and also practiced traditional medicine. He never forced alternative medicine on any of his patients. He was trying to figure out what was wrong with our son and asked us if he could do a hair analysis. He cut a gram of hair from the nape of his neck and ran a vitamin/mineral content. Please understand that I had rid my kitchen of anything 'White' and we were eating healthy, or so I thought. We did not use sugar either, however the test showed that my son was consuming at least 14 teaspoonfuls of sugar a day and 15,000 mgs of sodium daily. He was picking this up in canned goods and fast food that yours truly was allowing. His diagnosis was HYPOGLYCEMIA. I was a nurse for heaven sake and I just did not recognize what I was doing. I did not buy candy. I always supplied the children with healthful snacks or so I thought. In all of my good intentions I was making my son ill. I learned to take the time to read labels better and make more of an effort to train him in what should and should not go in his mouth. To this day he works out and is fit and trim. He watches his diet and has done well with no relapses or symptoms of hypoglycemia.

It is hard to rid our kitchens of our traditional ingredients. We need them to make all the yummy cakes and cookies that we remember grandma making. For Heavens sake grandma never ever worried about calories. I think that mine did though, because as I look back grandma wanted to make everyone happy and full of all her goodies. I believe that it made her feel good also. Looking back I can now understand why she set a regular dinner plate for everyone but her. Her plate was the size of a desert plate. I asked her why she had such a little plate, because as a child I thought it odd, but used to just shrug it off. Now a grandma myself I understand her motives well. She was always watching her weight, but, she wanted everyone to be full and happy.

As much as I loved my grandma I want to be a different kind of grandma and be more health concious for the sake of my precious grandchildren and family. It is well worth the effort put forth.