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Health & Fitness

Give Your Mom the Time of Day

Did you know that as many as 86 percent of American moms feel unappreciated? On Mother's Day pamper your mom with a few simple treats you can make from or for the kitchen.

Did you know that as many as 86% of American moms feel unappreciated? Is there any chance that your mom may fall into that group? You may want to think through the number of times you’ve called or visited her in the past month as a guide to answering that question.

 

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Many people give lovely Mother’s Day gifts of jewelry, clothing and even annual memberships to athletic clubs, spas, and gift-of-the-month clubs. Speaking as a mom it’s great to receive such little treats. So I fully endorse them as good Mother’s Day gifts.  As long as you don’t use them as a substitute for what moms value most: a little quality time with our kids. The kind we went out of our ways to make for you in your salad days.

 

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This Mother’s Day may be a perfect opportunity for you to spend some quality time pampering your mom with a few simple treats you can make from or for the kitchen. If your mom lives nearby, try one or all of the following to make mom’s day special.

 

Make Mom a Mother’s Day Brunch

 

Give your mom a break by cooking her a satisfying and healthy meal. Brunches are nice because they offer the most flexibility in terms of menu, timing, budget, diet, and the chef’s proficiency level in the kitchen.

 

Pre-noon meals often focus on more traditional breakfast items, such as omelets, scrambled eggs, French toast, and waffles. Noon or post-noon meals can contain meatier fare. Some of my favorites are quiches, cold pasta salads, frittatas, and breakfast-lunch fusion dishes like chicken and waffles, and sausage and egg sandwiches. Both avocado and tomato halves make wonderful vessels for chicken, egg, ham, or fish salads. And they eliminate the need for breads, which is nice for those with gluten sensitivities. Find recipes for all of these dishes in Easy Weekly Meals touchscreen cookbooks.

 

Whichever way you go, balance the meal with some lighter side dishes like fresh fruit or green salads. Strawberry-and-cucumber water makes a refreshing and healthy beverage, too. But be sure to serve mom her caffeine in the way of hot or iced coffees or teas if that’s what she likes best.

 

Treat Her Tired Tootsies

 

Help soothe your mom’s aching arches with a hot tea soak. Brew some strong tea and pour it into a small tub. Let her soak her feet in it for 15-minutes. Gently towel her feet dry and then rinse with a light spray of water in her big tub.

Relax Her Tense Facial Muscles

 

Make your mom a relaxing facial mask by mixing together:

  • 1/4 C Plain Oatmeal, ground to a powder with a coffee grinder, food processor, or blender
  • 1/8 C Baking Soda
  • 2 tsp Honey
  • Just enough Warm Water to make a paste

Apply the mask to her face, making sure to leave the areas around her eyes free of mask paste. Let it dry completely—about 10 minutes—and then rinse it off.

Make Mom’s Closets and Drawers Scentsational

 

Use frilly ribbon to tie together stacks of 3 herbal tea bags to create easy aromatic sachets for your mom to use in her dresser drawers and closet. Celestial Seasons sells several flavors that work well for sachets, including cinnamon apple spice, honey vanilla, mint magic, and lemon zinger. They can be found in most supermarkets.

 

Ease Her Access to Fresh Herbs

 

Fresh, live, potted herbs are available in many grocery produce sections. Pick up her most favorite, or 3 most favorite ones and put them into small decorative pots to give your mom her own indoor kitchen garden. Be sure to keep her counter top space in mind when deciding how many herbs to buy.

 

Treats for Out of Town Moms

 

If your mom lives in another city or state consider surprising her with a Mother’s Day visit in person, if your budget allows.

 

Virtual visits are appreciated too! Depending upon mom’s technology cache, make a significant time allotment to chat with her via telephone, online chat, or Skype. And consider giving mom a coupon book like the kind you made her in kindergarten filled with coupons good for sweeping the floor, washing the dishes, and dusting the furniture. The kind she never redeemed because she wanted to keep the booklet intact. Create a virtual coupon for her book by setting a regular date on her electronic or paper calendar for monthly virtual visits. And then follow through!

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