Last Thanksgiving, I asked Nicole to make a new salad following Shoshanah Orzech’s (my nutritionist) recipe. 

Thanksgiving at the D’Arcys always includes our very best dishes as we try to out-do ourselves every year (a little healthy competition never hurt anyone…aside from the Unfortunate Habanero Twinkie Incident of ’03, that is). 

So when Nicole questioned me about grating raw brussels sprouts and chopping kale into tiny slivers, she was worried that she would be negatively associated with this awful salad. I have to admit that I stopped to re-read the recipe myself because it didn’t sound right, because who eats RAW brussels sprouts?

When Nicole sneakily inserted her kale and brussel sprout salad amongst the huge array of dishes, she hoped that nobody would notice.  When all the guests were served, I grabbed my plate, and to my astonishment, I found that the kale and brussels sprout salad bowl was completely empty. 

Then I started to hear the buzz around the dinner tables about that delicious salad.  When one of our guests asked who made the salad, Nicole quipped, “I just followed the recipe; I’m not responsible!”. 

It’s the first time we actually ran out of something on Thanksgiving and who would have guessed it would be that salad?

Try it out yourself! Here’s the recipe:

Kale and Brussels Sprouts Salad

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
• 1 tablespoon minced shallot
• 1 small garlic clove, finely grated
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt plus more for seasoning
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 2 large bunches of Tuscan kale (about 1 1/2 pounds total), center stem discarded, leaves thinly sliced
• 12 ounces brussels sprouts, trimmed, finely grated or shredded with a knife
• 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil, divided
• 1/3 cup almonds with skins, coarsely chopped
• 1 cup finely grated Pecorino cheese

Directions:

Combine lemon juice, Dijon mustard, shallot, garlic, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and a pinch of pepper in a small bowl. Stir to blend; set aside to let flavors meld. Mix thinly sliced kale and shredded brussels sprouts in a large bowl.

Measure 1/2 cup oil into a cup. Spoon 1 tablespoon oil from cup into a small skillet; heat oil over medium-high heat. Add almonds to skillet and stir frequently until golden brown in spots, about 2 minutes. Transfer nuts to a paper towel–lined plate. Sprinkle almonds lightly with salt.

Slowly whisk remaining olive oil in cup into lemon-juice mixture. Season dressing to taste with salt and pepper. DO AHEAD: Dressing, kale mixture, and toasted almonds can be prepared 8 hours ahead. Cover dressing and kale mixture separately and chill. Cover almonds and let stand at room temperature.

Add dressing and cheese to kale mixture; toss to coat. Season lightly with salt and pepper. Garnish with almonds.

I loved directing and producing “It’s Gotta Be Rock ‘n Roll Music: 1955-1965” back in 1997. 

The Merit Academy students researched the history of rock and roll, and learned that it was founded in rhythm and blues.  Chuck Berry opened the door for the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, and the Beach Boys (among others). 

Our students performed the #1 hit from every year from 1955-1965 and gave the audience a history lesson in the roots of rock ‘n roll and what was happening in the world that created the perfect segue to arguably the best musical period post WWII. 

The students started Merit ‘50’s Entertainment as a small Business in 7^th grade. 

Thanks to Jeni Sudbrink, choreographer; Susanne Hobbs, voice trainer and coach; and Iain Crabb , midi music producer for this amazing production!

If you’re college-bound and you’re watching your 12^th grade friends stress out about receiving those college rejection letters, you’re not alone.  You hear about the kid with a 4.6 GPA and perfect SAT scores who just got rejected from Harvard, and you wonder whether or not you’ll even get into a top college. Even college advisors don’t really know what goes on behind closed doors in college admissions offices.  So what’s the secret? 

How can you get into your dream college?

You need to stand out among your peers.  Colleges are simply a big business, and they’re looking for the next Steve Jobs or Bill Gates.  If they believe that you’ll add value to their college by bringing recognition to your alma mater, you’ll get their attention.  That doesn’t mean joining a dozen clubs or playing 3 sports.  That doesn’t mean going to expensive summer programs on their college campuses.  That doesn’t mean volunteering for every marathon or community building project.  What they’re looking for is the student who organizes innovative programs or follows their passion to create change.  They recruit students who demonstrate that they’re curious, motivated and doers.

So how do you show them that you’ve got the RIGHT STUFF?

DO A PROJECT! Take your curiosity or passion and move it to the next level.  You can start a business, design new software, engineer a life-saving device, write a book, produce a film – the options are limitless.  By brainstorming and implementing your ideas, you are demonstrating your zest for life and unstoppable drive.  These are the traits that colleges are seeking and by doing a project, you give them the undeniable message that you will become a great legacy for their institution.  Remember, they’re a business and you’re a commodity (sorry – I know this sounds cold).  So market yourself by showing them what you’ve got. 

A project is NOT a class assignment or a requirement for a club or organization.  It is an original idea – your idea – that you are pursuing because you’re an amazing young teen.  Whenever something is accomplished because a teacher assigns it or a supervisor requires it, the whole idea loses steam.  Colleges want students who are naturally curious leaders.  They want to offer admission to the person who starts the organization, not the one who volunteers for it.

It’s best to start your project in 8^th or 9^th grade to give you plenty of time to explore your options and to make mistakes, launch your idea, and complete it by the start of 12^th grade. That way, you’ll have plenty of fascinating stories for your personal statements about the obstacles you overcame and the success you’ve achieved.  Check out projects that other students have done.  If you’d like guidance in doing your project, check out Online College Advisory. 

You’ll find that doing a project will improve your self esteem and change the way you look at the world.  It’s never too late to start a project, so get started now! 

With all of the buzz about whether or not cell phone radiation causes cancer or brain tumors, here are some easy things you can do to minimize your risk.

 1) Use speakerphone or headset instead of holding the phone against your head.

 2) Keep phone on “Airplane” or “Flight” mode when not in use.

3) Switch sides every 10 seconds when holding phone against your head.

4) Keep phone key pad facing your body while carrying your cell phone.

5) Text instead of placing calls

6) Choose device with lowest SAR (measures magnetic field absorbed by body) levels

7) Place calls when you have the maximum number of bars

8) Move your cell phone out of your bedroom when you sleep.

[Source]

Back in the day, parents laid down rules, and whether or not we agreed with them, we obeyed.  TV hours were limited, curfews set, and homework was done before going outside to play.  Period.  After all, our parents knew best, right?

Tweens and teens neither have the maturity nor the foresight to make important decisions. But with today’s immediate-gratification mode of living, parents have lost control over their children.

Technology has consumed every aspect of our very existence.  We no longer leave voice messages and wait for responses; we text questions or statements and the recipient gets it within seconds. 

We no longer look forward to watching our favorite TV show with the family on Sunday night; we watch the whole season on our phones – by ourselves. 

We no longer play board games for family entertainment; we play video games with people we don’t know or see.  And all of this takes place on our handy phones that we carry with us 24/7.

That said, when our kids tell us that they’re “doing their homework,” what that really means is that they are going through the motions of doing their homework but barely learning anything.  Ever wonder why your child has “potential” but doesn’t quite make the mark?  Here’s why.  To really learn a concept, they need to read about it, ponder its meaning, do the exercises or write their reflections, and sit with it so it can get into their long-term memory.  It really takes this deep-thinking process to fully understand the concept so they can apply it to the real world or answer difficult questions on a test or final exam. 

But if your child is like most, they NEVER really have the opportunity to absorb information and to learn. Their thought processes are interrupted about every 20 seconds by checking their phones for messages or sending texts themselves.  With every interruption, they need to restart the thinking process again, and that in itself takes another 5 seconds.  See where I’m going with this?

Our kids, like ourselves, are addicted to social media.  They NEED to know what their friends are doing and who is having fun without them.  Their self esteem is probably wrapped around how many “likes” they got on Facebook or Instagram, and what people are saying about them.  That’s why THEY CANNOT MULTITASK WHILE DOING HOMEWORK!  Just because they tell you they’re doing their homework or studying for a test doesn’t mean that they are doing it well or efficiently.  No kid will admit to their parents that their social media is disrupting their grades and possible future because they are addicted to it.

So parents, put on your big boy or girl pants and be the parent.  Give them social media curfews and set down rules about when they have access to their phones or computers. Bring down the social media hammer. You can collect all cell phones until the homework and studying for tests is done each day, or when grades are where they need to be.  If they need to use the computer to do research or to download homework assignments, have them use a family computer.  Check the history tab on your child’s computer to make sure they aren’t using social media when they aren’t supposed to.

What they’ll soon discover is that they can actually get their homework done in half the time when they don’t have distractions and they’ll get better scores on tests and ultimately better grades.  As their parent, flex your power by giving them the guidance they need to succeed. 

Remember, their brains aren’t fully developed until they’re 25 years old, so don’t let them tell you how to do your job as the parent.  Call a family meeting and set up new rules that they’ll thank you for someday.  But don’t hold your breath – just know that you’re in charge and you’re giving them important life skills. 

This delicious dessert contains ZERO grains, ZERO dairy and ZERO sugar!
And it’s A – M – A – Z – I – N – G!

If you’re anything like me, you probably ate all of the trick or treat candy before Halloween (and had to restock before the big night) AND you managed to eat all of the left-over candy (you know – the reserve that you didn’t give to the little darlings). 

By about now, you’re coming down off the sugar rollercoaster and ready to start “dieting” again. 

But if you still have that sweet tooth, but want to start eating “healthy,” try this dessert that is so scrumptious and good for you that you’ll need to double check the list of ingredients to make sure that it’s for real. 

It’s my Orange and Blueberry CheeZecake recipe, and it’s vegan and raw!  It’s healthy for you and tastes like you’re cheating!

Raw Orange and Blueberry Cheezecake (Vegan)

Ingredients:

Crust

2 cups raw nuts

1 cup dates or raisins

Pinch Himalayan salts

Orange Cheezecake

3 cups cashew pieces

3/4 cup fresh orange juice

1/2 cup honey/agave/maple syrup or stevia

1/2 cup melted coconut oil

Juice of one lemon

Zest of all of the oranges you juiced

Pinch Himalayan salts

Blueberry Layer

2 cups organic blueberries (fresh or frozen)

1/4 cup orange cheezecake mixture

Directions:

Crust

1. Process the nuts and dates in the food processor until the nuts become crumbly and the mixture sticks together when pressed.
2. Press the mixture at the bottom of a spring-form pan and put in the fridge.

Orange Cheezecake

3. Blend all ingredients (except orange zest) in a high-speed blender until very smooth. Then add zest with a spoon. Reserve 1/4 cup of the mixture for the blueberry topping.  Pour the rest of the mixture onto the crust and put in the freezer.

Blueberry Layer

4. Blend the blueberries and 1/4 cup of cheezecake mixture in the food processor or blender until creamy but with texture from the blueberry pieces. Spread this over the cheezecake and keep in the freezer or fridge overnight.
5. Best if eaten after 2 days. Thaw to serve. Top with slices of oranges and tossed blueberries.

I was intrigued when Nathan Decena told me that he visited the Japanese American National Museum (JANM) in Los Angeles to see his great uncle’s photo. [I love it when parents take their children to see important exhibits] My aunt is a docent there and many of my family members contributed towards the building of this museum.     Nathan told me that his great uncle was Rudy Tokiwa — the youngest soldier in the 442nd battalion– and the famous photo that Nathan went to see was of Rudy marching German soldiers out of Italy during WWII. Coincidentally, I met and interviewed Rudy Tokiwa back in 2002 when the JACL put on a re-enactment called “Liberty Lost; Lessons in Loyalty” to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the incarceration of Japanese Americans during WWII.   Rudy shared with me stories of his missions, but what struck me most was that while he was fighting with the most decorated battalion in WWII, his family was behind barbed wire for three years until the end of WWII. I was fortunate enough to see this photo at the JANM and I just had to have my photo taken standing in front of Rudy Tokiwa’s famous photograph.   If you have the opportunity to visit JANM, go see it because it’s fascinating and a great history museum.

Handling funerals and being “PC” can be unnerving when you’re dealing with cultural, socio-economic, and political concerns.  I’ve been fortunate not to have many funerals to attend, but I have lost close friends and family.  At every funeral, wake, or service I have attended, I’ve wondered why we wait until our loved one passes away before we celebrate their lives.  Breaking long-standing traditions is difficult – and inevitably it ruffles a few feathers – and sometimes I just want to stop the old tradition and start something new. 

When my grandfather Kunio passed away in 1992, I sandblasted his granite marker with the family crest and the image of my favorite marble sculpture that he made in his retirement. My auntie Michi and I worked together to create his program that was filled with photos and a timeline of his fascinating and successful life. I know Grandpa would have loved the creativity and collaboration that went into his gravesite marker and program, and wished he could have seen it all. 

In 1995, my close friend Tom died at age 49, and I put together a 20-minute slideshow of his life that included his family and all of his friends. At his funeral, for the first time ever, all of his friends and family were there and we all mused about how this would have been the best party of his life – but instead, we had the party without him. 

In 2008, all of my cousins, aunts and uncles gathered for 4 days to organize a 79-year history of my Uncle Harry’s fascinating life. Besides the fact that he was the family historian and we probably got many dates and places wrong, he still would have loved to see his life in photos that we collected from all of our albums. The compilation was both interesting (he was one of the engineers that sent the Apollo to the moon!) and heartwarming.  So why do we wait until after loved ones die before celebrating their lives?

I’m thinking about all of this AGAIN, because last weekend, I flew to LA with my entire digital photo library to create a slideshow of my auntie Emi’s life.  She is in perfect health but is beginning to suffer from dementia, and I just didn’t want to sit by passively waiting for her to pass to celebrate her life. So my cousin Jeff and I agreed to look through my digital library of photos of my aunt WITH my aunt. 

After we connected my laptop up to his TV, what happened next was really remarkable. My aunt stood right in front of the big screen TV and told us stories and minute details about each photo for over an hour!  We laughed together and she thoroughly enjoyed this walk down memory lane. She answered questions about who were in the photos and what they were doing. She even helped us place the photos in the correct order of events.  While some might consider this morbid, I connected with her and made her smile while she saw photos of her life.  

I am so grateful that I had the opportunity to share these photos with my aunt while she still is alive and well.  After feeling remorseful after losing loved ones and wishing they could be part of the celebration of their lives at their funerals, I am convinced that this is the way I would like to handle these situations in the future.  I’ve scanned and edited over 100,000 photos and I plan to share them with family and friends while they can appreciate them.  So, if I invite you over for a slideshow, please don’t judge me… Just know that I would rather celebrate your life and share these memories with you while we can still enjoy them.  We can see them again at your funeral but I’ll be happy to remember the time we celebrated your life together.

Sometimes the best way to educate children is through songs – music and lyrics. 

When I took Nicole, my eldest daughter, to her first concert, it was to see Bob Reid.  She had memorized all of his songs on Marz Barz and Abracadab, and I still remember watching her see him in person for the first time. 

His inspirational messages about clean water, healthy food and good manners reached her loud and clear – In ways that books, TV shows, and lectures didn’t. 

Guess what?  Bob Reid is currently booking assemblies and singing workshops in elementary schools.  Talk to your PTA to schedule a concert for your kids’ schools.  The kids will LOVE his music and performance as he gets the audience engaged and connected.  Can’t imagine a better way to get the kids on board for taking care of their future planet.  Seriously, I keep humming his songs and it makes me happy!  

Like his Bob Reid School Assemblies Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/bobreidassemblies to connect. You can buy his CDs for just $15 at http://www.bobreidmusic.com/recording.htm. You can book him for a concert at your kids’ schools for $250-$500 depending on location and number of assemblies. 

I promise you that the kids, teachers, and parents will love him!

I was late to join social media, or so my kids tell me.  I needed help figuring out how to comment on Facebook posts and I certainly messed up a few times thinking I was “messaging” someone when I actually posted personal comments on public timelines. Oh my!  At first, I thought it was the most wonderful way to stay in touch with hundreds of people with just a few simple clicks and the best way to keep me the know with friends, family, and my girls’ friends. But what used to be friendly sharing of photos, ideas, and news has become fierce competition and a serious case of Keeping up with the Joneses.

As a college advisor, I talk with hundreds of teens each week.  A decade ago, I would watch them giggle and smile as they read messages from friends and checked their various social media pages.  This was before social media became a popularity contest.  Now, instead of happy faces, I almost always see serious faces — and even depression — as they view all the exciting things their friends are doing on Instagram, Snapchat, and Facebook.  What changed? Today, that simple photo is no longer just a snapshot or freeze frame of your life.  Because one of your friends had 150 likes on their photo, just getting 25 on your own is embarrassing by comparison.  They tell me that they don’t like Facebook anymore because they don’t get very many “likes,” and the way they say it shows how vulnerable they feel as a result. 

The bottom line is that they see how their friends are having fun WITHOUT THEM, and the sense of rejection is like a punch in the gut.  Back in the old days – before social media – you weren’t bombarded with hundreds of images of everyone having a better time than you and without you.  You might get wind that you were left out of something days later.  You know – when someone snitched and got pleasure out of telling you something that would break your heart! Remember how that felt? NOT GOOD. Well, just multiply that times 100 and it’s no wonder teens, young adults, and heck, everyone succumbs to depression while being sucked into whatever social media they fancy.

With excellent quality cameras on smartphones today, it’s easy to document everything with a photo or  video. No longer is it an obstacle to lug around big cameras and camcorders.  Have you ever noticed how some tourists focus more on getting photos of themselves in front of signs when they could be having fun instead? It’s almost like it’s more important to capture a photo to show the world where they’ve been to create the illusion of having fun than it is to simply indulge in the activity itself.  So if you’re one of those people who feel unpopular or like your life isn’t as exciting as everyone else’s, remember the photo only tells one side of the story… So put away your camera and go make some meaningful memories, and oh yeah, turn off your phone and computer so you can enjoy the people you’re with!