Back to School Breakfast Ideas

It is Back To School time for kids all over the country and there is no better way to start the day than with a nice healthy breakfast! I know you have heard it before, but it is so true! Kids who eat breakfast tend to concentrate better and have more energy to face the day. What is ideal for breakfast? Here are some tips.

1. Always have a mix of carbs, protein, and a bit of fat.
2. Focus on high antioxidant fruits like berries (all are good), apples, oranges, mangoes.
3. Choose whole grains whenever possible (cereal, toast, bagels, english muffins, oatmeal).
   
4. Include omega-3 fats whenever possible. If your child doesn't want to eat fish for breakfast(!), then look for milk or other foods fortified with DHA omega-3's. DHA helps brain development.
   
5. Sprinkle wheat germ into oatmeal, smoothies, muffins, or pancake batter to boost the nutritional value.
   

Examples:

• Whole grain waffle (frozen is OK) with peanut butter and sliced banana on top with a glass of milk (fortified with DHA).
• Bowl of oatmeal with blueberries (fresh, frozen, or dried), made with milk, sprinkled with wheat germ.
• Smoothie with milk, frozen fruit, wheat germ. This is easy to drink in the car for kids who won't sit down for breakfast.
  
• Whole wheat tortilla with scrambled egg, cheese, salsa. Serve with side of fresh fruit or small glass of juice.
• English muffin with peanut butter and sliced apple on top. Serve with a glass of milk.
• Bowl of whole grain/high fiber cereal with milk and fresh fruit.
• Yogurt parfait with fresh fruit and granola.
  

Photo courtesy of www.newseasonsmarket.com

Labels: breakfast, children, school, Tara Gidus

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High Calorie Kid's Meals

The Center for Science in the Public Interest released a report this week on the food offered on children's menus at 13 major chain restaurants.

Shocking results

• 93% of the choices exceeded the recommended calories for children aged 4-8
• 45% exceeded saturated fat levels
• 86% exceeded sodium levels

Some of the worst were:

• Burger King Big Kids meal with double cheeseburger, fries and chocolate shake had 910 calories
• KFC's Laptop Meal of popcorn chicken, baked beans, a biscuit, Teddy Grahams and fruit punch had 940 calories
• Chili's chicken crispers, cinnamon apples, and chocolate milk had 1,020 calories
• Sonic's grilled cheese, fries, and slushie had 830 calories

Not all news was dim, though. Subway offers a mini-sub, a juice box, and either apple slices, yogurt, or raisins. Most of their combos comes in below the 430 calories (1/3 of recommended calories for kids aged 4-8).

What should parents do?

1. Consider trying to cook/eat at home more often. Studies show that kids eat less calories and more fruits and vegetables when they eat at home.
2. If you are eating out, print out the caloric content of food items from restaurant websites before you leave home and review with your children.
3. If you do want fries, get one order for the whole family and split it.
4. Choose the apple slices, applesauce, carrot sticks, water, and reduced fat milk. We 'vote' for what we want at restaurants with what we purchase. Restaurants are not going to offer healthier options if we don't start buying them!
5. Many of the calories in these menus come from sugared beverages. Offer your children water, unsweet tea, or reduced fat milk instead of soft drinks.
6. Introduce foods other than hamburgers, pizza, grilled cheese, chicken nuggets, and french fries to your children. Encourage them to try new foods. Share your meal and don't always order from the children's menu.
   

Labels: children, kid's meals, restaurant food, Tara Gidus

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Healthy Hearts in Tots

The American Academy of Pediatrics released a new report recommending cholesterol screening in children and adolescents with a family history of high cholesterol or heart disease. Previously, most doctors did not start screening for cholesterol until adulthood. With the increase in childhood overweight and obesity rates, we have also seen increases in heart disease, diabetes, and other health problems that were previously rare in children.

The report also recommended specific changes in the diets of children, and dairy was one food specifically highlighted. For many years we have heard that children should go from formula at their first birthday to whole milk at least until their second birthday. Once they are past the age of 2, they can switch to reduced fat or fat free milk. The report recommends changing these guidelines.

Children who are at risk of obesity, high cholesterol, or heart disease are encouraged to drink reduced fat milk (2%) instead of whole milk between 1 and 2 years, and continue on reduced fat (2%), low fat (1%), or skim (fat free) milk the rest of their lives.

Milk provides numerous vitamins and minerals essential for growth such as calcium, potassium, magnesium, vitamin D, and riboflavin.

The Dietary Guidelines encourage the following intakes:

• Age 2-8: 2 cups (16 oz) per day of dairy
• Age 9+: 3 cups 24 oz) per day of dairy

All milks (whole, reduced fat, low fat, skim) provide the same vitamins and minerals, and the only difference is the fat and calories.

• Whole milk: 8 grams of fat, 150 calories
• Reduced fat milk (2%): 5 grams of fat, 120 calories
• Low fat milk (1%): 2 grams of fat, 100 calories
• Skim milk (nonfat or fat free): 0 grams of fat, 80 calories

Flavored milks are also nutritious, but of course contain more calories due to the added sugars. Milk straws are a great way to provide flavor without the added calories.

Labels: children, dairy, heart disease, Tara Gidus

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Juice For Kids

A study in the June issue of Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine found that kids who drink juice are no more likely to be overweight and may actually get more nutrients than kids who do not drink juice.

The researchers looked at surveys from parents reporting what the kids ate and drank and actual measurements of the kids. On average the kids drink about 60 calories worth of juice, which is about 4 ounces. The kids who drank juice had higher intakes of whole fruit and they also took in more vitamins and minerals.

The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends:

• Age 1-6 years: 4-6 ounces per day
• Age 7-18: 8-12 ounces per day

When I was growing up we drank from "juice glasses" that only held probably 4 or maybe 6 ounces. I still remember the first time I went to someone's house for a sleepover and saw them drinking juice from a large glass. That was foreign to me as a child.

I think some 100% juice is great for kids. But pay attention to the labels and make sure it is 100% juice and not juice drink. Also, pay close attention to portion size, though. The recommendations above equate to very small amounts. 4 ounces is just a half cup and 8 ounces is one cup. When you look at the standard glass that people have in their homes, they are usually 12 or 16 ounce glasses.

Another great idea is to water down the juice. A few companies now sell juice that is 40% reduced in sugar and don't have any artificial sweeteners added. Basically they are watering it down. You can do this yourself at home for your kids and pour half water and half juice into a small glass.

Cheers!

Photo courtesy of Apple & Eve

Labels: children, juice, Tara Gidus

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Turn It Off

We are mid-week through "TV Turnoff Week," a week devoted to turning off the television and focusing on other activities instead of zoning out in sedentary fashion in front of the boob tube. The Center for Screen-Time Awareness started TV Turnoff Week, and their mission is to provide information so people can live healthier lives in functional families in vibrant communities by taking control of the electronic media in their lives, not allowing it to control them. Even though we are halfway through the week, you can still participate! Start tonight!

Interesting stats (courtesy of TV-Free America):

• 66% of Americans watch TV while eating dinner on a regular basis
• 70% of daycares use TV during a typical day
• 50% of children aged 6-17 have a TV in their bedroom
• Average American youth watches 1,500 hours per year of TV (they only spend 900 hours in school)
• An average child spends 1,680 minutes watching TV
• A parent spends 3.5 minutes per week in meaningful conversation with their children

Studies show some other interesting correlations:

• Girls who had a TV in their room ate few vegetables, spent less time exercising, drank more sugared drinks, and ate fewer meals with their families
• Boys who had a TV in their room spent less time reading books and doing homework, ate less fruit, had lower GPA's, and ate fewer meals with their families
• A study on kids with hypertension found that those with high blood pressure watched an hour more per day of TV than kids with normal blood pressure
• When researchers cut screen time in half, the kids developed a healthier body mass index and ate fewer calories
  

What to do when the TV is off:

• Go for a walk
• Call a friend
• Write a letter to a friend or relative (maybe Grandma doesn't have email)
• Take a nature hike
• Visit a botanical garden (I don't think it is a coincidence that Earth Day was also this week)
• Plan and cook a healthy dinner together as a family
• Meet some friends to play soccer, basketball, or your favorite sport
• Visit the library and start reading a good book
• Plant some flowers

Check out www.familytabletime.com for ideas on how to interact with your children at mealtime.

Photo courtesy of Aaronyx

Labels: children, overweight, Tara Gidus, television

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Philly Schools Cut Weight

I read this story about 5 Philadelphia elementary schools who made some positive nutrition changes in the Washington Post the other day. I was so impressed with the results that I thought I would write about it and help to spread the word.

These schools made simple changes:

• Replaced soda with fruit juice, water, and milk
  
• Handed out raffle tickets for wise food choices (and won bikes and jump ropes)
• Taught parents, staff, and kids about good nutrition
• Snacks had to meet limits for fat, salt, and sugar
• Parents substituted fruit salad for baked goods at a fundraiser
• Children urged to exercise at activity stations during recess
• Food labels were used in classrooms to help teach fractions (LOVE IT!)
  

Grace McGinley, one of the school nurses said, "We found when you give children healthy choices, they pick them."

To me, this statement says it all. I hear so often from parents that their kids will only eat junk food. But kids actually like fresh fruits, vegetables, and whole grains if they are offered to them at an early age. I am not suggesting that potato chips and cookies will never pass by the lips of a child. But we can teach them that those things are "treats" and not everyday foods. One 10-year old girl was quoted in the article saying potato chips were still her favorite snack, but she now gets the little bag. Small steps lead to big results.

These schools were actually part of a research study, and the results are published in the April issue of Pediatrics. They found that after two years of following these kids with the changes in the schools, the overall number of overweight kids dropped 10% and at "control" schools that had no intervention the number rose a quarter to 20%. The study tested a program called The Food Trust, a local nonprofit which works to improve access to affordable, healthy food.

BRAVO to the researchers and these five Philadelphia schools. We have a long way to go in this fight against childhood obesity in America, but these results are extremely promising!


For more information on The Food Trust, visit www.thefoodtrust.org

Photo courtesy of The Food Trust

Labels: childhood obesity, children, schools, Tara Gidus

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Kids Love Flavored Milk

Milk does a body good. I grew up in Wisconsin and milk was a staple at every meal. I still love milk, but I confess I don't drink as much as I should. I get my calcium and protein from cheese and yogurt in addition to milk to get my three servings of dairy per day.

An interesting study came out in the April issue of the Journal of the American Dietetic Association on the benefits of milk drinking for children. The researchers found that children who drink milk consume more nutrients (have a healthier diet overall) and have a lower or comparable Body Mass Index (BMI) than children who don't drink milk. It did not matter whether the kids were drinking plain or flavored milk.

Milk is naturally nutrient rich. It has protein, which provides satiety for kids and adults alike. It also provides calcium, phosphorus, Vitamin D, potassium, riboflavin, Vitamin B12, and more.

Kids tend to like flavored milk better, who wouldn't? If you add sugar to something it always tastes better! This study found that the kids who drank flavored milk did not have a higher intake of sugar for the day than kids who drank the plain milk. That leads me to believe that the flavored milk drinkers were using their flavored milk as their sweet snack/sugary food and the plain milk drinkers were getting sugar from other places.

I am all for kids drinking milk. If they need it to be flavored to drink it, then flavor it. Maybe you have a compromise in your house that it is not always flavored, though. We used to get chocolate milk occasionally growing up, but it was definitely a treat. The other option is to use these new milk straws. They have only 15 calories and make the milk taste just as sweet at the other flavored milks (but you save a lot of sugar calories). See my blog post on milk straws for more information on these lower calorie, lower sugar alternatives for flavored milk.

For more information, visit www.3aday.org
Also check out www.nationaldairycouncil.org
Sipahh straws: www.sipahh.com

Photo courtesy of National Dairy Council

Labels: children, dairy, milk, Tara Gidus

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Update on Fast Food Report Cards

If you read my post on Fast Food being advertised on report cards, you learned about a promotion that one school district in Florida was doing with report card covers. McDonald's was advertising on the report card cover and was also offering free food to children with good grades or good attendance.

An update: McDonald's just announced that they are going to stop offering free fast food for these children. They have also offered to reprint the report card covers to remove their logo. The school district took them up on the offer.

While I do believe that you can find healthy foods at McDonald's and other fast food restaurants, the issue was really involving a reward structure using fast food as a reward for grades. Many parents choose rather to reward with praise and love and try to keep food, especially fast food, out of it.

Our children are bombarded with advertising everywhere, but at least now the report cards they bring home are one less place they will be tempted with fast food.

Labels: children, fast food, Tara Gidus

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You Are What Mom Eats

Since I am still nursing Basil, I read every study on breastfeeding I can find. It is well documented that breastfeeding has benefits of stronger immune systems, reduced risk of obesity, protects against diabetes, gastrointestinal problems, respiratory problems, protects against SIDS, and may even make your child smarter!

And if that is not enough....a new study reports that a mother's likes and dislikes are passed on to her infant during breastfeeding. If there was any incentive to eat your fruits and vegetables, it is while you are nursing! You may just get your child to eat more vegetables later in life, passing on a love for vegetables for generations! Ok, maybe I am taking it a little bit far now, but it is still pretty exciting.

This new study looked at infants who were breastfed and compared them with who formula fed. They found that infants who were fed certain fruits or vegetables accepted them better if their mothers ate those foods while breastfeeding them. What a beautiful system. When a mother eats a food, some of the flavors are transmitted through amniotic fluid and mother's milk. So a baby learns to like foods a mother eats and is more accepting of tastes that are familiar to them.

Vegetables are especially bitter by nature. If a child is exposed to those flavors repeatedly, they will be more likely to accept them when introduced. We have known for a long time that it takes at least 10 times to introduce a new food for it to be accepted by a child. If some of this introduction is done in utero or while nursing, it makes the job of the mother that much easier later on when trying to get her children to accept new foods.

Keep exposing your kids to new foods, whether you are pregnant, lactating, or at the dinner table with your children.

Is this photo of Basil not the cutest? Did I mention that nursing helps your child's intelligence?

Labels: breastfeeding, children, nursing, Tara Gidus

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Milk Straws

Growing up in Wisconsin, we had milk served at every meal. I had milk on my cereal for breakfast and a glass of milk with lunch and dinner daily. Our family of four went through 3 gallons of milk each week. Every once in a while my Dad would sneak one of those gallons as chocolate milk past my mother. My dad and brother and I would have the chocolate milk gone in no time!

I saw a really cool new product that I just had to tell you about. Milk consumption has been declining for years, especially in the diets of children and adolescents. Surveys have found the children will drink more milk if it is flavored. The concern is that the flavoring adds more sugar and calories and is less nutritious.

MyPyramid recommends 2-3 cups of milk or other dairy on a daily basis. It is well documented that milk is a nutritional powerhouse of nutrients, including an excellent source of calcium, vitamin D, protein, riboflavin, potassium, phosphorus, and others.

At my conference last week I saw these new "Sipahh" straws that are only 15 calories with 2 grams of sugar. You basically put the straw into an 8-ounce glass of milk and as you drink the milk it tastes sweet and has the flavor of the straw. The straws come in chocolate, strawberry, banana, and cookies and cream.

I could not believe that they were only 15 calories. They use a blend of sugar and splenda to keep the calories down. If your kids aren't drinking enough milk or ask for chocolate milk all the time instead of regular milk, give these straws a try. Hopefully the end result will be your kids drinking more milk (and they work for adults, too!) without all of the added sugar.

For more information on Sipahh, visit www.sipahh.com
Logo courtesy of www.sipahh.com

Labels: calcium, children, dairy, milk, Tara Gidus

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Preservatives and Behavior in Children

As a new mom of a 10-week old baby I have not yet experienced hyperactivity as a result of feeding sugar or preservatives to my child. But I have heard from many clients and friends who are parents that they swear sugar gives their children a ‘high’ and that preservatives contribute to hyperactivity. To be honest, I have somewhat dismissed their claims because of a lack of solid evidence. That was until a pretty significant study was released this week in The Lancet, a very well respected medical journal.

This study showed that some common food dyes and the preservative sodium benzoate causes hyperactivity and higher levels of distraction in some children. This is a British medical journal, and the study was also done in Britain. The study fed the same children fruit drinks with the preservatives and food dyes and also drinks free of both and compared their behavior. They found that the 3-year olds studied had a bigger response than the 8 and 9-year olds. The researchers noted that it did not cause full blown Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder (ADHD) symptoms, but did increase lack of concentration, fidgeting, talking or interrupting too much, and restlessness.

This is the first study of this kind to be published with such a significant link between artificial ingredients and hyperactivity. Previous studies have not shown strong correlations and many physicians dismiss the idea of a connection between artificial ingredients and behavior.

Bottom line

My thought is this: If you think your child is sensitive to food dyes, preservatives, artificial sweeteners, or anything else they are eating, drinking, or consuming, then eliminate or reduce it in their diet. I do believe that everyone has different sensitivities to certain chemicals and additives. Some people have no reaction whatsoever to dyes and artificial ingredients while others are allergic or may exhibit these hyperactive symptoms. If you are unsure, eliminate these ingredients for a week and slowly add one back at a time and see how the behavior of your child changes. Modify their diet accordingly with what you suspect may be giving them a problem.

Seek the advice of a registered dietitian (RD) to help you and your children with any nutritional concerns. An RD can help you with an elimination diet to isolate potential problematic foods. An RD can also help you identify which foods contain the potential offenders. Reading labels can be very confusing, so seek the advice of a professional to assist you!

Photo of fruit drink courtesy of KO

Labels: children, preservatives, Tara Gidus

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