Prepare Healthy Meals for Kids

Believe it or not, there are actually a few things on your Holiday table that are quite healthy for you and your kids. So instead of letting them eat sweets all day, offer one of these healthful alternatives.

Roasted Nuts

Nuts are heart healthy for two reasons, protein and unsaturated fat. The protein in nuts is high in the amino acid arginine that relaxes blood vessels. The unsaturated (good) fat in nuts also lowers blood cholesterol. Additionally, the unsaturated fats trigger a chemical reaction in your body that will cause you to digest food slower, which means you'll feel fuller longer (and less likely to have that second round of desserts).

Chocolate

As far as sweet indulgences go, a good quality chocolate (at least 70%) has several health benefits. High percent chocolate doesn't contain the milk fat of lesser quality chocolate. Also, dark chocolates are rich in a specific type of antioxidant called flavenoids, which have been shown to lower risk of heart disease, lung cancer, prostate cancer, asthma, and type 2 diabetes. Flavenoids also reduce the amount of cholesterol in your bloodstream, which can lead to hardening of the arteries (atherosclerosis).

Cranberries

The health benefits of cranberries are totally under appreciated. Like chocolate, cranberries also are high in flavenoids and provide the same health benefits. Additionally, cranberries have been shown to reduce cavity and plaque producing bacteria in the mouth. This means better breath and fewer cavities.

So as the Holiday season gets in full swing, instead of reaching for another chip full of dip, or helping of sausage stuffing, try adding a little more of these healthy powerhouses to your plate. So remember, if none of these foods are on your Holiday table, try to get them their, it's another step in childs path to healthy eating.

Studies have shown that eating foods rich in antioxidants help to protect your body from harmful environmental pollutants. By helping to ward off these pollutants, antioxidants provide a barrier against heart disease, premature aging and some types of cancer.

The most antioxidant rich foods are nuts and berries - natural and unprocessed - which make a very tasty and healthy snack.

The top seven antioxidant rich nuts and berries (in terms of antioxidant content per serving) are:

- Blackberries
- Walnuts
- Strawberries
- Cranberries
- Raspberries
- Pecans
- Blueberries

To make sure that your child receives the full benefit of theses nutritional powerhouses, each snack should be at least a single serving in size.

For the berries, a single serving is 1/2 cup, and for nuts a single serving is 1 oz, or approximately 1/4 cup.

Image by .craig

Framed Print of The USDA Food Pyramid is Available Here


Back to school is a great opportunity to reinforce healthy eating habits, especially in your child' searly school years. I know when my twins started kindergarten, they would only eat what we gave them for lunch. Now in 3rd Grade, although they do like to have the school pizza (every Friday without fail) we still provide them with a nutritious lunch every other day.

In 2nd grade, one of their school projects was to make their own food pyramid, which got them thinking about what they eat, and how much. You can use that same pyramid to help you plan healthy lunches for school, and an overall healthy diet for your kids and yourself.

The food pyramid, as shown, is composed of 6 major food groups, on four different levels. Each level corresponds to the daily amount of servings from each group that you should have (the most from the bottom, least from the top).

By using the Food Pyramid to guide your diet, you will accomplish the following:

1. Provide your body with the nutrients it needs
2. Regulate the amount energy you consume (control your weight)
3. Limit your intake of fat and sugar

The Food Pyramid, working from the bottom up, is composed of the following food groups:

Base - Grains
2nd Level - Fruits and Vegetables
3rd Level - Milk & Dairy and Protein (meat, fish, beans & nuts)
Top - Fats and oils

The 'base' group, grains, should make up the majority of your diet. You should aim to have 6 - 11 servings per day. Grains include whole grain breads, cereal, crackers, rice and pasta.

Fruits and Vegetables shouild make up the second largest portion of your diet, providing fiber and essential vitamins and minerals. Here, aim for 2 - 4 servings of fruit, and 3 - 6 servings of vegetables each day. Vegetables with the greatest nutritional impact are dark leafy greens, or orange in color. Fruits can be either fresh, frozen, canned or dried. Beware of fruit juices as they are mostly sugar and have limited nutritional value.

The next group (Milk & Dairy, Proteins) will provide your body with the protein, calcium, iron and zinc it needs to build strong bones and muscles. You should try to have 2 - 3 servings from each of these groups daily. Choose lean cuts of meat and poultry, and low-fat or fat-free milk.

Finally, at the top of the pyramid, are the foods that should be eaten sparingly. These are the foods that are typically high on flavor, but low on nutrition. To get the most out of this group, consume as many 'good' fats (unsaturated) as you can (fish, nuts, vegetable oils), and limit your intake of saturated fats (butter, shortening & lard).

Following these guidelines will help your children to become aware of how the foods they eat provides the nutrients they need to stay healthy.

If you're not sure if it's worth the effort to prepare healthy meals for your kids, consider this;

* Childhood obesity rates have tripled in America since 1980
* 16% of all children aged 6 - 19 are obese
* 70% of obese adolescents will be obese as adults
* Obesity leads to increased risk of heart attack, stroke and early death

Children's Health magazine recently determined the 20 Worst Kid's Foods in America.

For the food industry, the color of money isn't green-it's beige. Parents know that the majority of their kids favorite foods, from french fries to white bread to chicken nuggets, are beige. This tends to indicate cheap, calorie-rich, nutritionally bankrupt foods

So the next time you're checking out the kids menu at your favorite fast food restaurant, if you see this monochromatic cluster of cheese sticks, dinosaur-shaped chicken and fried potatoes, you know your kid's in trouble.

Make it a rule when eating out: All dishes must come with at least two colors (and ketchup doesn't count).

By the way, the #1 Worst Kids Meal is Uno Chicago Grill Kids' Kombo with French Fries

1,250 calories
79 g fat (11.5 g saturated)
2,850 mg sodium

The moderately active 8 year old only requires 1600 calories and ~60 gms of total fat (17 saturated) per day! Add to this 150% of your child's recommended daily allowance of sodium (salt) and you can see why this is the worst kid's meal in America.

Should you find yourself at Uno's with a hungry child, have them try this instead;

Kids Pasta

300 calories
3 g fat (0 g saturated)
270 mg sodium

It's summer tme, the kids are playing outside, having fun, an dgetting hungry. You know that they're going to want something cool and refreshing, but don't want to give them another frozen treat packed with sugar and preservatives. What to do?

With just a little advance planning they could be enjoying this chilled, fruit filled snack, that contains no added sugar.

Ingredients:
1 cup blueberries (fresh or frozen)
1 cup raspberries (fresh or frozen)
1/4 cup cold water
2 tablespoons frozen citrus concentrate (orange-pineapple juice, or
orange-banana juice, for example)

Directions:
1. If using fresh berries, freeze on a cookie sheet until thoroughly frozen before beginning.
2. Mix ingredients in a large bowl.
3. Pour half of ingredients into food processor and blend until smooth.
4. Add remaining mix to food processor and blend until smooth.
5. Serve immediately, or freeze for about four hours until totally firm.

Image by Dayna McIsaac

The Sneaky Chef to the Rescue: 101 All-New Recipes and Sneaky Tricks for Creating Healthy Meals Kids Will Love





Sneaky Chef to the Rescue: More Simple Strategies for Getting Your Kids Eating Right





The Sneaky Chef

There are many simple ways that you can encourage your children to have healthy eating habits. It starts with keeping all the good foods in sight and readily available, and can lead to such interactive things as helping to prepare meals and planting a garden.

Everywhere we go we see the phrase 'eat right'. Sounds great but how exactly do you get your kids to start eating right? Most of us have a good idea of what some of the healthy foods are: fruits, vegetables and whole grains and what the unhealthy foods are: processed foods, sugary snacks, regular soda. Even if you shop smart it's another thing to get your kids to eat it. If it's not in a shiny package, a pretty color or makes funny noises when they chew they may say "no thank you."

One of the simplest ways to get your kids to eat healthier is to be the gatekeeper and don't bring the unhealthy options into your house in the first place.

When you do purchase the occasional treat, do yourself and your kids a favor and think like a supermarket. Once in a while foods on the higher shelves, sometimes foods on the middle shelves and almost anytime foods on low shelves. When stocking a healthy, kid friendly pantry, that eye level is where the cartons of yogurt, snack packs of carrots, and apples go. Remember that eye level for them will be on the low on the shelves where they are most accessible. Also, arrange your home so the not so healthy-high calorie foods are out of sight and the healthier foods are in full view on the countertops or in a favorite drawer. That way the once in a while foods are not something your kids will be seeing every day. Always remember - everything in moderation. Sometimes a little treat is absolutely fine.

More often than not, you'll want your kids to have a healthy snack but wholesome foods can take a longer time to prepare. In order to make sure that you don't simply grab what's available, take some time after your shopping trip or in the evening after dinner and cut up, wash and store your veggies so they become a take and go healthy snack. When doing this, keep an eye on portion sizes! This is a source of stress for many parents. A child's portion is not the same as a large adult portion. Your children don't need to eat the same amount as a hungry adult-although sometimes they seem as if they can eat twice as much.

If you have a picky eater, a simple way to take the mystery out of food is to have your kids help out in the kitchen. When they help you prepare and cook a nutritious family meal they will be more willing to be try what they have helped to make. It's also a good way to give mom or dad a hand in the kitchen.

Another way to encourage healthy eating is to plant a garden. This will help your kids learn about where food comes from and can give them some control as to what comes into the kitchen. This will not only help to educate them about where certain foods come from, but it will also teach them responsible since a garden will require regular attention. When the vegetables are ripe, let them pick what they have grown. Planting and cultivating a garden with your children is a fun and educational way to encourage healthy eating.

Encouraging healthy eating habits in your kids can be both fun and educational. The best part is that they will develop good habits that will last the rest of their lives.

Helathy eating is the cornerstone of an active and healthy lifestyle. When you help your children to develop healthy eating habits, you are providing them with a lifetime of benefits.

1. Eating healthy is the easiest and most important way
you can insure an active lifestyle. You will boost
your energy levels, improve your immunity system and help to
prevent excessive weight gain or loss. Combined with regular exercise will lead to a longer
and more vibrant life.

2. Eating healthy allows you to meet your daily nutritional needs, from a balanced diet of grains, fruit and
vegetables, milk (or other dairy products), beans, oils and meat.

3. Eating healthy provides the necessary vitamins and minerals which can
boost your immune system. In some cases by healthy eating can actually reduce the
risks that are often linked with such serious diseases as cancer
and diabetes.

4. Eating healthy means you don't have to skip meals.
If you are a normal weight then you can have 3 full meals a day
with one or two snack breaks in the middle.

5. Eating healthy will reduce the amount of sugar in your diet. Preferred alternatives are foods that are
high in protein as they will not make you feel as dehydrated as
those which contain sugar.

Everyone loves pizza (even Pandas!), so why not make their favorite food healthy and nutritious by adding sauteed vegetables and a lean protein. Not only can the kids help to assemble the pizzas, but they can also use their imagination to arrange the vegetables into faces or designs. Remember, kids will be more willing to try foods they have helped to prepare and that appeals to their imagination. This quick recipe does it all (and introduces the tortilla into their culinary experience). You can also experiment with Whole Wheat tortillas, for a slightly different flavor (but be cautious not to introduce too many new things at once).

Tortilla pizzas

Ingredients:

1/8 cup fresh or canned mushrooms, sliced
1/8 cup bell peppers, diced
1/4 onion
1/8 cup ham, diced
Non-fat cooking spray
1 large flour tortilla
2 tablespoons spaghetti sauce (i.e., Sneaky Spaghetti Sauce)
Sprinkle of low-fat mozzarella

Directions

1. Sauté vegetables and ham in a small pan with non-fat cooking
spray until soft.
2. Spray tortilla with non-fat cooking spray.
3. Cover tortilla with spaghetti sauce.
4. Top with ham and vegetable mix.
5. Sprinkle with mozzarella.
6. Bake at 350°F for about 5 minutes, or until cheese has melted
and tortilla becomes crispy.

Image by Cool ~ Cap

Get Healthy Eating for Kids Here!

Healthy Eating for Kids is not about making a single nutritious dish. It includes a selection recipes that are not only healthy, but are highly imaginiative. The recipes are broken down into six different categories, including

Snacks
Drinks
Lunch at Home
Packed Lunches for School
Evening Meals at Home
Desserts

All recipes are designed to include the the vitamins, minerals, and nutrients that your child needs to stay healthy, strong, focused, and energetic. Not only are all of the recipes healthy and nutritious, but Healthy Eating for Kids also focuses on

Providing nutrients that are difficult to add to a child's diet
Making the recipes fast and easy for busy parents
Uses ingredients that most households have on hand
Encouraging your child to get involved with their own nutrition

It seem as though almost every day there's a story in the news about how the statistics for child obesity, child diabetes, and other illnesses relatied to poor nutrition are rising every year. The good thing is that as parents, we can do something about it by making nutrition an essential part of our children's meals. Fortunately, studies have also shown that children who learn the habits of good nutrition also tend to keep them throughout adulthood.

Healthy Ingredients - Photographic Print Available Here







Grilled Cheese - Art Print Available Here







Summer Fruits - Art Print Available Here

This nutritiuous snack is a favorite of hikers (who call it Trail Mix), since it helps to boost endurance and is easily customizable.

Simply mix equal portions of nuts, dried fruits, and chocolate. These three simple ingredients provide your body with the following nutrients:

Nuts - Protein for strong muscles
Dried Fruits - Essential vitamins and minerals
Chocolate Chips - A little bit of sugar for a burst of energy

Some good options for you to choose from are:

Nuts - Cashews, almonds, sunflower seeds (magnesium)
Dried Fruits - Raisins (iron), bananas (patassium)
Chocolate Chips - Semi-sweet, or M&Ms

Yogurt is an excellent source of calcium and
vitamins that can be flavored to suit any child's taste. Instead of buying pre-flavored (and pre-sweetened) yogurt from the store, blend your own at home and let your child select the flavor they want. Not only will your child be participating in helping to select the foods they eat, but they can also mix the fruit into the yogurt. As an added bonus, depending on the fruit selected (berries work best because of the juices) the yogurt will change color as the fruit is mixed in.

Ingredients:
- Plain Low-fat or vanilla-flavored yogurt
- Fresh fruit of choice, cut into small pieces
- Honey or maple syrup (to be added only if a little extra sweetness is desired)
- Granola (optional - adds fiber)

Directions:
1. Mix fresh fruit of child's choice into low-fat unsweetened yogurt.
2. Add a dash of honey or maple syrup for a touch of sweetness if desired
3. Sprinkle granola on top for crunch (a kid friendly texture).

You'll be amazed at how fast the yogurt disappears when kids get to flavor it
themselves.

Note: After having a few of these refreshing snacks with different fruits, you might suggest mixing fruits for a totally different taste.

Image by Jezlyn26

With all the conflicting nutrition information out there, it's easy to see why so many people get confused and can't answer these basic questions:

What is a Healthy Diet?

What exactly should I eat?

Antonio Valladares, a certified fitness trainer and nutritionist, rated New York City's 'best personal trainer' and featured in the New York Times, Sports Illustrated and a bunch of other magazines has created the Ultimate Healthy Eating Guide and Recipe Book that shows you the secrets for Healthy Cooking Made Ultra Simple for Busy People, including:

What to Eat
When to Eat
How Much to Eat
How to Simplify Shopping
How to Cook - even if you are super busy and you're not a fan of cooking
How to turn healthy recipes into delicious meals that reduce fat and help you lose weight

And it does NOT involve Dieting, Counting Calories, Low Carb or Low Fat Foods. The Healthy Urban Kitchen will show you:

* Over 100 Delicious and Nutritious Whole Food Recipes...
* Tips to Turn Recipes Into Healthy Meals that Burn Fat and Cause Automatic Weight Loss...
* A Simple, Step by Step System so You Don't Have to Worry About What Your Going to Eat Next!
* Real Foods that keep you Alert & Energized
* Guide to farmers Markets and Local Food Resourcs
* No Pills, Powders, Body Builder Supplements or Low Fat, Low Carb 'Diet' Foods...
* No Sugar, High Fructose Corn Syrup and Unhealthy 'Health' foods...
* 6 months of recipes from many different chefs...from sports chefs, natural food chefs, chefs who are real nutrition experts!
* Healthy Fats & Oils Guide so you can discover the best oils for different types of cooking!
* New ideas...new recipes...and new cooking tips every month...so you never get bored with your food!
* The simplest way to shop and cook with easy to follow instructions!!!

The Healthy Urban Kitchen provides an exact blueprint on how to cook, shop and eat for optimal health.

As someone who has eaten more than his fair share of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, this updated version is healthier and tastier. Not only does it include apple and granola, but the tortilla adds a new and exciting texture to your child's menu. This is the perfect introduction for eating healthier wraps, instead of fried fast foods.

Ingredients:

1 soft tortilla wrap
2 tablespoon crunchy peanut butter
1/2 apple, chopped
2 teaspoon low-fat granola

Directions:

1. Spread peanut butter onto tortilla.
2. Sprinkle apple and granola onto peanut butter.
3. Roll tortillas tightly, tucking ends inside the wrap.
4. Cut in half. Wrap with plastic wrap.

PB&J Image by liltree

Like most parents, you might not have the time to plan what your children are going to eat for breakfast and lunch every day. Regardless of how healthy it is, we more often find ourselves preparing whatever is most convenient, which usually means it is the least nutritious.

Kid Approved Meals introduce a variety of recipes that will inspire creativity in the kitchen. The goal is to introduce you to the kid friendly foods that are available, as well as provide you with creative new ideas to try. Additionally, they've done the work of organizing all the ingredients into a categorized shopping list, saving you even more time.