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living well
July 25 - 31, 2013
Tips to Get Kids to be Healthier this School Year StatePoint
Childhood obesity rates have skyrocketed over the past 30 years. Right now, one-third of American kids are overweight or obese. “Unfortunately, healthy eating for kids isn’t always stressed consistently,” says Debbie Blacher, founder of Wholesome Tummies, a children’s food franchise devoted to bringing nutritious meals to schools. “Many kids lack access to nutritious food and good information about healthful eating and behaviors.” Since most kids consume half their daily calories at school, healthy eating habits must be addressed both at home and in the classroom, she stresses. Blacher, a mom herself and an expert on crafting healthful school lunches, is offering these lunch packing tips for parents: • Make a bento box: Instead of packing the traditional entrée and sides, make lunch out of small snacks in a multi-compartment box. Hardboiled eggs, raisins, an apple or other fresh fruit, crackers, tuna fish, pasta salad, veggies, dips and more. • Travel the world: Go with an international theme each day, such as Mexican, Asian or Italian. Include an educational note about the meal’s origin. • Include a surprise: Kids love surprises, such as favorite photos, stickers or a reminder about an upcoming event. A lunch box surprise can make your child’s day extra special. But nutrition is only half the equation. As screen time competes for kids’ attention, active time is decreasing. And exercise is crucial to preventing obesity, improving motor skills and providing a social outlet. Unfortunately, not all kids are receptive. “One of the biggest challenges is getting shy kids to partic-
www.ADWnews.com
living well
July 25 - 31, 2013
Great On-the-Go Snack Ideas for Kids StatePoint
ipate,” says Jyl Camhi, co-founder of Great Play, a children’s gym franchise that uses interactive technology and a progressive curriculum based on motor-skill development. Camhi is offering tips to coax a child forward in a group fitness scenario: • Allow spectating: The first time in a new environment can be emotionally draining. Stay for an entire class and return the next time. • Never force participation: Be a source of comfort for your child while he or she sits on the sidelines. Your child will feed off your energy. • Look for peer leaders: Outgoing children are often thrilled to help another child feel more comfortable. • Sometimes leaving helps: Oftentimes kids behave better when they don’t have a parental crutch to lean on. • Pay attention to leaders’ personalities: Whether it’s classes, sports or school, the leader can make or break the experience. Does the coach make kids comfortable? Look for telltale signs and find a coach that works well with your child. There are some trends not worth following -- and an unhealthy lifestyle is one of them. With the right tools and tricks, you can be a positive influence on your kids’ health.
Snack time can make or break an otherwise healthy diet. So keeping tabs on what your kids are munching on between meals is important. The bottom line, say experts, is to aim to nurture their bodies with pure, wholesome foods as close to nature as possible. “Getting your kids hooked on fresh fruits and vegetables early will set them up for a lifetime of great eating habits,” says Mitzi Dulan, “America’s Nutrition Expert,” and team nutritionist for the Kansas City Royals baseball team. Dulan is offering these tips for parents to help kids get their snack on, healthfully: • Plan ahead: Set up a grocery shopping routine that allows you to have fresh foods on hand for the entire week. On school nights, reserve 10 minutes with the kids to pack the next day’s snacks together. • Avoid high-calorie drinks: Wash snacks down with water or low-fat milk. Avoid giving your kids high-calorie and sugar-filled drinks. • Make it colorful: Skip highly processed snacks, such as candy bars, chips, fruit snacks and store-bought cookies. Instead, complement fresh fruits and vegetables with peanut butter, hummus or low-fat dressings. Luckily, good-for-you snacking can be just as easy to prepare and pack as junk food. Get Them Involved: Take your kids grocery shopping with you and ask them to pick out their favorite fruits, vegetables and healthy snacks. Direct them towards options like whole wheat crackers, edamame (soybeans), trail mix with nuts and dried
fruit, air-popped popcorn, Greek yogurt and unsweetened applesauce. Involving your kids with preparing and packing a daily lunch will encourage them to make their own decisions and they will be more likely to eat what they’ve packed instead of throwing it away. Add a treat: Some treats are calorie free! Put in a little note to let them know how much you love them, to make Mondays or Wednesdays -- or whatever day your child dreads -- a bit more special. Snack time is crucial for keeping growing kids properly fueled for their busy days. Avoiding the sugar and fat overload at these in-between mini meals will help keep kids happier, healthier and wiser.
Packing Fun into School Lunches Breakfast is Essential No Matter Your Age StatePoint
Parents would love to believe that their children relish every lunch they pack for them, but the reality is many items you send in their lunch boxes will be traded or thrown away. How do you prevent your kids from tossing aside your loving creations? Here are some ways to make lunches more enjoyable for you to pack and more fun for kids to eat: • Sandwich shape-up: Even your child’s favorite sandwich can get boring after she has had it for a few days in a row. Break out the cookie cutters and cut the sandwich into shapes, such as animals, hearts or numbers. • Been there? Bun that: You can add some fun into your child’s lunch by changing something as simple as the bread. The next time you make a sandwich, try substituting a bagel, hot dog or hamburger bun, an English muffin, or even a tortilla instead of sliced bread. • Kebab-ing it: A terrific way to ensure your child eats more fruits and vegetables is to present them skewered or paired with a dip. Bite-sized pieces of fruit can be partnered with a yogurt dip or peanut butter. Vegetable spears go great with ranch dressing or hummus. • Leftovers for lunch: If your child loved dinner last night, let him enjoy it again. Invest in a small thermos and some reusable food trays with lids. Then mix up the lunchtime routine using kid-sized portions of last night’s dinner for a meal he or she is sure to enjoy. • Be nutritious, sweetly: Even if you’re trying to keep things healthful, never forget dessert! Just be sure you offer something with nutritional value. For instance, pudding cups can be both fun and wholesome. With more than 20 flavors, as much calcium as an 8-ounce glass of milk, and between 60-120 calories per serving, Snack Pack pudding cups are something both parents and kids can agree on for school lunches. • Sneak in some fun: Take a couple of minutes to write a quick note or add a little prize, such as stickers or a small, school-safe toy. Even a knock-knock joke, a game or maze or a hint about an upcoming surprise could brighten your child’s day and make unpacking the lunch bag more fun. More tips on packing fun into school lunches can be found at www.SnackPack.com. With some creative twists on standard lunches, you can make your children’s lunch box the envy of the cafeteria.
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StatePoint
Everyone knows it’s important to make sure children have breakfast before school, but college students and busy parents also need a dose of morning nutrition. Breakfast, which refers to “breaking the fast,” is the first meal of the day, usually consumed when the body has gone about eight to 10 hours without food. Eating breakfast is often associated with a higher nutrient intake and being a smart way to start the day. When it comes to college students and parents, far too many admit to being a breakfast skipper. Thirty-one million adults skip breakfast, according to a recent National Eating Trends survey. And millennials, aged 18-34, are the largest population of breakfast skippers. Today, with schedules busier than ever, it’s easy to simply focus on getting the day started. “Whether you’re in college or chasing after school-age kids, it’s easy to forgo breakfast to stay on schedule,” says Betsy Frost, Manager at General Mills. “The tradeoff hits mid-morning with what people are calling the ‘hangries’ -- the feeling of being ‘hungry’ and ‘angry’ or irritable,” she adds. Indeed, more on-the-go parents and college students are opting for easy options they can consume on their way to work or class, or while getting ready to race out the door, say food industry experts. “A drinkable breakfast shake that doesn’t need refrigeration fits into life no matter
what you’ve got on your plate for the day. It’s perfect for busy breakfast skippers,” says Frost, who is reaching out to young breakfast skippers via Twitter and Instagram. We’ve all heard from our mothers that breakfast is the most important meal of the day and now there is research to support the benefits of breakfast: * Breakfast consumers have healthier body weights: People who consumed breakfast daily had 20 percent lower risk of developing obesity and 19 percent lower risk of developing type 2 diabetes, according to a breakfast frequency and metabolism study conducted in 2013 by the University of Minnesota School of Public Health. * Breakfast can make you healthier: People aged 20-39 who regularly had breakfast, including ready-to-eat cereal, had lower cholesterol levels and were less likely to have high blood pressure, compared with breakfast skippers, according to a study published in 2012 by The Nutrition Society. It’s important to get all members of your family to have breakfast, no matter if they are grade schoolers about to board the school bus, college kids racing to their first class, or busy moms and dads trying to juggle it all.
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