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Sunday, May 16th, 2010

National Assoc. of Baby Boomer Women

I am a proud member of the NABBW ( National Association of Baby Boomer Women). Through this site many women are truly helped and many women are united in ways to helps others. Really no one understands us better than us. Being a woman is a unique and important role in life and society. We should to help one another!

Please enjoy my latest article on NABBW: http://www.nabbw.com/display_marticle.php?marticle_id=158

Tina Turbin

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Wednesday, May 12th, 2010

Get More Energy from Your Diet

This means eating a real breakfast in the morning packed with protein. You may think you’re saving time by skimping on breakfast or you’ll insist that you’re not that hungry in the mornings, but I’m telling you that if you’re missing out on this meal, you’re missing out for the rest of the day on valuable energy. Skipping a meal is like trying to run your car without fuel; it’s totally unworkable. Without enough blood sugar, you won’t be able to think or function clearly, and even if you eat later on, your blood sugar level won’t recover. Nutritional studies show that not getting enough blood sugar in the morning affects you the entire rest of the day. This causes your adrenal glands to go into action, raising the level of the hormone, cortisol. Draining your adrenals and running on cortisol will make you feel exhausted and crave sugar and caffeinated drinks for a quick fix. I recommend eating a little, healthy protein-filled meal every three hours to keep yourself fueled.

Another important aspect of diet is increasing your daily intake of protein. Many women don’t get enough of this nutrient. Protein keeps you energized by sustaining your blood sugar level much longer than carbohydrate-packed foods. It also stimulates dopamine production, a neurotransmitter that keeps you more alert, and keeps your energy up by raising your metabolic rate. Cut out carbohydrate-packed snacks and replace them with healthy proteins like walnuts, almonds, cheese, etc.

Drinking enough water is also an essential way to keep your energy up. Some people often mistake signs of dehydration for fatigue. Your cells need water in order to function at their optimum level, and coffee or diet soda isn’t going to cut it. Tea is often a good idea, but I recommend keeping a water bottle with you and sipping from it all day. You should aim for eight glasses of water daily.

Tina Turbin

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Wednesday, March 17th, 2010

Grocery Shopping for Healthy Family Eating

As the mother of three grown children, I know how hard it can be, even with the best of intentions, to eat a healthy diet yourself and make healthy foods for the rest of the family. With just a few simple tips, you can totally change your eating habits for the better.

It all starts with grocery shopping, for which you must make like a Boy Scout and “be prepared.” It is best to create a menu for the week with breakfasts, lunches, dinners, and snacks determined for each day before you even make your grocery list. Choose healthy recipes that take thirty minutes or less to prepare, unless you know you’ll have more time available for cooking. There are many easy, healthy recipes available online which you can prepare in a snap. Make sure there are enough high-protein foods and snacks, which won’t leave you with low blood sugar and send you to high-fat and high-sugar snacks for a fast blood sugar boost.

Before hitting the grocery store, eat a big, filling meal, so you won’t deviate from your shopping list by picking out items that look good just because you’re hungry. You can’t binge on foods that aren’t good for you if you don’t have them in your home, after all. This will not only result in a healthier set of groceries, but will save you money, as well!

Tina Turbin

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Wednesday, February 24th, 2010

Learn to Recognize the Difference between Malnourishment and Mental Disorders in Children

     If you’re like me, you’re probably alarmed to hear so much about the prevalence of “mental disorders,” particularly among children. It seems that every year there are more and more disorders are emerging, along with psychotropic medications to treat them. However, as the mother of three grown-up, mentally healthy children and with a strong background and experience in nutritional research, I counsel mothers to be careful before mistaking your children’s odd behavior with a mental illness. It turns out the symptoms of malnourishment and mental disorders are actually quite similar in children.

     Even just the signs of a deficiency in B vitamins will sounds familiar to you as the symptoms of childhood mental disease. Deficiency in Vitamin B1 can result in fatigue, poor memory, irritability, and insomnia. A B2 deficiency can cause depression. Deficiencies of B3 may begin as depression, but untreated may progress to psychosis or even dementia. Deficiencies in Biotin may cause a variety of problems, including skin disorders and eczema, dandruff or hair loss, fatigue, depression, even hallucinations.

     Children can also suffer from a classic case of low blood sugar. Studies show that breakfasts rich in protein keep the body’s blood sugar level higher and more stable than breakfasts such as, say, the American breakfast staple of sugar-packed cereals. Kids are bound to peak in the morning and then crash later in the day, exhibiting hyperactivity and lethargy during the school day.

     The consequences of improperly diagnosing a mental illness instead of treating malnourishment in a child can be severe. If you care about your child and children in general, it is imperative that you and your child’s teachers learn the crucial difference between children’s mental disorders and inadequate nutrition.

Tina Turbin

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Saturday, February 6th, 2010

Gluten- Free Dining in Chicago- Review on Tina Turbin

Through my lovely sister-in-law Marsha , I had the pleasure of connecting up with Laura Hansen,  “Best of the Best Dining in Chicago”.  They met at an event and then discussed gluten-free foods, lifestyle and eating and what do you know, the name Tina Turbin came up. The rest is history.

Laura contacted me to ask to do a review on me and my site and of course we  got into the conversation of celiac and gluten-free, some of my favorite subjects. I have a new friend who loves food as much as I do and she is a phenomenal reviewer and writer on foods and restaurants. We have so much in common.

She previously reviewed Deerfield Bakery in the Schaumburg, Illinois and it just so happens that I just had a terrific conversation with Tim Schmitt, the owner and will be reviewing his products and his 3 bakeries next month!

Laura wrote and published an article released today about me and my website http://GlutenFreeHelp.info , the article is entitled  Entrepreneur spreads the word about wheat allergies.

You are even treated to my gluten-free flourless chocolate cake recipe!

Thanks you Laura!

Tina

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Friday, February 5th, 2010

Secret Tip On How to Avoid GMOs at the Grocery Store

 

Many of us are eating Genetically Modified Foods (GMOs) whether we realize it or not.  Do you know how to tell the difference?

It turns out that you can easily tell whether the produce you purchase at the grocery store is a GMO simply by reading the PLU (price look up) code.

Here’s what you need to be aware of:

1. If the PLU is 5 digits and begins with an 8, then it a Genetically Modified Organism.

2. If the PLU is 4 digits, even if it contains a symbol at the beginning, then it is not a GMO.

Regarding your purchases of processed foods, keep in mind that according to Wikipedia, as many as 75% of ALL processed foods on American shelves contain at least one GMO.

Unfortunately, there doesn’t seem to be a way to discern if a packaged item contains GMOs or not.  Yet another reason to avoid the entire middle section of the grocery store as much as possible.

For wholesome, nutritious and delicious recipe ideas, be sure to visit my gluten-free recipe page.

Best,

Tina

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Wednesday, February 3rd, 2010

Tampa Area Celiacs a Support Group- Janet Heitler

There are many ways we with celiac or gluten intolerance can help others. One way is to head a group. Janet is an exceptional woman with her story and running a group for many years now. Here is her story and a link to a news article about her and her experiences. Really worth reading. Janet has recently attended my GF taste testing party to assist in my Reviews. She is FUN!

Janet Heitler joined a pre-existing group (Tampa Bay celiac Support Group) in 1995 two weeks after she was discharged from the hospital with her celiac diagnosis. She had a long time of misdiagnosis and no diagnosis. Things did not look good up to that final day of being correctly diagnosed.

Two women initially founded the group and Janet ended up in the group after they resigned from being Co-chairs. A husband and wife team took it over and I wanted to contribute because everyone was so wonderful – so Janet said she would be the Treasurer, easy to do. Everything was fine until two months into their “reign” I got a call that they were moving to Nevada.  Bam – she got in 1998 and I has had it ever since.

The meeting calendar was all over the chart and the first thing she did was announce to meet on the second Saturday of every other month – Feb/Apr/Jun/Aug/Oct and Dec.  We meet at 1 – 3 PM at the Jimmy Keel Library on Bears Avenue in Tampa, unless a luncheon is arranged.

They have done 2 GF Beer and Pizza Parties, when Pei Wei first opened they had a luncheon, and a luncheon at Trang’s Viet-Nam Cuisine — 90% of the menu is GF – it is not a GF restaurant it just works out like that, she says.

There are 200 people on her mailing list, but the most she has ever had at meeting (Beer/Pizza luncheon) was 70 people yet normally there are 20-25 people attending.

According to Janet, a lot of times newbie’s come once and think they know everything there is then fall aside. Then she gets a call and they talk as they are in trouble. She reminds them of the meetings and she tells them the new things that are out there and having the emails has helped people to reconnect and stay connected.

Janet’s email –  jchtbc42@tampabay.rr.com

Janet’s latest article:http://www2.newsadvance.com/lna/lifestyles/food_cooking/article/sifting_through_the_options/4033/

Thank you Janet!       Tina Turbin

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Monday, January 18th, 2010

Gluten-Free Taste Testing Parties: East and West Coasts

At my Gluten-Free taste-testing party on Sunday the 17th, we tested 42 Gluten-Free products in the course of 2-1/2 hours. I had everyone take diligent notes on their feedback for each and every item I presented. The results have already been put together in my various reviews which my team in LA and FL worked hard on.
 
I want to thank Janet, Head of the Tampa Area Celiacs; and Brian Kelly, Founder of the Pinellas County Celiac Support Group and Secretary Susan Wilson for attending and lending their support and time. A special thanks goes to all those who attended: children, doctors, nutritionists and friends. You are all wonderful and I know you all left with a belly full of delicious food.
 
From this point forward I will be sharing with you the written and video results. Please check the Review sections located on the lower right hand side of my Gluten-Free home page starting on January 28th. Every week I will be releasing more!
 
Tina

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Thursday, January 14th, 2010

Top Gluten-Free Companies Reviewed

One of my most involved projects lately (with my staff in FL and LA) has been the delicious and delightful task of reviewing gluten-free cookbooks, gluten-free foods and a variety of other gluten-free products such as cosmetics, vitamins and more.

My team and I are having a wonderful time and are quite excited to share the reviews with you. The number of truly great gluten-free companies out there has increased exponentially.

Part of the review process includes taste-testing “parties” at both my East Coast studio and West Coast office, including one to be held on Sunday the 17th. Keep checking back for more information on the reviews.

Tina

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Wednesday, January 13th, 2010

A Mother’s Role is a Valuable Asset to Our Society

     Chances are, you have an idea of just how important you are as a mother in your household. For instance, what if you were to go out of town for a week? Who would get the kids ready for school, take them to soccer or ballet, help them with their homework? And could you imagine the state of the house after such a length of time?

     My experience as a mother started long ago when I married and became pregnant with the first of my three children at the age of twenty-one. Not only is this role the basis of my work as a children’s author, inspiring me to create my children’s series, Danny the Dragon, but it also serves as the foundation of my work as a researcher, writer, and humanitarian. Believe me, this mother thing is no small job.

    Now that you’ve taken a look at how your role as a mother is a valuable asset in your own home, which is a fact I’m sure you have figured out all on your own, I urge you take a look at a mother’s role in society. Typically, aside from rare exceptions, it is the mother who is charged with the responsibility for rearing children.  When it comes to all matters of hygiene, cleanliness, nutrition, schoolwork, etc., it is Mom who oversees these. On a collective scale, statistics of childhood illness and disease, childhood nutrition, and children’s literacy could largely be attributed to mothers everywhere just like you and the decisions they make about their own children. Clearly, moms everywhere are an asset to our society and they deserve our support, too!

Tina Turbin

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