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(CLICK HERE for a print-friendly PDF version)
(CLICK HERE for article reprint permissions)
| In This Issue |
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· Letter from the WEIGHT-WISE KIDS Editor
· "Susan Says" Feature Column: Common Sense Expert Advice
· Article: Healthy Eating Tips for Kids
· Eschewing the Fat: This Month's Feature Recipes
· Article: Eating Right for Sleep
· New & Notable Product Review: Super Stix®
· So Much More! |
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***LETTER FROM THE EDITOR*** |
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 A New Year, a New Opportunity
It’s a fresh new year rife with possibilities – a perfect time for overweight and obese children to
turn over a new leaf and resolve to improve their health in 2007.
“Nothing good comes easy” as the saying goes, and this certainly holds true for a child’s effort
to achieve and maintain a desirable body weight. Caregivers should capitalize on the spirit of renewal ushered in each January, and help children create a set of realistic and achievable vows, affirmation style, that will help him or her commit reaching the goal line.
Here are just a few “must make” vows to help adolescents get on the right track:
* I will eat at least five servings of fruits and vegetables each day. This will ensure kids consume a host of nutrients and plenty of fiber, which aids weight loss by filling the tummy up on fewer calories.
* I will watch my portion sizes at each meal. It’s helpful for children to have visual guidelines in mind to help reduce food intake and, thus, calories and fat: A serving of meat should be the size of a deck of cards; a serving of cheese should be the size of your thumb; and a serving of rice, pasta or vegetables should be the size of a small fist. Kids will get a kick out of making sure their meals “measure up.”
* I will drink 8 to 12 glasses of water each day. Hydration is essential to good health, and is critical in the weight loss process. Without it metabolism slows down, so ensure kids have easy access to an endless supply of pure drinking water.
* I will exercise at least three times a week for at least 30 minutes at a time. Whether it’s walking, riding a bike or vigorously tossing a ball around after school and on weekends, making an effort to get this much exercise in a given week will contribute to weight loss, among other benefits.
You get the idea…the important thing here is for these vows to help kids hone in on a few specific concepts that focus on the problem – lifestyle behaviors – rather than the symptom – an overweight condition – and can be put into action TODAY. These vows should make the task at hand seem entirely realistic and ‘doable’ rather than daunting – such as the dismal notion of having to lose 20-plus pounds.
Rather than focusing on the “end game,” kids would fare well by adopting a short-range view of their weight-loss effort – one that works toward, and celebrates, the hard-earned departure of each and every unwanted pound. While the majority of children classified as overweight or obese are trying to lose 10 pounds or more, weight-loss happens 1 stubborn pound at a time. Accordingly, encourage kids – even better, challenge kids – to lose just 1 pound versus the proverbial 20...and relish how quickly they'll add up.
In Good Health,
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***SUSAN SAYS: A MONTHLY EXCLUSIVE***
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 Practical, Common Sense, “Real World” Expert Advice
Dear Susan,
With the start of the new year, I'm hoping to turn over a new leaf to help my family eat more nutritiously. For a family such as ours just getting started with this endeavor, how do you suggest I proceed without the change being an unwelcome "shock" to everyone?
Sincerely, Anxious
Dear Anxious:
If you enlist your family to help plan for these lifestyle changes that will affect the entire group, you'll lessen the likelihood that it will turn into a battle of you vs. them. Toward this end, have a family "team" meeting - formally invite your husband and family to a meeting at an appointed date and time. And, take it seriously! Print an agenda, serve healthy refreshments and be prepared to take notes.
Ask your family how they feel about being overweight or out of shape. It's doubtful that anyone would have anything positive to say in response. I'm fairly certain that they'll tell you that, "hey, of course, we want to be fit and trim" (or something along those lines). Use this rhetorical question as an opportunity to invite the whole family to join you in brainstorming and strategizing healthy lifestyle changes for this new year. Clearly convey these changes are to be a team effort, and you'll all work together to make 2007 fun, but fit.
The American Dietetic Association has some suggestions for helping you get your family to eat better:
§ Decide on two or three specific, small changes in eating or physical activity at a time. Don't overdo it all at once.
§ Write down your family's weekly goals and keep track of them.
§ Keep a daily food and activity log.
§ Don't expect perfection.
§ Reward your family for positive change.
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Dear Susan,
With so many types of lettuce and other veggies to choose from, can you detail what you feel the healthiest, well-balanced and palatable salad would be for kids? Also, what do you recommend in the way of salad dressings?Signed, Wondering Mom
Dear Wondering Mom,
I'm always so impressed and excited about the amazing array of convenient salad fixin's in the 21st century grocery store. Packaged salad blends make it easy to enjoy many different lettuce types, and they also make salads more visually interesting and appealing with a variety of textures and colors.
I buy colorful salad blends that include red radicchio, orange from shredded carrots, and different shades of green, from romaine's deep green to bib's softer color. I like to add crunch to salads: a few tablespoons of toasted almonds, pine and/or walnuts add a bit of protein and healthy unsaturated fat and vitamin E; crunchy raw veggies including broccoli florets and sugar snap peas add fiber, plus they're rich in folic acid. And, don't be afraid to add fruit to your green salad! Dice a small apple or pear; add mandarin orange sections, grapes, or a couple of tablespoons of raisins.
Vinaigrettes are a healthier salad dressing selection that comes in a wide range of flavors. Making your own healthy vinaigrette dressing is easy and inexpensive, and ensures you know exactly what is - and is not - in the recipe. In a glass or Pyrex bowl, whisk one part extra virgin olive oil to two parts balsamic vinegar plus a couple of tablespoons of dried salad herbs. Add fresh ground pepper if your kids don't mind and (optional) quarter-teaspoon of sea salt.
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Susan L. Burke, M.S., R.D., L.D., CDE, is a member of Healthy Kids’ Catalog Advisory Board. Submit your child nutrition questions to Susan through her email form located at http://www.healthykidscatalog.com/susansays.html
or via USPS to Susan Says/HealthyKidsCatalog.com, 10755 Scripps Poway Parkway, Suite 508, San Diego, CA 92131.
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Healthy Eating Tips for Kids
by Juliet Zuercher, RD, Guest Columnist
Kids today face different options for food and play than past generations. Abundant, inexpensive,
tasty, unsupervised, and calorie but not nutrient-dense foods combine with sedentary entertainment choices and we end up with overweight kids. What can a parent do? Here are my “Top 10 Tips for Parents Who Want Healthy Kids”:
1. Be a good role model. Do not follow fad diets for weight loss; eat intuitively. Choose from a variety of foods that are tasty and satisfying. Eat when hungry; stop when not hungry.
2. Promote size acceptance. All bodies are shaped differently. This is part of the natural, genetic variety of our species! Fostering an environment of size acceptance for diverse shapes promotes a child's self acceptance and well being. Body differences should be welcomed, not feared.
3. Use positive body language. Are you constantly talking about the weight you want to lose or how much better you think you would feel if you could just shed 10 more pounds? Do you comment often on others' appearance and make judgments about them based on weight? Instead of these negative expressions, talk positively about your own body and you will model a healthy self-concept to your children.
4. Allow for freedom of choice within structure. When given the opportunity, children are wonderful intuitive eaters. The young ones have not learned the social definition of good and bad foods. They eat what they like and what sounds good to them. If given options of whole grains, fruits, and vegetables, along with other foods, children will sometimes choose the grains, fruits, and vegetables. So provide food options for children with reason: one snack may be an apple with peanut butter or graham crackers with milk; another may be a cereal bar or two cookies.
5. Create a positive food environment. We know that children excel both emotionally and academically in environments where they feel safety and love. The dinner table is perhaps the best venue for providing this environment. So make it a rule for the family to eat at least one meal together per day. Keep the conversation positive. The child will associate the context of the meal with positive feelings, promoting a healthy rather than a conflicted relationship with food.
6. Be aware of food allergies. Not all childhood food allergies will last a lifetime. Most will be outgrown. Provide opportunity for the child's body to develop immunity to the proteins in allergenic foods by testing those with small doses. Otherwise, a child may carry unnecessary food restrictions into adulthood and this may inadvertently contribute to disordered eating or an eating disorder.
7. Be active. Limit “screen time”: television, computer, video games, text messaging, etc. Instead, build in family times that encourage an active lifestyle. Plan family vacations that include enjoyable activities: hiking, biking, roller blading, swimming, etc. Set clear expectations for the child’s chores; do not apologize for requiring the child to contribute to the household in this way. But take enough time to invent games while doing chores so that even routine activities become associated with fun and closeness.
8. Involve the child in menu planning. Ask about and include some of the child's preferences when planning the weekly menu. Include the child in grocery shopping and meal preparation when possible. These are great teachable moments that foster empowerment around food choices rather than passivity.
9. Eat the same meal at dinner time. Resist the urge to make a special plate for the child who refuses to eat what is served. The parent decides what will be served and when; the child decides if s/he will eat, and if so, how much. This encourages the child to make good choices around food and increase variety; otherwise, the child's food selection remains limited thus limiting nutritional adequacy.
10. Eat with balance, variety and moderation. Do not require the child to finish everything on his/her plate. Provide a variety of flavors, colors, textures, and aromas in food to expand the child's food repertoire. Depending on the child's age, portion food appropriately or let the child portion on his/her own. Small, frequent meals and snacks allow the body's metabolism to work most efficiently.
Juliet Zuercher, a registered dietitian, is the Director of Nutrition Services at Remuda Ranch, Programs for Eating Disorders, www.remudaranch.com.
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***ESCHEWING THE FAT: FEATURE RECIPES*** |
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Spaghetti Sauce Dip
What You Need: What You Do:
1/2 cup of non-fat or low-fat sour cream 1. Put all ingredients in a bowl
1/4 of an 8oz. can of unsweetened crushed pineapple 2. Mix thoroughly
1/4 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce 3. Dip your favorite veggies and enjoy!
1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
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Pineapple Pudding
What You Need: What You Do:
1/2 cup of non-fat or low-fat plain yogurt 1. Put all ingredients in a blender
1/4 of 24oz. packet spaghetti sauce mix 2. Blend thoroughly
1/4 of a 1oz.package of non-fat, sugar-free vanilla 3. Dig in!
pudding mix
These are just two of the many healthy and tasty recipes found in
"California Squisine"
Healthy Food That's Fast, Fun
and Squeezable For Kids
Click here for product and ordering details
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