Healthy Food for Kids
I get this all the time from parents, “Well, I WOULD feed my children more fruits and vegetables…but they won’t eat them.  To be honest, I cringe a little every time I hear that.

It’s not up to the kids.  It’s up to you.  What you decide to feed them now will shape what they will want to eat the rest of their lives. If you teach them the importance of healthy foods now they will automatically eat healthier when they go off on their own, and they will live a much healthier life. 

The statistics are grim.  If your child was born after the year 2000 they have a one in three chance of becoming diabetic, if you are a minority it’s 1 in 2.  Aside from that, kids will also live much shorter lives than we will.  This is mostly due to diet and lack of exercise.  Two things that you as a parent have complete control over.  I know you don’t want to be responsible for their poor health later, so you need to start paying attention today.

Ideally it should start young.  When they are first learning to eat.  It should be all vegetables and fruits with fish and lean meats, that you prepare! None of that jarred stuff.  The jarred stuff is processed with preservatives and it tastes nothing like what the actual veggie or fruit tastes like.  It’s so much easier than you think.

Hopefully they get slightly more vegetables than fruits.  When my girls started on solids I gave them only vegetables for the first 2 months then slowly gave them fruits.  Now at ages 1 and 3, they always eat their vegetables first.  Other parents gasp when they see that, “How did you get them to do that?”  They ask amazed.  The answer is easy, “They eat what you give them.”

If you didn’t start young there is still hope!  It’s a more gradual transition.  First they have to see you eating it and enjoying it.  Even if it’s not your favorite thing they have to see that you like it. But don’t over do it.  Like “MMMM this is soooo good!  Johnny you have to try it, YUM!”  Kid’s will see right through that. 

Start with one new food every week and make it a game.  Have them help you choose at the grocery store, then let them help you prepare it.  They will be more likely to try it if they helped make it.  If they flat out refuse to try it at dinner, do not make them something else.  If after 3 bites or so,  If they honestly don’t like it, then don’t force it, but do not make them something else.  Keep in mind it can take up to 12 times of introducing a new food before they decide they like it.

If they are not eating it to assert their independence let them know this is what is for dinner, breakfast, etc and you are not going to make them something else.  Also let them know there will not be any snacks after dinner.  And stick to it!  Don’t worry; you are not going to starve them.  The lesson here is so huge.  I can speak from experience with my 3 year old.  Every 4 months or so she will test us and will refuse to eat anything at dinner.  I can tell you she eats a very good breakfast.

I make sure my family gets 7 to 13 servings of healthy fruits and vegetables everyday so that we protect our health, avoid illness, and enjoy happy healthy lives.  You can too!

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PLU Codes APP
It's hard enough to go grocery shopping with kid's, let alone having to read EVERY label you put into your cart.

The produce section is not exempt from labels.  I used to just pick fruits and vegetables with not even a glance at the code on it.  This was a very DANGEROUS mistake!!  

Here's the 411 and why you NEED to know:
  • If the number starts with 8, GREEN light!  This is organically grown.
  • If the number is 4 digits, YELLOW light!  This is conventionally grown.
  • If the number begins with 9, RED light!  This item is Genenically Modified (GMO), that just sounds bad doesn't it!  Put it back, and choose something else!. 
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Omega 3 EFA
Hearing all the nutrition jargon that’s out there can no doubt be confusing.  My mom asks me all the time, “Honey, which one is good again?”  With all the things we have to remember in our busy lives it’s hard to really take it in.  Here are some easy definitions and tips you can and must remember!  Bookmark this if you need to because as you will see it’s so important and vital to your health.

Omega 3 and Omega 6 are essential fatty acids that our body cannot make on its own so we must get them from the foods we eat.  Our bodies’ need both to achieve optimal balance.  

Omega 6 is an essential fatty acid extracted from nuts and seeds and thus found in most vegetable oils and soybean oils.  It’s abundant in sweets, fast food, crackers, and most anything processed.  You without a doubt consume this most often and while your body does need it, it’s very dangerous in the quantities we have become accustomed to.

Omega 3’s are found in olive oil and cold water fish such as salmon and herring.  Unless you are really trying, you consume this much less which contributes to poor health and disease.

Why is this?

Omega 6’s fosters inflammation in our bodies.  That just sounds bad doesn’t it?   Omega 3’s have the complete opposite effect, they fight inflammation in our bodies.

Our Western culture has made our diets ultra rich in omega 6 fatty acids and dangerously lacking omega 3’s by an average ratio of 16:1!  Your ratio of Omega 6 to Omega 3 fatty acid ratio should be about 1:1 or 1:2 for optimal health and balance.

This imbalance is not doubt contributing to chronic inflammation and diseases such as asthma, heart disease, cancers, auto immune diseases, obesity, depression, and stroke to name a few.

Looking back on my first 25 years I rarely consumed Omega 3’s.  My mom didn’t like fish so we never ate it, and all cooking was with butter or vegetable oil.  In her defense back then nutrition was not talked about like it is today. 

When I was 29 I was diagnosed with an auto immune disease that doctor’s believed I had since early childhood.  Now I’m not saying that this imbalance alone caused it, but I’m sure it was one contributing factor.  As a mother of 2 I am very aware of what I am putting into my daughters’ bodies.  I want them to have balanced nutrition for a healthy life.

Healthy eating tips:
 

·         Replace your vegetable oils like corn, sunflower, safflower, soy, and cottonseed with extra virgin olive oil for cooking and making salad dressings.

·         Eat less processed and fast foods.

·         Consume more fatty fish like sardines, salmon, herring, black cod, and mackerel,

·         Consume more foods with flax seed which is naturally rich in omega 3’s

·         Buy eggs fortified with omega 3

·         Walnuts, scallops, cauliflower, cabbage, shrimp, cod, and tofu are also good sources of Omega 3’s.

·         Read labels!  You can find so many things fortified with healthy omega 3’s

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How To "Get" Your Kids to Eat Fruits & Veggies (And Have Them Asking For More!)





 
High Fructose Corn Syrup
First let’s start with what exactly is High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS)?  Originally it was invented by Japanese researchers as a cheap sweetener for soft drinks.  It’s 6 times sweeter than sucrose (the traditional sugar you use in your home) which makes it very addictive.  Since the 1970’s it has migrated into just about everything you eat because it’s sweet and it’s cheap. Some call this a silent killer, some say it’s not that bad…who’s right?

Well moderation is key in anything you eat and drink.  But if it’s in everything you eat and drink, how do you know how much you are consuming?  This is what makes it extremely dangerous.

As I mentioned before since it is so sweet it makes us addicted to the very foods we should steer clear of.  We crave these foods from the “high” or temporary spike in energy.  This energy quickly fades and so we eat more or drink more without even thinking about it.  Fructose also disables the signals your body gives when you are full and increases your appetite.

It’s also rightfully blamed factor for the rapid rise of obesity and diabetes.  Our children consume alarming amounts of HFCS.  Teenagers gulp soft and energy drinks by the cases, all loaded with this dangerous sweetener.  Is it any wonder why the obesity rate in our kids is the highest it’s ever been?  1 in 3 American Children born after the year 2000 will contract early onset of diabetes, among minorities it’s 1 in 2.

 Your liver is not designed to handle large amounts of fructose.  Too much can cause liver dysfunction.

 Too much high fructose corn syrup can also cause heart problems because it causes increases your triglyceride levels which can lead to heart disease.  Heart Disease is the number one killer of women in the U.S.

Food for thought.  The U.S.D.A conducted research to see the effects of a high fructose corn syrup diet on lab rats and concluded the life span was reduced from the normal 2 years to just 5 weeks! 

Please read food labels before you buy!  I would shout this from the roof tops if I could. 

You vote with your dollars.  If you keep buying it, food manufacturers will keep making it, and your grocery store will stock their shelves full of foods that are making you and your children sick.  If you see HFCS or crystalline fructose put it down and find another alternative.

Fast foods are loaded with HFCS so prepare fresh foods in your own kitchen.  There are plenty of “fast” much healthier meals you can prepare at home.  Teach your children the importance of reading food labels and show them how to make healthy meals together as a family, and eat together too!

Here are a few companies that we use in our family because they do not use HFCS:

·  Stonyfield

·   Honest Kid’s Juice

·   Bonne Maman Preserves

·   Nature’s Own Breads

·   Cheerios

·    Annie’s Organics

Click Here ----->Visit my main site today to claim your Free Report that Reveals
How To "Get" Your Kids to Eat Fruits & Veggies (And Have Them Asking For More!)