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Stepping Stone Pediatrics in Kennesaw, Georgia, is excited to announce that it is now accepting Blue Cross Blue Shield (BCBS) and Humana Health Exchange Insurance Plans. Please call our office at 770-515-9000 to learn more.
Some of you may already know that Dr. Kim was on “Password Plus” when he was (much) younger and we thought you might enjoy a glimpse of what that looked like. Some behind-the-scenes info from Dr. Kim:
100 Days of Real Food by Lisa Leake
Ingredients
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp salt
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp dried thyme
½ tsp garlic powder
¼ tsp cayenne pepper
¼ tsp ground black pepper
1 onion, peeled and cut into large pieces
2 sprigs of fresh rosemary
1 lemon, quartered
4 cloves garlic
1 large whole chicken (4 pounds)
*Combine the first 7 ingredients and set aside. Place the onion pieces in the bottom of the slow cooker. Remove the giblets from the chicken, wash well, and stuff it with rosemary, garlic, and lemon wedges (feel free to add whatever herbs you like). Rub the outside of the chicken with the spice mixture. Place the chicken on top of the onion pieces, with the breast-side down. Do not add any liquid. Cook on high for 4 hours or on low for 7 hours, or until the chicken is tender and falling off the bone.
* Serve with steamed veggies, a baked sweet potato and fresh fruit for dessert.
From Strong4life
Ingredients
10-inch whole grain flour tortillas
¼ cup plain Greek yogurt
1 tsp cream cheese
Zest and juice from 1 lime
1 tsp finely chopped fresh cilantro
2 ounces slow cooker whole chicken – shredded
Spinach
Tomato
Avocado
1 tsp grated mozzarella cheese
*Combine Greek yogurt, cream cheese, lime zest & juice, and cilantro until smooth and creamy. Lay tortilla on flat surface and spread a thin layer of yogurt spread. Add chicken, spinach, tomato, and avocado and wrap up.
*Include a fruit, ¼ cup of almonds, an oatmeal cookie, and water. You have just created a masterpiece! Slice the wrap into pinwheels and skewer with a fancy toothpick for even more lunch box fun!
Summer is over and school is in full swing. Moms know what that means ….. PACKING LUNCH BOXES ….. UGHHHHH! This throws many of us into a state of panic. The combination of early mornings, a lack of time, AND the desire to pack a lunch that is interesting, tasty, nutritious, and not going to come back home unwrapped and untouched can be just too much to contemplate five days a week. Multiply that by the number of kids you have and you have just exponentially created a crisis large enough to call in the National Guard for back-up assistance! Because of this, mothers easily slip into a hopeless rut when filling lunchboxes. However; with a little forward planning you can be inspired to effortlessly create and pack a delicious, nutritious lunch!
We all know that lunch is important for everyone, but particularly for children, because they have high energy requirements for their size. It is so important for them to receive nutrient-dense foods in small, but regular amounts in order to keep their little bodies and minds working at their best. There is a plethora of academic and medical evidence that suggests a correlation between a child’s diet and academic performance. The evidence shows that kids with a poor diet are more likely to have problems with concentration, memory recall, and irritability. Additionally, it has been widely documented and known in the medical community that poor diets increase ANY individual’s susceptibility to colds and other illnesses. By contrast, children who have consistently healthy diets have more energy, improved learning and a lower obesity rate.
So, let’s start with a basic rule: When you’re preparing a big meal (like an evening dinner), make extra to send in lunch boxes. Left-over meats make for great wraps and also go well over a fresh salad! It give kids a break from the “everyday sandwich” that they see staring back at them lunch, after lunch. See the following dinner recipe and how you can use left-overs for lunchboxes. Then stay tuned for part 2: Strategies for planning ahead and offering variety. Happy lunchbox packing!
Fall is an exciting time for sports. From football and soccer to cheerleading and swimming, your kids are probably getting ready to get back in the game with weekday practices and fresh uniforms. Help your kids get physically prepared for fall sports with these simple health tips from the kid experts at Stepping Stone Pediatrics in Atlanta, Ga.
One of the best things you can do for your star athlete is to plan healthy meals throughout the week. Fit in a lot of lean protein sources, fruits, and vegetables. The healthier they eat, the easier it will be to give it their all during practice and games. Starchy or sugary foods may give immediate energy, but will cause a ‘sugar crash’ later on, leaving them feeling sluggish and lethargic.
Dehydration happens more often than you realize, especially in this Georgia heat. To protect your child from heat exhaustion or dehydration, always ensure they have a full water bottle. For your easily distracted kiddos, a gentle reminder to take a few sips may be a good idea, especially during practice and games.
Keeping your kids active, even when they’re not on the field, can help make the transition into fall sports an easier process. If they’ve spent the summer as a comfy couch potato, getting back into the swing of weekday practices and games may get off to a rough start. Encourage your kids to play outside (with sunscreen and bug spray) during the summer or enroll them in a fun sports camp to keep them active.
The right sports gear is crucial for your child’s safety. If their equipment isn’t brand new, inspect it for any cracks or wear and tear. Cracked helmets, poor fitting padding, or shoes with a lot of wear and tear should be replaced. Check with your coach or league to figure out what equipment is needed.
From sprains to concussions, it’s important to recognize the signs of a sports injury. When you go in for a sports physical at the beginning of the season, ask your child’s pediatrician what typical signs of concussion and injury are. If you see any of these signs or symptoms, seek the appropriate medical care, whether that includes emergency care or a visit to your pediatrician.
Get your child ready for the fall sports season with a fall physical at Stepping Stone Pediatrics in Cobb County. From nutrition counseling to well checkups, we’ll help make sure your kid is ready to get in the game. Contact us today at 770-515-9000 to schedule an appointment.
If your child has asthma, sending them to school doesn’t have to be scary. With the proper precautions, teaching, and planning, you and your child will be well-equipped for asthma attacks and triggers. Stepping Stone Pediatrics is lucky to have Meg Graves, one of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners, who has subspecialty experience caring for patients for the Pediatric Pulmonology division at Maimonides Health Center in New York City. Meg coordinates care for our asthma patients, helping them avoid exacerbations and unnecessary asthma complications.
Asthma triggers are different for every child. While many of the triggers are allergies like pollen, dust, pet dander, and mold, triggers can also be in the form of food allergies, emotional distress, smoke, exercise, weather changes, and even some smells. Discover exactly what your child’s triggers are and teach them to try and avoid these triggers as much as possible.
As they grow older, they’ll be better able to know when to slow down while exercising, what foods may contain their allergy, or how to calm their emotions in a stressful situation. The more you work with them to understand their triggers and work around them, the safer school will be.
Asthma attacks can happen at any time, without much warning. For school staff and personnel, it’s important that they know what your child is going through so that they can respond appropriately in the event of an attack. At the beginning of the school year, let your child’s teachers, coaches, school nurses, principals, lunch aids, and bus drivers know about their asthma and what an appropriate plan of action is in case of an attack.
It may help to let them know what your child’s triggers are and what your child is capable of doing for their own care. If you have a young child, the school staff person may have to help distribute their medicine.
One of the best ways to control your child’s asthma is to have inhalers and necessary medication available in their trigger areas. While school regulations may limit where you can keep medication, check with your school principal to see if they can keep their medication nearby. If they can keep an inhaler in the cafeteria, gym, in their backpack, and in their classroom, they may have a better chance of preventing a full-blown asthma attack.
A great way to keep your child safe at school is to create an asthma action plan. This is a written plan you can hand out to school personnel with all the information they might need in the event of an asthma attack. It should have all necessary contact information including: your name and phone numbers, emergency contact name and number if you cannot be reached, your pediatrician’s name and number, and the name and number of the closest hospital. It should also include your child’s medications, dosages, and usage instructions, a list of your child’s triggers, and your child’s best peak flow meter reading.
Your asthma action plan should also include a green, yellow, red zone guide explaining how to know when your child needs assistance. The green zone is when your child is happy, healthy, and breathing fine. The yellow zone occurs when there are worrisome signs including coughing, wheezing, shortness of breath, chest tightness, or difficulty doing normal activities. During this zone, have a plan of action to treat the symptoms like an aerosol inhaler, rest, and slow, deep breathing. The red zone occurs when breathing is hard and fast, talking is difficult, ribs are visible, and they may have trouble walking. During this stage, rescue medications are vital and emergency medical services may be necessary.
Avoid asthma complications with expert care from Meg Graves and the healthcare team at Stepping Stone Pediatrics in Kennesaw. Our center offers well-child visits, same day appointments, a Healthy Lifestyles clinic, extended adolescent care checkups, prenatal consultations, and more. Call us at 770-515-9000 to schedule an appointment.
• 3 cups whole wheat oat squares cereal
• 2 cups Cheerios
• 1 cup dry roasted cashews/almonds/walnuts
• ½ cup raisins
• ½ cup cranberries
• 2 cups pretzel
• Dry ranch dressing to taste
• Combine all ingredients. Sprinkle with dry ranch dressing to taste.
Ingredients:
Instructions:
(Updated August 2, 2016)
Zika virus has been in the news with some regularity over the past few months. This is a relatively new public health threat so we are still learning about what it is, how it affects us and what to do about it. This is our best effort at providing you with accurate and timely information, but please keep in mind that this is an evolving picture. If and when this article gets updated, we will adjust the dateline above and try to put any new information in boldface to make it easier to find. We’ll also try to keep this limited to practical information rather than a lot of microbiological background. (“Zika is a positive RNA virus belonging to the Flavivirus group ….. <snore>”)
The most dramatic and terrifying aspect of Zika is its potential to cause severe brain damage to unborn children—a condition called microcephaly where the brain is severely underdeveloped. This can occur when pregnant women get infected and the virus spreads to the fetus in the womb. The chances of this happening are still unknown, largely because 80% of people who get infected have no symptoms. (To get a handle on the risk, you have to know how many pregnant women are infected and then determine how many of their babies have complications. However, it’s hard to know how many pregnant women have been infected if the vast majority of them don’t have any symptoms!)
Luckily, there has been NO transmission of the disease by mosquitoes in the USA to date. (Update: Officials in Florida are now investigating four cases of “locally transmitted”—i.e., mosquito borne—Zika infection, two in Miami-Dade County and two in Broward County. It is important to note that these have not yet been confirmed as mosquito transmitted infection, but if confirmed would represent the first cases in the U.S. that are not travel related) The only confirmed U.S. cases are either from sexual activity or from patients who contracted the disease in another country. We can only hope it stays this way, but the climate in the southeastern United States is acceptable for the species of mosquito that transmit the disease to survive, so we will have to wait and see. (Update: Well, we knew this was coming. Officials have now confirmed 14 cases of mosquito-borne Zika infection near Miami, Florida as of this writing and we can expect that there will be more. The CDC has now issued a travel advisory for pregnant women and their partners to avoid travelling to the area— Continue to practice mosquito-discouraging measures such as those outlined below.)
What if you and/or your family are travelling to an endemic area (Olympics, anyone)? The best thing to do is try to prevent getting infected in the first place:
There is extensive intense work being done to develop a vaccine for Zika. Considering that there is no treatment and mothers could walk around with the infection without even knowing they have it or that it could affect their baby, this is very welcome news. We will try to keep you abreast of developments on this front.
While there is no treatment for Zika, remember that 80% of people who get infected have no symptoms. For the one out of five people who do develop symptoms, they are usually mild and limited to less than a week of fever, an itchy rash that spreads from the head down the body, red eyes (without discharge) and fatigue. Other symptoms can include headaches, body aches, gastrointestinal upset and a little swelling. While more serious consequences are possible, they are generally quite rare. (By the way, if you are unlucky enough to develop these symptoms, do NOT take any aspirin until the diagnosis is confirmed. Zika illness can mimic certain other diseases that can cause bleeding problems that aspirin would make worse.)
Bottom line, currently in our neck of the woods, Zika is still highly unlikely to result from a mosquito bite. Major concerns about contracting the disease would be almost exclusively for people who travel to endemic areas or have intercourse with travelers to endemic areas. Finally, remember that knowledge is progressing rapidly in this area, so it is quite possible that some of the above information may need to be revised as we learn more.