Healthy Eating for Children Blog

Children are not happy when they hear about fiber, it is not one of their favorite topics to discuss. Having a high fiber diet can be a preventable measure for many chronic diseases and obesity.
I am sure their thoughts are more on sweeter, more delicious food than fiber rich foods. Many delicious appétitzing foods are filled with fiber despite the taste. If you are feeding your family a balanced diet then your kids are eating many of those fibers.
Fiber rich foods are beneficial to the body and in itself have no calories however, the things that are added will contribute to the added calories. Drinking sufficient water will help food pass through the digestive tract and can prevent cancer and constipation. It may also help prevent diabetes and cardiovascular diseases. Fiber has been known as a broom for the body.
Knowing your fiber
It is important to check labels for the amount of fiber in a product. Fiber can found in various foods including:
Apricots
Plums
Apples
Oranges
Mangoes
Berries
Whole grain breads and cereal
Vegetables
Beans and legumes will be met.
It is important that both adult and children to get the recommended amount of fiber. Dietitians recommend calculating the amount of fiber by age+five. Take the child’s age and add five to get the recommend grams daily.
Children should not consume too much fiber for fear of not getting their daily required nutrients. Adults should be getting 30 grams daily.
Ideas to incorporate fiber in the diet
Add one cup of pureed kidney beans to one pound of ground beef, use to make hamburger or lasagna. Add ground flax seed to hot cereal. Add pureed beets or carrots to tomato sauce. Add pureed broccoli or cauliflower to soups and sauces. Granola is great on yogurt and cold cereal.
Ensure that children are eating a wide variety of fruits and vegetables by having them readily available.

1/2 lb lean ground beef, browned
6 cups whole wheat macaroni, cooked
1 cup American cheese
1cup mozzarella cheese
1 (15 oz) can tomato sauce
1 cup pureed beans or a cup of pureed beets
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 tsp. onion powder
salt to taste
In a large bowl combine browned ground beef with macaroni and add cheese leaving 1/4 cup of each aside. Add tomato sauce, garlic powder, onion powder and salt. Pour into a greased casserole bowl, sprinkle with remaining cheese and bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes. Serve with a garden salad.

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These are everyday idea and tips on providing for your family the things nutritious what they need. The proper nutrition will improve on child’s immunity which in turn will give good health. Practice healthy eating habits so, your family will emulate what you do, ‘children do what they see’.It is good to ensure refreshments are not sugar laden but, made of fruits and as little added sugar as possible. Read the labels of containers before serving, it is important to knowwhat you are eating.
Here is a list of items that can be used for snacks or added to regular meals.
Healthy Snacks:
Fresh fruits
Oranges, tangerines
Apples are great served with peanut butter
Bananas are great frozen or served with peanut butter
Peaches, plums and pears
A variety of dried or canned fruits

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It is our job as parents to ensure our children are eating as healthy as possible. There are the foods that our children would love to consume on a daily basis but, we know the detrimental effects they will have on the children. When we think out our food we would like to know that it is healthy and doing our bodies some justice, well most of us do. Most times I have to stop myself from buying certain foods that are just too complicated to be on a plate. Going simple is so much better and healthier. It is good to instill good healthy eating habits on our family.

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Sometimes I come across a product that I really like and I just have to share it with others. I was my doing my weekly run to the grocery store when I came across this product in the cereal isle. Knowing me I had to stop and read the label. I had a really good surprise, because what I read was all good stuff coming from a well established cereal company. The product that caught my eyes was General Mills Total plus 100% Omega-3s 100% nutrition. Long name but well worth it.
The cereal of interest has listed of all the vitamin and minerals that make up the cereal a total of twelve, All 12 is 100% of the daily recommended value from Vitamin A to Zinc. That just made me put it in the cart but, there is a lot more to this cereal, it has 10% of the daily value of Omega 3s which derives from flax seed. I chose the Honey Almond Flax. This can definitely be part of a healthy eating diet.
Once I got it home I decided to give it a try before the kids. To say it boldly I was not disappointed, the cereal was laced with clusters of almonds with crunchy whole grain flakes. The flakes did stand up in milk longer and stay a bit crunchy. It was not overly sweet even though it had corn syrup but not the taboo high fructose corn syrup. To say the least, I totally enjoyed the cereal. My children eat it up without a peek of complaint and most times the find vault with foods. I am looking forward to try the other flavors that are being offered.
So, go on and add Total plus Omega 3s with 100% nutrition to your healthy eating diet
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Moms, if you like to fix up and look beautiful for that special someone or even your wonderful children then,fashion girlz has a great contest going on, with the prize being a smokey eye collection of the awesome mineral makeup. If you are a makeup lover or just like fixing up on special occassions then I would suggest visiting Fashion Girlz and getting your entry in as soon as possible. Contest ends August 1. 2010 but don’t wait until the end.
Mineral make is all the rave right now because they are made with natural products and no chemicals. It recats to the face wonderful, leaving it looking smooth and supple.

It is a great time when the kids get home from school to have a healthy snack waiting for them and to also be able to visit with them. Having something prepared is a time saver and will keep little hands out of your pantry trying to get the kind of snacks not allowed. In order to discourage this kind of behavior do not buy unhealthy snacks or even keep them in the house.
Place jars on the counter up where they are in plain view by the children. Fill these up with healthy items such as peanuts, granola, sunflower seeds, raisins and whole wheat crackers. If healthy snacks are in plain sight children will eat them. It is a good idea to pre-bag snack items in order to control portion, place them in accessible areas. Be creative and make healthy snacks such as rice crispies using peanut butter or fruits dipped in chocolate.
A great snack for children
2 cups strawberry yogurt
6 0z friut juice concentrate
1 tbsp vanilla
6 oz water
Blend together in a blender and then freeze in Popsicle molds. make 8-10 Popsicle.
An assortment of yogurt and juices can be used for variety
ei. lemon yogurt and lemonade
peach yogurt and peach juice
vanilla yogurt and orange
Enjoy and here’s to healthy u

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I rembember as a kid having my no broccoli moment and my Mom demanding that I eat every morsal of it before leaving the table. It can be a hassel now with my own kids getting them to eat the dreaded spinach, beets or whatever the choice of vegetable is for that day. A heallthy eating diet is necessary to aid in the growing of healthy children. For Women First Magazine came out with an article that spoke about the innovative ways of getting children to eat their vegetables. The expert and author of the book Sneaky fitness: Fun, the fool proof ways to slip fitness into your child’s everyday life, Missy Chase Lupine has some great ideas to get your kids eating their vegetable.

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It is no doubt children love eating snacks and that is very normal. Snacks keep children from becoming too hungry at meal time and that will eventually lead to over eating, which tends to lead to overweight. However, the type of healthy snacks for children that would keep them from overeating is one low in fat high in protein, with lots of vitamins and wholesome carbs.

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