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.

A Better Alternative to the Slice and Bake Cookie

I was so excited when I found these cookies today. They are from Pillsbury "Simply"and seem to have a better list of ingredients than most slice-n-bake type cookies. Although still not the healthiest food in the world, these cookies do not contain high-fructose corn syrup, trans fat, artificial colors or preservatives.

I found 2 flavors, peanut butter & chocolate chip. The peanut butter are in the oven right now so I will let you know how good they are after they have been "kid-tested".

Here is the link to their website for more info:
http://www.pillsbury.com/products/sweet-treats/Refrigerated/simply-cookies.htm#

Kids Healthy Snacks for School Continues

With school just days away I decided to list my top 10 choices for healthy kids snacks. It's important that we provide healthy snacks for our children when they are at school. We can provide the snacks...if they actually eat them is a different story!

1. Granola Bars

2. Clif Kid Z-Bars

3. Grapes

4. Cheese Sticks

5. Apple Slices (few drops of lemon will help them not to turn brown)

6. Bananas

7. Annie's Cheddar Bunnies or Honey Bunnies

8. Raisins

9. Multi-Grain Cheerios, Kashi Honey Toasted Oat, or Kashi Honey Sunshine Cereal

10. Kashi Chewy Granola Bars, Fruit & Grain Bars, or Cereal Bars

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

Banana-Oat Muffins

This is my third attempt on healthy muffins that my family will actually eat and I think I finally have success. I made this recipe yesterday and the muffins are all gone. They are really moist and tasty and use all healthy ingredients. Give them a try!

2 Cups Full Circle Honey Nut Toasted Oats Cereal
1 ½ Cup Whole Wheat Flour
1/3 Cup Packed Brown Sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
½ tsp nutmeg
1 Cup Mashed Ripe Bananas (About 2 Large)
1 Cup Low Fat Milk
3 TBL Canola Oil
1 Egg
½ tsp vanilla

Heat Oven to 400. Grease Bottom of Muffin Pan or Use Muffin Cups.

Crush Cereal. In large bowl combine all dry ingredients including cereal. Mix Well. Stir in all wet ingredients including bananas just until moistened. Divide batter evenly among muffin cups.
Bake 18-22 minutes. Makes 12 muffins.

But I Just Want a Cookie!

How many times are you at the grocery store with your kids and they want to get every dessert product you pass by? “Mom, Can I have this?” “No.” “Can I have this?” “No.” It gets exhausting. It is to the point at my house that when we are at the store if my 7 year old son asks if he can have something I tell him to read the label. He knows a few of the key words to look for – no high fructose corn syrup and no hydrogenated oils.

It makes me feel pretty bad sometimes. So I started to read the labels of several snack brands and found one that I feel is healthy enough for my family and oh boy…it tastes good!

The brand I like is Back to Nature. We love the Peanut Butter Crème Cookies (Taste like Nutter Butters – remember them?) We also love the Chocolate Chunk Cookies. And, of course, they're all baked with no hydrogenated oils and have no trans fat.

So you can still have a little sweet indulgence now and then and you don’t have to cut all the sweets out of your diet. Just try to find some that are a little better for you and are made with more natural ingredients. It’s Ok….have a cookie! (But just 2)

Go Nuts!

I don’t know about you but I used to shy away from eating nuts because they are high in fat. But now I have started snacking on them in small quantities. Nuts are one of the best plant sources of protein. They are rich in fiber. Almonds, which are actually seeds, may improve digestion and boost your immune system. A good way to control your portion is to just eat one large handful of almonds (about 25) everyday.

Here is one of my healthy snack recipes:

1 Cup Fresh Blueberries, washed
1 Cup Sliced Almonds
1 Cup Craisins
Mix all together. Enjoy alone, over yogurt, oatmeal or cereal!