This is a Guest Post by Silver Spring Town Center

Taste the World in Downtown Silver Spring’s Fenton Village

Sunday, May 6, 1-5pm

Nearly two dozen restaurants featuring cuisine from around the globe will be showcased in the second annual Taste the World in Fenton Village on Sunday, May 6 from 1 to 5 p.m. Fenton Village is located just south of downtown Silver Spring between Wayne, Georgia and Burlington avenues and Fenton Street.

Pictured above: The band Eastern Standard Time plays at 4pm

Unlike other tasting events assembled on sidewalks or public lots, Taste the World, in a “pub crawl” style, welcomes participants into the restaurants to sample not just their specialties but their special atmosphere. Restaurants will offer appetizers or small tasting plates for $2, $3, $4 and $5.

Event attendees will pick up their Taste the World passports at Parking Lot 3 on Fenton Street between Thayer and Silver Spring avenues beginning at 1 p.m. An array of live music will be played on our Taste the World Stage, including Eastern Standard Time who will really get the party going with a Caribbean Beat! Once participants have their fill of the range of tastes, they return to the stage area and enter a free drawing for prizes from local merchants.

For more information, call 240-832-3078 or visit www.tastetheworldfentonvillage.org for maps, a list of participating restaurants, and other event details. Also join our event page on Facebook  

Addis Ababa Restaurant
8233 Fenton Street

Silver Spring, MD 20910

Bombay Gaylord

Fenton Cafe

Fire Station Restaurant

Ghar-E-Kabob

Good Food

Jackie’s Restaurant

Kefa Café

Langano Ethiopian Restaurant

Lesaac Ethiopian Cafe

Lizbeth’s Café

Lotus Café

Mandarin Restaurant

Manny & Olga’s Pizza

Original Big Greek Café

Pacci’s Neopolitan Pizzeria

Piratz Tavern

Roger Miller Restaurant

Thai Derm

Thai Market

The Greek Place

Vicino Ristorante Italiano

Zed’s Cafe

Yihung Mohs is the owner of  Silver Spring Dream Dinners and the talented writer of the The Silver Spring Dream Dinners Blog.

The Healthy Pantry

Spring is officially here! With warmer weather, longer days and nature making its annual comeback, it’s easy to see why many call this their favorite season.  To open the windows and breath the fresh air is a great motivator to get organized and do some spring-cleaning.  There is something so appealing about starting anew during this season, which almost makes house cleaning sound like fun.

With an abundance of seasonal fresh vegetables and fruits now available, this would be an excellent time to go a step further and create a healthy family pantry.  By ridding your kitchen of heavily processed foods that are high in fat, artificial colors and flavors, you are one step closer to developing meals that are not only good for you, but also contribute to a healthy lifestyle.

Before getting started, keep in mind that this does not have to be a project that needs to be completed in a day.  It takes time to change lifestyles, cooking habits and menu preferences, especially when you have children.  But over time, you will find that food made with healthy ingredients just taste better.

So where do you begin? First, get rid of white sugar, white flour and any processed foods such as cookies, crackers, soda, sugar drinks and the like.

Look at any of the nutrimental data on any food item and if sugar is listed as the first ingredient, then say goodbye.  When it’s all said and done, you will be surprised how empty your pantry will be once those items are gone as the average American is said to consume 22 teaspoons of sugar a day.

Now you can now begin to stock your pantry with healthy alternatives. Where do you begin? It’s never a bad idea to have these items always available:

Olive Oil
This is really the only oil you need in your pantry.  Canola oil is a good choice for baking purposes, but throw out any oil that has polyunsaturated fats, such as safflower, peanut and corn oils)

Whole Wheat Pasta
Use instead of white pasta for a healthier version of your favorite pasta dish.  Your family won’t know the difference.

Diced, Crushed Tomatoes
Get rid of expensive ready-to-serve pasta sauces, where sugar is often the leading ingredient and create your own.  These canned tomatoes are an excellent source of lycopene, which has been known to reduce the risk of cancer.

Brown Rice
This healthy side dish helps with digestion and colon issues and provides a great source of fiber.

Beans
These are high in protein, vitamins and minerals. Use black beans in burritos or tacos or use as a side dish.  Butter beans, chickpeas and white beans can be cooked a variety of ways and should be a staple in any pantry.

Dry Produce
Always have onions, garlic and ginger on hand to put a spin on any dish.

Low Salt Chicken and Vegetable Broth
You can create your own healthy soups or sauces quickly without the high sodium of canned soups.

Nuts
Walnuts, almonds and sunflower seeds thrown in with some dried fruit make a healthy snack.

The list of healthy food choices goes on.  Having a well-stocked pantry allows you have the items on hand to make healthy, enjoyable meals. By adding fresh fruits and vegetables to your diet you are creating a lifestyle that is not only nutritiously satisfying but also beneficial to you and your family’s overall health.

Thanks to Yihung and Silver Spring Dream Dinners for the tips and of course, family dinners made easy.

Would you like to contribute a guest post to A Parent in Silver Spring? I accept articles that contain information that is helpful or entertaining for parents, and of use to everyone, not just potential customers. Just send me an e-mail with your idea for a post and we’ll talk.

Photo credit: iStock

Full event information and performance schedule at the Children’s Cancer Foundation website.

Judy McGhee works for The Maids of DC and therefore knows all about clutter as a professional in the home cleaning business. She offers tips and advice to help homeowners keep their houses squeaky clean!

As a busy mom, we all struggle with the clutter in our homes! We all want everything to be in its place  when the phone rings and your mom, of heaven forbid, mother-in-law is on her way over. A girl could twist an ankle running around the house stuffing things into closets and under beds!

There are some simple tips to help you go from cluttered to calm! Think of the time you will save not looking for “lost” items like your keys, or that bill that was due last week that now incurrred late charges! Time to declutter! It’s hard to know where to begin, so let’s get started!

The clutter did not get here overnight, and it will take time to create a clutter free and organized home. (No, the declutter fairy is a myth!) Start slow and remain steady, forming new habits as you go. The first important tip is to take one room at a time so the task is not overwhelming. Schedule yourself declutter sessions, maybe 15 minutes per day to start, then work your way up to 2 hours once or twice per week.

Now that you have picked the room to start in, get garbage bags and boxes. The garbage bags are for items that you have not used or worn that need to be thrown away or recycled. The boxes are for items that you do not want or need and can be donated, sold at a garage sale, Craig’s List, or Ebay.

A Place for Everything and Everything in its Place

In less than 15 minutes, you can declutter the bathroom. Empty the hamper and carry it to the laundry room. Gather all items that do not belong in the bathroom, i.e. jewelry, clothes, shoes, etc. and return them to their designated place in the home. Wipe the counter off and store any items out of place. You may need to pop over to the store and pick up a few bins to toss under the sink. I like those Rubbermaid caddies with a center handle and compartments on each sire for storing my bathroom cleaning supplies. I can then carry it from bathroom to bathroom for cleaning. Plus, if anything leaks, the mess is in the container and not in my cabinet. Finish by vacuuming the floor and washing it with some pine or lemon cleaner. Voila!

The bedroom should be a relaxing place in your home, so get the clutter out for a more peaceful room. Grab a basket and start gathering items that do not belong in the bedroom and return them to their designated place. Go to the closet and organize your clothes. Don’t forget the night table, which seems to attract clutter. Another rule to enforce to remain clutter free is the in-out rule. When you bring in a new item, an old one must go. This is important when you get to your bedroom closet!

The kitchen is another clutter magnet! Most things end up on the counter top, so start there. (Islands are notorious for gathering “stuff.” Any items in the “wrong” spot need to be returned to their home. Have a small basket or box to gather all items that do not belong in the kitchen. Straighten out your refrigerator and pantry shelves, tossing anything out of date.

Now you can move to the living room. You will probably need a larger bin to collect the entire out of place items from this room! Continue through all rooms in the house, and don’t forget the garage!

Now that your rooms are declutterd and you can see the floors again, consider a professional carpet cleaning to show off your hard work! It will make the whole house smell fresh and look like new.

To keep your home decluttered, remember to put things away, right away! Think of each item as ice cream you bring home from the store. Would you leave it on the counter for an hour?

Check out The Maids of DC if you can use a bit of help maintaining your home.

No compensation was received for publishing this informative guest post. If you too would like to provide an informative article for local parents, contact me.

I highly recommend this retreat, hosted by my friend and personal wellness coach Cristie Ritz King of Real Life Wellness. Her sessions have inspired me to take better care of my body. Her informative, personally tailored counsel has taught me how to increase healthy greens and plant-based proteins in my diet for increased energy, health and mood. She has offered a good deal of advice that has made it easy for me to decrease my caffeine and alcohol consumption, and get more sleep and exercise (and these were hurdles I have been fighting for years). I credit her guidance in losing 10 more postpartum pounds.

This retreat also includes so many restorative goodies: massage therapy! guided meditation! and more. Register before May 15 to receive $50 off the retreat price!

The retreat will be hosted by Cristie Ritz King, M. Ed, CHC of Real Life Wellness. Cristie received her training from the Institute for Integrative Nutrition where she studied more than one hundred dietary theories and a variety of practical lifestyle coaching methods.  She offers her clients simple solutions and plans that work when they are trying to balance challenging, hectic, REAL lives.

Visit Cristie’s Web site and blog Real Life Wellness. 

P.S. Cristie is a Silver Spring native and former parent in Silver Spring. She is old my MOMS Club buddy and current blogging mama colleague — check our her parenting site, The Right Hand Mom. Cristie now lives in the New Jersey suburbs with her family.