Posts Tagged ‘parenting’
Sunday, August 2nd, 2009
I just read about an interesting new study on Medical News Online. The study was performed at Kansas State University and evaluated what children think about other kids with “undesirable characteristics, such as being overweight or aggressive.” The researches also looked at how children treat kids with these attributes.
Obviously, as a child obesity doctor, I was very interested to hear what they had to say. Past studies have shown that children are prejudiced against overweight kids. In fact, prior studies have determined that kids would rather be friends with children with physical handicaps (such as using a wheelchair or missing a limb) than with an overweight child.
But now, one out of every three kids in our country is overweight or obese. Unfortunately, there is no longer anything unusual about an overweight child. Does this change how overweight children are perceived by their peers?
No. It seems that it doesn’t matter that so many kids are now overweight. Overweight children are still discriminated against by their peers.
A major finding of this study was that children discriminate against kids with undesirable characteristics that they believe their peers have the ability to control. For example, they disliked kids with aggressive behavior and overweight children because they felt that these children are responsible for the characteristic and should be able to change it. They did not, however, look down on children with severe illnesses, such as chronic asthma. They felt that the asthmatic child could not help being asthmatic and they didn’t hold it against him.
Not only did the kids say they disliked the aggressive and obese students, they also said that they were more likely to pick on them. Boys tended to respond more negatively to kids with undesirable characteristics than girls. The study was done on third-graders and sixth-graders. Each child filled out a questionnaire with descriptions of hypothetical peers such as a poor student, a nonathletic student, an obese student, an aggressive student, a shy student, an asthmatic student, and a student with ADHD. The aggressive student was the most unappealing, followed closely by the obese student. The kids were most sympathetic towards the asthmatic student.
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Tags: bullying, child bullying, child diet, Child Obesity, child weight gain, diet, discrimination, exercise, fat discrimination, mothers, obese baby, obese child, obese toddler, obesity, overweight child, overweight mother, overweight parent, overweight toddler, overweight woman, parenting, picked on, weight discrimination, weight gain, weight loss
Posted in Child Obesity | 3 Comments »
Tuesday, July 21st, 2009
Join Dr. Dolgoff at #kidsweigh! #kidsweigh is a weekly twitter discussion about child nutrition and weight issues. You are welcome to bring questions concerning your own kids or just learn more about the weekly topic.
This week’s topic: Healthy Italian Food. Learn what to order for your kids at an Italian restaurant! Find out how pizza can be healthy. Understand which foods should be avoided. Bon Apetit!
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Posted in weight loss | 1 Comment »
Thursday, July 2nd, 2009
Children today drink twice as much soda as they did 20 years ago, averaging as much as 20 ounces a day! A large soda not only provides tons of calories and sugar but it also includes at least 100 mg of caffeine. Many parents wouldn’t dream of giving their kids a cup of coffee yet routinely offer them soda, which contains caffeine as well. We also see many families hitting the local café or Starbucks for a café latte or mocha frappuccino loaded with the burst of ‘energy’ we call caffeine.
The truth is, caffeine is everywhere but it is wise to keep kids’ consumption of caffeine to a minimum.
How caffeine affects kids:
Caffeine is a stimulant and a drug that is naturally produced in the leaves and seeds of many plants. Caffeine can also be made artificially. Caffeine is considered a drug because it stimulates the central nervous system. The routine side is a feeling of alertness, but when taken in excess side effects may include:
1) Headaches
2) Difficulty concentrating
3) Jitteriness
4) Nervousness
5) Upset stomach
6) Difficulty sleeping
7) Increased heart rate
8) Increased blood pressure
9) Slight dehydration
10) Anxiety
11) Irritability
12) Muscle tremors
13) Nausea
14) Diarrhea
15) Shortened attention span
16) Increased risk of heart problems
Because caffeine’s effects are dependent on body weight, it does not take a lot of caffeine to produce side effects, especially for younger children. Younger kids are more also sensitive to caffeine because they haven’t been exposed to it as much as older kids or adults and have not yet developed a tolerance to its effects.
Beware of withdrawal:
If you decide to cut caffeine out of your diet all together don’t be surprised if you feel withdrawal symptoms such as headaches, muscle aches, and irritability, especially if you are used to consuming a lot. When I was in medical school, I relied on coffee to get me through my exams. Every vacation, I wound up in bed with severe headaches. I finally realized that I was suffering from caffeine withdrawal because I didn’t need the caffeine to give me energy to study and so I wasn’t drinking my usual amount of caffeine! I gave up caffeine and my headaches never returned.
Caffeine takes up to 6 hours to be excreted from the body through the urine, so side effects may last until removed from the body.
More reasons to limit kids’ caffeine consumption:
- Obesity: Kids who consume one or more 12-ounce sweetened soft drink per day are 60% more likely to be obese.
- Lack of nutrients: Most caffeinated drinks are loaded with empty calories and are high in sugar, but lack the nutrients kids need when growing. More kids are choosing soda over milk now days and are missing out on calcium which helps build bones and teeth.
- Tooth Decay: Drinking unhealthy drinks like sweetened beverages can lead to dental cavities from the high sugar content and can lead to erosion of the enamel from the high acidity content.
- ADHD: Large doses of caffeine can impact the attention span for children, especially for those diagnosed with attention deficit disorder (ADD).
Recommendations:
The United States has not developed guidelines for caffeine intake because many experts believe because there is not enough data to make any conclusive recommendations. The Canadian guidelines recommend that children 6 and under have no more than 45 milligrams of caffeine per day; 10 to 12 year olds have no more than 85 milligrams per day and adults have no more than 300 milligrams per day.
Foods and Beverages with Caffeine
Here are some sources of caffeine to compare:
| ITEM |
AMOUNT |
CAFFEINE CONTENT |
| BREWED COFFEE |
5 OUNCES |
115 mg |
| COCA BEVERAGE |
5 OUNCES |
4 mg |
| COCA-COLA |
12 OUNCES |
34 mg |
| COFFEE |
8 OUNCES |
115 mg |
| COLD RELIEF MEDICINE |
1 TABLET |
30 mg |
| CHOCOLATE MILK |
8 OUNCES |
5 mg |
| DARK CHOCOLATE |
1 OUNCES |
20 mg |
| DECAF COFFEE |
6 OUNCES |
3-5 mg |
| DIET COKE |
12 OUNCES |
45 mg |
| DUNKIN DONUTS |
16 OUNCE |
206 mg |
| ESPRESSO |
2 OUNCES |
100 mg |
| ICED TEA |
12 OUNCES |
70 mg |
| JOLT SOFT DRINK |
12 OUNCES |
71.2 mg |
| MILK CHOCOLATE |
1 OUNCE |
6 mg |
| MOUNTAIN DEW |
12 OUNCES |
55 mg |
| NO-DOZ |
1 TABLET |
100 mg |
| RED BULL |
8.3 OUNCES |
80 mg |
| SNICKERS |
1 BAR |
60 mg |
| STARBUCKS COFFEE |
16 OUNCE |
320 mg |
| STARBUCKS CHAI TEA LATTE |
16 OUNCE |
100 mg |
| TEA, BLACK |
6 OUNCES |
70 mg |
| TEA, GREEN |
6 OUNCES |
35 mg |
| 7-UP |
12 OUNCES |
0 mg |
There is no reason for children to drink or consume caffeinated products. One of the best ways to cut caffeine out of the diet is by not offering it at all. Eliminate soda all together and instead offer water, skim milk, or flavored seltzer. For an occasional treat try offering soda or tea but make sure it is decaffeinated.
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Tags: caffeine, child diet, child health, child nutrition, diet, health, nutrition, parenting
Posted in weight loss | 11 Comments »
Monday, June 29th, 2009
Healthy Birthday Snack Ideas:
A child’s school birthday celebration should be centered around the child; instead, it has become centered around cupcakes. Parents bring in these unhealthy treats and kids rejoice. Yet with the current child obesity crisis, many are rethinking this caloric tradition. In response, I have created this list of healthy birthday school celebrations. Enjoy them! And please, let me know if you have any additional suggestions.
Non-Food Options:
1) Allow extra recess time in honor of each student’s birthday and allow the birthday child to choose an active activity or game. The birthday student’s parents are welcome to participate.
2) Craft project: Bring in supplies so each student can make a birthday card for the birthday child.
3) Craft project: Decorate a balloon with stickers and glitter. Each child gets to take their creation home.
4) Bring in a large balloon bouquet and let each child pick a balloon to take home.
5) Parent reads selected book of choice to class.
6) Create a birthday book for child; each classmate creates a special page about the birthday child.
7) Provide goodie bags with stickers, pencils, pens, school supplies, crayons, noise makers etc.
8) Arrange a classroom scavenger hunt with small non-food gifts for each child.
9) Decorate a birthday crown.
10) Bring in coloring books for each student. Have each child color a page from their book and then hang up the masterpieces and have a ‘gallery showing’.
11) Bring in small fun activity gifts for the students, i.e. jump ropes, mini-Frisbees, waffle balls. Allow some time for the students to play with their new gift.
12) Give each child elastic bracelets with birthday child’s name stamped on it.
Healthy (Or At Least Healthier) Food Options:
1) ‘Make your own’ yogurt parfait with fat-free yogurt, low-fat granola, and fresh berries.
2) Fruit Kebobs: Cut fruit into interesting shapes and let children put the fruit onto skewers with a few marshmallows.
3) Frozen Banana Krispie Treats: Cut a banana in half. Put a Popsicle stick in the banana and then smear with low-fat vanilla yogurt. Roll in rice krispies, freeze.
4) Fresh fruit topped with low-fat whipped cream.
5) Waffle topped with fruit and chocolate syrup.
6) Low-fat pudding with low-fat whipped cream.
7) Frozen fruit bars.
8) Create a trail mix: Let each child choose their own mixture of whole grain pretzels, multi-grain chex, and dried fruit.
9) Yogurt covered raisins.
10) Apples slices dipped in caramel dipping sauce.
11) Baked apples with cinnamon.
12) Sorbet.
13) Orange frizzes: Mix chilled orange juice with carbonated water and a scoop of sorbet.
14) One scoop of low-fat ice cream with sprinkles.
15) Exotic fruit of choice.
16) Jell-o topped with low-fat whipped cream.
17) Baked tortilla chips with salsa.
18) Homemade low-fat rice krispie treats.
19) Yogurt covered pretzels.
20) Baked potato chips.
21) Low-fat pita with hummus.
22) Baked tortilla with guacamole.
23) One scoop of fat free ice cream in a wafer cone.
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Thursday, June 25th, 2009
Last week, there was an article in the NY Times about Meme Roth and her fight with her children’s school concerning school birthday parties and cupcakes.
What sets her off is the junk food served on special occasions: the cupcakes that come out for every birthday, the doughnuts her children were once given in gym, the sugary “Fun-Dip” packets that some parent provided the whole class on Valentine’s Day.
“I thought I was sending my kid to P.S. 9, not Chuck E. Cheese,” Ms. Roth, a trim, impassioned 40-year-old from Atlanta, said in an interview. “Is there or is there not an obesity and diabetes epidemic in this country?”
Although I agree with Ms. Roth’s concern, the article outlines the outlandish strategies and infantile behaviour she uses to get her point across. For the complete article, click here.
Those who know me understand that this is my pet issue. I have seen too many children crying because they are trying to eat healthy but are surrounded by so many temptations. In my opinion, schools should be a safe haven. So I drafted a letter to the NY Times and surprising, it was printed in Saturday’s paper! Here is my article below:
TAKING SIDES
IN THE
CUPCAKE WARS
Published: June 19, 2009
Esther Pearl Watson
Re “Mother’s Fight Against Junk Food Puts a School on Edge,” by Susan Dominus (Big City column, June 16):
As a pediatrician and a child weight loss specialist, I am conflicted about this article. MeMe Roth, the mother “driven mad” by junk food, may not use the best tactics, but her point is right. We are in the midst of a child obesity epidemic. One out of every three children in our country is either overweight or obese. Our schools should be a safe haven for our children.
I have overweight children crying in my office on a daily basis because they are trying to eat well but are confronted with temptations at school. I do believe in all foods in moderation. But our children have plenty of exposure to unhealthy foods outside of school.
In a typical classroom of 26 children, there are up to 26 days of birthday cupcakes to contend with. Then you add in celebrations for holidays, and many classes have a party every week. There are many healthy birthday options, and we can use them to celebrate our children’s birthdays without sacrificing their health.
Joanna Dolgoff
New York, June 16, 2009
I am interested in hearing your thoughts about cupcakes and school birthday parties. I know I am in the minority. I agree that it is perfectly fine for a child to have a cupcake every now and then. The problem is that it becomes more than now and then. Each child’s birthday usually results in two cupcakes- one at the school party and one at the out-0f-school party. Not to mention all the junk food that is thrown at our kids from everywhere else. Is it really necessary to add another temptation? Can’t we celebrate a birthday without eating unhealthy fare?
Next week: my suggestions for healthy birthday celebrations.
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Posted in Child Obesity, nutrition | 8 Comments »
Monday, June 22nd, 2009
Congratulations! Your toddler is now old enough to sit in a “big boy” chair. You no longer need to strap him into a high chair. I bet you think dining out will now be much easier! Unfortunately, the difficulties are just beginning. Your toddler will now be able to explore restaurants without restraints. How can you get your child to sit at the table with you instead of wandering around on his own? Read on for some tips.
1. Be consistent. Teach your child that she must sit with you at the dinner table every night, whether at home or at a restaurant. Be firm from the beginning and your child is much more likely to follow your rules. Once you set a precedent of allowing your child to wander away from the table, it becomes a difficult habit to break.
2. Do not force your child to eat. If your child isn’t hungry, you do not have to force him to eat. However, the family must sit together.
3. Bring activities. There is nothing wrong with allowing your child to sit and color at the dinner table. When dining out, come prepared with coloring books and crayons.
4. Engage your child in conversation. If the dinner conversation focuses solely on the stock market, your child will quickly tune out and become bored. Be sure to include all the kids in the conversation. Dinnertime is a great opportunity to find out what is going on in your child’s life.
5. Manage your expectations. Do not go out for a five-course meal and expect your toddler to sit still for the duration. Kids have short attention spans so plan your meals accordingly.
6. Use positive reinforcement. Offer your child some type of reward for sitting nicely at the table. Stickers will work wonders!
I would love to hear your suggestions! The best answer wins a pair of Sennheiser PMX 70 Sport Headphones. For more information on them, go to www.SennheiserUSA.com.
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Wednesday, June 10th, 2009
Advertisers work hard to earn their money. They can take any food and make it sound nutritious. Very few laws protect the consumer from advertisers’ half-truths. It is up to us to learn how to tell what it a valid claim and what is just hype. How can you wade through the misleading information to find the truth? Easy… just look at the nutrition label and the ingredient list! The nutrition label and the ingredient list have all the information that you need to determine whether a food is healthy.
Last night was a perfect example. My kids and I were at my girlfriend’s house for dinner. She was telling me about this healthy snack she had found for her daughter. “And the best part is that she loves it!” my friend raved. She then showed me a package of Sunmaid Vanilla Yogurt Raisins. “They are raisins covered in yogurt so she’s getting fruit and milk.”
Here is how Sunmaid describes this product:
Sun-Maid starts with only the best, 100% natural raisins from sunny California. Then we cover them with a creamy, vanilla yogurt coating to create our delicious, convenient Sun-Maid Vanilla Yogurt Raisins.
They are the perfect high-energy snack food for people who are on-the-go. They also help you meet the 5-to-9 daily fruit and vegetable servings recommended by nutrition experts. Packed into the zip-close bag, Sun-Maid Vanilla Yogurt Raisins are easy to use in your party mix or cookie recipes or to pass around as a snack.
Sounds healthy, right? Then I looked at the nutrition label.
1 small package (about 25 pieces) of this “healthy snack” has 120 calories, 4.5 grams of fat and 4 GRAMS OF SATURATED FAT.
That is a ton of saturated fat (the bad fat). I particularly dislike the claim that they help you meet your fruit and vegetable servings.
Looking further down the label, I noticed that the product contains 2% RDA Vitamin C, 0% RDA Vitamin A, and 4%RDA Calcium.
I certainly would not consider this a serving of fruit or vegetables. And despite the “yogurt” covering the raisins, there is very little calcium. I decided to inspect it further and turned to the ingredient list.
Ingredients:
Natural California Raisins, Yogurt Coating (Sugar, Partially Hydrogenated palm kernel Oil, Nonfat Milk Powder, Nonfat Yogurt Powder, Whey, Titanium Dioxide, Soy Lecithin, Vanilla), Confectioners Glaze, Corn Syrup, Dextrin, and Maltodextrin.
It seems that the raisins are not covered in yogurt but in a “yogurt coating” made mostly of sugar and partially hydrogenated oil (which is a trans fat- the WORST type of fat you can have). So while the raisins may be natural, the yogurt coating certainly isn’t.
Needless to say, my friend was dismayed to learn that this healthy snack was in no way healthy. “I should have looked more closely,” she said. I replied, “I bet raisinets are healthier than these yogurt raisins.” For fun, we went online to look.
The same serving size of raisinets has about the same calories (raisinets 118, yogurt raisins 120), slightly more fat (raisinets 4.8 grams, yogurt raisins 4.5 grams) but SIGNIFICANTLY LESS SATURATED FAT (raisinets 3.1 grams, yogurt raisins 4 grams).
The ingredient list for raisinets:
Milk Chocolate (sugar, chocolate, cocoa butter, milk, lactose, milkfat, soy lecithin, vanillin – an artificial flavor, natural flavor), Raisins, Sugar, Tapioca Dextrin, Cocoa Processed with Alkali, Confectioner’s Glaze.
Instead of an artifiical yogurt coating, at least raisinets are made with real milk chocolate. Now, I am not saying raisinets are good for you. But at least when you are giving your children raisinets to eat, you aren’t fooled into thinking they are healthy. Shame on Sunmaid for misleading parents into thinking their yogurt raisins are healthy.
This is a great example of how you can’t trust a product’s claims and must turn to the nutrition label for the truth. Don’t let yourself be misled! Always get the facts before serving a new food to your children!
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Posted in Weight Loss Study, weight loss | 12 Comments »
Wednesday, June 3rd, 2009
I recently read a FASCINATING book called “The End of Overeating” by David A. Kessler, MD. I highly recommend it! In the book, Dr. Kessler reviews what makes some people prone to overeating. He outlines the science behind the drive to eat when you are already full. He then goes over how restaurants manipulate us to get us to eat more quickly and thus eat more food.
We are born preferring sweet tastes. Even newborns “smile” when given sugar water! But we are not just drawn to sweetness alone. As Dr. Kessler points out, few people eat sugar straight from the packets. Rather, we prefer mixtures of fat and sugar. Adam Drewnowski did a study where he gave people drinks containing different ratios of milk and sugar. Not surprisingly, the skim milk with sugar (no fat, lots of sugar) and the unsweetened cream (lots of fat, no sugar) did not get high marks. Everybody preferred the mixture that contained lots of sugar and lots of fat.
More interesting, is that there is a “bliss point”, a point where we enjoy the sugar/fat the most. It is possible too make a food too sweet or too fatty. We all know that too little fat/sugar is no good but scientists have shown that too much fat/sugar is also not desired. Scientists have shown that the ideal amount of sugar in a drink is 10%. If a drink is more than 10% sugar, it is deemed too sweet.
Eating foods high in sugar and fat makes you want to eat MORE sugar and fat.
Variety makes you eat more. Our body has what is called “taste-specific satiety”, meaning that it can become full from a certain taste but can immediately feel “hunger” if exposed to a different type of food. This helps account for why we eat so much more at a buffet than a sit-down meal.
We become conditioned to eat high-fat, high-sugar foods. In one study, people who did not usually snack mid-morning were given a high-fat, high-sugar snack before lunchtime for five days in a row. For days afterwards, they craved a mid-morning snack, even though they never used to eat at that time!
When we first put a yummy food in our mouths, our taste buds send a signal to the brain that activates our body’s natural opiates. Opiates make us feel pleasure and can also relieve pain or stress and can relax us. No wonder I want to turn to a donut whenever I feel discomfort and anxiety!
Restaurants use this science agains us! Restaurants are in the business to sell food. And what sells? Fat and sugar! So restaurants will stick fat and sugar into everything. If you order vegetables in a restaurant, chances are they have been fried (or sauteed) in oil.
It gets worse. In just one example from the book, a consultant/restaurant insider discusses the Southwestern Eggrolls from Chilis.
Deep-frying the tortilla drives down its water content from 40 percent to about 5 percent and replaces the rest with fat. “The tortilla is really going to absorb a lot of fat”…
“Cooked white meat chicken, binder added, smoke flavor. People really like smoky flavor- it’s the caveman in them.”
“There’s green stuff in there,” he said, noting the spinach. “That makes me feel like I am eating something healthy.”
He believed the chicken had been chopped and formed much like a meat loaf, with binders added, which makes those calories easier to swallow. Ingredients that hold moisture, including autolyzed yeast extract, sodium phosphate, and soy protein concentrate, further soften the food.
I noticed that salt appeared eight times on the label and that sweeteners were there five times, in the form of corn-syrup solids, molasses, honey, brown sugar, and sugar.
“This is highly processed?” I asked.
“Absolutely, yes. All of this has been processed such that you can wolf it down fast… chopped up and made ultrapalatable… Very appealing looking, very high pleasure in the fod, very high calorie density. Rules out all the stuff you have to chew.”
By eliminating the need to chew, modern food processing techniques allow us to eat faster. “When you’re eating these things, you’ve had 500, 600, 800, 900 calories before you know it,” said the consultant. “Literally before you know it.” Refined food simply melts in the mouth.
Restaurants add fat to everything! Why? The fat helps to lubricate the food so it absorbs saliva better and is swallowed more easily. Fat also lingers after food is swallowed, leaving the flavor behind in your mouth. The end result is that you eat so quickly that you don’t realize how much you have consumed. And you still have some flavor in your mouth, keeping you salivating. So what do you do next? You order more!
Restaurants also add lubricants and process foods to eliminate the amount of time spent chewing. According to Gail Civille, in the past Americans typically chewed a mouthful of food twenty-five times before swallowing; now it is only about ten times. Food processing creates a type of “adult baby food” which doesn’t require much effort to eat. Because it goes down so quickly, it easily overrides the body’s signals that should signal fullness.
Did you know that most restaurant food is fried not once, but twice? It’s true! Most chain restaurants use “individually quick-frozen foods”. These foods are partially fried in factories before they are quick-frozen and sent to the restaurant. Once in the restaurant, they can be taken from the package (still frozen) and into the deep fryer before being served. Very few chain restaurants cook the food from scratch. This helps explain why a Chili’s burger tastes the same in New York as it does in Nevada. They are all made in the same factory! Yum… Even the vegetables and lettuce are prepared elsewhere and then either frozen or sealed in vacuum packages.
The book goes on to give lots of other examples of how restaurants manipulate food to get us to eat more quickly and thus eat more. It also goes over lots of different food chains, including Starbucks, Cinnabon’s, Pink’s, McDonalds and more, revealing their techniques to make their food more appealing. I think it is a must-read for every parent. It definitely has made me think twice about eating out!
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Sunday, May 31st, 2009
It’s Sunday evening and I am exhausted. We have been running around with the children all day and neither my husband nor I feel like cooking. The kids are too run-down to take them to a restaurant. And most fast food is really unhealthy. I can’t decide what to feed the kids for dinner. I even debate playing the “Breakfast For Dinner” game and giving them a bowl of cereal. And then a commercial for KFC’s New Grilled Chicken comes on TV. Hmmm… My husband and I both look at each other. Should we?
I run to the computer to do some research. And I am pleasantly surprised with what I find. KFC grilled chicken is healthy!
Let’s compare the options:
GRILLED CHICKEN ORIGINAL RECIPE EXTRA CRISPY
(calories/fat)
Wing 80/4 110/7 150/10
Breast 180/4 370/21 490/31
Drumstick 70/4 110/7 150/9
Thigh 140/9 260/19 370/27
But what does it taste like? Solely in the name of research, I head out to KFC. I order the 10 piece family meal which comes with three large sides. I order green beans, corn on-the-cob and rice.
The grilled chicken was delicious. Really delicious. Of course, I peeled all the skin off before serving it to myself and my kids which lowered the calorie/fat count even more. Even without the skin, it tasted great. You could really taste the KFC spices. I practically felt like I was eating real KFC. My family will definitely be eating it again.
Interested in the calories counts on the side dishes? There is no easier way to blow a healthy meal than by eating unhealthy sides. Make sure you pick carefully!
Side Dish (Calories /Fat)
(per standard serving size which varies with each dish- imagine a small amount)
Green Beans (25/0)
Rice (140/0.5)
Mashed Potatoes (130/4.5)
Macaroni ‘n Cheese (180/9)
Potato Wedges (260/13)
Corn On-The-Cob (140/1)
Cole Slaw (180/10)
Biscuit (180/8)
Sweet Kernel Corn (110/0.5)
My recommendation for your child’s meal? Either a breast or a thigh and either a drumstick or a wing. Peel off as much of the skin and fat as possible. Then serve green beans, half of a large piece of corn on-the-cob, and a very small serving of rice. A nutritious, fast, and easy meal.
Enjoy!
And no- KFC did not pay me to write this post nor do they have any idea that I am writing it!
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Posted in Adult Weight Loss, weight loss | 2 Comments »
Thursday, May 28th, 2009
Mothers continually struggle with trying to get their kids to eat more vegetables. The question arises, should moms sneak veggies into their children’s food? Or should they spend their energy convincing their kids to eat vegetables on their own?
It is clear to me that it is worth the extra effort to get your children to eat vegetables knowingly and willingly. Sure, you can spend your time mashing up carrots and chopping up spinach to sneak into your daughter’s pancakes. But what will happen five or ten years from now when she is living on her own? She won’t be used to the true taste of a veggie and she certainly won’t have the time (or patience) to julienne her own greens. Your victory will be short-lived.
You are much better off teaching your sons and daughters to enjoy the taste and the crunch of a vegetable. It may seem easier said than done but there are some strategies you can use to make the process easier.
1. Serve your child vegetables from the beginning and continue through toddlerhood.
Every baby is given vegetables as some of their first foods. But somehow, by the time a child is 2, his sole vegetable is usually potatoes in the form of french fries. Parents often stop serving vegetables because the child is too old for pureed veggies and too young to eat hard chunks of vegetables on his own without choking. Yet this is the most crucial time to serve your kids vegetables as snacks. Try steaming or microwaving vegetable chunks until they are soft and no longer a choking hazard. Be sure to serve all different types, including broccoli, carrots, zucchini and cauliflower. Half of your child’s mealtime plate should be vegetables.
2. Allow your children to see you enjoying vegetables.
If you crinkle your nose at the sight of a brussel sprout, it is likely your children will too. On the other hand, if you look forward to eating vegetables, your children will get the message that veggies are a healthy and delicious part of their diet.
3. Serve vegetables as its own course before the meal.
What mother hasn’t experienced her kids crying that they are STARVING while she is cooking dinner? This is a perfect opportunity to get your kids to eat their vegetables. Put out a plate of chopped veggies for your kids to pick on while you cook. When vegetables are the only option, kids are more likely to eat them. Give them another choice and they will often go with the less healthy version.
4. Serve vegetables in funny designs.
A bowl of zucchini may not seem fun but place the zucchini on a plate in the shape of a smiley face and suddenly eating it becomes a game. Presentation can make a big difference. Plate the vegetables in different shapes and your children may enjoy eating them more!
5. Serve vegetable soup.
Most kids love a bowl of vegetable soup, particularly on a cold day. When you are having a particularly hard time getting your children to eat their veggies, throw them into a soup.
6. Take your kids shopping.
Take your children to the grocery store and spend some time in the produce aisle. Go through the types of vegetables with them so they know the different options. Allow your children to pick which special vegetable they want to try that week. Then, when you serve it, make a big deal that this is your child’s “Special Vegetable of the Week”.
7. Start a vegetable garden.
Even better than letting them choose a vegetable from the supermarket? Letting them pick one off the vine. Start a vegetable garden with your children so they can grow their own vegetables. Get them involved by allowing them to water and tend to the garden. Then when the vegetables are grown, have your kids pick them and help you prepare them for eating. The more invested your children are in the process, the more likely they are to eat the vegetables!
8. Serve vegetables with a healthy dip.
Everybody loves veggies with dip. The key, however, is picking a healthy dip. You are not helping your children by getting them to eat vegetables covered in full-fat ranch dressing. Rather, give them a small amount of light or fat-free dressing to dip. You can also try a small amount of heart-healthy guacamole or hummus. Remember, the idea is for your kids to eat vegetables with a little bit of dip- not dip with a little bit of vegetables!
9. Serve vegetable stir-fry.
A great dinner option is some type of protein (chicken, lean steak, or fish) with stir-fried vegetables. My kids love when I make chicken teriyaki (which is mostly veggies with small chunks of chicken). Sometimes I even add a few pineapple rings for extra sweetness!
10. My favorite way to serve my kids vegetables…
Anybody who has ever gone out to lunch with me and my family knows my ordering quirk. Instead of ordering french fries for my children, I order them sliced cucumber. Like french fries, they can be eaten with their hands and they have a nice crunch. Obviously they don’t taste the same as french fries but my kids enjoy them. My children know that unless it is a special occasion, french fries are not an option for them. It took awhile and there was definitely fighting and complaining in the beginning. But I held strong and they have learned to eat the cucumbers instead.
There are many ways to get your children to enjoy eating vegetables. You may have to get creative but in the end it is well worth it!
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Tags: child, children, diet, healthy, kids, nutrition, obesity, parenting, picky, picky eater, vegetables, weight, wellness
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