(Gulf Shores)

Now that we are in the heart of holiday shopping season, I want to take a minute to introduce you to a great gift for the boys in your family.  Tracksters

Enter the high-stakes world of racing fast cars and even faster races that will test your nerves! Featuring high quality, die cast cars along with an interactive, competitive website. Tracksters is sure to appeal to car enthusiasts of all ages! Trick your car out with the latest race technology including the latest suspensions, engine components, and more!. Tune your car for maximum race efficiency and push it to the limit. Triumph over players from around the world in street racing, track racing and the drag strip. Choose a friendly race or put your Pink Slip up online for the ultimate adrenaline rush!

Tracksters - The Ultimate blending of diecast and virtual play! Tracksters is an online game allowing competitors to match cars they develop in head to head races. Run a friendly race in the street or on the track for bragging rights…or take another players ride if you dare race for Pink Slips!
Tracksters - Trick, Tune, Triumph!

To purchase Tracksters in the area, visit Jubilee Apparel and Gifts at: 701 Gulf Shores Parkway. Part of the Oyster House Boardwalk.  or check them out online at:  http://jubileegifts.net/tracksters1.html

(ARA) - The start of a new school year is an exciting time for children. Each fall begins with a new teacher, different classmates and a fresh start, making it the perfect time for you and your kids to get back into a daily routine.

A good place to start is the school lunch. The contents of your child's lunch are important to their overall daily nutrient intake. Packing the right kinds of foods can help them maintain energy levels and concentration throughout the day. To avoid falling into a rut and preparing the same lackluster foods, here are a few tips to help make over any lunch box this school year.

Take a supermarket safari. Many shoppers enter the supermarket with the same list of products for every visit. With hundreds of products to choose from in each section of the store, it's easy to stick with what we know. Discover the hidden gems of the supermarket by purchasing at least one item you've never tried before and find a way to incorporate it into a healthy lunch. It can be difficult if your child is a picky eater, so start with small changes. If your child is used to white bread, swap it for a whole grain pita instead or pack a different kind of protein in their lunch, such as almond butter with apple slices or hummus and veggie sticks. Daisy Brand Cottage Cheese is a great find because it's a 100 percent all-natural protein source and is versatile enough to be served alone, topped with strawberries, bananas and a touch of honey or incorporated into a variety of recipes.

Keep it fresh. The best way to ensure your kids eat their food is to keep it fresh. Insulated lunch bags are a great choice for school lunches. Some reusable insulated lunch bags are equipped with freezer packs. Not only are they great for keeping food fresh and appetizing, but they also provide you with the opportunity to pack a variety of perishable foods. A thermos is another good item to keep on-hand for foods that need to stay warm, such as chicken noodle soup.

Make it fun. Keep lunchtime interesting by allowing your kids to take the driver's seat when it comes to packing their lunch boxes. When kids are able to get involved in the process, they are more prone to eat it, as well as learn important nutritional information along the way. Consider taking them on their own supermarket safari, using fun-shaped cookie cutters for cutting sandwiches or decorating the lunch bag so it is personal. Visit FreshenUpYourFridge.com and pick a different recipe together each night to make it a bonding experience.

Strawberry Banana Parfait

Prep Time: 15 Minutes
Total Time: 15 Minutes
Serves: 4

Ingredients:

1 banana, cut in chucks
1 tablespoon lime juice
1 cup quartered strawberries
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup toasted chopped walnuts
2 cups Daisy Brand 2 percent cottage cheese
Directions:

Toss banana with lime juice. Mix bananas with strawberries, honey and walnuts. Spoon the mixture into parfait glasses. Top each glass with 1/2 cup of cottage cheese.

Courtesy of ARAcontent

(ARA) - After a summer filled with sunny beach days and sleepovers, getting kids motivated to head back to school and adjust to a new routine is often a challenge. To make the transition a little easier for kids and parents, here are some tips and fun ideas to get creativity flowing and wake-up brains for learning.

Serve up originality
Inviting children to help in the kitchen is a great way to get them thinking and building life skills. From math and measurement to nutrition and following directions, the kitchen provides an opportunity for kids to practice the skills that not only contribute to a family meal, but they can also use in the classroom all year.

Take some time to spend in the kitchen and get those creative juices flowing by encouraging your kids to use their taste buds and imaginations to whip-up something original. Now through Oct. 22, parents can enter their kids in the Ninth Annual Jif (R) Most Creative Peanut Butter Sandwich Contest (TM), which invites parents to share their kids', ages 6 to 12, creative sandwich recipes. Last year's winner, Rachel G. of Clovis, Calif., combined chicken, grapes, honey and peanut butter in a lettuce wrap to create her "PB & Fruity says 'Let Us Rap." Finalists go to New York to compete for a $25,000 scholarship fund.

Dish on summer fun:
Gear up for the new school year by encouraging kids to make a collage of all the fun activities they did over the summer. Use photos, brochures and souvenirs to create a family photo book, tablecloth, placemat, or calendar to reminisce about summer memories all year. Asking kids to share their collage of favorite summer activities makes great family mealtime conversation.

Make mealtime masterpieces:
Let's face it; if kids recognize it, they most likely will eat it. Ensure that kids are making smart choices by involving them in planning what goes go into their lunchbox. Let kids contribute to the menu for a week's worth of lunches and practice making decisions about what foods are best for them.

Plus, make dinnertime fun and get the whole family involved. The youngest can practice measuring flour, salt or sugar, while older children can act as sous chef. Preparing meals together gives you the opportunity to explain the importance of healthy food choices that will help kids at school and later in life.

Moms - and those observing moms in action - can have a chance to get creative, too. From now through Oct. 22, the Jif (R) Moms Voice Their Choice Contest (TM) is asking moms (or those inspired by one) to submit their stories, in 250 words or less, of how they, or a mom they know, make the best choices for their families. One grand prize winner will win a seat at the judging table in New York for the live Jif Most Creative Peanut Butter Sandwich Contest event in March 2011.

Open to legal residents of the 50 United States and D.C., 18 and older. Contests void where prohibited. See Official Rules for complete details. For Official Rules, entry form, and recipes or to learn more about the contests visit www.jif.com or www.jifenespanol.com.

To spark your child's creativity, and tantalize your family's taste buds, try Rachel's prize-winning peanut butter wrap recipe.

PB & Fruity Says Let Us Rap

Ingredients:

1/2 cup chopped, cooked chicken breast
2 tablespoons Jif Extra Crunchy Peanut Butter
3 tablespoons chopped Fuji apple
2 tablespoons chopped black or red grapes
1 tablespoon light mayonnaise
2 teaspoons honey
Iceberg lettuce (separated into leaves)

Directions:

Chop the chicken and fruit. Mix in a bowl. Mix in peanut butter, mayonnaise and honey. Spoon mixture into an open lettuce leaf. Roll and serve.

Courtesy of ARAcontent

Theodore, Alabama – Bellingrath Gardens and Home will host Kids Gulf Discovery Day on Wednesday, July 7th from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Kids will be able to have fun and get their hands dirty learning about the area’s ecology and the impact of the Gulf oil spill.  Local environmental organizations will have activities, demonstrations and displays that will engage kids.  They will “soak up” various methods of cleaning up oil and explore how they can help protect our precious waterways.

Participating organizations include: Mobile Baykeeper; Dauphin Island Sea Lab; Keep Mobile Beautiful; The Nature Conservancy; The Fowl River Baykeeper/Fowl River Area Community Association; Alabama Coastal Foundation, Dog River Clear Water Revival, the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service and more.

Kids Gulf Discovery Day will replace the previously scheduled Summer Kid’s Kruise.  Bellingrath restructured the annual cruise event because the Southern Belle River Cruiser has been recruited to assist with cleanup activities on Dauphin Island and will not be offering sightseeing cruises through September 2010.