A Tribe Called Dad: Finding Your Community of Dads

Since I've become a dad, I've sought camaraderie within a number of organizations and groups that cater to dads.

I also belong to a number of mom communities, and general parenting communities as well, but the dad ones speak a little more to me, have helped me find my Tribe of Dads

Here's a list of just some of the Dad Communities I belong to:

City Dads Group http://www.citydadsgroup.com  
When I was a newbie father, I discovered a cool meetup group that had started a few months before I became a dad-- the NYC Dads Group. Founded by Lance Somerfeld (and then quickly joined by his partner Matt Schneider) the NYC Dads Group went from about 100 dads when I joined to a 22 city network of dads that number in the thousands.

 When I lived in NY I was very involved in the organization (I was one of the first co-hosts of its podcast The Modern Dads Podcast, and I still occasionally contribute) I was the cultural coordinator, so organized a few meetups, and as well I was a pretty frequent contributor to their blog.

 Since I've moved to Chicago, I've become involved in the local chapter Chicago Dad's Group, and write for their blog (local and national) and also do some cultural coordination.  Of course, my son is older now, and my need for hooking up with other dads has lessened a little bit.  It's still a great organization, and I think an essential group to belong to if you are an involved dad or a primary caregiver, especially a newbie. Although it's organized online, the heart of the group is face to face meetups.

Dad 2.0 Summit http://www.dad2summit.com

I've attended every one of these blogging conferences so far.  Founded by Doug French and John Pacini, it's an annual conference where influencer dads (bloggers, youtubers, snapchatters, periscopers, tweeters, facebookers, and instagrammista's) meet corporate brands and have conversations about influence, about policy and culture, and about working together.  I'm a tiny fish in this pretty large pond (but still a pond compared to the Ocean that is Mom blogging conferences, including its sister conference http://www.mom2summit.com, which I've also attended.)  I love going every year because I love the dads that go, and some of the guys I've met at this conference have turned into relatively close chums (considering they live around the world)   It's really a must-go conference for me.

Life Of Dad http://www.lifeofdad.com

Life of Dad is a blogging platform and community. They offer a forum, a blogging platform, a podcast, a videocast On their site you can start a blog, start a conversation, watch a video, and meet hundreds of other parents.  I've met most of the founders at Dad 2.0, and they are good guys.  I've also recently started working with them as an influencer partner-- ie, they occasionally put me up for blogging or other influencer work.  If you don't have a dad blog yet, I think it's a great starter place to check out and see if you like blogging.  There are lots of helpful people on site, and the community is great.

Dad Blogger's Facebook Group https://www.facebook.com/groups/dadbloggers/

Started by sadly now-deceased friend Oren Miller (Blogger Father), this group has grown to over 1000 guys all who have blogs.  It's a closed group, meaning you have to be approved, and primarily to do that, go to the site, and send a message, with a link to your blog.  The basic rules of the conference are to not be a dick, and for the most part, that works. There are share threads (threads where you can share your blog posts) and lots of helpful people.  It can get a little raucous, and occasionally a little dick-jokey, but it's one of the best ways to meet a whole bunch of dad bloggers all at once.

National At-Home Dad Network http://athomedad.org/

This is a conference and advocacy group that helps connect at-home dads with each other, with best practices, education, support, and community.  It has an annual conference every year (but sadly I've never gone-- it always conflicts with something-- in the past it was the Jewish holidays-- this year it's my hard fought tickets to Hamilton.)  I know a lot of the organizers, and they are smart, compassionate, and very eager to help.  If you are an At-Home Dad, I can highly recommend this group.


These are great resources to start with if you are a dad looking for your tribe.

Please list links to your community(ies) in the comments!

Stouffer's #Fitkitchen- My Partner in Eating Better

Disclosure: I have partnered with Life of Dad and STOUFFER’S® for this promotion. I have received compensation and product for my participation, but my opinions and my voracious appetites are my own.

I've been trying to be better about working out and eating in a more healthy way.  Honest, I have.  But as many of you know, it's difficult.  Especially because.

• I'm an older dad (I'm 50!  I know, I don't look a day over 49!)

• I have a voracious appetite. 

• I used to be active, but have been sedentary for the last couple of years.

A couple of weeks ago I joined my local gym, primarily because I can walk there and they have a pool. I'm a big fan of swimming, and so are my busted-out basketball knees. And especially with the summer coming on here in Chicago, I think it will be a good activity to do every morning.

I'd been threatening to join the gym for a while, but somehow never quite got there to do it. I managed to go, sign up for the full year, and now I'm good to go. All I have to do is attend!

I've gone 8 out of the last 14 days, which is pretty good. Mostly swimming, but a little running too. (And by running, I mean walking on the treadmill/elliptical at a moderate pace - I'm in the 3.8/3.9 mph territory in the gym). Back when I was in my 30's, I'd swim a mile in about 41 minutes. And I'd regularly go 5-6 mph on the treadmill. And now, I'm swimming a little over half a mile in 30 minutes. Hey, you have to start somewhere.

In terms of eating, I've been trying to cook more and eat out less. It doesn't always work out because I run out of time and energy. Especially for lunch or after a workout. And let's face it, a dad can not live by kale alone.

For the last couple of days I've been coming home from the gym very hungry, and just haven't had the energy to cook.  And this is where Stouffer's ® Fit Kitchen has been a great help in satisfying my hunger.

They've got six varieties available, and they all sounded pretty good.


STEAK FAJITA in smoked red chile sauce with a mix of red & green peppers and seasoned brown rice.


CILANTRO LIME CHICKEN white meat chicken with a black bean & corn mix, seasoned brown rice, and a verde tomatillo sauce.


ROTISSERIE SEASONED TURKEY with a mix of diced red skin sweet potatoes & green beans.


MONTEREY CHICKEN with diced red skin & sweet potatoes, lightly buttered green beans with BBQ style sauce.


BOURBON STEAK with chipotle mashed sweet potatoes, seasoned broccoli & red peppers.


OVEN ROASTED CHICKEN with diced red skin potatoes, seasoned broccoli and a savory wine sauce.

 I tried both the Bourbon Steak and the Rotisserie Turkey.  Seriously, they were the best frozen meals I've ever had!

PREPARATION

The before picture.  Looks good!

The meals are easy to prepare. You open the box, tear off a corner for venting (with the bourbon steak they recommended opening up the cover over the broccoli) and cook for 6 minutes. You open it, you stir the vegetables up a little, you cover it and cook it for 1 more minute. Let it stand one more minute and then enjoy. Pretty easy. 

TASTE

The after picture.  Delicious!

 The food was plentiful and tasted fresh.  The meat was in nice juicy chunks, and clearly pretty high quality stuff.  The vegetables were good and not soggy and didn't have that "frozen" flavor.  With both I finished the plate and was pretty full (although I will admit that I used a piece of bread to sop up the delicious Bourbon Steak's gravy.  I couldn't let all that deliciousness go to waste, right?)  I really feel like Stouffers ® Fit Kitchen did a great job of making these meals delicious.

NUTRITIONAL VALUE

The Bourbon Steak has 410 calories and 26 g of protein.   The Rotisserie Turkey has 330 calories and 25 g of protein.   They both have no trans-fat.  I wouldn't classify them as "diet meals" because that somehow implies that they are skimpy or small, which they are not. They are hearty meals of good ingredients for people that need quick energy. They do have a fair amount of sodium (890mg for the steak and 960mg for the turkey)  but that's less than 40% of the RDA.  You shouldn't have them for every meal, but one a day will be fine, even if you are watching your salt intake (which I am.)

CONCLUSION

These meals are great for after a workout, or when you need to make something quick and satisfying.  I heartily recommend checking them out; you can find STOUFFER’S® Fit Kitchen in the frozen aisle at your local Walmart, Target or grocery store; visit www.stouffers.com to find a store near you.

The Case of the Missing Milk

Disclosure: I have partnered with my friends Life of Dad and Milk Life for this promotion. I have received compensation for my participation, but my belief in the power and goodness of Milk is my own, as are my stories and my opinions.

Milk is delicious, nutritious, and full of essential ingredients.

You never know how much you miss something until it's gone.

About four months ago, in an effort to figure out why she has stomach pain after she eats, my wife (in consultation with her doctor) decided to do an elimination diet.  She's cut out sugar, nightshades, gluten, corn, soy, and dairy from her diet.  We stopped buying dairy milk at that time, and started buying milk substitutes-- almond milk/cashew milk/coconut milk/rice milk.

 I didn't think too much about it: - milk substitutes have lots of protein and are vitamin D augmented.  And I didn't drink THAT MUCH milk,  I will drink just about anything and my son gets milk at school through the FREE LUNCH program.  *

This is my new favorite milk-- it's got actual cream on top!

So I was going along my merry way,  drinking milk substitutes for a few weeks until we had house guests stay with us for a week.  We bought some actual milk for them, and I started drinking it too, and OH MY GOD this stuff is delicious!  I'd forgotten how much I missed actual milk.

Which brings me to another group of people who miss milk:  The hungry.

In our country, over 12 million families rely on food banks to help fill their pantries.   Over 22 million kids are expected to go without milk this summer when the school breakfast and lunch programs go on hiatus. And while generous people often donate excess dry goods and canned goods to food banks, milk is not something that many people donate. It's perishable, it needs refrigeration, and by the time you figure out you've bought too much milk, it's gone bad.  Milk is one of the top food items requested by food banks nationwide.

 Look at these stats to have your eyes opened even further:

The folks at MilkLife (which is part of the National Dairy Council) and Feeding America are trying to reverse this issue.  They have started the Great American Milk Drive, the first-ever nationwide program to deliver highly desired and nutrient-rich gallons of milk to hungry families who need it most.

A group of Dad Bloggers organized by Life of Dad are having a friendly competition to raise additional funds for the Milk Drive.  And the winning team gets some EXTRA MONEY donated to The Great American Milk Drive. So win win win for us all.

If you would care to support our team, and more importantly support bringing more milk to hungry kids and their parents, please donate using this link: TEAM NORTH

Here's a list of my team members and their blogposts in support of #milklife:

FanDads: http://fandads.blogspot.com/2015/06/all-aboard-milkdrive-to-feeding-america.html

BenSparks: http://www.benspark.com/im-a-milkdrive-dad-raising-donations-for-feeding-america.html


And if you can swing it, next time you go shopping buy an extra gallon of milk and bring it to your food bank or pantry.  They will appreciate it tremendously! (But make sure they are set up for refrigerated donations; not all food pantries are)

In my neighborhood, my food pantry of choice to donate to is CARE FOR REAL.  Last year they gave out enough food to serve 1.2 million meals. We've donated dry goods to them in the past, but now I'll make a special effort to drop off a couple of gallons of milk every so often.  I'm sure there are kids (and grownups) out there who love milk as much as I do.

* FREE LUNCHES IN CHICAGO

(In Chicago, EVERY KID regardless of their economic situation gets a free breakfast and lunch if they want it-- Chicago Public Schools (CPS) did the math, and realized that the productivity loss from dealing with hungry kids was greater than the money they spend to make sure that every kid has a meal when they want it.  So everyone applies, they take the federal money, and they augment it with their own funds to make sure that every kid is ready to learn.  The CPS program also includes milk at both breakfast and lunch.

 Read more about the program here. I think it's really remarkable and would love to see more school districts adopt this kind of program.