Children’s growth and child development depend very much on the foods they are fed and the benefits of healthy eating for kids is detailed in this article to alert parents to the dangers of neglecting this aspect of the child’s development. Balanced, nutritious meals are a must for every growing child because the benefits transcend into adulthood. Poor diet leads to obesity and a host of medical and psychological problems for the child.

For those of us not aware of it there is a good guide pyramid, which can help us better understand the different food groups. All of our food is divided into grains, vegetables, fruits, dairy products and meats, beans, poultry, fish and nuts. Your child gets a balanced diet when all the food groups are covered. There are some groups where the intake needs to be lesser than the others, such as the oils and meats.

The benefits of healthy eating for kids will not be felt if you blindly follow the food groups. For example an apple in its natural state will do more for your child’s well being and overall good health than an apple pie with sugar would.
For children to develop healthy eating habits the parents will need to lead by example. It is always advisable to start a child out eating right from a very small age because this becomes habit forming. You should never put a child on a restrictive diet without the approval and supervision of a pediatrician. Overweight children go through quite a lot of trauma as a result of their size and all of this can be avoided if the parents take onus for ensuring that the children eat the right kinds of healthy nutritious foods they need.

Given below are some ideas on how to draw on the benefits of healthy eating for kids:
• You can guide your family’s choices by doing the shopping right; never dictate it will not go down well. Make sure your home has plenty of healthy foods like fruit and vegetables, yoghurts and dips that you can turn into healthy meals and snacks for the family. Don’t stock up on crisps and other junk food no matter how attractive the packaging and how easy it makes the shopping, to simply load up the trolley with a bunch of pre-packaged foods for kids.
• Make mealtimes a family affair with a lot of happy talk and exchange of ideas. This will help children to eat more slowly. Gobbling food will not help a child differentiate between a full and overfull stomach. When there is fun and laughter at the table you will find your children wanting to stay put and take the meal at a slow pace.

• Take your children with you when you go shopping and when you prepare meals as much as possible. Take the time to learn about their preferences and use the opportunities to teach them about the importance of nutrition and the benefits of healthy eating for kids.

• It is no secret that children enjoy snacking between meals and plenty of low fat milk and fruit should be the healthy alternatives. Try to avoid over eating at any cost. Always remember that what you don’t have at home your children cannot eat – so throw out the junk food!
Exercising and being active goes hand in glove with eating right so make use of this article to better understand the benefits of healthy eating for kids.

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Think your kids won’t eat healthy foods? Think again for child development. A preliminary report of the Chefs in Schools Initiative by the Harvard School of Public Health, funded by Project Bread, proves that kids not only like healthy school meals, but actually eat more of the healthy foods than they would if they were eating a traditional school meal.

The study sought to analyze the value of the Chefs in Schools Initiative, which was launched by Project Bread in 2007 with the help of the Office of Mayor Thomas M. Menino, Boston Public Schools, and the Boston Public Health Commission. The concept behind the Initiative was simple: over 74% of the nearly 56,000 Boston public school children qualify for free or reduced-price school meals, which include breakfast and lunch.

Clearly, many of these children come from families that struggle to put food on the table, making these children especially vulnerable to hunger and under-nutrition. The Initiative sought to make cutting-edge nutrition available to these children as an ordinary part of their school day.

To accomplish this, the partnership hired Chef Kirk Conrad, a master chef and graduate of The Culinary Institute of America, to work with the Lilla G. Frederick Middle School in Dorchester and the Mario Umana Middle School in East Boston. Chef Kirk, as Conrad is known by all, was charged with serving healthy, cost-effective meals that kids love to eat and creating an environment that signaled to kids, their teachers, and parents that school meals were crucial to their overall health and learning. Chef Kirk’s menus feature fresh fruits and vegetables, whole grains, and lean meats — and remove excess fat, sodium, and sugar. These healthy meals are cooked from scratch, using fresh ingredients and herbs to enhance taste, by Conrad, who has also trained a willing kitchen staff in his techniques, who regularly test the palatability of new dishes with their students as they would guests in a restaurant.

As the final step in the rollout of the Initiative, the Healthy Lunch Study analyzed the results of this innovative program. The study compared Boston middle schools receiving the district’s traditional school lunch with the middle schools participating in the Chefs in Schools Initiative who received the healthy lunch. Results were collected from 3,188 trays and researchers at the Harvard School of Public Health stated their preliminary findings as significant:

Over three times as many students ate the vegetables at the Chefs schools as compared with the control schools.

Among students who ate vegetables, students at the Chefs schools ate on average about 30% more of their vegetables.

When only 1% white milk was served instead of chocolate milk, students still drank the same amount of milk.

Meals had over 50% more whole grains at the Chefs schools compared with the control schools.

SOURCE Project Bread - The Walk for Hunger

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This week at the Obesity Society 27th Annual Meeting, new child development data was presented showing that children deemed “vegetable resistant,” who don’t eat vegetables at all, significantly increased both the amount and variety of vegetables they ate when they were served with one of America’s favorite foods — peanut butter.

Raw carrots, celery, and broccoli were provided either with or without peanut butter for dipping and those not provided peanut butter, did not improve vegetable intake.

“We measured what they ate and were excited to see that even those who reported not eating vegetables, who are the most challenging group, ate a greater variety of vegetables with the peanut butter,” said Dr. Craig Johnston, Instructor at the Behavioral Research Center at Baylor College of Medicine, at the USDA-ARS Children’s Nutrition Research Center in Houston, Texas who conducted the study.

Vegetable intake has been shown to be beneficial against the development of many chronic diseases, but consumption in adolescents is well below recommended levels and strategies to increase intake in adolescents are limited.

Peanut butter was paired with vegetables in this study, because it is a nutrient-rich comfort food loved by kids and adults alike. In fact, it was well received and readily consumed by the students in this study all of whom are Mexican-American.

The adolescents are part of a treatment group in a successful weight loss program in schools that is funded by the United States Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service (USDA-ARS). Though some believe peanut butter would be associated with increased energy intake, the study has demonstrated significant weight loss that is maintained over time.

In the United States, over two-thirds of the nuts eaten are peanuts and peanut butter. Peanut butter provides over 15 key nutrients and is offered in Women, Infant, and Children (WIC) packages because of its protein, nutrient content, and affordability. Numerous studies have also shown that peanuts and peanut butter reduce the risk of chronic disease when eaten in small amounts daily and that they can help in weight management and keeping you satisfied.

Pairing vegetables with peanut butter is an effective, simple strategy for children and adolescents, which helps build positive eating habits and increases vegetable intake. Eating more vegetables with increased variety, by providing them with healthy, nutrient-rich foods like peanut butter may contribute to healthier lifestyles and chronic disease reduction.

The Peanut Institute is a non-profit organization that supports nutrition research and develops educational programs to encourage healthful lifestyles. Learn more about peanuts and health at www.peanut-institute.org

SOURCE The Peanut Institute

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Many people in the United States have never heard about miso because they don’t eat Asian cuisine. Doctors’ reports, however, have agreed about the healing properties in miso. If you’re curious about it, here are six good reasons to start preparing miso as a recipe for kids.

For those who aren’t aware, miso is a paste made from fermented and ground soybeans which has been fermented for two months up to two years. It is often mixed with rice, barley, or wheat to speed up fermentation. Normally, it can be found in the international aisle of most grocery stores.

1. Miso is versatile. It can be made into a dressing for salads, soup, or made into a tea. Miso comes in white, brown, deep red and creamy beige, each with its own distinct flavor. Flavors range from sweet and mild to savory and earthy.

2. Miso is also high in fiber and probiotics. It increases the enzymes your body produces in your digestive system by increasing beneficial micro-organisms. These micro-organisms will break down foods better which will enable more nutrients to be absorbed, giving you more energy.

3. Most people eat meat to get protein. However, miso provides high quality vegetable protein that is highly usable in the body. In fact, if you were to eat miso with whole grains, the proteins you consume would be increased. It also contains unsaturated oils and zero cholesterol, which doctors recommend as part of a heart-healthy diet.

4. Some reports have confirmed miso as being beneficial by helping prevent some cancers, heart disease, and other illnesses. It has also been touted to eliminate heavy metals, nicotine, and air pollutants from your system. Women who eat miso regularly have been shown to be less likely to develop breast cancer.

5. Miso is high in essential minerals such as zinc which aids the immune system. Iron, copper and manganese are also in ample supply in miso.

6. If you’re moving toward a more vegetarian diet, miso would be a great addition. It is high in vitamins K and B12, both essential for a healthy body.

How on earth do you use miso? There are a number of ways you can try to start using miso in your family’s meals: use it instead of a stock (chicken or vegetable) when making home-made soups, spread it on toast similar to butter, use it as a salt substitute when you’re cooking, or mix it with sesame oil and your favorite seasonings to make an Asian-inspired salad dressing.

Although doctors in the West can be slow to acknowledge the health benefits of foods used traditionally in the East, it seems they’re taking notice of miso. By reading these six reasons to start eating miso, you can see how this food from Japan can improve your health and help you avoid some diseases. Maybe it’s time to find it in your grocery store and make it a part of your family’s diet.

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Eating a well balanced diet is necessary to maintain good health.  It becomes even more important for a pregnant woman. Basically, it is a very vital part of the pregnancy nutrition. This is because of the fact that the choice of food during pregnancy affects the health of the expectant mother as well as development of the fetus. Doctors agree that some foods contain bacteria and harmful chemicals, which could interfere with the fetal development or, in the worst case, cause serious infection. Owing to this fact, it becomes vital to take care of the food that should be strictly avoided, apart from those specially recommended for the pregnant woman. Read on to explore the foods to avoid during pregnancy.

Foods Not To Eat During Pregnancy

* Alcohol: Consumption of alcoholic beverages causes host of health problems in the baby, including low body weight, learning disabilities, visual problems, deformed organs and other abnormalities.

* Caffeine: Caffeine consumption can put the pregnant woman to the risk of miscarriage and premature birth. Hence, even beverages containing caffeine, like coffee, should be strictly avoided during the period.

* Raw Eggs: Raw eggs should not be eaten during pregnancy, because they contain Salmonella, a bacteria that causes food borne illness. Stay away from the dishes that contain raw eggs as well, including ceasar salad dressing, cookie batter and eggnog.

* Fish with Mercury: Consumption of mercury is related to the delay in the development of the brain of the baby. Therefore, fish with high levels of mercury, such as Tilefish, Shark, Swordfish and King Mackerel should be strictly avoided during pregnancy.

* Smoked Seafood: Smoked seafood available in the general stores may be contaminated with Listeria, a harmful bacteria. Therefore, smoked seafood, especially the refrigerated one, is a strict no-no for pregnant women.

* Fish Exposed to Industrial Pollutants: Do not eat fish from lakes and rivers, such as bluefish, striped bass, salmon, pike, trout and walleye, because they may be exposed to high levels of polychlorinated biphenyls, a class of organic compounds that are harmful for health.

* Raw Shellfish: Uncooked shellfish is the source of a number of seafood-borne diseases. Hence, pregnant women should avoid raw shellfish.

* Soft Cheese: Soft cheese such as Feta, Gorgonzola, Queso Blanco, Queso Fresco, Brie and Camembert, contain Listeria, which may infect the baby. It may also lead to blood poisoning.

* Unwashed Vegetables: Vegetables should be thoroughly washed before consumption, because they may have been exposed to a parasitic disease ‘toxoplasmosis’, which might have affected the soil where the vegetables were grown.

* Unpasteurized Milk: Ensure that the milk you consume during pregnancy is pasteurized, because unpasteurized milk may contain a bacteria called Listeria, which may lead to miscarriage.

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Nourishment and physical activity are two of the most important factors which should be fulfilled thoroughly in children as they enter school. Parents can make sure that this part of child development is properly taken care of.

Here are the basic food groups which you should carefully target:

- meats and poultry,

- milk and dairy,

- grains and bread,

- vegetables, and

- fruits.

Now here are some nourishment tips you can apply:

- Talk about it. Teach your children about the different food groups and how important it is to eat a variety of good foods.

- Eat together as a family. Practice what you teach. Parents serve as role models for developing lifelong habits.

- Limit or eliminate foods with sugar: candies, pastries, soft drinks.

- Give younger children small portions. Let them ask for more if they want more.

- Give younger children 5 or 6 mini-meals a day. They have smaller stomachs. It may be an easier way to make sure they get a variety of foods throughout the day. The whole family may want to try this as well. Small mini-meals throughout the day can prevent overeating and high calorie snacking.

- Provide nutritious snacks: fresh fruits, low fat cheese, and cereal with low fat milk.

- Limit eating at fast food restaurants. Fast foods are typically high in fat.

- Don’t expect a clean plate. This can lead to overeating.

- Try a variety of low-fat cooking recipes. Find healthy foods your children will love.

As for fitness:

- Let your infant roam around, safely, as much as possible-limit time in strollers and playpens.

- Make sure your children get outside to play at least 20 to 30 minutes everyday.

- Plan weekly family outings that involve being outdoors: biking, swimming, Frisbee.

- Have a variety of fun equipment that promotes fitness: bouncing balls, basketballs, soccer balls, jump ropes, badminton, hula hoops, and bicycles.

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Gardening can be one of the best children activities to be done with the family with some careful planning and some fun loving. In fact, if you have a “plant your own vegetables” family day, not only can you spend quality time together, before long you’ll also have “fresh from your own garden” vegetables to enjoy and share with others. Maybe you’ve never gardened much; don’t let that stop you. With everyone in your family’s help, you can get a garden planned and planted.

If you’ve never gardened, there is quite a bit to learn before getting started. First, you’ll need to find out what planting zone you live in. This is easily done by asking at a nursery or by looking online. You’ll also want to know what type of soil you have in your yard. This will let you know what nutrients will need to be added before you can begin planting. You may want to visit someone who has been gardening for a while to learn from their experience in regard to how large a garden you need, what vegetables would be best to plant, and how many of each plant you’ll need to get the harvest you’d like.

Start with a plan. Vegetables won’t grow in the shade so you’ll need to seek out a place in the yard that gets full sunlight. When you have chosen the area, you get to pick out the vegetables you’ll plant. If this is your first garden, don’t go crazy. You may want to try spinach or lettuce, green beans, corn, and several varieties of tomatoes. For a family of four you would want to buy two packs of lettuce plants, two packs of green beans, a package of corn, and three to four tomato plants per variety.

There are two ways you can lay out a garden. You can plant everything in rows of a single vegetable per row. You can also create square foot gardens where you break the total size of the garden into squares of one foot or more. Find out more about this type of gardening by getting a book from the library or checking online.

For the number of vegetables you’ll be planting, an 8’ x 10’ or 8’ x 12’ garden would be perfect. You don’t want to make the garden so large that you’ll be frustrated caring for it, but you do want it to be large enough to accommodate the plants as they grow.

Spread the work out among each family member, keeping in mind each one’s abilities. One person can run the rototiller, another can pick up the rocks, and another can dig the holes for the plants, and another can water the plants in. The old saying “many hands makes light of work” can certainly pertain to a family working in a garden.

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Pre-school centers normally do not offer facilities for feeding compared to high schools and universities with their cafeterias. If there are food in these pre-school centers, their high nutrition value is not assured. Thus, it should be the duty of parents to make the lunch box of their children very interesting with creative recipes for kids.

Here are a few tips you can follow to make your children more interested in opening their lunch boxes during recess breaks:

1. For more variety, prepare lunch from the three food groups. This could mean sandwiches, some carrot sticks, and piece of fruit. It could also mean taking leftovers from the night before, a salad, and fruit at the bottom yogurt. The key is to consider what your teen likes to eat and then purchase things you know they’ll like and that are healthy choices. If they pack a healthy lunch they are more likely to have the energy and mental clarity for the remainder of the school day.

2. Ask your toddler sometimes what they want for their packed food. You can prepare it beforehand and put it in the refrigerator. This way, children will be more hands-on with their food choices for the entire week.

3. Instead of placing everything in zip top bags, you can put food into small plastic containers. This will help keep those foods fresher as well as contain any liquids that may be part of the meal. One great meal idea for small plastic containers is to chop up left over chicken breasts, add chopped grapes and a little bit of mayonnaise to create a wonderful chicken salad to make any teen jealous.

4. Rather than making traditional sandwiches, create wraps instead. Use tortilla shells and spread a little bit of cream cheese on it. Cover it with shredded cheese, chopped chicken and shredded carrots. You have a fresh take on a sandwich. They may actually find they prefer the roll-ups instead of sandwiches made with bread.

5. Don’t forget to include fish. They can make a tuna salad sandwich on whole wheat bread or can add the tuna to a tossed salad. Either way they choose to eat them, tuna is a good choice for a healthy lunch.

School lunches don’t have to be boring to be healthy. In fact, young children can pick and choose healthy yet mouth-watering alternatives. A healthy meal from home can do wonders for their health, how well they concentrate in afternoon classes, and the amount of energy they have left when they return home.

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