reindeer-feet

Do you have Reindeer Feet? Shopper�s Foot? Cookie Cutters� Toe?
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What are these? Some newly discovered illnesses to learn about? Heck no! These are the parental dilemmas we put our feet through during the holiday seasons. Year after year we search for gifts in crowded stores, bake dozens of cookies, play countless hours of front yard football, dance our socks off at holiday parties and hopefully get in a few workouts too.

Keeping your feet happy is a major concern of mine. If my soles hurt, I ain�t working out, or taking a walk, or even cooking a healthy meal. I�m more tempted to ordering pizza from the bathtub, catching up on Oprah reruns with my feet up, or simply avoiding whatever standing I can get away with. Not healthy by any means. Especially not for a Mom. (Mom translated into American = superwoman, taxi driver, chef, friend, date, and overall martyr.) Most athletes have barking dogs by the end of the day, as do most parents.

So treat your feet right to keep yourself on track this year. Buy yourself a pedicure by all means, given by a strong set of hands attached to great biceps preferably. If not, (darn it) give yourself one at home. My sister gave me a gift certificate for a pedicure once, and I began forgiving her for her very-un-coolness during our teen years that very same day.

Remove your old toenail polish, as if you can still recognize it anyhow. Mine currently consists of some shade of pink with a worn out toenail tattoo of a butterfly that my daughter insisted be there, and a hint of some glitter based red stuff from a party I went to around Halloween, I think. Trim neatly, squaring straight across to prevent ingrown toenails. Smooth nails with a quick few strokes of a file or emery board to keep from ruining your last off-black pair of pantyhose with control top. (Who can live without those?) And lastly, push back cuticles after applying some type of moisturizer to them. Be careful not to cut your cuticles, as they protect your nail beds from infections. Preferably, sit directly under some mistletoe, just in case.

Now for a scrub and rub your feet will practically thank you for. Using pumice stones, or a foot paddle, buff and remove all calluses you may have on your feet. Yell towards your bedroom door to be left alone by those nagging children. Then sneak off to the kitchen to grab yourself some water (hydrate yourself for softer skin everywhere) and make up this fine recipe:

6 to 8 strawberries
2 tablespoons cooking oil, preferably olive oil
2 tablespoons kosher salt, or brown sugar, or even sand from your kids� sandbox.
Mix gently in someone else�s bowl, and apply with your hands directly to your feet. Squirm your toes in it, rub it around a lot, and just sit there for a while ignoring the whole world.

Soak your feet in warm water and then rinse very well. Pat your feet dry with a soft towel and slather on some lotion. Voila� happy feet for mom. If needed, locate a willing male to massage the lotions in for the best effects. Tell him it�s medicinal just to see the confused look on his face.Finally, slip on warm, comfy bunny slippers and insist that you need 30 minutes of total silence for your pedicure to take effect, or you�ll be forced to start over.

To avoid holiday feet, wear comfortable and well fitting shoes. And never take anyone who is short enough to hide in a clothing rack shopping near the holidays. Especially not to a mall with those cobblestone looking floors that make your stroller sound like the Budweiser Clydesdales on parade. (ooops, let�s get back on topic shall we?)

Some of the mysterious foot ailments you could get are Plantar Fasciitis in the heel, caused by strain, Achilles Tendonitis due to bad arch support, and Morton�s Neuroma in the toes from wearing your shoes too tight. These are serious matters that should be handled by a doctor. There are many other problems that can develop from sports, ill-fitting shoes, over work, dirty feet, and from going barefoot too often, or not enough. Simply going barefoot after a bath or shower for about 20 minutes minimizes the chances of getting fungul infections but increases the chances you will step on a misplaced lego building block by 200%, especially if visiting my home.

To keep your feet happy this season, try making quicker meals for your brood. Taking shortcuts is the best way to staying off your feet in the kitchen, freeing up time for more holiday fun elsewhere. Note: do not use your free time to spoil others, wrap their gifts, or otherwise ignore your own needs. Lengthen your workout, take a longer bath, or even go out Bunny Slipper shopping if you want to.
Here are a couple of my Quick Picks chosen by my own children for Yumminess, and by myself, for fewer ingredients, great taste, low calories and fat, and fewest dirty dishes.

Cheesy Meatloaf
I serve this with tossed salad from a bag, and instant mashed potatoes in a hurry. I love this recipe since I can make it with just one dirty pan. If I serve it on paper plates, even better.

1-1/2 lbs. ground turkey
1 jar (1 lb. 10 oz.) Rag� Chunky Gardenstyle Spaghetti sauce
1 large egg, slightly beaten
1/4 cup plain dry bread crumbs
2 cups shredded, fat free, mozzarella cheese
1 Tbsp. finely chopped fresh parsley
Salt and Pepper to taste
Garlic Salt

Mix together the turkey, 1 cup of the sauce, egg, and breadcrumbs. Flatten out the meat mixture on a large piece of waxed paper. Sprinkle the seasonings, including parsley, and cheese evenly over the meat mixture � saving � cup of cheese for later. Roll up, using the paper to help to form a loaf shape. Discard the wax paper. Do not bake the paper. Place in a 9x13� pan sprayed with fat free cooking spray. Using your fingers, form a shallow �ditch� across the top of your loaf lengthwise. Bake uncovered for 30 minutes at 350. Remove from oven and pour on remaining sauce, mostly into the ditch you created. Sprinkle with remaining cheese and return to oven for an additional 15 minutes. Let it sit for about 5 minutes before slicing and serving.

Fried Rice from the Microwave Oven (yessss!)
Serve with a side of sweet peas, the really tiny ones, and some chopsticks. Hide the forks. When your crew is totally giving up or laughing at each other, hand over the forks so they can eat. Do not wait too long as milk-through-the-nose type laughing is sometimes hard to clean up. Especially the chocolate milk variety.

1 cup 99% fat free ham, cubed (I prefer smoked turkey)
1 cup cleaned and deviened shrimp
1 Tablespoon of chopped garlic (I buy this already chopped in a jar)
4 whole shallots (green onions, or spring onions, or whatever y�all call em)
1 can of fat free Chicken Broth
2 cups of instant long grain rice (short grain to make it stickier if preferred)
2 egg whites scrambled and cooked for 2 minutes alone in a separate bowl. Break or cut into small pieces.

Spray a large bowl generously with fat free cooking spray. Put the garlic in the bowl and cook on high for 2 minutes. Add the can of soup and the rice, along with 1 cup of water. Cook on high for about 8 minutes, or until the rice is done. Now add the shrimp and ham, the shallots, and the 2 scrambled egg whites. Toss gently and cook on high another 3 minutes. Salt and pepper to taste. Shake in a few sprinkles of light soy sauce for color and stir gently. Let this stand for 5 minutes before serving.