This guest post was written by Gail P., who is interested in obtaining a forensic science education through online classes.

The after school activity has its benefits: it gives kids something to do with their downtime and often yields opportunities that schooling alone doesn’t, it provides parents (and especially parents of younger children) with less daily stress, and it can help reduce the strain on family relations. It can also do the near-opposite of all of these things, leaving children overstimulated between school and homework, requiring parents to shuffle their children from activity to activity, and putting a strain on what would otherwise be family time. Here are a handful of things to take into consideration.

1. Don’t east fast food for every meal.

While it’s tempting, given that it’s fast and it is filling, choosing fast food over, well, just about anything else is a bad idea. Eating preservative-laden, high-fat food on a regular basis has a detrimental effect on both your health and the health of your children. It conditions everyone to want more food full of salt, fat and preservatives, isn’t sustainable as a long-term form of sustenance, and will likely get boring after a while for both you and your children (who may also become obsessed with the toys and other incentives to continue eating there). Instead, when you can’t cook a meal, prep dishes in advance; you can set aside an hour or two to do several days’ worth of cooking, producing better and less expensive food in the process.

2. Set aside specific times for getting homework done.

Some children will come home, knock out their work, and make it easy for you. Others are going to be procrastinators. A schedule full of activities can make this considerably more difficult, as kids who’ve played sports or worked on projects after being in classes all morning and afternoon may finally start to feel a day’s busyness catch up with them. By making homework part of a specific routine, you ensure that it gets done.

3. Don’t let family time fall by the wayside.

Between work and school (and homework for both kids and parents), it’s easy for families to fall into hectic, fractured schedules and see each other more infrequently than is ideal. Setting a date each week (or several times a week, depending on just what, exactly, it is that you need) in which you do something as a family — what that is up to you and should probably vary — and holding everyone to it may be one way to address this.

Compensation has been provided for this guest post.

Before you rush right out the door in the morning, stop and ask yourself: “Did I eat breakfast?” “Do I have something I can eat for breakfast that will get me going?” If you, like most people find yourself short on time and rushing out the door with just a mug of hot coffee in hand, you might want to rethink your mornings.

There are TWO things everyone should start their day with…a glass of water to rehydrate the body after a long sleep and breakfast. There are many benefits to eating breakfast to start your day.

• Better concentration at school and at work.
• Better physical performance.
• Wakes the body and provides fuel to get going without leaving the feeling of sluggishness after a heavy meal.
• Improves the body’s metabolism.

The kids typically start their mornings with a bowl of cereal and I often eat a bowl of cheerios or hot cereal after the morning rush.  These days that would be in the office before my first meetings start. The thing I like best about eating a bowl of cereal for breakfast is that I don’t feel nearly as sluggish, full, and/or bloated as I might after eating eggs, bread, and sausage. While I LOVE to eat a good ‘ol southern breakfast buffet every once in awhile, it’s too clogging to the arteries and leaves me in need of maternity cotton stretch pants. EWWW and let’s not even talk about the stomach pains…

Thanks to the Blogspark community and General Mills, I received 4 free full size boxes of cereal. Our picks? Cookie Crisp, Honey Nut Cheerios, Cinnamon Toast Crunch, and Lucky Charms…All the classics with less sugar than before when we were kids but with the same taste we all love.

General Mills announced awhile back that they were committing to reducing sugar in their cereals and even increasing key nutrients and providing whole grain.

Did you know that ready-to-eat cereal eaters consume less fat, less cholesterol and more fiber than non-cereal eaters?

According to the American Dietetic Association, children who eat breakfast perform better in the classroom and on the playground, with better concentration, problem-solving skills, and eye-hand coordination.

To receive a coupon for $1 off, click here. For more information about kids and cereals, please visit Cereal Health and Wellness.

The opinion above are 100% my own even though product was provided for review.

Seems I’ve fallen and have to redeem myself again. Peanut says he misses his lunches and doesn’t want to eat the school food anymore. Can I blame him? School lunches STILL aren’t as healthy as they should be, fun to eat, or really taste that great. And to be honest I miss hearing the raves about my awesome lunches and knowing everything my kids eat are not filled with lots of sugar, fat, and salt.

Something I’ve learned is that healthy meals for kids (and even adults) don’t need to be plain and boring. There are many different ways to present meals to kids that are both fun and healthy to eat.

Forget the all too familiar old sandwich, use other things to fill or wrap in. Think tortillas, flat bread, homemade bread, bagels, lettuce, english muffins, or no wrap at all…

Use different vegetable cutters to add cute designs or add texture to vegetables and fruits. Think crinkle cut carrots…

Use cookie cutters to cut out sandwiches or to make homemade baked “chips”. Tortillas baked in Halloween shapes were a hit with a container of salsa for dipping…

Heat up left overs and put into fun containers. Home cooked dinners bring home away from home…

Think different colors, textures, flavors, and even arrangements. Think “outside of the box”. The more appealing something looks, the more likely it will be eaten.

Looks like it’s back to the mommy kitchen board for me. Time to get creative once again!

]]> http://farrah.tbfreviews.net/2009/12/ive-fallen/feed/ 0 http://farrah.tbfreviews.net/2009/10/healthy-meal-planning-with-kids/ http://farrah.tbfreviews.net/2009/10/healthy-meal-planning-with-kids/#comments Mon, 05 Oct 2009 04:15:18 +0000 admin http://farrah.tbfreviews.net/?p=121

Eating healthy is extremely important. With the rise of fast food and frozen dinners which focus on convenence rather then the nutritional value it is even more necessary to engage in healthy meal planning with kids to ensure they start eating right from young.

Healthy meal planning does not need to be a chore. It can be a fun and exciting activity for both the parent and child if you follow these simple rules:

1. Use the healthy food pyramid as a guide.
   
2. Plan ahead by thinking about what you wish to cook with the kids for the entire week.
   Getting your kids involved in the choice of foods eaten will give them some ownership over the food that is presented at the dinner table. It also makes them more willing to finish the food as they had a part in deciding what they are eating for dinner. I personally try to use the fruits and vegetables in season. This would increase the variety of food the kids get to eat and reduce the price of your groceries.
3. Think about fast to cook and good to eat.
   This need not be fast and fatty food but meals that are easily put together or can be prepared ahead of time through batch cooking or pre-seasoning. If your daily meal takes between 1/2hr to 1hr to get cooked it wouldn’t be that cumbersome and tiring to settle each night.
4. Have regular family meals
   Eating at home will help encourage healthy eating. Children learn the best from us adult role modeling what is expected of them. If they see us eating healthy food they too will start to develop a liking for healthy food also.

By following these simple rules it will be a breeze to plan healthy meals with your kids.

Additional Resources…
Healthy Eating Meal Planner: http://dietitians.ca/healthystart/Healthy_Eating_Meal_Planner.pdf
For Preschoolers Ages 2 to 5:http://www.mypyramid.gov/preschoolers/index.html
For Kids Ages 6-11:http://www.mypyramid.gov/kids/index.html

Post by Linda Antinoro, R.D., L.D.N., J.D. – Brigham and Women’s Hospital

Skipping meals may seem like a logical way to cut calories and lose pounds, yet it is one of the worst things you can do. It generally leads to deprivation and overindulgence. It may sound counter-intuitive, but it is best to eat more regularly and frequently (within reason, of course) to achieve an optimal weight.

Missed meals and/or snacks may cause blood sugar levels to decrease, setting us up for a potential pattern of eating as the body attempts to correct the dip in blood sugar. For instance, skipping breakfast has proven to cause fatigue, hamper metabolic rate and increase food cravings elsewhere during the day. The combined effect can contribute to more food intake with resultant weight gain.

In fact, it is estimated that breakfast skippers have metabolic rates approximately five percent below normal. The reason being that upon awakening in the morning, our blood sugar is typically at a fasting or low level. Eating soon after causes the body to “heat up” and burn off the calories. The same effect occurs after each meal or snack during the day, ultimately keeping our metabolism humming along.

Eating frequent small meals and snacks during the day provides a steady supply of nutrients and a more constant blood sugar level. Such meals and snacks should ideally consist of a mix of protein, healthy, unsaturated fat and unrefined carbohydrate (whole grain breads, brown rice, barley, quinoa, oatmeal).

Protein and healthy fats help to stabilize blood sugar, thereby giving the body greater energy and relief of hunger. Examples of desirable protein and healthy fats include: seafood, skinless poultry, low-fat dairy, soy products, eggs or egg substitutes, dried beans, avocado, seeds (flaxseed especially), nuts and nut butters. In addition, research has shown that inclusion of healthy fats aids dieters with adhering to a weight-loss regime.

Processed or refined carbohydrates, on the other hand, like juice, white bread, white rice and sweets provide an initial sugar rush and temporary taming of hunger, yet the effect is short-lived. They trigger an overproduction of the hormone insulin, which subsequently drops blood sugar and leaves you hungry soon again.

Since unrefined carbohydrates provide fiber as well as many essential vitamins and minerals, the solution is not to forego all carbohydrates. Instead, incorporate more unrefined, less processed, versions. These types of carbohydrates are converted into sugar more slowly, thereby stimulating less insulin, thwarting sharp drops in blood sugar, and potentially curtailing and controlling hunger.

So what is the best way to put all this information into action? First, try to eat at least every four hours or so. When adding protein, aim for at least one ounce with snacks and three to four ounces with meals. Depending on the protein source chosen, you will also likely be getting some healthy fat.

Overall this nutritional advice is aimed at staying comfortably satiated from dawn to bedtime. Individuals who repeatedly skimp on calories earlier in the day make up for them…and more, as the day wears on. This can eventually lead to uncontrollable cravings, unhealthy food choices, and steady weight gain.

Bottom line: A few small changes with your eating pattern and selections goes a long way to achieving a desirable and long-lasting healthy weight.

Last week I bought and checked out some healthy cookbooks and this week they came in handy indeed! No more boring sandwiches in their boxes, veggies and fruits were incorporated into every meal, and water was drunk daily throughout the day. I swapped out ground turkey for ground beef this week and even tried out some turkey bacon in lieu of the traditional pork bacon.

• The turkey taco salad was a success and the kids even wanted more. No chips, just veggies and salsa topped with seasoned turkey.
• I made oatmeal cookies without white sugar and nobody even noticed.
• The kids loved their grilled chicken wraps stuffed with spinach for lunch.
• Made homemade pizzas on homemade dough piled with fresh veggies (made chicken/pineapple too) and it was a hit. They even said they preferred it to store bought or from the restaurant!
• Breakfast was complete with fruit smoothies (1-2%milk, ice, fresh fruit).
• Made a low-fat baked ziti the family enjoyed.

This week I still need to attempt apple chips from fresh apples and fresh herbed/veggie bread.