Back to school time represents a great time to get organized in setting some good healthy family goals.

Here are a few tips:

• sit down together with your child and discuss why the family is making nutrition and/or activity changes
• let them, in fact, encourage them to be part of the conversation, what do they think, what is a good goal etc
• set one goal, change takes time but every change creates a healthier child
• keep it simple
• be SPECIFIC. like eating breakfast everyday, or five days a week (M-F) after dinner we will take a one hour walk (you get the idea)
• sit down and sign an agreement, it makes it more official and real for the child, here are some agreement sheets that are fun and designed for kids and parents
• print the associated tracking sheet and post it in a visible place, like the refrigerator is a good one
• everyday, fill it out,
• be happy and celebrate small victories
• it is a victory to start because you are helping your child see that this is important

Most important, have fun with it.  Find ways to make games out of completing the goal!

It is back to school time. The summer sure passed by fast!

This may not be new news but certainly worth reminding. I know already blogged about this but here is a new statistic released by the American Dietitic Association

40% of girl and 32% of boys who are school age, skip breakfast on a regular basis

So I think we may need to hear this message again. ‘Cause that is a lot of boys and girls.

Eating breakfast is first and foremost extremely important. It gives your child the necessary fuel that the brain needs to concentrate, absorb information and retain information. …that means better learning, better test scores, better grades.

According to a study done by Boys Town Pediatrics in Nebraska:
– providing energy needed to start the day
– eliminating hunger symptoms such as headache, fatigue and restlessness
– helping them to think faster and to respond more clearly to teacher
questions
– increase mental performance
– making them less likely to be irritable
– causing them to be calmer and less anxious

It makes sense. Children’s last meal is usually 9 or more hours. By the time they wake up their fuel from the previous day’s snack or meal is now used up by the body. Kids are growing so that makes their bodies very different than us adults. They need fuel to not only function but also to grow; every organ, tissue, cell is changing and growing. The brain can only use glucose for fuel. That means any food eaten has to be broken down or transformed into this fuel source so the brain can use it. Breaking down food uses up energy so these kids bodies are in a high state of work all the time!

So, help them off to a good school year with a healthy breakfast. To read more on breakfast, here is an article written by our dietitian.

In general,

• try to have at least 3 food groups represented in the breakfast.
• Look for high fiber cereals, 4+ grams
• include fruit and of course low fat or non fat milk (milk products)

I took my 4 year old to the San Mateo County fair last week. We had a lot of fun looking at all the different animals (yeah, we are cityfolks) and learning their different names. We even watched a pig race where she was selected to be one of the cheerleaders. And of course, there are the rides and she is big enough to know exactly which ones she wants to go on.

But, then she was hungry and the first thing she asked for as we walked through the food section was, “Corn dog”. I must admit I was surprised she even knew what that was but there it was in bright booth with flashing lights at the top. I told her, “lets do our happy walk and look at all the different foods before we decide”. So, she agreed to that ’cause she loves doing our happy walk (we both skip while we hold hands).

Hmm, what to pick. Corn dogs, cheese curds, gyros, nacho chips smothered in processed cheese…. Hmm, this is not going to be so easy. Oh, but then I saw the barbecue booth with corn-on-the-cob. Okay that looks pretty good at about 250 calories with some of the fixins versus 700 calorie corn dog.

I also found the barbecue chicken (pieces of skinless chicken) on a stick. And then sharing is a great way to get the little ones to eat a more reasonable portion size and try new things. So we got a chicken on a stick and one corn on the cob.

But later there was the sweet tooth attack. How can you avoid that with all the sweet smells floating in the air. Okay, cotton candy or funnel cake? Well cotton candy is about 150 calories while the funnel cake is about 800 calories.

Yup, we got some cotton candy, shared half of it and then threw the rest away. We don’t have to finish our plate, it’s okay to put the rest away!!

More walking and more great memories.

According to Iowa Heart Center: Here are the top 10 healthy Fair Foods!

1. Forego the cave-man-size turkey leg for a turkey tenderloin – they’re both tasty but at 1,400 calories and 55 to 60 grams of fat, that turkey leg could stay with you for years. At just 350 calories and 30 grams of fat, the turkey tenderloin is the heart-healthy alternative.

2. Go with the Pork-Chop-on-a-Stick instead of sausages or brats – Although it sounds decadent, Iowa’s famously flavorful “Pork Chop on a Stick” wins by a mile when it comes to nutrition and calories versus a large Italian sausage. While the meaty pork chop has about 500 calories and around 10 grams of fat, the Italian sausage will pack on 1,200 calories and between 55 and 60 grams of fat.

3. Sweet tooth nagging you? Have a big, sticky cotton candy rather than a funnel cake. Cotton Candy weighs in at about 150 calories against the funnel cake’s whopping 800 calories.

4. Stagger your beers with water – rather than downing beer after beer at 250 calories for a large regular beer, try following each beer with an ice-cold bottle of water. The water will also keep you hydrated and help you avoid the bad effects of too much alcohol in the heat.

5. Kettle corn over nachos with cheese – Just one helping of nachos with cheese will add 900 calories and 35 fat grams. Sure, Kettle Corn has some fat, sugar and salt, but it’s far fewer calories than a much smaller volume of nachos.

6. Dippin’ Dots over a Wonder Bar – Dippin’ Dots calorie and fat count: 170 and 10 grams in a half-cup serving.

7. Feel like something on a stick? Try roasted corn-on-the-cob rather than a corn dog. At just 250 calories and zero grams of fat (not counting butter), you’ll fend off the corn dog’s 700 calories and 35 to 40 grams of fat.

8. Banana-on-a-Stick or watermelon rather than a deep-fried candy bar: How many calories in a deep-fried candy bar? Really, you don’t want to know – OK, we warned you: the deep fried candy bar will set you back 800 calories and 40 grams of fat.

9. Pork loin sandwich over a fried pork tenderloin – For filling, high-quality protein, the lean pork loin sandwich beats the fried tenderloin hands down.

10. Carmel apple rather than a bloomin’ onion or fried cheese curds. Yes, there’s carmel on the outside, but there’s an apple on the inside. At about 500 calories each and nearly 40 fat grams, the carmel apple is a sweet-and-sour treat on the healthier side.

Mondays are a great day to renew Family Health vows. Every Monday, you will find some healthy tip to help your family start the week off on a Healthy Note!

Looking for some great snacks to put in your child’s lunchbox.  How about a handful of nuts.  Nuts have fiber, high in protein and have essential fatty acids  that help  fight certain cancers.  Start your child’s week off right with a handful of nuts!

Eating Mexican tonight!

Whole beans… did I say whole beans. This is one of the healthiest sides you can eat. Packed with flavor, packed with fiber and packed with protein! It’s the other stuff that goes into the burrito that you have to be careful about.

First and foremost stay away from refried beans! If you ever saw refried beans made you might gasp. I know I did. And it still is a memory stuck in my brain. I was probably about 15 when I was over a friend’s house (okay that was a while ago, but I still remember it like yesterday) and her mom was making refriend beans.

The top half of the pan was floating with about a good 1 to 1 1/2 inches of grease/oil. And the beans were buried under it and as the beans heated up, the oil slowly absorbed into the beans so you no longer saw the oil just the beans. If I had not seen it made, I would have never known how much fat was secretively hiding in each bite.

But, you say, I love refried beans. Well, here is a tip then. There are fat free refried beans, canned versions you can find.

If you make fresh beans, instead of adding the oil to fry it up, use the juice of the beans and smash it up. It will look like refried without all the extra fat.

Taking the kids to watch the local professional team is always a fun and memorable day. But what should you buy your child to eat that is healthier?

Hot dog or pretzel? well, a hot dog with bun has about 280 calories including the mustard. It is high in fat but it does provide protein.

A pretzel has about 500 calories and is full of processed flour. So lots of calories and that is pretty much it.

Surprised, that a hot dog won out over the pretzel? I was, but there you go, a little knowledge can go a long way in helping reduce the amount of calories your child could eat during one ballgame.

To be fair, if your child is active everyday, eats healthy meaning about five servings of fruits and vegetables on most days than the occasional out of balance meal is not going to hurt. But most kids, unfortunately, are not in this category so it’s best to know which foods are really high in calories and then limit to one.

Hot dogs, chips and a soda adds up to a lot of calories. So ask them to pick one. It will help your pocketbook also.

Don’t buy the pretzel and hot dog. Ouch…That is almost 900 calories.

Another idea is have a cook out before the big game. Tailgating is fun and creates special memories for the family. Plus, you can sneak in those healthy treats and they won’t be hungry during the game!

Mondays are a great day to renew Family Health vows. Every Monday, you will find some healthy tip to help your family start the week off on a Healthy Note!

Start your week off right, by learning exactly how much food each of your child actually needs. The beginning of school offers a great opportunity to discuss lunch choices, healthier choices and portion sizes. But it all starts with knowing what your child’s body actually needs to keep healthy.

If you are not sure, use the meal planner, it will tell you exactly how many calories AND more importantly, how to “spend” those calories. (how many servings of each of the food groups is needed for a balanced, healthy diet)

I know I am usually blogging about children nutrition but this number was too scary so I had to read the article. And since parents are the prime role model for children’s food habits…. there’s lot so reason to pay attention.

This study was based off an analysis of the weight gains in American since 1970’s. If the same trend line continues than we end up with the warning….nine out of ten Americans will be overweight or obese.

Currently, there are about 2/3s or 66% of American who are overweight or obese…and about 1/3 of our kids. There have been some recent studies that have shown some “flattening” of the trend, so perhaps some of us are starting to change our habits.

That is what is boils down to. Can we change some of our habits? Can we take the stairs instead of the elevator? Can we walk some places instead of drive? Can we grab a piece of fruit rather than a bag of chips? We can change our destiny by working on some key habits.

And the good news. Small changes do add up, so we don’t have to change everything all at once.

Families are on the road for a short drive and an enjoyable “staycation” during the last couple of weeks before school starts.  With gas being so expensive, many families are opting out of the usual big travel plans and driving shorter distances for family fun time.  But when driving it can be challenging to keep your children on a healthy nutritious “road” while on the road!

Here is a great little article that gives some practical suggestions about traveling and eating healthy.

Plan ahead is the key.

• Bring a cooler with your kids favorite healthy snacks so you don’t have to stop at the oh-so-many-convenient stores that feature the latest high fats, high sugar foods.

• Don’t forget the disposal eating utensils so that you can easily serve up that delicious healthy dish you prepared.

• Dry healthy snacks are good for eating while in the car (nuts, granola, look for high fiber mixes)

• A planned stop at a rest stop or park for long drives is a great opportunity for the kids to enjoy a family picnic and stretch those legs.  Maybe even through around a football, frisbee or dodgeball.

The point really is to not let the outing dictate your food (cause you know what is mainly available on the road…and not so healthy) but to take a little time and plan the meal/snacks for the road so that fun, healthy and family vacation are combined into one happy memory.

It seems with the childhood obesity crisis our nation is facing researchers have begun to study the nutrition habits of preschoolers.  We know that habits are being learned…formed during this time.   Washington University is studying how to get preschoolers to eat more fruits and vegetables.

According to the research, it starts with the parents.  Well, this seems pretty obvious but here is a nice article that summed several studies that shows how parents can really make a difference in their child’s eating habits.

Parents, you are the most important role model for your kids.  You decide what food is purchased, what the meal will be etc.

So here is a couple of suggestions:

• make fruits and vegetables part of your child everyday life.
• have them help pick out the fruits and veggies at the grocery store
• have them name the veggies and fruits as they help put them away
• have a vegetable and fruit as part of each of your three meals
• don’t fight with your child if they won’t eat it
• encourage them to just have one bite
• if they still refuse, then ask them to name the color of the vegetable or fruit
• make talking about the fruit or vegetable part of the meal conversation
• introduce a new vegetable and fruit each day to your child
• keep reintroducing the fruits and vegetables

One study showed that a child may need to interact with a food at least 10 times before they will try it.

Keep it simple, keep it fun.  We want them to associate fun memories with fruits and vegetables, not bad experiences like “my mom got mad at me ’cause I didn’t eat my vegetables.