I am a nurse and a mother of two. I am also the founder of Nourish Interactive. I am very concerned about the health and well being of our children. I started the Nourishing Thoughts Blog so that I could help parents keep up on the latest trends in children's nutrition and exercise.
I know that much like reading and writing is the foundation for learning, nutrition is the foundation for healthy children. But with so many new studies, products and trends constantly being reported it is hard to keep up. I just want to make it a little easier for parents by doing some of the legwork and providing you with up to date information.
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!
Holiday shopping with the kids can sabotage your good intentions just as much as party food. Make sure you and the children have a healthy snack or a light meal before you hit the mall. Eating before you shop can help avoide the food court.
A study just released by the Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior has been causing headlines like “removing soda from the schools may not make a difference in teen’s consumption of soda”I am not sure what they are trying to imply with this study but teenagers are a pretty hard group to change habits. These headlines are so misleading, are they implying we should put soda back in the school because it won’t make a difference?We don’t need a study to tell us that soda IS NOT okay for children. We know that one can has 10 or more teaspoons of sugar in it. Who would give that to their child while they were in school? We know that simple sugar gives us calories for some energy but no nutrition? no vitamins, no minerals, no fiber…just calories.But regardless of all that, it speaks to one important key point. We need to help our kids form their habits while they are younger. Keep high fat and high sugary foods, including soda out of the house. This is one of the best ways to limit the amount your child eats. Help your child learn that these are not every day foods but once in a while foods. Your actions can really send a strong message to your young child.The younger your child is the more impressionable they are to your ideas, thoughts and actions as they are beginning to form their own ideas and habits! Show your child what foods you really value and love by keeping those foods in your house readily available for eating.And sometimes when you bite into your apple or whatever your favorite fruit or vegetable is, let out that “ahhh, this tastes soooo gooood!” So your child can not only see but hear how good those foods really are! They are listening and learning…
In California, Governor Schwarzenegger is reviewing a bill, SB 1420, that would require certain food chains to put their nutritional information on their menu.
Do you think that would make a difference in food choices, for you, for your children?
Just imagine, you are looking at a menu for one of your family’s local fav dinner spot, and suddenly you see 600 calories next to those fries you always order. Or perhaps, 800 calories. Would you still order it?
It makes you stop and think doesn’t it. Most Americans underestimate the amount of calories in a food item. I am the first to raise my hand. I was reading the book, “Eat this, Not that” by David Zinczenko. I had my mouth opened a few times. I read the calories and fat and thought, I totally got that wrong.
I am a strong advocate for this bill.
At least if we have the information and then we can decide, hopefully, make a better choice.
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.
A new report just out from the Federal Trade Commission reports big dollars spent on advertising to kids. Food companies spent about 1.6 billion, or yeah, billion dollars marketing mostly high fat and high sugar foods to kids. This includes marketing products like:
The biggest dollar spend was the carbonated beverage advertising that topped $492 million dollars.
How does that compare to the Milk dollars? According to this report, milk advertising was $67 million.
It’s hard to compete with the big bucks going to advertising to kids. But there is something we can do. We are passive here as parents and the biggest influencer on our kids lives. But how do we combat all those fun cartoons telling our kids that it’s fun and cool to eat these high sugar cereals or the fast food burger that has more calories than a normal breakfast and lunch (put together)!
We have to find our own ways to make the healthier foods seem more fun. Ever make a happy face with the veggies at dinner? How about using some of the colorful vegetables and fruits to create little characters on their plates. Get them playing the Chef Solus and the Food Pyramid Adventure where they will see characters learning about nutrition in a fun game. We have to use laughter, creativity and games to “market” healthy foods to kids.
I am going to put together a list of fun ideas that you can use during your day to help make nutrition more fun. That is the first step, begin to associate fun with nutrition!
Burger King is going green and introducing a new healthier kids meal. Well, I am not a big supporter of fast foods but when they try to do something good, well you gotta give ‘em some props.
Burger King will be launching this month:
Not sure what they will be charging for sliced apples. let’s see if they put the marketing dollars behind it to make it fun and appealing to the kids…like they do with their other higher fat food items. I tried the sliced apples, and they were fresh and good.
If any of you have tried the new foods, let me know. Would love to hear how your kids are responding to it, how it is being marketed to the kids compared to their other food items.
To read, here is the article.
A study that looks at the environment and how neighborhoods with fast foods might be affecting our eating habits.
Neighborhoods with fast food restaurants in it are associated with higher counts of diabetes and obesity. How much does our environment really affect our eating habits? According to one statewide study conducted by UCLA, if there were five times more convenience stores and fast food in comparison to grocery stores and produce vendors, the obesity rates were 20% higher. It did not matter what race, economic status or gender.
Two recommendations came out of this study, restaurants should post the nutrition information on their menus and there should be restrictions to zoning laws. No surprise that the California Restaurant Association came out with a strong statement against the study. They called it ludicrous, citing that people need to be held responsible for their choices.
I am looking at my kids environment. I never really paid attention to the local restaurants in the area. Hmm, a fast food restaurant was located two blocks from the middle school my children attended. Take a look at your child’s neighborhood and school area as well.
We can’t watch our children 24/7 especially as they get older. This is why it is so important that we begin to instill healthy habits and solid foundation of what their body needs at a young age. Changing the zoning laws could take years, our kids our growing up now, we don’t have years…
