What Nutrition?

July 3, 2014 By Diane Constantine

As our children grow we may worry about whether they are getting the right kind of nutrition. We knew exactly what our children were eating when we were the only one feeding them. But soon, too soon, they discover fast food.

Is fast food OK for our kids?

When our time and strength are limited, it is easy to wheel into McDonalds for a quick bite. But here’s some food for thought.

It’s extremely difficult to eat in a healthy way at any fast food restaurant. The fats, sugar, and salt in fast food draw kids like a magnet, largely because they appeal to a child’s “primordial tastes,” explains Shanthy A. Bowman, PhD.

Because fast food doesn’t contain much fiber, kids don’t feel full afterward — so they eat more later. So it is not just what they eat at that meal, but what they eat the rest of the day that is a concern. It is easy to go above the appropriate calorie intake and fall way short of nutrition on days they eat fast food.

An occasional fast food meal is OK, but more home-cooked, family meals with better nutrition will go a long way to helping your children learn healthy eating habits for a life-time.

Should we hide veggies so kids will eat more of them?

There are two opposite ideas about getting kids to eat more veggies. One says we should make them more attractive so kids will want to eat them and the other says to hide them in foods they already like. After some research, here’s my take. If our kids won’t eat canned peas or slimy boiled spinach, making our veggies more attractive could help a lot! Providing veggies with crunch, cut up to eat as finger food, served with nutritious dips, and in a variety of colors will appeal to most kids.

But when the nutritious food just won’t be eaten by our kid no matter how nicely it is served, it’s time to become more creative. Packing whole grains, yogurt, veggies, and eggs into foods they love like pastas, soups, and smoothies makes good sense.

Penn State researcher Barbara Rolls, PhD found that adding pureed vegetables to favorite foods led 3- to 6-year-olds to consume almost twice as many vegetables (and 11 percent fewer calories) over the course of a day. “I think it’s really important for children to know what vegetables and other ingredients are in their food; that helps them learn about the many forms in which vegetables can be eaten and how vegetables served in different forms can taste different.” Never lie about the ingredients. When your child asks what is in the food, answer honestly so he will trust what you say about food.

Exposing children to a variety of nutritious foods that are minimally processed, serving foods in appropriate portions, and limiting nutrient-poor foods are small steps we can take to help our children learn to appreciate the tastes, textures and flavors of healthful foods. It may also reduce the likelihood they’ll get hooked on less healthy options.

Getting children to help plan, buy, and prepare food helps them develop an interest in eating wholesome food. Talking about the color, texture, and value of different nutrients gives our kids more reason to enjoy food that it good for them.

Healthy Snack Ideas
To help you find additional ways to get more nutrition into your kids, see our Kid Friendly recipes section of Your Child’s Journey.

Here are some ideas for quick to prepare, nutritious snacks that may interest even the pickiest eaters.

Peanut butter and jelly on rice cakes or rye crackers, banana bread, sweet potato muffins, or oatmeal cookies with raisins, cranberries or nuts
Whole grain tortilla roll ups with cheese, chopped veggies, beans, or left over chicken
Hard boiled eggs and cheese slices or cubes. Baked sweet potato chips- no salt necessary
Hummus (chickpea paste), guacamole, or salsa with cut up veggies or salt-free crackers to dip
Snack mix made with popcorn, nuts, pretzels and dried fruit
Whole grain waffles with peanut butter or low-fat cream cheese and jelly or raisins on top
Yogurt and cut fruit or juice frozen into popsicles or blended into smoothies
A small cup of frozen fruit

Please: write in if you have other questions about or suggestions for nutritious, fun food for kids.

Fun Veggie Recipes

February 28, 2014 By Diane Constantine

Please see the original article and great pictures at: Parents.com

These were my favorites!

Cucumber Ribbon Salad
Trim the ends off a medium cucumber, then cut it in half crosswise and peel into strips. Whisk 2 tablespoons rice vinegar, 1 tablespoon canola oil, 1/2 teaspoon toasted sesame oil, 1/2 teaspoon honey, salt, and pepper. Toss the dressing with the cucumber and some toasted sesame seeds.
Tip: Ready in 15 minutes.
*All recipes make 4 to 6 servings.

Crinkly Carrot Fries
Slice 1 pound of carrots into 1/2-inch-wide sticks using a crinkle cutter. Toss with 1 tablespoon olive oil, 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme, and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Bake at 400 degrees F. for 15 to 20 minutes, or until soft, on a parchment paper-lined pan.
Tip: Great for toddlers 12 months and up.

Roasted Veggie Medley
Mix 1/2 pound of tiny potatoes, quartered, and 1 cup small butternut squash pieces. Toss with 2 tablespoons each balsamic vinaigrette and olive oil; roast, uncovered, at 425 degrees F. for 15 minutes. Add red bell pepper pieces and roast 10 minutes more, or until tender. Garnish with 1 tablespoon fresh thyme.

Sunny Broccoli
Steam 3 cups broccoli florets for 5 minutes. Toss with 2 tablespoons orange juice, 1 tablespoon canola oil, 1 clove minced garlic, salt, and pepper. Spoon the broccoli mixture onto clementine slices arranged in the shape of a flower.
Tip: Ready in 15 minutes.

Mini Vegetable Cakes
Combine half an 8-1/2-ounce package corn-muffin mix with 1 egg white and 3 tablespoons water. Stir in 3/4 cup shredded zucchini and 1/2 cup chopped canned beets. Drop batter by the tablespoon into 2 tablespoons hot canola oil. Cook 2 minutes; turn and cook 1 to 2 minutes more, until browned.

Tips: Double the recipe and freeze leftovers. Great for toddlers 12 months and up.

Sweet Potato-Parsnip Mash
Peel and cut 12 ounces of sweet potato and 2 parsnips into 1-1/2-inch pieces. Boil in lightly salted water for 15 to 20 minutes, or until tender. Drain and return to pot with 1/3 cup apple cider, salt, and pepper. Mash until nearly smooth.

Fiesta Corn
Saute 3/4 cup each chopped red and green bell peppers in 1 tablespoon canola oil on medium heat for 3 minutes. Add 1 1/2 cups frozen corn and cook 2 minutes more. Stir in 1/2 teaspoon chili powder, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 1 tablespoon fresh cilantro.
Tip: Ready in 15 minutes.

Butterfly Salad
Use a small cookie cutter or scissors to cut a butterfly shape from firm whole wheat bread. Brush both sides lightly with olive oil; toast for 2 minutes, or until crisp. Divide 4 cups torn lettuce, 1 cup halved seedless grapes, and butterfly croutons among plates. Offer dressing on the side.

Honey Glazed Carrots
Boil 1/2 pound of peeled baby carrots in lightly salted water for 5 minutes; drain. In same pan, melt 1 tablespoon butter on medium; stir in 1 tablespoon honey and 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger. Boil 1 minute while stirring. Fold in carrots and 1 tablespoon Italian parsley.
Tip: Ready in 15 minutes.

Cheesy Spaghetti Squash
Place half of a 2-1/2-pound de-seeded spaghetti squash, cut side down, in a baking dish with 2 tablespoons water; cover with waxpaper. Microwave on high for 10 to 12 minutes, or until tender. Let cool slightly, then scrape strands from squash. Toss with 1 cup pasta sauce and 3 tablespoons shredded Parmesan cheese

Citrusy Edamame
Cook 2 cups fresh or frozen shelled edamame according to the package directions; drain. Toss with 1 tablespoons olive oil, 1/2 teaspoon finely shredded orange peel, 1/4 teaspoon dried dillweed, and 1/4 teaspoon salt.
Tip: Ready in 15 minutes.

French Parenting

March 6, 2013 By Diane Constantine Leave a Comment

Could some of these techniques make parenting in the US and Asia easier? This is excerpt from Fox News, March 3, 2013

Pamela Druckerman, an American living in Paris, didn’t expect to find anything special about French parenting – but little by little, she noticed life was different for French parents. Easier, perhaps.

“Children in France typically eat much better, for starters,” said Druckerman, who is the author of Bringing Up Bebe, and its sequel, Bebe Day by Day: 100 Keys to French Parenting.

“You don’t have kids just eating kids’ food all the time. Grownups and adults eat the same thing. There were babies sleeping through the night much sooner than American babies around me.”

Druckerman said French parents are “old-school,” in that their life does not revolve entirely around their kids, and they are better at saying “no” and sticking with it.

“They don’t want to fall into that cycle of perpetual negation that we often find ourselves in America,” Druckerman said. “But, at the same time, they give kids a lot of freedom. French kids bake cakes and load the dishwasher at 3-years-old, and they make salad dressing.”

1. You are the keeper of the fridge.

“Kids don’t snack in between meals in France,” Druckerman said. “There is one official snack time of the day; in the afternoon, and basically they eat well at meal times.”

Druckerman said she thinks this is one of the reasons France has such low childhood obesity levels.

2. Don’t let your child interrupt you.
“I think in America, we have gotten used to stopping everything when the child comes in, and that’s why you have moms and dads who say, ‘I can’t finish a cup of coffee, I can’t finish a conversation with my spouse…’ In France, children, of course, try to interrupt – they’re normal kids – and parents will say, ‘Excuse me, honey, I’m in the middle of something; I will be with you in a minute.'”

3. Let them eat cake.
This means two things, Druckerman said. First, kids literally bake cakes – starting at an early age. “It’s a way of teaching kids patience and self-control,” she said. “The other side is, you get to eat cake at the end. But you eat it normally as an afternoon snack. So it takes a wait.”

4. Show kids you have a life apart from them.
A French friend of hers went back to work so her children saw their mother’s life did not revolve around them entirely, Druckerman said, adding that children need to see a “mysterious adult realm” that they can aspire to one day.

Alternately, parents should have alone time and show kids they like to have privacy.

5. Punish rarely, but make it matter.
This is all about choosing your battles, Druckerman said. “Have certain no-go areas that the kids accept as laws of nature,” she said. “One of those is politeness.” In France, kids must always say “hello, good-bye, please and thank you.”

But – you don’t have to jump on your child for every little thing they do wrong – or else a parent’s authority will ultimately be diminished.

Go to Fox News, March 3, 2013, to see the whole article

Breast Feeding Baby

November 25, 2012 By Diane Constantine Leave a Comment

Breast feeding can be a great joy to mom and a boon to baby. Getting started can be a challenge. Along the way you may have problems that require more information to help you succeed. The following are articles and sites with a wealth of information.

Dr. John Newman’s – Information sheets to answer most questions about breastfeeding.

Answers to common problems with breast feeding – colic, sore nipples and breasts, increasing milk supply and more.

Reasons for using a breast pump

Expressing Breast Milk

How do I choose a breast pump?

Questions about breast pumps

Help for using a breast pump

Breast feeding and screaming baby

Finding a lactation consultant in your area

Feeding Toddlers

October 25, 2012 By Diane Constantine Leave a Comment

What’s the difference between a picky eater and a problem eater?

“Picky Eaters” Will Not Starve Themselves, but Problem or Resistant Eaters Might

by ISA MARRS

I spend a lot of time writing and speaking about picky eating. When I say “picky eater” I am referring to a child who has picky behaviors but can learn to eat a broader diet and change the bad habits that are negatively impacting themselves and their families. However, when it comes to feeding disorders there is a continuum of severity. And many of you have children with more severe food aversions.

Approximately two-thirds of children on the autistic spectrum have severe food aversions which can impact their growth and development. While this population of children often has feeding aversions it is in no way limited to them.