FOOD AND HOLIDAY TRADITIONS

WELLNESS WEDNESDAYS

“Flavor counts far more than elaborate techniques and presentations, and flavor begins with the best ingredients.  Each separate ingredient should be the finest you can afford, but if you can't afford it or you've run out of it, don worry.  Mediterranean cooks are notable for making do with what's at hand.  That's an attitude I try to cultivate in my own kitchen."  

                            --Nancy Harmon Jenkins, The New

                               Mediterranean Diet Cookbook

What’s your favorite dish to make together at home this time of year?  Holidays are filled with family traditions and foods are a central part of many traditions.  Making your children a part of your family’s rich holiday traditions is a great way to ensure they know the kitchen is a safe place to learn that when people respect good foods and each other, they are learning the recipe for a great life.  

Teaching a young boy how to use local fruits at a Growing Healthy Kids event with one of our partners (Youth Guidance Mentoring and Activities Program)

One of my favorite sections in the middle of the store - dried beans and lentils!

"Yellow squash on purple rocker"

The original Growing Healthy Kid, my son, Edward

Great recipes start when you have all the ingredients on hand.  Having good foods in your fridge, pantry and on the table begins with shopping together.  Teach your kids where to look in the store and what to look for on food labels.   Did you ever hear to shop on the four walls first?  Around the perimeter of a grocery store is where you find the fresh fruits and vegetables, yogurts and cheeses, fresh fish and meats.  Start by shopping the perimeter, then move to the inside aisles.   The less processed your food choices, the better.  Fresh is best.  When you use the approach of “eat fresh, eat local”, you support your local farmers.  To learn about farmers in your community, go to click here.

While you and your kids make a list of your favorite holiday foods to make this month, here is a list of our family’s top 25 foods:

1. Almonds
2. Avocados
3. Bananas
4. Blueberries
5. Extra virgin olive oil
6. Eggplant* (see eggplant parm recipe link below)
7. Garlic
8. Kale
9. Lemons
10. Limes
11. Lentils
12. Onions
13. Oranges
14. Parsley
15. Pears
16. Quinoa
17. Pesto
18. Spinach
19. Squash (any kind – they are all high in dietary fiber!)
20. Strawberries
21. Tomatoes
22. Walnuts
23. Wild rice
24. Wild salmon
25. Zucchini

From A to Z, from Apples to Zucchini, family traditions revolve around foods.  Make your family’s favorite foods fresh and delicious!  *For a link to a delicious, easy, and healthy eggplant parmesan recipe to make this holiday season, click here.

In gratitude,

Nancy Heinrich

Growing Healthy Kids, Inc. 

FITNESS AND FAMILIES

WELLNESS WEDNESDAYS

 “We as parents are our children’s first and best role models, and this is particularly true when it comes to their health…We can’t lie around on the couch eating French fries and candy bars and expect our kids to eat carrots and run around the block.”

                                         --Michelle Obama at the Building 

                                         a Healthier Future Summit, 3/8/13

The facts are staggering:

• One out of every 7 low income preschool children is obese. 
• Kids spend an average of 8 hours a day in front of a screen.  
• Girls who are obese will have an earlier puberty than normal. 
• Obesity and physical inactivity are leading risk factors for type 2 diabetes and high blood pressure. 
• Children who are obese are more likely to be obese as adults.

As parents, we need to take responsibility for our children’s health.  It is not the job of their teachers or doctors.  It is up to parents.  To add years to their lives, add life to their years.  Are your kids getting enough fitness?  Most kids are NOT getting the minimum of what they need at school.  The minimum recommendation for children ages 6-17 is 60 minutes every day.  

Family walks are part of my family's traditions.  Make them part of yours, too.  That's my brother, Bill, in the middle at a recent family gathering in Kentucky walking with his children, Erika and Neils (on left side) and our nephew Christopher and his girlfriend, Chen (on right side).

Kids need a mix of 3 different types of fitness:

1. Aerobic activity (this should be the majority of the 60 minutes/day, consisting of brisk walking or running)
2. Muscle strengthening (at least 3 days a week, consisting of gymnastics or pushups)
3. Bone strengthening (at least 3 days a week, consisting of exercise such as jump rope or running)

Take the lead.  Start by looking at yourself first.  Are you getting enough exercise?  Are you a good role model for your children?  As my friend, Sam, says, “Don’t talk, do.”  To learn more about the benefits of physical activity, click here.

 

Recently, I did a shoutout asking for ideas from you about what kids wanted to make.  My friend, Jill, responded that her daughter loves eggplant and she asked for eggplant recipes.  That started my quest for the perfect Baba Ganoush recipe (a Middle Eastern eggplant dip).  I found it and now you and your kids can enjoy Baba Ganoush plus 2 other amazing recipes that are super healthy, delicious, and fun to make with kids.  Click here.

In gratitude,

Nancy Heinrich

Growing Healthy Kids, Inc.

FAVORITE KITCHEN TOOLS FOR KIDS

WELLNESS WEDNESDAYS

“A lot of parents ask me how to get kids to eat more vegetables.  The first thing I say is that it starts from the top.”  

                                           --Chef Emeril Lagasse

Our Growing Healthy Kids movement features some awesome classes in the kitchen for kids.  One thing I love to watch is how the kids all clamor to do something.  When the kids show up for a class, the first thing they see is a display of all the ingredients we are going to play with.  A lesson  I learned from my father who was an aerospace engineer was to always use the right tool for the job.  That same lesson applies in the kitchen, which is why this week’s WELLNESS WEDNESDAYS topic is about kids’ favorite kitchen tools:  lemon squeezers and garlic presses. 

A recent GROWING HEALTHY KIDS IN THE KITCHEN program
in Vero Beach, Florida.  Kids wait with anticipation
to use the lemon squeezer!

Lemons have seeds.  Using fresh lemon juice is so much better than using bottled lemon juice.  Having a lemon squeezer in your kitchen makes having fresh lemon juice to use a no-brainer.  Look for one that is easy for the kids to use and easy to clean.  You can get a great lemon squeezer for under $5.00.

In our Growing Healthy Kids in the Kitchen educational programs, we ask kids if they know the trick for releasing the juice from lemons (or limes) so it is easy to squeeze.  No one ever guesses the trick but it is so easy:  roll a lemon on the counter with just a little bit of pressure.  Another trick is to put the lemon in the microwave for ten seconds but I really don’t like using a microwave anymore.  

Garlic is really good for keeping us healthy and protecting us from colds.   So good that I look for ways to have garlic every day.  I am one of those people who never takes a sick day because I don't get sick and I owe a big part of my own wellness to eating garlic.  One of my observations in every Growing Healthy Kids in the Kitchen class is how much the kids LOVE to use the garlic press.  They will stand in line to wait for a turn to be able to use the garlic press.  Buy your family a good garlic press – one of my favorites is made by Pampered Chef. 

Garlic and lemon are great additions to vegetable dishes. Try these ideas at your house this week: 

RECIPE IDEA:  Steam some broccoli and squeeze a little fresh lemon juice on it for flavor instead of butter.  The lemon is healthier and better for you than butter!  

RECIPE IDEA:  Use the garlic press and add fresh garlic to a foil packet of vegetables such as zucchini, green beans, and carrots.  Add a little extra virgin olive oil and some sea salt and pepper.  Wrap tightly.  Throw the foil packet on the grill with some fresh fish and you will have an amazing vegetable dish that the kids will devour!

With gratitude,

Nancy Heinrich

Growing Healthy Kids, Inc.   

BREAKFAST OF WELLNESS CHAMPIONS

WELLNESS WEDNESDAYS

"What you do has far greater impact than what you say."
                                                ---Stephen Covey

My best friend, Chris Ann, surprised me this summer when she invited me to celebrate my birthday at a great little restaurant called "Three Doors Down from Nancy".  The restaurant was, indeed, three doors down from Nancy, which turned out to be a little dress shop.  I asked Chris Ann to take this picture of me because, come on, how often does something this cool happen to yours truly?  What magical experiences have YOU had during your summer vacation? 

Now that it is the end of August, it is back to school for parents who can lead by example with healthy eating habits.  Back to school for the kids means alarm clocks, getting a healthy breakfast before leaving the house, and packing a school lunch. I talked about school lunches last week, so let's back up and talk about breakfast. 

  

Here are a few questions:

How many days a week do your kids eat breakfast?

How often do they skip it?

What do they eat to kickstart their day into high gear?
Does your breakfast include some protein? 

What are you having for breakfast to set the right example?

Why is breakfast such an important meal for the kids (and you)?  Here are reasons why:

• Breakfast is our first meal of the day.  
• It literally means “break the fast” after not eating all night.  Breakfast is the meal that gives our bodies and minds the energy to get up and go. 
• When you skip breakfast, you do more harm than good. 
• Kids who do not have breakfast do not perform as well in school. 
• Choosing a breakfasts with either soluble fiber (found in oats, apples, and pears) or insoluble fiber (found in whole grain breads and waffles) actually protects you against blood sugar spikes and crashes later in the day.

Here's a BIG reason to eat breakfast.  Did you know...that one of the key habits of “successful losers” (from a national database of over 5,000 people who lost at least 30 pounds and kept them off for at least a year) is that they eat breakfast every day?  Let’s give our children the fuel for their brains to perform and their bodies to be in great shape.  Breakfast…it does a body good!

Bob’s Red Mill Steel Cut Oats is one of my favorite breakfast foods. Steel cut oats are a less processed version of what most people think of when you say “oatmeal”.  Oats are full of soluble fiber, which acts like a scrubber for keeping the bad cholesterol from sticking to or staying inside of our blood vessels.  Other foods high in soluble fiber include apples and pears.  Steel cut oats take up to 30 minutes to cook, so a tip for making healthy breakfasts for the kids (and you) is to cook it on Sunday, then just heat it up to make a great breakfast for 2-3 days.  Serve with some almond or soy milk, a little cinnamon, agave nectar or honey, and some diced apples.  Add a piece of whole grain toast and the kids will be thanking you for the brainpower food!

Bob's Red Mill Steel Cut Oats make a delicious - and healthy - start to the day!  

Use one of the 100 calorie whole grain flat breads to make a peanut butter and banana sandwich.  Look for the ones that have 5 grams of dietary fiber per serving.  Add a glass of almond or soy milk and hit the power button for school! 

SOAR LIKE AN EAGLE THIS YEAR AT SCHOOL!  This is a picture I took recently in Sebastian, Florida.  

You’ve got to watch the video of this little kid with his words of empowerment he learned at pre-k.  Wish every kid started with this kind of attitude.  Thank a teacher for making a difference!  Click here and scroll down to watch the video.

Lead by example.  When you go shopping with your kids, talk with them about breakfast ideas and involve them in the decisions.  With just a little bit of planning, you can send your kids off to school with a breakfast that will kickstart their day and help them be smart and healthy!

In gratitude,

Nancy Heinrich

Growing Healthy Kids, Inc.