The Survive and Thrive Boomer Guide

Quick and easy recipes for Easter and Passover

Looking for new recipes for upcoming Easter and Passover celebrations? Grandparents.com offers these taste treats:

Easter

Easter Calzone (Scalcione di Cipolle)

Instructions:

For the filling:

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
6 bunches scallions, cut into 2-inch pieces
1/2 cup white wine
1/2 cup crushed tomatoes
1 cup chopped Kalamata or Gaeta olives
Red pepper flakes
Salt
1/4 cup chopped anchovy fillets

For the dough:

1 pound all-purpose flour
1 cup lukewarm white wine
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil, plus extra for greasing
Pinch salt

Directions:

1. In a large pot, heat 1/4 cup olive oil over medium heat. Add scallions, wine, tomatoes, olives, and hot pepper and salt, to taste. Saute for about 15 minutes. Remove from stove, drain, and cool completely. Set aside.

2. To make the dough, combine flour, wine, 1/4 cup olive oil, and a pinch of salt. Knead together until a dough is formed.

3. Cut the dough in half. Flatten one half into a thin, round sheet large enough to cover the bottom of a 16-inch baking pan. Apply a very thin film of olive oil to the pan. Position the dough in the pan and spread the scallion mixture uniformly on top, leaving a 1/2-inch border. Spread the anchovies over the scallions.

3. Take the other half of the dough and flatten it with the rolling pin into a round sheet that you will use to cover the scallions. Place the dough over the scallions, cutting off any excess around the edges. With a fork, seal the two sheets of dough together.

4. With your fingers, apply a thin film of olive oil over the entire surface of the scalcione. Then, with a fork, puncture the surface every 2 inches. Bake for 60 minutes at 400 degrees F.

Serves 8.

Easter bread (Gurrugulo)

Ingredients:

1 pound (slightly more than 3 1/2 cups) all-purpose flour
9 large eggs, divided
1 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 lemon, zested
Colored sprinkles

Directions:

1. In a large bowl, combine flour, 4 eggs, sugar, olive oil, baking powder, and lemon zest. Mix until it becomes a dough.

2. Cut the mix into four equal parts (one for each Gurrugulo). Reserve two thin 6-inch strips for each Gurrugulo. Take one part, divide it again into three equal parts and roll each part into a strip about 1/2 inch thick.

Two dangerous trends for kids: Battery operated cars for toddlers and the princess phenomena for girls

By Rita R. Robison

About five years ago, kids age 5 and under began driving their small battery operated cars around the loop street I live on. It was scary.

Garbage trucks barrel around this neighborhood. I asked one driver why they go so fast. He told me that if they finish their route before 5 p.m., they get to go home. I asked him to slow down for the sake of the kids. I didn’t see any of the garbage trucks going slower.

I think battery operated cars are dangerous for young kids, and parents and grandparents should avoid buying them for children.

Another troubling trend is the princess phenomena for young girls. With so much emphasis on princess movies, toys, dresses, and crowns, girls think about being and becoming princesses. They are getting unrealistic ideas about what lives as women are like.

“This princess mania, many argue, leaves girls all mixed up,” Jessica Bennett writes in The Daily Beast article “Disney Princesses and the Battle for Your Daughter’s Soul.” “While they excel in school and outpace their male peers in science and math, they also obsess about Prince Charming and who has the prettiest dress, learning –from a mix of mass marketing and media – not that girls are strong, smart, or creative, but that each is a little princess of her own, judged by the beauty of her face (and gown).”

Disney alone has 26,000 Disney princess items on the market today, part of a $4 billion-a-year franchise that is the fastest-growing brand the company has ever created, Bennett said.

I’ve been concerned about these two trends for many years. They came together in a news report on The Huffington Post: “Neveah Reynolds, 4, Saves Sister, Kazmirah, 2, From Drowning in Pond.”

It seems Neveah has been fascinated with the neighborhood pond since her dad told her that kissing the pond frogs might turn them into Prince Charming.

The girls were playing "fairy tales," riding along in a Barbie car and looking for Prince Charming. Neveah turned her back, and, when she looked around, her sister had fallen in the pond.

Fortunately, Neveah grabbed a stick and pulled her sister out of the water.

The Huffington Post article ended with: “Now neither of the girls are allowed to play near the pond and must put their quest for Prince Charming on hold.”

In my opinion, battery operated cars for young kids and letting your daughter get hooked on the princess phenomena can have bad results for your children and grandchildren.

Copyright 2012, Rita R. Robison, Consumer Specialist

Recall of the Week: HeathCo motion sensing wall switches due to electrical shock hazard

By Rita R. Robison

HeathCo LLC is recalling about 75,000 Heath/Zenith and WirelessCommand motion sensing wall switches. 

When the switches are in the auto mode and the light is off, a small amount of leakage current passes through the electric circuit, including the socket. If consumers fail to disconnect the power at the circuit breaker and make contact with both terminals inside the socket while replacing the bulbs, there is a risk of an electric shock.

No incidents or injuries have been reported, HeathCo and the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission said in a statement.

The recall involves Heath/Zenith and WirelessCommand motion sensing wall switches with model numbers listed here.

The wall switches replace a standard household wall switch and are designed to turn off the attached lighting load when motion is no longer detected in the room. They come in white or ivory. The brand name and model number can be found on a label located on the side of the switch.

Manufactured in China, the wall switches were sold at mass merchants, electrical distributors, hardware retailers, and online retailers from August 2007 through August 2011 for between $20 and $25.

Consumers should immediately stop using the recalled wall switches and contact the company for a free wall switch replacement.

For additional information, contact HeathCo at 855-704-5438 between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. CT Monday through Friday, email hzproductnotice@heathcollc.com, or visit the company's website at www.heath-zenith.com/hzproductnotice.

For details on other recalls, see www.recalls.gov.

Copyright 2011, Rita R. Robison, Consumer Specialist

What were your best and worst consumer experiences this week?

By Rita R. Robison, Consumer Specialist

Which consumer happenings cheered you this week and which ones made you want to scream or weep?

Here are my best and worst consumer experiences this week:

My best: Shopping for clothes with my granddaughter

I got lucky this week. A vacation I had planned with my daughter coincided with my granddaughter’s 11 birthday.

Usually I’m far away, so my granddaughter’s birthday is calling my daughter and asking what my granddaughter would like for a present. Then I send it in the mail.

This time, I had fun taking my granddaughter clothes shopping. She’s really growing, so we checked out the Junior Department at Kohl’s. We were lucky to find a few summer outfits in the hour we had to shop.

My worst: Low-quality customer service at Kohl’s

When my granddaughter and I arrived at the Kohl’s Junior Department, we asked a clerk what size we should look for. I held up a small in front of my granddaughter, and he said that looked good.

Since our time was limited, we grabbed about a dozen t-shirts. They were too small. Then we tried medium. Still too small. We wasted a lot of time by starting out with clothes two sized too small.

When we wanted to pick out some shorts for my granddaughter to try on, another clerk was equally unhelpful. She showed us two places where we could find the kind of shorts my granddaughter was interested in. After we spent about 10 minutes hunting around and not finding much, the clerk said, “Oh, it’s nearing the end of the season, and we’re working on our fall things now.”

In stores these days, it’s difficult to find any clerks to help you. It was my worst consumer experience of the week to have clerks to talk to, but who were extremely unhelpful.

Copyright 2011, Rita R. Robison, Consumer Specialist

Recall of the Week: Hamilton Beach toasters due to fire hazard

By Rita R. Robison, Consumer Specialist

Hamilton Beach Brands Inc. is recalling about 300,000 Hamilton Beach classic chrome 2-slice toasters.

The toaster’s heating element can remain energized indefinitely when an item is placed in the toaster. This may ignite the contents, posing a fire hazard if the toaster is near flammable items.

Hamilton Beach has received 15 reports of toasters that didn’t pop-up as intended, including three reports of minor damage to kitchen cabinets, the company and the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission said in a joint statement. There were no reports of injuries.

The Hamilton Beach recall involves model 22600 toasters with specific series codes. These series codes begin with the letters C or D, and have the format of CXXXXBI or DXXXXBI, where XXXX is a four-digit number ranging from 0190 through 5290. The model number and series code are printed on the bottom of the toaster.

The toaster has a chromed steel exterior, a front control panel with a rotary toast shade selector and function buttons arranged in an arc, a front removable crumb tray, and Hamilton Beach printed across the front of the toaster.

Manufactured in China, the toasters were sold at mass merchandisers; department, grocery, and home center stores nationwide; and online retailers from February 2008 through June 2011 for $30 to $40.

Consumers should immediately stop using the recalled toasters and contact the firm to receive instructions on how to obtain a free replacement toaster, Hamilton Beach and the commission advise.

For additional information, contact Hamilton Beach at 800-379-2200 anytime, or visit the firm's website at www.hamiltonbeach.com.

Copyright 2011, Rita R. Robison, Consumer Specialist

Long-awaited, tougher crib standards finally adopted

By Rita R. Robison, Consumer Specialist

Yesterday, new crib standards went into effect that will help protect children from injuries and death.

All importers, distributors, manufacturers, and retailers must offer only cribs that meet the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission's new full-size and non-full-size crib standards.

Among the new rules for cribs are:

• Stopping the manufacture and sale of dangerous, traditional drop-side cribs.

• Strengthening mattress supports and crib slats.

• Requiring crib hardware to be more durable.

• Making safety testing more rigorous.

"From the start, our goal has been to prevent deaths and injuries to babies in cribs, and now the day has come where only stronger and safer cribs are available for consumers to purchase," Inez Tenenbaum, chair of the commission, said in a statement.

The commission has recalled more than 11 million dangerous cribs since 2007.

Drop-side cribs with detaching side rails were associated with at least 32 infant suffocation and strangulation deaths since 2000, according to the commission. Additional deaths have occurred due to faulty or defective crib hardware.

However, a study by the Nationwide Children’s Hospital showed 9,500 children were treated at emergency rooms each year for crib-related injuries from 1990 to 2008. More than 100 died every year.

The new standards aim to prevent these tragedies and keep children safer in their cribs.

Beginning December 28, 2012, child care facilities, including family child care homes and infant Head Start centers, as well as places of public accommodation, such as hotels and motels, and rental companies, will be required to use cribs that comply with the new crib standards.

A 2008 law required the commission to update crib standards, which haven’t undergone a major revision for 30 years.

For more information on crib safety, see the commission's crib information center at www.cpsc.gov/cribs.

Copyright 2011, Rita R. Robison, Consumer Specialist

Top 10 tips for celebrating Easter

By Rita R. Robison, Consumer Specialist

Whether you’ll be celebrating with just your family or inviting a crowd, here are tips for having an Easter that’s terrific:

1. Planning and organizing

Keep it simple. Use plastic eggs to avoid mess and waste. Plan a simple menu or arrange a potluck. For more suggestions, see “Top 10 Tips for a Great Easter.”

2. Decorating

Choose pastel colors, yellow and green, for example, that complement each other for your table. Select or create a tall dramatic arrangement. See “Top 10 Tips for Easter Tables" for more ideas.

3. Easter eggs

Use natural items such as onionskins, beet juice, spinach leaves juice, and turmeric for dying Easter eggs. For details, go to “How to Dye Easter Eggs Using Natural Materials.”

4. Memories

Make a list of your favorite Easter memories. Ask your family or your guests to share their memories, too. Visit “What’s Your Favorite Easter Memory?” for ideas.


5. The hunt

Select safe places to hide the Easter eggs. Mark the area of the hunt with flags or tape so that children spending a lot of time searching areas where there aren’t any eggs. Visit “Top 10 Tips for an Easter Egg Hunt” for more suggestions.

6. Safety

Separate age groups so that the large kids aren’t knocking over smaller children. Or enforce a no running rule. Visit “10 Safety Tips for Easter Egg Hunting” for more ideas.

7. Non-sugar treats

Select stickers, small age-appropriate toys, and dried fruit to put in plastic Easter eggs rather than candy. Go to “Ideas for Non-sugar Easter Treats” for additional suggestions.

8. Activities

Take a walk in the park or go to a beach. For other ideas, see “Top 10 Fun Things to Do With Your Kids This Easter.”

9. Family traditions

Follow your favorite family traditions. Attend a church service, go to your favorite quiet spot in the great outdoors, or visit a nursing home.

10. Green Easter

Think of ways you can “green” your Easter such as using real grass clippings or recycled paper in Easter baskets, buy Easter baskets you can use for many years, and look for farm raised eggs. See “Green Tips for Easter Sunday” for more information.

Whatever your plans, have a wonderful Easter celebration.

Copyright 2011, Rita R. Robison, Consumer Specialist

Parents and grandparents: Are your poisons and medications locked up?

By Rita R. Robison, Consumer Specialists

A 12-month-old boy sucked on the wick from an oil lamp. Immediately, he began choking and his lips started turning blue. The ambulance dispatcher and poison center worked together to be sure the youngster was treated appropriately. After an overnight stay in the hospital, he was able to go home. He was lucky; other children who choked on lamp oil have suffered life-threatening lung injuries or even died.

The message? Poisons need to be locked up where children can’t see or reach them. Other types of products that can cause life-threatening lung injuries include gasoline, kerosene, tiki torch fuel, furniture polish, lighter fluid, and baby oil.

A 3-year old visiting from out of town swallowed some of granddad’s Viagra pills. They were left on the bedside table. Instead of flying home that day, the child spent the afternoon in the emergency room to have her blood pressure monitored.

The message? All medicines must be locked up, out of sight and reach of children. This is true in children’s own homes and every home where children visit.

A 2-year-old daughter was at a friend’s house. Several mothers there were babysitting so the other moms could run errands. The child got into one mother’s purse and swallowed adult prescription drugs. They were in a non-child resistant bottle. They weren’t sure exactly which of a mix of drugs in the bottle the girl had ingested. The mothers were on the phone with Poison Control when the mom returned. A Poison Control representative told the mom to get her child to the hospital immediately. The girl had to have an EKG and drink a dark, charcoal-like substance. After a few hours of observation, she was released.

The message? If you carry medications around in your purse, put it out of reach, like on top of the refrigerator, where young children can’t get to it. About half of the accidental poisonings occur in children under age six.

Most children who swallow poisons or medicines can be managed safely at home if the poison center is contacted right away, Rose Ann G. Soloway, R.N., clinical toxicologist for the National Capital Poison Center in Washington, D.C., told me in an e-mail. To reach your local poison control center call 800-222-1222.

“Just this week, I’ve taken calls about children who swallowed too much cough medicine, bit into glow sticks, drank medicated shampoo, swallowed a sibling’s prescription medicine, and ate batteries from a toy, among many others,” Soloway said. “Parents who confused medication schedules and double-dosed a child and parents who used the wrong type of measuring device also called.”

All of these children were able to stay at home with poison center guidance. This saves anxiety, time, and money compared to calling 911 or going to an emergency room, she said.

This week is National Poison Prevention Week. Celebrate it by locking up your prescription drugs, over-the-counter medications, pesticides, household cleaners, and other poisons. It could save your child or grandchild’s life – and save you the heartache of being the one responsible for the injury of death of a child you love dearly.

Copyright 2011, Rita R. Robison, Consumer Specialist

Top three safety tips for children’s toys this holiday season

Although new toy safeguards have contributed to a decline in toy recalls since 2008 and toy-related fatalities decreased in 2009, toy-related injuries are increasing, reports the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission.

In 2009, about 186,000 emergency room-treated injuries occurred related to toys with children younger than 15. This is up from 152,000 injuries in 2005.

Often these injuries involved cuts and bruises on the child's face and head.

The commission offers these safety tips:

1. Which toy for which child – Always choose age appropriate toys.

2. Gear up for safety – Include safety gear whenever shopping for sports-related gifts or ride-on toys, including bicycles, skates, and scooters.

3. Location - Be aware of your child's surroundings during play. Young children should avoid playing with ride-on toys near automobile traffic, pools, or ponds. They also should avoid playing in indoor areas associated with hazards such as kitchens and bathrooms and in rooms with corded window blinds.

Additional safety steps include:

• Scooters and other riding toys – Helmets and safety gear should be worn properly at all times and be sized to fit.

• Small balls and other toys with small parts – For children younger than age 3, avoid toys with small parts, which can cause choking.

• Balloons – Keep deflated balloons away from children younger than 8 years old to avoid choking or suffocation on deflated or broken balloons. Discard broken balloons at once.

• Magnets – For children under age 6, avoid building or play sets with small magnets. If magnets or pieces with magnets are swallowed, serious injuries and/or death can occur.

After the gifts are open:

• Immediately discard plastic wrappings or other packaging on toys before they become dangerous play things.

• Keep toys appropriate for older children away from younger siblings.

• Supervise the charging of batteries. Chargers and adapters can pose thermal burn hazards to young children. Pay attention to instructions and warnings on battery chargers. Some chargers lack any mechanism to prevent overcharging.

Copyright 2010, Rita R. Robison, Consumer Specialist

New campaign on crib safety for parents, grandparents, and caregivers

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission is joining three child safety organizations to launch a crib safety video, “Safe Sleep for Babies,” aimed at helping avoid suffocation, strangulation, and entrapment risks when children sleep.
 
The commission is working with the American Academy of Pediatrics, Keeping Babies Safe, and the New York Presbyterian/Morgan Stanley Children’s Hospital to educate new and expectant parents on crib safety while they’re at the hospital or visiting their pediatrician’s office. The video shows how to keep babies safe and sound in cribs, bassinets, and play yards.

The education effort is part of commission's Safe Sleep Initiative, an effort aimed at reducing deaths and injuries associated with unsafe sleep environments. In addition to this education effort, the initiative includes the development of new crib standards; warnings about drop-side cribs, sleep positioners, and infant slings; and the recall of millions of cribs in the past five years.

About 30 crib deaths and hundreds of injuries have occurred, reports the commission. Cribs are a leading cause of nursery product-related deaths. About one-third of the deaths result from structural failures of the crib from loose, missing, or detached hardware. The majority of deaths in cribs are attributed to the presence of extra bedding in the crib, such as pillows and comforters.

The commission plans to distribute the "Safe Sleep" video online and through its network of about 100 hospitals nationwide.

The video also is available at www.keepingbabiessafe.org. This is a good way for grandparents to see it so that any crib, bassinet, or playpen used in their home is safe.

To create a safe sleep environment for your baby, the video urges parents and caregivers to follow these crib safety tips:

• Place infants to sleep on their backs.

• Use a firm, tight-fitting mattress.

• Never use extra padding, blankets or pillows under baby.

• Remove pillows or thick comforters.

• Don’t use positioning devices. They’re not necessary and can be deadly.

• Check cribs regularly for loose, missing, or broken parts or slats

• Don’t try to fix a broken crib.

• Place cribs or playpens away from windows and window covering cords to avoid fall and strangulation hazards.

• Place baby monitor cords away from cribs or playpens to avoid strangulation.

Other crib safety recommendations from the commission:

• Don’t use any crib with missing, broken or loose, parts. Make sure to tighten hardware from time to time to keep the crib sturdy.

• Check to make sure the drop side or any other moving part operate smoothly when using a drop-side crib. Always check all sides and corners of the crib for parts separating that can create a gap and entrap a child.

• Don’t try to repair any side of the crib. Babies have died in cribs where repairs were attempted by caregivers.

• Don’t use a crib that is older than 10 years. Many older cribs may not meet current voluntary standards and can have a variety of safety problems.

• Check if your crib has been recalled at www.cpsc.gov.

Visit the commission Crib Information Center more information on Crib Safety and Recalls.

The commission also announced yesterday three new drop-side crib recalls. Go to www.recalls.gov.

Copyright 2010, Rita R. Robison, Consumer Specialist