Trick or Treat ~ Halloween: It's Not About the Candy

Everyone has a an alter ego. Once a year we have an opportunity to be someone else.   Halloween is a strangely wonderful holiday that gives kids of all ages permission to let their alter ego come out and............beg for candy.

You'd think that Christmas would be the big one - the holiday that got  the most hype in our house.  Our kids need only be concerned with being really nice between Black Friday (the official  start of Season's Greetings) and Christmas Morning; about a month.  They had to deal with the paranoia that came with the repeated reminders that 'Santa was watching so..... they had better not pout or cry. Watch out! He's coming and he knows EVERYTHING.'  Pretty scary and far too stressful.

Our kids didn't live for the season that was run by a big guy, in a red suit, who also had his own CIA.  His spies were watching their every move and taking notes. Nope - they didn't live for the Ho-Ho-Ho holiday.  They lived for the Trick or Treat.

Our kids spent the entire year planning it. They were very serious about the costume they chose to represent their alter ego. Who would they want to be: a princess, a super hero or.......a  bad guy? Whenever they saw a character they related to in a movie or TV show, they'd say "I want to be THAT for Halloween!"  They changed their minds frequently throughout the year, so we couldn't really plan ahead.  It was usually best not to get a costume until the last minute - in case one of them changed their mind.  Okay, maybe it wasn't  best to wait (the pickins were slim), but I work better under pressure.

As they got older, they decided it was more fun to be a villain. Villains always had more fun.  Our kids didn't just dress up.  They got into character and made it a day of acting like someone else; someone who was nothing like them. Jim Carrey's version of The Riddler was the inspiration one year, and an easy look to pull off. The movie was a current hit and the costume could be found everywhere.

My husband and I remember one Halloween in particular.  My oldest son wanted to be Darth Vader. There was no convincing him of being anyone else. His mind, along with his heart, was made up. Unfortunately, there were no Vader costumes to be had.  My son was a trail blazer - the Vader costume was only available in too big adult sizes, at ridiculously big prices.  He already had a toy light saber.  He could have easily been Luke Skywalker - his white karate uniform was all he needed to complete the transformation into the good guy.  I might as well have suggested that he dress as Princess Leia - he wanted no part of playing a good guy after he'd set his mind on being the super villain of all bad guys.

I never wanted to let my kids down and Halloween was the biggest event of the year for them.  Creating a Vader costume was challenging and next to impossible.  Never say 'never' - a mother will do what she has to do, to help her child enjoy the simple pleasure of playing the part of a bad guy hero. The search for a suitable helmet was futile - we'd been to 3 shopping malls and countless department stores until........... we found a Speed Racer costume.   It came with a black helmet with a black face shield. Jackpot!  I'm sure I made a scene in the store - grabbing it and holding on to it like it was the last Tickle Me Elmo on the shelf.  I looked possessed. 'It's mine - don't even think about trying to take it!'

We steamed off the decals and it became a suitable Vader helmet. The rest of the costume was recycled; a Batman cape, a black turtle neck, black gloves and black snow boots made do for most of the costume.  He wore his black snow pants from the prior winter.  Even though they were a little too small, they worked.  I tacked on some shiny buttons and stickers on the bib and voila - he was transformed into the once good guy, who turned to the Dark Side and, eventually found his way back to good.  He didn't care that it wasn't exact - he felt like Vader and fell into character.

Halloween was never about how much candy they got or if it was safe enough to eat.  Sure, they'd score lots of treats when they went out for a night of fun, being someone else.  My husband and I would examine all of the candy and dispose of anything that wasn't prepackaged.  We'd also sift through and pull out the stuff we knew they wouldn't eat (conveniently the candy we loved).  They'd ration out their candy and make it last, but they never ate it all. We'd end up throwing it away (we grownups ate it).  They weren't really concerned with eating all of it anyway - they were too busy trying to decide who they were going to be next year.

Our kids are now all grown and in college.  Even though they've grown into adulthood, they're still young at heart. They still like to dress up on Halloween. My husband and I can't help but smile and reminisce about our own little ones' when we hand out treats on Halloween. "Remember the year we couldn't find a Vader costume and we had to make one?" I'd say to my husband.

"Yeah - that was a great Halloween." He'd say with a smile.

Have a safe and happy Halloween ~ HSM

Fair Weather Fan ~ Blue Skies are a State of Mind

We all do it.  Whenever there's a lag in small talk or an awkward silence, we become meteorologists.  Conversation turns to the weather - something we either bitch about, or revel in. If the weather is less than ideal, we complain about it.  Complaining about the weather is just that - complaining. Complaining on a gray day only makes me feel drab. HUMBUG!

I can't speak for anyone else, but for me, blue skies are a state of mind.  There aren't enough clouds on the planet that can take away my joy if I'm happy.  The same holds true if I'm unhappy.  When I was at the lowest point of my life, when I felt all alone in the world, not even the bluest sky could ease my sorrows.........until I found gratitude.

Once I learned that, without gratitude, happiness was just a temporary feeling brought on by superficial things or superficial people (those I was trying to impress or please, that didn't really matter to me).  I had to experience a painful loss in order to find my gratitude.  Not until I had the fortunate opportunity to look at life through the eyes of sorrow and loss, was I able to truly find an appreciation for the life I have and the people who are a part of it.  I no longer got irritated by the little things.  The things that once bothered me, like an overflowing garbage can at home or someone cutting me off in traffic, now seem insignificant.

The key to my happiness was gratitude - being grateful for what I already had is what unlocked the door that held me captive in my past hurts.  Gratitude changed my forecast.  Today, the weatherman says the skies will be gray and the air cold and damp, but for me the skies are blue and my life is filled with the warmth that radiates from my joyful heart.

"Keep your face to the sunshine and you cannot see a shadow." ~ Helen Keller

Skinny It Up ~ Low Fat Chicken Marsala

I'm always looking for delicious, easy and healthy recipes to prepare for my family.  I have found some of the best recipes in magazines.  I like to find ways to make the recipes healthier, so I substitute ingredients and make them 'skinnier'.

My sons were always picky eaters when they were little. I used to sneak healthier ingredients into their meals, in attempts to get them to eat better. Shhhhhh! Don't tell them. What they didn't know not only didn't hurt them, but was actually much better for them. Hey, a mom has to do what a mom has to do.

 My sons weren't adventurous with food when dining out.  They'd usually order chicken tenders or chicken marsala (hold the mushrooms please - and don't sprinkle any greenish garnishes on top).  Now that they are in college, they are much more relaxed when it comes to trying new foods, but they still love chicken marsala.  I love having my family all at the dinner table at the same time.  With our 3 children all attending college and working, family meals have become more rare and precious to me.  One way to ensure that they'll make an effort to clear their hectic schedules and be home for dinner is to announce that one of their favorites is being served.

Skinny It Up - Chicken Marsala

1 lb of Boneless, skinless chicken breasts, thinly sliced
1/3 cup of whole wheat flour
1  teaspoon of salt
1/4 teaspoon of pepper
2 tablespoons of canola oil or light extra virgin olive oil
2 cloves of garlic, minced or *garlic powder, to taste
1/3 cup of diced yellow onion
1  8 oz packages of sliced mushrooms
1/2 cup of marsala wine
1/4 cup of lowfat milk
2 tablespoons of whole wheat flour (to be used to thicken the sauce at the end)

Mix 1/3 cup of whole wheat flour, salt and pepper on a plate; dredge cutlets in flour mixture and set aside. *if using garlic powder, sprinkle on top of dredged cutlets.
In a large frying pan, heat oil over medium heat.  Saute' onion and garlic in oil about 2 minutes.  Add mushrooms and cook for 5 minutes.  Push mushroom mixture to the side of the pan; add chicken to frying pan; sear chicken 2 minutes on each side, then add marsala wine. Reduce heat to low and simmer, allowing the wine to reduce to by half (turn chicken at least one time).
In a bowl, combine milk and 2 tablespoons of whole wheat flour (mix it with a fork) and add it to frying pan once the wine has reduced by half (this will thicken the sauce). Remove from heat and serve.

I serve my chicken marsala with whole grain pasta or brown rice and a steamed vegetable or a tossed salad.
The original recipe called for unbleached flour and half & half.  My substitutions add whole grains and is lower in fat.

I feel responsible for my family's health whenever I prepare a meal.  I feel better knowing that I'm preparing a meal I know they'll love and is a little healthier for all of us. The cat's out of the bag.  Now that they're old enough to handle the truth, and not run away from a plate filled with healthier food,  I've confessed to my sneaky substitutions.  They still enjoyed it.  The only complaint that was voiced was that there wasn't enough.  I consider the skinnier meal a success - not just because my family enjoyed the food, but because they made it home for a healthier meal prepared with love and good intentions.