Marvel Studios Announces CAPTAIN AMERICA CIVIL WAR ⋆ My Sparkling Life

Continuing with our healthy new year lets talk sugar! This is a post I found on MyFitnessPal & thought that it was a great article to share with you all.
If you’re looking to cut back on sugar, here are 15 simple hacks for slashing the sweet stuff from your diet:
Go natural. Eat natural sources of sugar over added sugars. Added sugars like honey, agave, and high fructose corn syrup contain empty calories meaning they have zero nutritional value. Fill up on fresh fruit and vegetables instead because they contain fiber that slows the rate of absorption of carbohydrates along with improving cholesterol levels, digestion, and satiety to help with weight loss.
Pick low sugar produce. If you’re aiming to eat less sugar overall, pick the fruits and veggies with the lowest sugar load like lemons, limes, blackberries, raspberries, strawberries, broccoli, cauliflower, leafy greens, mushrooms, green beans, mushrooms, and zucchini. Essentially all veggies are low in sugar. To compare, 1 cup raspberries contains 5 grams of sugar, 1 cup black beans contains less than 1 gram of sugar, and a medium red potato contains less than 3 grams of sugar. Keep in mind, low sugar intake doesn’t necessarily mean low carbohydrate.
Know your portions. Following a low sugar diet requires some diligence in knowing how much you should be eating. In general, most people should consume 2 fruits (or 2 cups) and at least 3 cups of veggies per day. On average 1 serving of fruit contains 15 grams of sugar. Ideally, try to space out your servings so that you aren’t getting a big sugar rush all at once.
Eat whole and fresh. Limit fruit juices and dried fruit if you are watching the sugar intake. Generally speaking, just 4 fluid ounces (1/2 cup or 120mL) of 100% fruit juice and ¼ cup unsweetened dried fruit is equivalent to 1 piece or 1 cup of fresh, whole fruit.
Learn the label lingo. The food label doesn’t differentiate between added and natural sugars (though it may in the future), instead it lumps them all together. To get natural sugar sources check the ingredient list to know if there are any added sugars in the product. Sugar lurks behind these words in the ingredient list: molasses, organic cane sugar, fruit juice concentrate, malt sugar, corn syrup, honey, syrup, and words ending in “ose” dextrose, lactose, maltose, fructose, glucose, sucrose. Here’s a more thorough list of sugar’s most common nicknames.
Compare products. Looking for the lowest sugar foods? Check the nutrition label to see which product is lowest in sugar. Don’t be fooled by “low sugar” or “diet foods” as they are often packed with artificial sugars, which is another blog for another day. Bottom line: eat real “natural” convenience foods lowest in added sugar.
Track it! Logging your food in MyFitnessPal can help with staying on top of your sugar intake and goals so that you become aware of how much sugar you are really ingesting since they can sure add up fast.
Fill up on healthy fats. Eat more nuts, seeds, avocados, olives, and salmon. Not only are these foods heart healthy and help with blood sugar control, healthy fats will displace excess sugar from the diet and keep the body satisfied for longer so you are less likely to have energy dips between meals prompting a quick sugar fix.
Set boundaries on the sweet tooth. Do you have a mean sweet tooth? Set limits on when and how you’re going to enjoy your sweets. Maybe you have ice cream once per week or possibly you’ll include a dark chocolate square after dinner nightly? Setting boundaries around what sweet treats are worth the indulgence, when is appropriate to enjoy them and how much you can enjoy will keep you from reaching in the office candy jar out of habit.
Eat less packaged food. Foods in their whole form are going to be your best bet when it comes to lowering your sugar intake. According to the New York Times, 75% of packaged foods in the U.S. contain added sugar, so you can simplify your sugar doses by keeping these to a minimum.
Choose unsweetened dairy. Opt for plain milk and yogurt, and no, vanilla isn’t plain! While there are naturally occurring sugars in milk and yogurt (lactose), many are spiked with sweeteners. So read the labels to get dairy varieties without the sweet stuff, and keep in mind fat-free milk naturally contains more sugar than reduced-fat. Add your own flavor by topping yogurt with chia seeds, blueberries, and cinnamon.
Pump up the protein. Eating more protein will keep you amped. Protein takes longest to digest so you will be less likely to crash if you’re eating good quality proteins every three to four hours.
Beware of sugar bombs. Even healthy foods can have sneaky sources of added sugar. Foods like energy bars, lattes, smoothies, juices, enhanced waters, salad dressing, cereals, tomato sauce, and medications are common culprits.
Lower it gradually. Instead of cutting sugar cold turkey, lower your intakes slowly. If you usually eat sweets after lunch and dinner, start by taking it down to one meal a day.
Clean out the pantry. If you have tempting foods in the kitchen, you might need to do a little pantry detox. Go out for the ice cream sundae instead of bringing a carton it into the house.
Do you watch your sugar intake? How do you slash sugar from your diet?
Click HERE to read the full article!

I encourage you to build your own creation out of cardboard and share it via social with the hashtag #TheBoxtrollsCC for a last chance to win an Imagination Box Prize valued at $5000! Learn how to enter-to-win and to see some of the amazing TheBoxtrolls inspired creations by visiting: www.TheBoxtrollsCardboardChallenge.com
THE BOXTROLLS releases in theaters on September 26!
Story: A family event movie from the creators of “Coraline” and “ParaNorman” that introduces audiences to a new breed of family – The Boxtrolls, a community of quirky, mischievous creatures who have lovingly raised an orphaned human boy named Eggs (voiced by Isaac Hempstead-Wright) in the amazing cavernous home they’ve built beneath the streets of Cheesebridge. When the town’s villain, Archibald Snatcher (Academy Award winner Ben Kingsley), comes up with a plot to get rid of the Boxtrolls, Eggs decides to venture above ground, “into the light,” where he meets and teams up with fabulously feisty Winnifred (Elle Fanning). Together, they devise a daring plan to save Eggs’ family.

A special Thank You to Daddy & Co. for providing a product to facilitate my review! When it comes to having a baby, everyone gets so excited to get gift for mommy and baby…but what about daddy? Daddy gets forgotten half the time, but one company has gone out of their way to make dad feel like a part of the big day too! Daddy & Company® is the offspring of Robert Nickell, who fathered his first four children more than 20 years ago. Daddy & Company® was conceived when Robert, who remarried in 2007, discovered he was about to be a father all over again in 2009! Not wanting to endure the pains of wearing uncomfortable street clothes while comforting his laboring wife, Robert hatched the idea of creating doctor-like scrubs for himself. It seemed a natural thing for him to do — since Robert is a pharmacist by profession. To eliminate the confusion between “who’s the doctor” and “who’s the daddy,” Robert fashioned the concept of “I’m The Daddy®” medical scrubs. We were sent the Daddy Swag Gift Set and hubby was so excited and even more so with everything that I pulled out of the box that it comes in! The box set includes an assortment of great gifts just for Daddy… • DaddyScrubs – Edgy, Navy • I’m the Daddy Tee – White Edgy • I’m the Daddy Hat – Navy • I’m the Daddy coffee mug This set retails for $89.95 and is well worth it! I’m so glad that there is finally a company taking dad into consideration! Daddy & Co. has a variety of gifts…including other gift sets, a variety of apparel, home & office and more! I highly recommend surprising the new daddy in your life with a little gift of his own, especially the scrubs! So cute that he can be in the delivery room in his “I’m The Daddy” scrubs! The scrubs come in three colors..Navy, Green and Khaki. They are made of 65% polyester, 35% cotton and fit a little snug ( I got hubby a 2x his normal size and it was a little snug around the chest area ). The tee shirt is made of 100% cotton and fit true to size. The hat and tee have been worn multiple times and makes him proud every time he puts it on. He uses his “I’m the Daddy” mug with his coffee every morning and uses his pens at work. This has been such a great gift set that last long past the hospital stay!
Disclosure: This post may include affiliate links with fund the Mom of 4 Boys blog. I have received a product(s) for review purposes only, however I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers. Daddy & Co. has not influenced the editorial nature of this post, and No other compensation was received. Please see our disclosure policy for more information.

From the producers that brought audiences Shaun the Sheep Movie, Paddington and A Turtle’s Tale: Sammy’s Adventures, comes a brand new animated, fun-filed family adventure The Wild Life. You won’t want to miss this one arriving just in time for the holidays on Blu-ray Combo Pack (plus DVD and Digital HD), DVD (plus Digital), and On Demand November 29 from nWave Pictures, Studiocanal and Summit Entertainment, a Lionsgate company.
The perfect film for families to watch together over the holidays, this wildly adventurous animated comedy begins as Mak the parrot and his friends discover a mysterious visitor washed up on their island’s shore.
Embark on a tropical misadventure with a group of quirky animals and their human castaway, Robinson Crusoe. When savage cats invade their paradise, Robinson and the island’s animals team up to defend themselves and their home in this fun-filled movie.
The Wild Life home entertainment special features include a behind-the-scenes featurette looking at the making of the film, an introduction to the characters, a Wild Life music video, and a short “Tips for Your Trip” featurette for viewers to successfully prepare for their next trip to the islands. The Wild Life will be available on Blu-ray Combo Pack and DVD for the suggested retail price of $34.99 and $29.95, respectively.
BLU-RAY / DVD/ DIGITAL HD SPECIAL FEATURES
“A Wild World: Making The Wild Life” Featurette
“Meet the Characters” Featurette
“Tips for Your Trip” Featurette
The Wild Life Musical Adventure
The Wild Life will also be available on Digital HD on November 22.

Disney’s new movie Frozen is making a splash with kids of all ages! So I was super excited to get to review 4 new Frozen books & 1 Frozen book app! Now my kiddos are not the book worms that I strive to get them to be…I’ve bought so many books over the years that I read to them, but they refuse to read again…but no joke, since we have had the Frozen books, they have read them several times..what several in two weeks!!?? FINALLY!! Maybe it’s all the hype and the fact that they haven’t seen the movie yet..but they love the books. The only one we haven’t dug into yet is the Junior Novel (that is our next on our list for bedtime reading). Here is a little about each book..
What I love about this book is that it avoids a simple retelling of the film. Children’s books based on movies tend to be bare-bone summaries of the storyline and they offer very little, giving no new experience or adding nothing to an existing pool of information. A Sister More Like Me touches on the story of Frozen — in fact, it’s recommended that you see the film before reading this book, either to yourself or to an audience — but it tells its own story as well.
It follows Anna and Elsa through thirteen years of their life and what they did in their time together, and apart. The book looks at aspects of both their hobbies, and personalities. Anna is the sort to wake up with her room looking like a tornado hit, while Elsa would meticulously make sure everything was in its proper place. The story follows what each sister likes and what they wish the other would be like. They recognize one another’s differences and think that it may be better to have a sister who was more like themselves. But of course, they learn that that’s not exactly what makes a sister who she is. This is a lovely story for anyone learning to accept that someone you love is different from you, but that’s the thing that makes them wonderful! The beautiful artwork by Brittney Lee say more than words can. She can communicate dozens of ideas in a single image. If your looking for a great book to go along with your love of the movie, this is the perfect book for you.
Frozen Read-Along Storybook and CD: This USA TODAY best-selling novel tells the story of fearless optimist Anna who sets off on an epic journey—to find her sister Elsa, whose icy powers have trapped the kingdom of Arendelle in eternal winter. Encountering Everest-like conditions, mystical trolls, and a hilarious snowman named Olaf, Anna and Kristoff battle the elements in a race to save the kingdom. The CD offers the story narrated with sound effects and character voices (in parts), the boys will listen to the story over and over and at times follow along with the book. The boys love this set, and is the most read book out of the four (perhaps because they can follow along with the narrator).
Frozen: The Junior Novelization: This New York Times and USA TODAY best-selling novel retells the whole exciting story and features eight pages of full-color scenes from the movie!
What I like is the fact that you get to read what the characters were thinking or reading it describe their feelings. It does what books do, brings you more into the story. This one is great for your more evolved readers and is a great book to add to the summer reading que!
Frozen: A Tale of Two Sisters: This USA TODAY best-selling novel retells the story of sisters Anna and Elsa in this 32 page Step Into Reading Level Two reader which brings the adventurous tale of Frozen to early readers ages 4-6. My 8 year old is a delayed reader due to speech & dyslexia problems, but he loves to pull out this book and read it. He loves the story line and is proud of himself when he finishes and can tell me what happened. It is perfect for beginning readers. It hits all the major plot points in simple language. The illustrations are lovely – very colorful – and all your favorite characters are featured.