My New Home

Hello Friends,
I am excited to tell you that I have given my website a facelift and am now able to house my blog within my website.  From now on, I will be posting all blogs there.  Please join me at my home and share the information with your friends.  Together we can make a difference in the health of this world.

Here's to Whole Life Wellness!

Aimee

Raising Fit ad Healthy Kids

First of all, I apoligize for going so long without a blog post.  We just returned from a week of vacation in beautiful New England and I definitely took a break from my computer.  It was a nice break and I am of course back and excited to share more information on healthy family living. 

As I was hiking up the side of a mountain in the Mount Washington area of New Hampshire with three generations of Taylors (yes, we had Grandma and Grandpa, the three Taylor boys and their wives and seven kids between the ages of 7 months and 8 years old), it made me think about what makes fit and healthy kids.  Aside from sweet Eden who is only 7 months old, the other children, including Grayson and Brett who are only two, all trekked some if not all of this 3 mile round trip adventure up and down a mountain.  At times, I was walking at a very quick pace to keep up with the older kiddos as they practically bound down the mountain.

So what is the key to fit and healthy kids?  While it is not out of reach for anyone, it definitely takes some effort given the current state of health.  Today's kids are the first in history who will live less time than their parents.  Not surprising, the primary reason for this is obesity which is linked to all sorts of health issues.  Childhood and teenage obesity rates have been rising at an unbelievable pace over that past three decades, and the fatter you are, the sicker you are more likely to become.  According to a study conducted by Weight Watchers International, Inc. and the American Health Foundation, 25 percent of American children are now officially overweight.  This is more than double what it was 30 years ago and the numbers have risen with each successive study.

While fast food is a big part of this problem,  according to Ken Reed, Director of the Center for the Advancement of Physical Education, lack of exercise is the main offender.  "Over the last 25 years, caloric intake in toddlers and young kids has gone up three to four percent, but the level of physical activity has dropped nearly 20 to 25 percent."  While we must stay focused on getting our families to eat healthier, we have to at the same time find ways to get more activity and exercise.

Kids need about 90 minutes of daily exercise to avoid most heart disease risk factors, according to a study published in The Lancet in 2006.  Since kids should sleep 10 hours, spend most of their day in school, and according to the Academy of Pediatrics, spend an average of five and one half hours a day in front of the tv, game, or computer, we probably don't need a study to tell us that we have an up hill battle fitting more activity into a day and beating obesity.

While this sounds like quite a gloomy outlook, instead of discouraging, it actually gets me excited.  To think that such a major health issue has a "cure" within our reach.  We don't need some scientist somewhere to find a cure for us, it is completely in our control.  Here are some important steps to building fit and healthy kids:

No bottles before bed.  A large number of recent studies show infant obesity rates as high as 44 percent in some demographics, which have been linked in part to sending infants to bed with a bottle.  Not only is the child getting more calories, it is creating a learned response to eat before bed.  A very difficult habit to reverse.  Infants of course should have some body fat, but an obese infant is more than twice as likely to grow into an obese adolescent, who is more than twice as likely to become an obese adult.

Make your toddler toddle.  The 90 minute guideline is for school-aged children, but it is recommended that younger children get even more.  Infants should be encouraged to move as much as possible because it develops motor skills that will help them throughout their life.  Toddlers should have at least 30 minutes of planned activity per day and 60 minutes of free play, where they are allowed to move and roam as they like.  Preschool-age kids should get at least 60 minutes of planned activity and 60 minutes of free play. 

Fight for recess.  As school budgets dwindle and because results are based on test scores, "optional" classes like recess are being cut.  I would argue that recess is one of the most important classes your child has.  According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), it's not just how much children exercise that counts but how long they exercise for that is important.  Kids should not exercise for prolonged periods of time.  They benefit far more from short bursts of exercise throughout the day.

Juice is not for breakfast anymore.  The American Academy of Pediatrics reports that many children get most of their calories from beverages, when they would be better off getting them from whole fruit and other healthful solid foods.  Most come from soda, but juice can fly under the radar, masquarading as a health food.  Take a look at an orange juice label.  A former icon of a nutritious breakfast, and still praised in some less-enlightened cultures, is mainly sugar.  The refining process has leeched most of its useful ingredients and all of the fiber, turning a wonderfully healthful food, an orange, into little more than a morning sugar rush.

Say NO to the Cafeteria, unless your cafeteria is run by Revolution Foods or another healthful in-school lunch program.  Having your children bring their lunch to school can ensure that they are eating well.  School cafeterias have been getting progressively worse.  Did you know that the average cost of the lunch that they are serving your child in school is about $1, aside from the fact that it is mostly processed food and meets the minimum requirements where the minimum requirements are far too minimal.  Parents have banded together in many communities to change their school's nutritional structure.  Let your school know that minimum standards are not ok when we are trying to build fit and healthy kids.

Enforce TV and game limits.  Do you remember reading earlier that the average kids spends 5 1/2 hours in front of TV, games and computer screens?  UGH!  We could probably surmise that this time increases in relation to body mass index.  That is a lot of hours not moving!  Even if you monitor your child's content so that it is 100% education (if that is even possible), it is important that you enforce time limits for sitting still.  Not only is sitting still for long periods of time bad for you, but it more importantly creates a habit. 

Make a habit of exercise.  While we are discussing habitual behavior, exercise is one habit you want to develop in your children.  While you are structuring their day, add an exercise period.  No, I don't mean that you need to write an exercise program for them, however you do need to make sure that the time to get moving is on the schedule.  We want them to get use to the feeling that this is something they should be doing daily.

Assign chores.  Children should learn to do the same work around the house that they see you doing for them.  Weeding, sweeping, raking leaves, and doing laundry are all calorie-burning activities that add up little by little.  In fact, by getting them involved at a young age when they love helping out and being a contributing member of the family, may just decrease or eliminate the complaining when they get older.

Stop drinking soda.  Perhaps you have not heard this enough, but soda accounts for more calories consumed than any other food.  Teenagers in America get an estimated 13% of their calories from soda, making it nearly impossible to eat a balanced diet.

Try some sports.  Not all kids are great at sports, but almost everyone has an aptitude at some physical activity.  Start your child young by allowing them to experiment with different sports.  The more sports that they try, the easier it will be for you to see which ones they excel at and which they don't.  They get exposed to different things and people, they get some exercise, and, in the end, you will probably find something they will be good at - or at least decent - which will help their self-esteem as they develop.  Keep in mind that sports don't just mean team or traditional sports.  Martial arts, snowboarding, swimming, dance, and rock climbing are all just as effective as football and soccer for building healthy bodies.

Get outside!  When we grow up some of us will be inside people and some of us will be outside people.  As kids, however, we should all get some exposure to the great outdoors.  There are endless number of outdoor activities you can choose from, but the simples, hiking, is one of the best activities you can do with your kids.  It is great exercise, especially if you live around hills or mountains, which will ensure that your intensity will be high.  It builds motor skills because you walk on rocks and trees, etc.  It is also a learning tool because you will encounter the natural world and, most likely, develop an interest in the way it works.  It does not take having Yosemite or Mount Washington in your backyard, just get out there and enjoy the physical activity as well as the time with your family.

Growing fit and healthy kids is a combination of eating healthy, getting plenty of sleep and get enough physical activity.  If you are having difficulty in achieving success in any or all of these areas, contact me or visit my website.  I specialize in building healthy families on any schedule.  Having an insane schedule does not have to keep your family from being healthy and fit anymore. 

Are you looking for a keynote speaker for a back-to-school event, PTO meeting, etc?  Anytime is the right time to make the transition to a healthier lifestyle, but back-to-school time is a common time for families to make the committment.  Please contact me for more information on speaking engagements.

Resources:  "12 Steps to Having Fit and Healthy Kids" by Steve Edwards

WHAT'S FOR DINNER
It's a friday night during the summer, we want fun, quick, and easy!!!  Tonight we are making a very healthy and delicious pizza.  Your options for crust, sauce, and toppings are endless.  You can get whole wheat crust from many local pizzerias or the market such as Whole Foods.  You can also get pre-cooked whole wheat crusts at the market, but any whole grain pita bread, tortilla or even English muffins will make a great crust.  A good bottled or fresh marinara or pesto are my favorite choices, but let your imagination run wild.  There are very few veggies out their that would not work great on a pizza, especially if they are grilled or sauteed.  Try to steer clear of all of the processed and high-fat, high-sodium meat toppings, but a little bit for flavor might be just what your crew needs.  Sweet Italian turkey or pork sausage, canadian bacon or even a little prociutto add tons of flavor.  To really up the nutritional punch of your pizza, start with a good low-sugar, low-fat marinara sauce, make a layer of baby spinach leaves, a layer of thinly sliced tomatoes before adding a little of your favorite meat or other toppings.  Top the pizza with a little part-skim mozzarella and maybe even a small amount of feta or other highly-flavored cheese for an extra boost of flavor.  If you add all these veggies to your pizza then you might not need to serve it with a salad, but certainly the salad tastes great with pizza and adds bulk so you won't need to eat quite so much pizza.

Inspiring Children to Make Healthy Food Choices

Let's face it, there are a lot of bad food choices out there spending a lot more time an effort than we can even imagine trying to capture the attention of our kids.  Unfortunately, the healthy choices don't usually have the same jazzy tunes, sparkly lights or famous characters.  All that being said, we are not set for defeat.  In fact, just as the saying goes "sleep begets sleep" as do healthy choices encourage more healthy choices.  Nature really takes care of that part, given that the body functions so much better when unprocessed, whole foods are supplying your energy.  When anyone tanks up on processed sugars, carbs, high sodium, high fat, the insulin levels go crazy, organs do not function as well, and you just feel pretty bad.  However, when you fuel on fresh fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and lean protein, your insulin levels stay more stable, less stress is put upon your organs and you frankly feel so much more energetic and inspired to make the next food choice a healthy one.  Even if you don't have children that are begging for broccoli or scarfing down pears for dessert, here are some tips for attaining that goal:

It is never to early to start and the sooner the better
If you have very young children (a year or less), you are working with a blank canvas.  Offer a wide variety of foods (even the ones that you don't like) and keep it up.  The earlier you start providing a wide variety of foods to your child, the easier it will be to avoid the picky toddler.  However, you have to continue to offer that same wide variety as they begin eating finger foods.  Finger foods are often where the wheels fall off, because some of the more traditional finger foods available for purchase are things like puffs, animal crackers, etc.  It is easy to forget that vegetables and fruit are the ultimate finger foods; it just may take a couple of minutes to cook them or cut them.  For example, green peas poured into a small microwave-safe dish are ready in the microwave in one minute.  Young taste buds are extremely sensitive, so sweet peas actually taste quite sweet to them and hardly take more time than pouring some puffs.  Blueberries are certainly as quick and easy as animal crackers.  If your children are not so young, the sooner you can start down this path the better.  Unfortunately, being a picky eater is not something that is just going to go away one day.  Enjoying, or at least appreciating, a wide variety of foods is learned over time with continual reinforcement.

Lead by example

The best tool you have in your box for inspiring your children to make healthy food choices is your example.  As with everything else in life, it is what we do that makes the greatest impact on our children, not what we say.  Sitting down to dinner with your entire family is important for many reasons, but especially to allow your kids to see you making healthy food choices.


Power of information

Never underestimate the intelligence of your children.  Even at a very young age, they will love to learn about the benefits/consequences of the food choices they make.  As you sit down to that family dinner, make a point to discuss the foods on the plate and what they do for your body and mind.  For example, how the spinach makes them so strong so they can play baseball, dance, tumble, etc. or how whole grains make their heart function better so they can run faster or further...  They are these wonderful independent beings that truly enjoy being leveled with and allowed to use that information to make positive choices.


Expect a "No Thank You" bite
We have a house rule that everyone tries at least one bite of everything on the plate.  Even though my kids know the rule, they don't always try everything without a bit of a reminder of our rule.  Last week when I was hosting a nutrition talk about techniques for quick healthy dinners, this discussion came up.  One of the ladies told me that her child's school requires the children to always take a "no thank you" bite.  I have now permanently adopted this term because it is the perfect term.  It also reminded me that this is also a great lesson in grace and courtesy, as we want our children to at a minimum take a "no thank you" bite when they are eating at someone else's home.  It really drives the point for me that "you absolutely do not have to finish your plate or love everything that I love, but you do have to be courteous enough to taste my work or the work of others and be thankful for the food that we have."  Need a little help learning or reinforcing the importance of tasting everything, whip out your copy of "Green Eggs and Ham" by Dr. Seuss.  Don't forget to have a discussion about the meaning after you read the book.  It is such a fun book to read, depending on their age, they just might miss the lesson without a little help from Mom and Dad.

Never stop offering

So you have offered broccoli no less than five times and your child has refused to eat more than the "no thank you" bite all five times.  Hang in there and keep the broccoli coming, because it may take 30 more times or more, but they will eventually learn to like it or at the very least learn to appreciate it.  Or, your happy 18 month old always loved green beans, but now that same 2 1/2 year old refuses them.  Again, hang in there and keep them coming.  Children’s' taste change often so it might be the next time that works or it may be another year or two.


Get them involved

Children have a very strong desire to be a contributing member of the family.  Even at a year old, there are things that they can do to help out.  This all works to your advantage considering that they are also much more likely to eat the food that they help grow, pick, and/or prepare.  If you have enough space for a pot in your yard, you can start a garden.  Start growing a pot of strawberries, fresh herbs, or a tomato plant and watch your children’s' amazement at the process and the product.  They may be so excited to try the fruits of their labor that it may not make it to the table, but that is a problem we can work with...  Not inclined to test your green thumb?  You will see almost the same response in taking your kids to the farmers' market, co-op, or the grocery store.  Invite them to help plan the meals for the week and pick out the food to make those meals.  Not only are they learning a lifelong skill of making healthy choices, but this is great family time and you can reinforce other skills such as vocabulary, reading, and math during the planning, purchasing, and cooking.  This is also a great season for picking farms, so grab the family and get out and pick blueberries, blackberries, peaches, apples, etc. to your heart’s content.  Unlike Halloween or Easter, they can eat these treats until they just can't eat anymore; and then come back for more the tomorrow...

Hopefully these tips have inspired you to give fruits, veggies, and whole grains another go with your children.  This is a fantastic time of the year for fresh produce, so there is no time like the present.  If you are interested in more support as your family makes a sustainable transition to a healthier lifestyle, contact me or visit my website for more information.

WHAT'S FOR DINNER?
As I mentioned above, this is a fantastic time of the year for produce.  Tonight we are having a delicious mix of roasted vegetables, including butternut squash, zucchini, mushrooms, carrots, asparagus and corn, served over a bed of whole wheat orzo pasta tossed with pesto.  You can use any variety of vegetables that you like and/or have on hand.  Most of these were from my co-op share this week, so I want to use them while they are fresh.  There will be plenty of roasted vegetables and pasta leftover for the kid’s lunches next week, the veggies will also be great to top a big salad, and we can make some roasted vegetable pizzas later this week or early next week for an easy weeknight dinner.

Roasted Mixed Vegetables over Pesto Orzo
Servings:  8

1 butternut squash, cut in half lengthwise and lightly salted and peppered
1 lb carrots, cut in half horizontally and vertically
2 - 4 ears of fresh corn, shucked
8 oz mushrooms, cleaned and sliced in half
2 zucchini, sliced into bite-size pieces
1 lb asparagus spears, with tough ends snapped off and discarded
Olive oil for drizzling
Coarse sea salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Place butternut squash halves flesh-side down on a sheet pan smeared with a little olive oil.  Toss carrots with a little olive oil, salt and pepper and spread on the same sheet pan around the squash.  Roast in oven about 35 to 45 minutes.  If your carrots are small, you may want to wait and roast them with the remaining vegetables or add them after the squash has roasted for about 10 or 15 minutes.  Place remaining vegetables on another sheet pan and toss with a little olive oil, salt, and pepper and roast for the last 15 minutes of the squash.  Remove squash from oven, let cool slightly, before slicing the flesh into cubes and removing from the skin with a large spoon.  Toss the squash and carrots with the other roasted vegetables and serve over a bed of whole wheat orzo pasta that has been drained and tossed with a little pesto.

Here's to fresh, fast, and fantastic food!

Good from the start - Getting your baby on the right track

Happy Monday!
I hope you have the day off to spend with your friends and/or family.  In my previous posts I have talked in detail about how to create healthly family friendly meals, how to get your kids to gobble down those peas when they are waiting for dinner, and how to get it all done in as little time possible.  Well, what I will tell you today is that if you get your babies started on the right foot, everything else will be so much easier, when it comes to healthy eating at least.

BABY FOOD
If you browse the baby food aisle today, you will be in awe of all the beautiful packaging and amazing variety of "super healthy", organic, blah, blah, blah foods for little ones.  What you may also be amazed at is the unbelievable price of some of those foods.  What I am shocked at is how many things they can add to this "super healthly" baby food and snacks to make it in my mind not so healthy anymore, i.e. salt, sugar, juice, etc.  I definitely did buy some baby food when my kids were young, but I purchased as little as possible.  I know, you have that look on your face of "seriously, you think I have time to take care of my child(ren), get a million other required things done AND make baby food?"  Well, trust me when I say that it is so quick and simple to make delicious and healthy food for babies and toddlers and you will save tons of money and feel like a super hero at the same time.  I think the biggest myth around baby food is that the companies that make them have some special step in place to make them extra safe for your precious child.  I promise you that there is no extra steps required to make food safe for babies, as long as you follow the guidance you would follow for your own food.  Keep prepared food refrigerated, don't store in the refrigerator for more than 4 to 6 days, and  never leave food between 40 degrees and 140 degrees for more than 4 hours.  I will give you the exact process a little later, but let's talk about first foods and the progression through foods first.

READY FOR SOLIDS
Generally around 4 to 6 months your child will begin the very fun process of learning to eat solid foods.  Your doctor may advise something different, but that seems to be the most common time.  I was always so excited and started my kids immediately when they were 4 months old.  What really entertains me, is that I have heard some say they don't want to start until even later than 6 months, yet my mother/mother-in-law's generation started giving their babies solid food around 3 weeks.  Amazing how things change.  It is definitely best to start with Rice cereal, as it is very bland, you don't have to worry about allergies and it is a non-staining color (everyone will be wearing some when this is over).  Start with a very small amount (no more than a tablespoon) and add some breast milk or formula until it is thin, but not soupy.  You may want to start with a little less liquid and thin as you go.  Believe me when I say that the first few times that you try this, you will get very little to actually go into and stay in your precious angels mouth.  **IMPORTANT:  Don't forget your camera and video camera, because this will be an entertaining few minutes.  I say a few minutes, because it is very likely that your child will be interested in this for only a short period of time.  You will definitely know when it is time to close up shop.  If your child gets upset when you start this process, they are probably too hungry to be a willing participant.  Try giving them a little breast milk or formula so they are not starving and then try again.  If it all goes down hill quickly, no worries you have many more opportunities.  This is suppose to be a fun and exciting time for everyone, so don't get frustrated if it is not perfect.

After you have achieved rice cereal one time a day and are moving to two times a day (probably about two weeks to a month), the fun really begins.  Imagine if you had spent your whole life (all four months at least) drinking breast milk or formula and then you make the big move to something sort of solid that still tastes like breast milk or formula.  There are so many new flavors and textures to explore and every single bite will be an adventure.  There are many options for first foods after rice cereal, but pureed sweet potatoes or mashed up avocados were my favorites.  My advice would be to start with vegetables first and eventually start adding some fruits.  Smashed bananas are a great addition to cereal if you want to change that up a bit and apple and pear purees are delicious desserts.  There are so many great vegetables to try, so every week or two add in a new one.  It is a really good idea to try only one new item at a time and give it 3 to 5 days just to be sure that your child does not have an allergy.  My family was blessed with no food allergies, but I know many that did and do experience allergic reactions, and it is just better to be safe.  There are of course some foods that you will want to stay away from either because of allergies or because they are very strong flavors that may not go over well with very young babies.  As you may know, babies have millions more taste buds than adults do, so they have a highly sensitive sense of taste.  This is important to note because you will not need to add any extra flavor to these foods because they are already extremely flavor-filled for your tot.  Veggies that may be very strong include broccoli, asparagus (also stringy), and tomatoes.  You can find the list of highly allergic foods anywhere, but the ones that were top of my list were peanut butter, honey, and strawberries.  That is certainly not the whole list, but the main ones that I remember.

EASY AS 1,2, 3, EAT...
Buy any fresh or frozen vegetable and cook in the quickest way possible to retain as many vitamins and minerals as possible.  I like to make as big of a batch as my food processor will hold and that will last for no longer than a few months in the freezer.

COOK
Cook vegetables like carrots, peas, green beans, lima beans, edemame, cauliflower in a microwave safe dish like corningware with a tight fitting non-plastic lid (don't microwave in plastic, because the toxins leach into the food) with a tiny bit of water or none if you are using frozen veggies.  Cook them until they are very tender but still brightly colored (not so long that your green veggies turn that unappetizing army green color).  The smaller the size, the quicker they will cook. 
If you are making sweet potatoes or any kind of squash, they are great roasted in the oven.  For sweet potatoes, cover your pan with foil and place the washed sweet potatoes on the foil unwrapped and roast in a 350 degree oven for about an hour and a half or until very tender.  For squash, cut them in half and place flesh down on a lightly oiled pan and roast in a 350 degree oven until very tender.  Let them cool to touch before removing the flesh from the skin and processing.  To organic or not to organic?  This is a completely personal choice and one that does not effect the process of making baby food at all.  However, I would encourage you if you do not use all organic fruits and vegetables, to us organic carrots or any other vegetable that grows under the ground.  The non-organic version of these vegetables tend to have a high concentration of nitrates in them from the fertilizer in the soil.  Generally speaking, I tend to buy organic when it is grown under the ground or contains high contents of fat like whole milk and beef.  The highest concentrations of chemicals are stored in the fat.

PUREE
Once the veggies are tender, put them into the bowl of a food processor and add a little water to make them smooth.  I puree to a thicker consistency than my child is currently eating for two reasons.  First, you can always add liquid when you are serving (too runny is tough problem to fix), and two, it is important to continue to increase the consistency of the food as your child grows.  You, of course, do not want your child to choke on food that is too thick or chunky, but if you do not continue to push more and more texture, you will end up with a child that does not like anything that is not completely smooth.

STORE
Put puree into ice cube trays and freeze.  I prefer the trays from Bed, Bath and Beyond that have a lid and rubber on the bottom of the tray that make it easier to remove the frozen puree cubes.  Once the puree is frozen, remove from tray, place in large freezer bag and into the freezer.  The quality of the cubes will be great for about 3 to 4 months in the freezer.

EAT
When you are ready to serve the puree, remove as many cubes as you will need and either warm them in the microwave in a non-plastic container or in a double boiler if you prefer not to use the microwave.  Add liquid as needed to achieve the right consistency for your child.  You can serve a variety of purees at a meal or only one.  I do think it is great to serve each one individually at the beginning, of course to check for allergies, but also so your child knows what each item tastes like.  This is a fantastic opportunity even at this early age to talk with your child about each item they are eating, what it tastes like, what color it is, etc.  Food, eating and the kitchen in general is one of the best places to teach early language because there are so many different items to name and talk about.

GETTING OLDER
As your child gets older you can continue to use this same process (either pureeing less or just cutting into small chunks) and storing in small portions in the freezer.  The 3oz plastic solo cups are a great size for freezing portions of small chunks of any vegetable, rice, pasta or meat.  Again, do not microwave the food in the solo cups, but simply remove the frozen food from the cup and microwave in a non-plastic microwave safe dish.  If you are cooking chicken breast or salmon or other meat for your family, it is very easy to make a few portions without seasoning at the same time, cut into pieces and freeze.  This stage of life goes so quickly and before you know it your child will be eating regular table food with you.  I would encourage you to start giving your child the opportunity to pick up finger foods as soon as possible.  Learning to feed themselves is obviously great for their brain development but also makes your life easier.  Introducing and reintroducing (even if it was not a hit on the first or the 20th try) a variety of foods from the beginning will be a key to having a toddler and older child that enjoys almost any food.

I realize that this is a lot of information to take in at one time, but I wanted to share it all at once just in case your child is about to be or currently is at this stage of development.  If you have any questions regarding specific vegetables, fruits, meats, etc., encounter any problems or if you have a child that is having difficulty with texture and want help in getting past it, please comment or email me directly.  This is a subject that I could talk about for days and have taught quite a few classes on, so please don't hesitate to contact me.

CHEERS!