Heart Health For Kids, It’s Important!

By Tina Haney, Family and Consumer Science Agent, Gunnison County, Colorado State University

Is heart health and exercise as important for kids as it is for adults?

Absolutely! So, how do you promote heart health with children? Teaching the importance of healthy eating, including healthy snacks, and participating in physical activities from a very young age will help children continue those beneficial habits into adulthood.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the combination of unhealthy eating habits and a lack of physical activity is common among U.S. youth. These behaviors are both strong risk factors for developing heart disease. The sooner you start teaching children healthy habits, the better.

All too often kids (and adults) will grab snacks that are loaded with sugar, fat and salt, instead of something more nutritious when they are hungry. Help your family choose delicious and nutritious snacks to support a healthy heart.

Heart Healthy Snacks

Snacks such as fruits or vegetables are always a good choice. They’re high in nutrients and without added sugar, fat and salt. Keep pre-cut fruits and vegetables stocked in your refrigerator. Also, include some high protein snack choices such as string cheese, hard-boiled eggs, nuts or nut butter. If your child wants something crunchy, steer them towards fiber rich whole grain crackers or popcorn.

Tips for teaching kids about healthy snacks:

• Go to the store together and stock up on favorite healthy snacks

• Let them help you make healthy snacks

• Give children a choice between two healthy snacks

• Read children’s books about healthy eating. Here is a suggestion to get you started. “Comiendo el Arcoíris –Eating the Rainbow: A Bilingual Spanish English Book for Learning Food and Colors”, by Patricia Berrera Boyer.

Ceci, a young bilingual girl, likes to eat only a few plain foods. Her Grandmother makes a brilliant suggestion to try eating a rainbow. Surprised by this strange recommendation, Ceci learns how it’s done as her Grandmother takes her to the store and shows her all the colorful possibilities available to her. Ceci expands her palate and appreciates her Grandmother’s wisdom.

Tips for teaching kids about physical activity: Along with healthy eating, comes the importance of physical activity. This valuable life skill can start in early childhood and continue into adult hood. Helping kids understand what exercise does for their heart health is important.

• Encourage children to find an activity that will get their heart pumping! It might be sports, hiking or riding a bike. How about dance or karate? Give jumping rope a try! Anything that’s fun and gets your heart pumping is great.

• Teach children about how the heart works. There are several books about the heart for children, or show them a fun video about how the heart works: https:// kidshealth.org/en/kids/heart.html

Jumping Rope!

Jumping rope is an inexpensive activity to get the heart pumping. It’s also something the whole family can do together! You can jump rope almost anywhere – outside, the driveway, the sidewalk, the basement in your house. Really, anywhere that has a smooth surface to jump on will work.

Fitting a jump rope for your child is important so they get the best benefit out of its use. To fit anyone for a rope (child or adult), have them stand on the middle of the rope and pull both ends up towards the sky. The tips of the rope should reach the height of their armpits. Anything shorter will prevent the rope from hitting the ground under their feet when jumping.

There are so many fun rhymes to say while jumping rope. Maybe your family could even make some new rhymes together!

Benefits to jumping rope:

• Gets your heart pumping

• Improves balance and coordination

• Can be done alone, with a friend, or with a group

• IT’S FUN

Let’s Talk

Work together to make healthy choices as a family. The more you include children in the process of making and eating healthy foods and planning fun ways to stay active, the more likely they are to continue these behaviors into adulthood. These choices will help their heart stay healthy for years to come. You are your child’s best role model, so eat healthy and get moving yourself. You will all receive the benefits!

Heart-Healthy Chicken and Dumplings

Ingredients:

Stew

3 large stalks celery, chopped

3 medium carrots, peeled and chopped

1 large onion, chopped

1 tsp. chopped garlic

Two 14-oz. cans (about 3 1/2 cups) fat-free chicken broth

12 oz. raw boneless skinless lean chicken breasts

3 cups sliced mushrooms

1/2 tsp. dried thyme

1/4 tsp. black pepper

1 dried bay leaf

One 10.75-oz. can 98% fat-free cream of chicken condensed soup

2 cups frozen peas

Dumplings

1 1/2 cups Bisquick Heart Smart baking mix

2/3 cup fat-free milk

1/8 tsp. each salt and black pepper

Directions:

To make the stew, bring a very large pot sprayed with nonstick spray to medium-high heat on the stove. Add celery, carrots, onion, and garlic. Stirring often, cook until veggies have slightly softened, 6 - 8 minutes.

To the pot, add chicken broth, chicken breasts, mushrooms, thyme, and pepper. Add bay leaf and 2 cups of water. Stir well.

Cover pot and bring contents to a boil. Reduce heat to low, and let simmer until chicken is cooked through about 25 minutes. Carefully remove chicken and transfer to a large bowl. Re-cover the pot, and let contents continue to simmer.

Once cool enough to handle, shred chicken with two forks one to hold the chicken in place and the other to scrape across the meat and shred it.

Add shredded chicken to the pot, along with condensed soup and frozen peas. Stir thoroughly and raise heat to medium-low; return the stew to a simmer.

Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, combine dumpling ingredients. Gently mix just until a soft dough forms; don't overmix.

Once the stew is simmering, add dough in heaping tablespoons to form about 16 individual dumplings; add the dough slowly and evenly so dumplings don't stick togeth- er. Cook until dumplings are firm, 10 - 12 minutes, gently turning them over about halfway through cook time. Remove bay leaf, and serve it up!

MAKES 8 SERVINGS

Serving Size: 1/8th of recipe (about 1 1/2 cups stew with 2 dumplings)

Calories: 215

Fat: 3g

Sodium: 845mg Carbs: 30g

Fiber: 4g

Sugars: 7.5g

Protein: 16.5g

PointsPlus® value 5*

HG Tip! Store leftover stew and dumplings separately to prevent soggy dumplings.

Recipe adapted from Hungry Girl website

Original Chicken and Dumpling Nutritional Information

Serving Size: 1 portion

Calories: 503

Fat: 22g

Sodium: 1,351mg Carbs: 37g

Fiber: 1.5g

Sugars: 5g

Protein: 34g

PointsPlus® value 13*

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• Get active and eat healthy. The American Heart Association recommends getting 30 minutes of physical activity in at least five days a week. Make sure to include foods from all five food groups: dairy, fruits, vegetables, protein, and grains. Choose low-fat dairy and protein options. Also, read food labels and limit high sodium foods.

There are different ways in which you can help raise awareness about heart disease around the community. Form a walking group with coworkers, family, or friends. Find a time that works for you all to meet up such as lunch time or after work. Prepare meals for yourself, family, and friends that are heart healthy. For a list of foods that are heart healthy visit healthfinder.gov. Let’s celebrate the heart this February. Taking action and encouraging those around you to join in those healthy steps can help to reduce the incidence of heart disease. Small changes can lead to large results in improving heart health!