HCE Blog

Want a fun treat to give to your boos and ghouls this Halloween season? Give this snack a try! Mummy Dogs 1 sheet of pastry dough (we recommend Pillsbury Crescent Dough Sheets) 10 hot dogs Cooking spray Mustard or ketchup Preheat your oven according to the packaging of the dough you have purchased! Unroll the dough and cut into 4 rectangles. Cut each rectangle lengthwise into 10 strips...

It’s still a bit warm down here in the South even when we’re well into October. If your child gets an ice cream craving near Halloween, try giving them this healthy (and spooky) alternative instead! Boo-nana Pops 1 medium banana 1 cup good quality white chocolate* 8 mini chocolate chips for eyes 4 popsicle sticks Cut the banana in half lengthwise, then cut those halves in half so that ...

We know it’s hard to get the kiddos to eat healthy food on any day, but it’s often so much harder on Halloween! They just want to gobble down candy and sugar until they’re bouncing off the walls. Try out some of these fun (and healthy) Halloween-themed snacks that will help the kids from filling up on candy! Monster Teeth Sliced granny smith apples, cut into 8 sections 1 cup of organic pea...

Have you ever gone to the doctor and frozen up when the nurse asks what medications you’ve been taking? They all have such complicated names, it’s hard to keep up with them all! Avoid the stress of having to remember all the names with this simple hack! Write down the names of every medication you take and keep the list in your wallet or purse. If you don’t carry either of those, make a note i...

Many children (and some adults) have trypanophobia— the fear of needles. While understandable, it is certainly a problematic fear. It makes doctor’s visits stressful for everyone involved. It also makes it hard for the person with the fear to seek medical care.  To keep these fears from developing or worsening in your child, avoid joking about or threatening your child with a shot when they’re...

Going to the doctor is a scary experience for many children, but you can make it less frightening by playing doctor at home! Familiarize your child with the steps and tools used in a pediatric appointment. You can either pretend to be the doctor, or you can let your child try and let them practice on you or one of their toys. Go through all the steps you can at home. Use a toy stethoscope to p...

Need help getting your hubby to go to the doctor?  Many studies show that fewer men go to doctors to seek care than women. Why is that? Are they afraid? Are they afraid it will make them seem less manly to get help? Whatever the case, here’s an easy way to get the man of the house to go to the doctor! If you have children, have your husband take the kids to the doctor, and schedule his checku...

Parents know just how hard it is to get their children to take medicine. You wouldn’t think it would be so hard to get them to take something that would make them feel better, but can you blame them? Medicine tastes bad! But there’s an easy (if not a little mean) way to trick them into taking their medicine. Take an empty juice box of your kiddo’s favorite juice and cut out the back. Place the...

Do you clean out your toothbrush holder? Sure, the bristles never touch the inside, but that doesn’t mean that your toothbrush isn’t covered in bacteria from being stored inside it. Extremely dangerous bacteria such as Salmonella and E. coli can grow inside the container.  To keep from spreading and potentially becoming infected with these bacteria, try to clean and disinfect your toothbrush h...

The damp and warm bathroom you step out into after you take a hot shower is the perfect breeding ground for mold and bacteria. You likely notice that when you clean your shower and see the buildup of soap scum and the beginnings of mold starting to grow at the very edge of your shower curtain. One place often missed when many people clean their shower is the shower head. Plastic shower heads ar...