Spring cleaning can be a grueling task, but with these tips and checklist, you can free up some time and leave your home fresh and clean.

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Ingredients

Basil Cheddar Mayonnaise:

• 3 ounces Cabot Tomato Basil Cheddar or Sharp Cheddar, grated (about 3/4 cup)
• 1/2 cup mayonnaise
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• 2 teaspoons finely grated lemon zest
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

Grilled Chicken:

• 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
• 2 cups cold water
• 2 tablespoons salt
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• About 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 4 large rounds pita bread
• Thinly sliced vine-ripened tomatoes and zucchini

Directions:

To make mayonnaise:
1. In small bowl, combine all ingredients; cover and refrigerate until ready to assemble pitas.

To grill chicken and assemble pitas:
1. Place chicken between two sheets plastic wrap and pound with mallet or heavy skillet until about 1/2 inch thick.

2. In large zip-close plastic bag, combine water, salt and sugar; jiggle bag until salt and sugar are dissolved. Add chicken, pressing out excess air; seal and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

3. Preheat grill to high. Remove chicken from brine and pat dry (discard brine). Lightly coat both sides with oil.

4. Grill until browned on both sides and cooked through to center, 2 to 3 minutes per side. Remove from grill and let stand for 5 minutes for juices to settle.

5. Meanwhile, remove top third from each pita and open to form large pocket; place pockets on grill until warm and lightly colored, about 2 minutes.

6. Slice chicken breasts thinly on bias. Spread one side of each pocket with Basil Cheddar Mayonnaise and top with chicken. Add tomato and zucchini and serve.

Nutrition Analysis
Calories 642, Total Fat 34.5g, Saturated Fat 7.5g, Sodium 2429mg, Carbohydrates 43g, Dietary Fiber 2g, Protein 37.5g, Calcium 228mg

I know as the weather gets colder your kids would rather stay inside to stay warm; however, it’s probably more important to keep your kids active during the winter months.

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PECO kicks off a year-long partnership with Peddler’s Village to encourage children and families to GO GREEN with a variety of fun ECO educational activities on Saturdays during each of 2012 festival events.

2012 Events:

• May 5th & 6th – Strawberry Festival
• June 2nd & 3rd – Fine Arts & Contemporary Crafts Show
• June 30th – Celebration of Freedom
• August 11th & 12 – Peach Festival and Fun Fair
• September 15th & 16th – Scarecrow Festival
• November 3rd & 4th – Apple Festival
• November 16th – Grand Illumination
• December 1st & 2nd – Christmas Festival

Not only are these cupcakes the perfect fall treat, they’re also a healthy choice for you and your children! Shredded apple replaces some of the oil and keeps the cake moist in these cinnamon-spiked cupcakes.

Shredded apple replaces some of the oil and keeps the cake moist in these cinnamon-spiked cupcakes. There is a generous amount of fluffy marshmallow frosting to mound or pipe on top for a festive look. Be sure to frost them right after you make the frosting—it stiffens as it stands and becomes more difficult to spread.

12 cupcakes

Active Time: 1 hour

Total Time: 2 1/2 hours (including cooling time)

Ingredients

Cupcakes

• 1 1/2 cups shredded peeled apples
• 1/2 cup diced dried apples
• 3 tablespoons packed light brown sugar, plus 3/4 cup, divided
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, divided
• 1/3 cup canola oil
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3/4 cup whole-wheat pastry flour
• 3/4 cup cake flour
• 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup nonfat buttermilk

Frosting

• 1 cup light brown sugar
• 1/4 cup water
• 4 teaspoons dried egg whites (see Note), reconstituted according to package directions (equivalent to 2 egg whites)
• 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
• Pinch of salt
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon, plus more for garnish

Preparation

1. To prepare cupcakes: Preheat oven to 350°F. Line 12 (1/2-cup) muffin cups with cupcake liners or coat with cooking spray.
2. Combine shredded and dried apples in a bowl with 3 tablespoons brown sugar and 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon. Set aside. Beat oil and the remaining 3/4 cup brown sugar in a large mixing bowl with an electric mixer on medium speed until well combined. Beat in eggs one at a time until combined. Add vanilla, increase speed to high and beat for 1 minute.
3. Whisk whole-wheat flour, cake flour, baking soda, salt and the remaining 3/4 teaspoon cinnamon in a medium bowl.
4. With the mixer on low speed, alternately add the dry ingredients and buttermilk to the batter, starting and ending with dry ingredients and scraping the sides of the bowl as needed, until just combined. Stir in the reserved apple mixture until just combined. Divide the batter among the prepared muffin cups. (The cups will be full.)
5. Bake the cupcakes until a toothpick inserted into the center of a cake comes out clean, 20 to 22 minutes. Let cool on a wire rack for at least 1 hour before frosting.
6. To prepare frosting: Bring 2 inches of water to a simmer in the bottom of a double boiler (see Tip). Combine 1 cup brown sugar and 1/4 cup water in the top of the double boiler. Heat over the simmering water, stirring, until the sugar has dissolved, 2 to 3 minutes. Add reconstituted egg whites, cream of tartar and pinch of salt. Beat with an electric mixer on high speed until the mixture is glossy and thick, 5 to 7 minutes. Remove the top pan from the heat and continue beating for 1 minute more to cool. Add vanilla and 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon and beat on low just to combine. Spread or pipe the frosting onto the cooled cupcakes and sprinkle cinnamon on top, if desired.

Tips & Notes

• Make Ahead Tip: Store unfrosted cupcakes airtight at room temperature for up to 1 day. | Equipment: 12 (1/2-cup) muffin cups

Nutrition

Per cupcake: 267 calories; 7 g fat ( 1 g sat , 4 g mono ); 35 mg cholesterol; 48 g carbohydrates; 4 g protein; 2 g fiber; 188 mg sodium; 73 mg potassium.

Read More (Recipe for www.eatingwell.com)

This fall, make sure that your kids stay active and engaged by using these fun and easy Autumn themed games and activities that can be played outside or in!

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The weather is getting cooler, indicating the arrival of the much awaited fall. The leaves are slowly changing color, becoming brighter, and offering a rare beauty that is not seen or experienced at any other time of the year. Why then, must your little ones sit indoors, when there are such great outdoor activities that can have them enjoy the best of nature combined with a whole lot of fun? Accompany them in these different outdoor fall activities for kids, and have them perceive the beauty of the outdoors during fall in a completely unique manner.

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Whenever you’re on the road, make sure your child passengers are buckled into appropriate safety seats. The safest place for children of any age to ride is properly restrained in the back seat.

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Now that kids are back in school and the weather is getting colder, that usually a good indication that flu season is just around the corner. By getting a flu vaccine now for yourself and your entire family, you can help prevent flu-related illness, missed school, and missed work.

The best way to protect against influenza is to get a flu vaccine every flu season. Influenza (flu) is a contagious respiratory disease that can lead to serious complications, hospitalization, or even death. Anyone can get the flu, and getting a flu vaccine is the single best way to protect yourself and your family. Even healthy people can get very sick from the flu and spread it to friends and loved ones.

Everyone Needs a Flu Vaccine

While flu activity usually peaks in January or February, the flu itself is unpredictable. And although there are many different flu viruses, the yearly flu vaccine protects against the three viruses that research suggests will be most common that flu season.

Everyone 6 months of age and older should get a flu vaccine each flu season,  and it’s especially important that the following groups get vaccinated either because they are at high risk of having serious flu-related complications or because they live with or care for people at high risk for developing flu-related complications:

• Pregnant women
• Children younger than 5, but especially children younger than 2 years old
• People 50 years of age and older
• People of any age with certain chronic medical conditions
• People who live in nursing homes and other long-term care facilities
• People who live with or care for those at high risk for complications from flu, including:
  • Health care workers
  • Household contacts of persons at high risk for complications from the flu
  • Household contacts and out of home caregivers of children less than 6 months of age (these children are too young to be vaccinated)

For a complete list of all people recommended for flu vaccination, as well as those who are not recommended for flu vaccination, visit Who Should Get Vaccinated.

Get a Flu Vaccine Every Flu Season

People should get vaccinated every year for two reasons. The first reason is that because flu viruses are constantly changing, flu vaccines may be updated from one season to the next to protect against the most recent and most commonly circulating viruses.

The second reason that yearly vaccination is recommended is that a person’s immune protection from vaccination declines over time so annual vaccination is needed for optimal protection. So, yearly vaccination is recommended even for those who received the vaccine during the previous season.

A Reminder for Parents

Many children need two doses of flu vaccine this season to be fully protected. Children 6 months to 9 years of age who did not receive at least one dose of the 2010-11 flu vaccine should receive two doses this season.

Vaccine Options

So what are your vaccine options? There are two types of vaccines- the flu shot and the nasal spray.

• The “flu shot” — an inactivated vaccine (containing killed virus) that is given with a needle, usually in the arm. The flu shot is (sometimes called TIV for “Trivalent Inactivated Vaccine”) approved for use in people older than 6 months, including healthy people and people with chronic medical conditions.There are three different flu shots available:
  • a regular flu shot approved for people ages 6 months and older
  • a high-dose flu shot approved for people 65 and older, and
  • an intradermal flu shot approved for people 18 to 64 years of age.
• The nasal-spray flu vaccine — a vaccine made with live, weakened flu viruses that is given as a nasal spray (sometimes called LAIV for “Live Attenuated Influenza Vaccine”). The viruses in the nasal spray vaccine do not cause the flu. LAIV is approved for use in healthy* people 2 through 49 years of age who are not pregnant.

Read More from the Center for Disease Control here

With hungry kids returning from school, snack time is essential! It’s the perfect time of year for apples, a great snack most kids will enjoy! However if you have a hard time getting your little ones to eat apples, try this delicious, healthy dip that is sure change their mind!

Ingredients
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Directions