A Lack of Fruits and Veggies

Here, I'm sharing an interesting article I came across the other day. It's all about how our kids aren't eating enough fruits and veggies. Let's be honest, neither are adults. And after reading the article, I learned one thing. Neither of my children nor I will ever enjoy brussel sprouts, no matter what they are called. Not even if they were dipped in chocolate. But that's okay. We enjoy other green things. It's all about balance after all, isn't it?



As a parent, you might look at the government's new nutrition icon and think, "Really?"

The image is a dinner plate divided into sections. Half the plate is full of fruits and vegetables.

That's right -- half of what your child eats is supposed to be fruits and vegetables. Not hot dogs, not hamburgers, not chicken nuggets, but broccoli, squash, Brussels sprouts, and other things that come from the ground.

"It's extremely tough to get your child to eat half a plate of fruits and vegetables," says Jessica Seinfeld, author of two books on cooking for kids. "I've talked to thousands and thousands of parents, and most of them can't get their kids to try them."

Statistics show kids aren't getting nearly enough fruits and veggies. Only 22% of children ages 2 to 5 meet government recommendations for vegetable consumption, according to a 2009 study by researchers at Ohio State University.

It only gets worse as children get older: Just 16% of children ages 6 to 11 meet the government's guidelines, and only 11% of those ages 12 to 18.

In the study of more than 6,000 kids and teens, about a third of vegetable consumption was fried potatoes (potato chips, french fries, etc.), and a little more than a third of the fruit consumption was juice -- so if you don't include those, the percentages get even lower.

There's no one way to get your kids to eat more fruits and veggies, but here are ten tips straight from moms:

1. Get them while they're hungry.

If they're hungry, they'll eat. Before dinner, serve an appetizer of colorful vegetables, such as carrots, cucumbers, and red bell peppers, along with a hummus or low-fat salad dressing, Kulze suggests.


2. Institute the "no thank you bite" rule.

Tell your child he has to take a bite before vetoing something on his plate.

"We figure as long as our son is tasting the food, he'll eventually get comfortable with it," Traverso says. "It works pretty well."


3. Make up cute names.

Marketers do this, so why shouldn't you? Once Risdal started calling Brussels sprouts "hero buttons," her kids couldn't get enough of them.


4. Shop with your kids.

"Let them pick out the fruits and vegetables," Wolter says. "Let them smell the produce and admire the colors."


5. Cook with your kids.

A few years back, Duffy asked Dylan to make the green beans -- add some butter, sprinkle on some seasonings -- while she worked on other dishes.

"When we sat down to eat, Dylan insisted on eating the green beans because, as he put it, 'I made them.'" Two years later, he's still eating his veggies as long as he helps prepare them.


6. Have a "veggie night."

This way, there's no competition from other types of foods.

"Serve up edamame, hummus with veggies, mushroom burgers with Swiss, etc.," Redrick suggests.


7. Hide the veggies.

In Jessica Seinfeld's book, she tells parents how to stealthily sneak pureed vegetables into everything from shrimp dumplings to quesadillas.


8. Make fruits and vegetables the easy option.

Take a tip from the geniuses who thought to put potato chips in single-serving bags. Stock a kid-accessible shelf in your fridge with little bags of cut fruit and vegetables, applesauce, and fruit cups.


9. Let them use fun gadgets.

What kid doesn't love gadgets? Let them use a blender, juicer, and food processor to make smoothies and other recipes with fruits and vegetables. Use proper supervision, of course.


10. Bribe with dessert.

"Didn't want to finish what was good for them? No problem -- no dessert," Boecker says. "Maybe not the healthiest way to get them to eat vegetables, but it worked for us."

According to Nutrition Journal...

Tea is a simple way to stave off the desire for second helpings. Researchers believe that catechins, natural compounds found in tea, may boost satiety whether your cup is hot or cold. Just remember not to load it down with milk and sugar.

thought for the day

Is almond butter better for you than peanut butter?

Who knows? The important thing is they are both better than squeeze cheese.

The Nutrition Diva's Rules to Break!

This is a post from Monica Reinegel, the Nutrition Diva. She's pretty down to earth with her nutrition advice and this is a list of rules alot of nutritionists believe in that she feels are breakable. She calls the list 5 Dumb Nutrition Rules Worth Breaking!


Rule 1: Eat every 2 to 3 hours to prevent metabolism slow-down

Your body doesn't go into starvation mode every time you go several hours without eating. In fact, it takes about three days of fasting or serious caloric restriction for your body to respond with any sort of metabolic adjustment. It’s also not necessary to eat every few hours in order to keep your blood sugar steady. In fact, spacing your meals out more can have some very beneficial effects on your blood sugar and on other aspects of your health. So if you’ve gotten stuck in the waiting room at the pediatrician, you can give your kids all the Goldfish and not worry forgoing a snack means you’ll wake up two pounds heavier.



Rule 2: Don't eat late or you'll gain weight

Calories consumed after 9 p.m. won’t make you gain weight any faster than calories consumed earlier in the evening. Research shows that what matters most is how many calories you eat over the course of the day, not when you eat them! If you’re putting away a second dinner’s worth of calories before bedtime, that could certainly end up on your hips. But you don’t need to worry if a crazy schedule means a late supper.



Rule 3: Don't consume caffeine because it's bad for you


There are a lot of negative claims about caffeine, most of which are not true. Caffeinated drinks are not dehydrating, caffeine isn’t bad for your heart, it doesn't cause benign breast lumps, and it doesn't weaken your bones. In fact, caffeine has a lot of health benefits: Not only does it stimulate the brain and central nervous system, but it appears to protect against Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s.



Rule 4: Choose chicken! It's is always the healthier choice

There are cuts of beef and pork that are just as lean as a boneless, skinless chicken breast. And, by the same token, there are cuts of chicken and turkey that have just as much fat as a well-marbled steak. If you were to replace a serving of London broil with a roasted chicken leg, for example, you’d end up eating three times more fat! Additionally, if you compare lean ground turkey with lean ground beef, guess what? Both have the same amount of fat and calories; but the ground beef has almost twice as much iron, zinc, and vitamin B12 as the ground turkey.



Rule 5: Avoid high-fructose corn syrup because it's the devil!

Biochemically-speaking, high-fructose corn syrup is no more fattening or harmful than regular table sugar. The problem is not the type of sugar we’re consuming these days but the amount! So the solution to our obesity epidemic is not to replace high-fructose corn syrup with a different type of sugar but simply to reduce our consumption of all concentrated sweeteners -- even the “natural” ones! Do continue to read those labels and keep a lid on the amount of added sugar in your diet. But you don’t have to worry about a little high-fructose corn syrup any more than you’d worry about a little cane sugar, honey, or maple syrup.

Food Rules

Following are five rules from Natural Health magazine to be used as a guide when you're at the grocery store, reading labels and trying to figure out if a product is relatively healthy or not. You can print out a wallet sized version from naturalhealthmag.com/foodrules.

1. The first ingredient should be representative of the product. For example, the first ingredient listed in the nutrition facts panel on the packaging of mango juice should be mangoes, not apple juice.

2. Ingredients should be mostly recognizable. The following (often unrecognizable) additives are safe: acids (citric, sorbic, lactic), alginates, annatto, carrageenan, casein and lactose, gelatin, glycerin (as long as it comes from a natural and not a synthetic source), lecithin, monoglycerides and diglycerides, natural flavorings, pectin, and sorbitol.

3. There should be NONE of the following food additives: hydrogenated fats, artificial food colors, nitrites and nitrates, sulfites, artificial sweeteners (aspartame, acesulfame-K, and saccharin), MSG, preservatives (BHA, BHT, EDTA, THBQ), artificial flavorings, refined flour.

4. There should be reasonable amounts of sodium and sugars per serving. Actual numbers for sodium and sugars will vary greatly depending on the food, so keep serving size and what kind of food it is in mind. Remember the daily guidelines for sodium (approximately 1500 mgs per day) and sugar (approximately 24 grams for women and 36 grams for men per day).

5. There should be optimal amounts of fiber, vitamins, minerals, and nutrients depending on the food. For example, whole grain bread should have a good amount of fiber; yogurt should be high in calcium. Bonus points given to products that get their optimal amounts of nutrients from the food source versus added ingredients.

How to Calculate Added Sugars

The American Heart Association is challenging all Americans to limit our sugar intake. Finally, they are realizing the white devil is the cause of alot of our nation's maladies, including but not limited to obesity, diabetes, cancer, stomach problems, aging faster, even dementia. The AHA sets the guidelines at 6 teaspoons of added sugars per day for women and 9 teaspoons for men. Six tsp. is equal to 24 grams, or about 100 calories. Nine teaspoons equals 36 grams, or about 150 calories.

So some people are a bit confused as to what constitutes added sugars verses natural sugars. Here are a few rules of thumb:

~ 8 oz. of milk has 12 grams of natural sugar. So if you drink chocolate milk, and the label boasts 24 grams of sugar, then you know 12 of those grams are natural, leaving 12 grams that are added. Same with yogurt: plain nonfat yogurt has 12 grams of sugar, but none of it would be added, it's all from milk, a natural source. However, if you get the fruit flavored yogurt and it contains 25 grams of sugar, you take out the 12 grams of natural sugars from the milk and you are left with 13 grams of added sugars.

~ fruit, or 100% fruit juice, has 25-30 grams of natural sugar. Remember, it is always best to eat whole fruits and limit the juice form.

~ vegetables, 1/2 cup cooked or 1 cup raw, has 5 grams of natural sugars.

~ for every other food, consider the sugar to be added. Remember to read labels and see the post link below for sneaky names for sugar on labels.

http://8020healthnut.blogspot.com/2009/09/other-names-for-sugar.html

Ch Ch Ch Chia!

No longer are chia seeds just for growing leafy hair on ceramic Shreks and Obamas. The tiny, edible seed, which comes from the Salvica Hispanica plant of southern Mexico, is quickly becoming the latest health craze. However, ancient Aztec and Mayan civilizations knew long ago the numerous health benefits chia seeds contained. They were the basic survival ration of Aztec warriors, and it is believed that 1 tablespoon can sustain an individual for 24 hours.
Chia seeds are very rich in those coveted omega-3 fatty acids, even moreso than flax seeds. And, unlike flax, they do not need to be ground up to make their nutrients more readily available to our bodies. Nor do they become rancid as quickly as flax seeds.
In addition to omegas, chia seeds provide us with fiber, calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, manganese, copper, iron, niacin, and zinc. Another advantage: when added to water and allowed to sit for 30 minutes, chia forms a gel. Researchers suggest that this reaction also takes place in the stomach, slowing the process by which digestive enzymes break down carbohydrates and convert them into sugar.
Chia has a nutlike flavor. You can mix seeds in water and add lime or lemon juice and sugar to make a drink known in Mexico and Central America as "chia fresca." As with ground flax seeds, you can sprinkle ground or whole chia seeds on cereal, in yogurt or salads, in puddings or applesauce, add them to smoothies, eat them as a snack, or grind them and mix them with flour when making muffins or other baked goods.
The health benefits of chia seeds are too numerous to list, but here are a few:

~ they can aid in weight loss because their gelling effect help you feel full longer
~ they help balance blood sugar
~ they can help prevent diverticulitis, a disease quickly on the rise due to all the over-processed foods we consume
~ they help you feel more energized all day long
~ they add age-defying antioxidants to your diet
~ they help cut cravings by filling you with nutrients - being deficient in vitamins and minerals can cause cravings for certain foods

Chia seeds can be found in all health food stores, and even the more mainstream grocery stores are starting to carry them. I found mine at Meijer and they even boasted an organic label!

Beans & Rice

This is from the blog entitled No Meat Athlete, a blog about being an active vegetarian. In January, I decided to go full out vegetarian for one month just to see if I could do it. Turns out, it was easy because I don't really like meat anyway. So, with just a few chicken meals at the beginning of February, I'm gonna go back to full-fledged vegetarianism and stick with it. Two of my favorite foods, beans and rice, get five yummy make-overs here that I'm looking forward to trying out.


A Nutritional Match Made In Heaven
The amino acids in rice and beans come together to form a complete protein, making a simple way to get both complex carbs and protein in a single vegetarian meal. Throw in fantastic versatility at pennies per serving and you've got yourself not just the backbone of the vegetarian diet for runners, but also a universal staple food.

Learning to cook hearty vegetarian meals was a process for me. It started with just a "Meatless Monday" night that felt so good in my belly and my wallet that it evolved into meat just twice a week. Soon everyday was "Meatless Monday!"

At first I followed recipes to the letter, but soon I began to recognize patterns in regional flavor combinations. So today I'm here to share the tricks I learned about escalating ho-hum healthy food into nutritious ethnic cuisine.

I've got a standard five-ingredient framework to use for basic beans and rice, and then a five-ingredient update to represent whichever fare you desire: Indian, Mediterranean, Mexican, Asian, and even our local Baltimorean food.

Basic Beans and Rice Recipe with Five Variations
•1 cup dry brown rice
•1 can drained and rinsed beans, or 2 cups cooked
•1 onion, chopped
•1 clove garlic, minced
•1 tbsp vegetable oil
Cook the brown rice in a rice steamer or follow the directions here. Heat up the oil in a large pan over medium-high heat and fry the onion for 5 minutes. Add the garlic and fry for an additional 5 minutes. Stir in the beans and heat through. Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve with rice.


Indian Beans and Rice

You'll need chickpeas as the beans in the basic recipe, as well as:

•1 tbsp curry powder
•1/2 tsp cinnamon
•1 can diced tomatoes with green chilies
•a thumb-sized piece fresh ginger, minced
•1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
Stir the curry powder and cinnamon into the chickpea and onion mixture. Fry for a minute, than add the ginger and tomatoes and their juices. Cook on medium-high heat for 5 minutes, until the tomatoes no longer taste raw. Stir the cilantro into the rice. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Feeling fancy? Serve with warm naan and a side of sliced mangoes.


Mediterranean Beans and Rice

You'll need Great Northern White Beans in the basic recipe, as well as:

•2 stalks chopped celery
•1 small can (2.25 oz) black olives
•juice of 1 lemon
•1/3 cup fresh chopped parsley
•2 tsp dry dill weed
Add the celery and olives to the bean and onion mixture and fry for a few minutes to soften. Stir in the lemon juice and parsley and heat through. Stir the dill into the rice. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Feeling fancy? Add a can of chopped artichoke hearts and serve with warm pita bread .


Mexican Beans and Rice

You'll need Pinto Beans in the basic recipe, as well as:

•2 tsp cumin
•1 tsp chili powder
•1 can diced tomatoes with green chilies, drained
•juice of 1/2 a lime
•1/4 cup fresh chopped cilantro
Stir the cumin and chili powder into the bean and onion mixture and fry for a minute to coat. Add the can of tomatoes and lime juice. Cook on medium-high heat for 5 minutes, until the tomatoes no longer taste raw. Stir the cilantro into the rice. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Feeling fancy? Serve with a side of sliced avocado and warm corn tortillas.


Asian Beans and Rice

You'll need adzuki beans or black beans in the basic recipe, as well as:

•4 medium carrots, cut into thin strips
•thumb size piece fresh ginger, minced
•2 tbsp reduced-sodium soy sauce
•small can (11 oz) mandarin oranges, juice reserved
•1/2 tsp Chinese Five Spice
Fry the carrots and ginger with the bean and onion mixture for a few minutes until the carrots are cooked but still crunchy. Stir in the soy sauce and 2 tbsp of the reserved mandarin orange juice. Remove from heat and gently stir in mandarin orange slices. Mix the Chinese Five Spice with the Rice. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Feeling fancy? Throw in some chopped cabbage, thinly sliced green bell pepper, and mushrooms. Drizzle with hoisin sauce.


Baltimorean Beans and Rice

You'll need Black-Eyed Peas as the beans in the basic recipe, as well as:

•2 cups chopped kale
•2 tsp cider vinegar
•2 tsp vegan worcestershire sauce
•1/2 cup frozen corn, thawed
•1 tsp Old Bay, or any Chesapeake-style seafood seasoning
Fry the kale with the bean and onion mixture for a few minutes until wilted. Add the cider vinegar, worcestershire sauce, and corn, heat through. Sprinkle rice with the Old Bay seasoning. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Feeling fancy? Stir in some chopped yellow squash from the garden, and crack open an ice cold can of Natty Boh.

All these recipes work great for leftover lunches too— just stuff inside a big whole wheat tortilla and you're good to go. I included a Baltimore version because that's the region I know best; hopefully it will inspire you to apply your local flavors to beans and rice too. Please feel free to post your favorite 5-ingredient version and we can start to create a regional reference for this amazingly simple meal.

Nut Butter No Bake Protein Cookies

A friend emailed me this very simple recipe for cookies her boys love. I haven't tried them yet, but plan to this week. I'm sure they are good, though. I trust the source. :-)

You will need:
1 cup oats
1/2 cup water
3 tbsp. nut butter (peanut, almond, etc.)
2 tbsp. truvia, or sweetener of your choice
2 scoops vanilla protein powder

Then you:
Mix all ingredients. Scoop out onto wax paper or onto little muffin liner cups. Refrigerate for 1 hour.

If you love these, this is a recipe worth doubling. Also, I see great opportunities for modification...chocolate protein powder instead of vanilla, add in some flax seed for more nutrition, maybe use almond milk instead of water for a creamier texture...stuff like that.

The Benefits of Coenzyme Q10

This one time, at bootcamp (no, not BAND camp and actually it was just yesterday), a few of the 5:30 campers joined our 9:15 class...something about alarms not going off and such. First off, let me mention that the women who get up and out of bed at 5:30 to have Derek put their bodies through hell are, shall we just say, younger and spunkier than those of us who meander in at 9:15 to work out. So they bee-bop in and a few of the 40-somethings sort of groaned, "Oh great, they are totally going to run circles around us." And I thought to myself, "Like hell." I positioned myself beside the bee-bopiest during sprints and I kept up. (We won't talk about how the next day, being today, I can hardly move and she is probably doing power yoga as I type.) But as I was running beside her, I knew it was more of an effort for me than for her. Why???? Well, the answer may lie in the amount of coenzyme Q10 (CoQ 10) contained in her cells verses the amount my twice-as-old cells contain.
CoQ10, also known as ubiquinone, is a fat-soluble, vitamin-like substance that every human cell contains and it is directly involved in the biochemical reactions that produce energy in cells. The problem is, with age, the amount we have naturally occuring in our bodies is significantly reduced. I know. Not fair. Life sucks. Move on. You can take it supplementally and gain back some of your mojo.
So besides increased energy, CoQ10 has several health benefits. Here are several...

~ it is fabulous for the heart, effective in the treatment of angina, protecting the heart against surgery-induced stress, aids in the treatment of cardiovascular diseases

~ it was originally developed as a treatment for high blood pressure and is still used for those purposes today

~ it appears to slow the effects of Parkinson's disease

~ it helps to reduce the frequency of migraine headaches

~ it supports better immune function

~ it provides protection against magnetic field exposure

~ it may help guard the body against breast cancer

~ it can aid weight loss because it helps stimulate metabolism

~ new studies show it is effective in slowing the aging process, especially of our brains

So, as soon as this ice storm passes, I am going out to replenish my CoQ10 supply and get back into a regular habit of taking it with my daily vitamin regime. And yes, this is something I will supplement because I don't care for the foods that contain the highest amounts of CoQ10 (fish, beef hearts, and liver).
Then next time, at bootcamp, I will run circles around those 20-somethings.

Autobiography in Five Short Chapters

This poem by Portia Nelson has become one of my favorites. We can all probably relate to it in one way or another.



Autobiography In Five Short Chapters

Chapter I

I walk down the street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I fall in.
I am lost... I am hopeless.
It isn't my fault.
It takes forever to find a way out.

Chapter II

I walk down the same street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I pretend I don't see it.
I fall in again.
I can't believe I am in this same place.
But it isn't my fault.
It still takes a long time to get out.

Chapter III

I walk down the same street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I see it there.
I still fall in... it's a habit... but,
my eyes are open.
I know where I am.
It is my fault.
I get out immediately.

Chapter IV

I walk down the same street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I walk around it.

Chapter V

I walk down another street.

- Portia Nelson

Joy Bauer's Simple Detox Diet

If your holiday celebrations left you overstuffed, you’re not alone. Good news! This daily detox menu will blast away bloat, boost energy, burn fat, and ensure that you regain your mojo in just a few short days — but by all means, follow for up to a week if you want. It’s the perfect way to start the new year with a fresh, clean slate! The meals do not include meat or poultry — but you can eat fish, and they’re loaded with the ideal mix of antioxidants, protein, fiber, vitamins and minerals.

Here’s how it works:

•Follow the same daily menu for three to five days in a row.
•Eat only what is listed on the menu — no added sugar, honey, sugar substitute, salt, salad dressing, condiments, etc.
•Drink only what is listed on the menu — no soda, fruit juice, alcohol or diet beverages.
•Enjoy black coffee or tea at breakfast (regular or decaffeinated).
•Drink two 8-ounce glasses of water within 30 minutes of eating your lunch and dinner meals. Drink as much additional water as you’d like throughout the day.
•Drink one cup of regular or decaffeinated green tea after your lunch, afternoon snack and dinner.
•If you’d like to make this plan vegan, see simple substitutes at breakfast and dinner.


Ready, set, go!

Breakfast:
Joy’s Protein Power Smoothie

In a blender, combine 3/4 cup skim milk (for vegan plan, substitute soy or almond milk), 1/2 banana, 1/2 cup frozen raspberries, 1/2 cup frozen blueberries, 1 scoop vanilla whey protein powder (for vegan plan, substitute soy, rice, or pea protein powder), 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon, and 5 ice cubes. Blend until smooth and frothy. Optional black coffee or tea.

Lunch:
Drink two 8-ounce glasses water (with optional lemon) within 30 minutes of eating. Drink as much additional water as you’d like during the meal.

Salad:
•Unlimited spinach leaves
•Unlimited antioxidant-rich produce (Best choices include bell peppers, tomatoes, carrots, red onions, broccoli, and sliced beets. You may also add cucumbers, mushrooms, celery, and cauliflower.)
•1/2 cup red kidney, pinto, or black beans
•1 tablespoon toasted, chopped pecans
•Dress with 1 teaspoon olive oil and unlimited balsamic or red wine vinegar
1 pink or red grapefruit
1 cup green tea

Snack:
1/2 cup unsalted pistachio nuts (in shell)
1 cup green tea

Dinner:
Drink two 8-ounce glasses of water (with optional lemon) within 30 minutes of eating. Drink as much additional water as you’d like during your meal.

Unlimited baked, grilled, broiled, or poached fish — good choices include cod, halibut, haddock, and wild salmon, seasoned with fresh lemon and black pepper (for vegan plan, substitute sautéed tofu)

Unlimited steamed broccoli with optional fresh lemon and black pepper

1 cup green tea or naturally caffeine-free herbal tea

10 Secrets of Super Healthy People

We all know them, those people who never seem to get struck down by the latest flu bug or fevers or even an occasional head cold. How do they do that? Following are 10 surprising habits of super healthy people:

1. They stress less. Duh! But what if you are typically a hot mess of stress? Exercise is the best way to combat stress, so get moving!

2. They sprinkle brewer's yeast on their food. This is because brewer's yeast is high in the B vitamins. A great brand to try is Bragg's Nutritional Yeast. Sprinkle it on popcorn, in soups, even put it in bread or cookie batter.

3. They eat less. None of us would die of starvation if we passed on seconds. In fact, research proves it may help us lower incidences of age related health problems, such as Alzheimer's and diabetes.

4. They embrace bacteria. Put down the antibacterial wipes and sprays once in a while. We've become too clean for our own good.

5. They opt for herbal remedies. A great herbal thing to do is drink green tea, which have polyphenols and the potential to burn fat, boost metabolism, protect against liver disease, control blood sugar levels, and lower bad LDL cholesterol. I'm sold.

6. They make friends a priority. I keep telling my husband it's a GOOD thing I so often meet my girlfriends for lunch or dinner or coffee!

7. They stay pH balanced. In our society, we are too acidic with all our meat and sugar. Most vegetables are alkalizing. Eat some and balance yourself.

8. They eat garlic. Not the supplement kind. The real thing is best for the most medicinal value.

9. They detox regularly. Always check with a doctor before doing a detox diet. A great one is Joy Bauer's simple detox diet. And if I had a link I would post it here, but since I don't, there's google.

10. They take more naps. Say no more - I can easily do that!