PETRO MONTHLY
APRIL 2018
FROM THE DESK OF Mark Petro
CAN’T GET YOUR KID TO EAT VEGGIES? T ry T hese S trategies
Most mornings, and often at lunch, I can be found at Salem’s Diner on 18th Street in Homewood. Salem’s Diner is owned by my good friend, Wayne Salem. Wayne is the son of the late, great Ed Salem, an All-American football player at the University of Alabama and member of the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame. Wayne and I have a lot in common. We both like to laugh and eat good food, including Lebanese food. We are both grandchildren of Lebanese immigrants. There are many great items on the Salem’s Diner menu. For breakfast, most folks prefer the “Trash Can With Lid,” which, for the really hungry, is made with hash browns loaded with onions, peppers, tomatoes, cheddar cheese, and sausage and topped with fried eggs. For lunch, most folks prefer the Philly cheesesteak sandwich, which was made even more famous by Craig Ferguson from CBS’s “Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson.” Ferguson was in Birmingham to appear at the Comedy Club when he stopped by Salem’s for lunch and ordered the Philly cheesesteak. A few days later, during Ferguson’s monologue on his TV show, he told a national audience that while in Birmingham at Salem’s Diner, he had “the best Philly cheesesteak I ever tasted — and I’m including Philadelphia.” So next time you are in Homewood, please go by Salem’s Diner and tell Wayne that Craig Ferguson and Mark Petro sent you! This month, I would also like to give a special shoutout to my former client, James Davis, who referred his relative to me for representation in an injury claim arising out of a car wreck. The best compliment a lawyer can receive is when a current or former client refers a relative or friend. Thank you, James!
Mealtime with young children can often resemble a scene from “A Few Good Men.”Verbal warfare can break out at any moment, only in this case, it’s about eating vegetables. That comparison may sound extreme, but if you’ve ever tried to convince a young child to eat something they don’t want to, this courtroom power struggle may not sound extreme enough. What if there was a way to avoid this? Creating an environment that is conducive to trying new foods can be very difficult. The individuality of every child makes it even more complicated, because there is no overarching solution. The following strategies might not work in every situation, but give them a try if you find yourself struggling at the dinner table. TWO-THIRDS RULE Good + Simple advocates what the author calls the “two-thirds rule.” By providing two food options you know your child would like and sneaking in a third option, you can encourage your child to slowly expand their palate and open their mind to trying new things. Even if they don’t eat one-third of the new food they dislike, your child will still have consumed a large enough portion to receive the proper nutrients. ONE BITE FOR EVERY YEAR Fit Mama Real Food is a blog run by Heather, a mother of four. She developed a unique strategy to help her kids try new foods. The bargain she makes with her children requires them to have as many bites as their age. So if your child is 3 years old, they have to take three bites. When they turn 4, they have to take four bites. She recommends starting this strategy around 2 years old.
–Mark Petro
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Cover story, continued ... GET THEM IN THE KITCHEN AND THE STORE When your child helps cook, it introduces them to the process and familiarizes them with new foods. When a child makes their own food, they’re more inclined to want to try it. Letting them help pick some healthy options at the store has a similar effect. While it might be nice to navigate the grocery store without children slowing you down, letting them choose their
vegetables could get your kids excited to eat them. MAKE IT FUN That’s not to say you should celebrate every bite like your child just won Game 7 of the World Series. Making eating fun means creating an environment where your child looks forward to food. If you foster an atmosphere where eating is perceived as a chore, your child will be less likely to pursue new foods. This means not giving your child misconceptions or preconceived notions about the food they are going to eat. To illustrate this, think of it like the last time someone ranted and raved about a movie by saying, “You’re going to love it!”Well, sometimes you don’t love it, and the hype can lead to disappointment. FOOD ALLERGIES For many parents, food allergies are an incredible complication when it comes to expanding their child’s diet. What
may work for some children could prove disastrous for another. That doesn’t mean you child can’t try new things. You just may have to be a little more inventive. Try using sunbutter from sunflower seeds instead of peanut butter, make dairy-free cupcakes, or find other alternatives to common foods. This will help children with allergies feel included when exposed to new foods. The biggest benefit of adventurous eating is the nutritional value of diverse food. While almost every child loves mac and cheese, it doesn’t provide the vital nutrients they need. We often hear how important a well-balanced diet is for adults, but it’s even more critical for kids. As children grow, they need a wide array of nutrients to live a healthy life. Calcium, folate, iron, and vitamins A and C are just a few important components of a healthy diet for children. It can be easy to give in, but by using unique strategies, you can introduce new foods to your child’s diet. All it takes is a little creativity.
What Patients Need to Know Before Getting Knee Surgery It’s Not Your Only Option
Over the last few years, a number of studies have come out questioning the efficacy of surgery for this condition. While it’s true that arthroscopic surgery generally does result in positive outcomes for patients, they’re virtually identical to the outcomes of noninvasive exercises and treatments in the long run. Essentially, this means that expensive, painful, and potentially dangerous surgery, which forces patients off their feet for weeks, may be easily avoided. Issues as widespread as knee osteoarthritis or tears of the meniscus can be corrected in other ways. Still, a substantial number of doctors rush to surgery as the only option for their patients, perhaps because they’re unaware or disagree with these 2017 recommendations. Of course, it’s important to trust your physician and listen carefully to the advice they give, but you should consider every possible alternative. Taking a few months to see if conservative treatment will solve your knee problem can save you thousands of dollars and a lot of pain and struggle.
Knee osteoarthritis is one of the most prevalent causes of disability in the world, affecting an estimated 250 million people across the globe and over 10 percent of Americans at some point in their lives. If you expand this number to include tears of the meniscus, it increases to 1 in 4 people over 50 years of age. Pain from knee osteoarthritis or meniscal tears differ in important ways, but the fact remains that both problems can result in a debilitating condition that will diminish the sufferer’s quality of life. It’s no surprise, then, that somany patients turn to their doctors for advice on treating osteoarthritis or a tear in their meniscus. It often seems that surgery is the only option for a substantial recovery. But an array of new research indicates that surgery is rarely the best course of action for these particular conditions. Just last year, the respected British Medical Journal released new recommendations strongly steering physicians away from advising their patients to undergo arthroscopic surgery for either knee osteoarthritis or meniscal tears. Instead, they suggest noninvasive treatment methods like watchful waiting, weight loss if overweight, and physical therapy.
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Do You Need a Media Detox? THE DANGERS OF OVERSTIMULATION
With the current trend of getting TV, social media, and news alerts sent to our phones, we have access to more media than we could ever consume. While constant connectivity is a boon for many aspects of our lives, researchers are discovering that too much stimulation is cause for concern. One study in the Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology found that too much social comparison, spurred by the likes of Facebook and cable news, can lead to an increased risk of depression. If you find yourself pressured to live up to the public lives of friends and family, or if you feel like you’re being bombarded with too much news and entertainment, consider a media detox. A detox doesn’t require you to unsubscribe from social media services or unplug your TV forever. Instead, think of it as a vacation from the overstimulation so many of us experience. Ask yourself which aspects of your media diet are causing more stress than they’re worth, and take a break from them for a little while. “In the same way we think about what we eat, we should think about what we read, what we’re seeing, what we’re engaging in, and what we’re interacting with every day,” EmmaWatson told CNN in an interview about her selective social media use. If you’re not mindful of your media consumption and participation, it tends to pile up. When you detox, it’s a lot easier to identify which parts of your media diet are essential and which are only a burden.
Another benefit of a media detox is that you’ll have more time to pursue new and dormant hobbies. Because most of us consume media in small chunks throughout the day, it’s easy to overlook howmuch that time adds up. All those hours you spend on Facebook could be used to start a garden, knit a quilt, or join a soccer league. Unless you have an unlimited supply of leisure time (and who does?), you need to be selective in the way you spend it. Remember, media isn’t the cause of all your ills. Used mindfully, it can actually increase happiness and satisfaction. The problem is that we are so mired in the media muck that we can’t get a perspective on how much is too much. A detox will allow you to reassess the media you’re consuming and build a better plan for the future. You can still keep up with your grandkids on Facebook, but it shouldn’t be the only way you interact with the world.
PASTA
“Mark helps take the stress away while getting over an accident. He is calming, reassuring, and you know you are in good hands. He Client Testimonials
With Turkey and Broccoli
This simple, delicious recipe only takes 20 minutes from start to finish. It’s also a great way to encourage kids to eat their broccoli. The next time you make pasta, leave the canned sauce in the pantry and make this instead!
Ingredients
3/4 pounds pasta (shells or orecchiette) 2 cups broccoli florets 3 tablespoons olive oil 1 pound ground turkey
2 cloves garlic, chopped 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper Salt Parmesan cheese
completely handles everything for you so you can concentrate on getting better. You can tell he is looking out for your best interest. Mark Petro is a GREAT Attorney!” Gale R.
Directions
Cook while breaking up meat with a wooden spoon for 3–5 minutes. 3. Combine turkey with pasta
1. Cook the pasta according to package directions. Add broccoli when pasta is 1 minute from done. Drain both and return to pot. 2. Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a skillet over medium- high heat. Add the turkey, garlic, crushed red pepper, and a pinch of salt.
and broccoli mixture, adding the remaining olive oil as you stir. Serve in bowls topped with Parmesan.
Recipe courtesy of realsimple.com
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INSIDE THIS ISSUE From the Desk of Mark PAGE 1 How to Get Your Kids to Try New Foods PAGE 1 New Evidence Comes Out Against Knee Surgery PAGE 2 Why You Should Consider a Media Detox PAGE 3 Take a Break PAGE 3 Pasta With Turkey and Broccoli PAGE 3 The Origins of April Fools’ Day PAGE 4
Fooled Again! THE HISTORY
OF APRIL FOOLS’ DAY
THE GREGORIAN CALENDAR In 1582, France switched from the Julian calendar to the Gregorian calendar. Some people were slow to get the news, and others failed to recognize that the start of the year had moved from April 1 to Jan. 1. Those who celebrated during the last week of March became the butt of jokes and hoaxes. People placed paper fish on the backs of March celebrators to symbolize young, easily caught fish and referred to them as “poissons d’avril,”or “April fools.” HILARIA Other historians have linked April Fools’ Day to the ancient Roman festival Hilaria, which was celebrated at the end of March. The festival honored Cybele, a mother of gods, and celebrations included parades, masquerades, and jokes to honor the vernal equinox, the first day of spring in the Northern Hemisphere.
‘CANTERBURY TALES’ Another origin story comes from Geoffrey Chaucer’s 1392 book, “The Canterbury Tales.” There are still questions about whether Chaucer really wrote the stories and whether they have any direct link to April Fools’ Day. In the book, Chaucer describes the date “32 March.” Some believe this was a joke, because March 32 doesn’t exist, but some medievalists insist it was a misprint. April Fools’ Day certainly has murky origins. Whether our traditions come from the Gregorian calendar switch, Hilaria, or even “The Canterbury Tales,” we can all enjoy our chance to let loose and play pranks on our friends and family at least one day each year.
Although April Fools’Day has been celebrated for centuries by cultures around the world, the holiday’s origin is unclear. Historians point to a variety of possible beginnings, but the only solid conclusion is that the April Fools’Day we know today is a blend of traditions.
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