Involve your children in making healthy choices

In a world of what to eat and what not to eat we can sometimes lose track of the foods that are really important for good health.  There really should be no perplexity when it comes to eating.  When did it get so confusing?

It saddens me that when my kids ask for a certain food I have to tell them to read the label first.  I have them trained to look for certain “no-no’s” like high fructose corn syrup or partially hydrogenated oils.  Their pleas of, “Come on, mom, just this one time,” sometimes make me want to laugh and sometimes make me want to cry.  As a society how can we produce and mass advertise such unhealthy food products and then wonder why we have the highest rates of diabetes and childhood obesity?

As a parent, and more importantly, as an eater, it is easy to get confused about what products are good for you and what products to avoid.  I basically try to keep it simple.  Here are some of the rules I follow:

1. When grocery shopping stay on the perimeter of the store.  Load up your cart with fresh fruits and vegetables, fresh meats and dairy and stay out of the aisles that contain the packaged and processed foods.  When I go down the aisles it is only to purchase a few products: whole grain breads, pasta, and rice, healthy whole grain cereals and oatmeal, almonds, green tea, and very few other items.

2. Involve your children in making healthy choices.  Yesterday when we went grocery shopping we spent 90% of our time in the produce department and I let my kids choose the fruits and veges they wanted to eat, pick them out, and bag them themselves.  It gave them a sense of pride and involvement and made them not only talk about healthy choices but also want to eat all of the good stuff they picked out!

3. Make each plate you serve be colorful.  You might not think of all the foods you need to eat ahead of time but when you sit down to have a meal look at your plate and ask yourself if it is colorful.  I may give my kids a turkey sandwich for lunch but their plates will also have carrot sticks and red grapes on them.  A spaghetti dinner also includes steamed broccoli, carrots, and fruit.  Even when we order pizza I include carrot sticks and berries alongside the oozing cheese.

I really think we don’t have to make eating so confusing.  Just stick to the basics, make wise choices most of the time, and enjoy eating.

Healthy Lunch Choices for Mom (and dad)

Now that we have the kids all squared away and back to school it's a good time to make some healthy lunch choices for us moms too. No more chicken nuggets or mac-n-cheese with the kids. Sorry!

In the past I have posted items I thought were good lunch choices so I will continue to add on to that list. Today I tried something new:

Healthy Choice All Natural Sweet Asian Potstickers Frozen Entree. Here is what I thought:

The flavor was good; It was easy to prepare (when putting something in the microwave gets to be too much work than we know we have more to worry about than what we are eating for lunch); It was the right amount of food for lunch.

Here more of the good facts: It provided 50% of our daily whole grains needs and 20% of daily vegetables and was only 380 calories. It was full of antioxidants, was low in saturated fat, and provided 6g of fiber which help to promote digestive health.

So all in all - A good, easy, healthy choice for lunch.

What to Feed Your Kids for Lunch

If your kids are like mine, they live for Pizza Fridays! So I try to make sure that for the most part, they are eating a healthy lunch through-out the week.

If your kids buy school lunch, go over the menu with them in the morning and discuss what food options they have. One rule in our house is that they must have a fruit or vege with every meal. So where I may give on the chicken nuggets, we have agreed that they will also eat the oranges.


If your kids bring a sack lunch you have more control over what they eat. When I pack lunches for my boys I usually either give them lean ham or turkey deli meat rolled up, a cheese stick, grapes, 100% juice box, cheddar bunnies or pretzels.


Another item my kids love for lunch is "home-made" lunchables. I buy a Hormel All Natural Ham and cut it up in cubes, add cheese cubes and healthy whole grain crackers and you have the healthy version of a lunchable. Then you can add grapes and 100% juice box or low-fat milk and they have a good healthy lunch to get them through the rest of the day.

picture from keetsa.com

Healthy Kids Drinks for Back to School

If your kids take a sack lunch to school you have a little more control over what they are eating and drinking.

What your kids are drinking at school is as important as what they are eating. If you pack a juice box in their lunch, make sure they only drink 100% juice. I know it can cost a little more but if you are not buying 100% juice your kids are getting tons of artificial ingredients and sugar packed into one little box.

Most juice boxes contain:

*Only 10% real fruit juice
*High-fructose corn syrup
*Only 20% of recommended daily value of Vitamin C

My two favorite brands are Juicy Juice and Minute Maid 100% Juice. I have found both at Target and Market Street.

If they buy school lunch encourage them to buy low-fat milk or bottled water and discourage sodas of all kinds.

Is there a Healthy Hot Dog?

My kids are just that - kids - and no matter what strange new foods I may try to put in front of them - they still love the All American Food - Hot Dogs.

The problem is that most hot dogs are loaded with unhealthy ingredients so I went on a quest to find a healthier alternative.

What I found were several varieties from Applegate Farms. My kids love both the natural turkey and natural chicken hot dogs. They are all natural and do not contain any nitrates (a preservative shown to increase cancer risk and trigger migraines), or by-products like skeletal muscle , tissue, or corn syrups found in almost all other brands of hot-dogs - Yuck!!!

...all of the meat, none of the mystery....

http://www.applegatefarms.com/Products/ProductDetail.aspx?id=2480

How to Cut Calories at Lunch

Cut up to 100 calories at lunch by making these easy changes:

• Leave the cheese off of your sandwich


• Use mustard instead of mayonnaise


• Pass on the croutons at the salad bar


• Eat cheese pizzas and leave off the meats


• Avoid Cream soups
  
• Shed your hamburger bun - eat it without the bun


• Use corn tortillas instead of flour
  

**Based on an article from Women's Health Mag**

Better Fast Food Choices

Always on the run? Love to eat out? Well I am going to try and list a few healthier alternatives if you have to hit the fast food line:

Subway/Fire House Subs/Which Wich: Choose the 6-inch Turkey Breast or Ham Sub on Wheat. Avoid the Mayo and try Spicy Mustard instead. Load it up with veges, and avoid any high-calorie sauces like ranch or oil and vinegar.

Opt for water or unsweetened tea (and don't add artificial sweetener!) instead of sodas and avoid the chips.

You can walk away with a pretty good lunch alternative and not feel guilty that you broke your diet. If you can - avoid the cheese too - but I can never leave that out!

Super Healthy Chicken Tenders

1 Pkg. Boneless, Skinless Chicken tenders (appx. 1 lb.)
¼ cup wheat flour
¼ cup wheat germ
1 TBL Flax Seed Meal
½ tsp paprika
½ tsp garlic salt
1 tsp dry minced onion
½ tsp ground mustard
¼ tsp pepper
2 TBL grated Parmesan cheese
Olive oil

Use olive oil to lightly coat cookie sheet. Preheat oven to 425. Put all ingredients except chicken in a large plastic baggie. Shake to mix. Add half of the chicken. Shake to coat thoroughly with mixture. Place coated tenders on greased cookie sheet. Repeat with remainder of chicken. Cook in preheated oven for 30 minutes. Serves 4.

Quick Healthy Lunch Ideas

I am not a big sandwich eater so I am always looking for quick, easy lunch options that are also healthy. One of my favorite lunch options is Amy’s Kitchen Teriyaki Bowls. It is made with organic brown rice, crisp vegetables and marinated tofu and is also non-dairy and gluten free. For those of you who do not like tofu (you should definitely give it a try) they also have stuffed pasta shell bowls, organic enchilada bowls, brown rice and vege bowls and lots of other options. I also like their Pesto Pizza and their Margherita Pizza which are both all natural but most importantly taste good!

I like the Amy’s Kitchen brand because they have convenient, natural vegetarian meals. I have found their products at both Market Street and Super Target. Here is the link to their website with more information about their products and nutritional information as well. Eat and Enjoy!

http://www.amyskitchen.com/products/category_view.php?prod_category=12

Easy, Healthy Lunch Choices

Want something for lunch that’s quick, easy, but also healthy? One of my favorite options is soup! I have found a brand that produces all natural, mostly organic, very tasty soups. The brand is Muir Glen. They have a variety of different choices from Southwest Black Bean to Chicken Noodle. You can find the Muir Glen brand at most stores from Super Target to Market Street. Pair it up with a small salad with a handful of almonds, chopped green apple and craisins. You can’t go wrong!