Mommy Dietitian

Dangerous vs. Postive Messaging for Girls & Women

noreply@blogger.com (Angela Lemond) — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 21:59:00 +0000

This week has been Healthy Weight Week, and today is the 19th annual Women's Healthy Weight Day. No, it's not a reminder to start that next diet! It is designed to remind us to strive for a healthy weight for our specific bodies, and for the purpose of good health; NOT to endlessly long for an unrealistic body shape. I get too many mothers, often with young girls, coming into my office wanting to lose that unrealistic 10-15 pounds - when their bodies are already in the healthy range already. They eat healthy and exercise regularly, all labs are normal - yet they are plagued by wanting to be just a bit thinner. What does that teach our girls? I found this video last week on Dietitians-Online and thought it was perfect to run on women's healthy weight day today.

Shocking, right?! My little Hannah loves all things girly, and it's fun to be that with her. So, I don't think that we need to avoid all things feminine. And we cannot shelter our children from all of the media expsoure that is found in magines at the grocery store line or television commercials or endless weight loss commercials. However, we can limit the amount that they are exposed to, and we can balance any negative influences out with positive messaging. It is so important that we work hard to build healthy self-esteems in our young girls.

In addition to the advertisements, children are influenced by:

Having mothers concerned about their own weight
Having mothers who are overly concerned about their daughters' weight and looks
Natural weight gain and other body changes during puberty
Peer pressure to look a certain way
Struggles with self-esteem

Now the good news is that there are so many things that we can do to build a healthy self-esteem. One big way is to have a healthy self-esteem as their mothers. Let's start with ourselves! Other ways we can off-set negative influences are:

Make sure your child understands that weight gain is a normal part of development, especially during puberty.
Avoid negative statements about food, weight, and body size and shape.
Teach your children about a balanced approach to eating which excludes calling foods "good" or "bad" but instead seeing them more as "sometimes" and "always" foods.
Allow your child to make decisions about food, while making sure that plenty of healthy and nutritious meals and snacks are available.
Compliment your child on her or his efforts, talents, accomplishments, and personal values.
Restrict television viewing, and watch television with your child and discuss the media images you see.
Encourage your school to enact policies against size and sexual discrimination, harassment, teasing, and name-calling; support the elimination of public weigh-ins and fat measurements.
Keep the communication lines with your child open.

For more information on healping to build self-esteems within yourself and your daughters, visit womenshealth.gov and girlshealth.gov. Kudos to organizations such as Fed Up, Inc. for putting such powerful videos together (such as the one in this post) to get all of us to stop, think and act.

Happy Women's Healthy Weight Day!

Calories Are a Good Thing!

noreply@blogger.com (Angela Lemond) — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 16:17:00 +0000

My last post that encourages people to Get Off The 'Sick Cycle Diet Carousel' in 2012 has identified with a lot of people on Facebook and Twitter judging by the retweets and shares. I wanted to dedicate some of the next handful of posts on expanding upon aspects of the diet carousel.

Let’s discuss the pink elephant in the room when it comes to weight control. When was the last time that calories were discussed in a positive light? Everywhere you look – you see articles written about how to minimize, decrease, eliminate and avoid extra calories. We were saturated with it over the holidays. I completely understand the general premise behind these suggestions. Adults and children are more obese than ever due to calorie imbalance, so the logical recommendation is to find ways to decrease extra calories for weight management. But what does the constant bombardment of painting a negative light on calories do for our society? I will tell you what it does – it makes most people fearful of calories and too much fear has never helped anyone. I see it every day in my private practice. We need to put calories in perspective, and we need to see the potential of what we can do with quality calories.

Calories, or kilocalories in the biochemistry world, is a measure of energy needed to increase the temperature of one gram of water by one degree Celsius. It is literally the way your body maintains energy to survive. Without calories, our bodies would die. It is an obvious statement, but it’s important to remember that calories are actually a good thing. Too many calories taken into the body without sufficient calories expended will yield weight gain. On the other hand, not enough calories taken in as compared to energy expended will yield weight loss. In dietetics, I work with many children and adults that are not taken in enough calories – and their health is negatively impacted as well. With children, inadequate calorie intake will stunt their growth so it is essential to get them back on track.

Now here is the fundamental problem that I have with many people these days. Many health-minded adults have been groomed to be afraid of calories. If you do not take in sufficient amount of calories, these things may occur:

· Inability to build lean muscle, which is what drives the rate at which you burn calories

· Lack of motivation to be very active

· The body may not have enough energy to support basic functions such as fighting off illness or infection

· Fatigue, irritability, insomnia that can confused for depression (seen frequently)

· Inadequate intake of vitamins and minerals (resulting in other negative symptoms and issues)

For those of you that know me, you know I am a huge promoter of a very active lifestyle. I encourage regular vigorous activities most days of the week, and believe in fighting to maintain muscle by breaking it down through strength training 3-5 days per week. Muscle requires calories to build and/or maintain. It’s the wellness cycle that I discussed in my earlier post.

The next time you go to the grocery store, don’t just look at total calories of a food. Look at the quality of those calories – i.e., how much nutrients your body will receive for the calories in that food. A good example of this is comparing a piece of white bread with a piece of whole grain bread. In general, whole grain bread will be higher in calories. Why? It is because there are many more wonderful nutrients in whole grain bread. You literally have the whole grain. White bread has been stripped from many of those nutrients and that removes calories. There are many higher calorie foods that contribute excellent nutrients and health benefits including nuts, avocado, fatty fish and heart healthy oils like canola and olive oils. Take in the quality calories and use those calories to lead an active lifestyle.

If you need to figure out how many calories your body needs, go to the Daily Food Plans on the ChooseMyPlate.gov website. Keep in mind that these are only general recommendations and that each person may differ slightly. Your local Registered Dietitian can help you tailor a very specific number customized for you. The key is to get the right amount throughout your active day and choosing quality calories specifice to your lifestyle. Bottom line: do not fear calories, but instead balance them appropriately with an active, adventurous lifestyle. We need to get this right in order to be on the right cycle of wellness.

Get Off the ‘Sick Cycle Diet Carousel’ in 2012

noreply@blogger.com (Angela Lemond) — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 21:02:00 +0000

One of my favorite bands in the last 10 years is Lifehouse. They are usually on my ipod on workout days, and their lyrics are always so true to life. One of their all time best songs is Sick Cycle Carousel. When you listen to the song, it really speaks to anyone because we all have those life struggles that don’t seem to go away no matter how hard we try. We keep going around and around doing the same thing hoping for a different result.

For us to be free of any issue in our lives, we must get off the carousel once and for all. I have counseled hundreds of men, women and children (usually of those parents) on managing their weight. More than ever, I am seeing people continuing on the same cycle that has left them unsuccessful over many years. It is my job to have them consider another way so they can, not only be successful in the short term, but once and for all. The cycle is usually something like this:

click to enlarge

Your approach may change slightly – switching from one fad diet to the next – but for the most part, it is the same. I am here to tell you they do not work. What I love about the new year is that it gives us each an opportunity to do things differently. As mothers and fathers, we owe it to our children to get it right for ourselves so we can be better role models. Jump off the sick cycle carousel and jump on the wellness cycle. It looks more like this:

click to enlarge

Although this pictorial algorithm is simplified, each component is vital for success. I spend a lot of my time encouraging my clients to eat enough calories at meals (especially breakfast) and snacks in order to get into the sweet spot of the wellness cycle. When they do, weight drops, lean muscle increases and for the first time in many years, they feel great. They are fit, and ready to tackle other challenges in their lives.

Some people come and go out of my office and choose not to get off the sick cycle dieting carousel. After all, change is very scary. Eat more calories? Eat more times per day? That goal of being thin no matter what will drive you to make wrong decisions. The media does not help with this at all. Everywhere you look, articles abound that promise the latest dieting secrets. Be very careful.

So, it is up to you. Which cycle do you choose for 2012? As for me, I continue to choose the wellness cycle. I have some agressive fitness goals for this year and it's the only way to get there. If you want to choose wellness, consider contacting a Registered Dietitian near you that specializes in weight management that can lead you along your new path. Many insurance companies are now covering the benefit. Even if it's not covered, it will be money well spent.

Here's to a Happy & Healthy New Year!

New Food Memories at Christmas & A Tribute

noreply@blogger.com (Angela Lemond) — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 17:27:00 +0000

The holidays are such a special time of year – a time to reflect on holidays past and a time to build new memories with family and others that you love so dearly. Jeff and I were reminded of the magic of Christmas in the eyes of our children when they danced all over as we brought our freshly cut Christmas tree into the house this year. And later when we got some of their presents wrapped under the tree - Hannah and Evan stacked and re-stacked them with wonder of what might be in each box. Children really bring the spirit of Christmas alive in all of us, and I love that.

My mother-in-law, Beverly at
Christmas time in 2009.

But we cannot forget the tragedy that rocked our family’s world just over one year ago. My beloved mother-in-law, Beverly, passed away unexpectantly in November of 2011 of what we found out was cancer way too late. For many that have lost very close loved ones, you know the level of loss. Beverly was the family matriarch with a heart filled with endless love for everyone. She and I became very close over the 12 short years that I knew her. She was a mother figure, but also a dear friend that I spoke to multiple times per week. Even in the last conversation I had with her (which I did not realize at the time), she insisted on talking about my business , our kids and things going on in my life even while she was lying in bed in excruciating pain. She was such a generous, encouraging person, and will forever be an inspiration to me. I am so blessed to have known and loved her, and will always cherish the time we had together.

Until 2010, Christmas day each year meant going over to John & Beverly’s home and opening presents under their beautifully decorated tree followed by a wonderful lunch that they both lovingly prepared together. But things are different now, and we are forced to move on – if for nothing else, for the grandchildren that Beverly loved so much – our kids and their cousin, Sydney.

The start of our Christmas table this year. A work in-progress!

We now must build new memories and traditions. One thing that has been passed down to me and my sister-in-law, Julie, is food planning. Last year’s holiday season were a complete blur for obvious reasons. But for Christmas this year, Jeff & I plan to host the family meal since Julie and her family hosted Thanksgiving. Hosting is something I am looking very forward to doing – I’ve had fun shopping for festive tableware and it has given me the final motivation to get our china set fully completed. I love cooking and hosting parties - and this change in our family's life has given me the opportunity to take more of that on. Our menu this year will feature the traditional buffalo tenderloin that was made by John & Beverly in years past, but with our own new flair and sides. So we take part of the traditions of the past and bring it lovingly into the present.

Are you forced to make new food memories during the holiday season in your family as a result of a tragedy? I know our family is not alone, so I want to offer some encouragement. Let us all move forward together with courage for the sake of the our children, other family members and in our loved one’s memory. Settle any differences you might have with loved ones, forgive deeply and love fearlessly. They would want that for all of us - to be happy and joyful through the holiday season.

Have a very Merry Christmas and God Bless you all – from our home to yours.

Super Easy & Healthy Crock Pot Meals

noreply@blogger.com (Angela Lemond) — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 23:00:00 +0000

Believe it or not, even the weather in Texas where I live is turning a bit cold. Cold weather certainly lends itself to certain types of warming, comforting foods - doesn't it? And there's nothing better than coming home and smelling the aromas of a meal that has been cooking slowly all day long. Mmmm. Crock pots are one of those secret weapons for busy families that allow for home cooked mealtimes together, and timely bedtimes during the school year. I don't know about your kids, but mine are ready to eat immediately after I walk in the door from working all day. It's difficult to cook fast enough to feed their hungry mouths!

I love crock pot meals because you come home and the work is pretty much done. If you look at many of the recipes, they allow for some flex on types of meats, beans and vegetables depending on preference or sale that may be going on at your local grocery store. Search for crock pot meals that have less than 10 ingredients so the amount of preparation time is minimized. If you get the kids to help, they will look forward to getting home later that evening to see their finished masterpiece! Check out a few that I love to make that are super easy - so easy that they hardly need a recipe:

Navy Beans with Ham

Ingredients: 2 ½ cups dry navy beans
5 cups water
1 garlic clove, minced
1 cup minced onion
1 pound smoked ham, cut in 1” pieces
1 teaspoon salt (optional)

Directions: Put beans in cooker, soak overnight in water. Add garlic, ham and onion. Cover and cook on low for 7-8 hours or on high for 4 hours. Add optional salt during the last hour of cooking time.

Tips: Add fresh picante sauce or chili sauce for an extra spicy kick! Serve with a fresh field green salad topped with your favorite colorful veggies.

Super Easy Slow Cooker Beef Stew

Here's the traditional slow cooker pot roast that I made last week.
But for a more color and a unique touch, try red onions, asparagus
and/or purple onions instead.

Ingredients:

2-3 pound round roast or pre-cut stew meat
3-4 cups vegetables
1- 16 ounce can cream of mushroom soup
1 package of onion soup mix

Directions: Cut veggies up in 1” chunks. Add stew meat and pour soup and onion mix over top. Cover and cook on low for 8 hours.

Tip: Try different types of potatoes – sweet, new, purple along with red onions and asparagus or spinach for a nice colorful alternative to the typical pot roast meal.

Shrimp Marinara in the Crock Pot

Ingredients:1 pound cooked shrimp, deveined and de-shelled
1 teaspoon Italian seasonings, fresh preferred
1-6 ounce can tomato paste
2 cups diced tomatoes (or, 1-16 ounce can diced tomatoes)
1 teaspoon salt
¼ - ½ teaspoon pepper
2 tablespoons fresh parsley

Directions:Combine tomatoes, tomato paste, Italian seasonings along with salt and pepper in the cooker. Cover and cook on low for 6 hours. Turn cooker on high and stir in shrimp, cooking for 10-15 minutes.

Tip: Serve over brown rice or whole wheat spaghetti, top with some fresh grated parmesan or mozzarella.
What is your family's favorite crock pot meal? Let me know! I'd love swap recipes. :-)

What One Meal Tells You About a Person

noreply@blogger.com (Angela Lemond) — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 21:23:00 +0000

I had lunch with two other dietitians today and we got to talking about what many of my dietitian friends talk about. It never fails, you go to a dinner party or somewhere that involves food and someone discovers your a dietitian. Dun dun dunnnnn! The rooms tenses up. Eyes widen. Pause. To break the silence, they proceed to spill the beans (pun intended) about what they eat or not eat, their weight problems or their various food issues and phobias. I especially love it when they start apologizing for the food that they are eating right in front of them in hopes that they have just went ahead and "outed" the dietitian's thoughts. In actuality, this whole scenario makes the dietitian self-conscious about how the food she's eating is going to be analyzed. It's an awkward situation all around, so many dietitians choose not to "spill the beans" about their profession in those situations. I went to speak at a doctor's office recently and they told the front office person, "Great. You ordered pizza for us on the day the dietitian was coming to visit. What's up with that?!" Oh man. I could go on and on with all the funny things that we come across in our line of work. One of the dietitians I ate with today even shared that a person told her, "I can't believe you are eating that. You should know better!"

The truth is that you can tell virtually nothing about what a person by one meal. (I hope that is comforting as we have recently move on from our annual Thanksgiving dinner!) Sure, you can tell little nuances about someone like the way they hold the fork, mix their food together or even push something off their plate. But when it comes to assessing the quality of a person's diet, it's really the patterns of eating that give you that true insight. This is generally how dietitians see things, so don't worry the next time you share a meal with one. I made Paula Deen's green bean casserole for my family Thanksgiving - full fat version, no modifications. True story, Contrary to popular belief, we are not the food police. Nope. We just love what healthy, nourishing food does for people and our families - so we eat it. And promote it. Well, most of the time. :-)

Thanksgiving: Healthy Strategies & Last Minute Recipes

noreply@blogger.com (Angela Lemond) — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 12:57:00 +0000

Oh, the joys of Thanksgiving! Our family is looking forward to a nice, intimate family meal with my sister-in-law and her family as well as my father-in-law. It will be a team effort with all parties contributing dishes to the meal. I love potlucks because it allows us to share different recipes, tastes and flavors with each other. I hope you are looking forward to the special time you plan to spend with loved ones as much as we are.

Thanksgiving is usually the official start of the holiday season; that which is filled with shopping, parties, travelling and time spent with extended family. This is a wonderful time to build memories that last a lifetime, but it is also a high risk time of poor eating habits and weight gain for the average American. Stress, decreased physical activity and excessive calorie intake are some of the main culprits. Research suggests that holiday weight gain can be the type of weight gain that stays around for years.

Some of my adult weight loss clients are nervous about the upcoming holidays. They have made positive lifestyle changes and as a result, have lost weight, improved blood sugar levels and/or have lowered their cholesterol and blood pressure. Holidays can have a way of throwing all of us off our healthy lifestyle track. The good news is that this does not need to happen. There are many things you can do that will allow you to enjoy some of the pleasures that the Holidays bring while also maintaining a balanced approach to your healthy lifestyle. Here are some survival strategies to help you stay on track through the holiday season:

Avoid starving yourself in preparation for a party or get together. This is a very common approach, but it is a guaranteed way to take in too many calories. Instead, strategize a plan so you can enjoy calorie-rich foods in moderation. Eat a good, hearty breakfast to start your day.

Maximize the veggie tray. Most parties do have some lower calorie fare such as vegetable trays and salads. Load your plate with larger portions of these foods to keep your total calories in check.

Contribute the healthier dish. If you need to bring a dish to a potluck party, bring a healthy dish to balance out the higher calorie choices. Most people that have healthy mindsets are very thankful for these type of dishes. This also ensures that you have some low calorie choices to include with the higher calorie foods you plan to eat.

Be mindful of mindless eating and grazing. Many people tend to eat in the absence of hunger during social situations because the food is simply there. Try and be extra conscious about why you are eating. It sounds obvious, but make sure you only eat when you are hungry and not just because the food is merely there in front of you. Go back to the basics.

Increase physical activity. Who says time spent with family during the holidays has to only involve eating and sedentary activities? Be the encourager of your family by suggesting a refreshing morning walk or even an after dinner game of hoops at a local park. Be creatively deliberate about staying active, which is sure to help avoid holiday weight gain. Our family likes to take the opportunity of extra time off that holidays allow to do some fun activities together.

Great, Healthy Homestyle Recipes
If you are still looking for that special dish to complete the Thanksgiving feast, I have a cookbook that has not failed me one time. Every time I make a dish out of this cookbook, my guests love them. The cookbook is More Healthy Homestyle Cooking: Family Favorites You’ll Make Againand Again by Evelyn Tribole, MS, RD. She has the original Healthy Homestyle Cooking and the Healthy Homestyle Desserts cookbooks that I keep meaning to get – and this blog post has gotten me to finally purchase them. Unfortunately, I couldn’t find new books, as Amazon only could find me gently used versions and I was unable to get a hold of Evelyn before this post published. But I am sure the recipes in the first one are as good as the second, but I will be sure to report back to you with my thoughts.

What I like about Evelyn’s More Healthy Homestyle Cooking cookbook is that she makes several excellent suggestions to make a homestyle recipe healthier while at the same time, minimizing the loss of good taste and flavors. That’s the key right there. Living in Texas, many people I know are always on the lookout for good homestyle recipes that are also healthy. If this is you, consider Evelyn’s cookbooks.

Here are a couple of her recipes:

Barley Risotto
1 onion, chopped
4 cups fat-free chicken broth
1 cup quick-cooking barley
1/3 cup chopped pecans, toasted
¼ cup chopped flat-leaf parsley
1 teaspoon finely shredded lemon peel

Coat a large saucepan with nonstick spray and warm over medium heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring, for 5 minutes, or until tender. Add 3 cups of the broth and the barley. Cover and simmer for 25 minutes, or until most of the liquid is absorbed. Uncover and gradually add the remaining 1 cup broth, about ¼ cup at a time, stirring constantly and letting each addition be absorbed before adding the next (a total of about 15 minutes). Stir in the pecans, parsley and lemon peel. Serve immediately. Makes 6 servings.

Per serving: 176 calories, 7g protein, 29g carbohydrates, 4g fat, 0.5 g saturated fat, 0mg cholesterol, 533mg sodium, 5g fiber.

Homestyle Hint: To toast pecans, place them in a dry skillet over medium heat. Cook, shaking the pan often, for 2 minutes, or until lightly browned and fragrant.

Roasted Tarragon-Vegetable Medley
VEGETABLES
3 carrots, halved lengthwise, then quartered
2 medium crookneck or yellow summer squash, cut diagonally into ½”-thick slices
2 portobello mushrooms, each cut into sixths

GLAZE
2 T fat-free chicken broth
1 T dry white wine or fat-free chicken broth
2 teaspoons olive oil
1 T chopped fresh tarragon or 1 teaspoon dried
4 garlic cloves, finely chopped

TO MAKE THE VEGETABLES: Position one rack in the top third and another in the bottom third of the oven. Preheat the oven to 500 degrees. Line 2 baking sheets or roasting pans with foil and lightly coat with nonstick spray.

Arrange the carrots, squash zucchini, mushrooms, and peppers on both baking sheets or pans in single layers. Place the mushrooms with their gills facing up.

TO MAKE THE GLAZE: In a small cup, combine the broth, wine or broth, oil tarragon, and garlic. Drizzle evenly over the vegetables.

Roast for 20 minutes. Reverse the position of the baking sheets so that the top sheet is on the bottom and vice versa. Roast for 15 minutes longer, or until the vegetables are tender and lightly browned. Makes 6 servings.

Per serving: 69 calories, 3g protein, 11g carbohydrates, 2g fat, 0.5g saturated fat, 0mg cholesterol, 30mg sodium, 5g fiber.

From my family to yours, I wish you a very blessed, happy and healthy Thanksgiving!

Join Me in Having a 'World Vision' for Child Nutrition

noreply@blogger.com (Angela Lemond) — Thu, 10 Nov 2011 03:21:00 +0000

My husband, Jeff, and I have decided to climb Mount Kilimanjaro. It isn’t as random as you would think. We both love the outdoors and mountain climbing. Jeff has climbed at least a dozen 14'ers (14,000 -foot mountains) and I have climbed – about 2. We originally talked about doing it a year ago, but in all honesty, I chickened out! (See, Healthy Lifestyle Goals of 2010) But this time, we have filled out the paperwork and paid our deposit. So, we’re going. Our expedition, led by Jeff Evans of MountainVisions Expeditions, is set to depart in August of 2012 and my physical training has begun. This trip is sure to test me in more than physical ways – mental, emotional and spiritual as well! I am looking forward to the challenge. We all need to get outside of our comfort zones to keep growing and learning in life, don’t we?

I can’t even think about going to Africa without wondering how children and families live in other countries. As many of our children in this country are overfed, others in many parts of the world are starving. It just breaks my heart to think about a child being born into a reality where there is an inadequate supply of food to grow their young bodies.

The great news is that we can help! Jeff and I have partnered with World Vision, “a Christian humanitarian organization dedicated to working with children, families, and their communities worldwide to reach their full potential by tackling the causes of poverty and injustice.” They are currently serving 100 countries including Tanzania where we will be going. In fact, when we go, we are planning to meet our World Vision sponsored child!

Help me help others by donating to our special fundraiser. Our goal is to raise $10,000 for the food and agriculture fund by next August. This fund will help provide families with much needed training, tools and supplies to raise and grow their own food.

Depending on your donation, your dollar amount will provide:

2 chickens: $25
5 Ducks: $30
5 Fruit trees: $30
Fishing kit: $40
Goat: $75
Share of a deep well: $100
Sheep: $105
Pig: $195
Alpaca: $360
Dairy Cow: $500
Bull: $715

This Thanksgiving, give thanks by paying it forward and helping another family. Check out our fundraising page. Donating through this website is simple, fast and totally secure. It is also the most efficient way to support our fundraising efforts. All funds collected go directly to World Vision. No funds raised go toward the cost of the climb.

You are welcome to follow us as we have dedicated a blog entirely to our upcoming climb. The blog is called, “Will Climb 4Food: Overcoming For a Higher Purpose." Come on over and read about our training progress. We’re hoping to do some posts on our trek!

FREE WEBINAR THIS THURSDAY: Reclaiming The Dinner Table

noreply@blogger.com (Angela Lemond) — Fri, 04 Nov 2011 18:07:00 +0000

Would you like to win 6 months of free dinner meal plans that come with their own shopping lists? Well, then join me for a FREE webinar this Thursday, November 10, 2011 when I discuss, "Reclaiming the Dinner Table." Everyone that attends the webinar will go into a drawing to win to use my new recipe dinner plan, "Eat with Angela." One winner will be drawn.

Here is the information: In today's day and age, many families are completely separated during a time when they should be connecting - during mealtimes. Schedules are tight, so many are eating on the run instead of having that intentional time to stop, relax and enjoy food flavors and company. And we know that the benefits of having family dinners goes way beyond the benefits of nutrition.

If you are ready to make family dinners a priority in your life, join us for a free webinar. Angela Lemond, Registered Dietitian and family nutrition expert will be discussing all the benefits of family dinners in addition to very practical was busy families can make dinners happen at home.

Objectives:
• Understand the long-last benefits that family meal have on children and families
• Explain how mealtimes are a great time to model healthy eating behaviors to children
• Offer practical meal suggestions that will get dinner on the table fast!

Presentation time: 45 minutes
Q&A: 15 minutes

Regsiter today! There are two times to choose from:

10:00-11:00 A.M. Central Standard Time

8:00-9:00 P.M. Central Standard Time

Post Halloween: Teaching Our Kids the “Why” Behind Moderation

noreply@blogger.com (Angela Lemond) — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 14:20:00 +0000

My 4 ½ year old son, Evan, was on quite a roll this morning! He started off by telling me his leg hurt. I asked him if he hit it on something and he said no. I then explained that when his body grows, it can cause his body to hurt sometimes. He said, “Oh, I know why! I think I ate too much candy for Halloween.” I stopped in my tracks and smiled. “Really? You think that’s why?” He said, “Yes. Mommy, will you give me something healthy to eat? I need to make my leg feel better.” I almost fell over. I explained to him that the foods he ate for breakfast were actually healthy (whole grain waffles, yogurt, orange juice) so that should make his leg feel better soon.

I think Evan remembered me telling he and his sister about how candy can make them feel “yucky” if they eat too much. I’ve explained that eating some candy is fine, but eating a lot can make them feel sick and can even take some of their “super powers” away. Even when I thought Evan wasn’t listening, I think that made an impression on him after all.

My kids, Evan & Hannah, about to head out trick or treating!

As parents, let’s remember to tell our children the “why’s” behind being healthy. Avoid making associations between food and weight or "to avoid getting granny's sugar disease," but instead mention things that matter to them right now. Evan loves soccer, being strong, smart and running fast. I tell him that eating healthy foods help him with those things and he gets it. Get them invested in the healthy lifestyle for their own reasons; it will stick with them for the rest of their lives. [By the way, he recently started eating broccoli after over 3 years of rejecting it on his plate and now he says it’s his favorite food. Perserverance in healthy messgaging and exposure pays off!]

Stick with those positive messages, Mom and Dad. They are listening even when you don’t think they are. I was reminded today that my son is listening to me. J

Check out my post last year will give you ideas on what to do with leftover candy: Operation Halloween Candy: The Party's Over!

Cute Notes for Lunches & Snacks

noreply@blogger.com (Angela Lemond) — Thu, 27 Oct 2011 21:36:00 +0000

I was shopping at a local specialty toy store near our home last weekend and came across these super cute notes and stickers especially made for your child's lunch and/or snacks. I've been using them with the food I send to school for my daughter, Hannah, and she loves them!

This little 4" x 3" trifold notes and stickers set is such a neat, compact set of "special touches" that buttons up nicely and can be stored easily in a kitchen drawer.

When you open it up, there are 3 pockets. I laid out what each pocket contains. The right side contain the stickers in each pocket and the left side contains the note cards. On the back of the note cards are lines where you can write your child a special little note or reminder.

You can purchase these online at Chronicle Books.

Make your child smile by sending sweet notes to school that will make them especially look forward to eating healthy. Order these, or you can start simple by just writing a little "I love you" on a sticky note. What a great way to make them feel special!

Oh My Gourd (OMG)! Super Easy Roasted Butternut Squash

noreply@blogger.com (Angela Lemond) — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 20:51:00 +0000

After such a sizzling summer here in Texas, I am really getting into fall festivity. The weather here is slowly getting cooler and it feels great! I just love going to the market this time of year and seeing all the gourds so beautifully displayed. The warm colors remind me of the colors of the changing leaves. Displaying gourds are such an easy way to add to fall to your home décor; you can put them in nice bowls as a centerpiece for your dinner parties and warm up the room. When we think of edible gourds, we commonly think of our famous pumpkin. But zucchini, squash and some melons also get categorized in the gourd family since they fall in the same plant species. The orange colored varieties like pumpkin, acorn and squash are high in beta carotene, which is a powerful antioxidant. They are also rich in fiber, potassium and vitamin C.

Roasting butternut squash is super easy,
and can be a great fall complement to
your family dinners.

Butternut squash is a tasty choice that children have a tendency to like because of its mild taste. There are a lot of great recipes for butternut squash, but they can be very easy to prepare without a recipe. For a nice roasted taste, all you have to do is cut one butternut squash in half horizontally and put face up on a baking sheet lined with tin foil. Scoop out the seeds (you can wash and roast them with a pinch of salt..they are edible!). Brush the squash with margarine, sprinkle with sea salt and a dash of brown sugar. Roast it in the oven at 375 for 45-60 minutes until the squash is tender enough to cut with a butter knife. Cut it up into small squares and serve as a side dish, or if you have more time, add it to some cooked quinoa pine nuts, sautéed onion and your favorite spices for a great flavor combination. If you want to serve it with an interesting flair, present the roasted squash in-tact and stuff the area where the seeds were with other colorful roasted vegetables.

Take advantage of the great fall vegetables to add a nice, seasonal taste to your family dinners. Food variety is best for overall nutrition and it also exposes your children to more flavors. It doesn’t have to be complicated. What’s your favorite easy, but tasty fall recipe? I’d love to hear from you!

Great Food Products, Nutrition Tools & Resources

noreply@blogger.com (Angela Lemond) — Thu, 20 Oct 2011 17:57:00 +0000

Dietitians met for our great, annual conference just one month ago in San Diego, and like I mentioned before, I want everyday, busy families to be in-the-know of what we discuss when we get together and talk food and nutrition. So, I dedicated three blog posts on my experience while there. The last two posts I discussed the vision and education that I had, and this last post shares some of the great products and tools that were at the exhibition hall. These were some of my favorites that were there, so check them out. (All are active links!)

General Food Products

Stonyfield Farm: my children loved the YoBaby yogurts as toddlers, and we especially like their vanilla yogurt now.

Laura’s Lean Beef: their website has some great, low-fat recipes!

The Laughing Cow: my favorite is the light mozzarella, sun-dried tomato & basil

CalNaturelle Svelte: if you're looking for a good, dairy-free, high protein beverage that is low in sugar, CalNaturelle Svelte is a great option. The spiced chai is very tasty!

Silk: overall great soy products, but I like the Vanilla soymilk the best for taste and nutrition quality.

General Mills: great choices overall, but I really like their Cascadian Farm line of products. Many of them have <10 grams of sugar per serving and at least 3 grams of fiber.

Beanitos: great-tasting chips derived from beans, are high in fiber, low in saturated fat and gluten-free. I like the black bean flavor!

Daisy: did you know that just 1/2 cup of cottage cheese has 14 grams of protein? The low-fat Daisy brand cottage cheese has such a great taste. You can mix it with some fresh berries for a quick, nutrient-rich snack.

GoodBelly makes a special probiotic drink
for kids that is great, especially when they
are on antibiotics.

Fuctional Foods

GoodBelly: a dairy-free probiotic drink (juice) that contains a proprietary Lactobacillus plantarum 299v strain that survives the acidity of your stomach acids. It's a great product for young children because the juice is extra tasty, which assures ingestion. The website has a great, short video to show how probiotics work and benefit the body. Take their 12-day Good Belly challenge!

Yakult: a small 2.7 ounce milk-based probiotic drink that contains Lactobacillus casei Shirota, which has some great science behind it for digestive health.

Gluten-Free Products

Udi’s: overall, they have the best-tasting, gluten-free breads and grain products on the market.

Kinnikinnick Foods: good tasting, what I call "sometimes" foods, baked products that are all gluten-free

Amy’s Kitchen: quality vegetarian (many are vegan, some contain cheese) convenience foods; their gluten-free frozen pizzas are very good! Note: not all of their foods are gluten-free. Look for their gluten-free label.

Ian’s Natural Foods: great line for kids with food allergies and celiac disease; the gluten-free chicken nuggets are well-received by children and the ingredients are wholesome.

Organizations and Associations

National Dairy Council: excellent website with great resources on lactose intolerance, dairy nutrition and childhood nutrition in general. Their FuelUpToPlay60 campaign with the National Football League has been making a great impact on the health education. I got to witness it in action here in Dallas.

National Beef Council: their beef nutrition site is full of great nutrition information. The old thought that you have to give up beef to be healthy continues to die a very slow death. Check out their 29 cuts of lean beef fact sheet. Great info!

U.S. Potato Board: did you know that potatoes are one of the cheapest, most nutrient-rich natural foods for the price? Potatoes have gotten such a bad wrap and unfortunately, it's because of the fatty toppings that are put on them.

California Strawberry Commission: did you know that the majority of our strawberries come from California? Both potatoes and strawberries contain more vitamin C than oranges. Why did oranges get the vitamin C label? No fair!

Gluten Intolerance Group of North America: I highly recommend joining a local GIG (gluten intolerance group) if you or a family member is gluten intolerant or has celiac disease. Chances are, there is a group near you. Although I don't advocate that everyone try a gluten-free lifestyle like this group promotes, I do think their website is a great resource for those that need it. They have a great restaurant search.

Dole Nutrition Institute: they have great information on the power of produce; they also have a great kid-friendly section.

Nutrition Tools & Programs

Healthy Steps by Jokari: Healthy Steps is the maker of very helpful portion guidance kitchen gadgets that are very practical. As you can see, I like to use the word "guide" instead of control.

Nourish Interactive: check out Chef Solis as he teaches kids about good nutrition. This is one of the best, free nutrition educational websites I have seen. Lesson plans are categorized by age.

Supermarket Savvy: this site is chocked full of brand names of foods based on your nutrition interest; you can join and have access to up-to-date food product information. Check out their virtual supermarket!

Papayahead, Inc.: this website has a meal planning database that is FREE and will generate your own grocery list.

Disclosure: I have done compensated work with Heatlhy Steps on creating nutrition education videos. But everything listed here are my own personal recommendations and not paid advertising.

Nutrition Education Highlights For Families

noreply@blogger.com (Angela Lemond) — Fri, 07 Oct 2011 21:06:00 +0000

If I was a mother trying to feed my family healthy, but wasn’t a dietitian, I would hope that someone would give me the highlights of what dietitians talk about when they get together! Well, here you go, part 2 of highlight series on the ADA Food & Nutrition Conference & Expo (FNCE). If you missed the vision that was imparted on us, check out my first post, Vision: Do You Have It?. This post discusses just some education sessions that apply to families. Truly, I could do a 20-part series on everything because really everything ties back to families, doesn’t it?

Since I have nutrition specialties in digestive health and immunology, I have a separate section on that for those families that may have a child or family member with a chronic condition. I am always looking out for you!

GENERAL

Food processing. There isn’t an official definition for processed foods – anything that has been done to get your food to your table is processing, really. However, we all agree that minimally processed foods are usually the best choice. But do know that some processing has been shown to be beneficial. For instance, our fortification process of grains in the U.S. has virtually eliminated illness and death associated with B-vitamin deficiencies like pellagra and beriberi. When you get technical with the words “processed foods”, you do get foods that I recommend for busy families like bagged salad, pre-cut veggies and even dried fruits. Don’t be completely averse to the reference of processed foods, but instead focus your attention on minimization.

Create a short video showing how
you build a healthy plate with fruits
and veggies on a budget and you
could win some serious cash for
your family!

Update on MyPlate. The MyPlate website is getting even more full of practical applications for families. There is an entire section on eating healthy on a budget, you can analyze your own diet quality and you can get personalized plans for each family member. Anyone want to participate in the MyPlate Fruits and Veggies Video Challenge? They are giving a lot of cash for prizes out on this one! There will be 3 winners picked to win $1500, 3 for second place that will win $1000 and 3 “Popular Choice” winners that will each receive $500.

Farm to School Initiatives. This is a super cool trend that is spreading (not fast enough) across the US. California is a really good example of how connecting children to food at the farm level grows their appreciation for foods. I sent an e-mail to my daughter’s school foodservice manager encouraging them to do something in this arena. Even if you can get them to do a field trip to a local farm, this will give kids a bit more insight than just seeing food on their plates. Go to the USDA Farm to School site for more information on these type of programs.

Digestive Health and Other Conditions

Gluten-Free (GF) Diets. There was some interesting investigation presented on current gluten-free products currently sold in the U.S. Here are the highlights and recommendations:
•Whenever possible gluten-free consumers should choose labeled gluten-free grains, flours, & products made from them. Even GF flours such as buckwheat, soy, sorghum and millet have been shown to have 29-2900 ppm of gluten!
•When choosing processed foods not labeled gluten free consumers should look for 6 ingredients on the food label, namely wheat, barley, rye, oats, malt, & brewer?s yeast; for starch, starch, & dextrin. Glucose syrup, dextrose, maltodextrin, caramel color, & sugar alcohols that contain wheat must have wheat listed in the ingredient label under FALCPA. (Even when derived from wheat or barley these ingredients are exceedingly unlikely to cause an otherwise gluten-free food to contain 20 ppm or more gluten)
•While gluten-free foods may be allowed to contain < 20 ppm gluten, the vast majority of products tested by Gluten Free Watchdog contain < 5 ppm gluten

Irritable Bowel Syndrome.* Gerard Mullin, MD, Associate Professor at The John Hopkins Hospital, presented some current research on irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and it looks very promising:
• Nutraceutical supplements such as peppermint oil, STW5 and melatonin may be helpful to control IBS symptoms• Commercially available herbal preparation STW 5: bitter candytuft, chamomile flower, peppermint leaves, caraway fruit, licorice root, lemon balm leaves, celandine herbs, angelica root, milk thistle fruit.• Elimination of “FODMAPs” may help a subset of IBS patients with small intestinal bacterial overgrowth [The acronym, ‘FODMAP’—Fermentable Oligo-, Di- and Monosaccharides and Polyols—was coined to describe a previously unrelated group of short-chain carbohydrates and
sugar alcohols (polyols). They comprise fructose, lactose, fructo- and galactooligosaccharides (fructans, and galactans), and polyols (such as sorbitol, mannitol, xylitol and maltitol).
• Probiotics (VSL #3 showed great results) appear to control IBS symptoms.

Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD).* The great GI dietitian queen herself, Dr. Laura Matarese, RD, presented on functional and superfoods for IBD. There was some decent research on things such as high levels of omega-3’s, curcumin, probiotics and diet. For those that are interested, let me know and I could discuss these with you.

Update on autism and diet. Dr. Timothy Buie, Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at Harvard Medical School presented an accumulation of current studies and recommendations on autism and diet. This is the take home as of now per Dr. Buie. Current studies, including survey studies from complementary providers do not support diet changes for the treatment of autism (*Note: Current studies do suggest that 5-8% of pediatric patients may have food allergy). Some individuals with history consistent with food sensitivity may merit testing or trial of diet. However, available research data does not support the use of a casein-free diet, a gluten-free diet, or combined gluten-free, casein-free (GFCF) diet as a primary treatment for individuals with autism. Could GI issues CAUSE autism? Environmental/nutritional factors modulating genetically predisposed individuals. GI inflammation where some body processes (colitis, allergy, infection) release chemical or immune mediators that affect brain function. Further studies need to be done.

* If you are interested in trying some of these supplements or nutraceuticals, do check in with your physician and your local registered dietitian first. They can advise you if any therapies are right for your particular situation and specifically how to implement them if at all.

My last post in this recap series of the dietitian’s conference will be food products and tools that were presented in the exhibit are – that I thought were the best. Don’t miss it!

Vision: Do You Have It?

noreply@blogger.com (Angela Lemond) — Fri, 30 Sep 2011 21:35:00 +0000

Talk about vision, check me out with The Laughing Cow
at ADA FNCE 2011. The exhibits were fun!

I am feeling pumped up after attending the 2011 American Dietetic Association Food & Nutrition Conference & Expo in sunny San Diego, California! I was able to meet some of my fellow nutrition bloggers for the very first time and it was wonderful. Be sure to check out some of them that I posted on the Mommy Dietitian Facebook page. The main things that I took back to my home base in Plano, Texas are more vision, education and tools for my passion in nutrition care and education. Today, I want to discuss vision because it is so vital in achieving our life's goals. As moms, dads, aunts, uncles and grandparents, we are the visionaries for our family. Things don’t just happen – we must start with a vision for what we want out of life.

Dr. David Katz delivered a very powerful message on the impact of healthy lifestyle that was communicated partly in poetic dialogue. It was a very unique to say the least! He gave some amazing statistics that surely resonated with me: If everyone adopted a healthy lifestyle, we could reduce heart disease by 80%, diabetes by 90% and cancer by 60%. As health professionals, we must have a mutual vision to dedicate ourselves in reducing these killer diseases.

Nancy Brinker is an excellent example of a person with vision.

You have got to hear Nancy Brinker share her vision behind her organization – you may have heard of it? J – The Susan G. Komen For a Cure. She is bringing her dying sister’s wish to reality when she said to here, “Please do all you can so no more women die from this disease.” Look at the organization today - a global leader in the war on breast cancer that has investing more than $1.9 billion since its inception in 1982. As dietitians, we all are striving to optimize health through proper nutrition. What if we all had vision like her? My professional vision is to provide families with very practical tools to feed their families well and lead a healthy life. As a mother, I understand the struggles and downward pulls of life, so my vision is driven by that identification with the average family out there. My personal vision for my family is to model a healthy, balanced lifestyle for my children with the hopes that they follow in my footsteps. I purposely and actively make decisions everyday in order to achieve that vision for my family.

What is your motivation for the goals you have in life? For your family? It must be something deep inside – like Nancy Brinker’s story - that gets to the core of who you are from an emotional past experience or a personal story that drives your passion. Ask yourself – what is it? When it comes to feeding your family well and living an active, healthy lifestyle, I always encourage people to envision the next 20 years forward to see where you want to be. Imagine that vision over and over, believe that it is indeed possible - and move forward with actions that will make your vision a reality in your life.

Tap Into THE Source of Nutrition From Your Home

noreply@blogger.com (Angela Lemond) — Thu, 22 Sep 2011 18:19:00 +0000

Don't worry. This is not a vain effort to market myself. J Actually, dietitians from all over the country, including me, will be converging at the annual national dietitian’s convention and exhibit starting this Saturday, September 24th. It is the 2011 American Dietetic Association’s Food & Nutrition Conference and Expo and it will be held in San Diego, California this year. The opening session will begin with an inspirational talk from Nancy Brinker, founder of the Susan G. Komen for the Cure. Other notable speakers include David Katz, MD, Yale University Prevention Researcher, Chief Science Officer of the NuVal nutrition scoring system and the editor-in-chief of the Childhood Obesity Journal; and Jack Canfield, author of Chicken Soup for the Soul. These lead speakers will primarily discuss ways we can empower the public to live healthy lives. The breakout sessions will vary greatly in nutrition topics from clinical nutrition for disease management to childhood nutrition to a myriad of wellness and culinary discussions. They will also have one of the largest food and nutrition product exhibitions where I will sample new foods and learn about great new ways nutrition professionals can keep people healthy.

I am especially excited to share the newest nutrition research, newest food products and wellness tools on the market with you! There are 3 ways you can track with me:

· Follow me on Twitter and you can get real-time comments as I attend my favorite sessions

· Keep an eye on my Mommy Dietitian Facebook page where I will recap each day that I am there

· Or, just wait until I return on September 27^th and wait for my next blog post where I will summarize the “best of the best” information I gathered while attending the conference.

I want you to be in-the-know when it comes to reliable nutrition information. Feel free to take a look at the program review and comment below, or shoot me an e-mail at angela@angelalemond to let me know which topic you would like to know more about. You can check out some of the hot topics that will be at the conference, which interesting to you. If I hear from you, I may just try and make a point to attend that session!

Cheap & Healthy on a Budget: Recipes + Tips

noreply@blogger.com (Angela Lemond) — Thu, 15 Sep 2011 13:20:00 +0000

With the state of the economy right now, times are financially tough for many families. Healthy, quick and family meals can continue inexpensively with some creative planning. I like to call that "Budgeating."

I sent a request out for cheap, healthy and quick recipes and I appreciate those who sent them in! Here are a few feature recipes that you might want to try. All of them are under $10 and serve four people. Be sure to check out my cheap food tips at the end of this post.

Chicken Tacos with Salsamole
Elizabeth Ward, MS, RD
Boston, MA

Ingredients
1/2 teaspoon salt
pinch of each: fresh ground black pepper, crushed red pepper, dried thyme, dried rosemary, onion powder
1 1/2 pounds skinless, boneless chicken breast
8 (8-inch) whole wheat tortillas
"Salsamole" (1 cup salsa + 1 cup guacamole)

Directions
Heat the grill, or coat a 12-inch skillet with cooking spray and heat over medium-high heat. In a small bowl, combine the salt with the pepper, red pepper, thyme, rosemary, and onion powder. Rub the chicken with the salt mixture. Grill or bake the chicken for 5 minutes on each side, turning once. Remove from the heat and let rest. Cut into thin slices and keep warm. To make tacos, spread salsamole on each tortilla, top with sliced chicken and roll up or fold into quarters to eat. Liz recommends pairing with a nice fruit salad. I decided to pair it with fresh corn on the cob (cheap if you remove the husks) and some sliced banana and peanut butter to stay under my tight budget.

Recipe Notes: This original recipe is actually Steak Tacos with Salsamole out of Liz's new book, MyPlate For Moms: How To Feed Yourself and Your Family Better. But when I went to make the recipe, I could not find sirloin on sale. So, I prepared it with chicken. Consider modifying your old recipes or the recipes of others to make stretch your dollar. Check out her book, by the way!

Whole Chicken Crock Pot
Amanda Wendt
Trumbull, CT

Ingredients
4 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon thyme
1 teaspoon white pepper
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 large roasting chicken (with pop-up timer if possible)
1 cup onion, chopped (optional)

Directions
In a small bowl, combine the spices. Remove any giblets from chicken, remove skin and clean chicken. Rub spice mixture onto the chicken. When ready to cook, put chopped onion in bottom of crock pot. Add chicken. No liquid is needed, the chicken will make its own juices. Cook on low 4-8 hours. Serve with your favorite beans or rice. Add a side salad to complete the meal.

Amanda’s Notes: I highly recommend a pop-up timer in the chicken because some crock pots cook faster/slower than others (my crock pot cooks this recipe in 4-5 hours). And I typically serve this with brown rice or a baked sweet potato and a veggie...broccoli or zucchini are my kids' favorites. Or a salad.

Scrambled Egg Pizza
Neva Cochran, MS, RD, LD
Dallas, TX

Ingredients
8 whole eggs
1/4 cup 1% low-fat milk
1/2 cup canned diced Italian tomatoes, drained
1/2 cup canned mushrooms, drained
1/2 cup chopped green bell pepper
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella
1/4 tsp. dried oregano
non-stick cooking spray
2 tsp. canola oil

Directions
Heat a medium saucepan coated with non-stick spray and oil over medium heat. Add onion and bell pepper and cook until just soft. Add tomatoes and mushrooms, turn heat to low and simmer. Beat eggs in a mixing bowl with milk. Scramble in pre-heated skillet coated with non-stick spray until thickened and no visible liquid egg remains. Transfer cooked eggs to a serving bowl or platter and top with tomato mixture. Sprinkle with cheese. I served it with whole wheat tortillas a bit extra cheese per person, and apple slices for dessert.

Recipe Notes: My friend, Neva, sent me this super cheap recipe (I priced it at $5.21 with the apple slices!) and it's so easy for moms to whip up. The original recipe called for whole wheat rolls, but I decided to save money since I was already buying the whole wheat tortillas for Liz's recipe. I also went ahead and used red onions and green bell peppers with this recipe since I was about to make the red beans and rice (see below). When possible, take your whole week's worth of dinner meals and modify the same why I did to save some cash!

Easy Red Beans and Rice

(this one is mine)

Ingredients
1 pound pre-cooked ham, cut into 1/2-inch chunks 2 (15 ounce) cans red beans, drained
1/2 cup chopped green bell pepper
2 (10 ounce) cans rotel tomatoes with green chiles
3/4 cup chopped red onion
2 cups cooked brown or wild rice

Directions
Combine all ingredients in crock pot. Cover and cook on LOW for 5 1/2 to 6 hours. Serve over hot, cooked rice. Serve with some steamed broccoli sprinkled with lemon juice and a dash of pepper. Serve with light yogurt topped with fruit.

Cheap By Food Group

Fruits and Vegetables. My local grocery store often sells 10 bags of frozen vegetables for $10. The other day, they had a sale on canned foods where you only pay 26 cents for 20 cans! You have to watch the sales and then buy in bulk when able. But remember, frozen is about equal to fresh (sometimes fresher) on nutrient quality and low sodium canned vegetables and canned fruit in their own juices are just a close second. You can often buy bags of beans for less than $1. Consider searching out a produce co-op in your local area or visiting your local farmer’s market. Locally grown produce usually contains superior nutrient quality since it’s farm to plate distance is shortened, and you get to support your local farmer. If your funds are really tight, government coupons or WIC cards encourage for the purchase of produce items.

Grains. Make your own breads! Make your own pancakes by adding half whole wheat flour. Start your day off with a big batch of steel cut oatmeal in the crockpot. Purchase things such as wild rice, whole wheat couscous, brown rice and barley in bulk or in the bags versus the boxed varieties. Cook them in large quantities and eat them throughout the week. Add these grains with beans, top with a low-fat cheese – serve with a side salad or frozen veggies for a super easy and nutrient-rich meal!

Dairy. Generic brands of milk are often cheaper. Look for dairy items that are on sale. Blocked cheese is cheaper than the pre-shredded. Purchase yogurts in the larger

Protein foods including meat, chicken, fish, soy, nuts, seeds and beans. Bulk, bulk, bulk. Remember that 3-4 ounces is a portion – decreasing portion sizes for each family member is a huge cash saving! For seafood, shop ethnic grocers such as Asian stores, as they have a tendency to have cheaper prices. Look for frozen bags and canned seafood on sale.

General Cheap Tips

Be Flexible. Maybe your favorite food items are out of your budget. Remain patient and there will come a sale. Explore other foods. You might find something you like better! And the more variety we have, they better nourished we are.

Plan Ahead. Shop for your groceries one full week in advance in order to avoid the eating out trap. Eating out excessively leads to both budget and belt busting every time!

Bulk and freeze. This will not only save you money, but will also save you time – two precious commodities these days. Free resources for doing this can be found at http://www.menus4moms.com/bul k/index.php and http://bulkcooking.com/. Be sure to choose the healthy recipes!

Grow your own garden. Again, eating on a budget demands that flexibility! What a fun thing to do with your children. Don’t have enough room outdoors? No problem. Many people are growing all kinds of produce indoors. Check out an interesting article found on Bella Online – The Voice of Women: http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art15693.asp.

Brown bagged your lunches. Many of these components not only save you money, but they also help you stay on track with your healthy lifestyles. You can bag healthy food items that go on sale or even eat leftovers from last night’s dinner.

Be on the lookout for sales and good coupons. Grocery stores have weekly specials that can be found in a saver book located at the front of the store. You can also shop for coupons online at websites such as http://www.coupons.com/, http://www.couponsurfer.com/ and http://www.smartsource.com/. Consider taking a look at the coupons to help plan your weekly menu. You can search for recipes by ingredient at websites such as http://www.fruitsandveggiesmorematters.gov// (under Recipes) and http://allrecipes.com/search/ingredients.aspx.

Do you have great ideas to save money on food? Please share!

Feature Your Food Labor!

noreply@blogger.com (Angela Lemond) — Mon, 05 Sep 2011 13:00:00 +0000

Happy Labor Day! Today, I celebrate everyone that works hard -- especially parents like you! Many of us have the day off of their paid work today, but we are still laboring hard at home. Like me and my husband, you may be working hard on home projects that have been long lingering to be completed. Today is a great day to clean out the pantry and fridge - throw away old boxed items, spices and...ugh...what is that in the back of the refrigerator?!

Now that you've got that kitchen all organized, let's talk recipes. With these tough economic times, we are all looking for ways to raise our families more economically. That definitely includes cheaper ways to feed our family!

I am working on a television segment called "Budgeating." Yes, you guessed it -- healthy eating on a tight budget. I would love to feature one of your family recipes on television! Here 's how: send me your tastiest, healthiest and quickest recipe that costs $10 or under for a family of four. (Hint: you will get higher marks if you include at least one produce item!) The deadline for submission is Monday, September 12, 2011. Send all recipes to angela@angelalemond.com.

The top 3 winners may have their dish along with their name featured on a local Dallas Fort Worth television station. I say "may" because you know television - segments are not guaranteed to run until they actually go live because breaking stories go before food segments every time.

On your mark, set...send me your recipes! Even if your recipe doesn't make the top 3, all recipes submitted will be posted on Mommy Dietitian on the next blog post. It is times like these when families need to come together in order to feed their families well, and continue to have family meals at home. I want the Mommy Dietitian blog to assist with bringing families together!

Does your school participate? HealthierUS School Challenge

noreply@blogger.com (Angela Lemond) — Wed, 31 Aug 2011 22:35:00 +0000

When I was working on a recent television interview in which I discussed school lunches, I was prompted to check on the progress of my daughter's school lunches this year. I was pleased to find out that her school district has taken on the HealthierUS School Challenge!

Volunteer initiative for schools to make
their environments heathier for children.

What is the HealthierUS School Challenge?
The HealthierUS School Challenge is a government-to-school encourager to voluntarily make school environments healthier. The participation rate started skyrocketing when First Lady Michelle Obama added incentives to schools that took part. The result is that more and more schools are cleaning up their kitchens - reducing fat, calories and sugar and adding more nutrient-rich foods in their place - for the sake of our growing children.

HealthierUS Food Guidelines
The initiative as a whole includes good nutrition and physical activity. Here is a brief rundown of what your child will be exposed to when he/she eats the school lunch:

Offers a different vegetable each day of the week
Offers dark green or orange vegetables 3 or more days each week
Offer dry beans and/or peas 1 or more days each week
Offers a different fruit each day of the week
Offers at least a serving of whole grains 3 or more days each week
Offers only low-fat and fat-free milk each day

In addition to the foods that must be included, the schools must also:

Teach nutrition education to the children
Incorporate the teaching into the classrooms
Use multiple channels of communication including the cafeteria, classroom and home

I don't know about you, but I see this as a big improvement. Hannah's school is teaching them MyPlate, the new USDA food icon, so they can make their own decision to fuel up with great food choices. Educating, Exposing and Empowering are 3 of my keys to long-term proper nutrition. It starts in childhood! Talk to your children about the food choices they make and empower them to eat the super power foods that will help them make good grades and do better at their extra cirricular activities.

Does your school participate in the HealthierUS School Challenge? Find out here. If this is their first year to participate, you may want to contact your child's foodservice manager and ask them. If they are not currently participating, encourage them to do so! For more information on the HealthierUS School Challenge, go to: http://www.fns.usda.gov/tn/HealthierUS/vision.html.

Food Containers: The New Brown Bag

noreply@blogger.com (Angela Lemond) — Thu, 11 Aug 2011 21:09:00 +0000

As summer ends and temperatures (hopefully) cool down, it’s time to think about school supplies, new school outfits, and what to pack for lunch. Are your kids apathetic towards a home-packed lunch? You can change this by inspiring you to pack different foods and inspire your child with a more interesting container. Swap out the boring brown bags and use food containers to rejuvenate lunchtime. These containers are cost effective, reusable for years, and easy to clean. As parents, you can make nutrition a priority by preparing fun and nourishing lunches for your kids. Have them help you, too! Among our favorites are included in this post and all pictures are linked to sites for purchase.

Laptop Lunch's Bento Boxes!

Some food containers provide compartments to keep different foods organized. Our favorite is Laptop Lunch's Bento Box. Now they have even more colorful styles to choose from! This type of lunch container encourages to serve more than just a peanut butter sandwich. How about whole wheat spaghetti, fresh peach slices, snap peas and a savory dipping sauce? Bust out the cookie cutters and cut sandwiches, fruits, or cheese into fascinating shapes. This is a great occasion to make simple, creative and assorted meals. Laptop Lunch's has a great set of menus categorized by seasons on their website. (Our favorite recipe is the red lentil and sweet pepper hummus!)

We all “eat with your eyes” first, and this is absolutely no different with children. Using different colors and shapes will draw their interest and they can be excited about opening their lunch box every day. Bring the fun back to lunching!

The Slimline Quaddie by Klip It provides drink container and many compartments!.

Some containers also have a place to store drinks. You can fill a bottle like this with low fat milk, water, or 100% juice. Go green and ecomical by investing in BPA-free containers.

Fit & Fresh brand has a great variety of containers to choose from.

These containers have an added cold pack built into the lid. It’s great for keeping cold items like fruits or salads cool for lunchtime. Add another ice pack or additonal resusable ice cubes to keep your lunches nice and cool.

The "Salad Blaster Bowl" can be purchased at The Container Store.

Speaking of salads, this is another great container to make lunch fun! Simply fill the container with your salad and put the green lid on. Then, fill the central container on the lid with your salad dressing. This keeps the contents from mixing. By mealtime, press the center container down, and shake! It releases the dressing with ease. Tell me this isn’t a great way to get kids interested in salad!

Purchased at The Container Store.

We can’t leave out breakfast- this is a fabulous option for cereal and milk. Just pour your milk into the bottom container that is insulated to keep it cold longer. Then screw on the top container and pour in your perfect portion of cereal. Pop the lid on (folding spoon included) and go!

Hot Foods

Expand that lunch menu by providing a hot lunch for your child. Heat soups, leftovers and other hot foods to 200 degrees before putting them in the hot food containers so they can still be above the temperature danger zone of 140 degrees by lunchtime.

Purchase Laptop Lunch's food jar and it fits nicely in the Bento system.

Thermos brand makes food jars in your child's favorite character design.

Other ways to make your child's lunch special:

Bento to Lunch - Collection of really cool food decoration ideas to try.

Kids Lunch Box Cards - spice up your child's cards with stories, riddles, gross science facts with these creative cards that you can sign.

Your kids are not the only ones that can enjoy food containers. These are also very practical for the working person. You can put your lunch together at the same time as your kids and you’re set for the day. These are also a time saver when traveling or even picnicking. Trying out new food containers will make the boring “brown bag lunch” a thing of the past.

Special thanks once again to Gina Tran, TWU Dietetic Intern, that co-authored this blog post!

Quick Recipe! Summer Spring Rolls

noreply@blogger.com (Angela Lemond) — Thu, 04 Aug 2011 20:36:00 +0000

The summer months can mean a busy schedule packed full of time at the pool, outdoor adventures, and vacations. What a great way to end the hot day by preparing an easy, tropical meal – our Mommy Dietitian signature Summer Spring Rolls! We included a complement of ingredients that provide great flavors, but feel free to switch out ingredients as you wish. If you have cooked chicken or tofu, replace that instead of shrimp. You can also swap various vegetables like tomatoes, peppers, and cabbage.

Mangos are an exotic and major source of vitamin C, vitamin A, and fiber. These are keys to good immune function, vision, and digestive health. Shrimp is also a good source of high-quality protein and iron. In addition, an assortment of colorful vegetables is delicious and provides a ton of nutrients for the growing body.

Our Summer Spring Rolls are
yummy, light and nutrient-rich!

Summer Spring Rolls

Makes 12 rolls
Serving size: 3 rolls

Ingredients:

Spring Rolls:
½ lettuce, leaves separated and ribs removed and sliced in half
1 grated carrot
1 diced cucumber
2 diced mangos
1 diced red pepper
¼ cup minced basil
24-36 small to medium shrimp, shelled
12 (8 inch) round Rice Paper (can be found in ethnic aisle at grocery store)
1 large bowl filled with warm water

Dipping Sauce:
½ cup Rice Wine Vinegar
2 tsp. minced basil
1 lime, juiced
2 Tbsp. minced garlic
1 Tbsp. sugar
2 tsp soy sauce

Directions:
1. Combine all dipping sauce ingredients in a bowl. Set aside to infuse flavors.

2. Cook shrimp in boiling water until they turn opaque, which may take 1-2 minutes. Take them out of the boiling water and immediately place them into cold water to stop the cooking process. When it is cool, devein each shrimp.

3. Mix grated carrots, diced cucumber, diced mango, diced red pepper, and minced basil together in a bowl.

4. Take one rice paper sheet and soak in warm water for a couple seconds. You will want to make sure that it absorbs the water, but not for too long. In a few seconds, you will see that it is pliable and flexible. Keep the sheet flat and place onto a plate.

5. Take one lettuce leaf and place it in the middle of the rice paper, and bring it halfway towards you. Leave a 2-inch border on the bottom of the rice paper round. Next, take a couple scoops of the mango-vegetable mixture and place it on top of the lettuce. Then, place two or three shrimp halves upon the vegetable mixture.

6. Take the left and right sides of the rice paper and bring it towards the center. Holding these sides down, take the side of the rice paper closest to you and bring it over the filling. Make sure that these are secure enough to hold the filling, but not too tight to tear. Continue rolling the filling away from your body.

Pat yourself on the back for rolling a spring roll. Dip Summer Spring Rolls in dipping sauce, and enjoy! You can cover your spring rolls with a damp paper towel if you are not serving them right away. Serve with a fluffy, light rice for some added grain – such as jasmine rice.

Special thanks to Gina Tran, Texas Woman’s University dietetic intern, for all her hard work on this blog post! Watch out, we’ve got a future foodie RD in the making. J

Gluten-Free Foods That Kids Will Enjoy!

noreply@blogger.com (Angela Lemond) — Mon, 18 Jul 2011 17:35:00 +0000

I see many children that are newly diagnosed with gluten intolerance or celiac disease, and the normal reaction from parents is feeling overwhelmed. After all, it is an entirely different diet that their kids must follow and many of these kids already have limited preferences. What I do is educate the family on getting their child’s diet and life gluten-free and also monitor growth trends as we make the transition. This diet can also put them at risk for certain nutrient deficiencies, so making sure they are getting what they need is important as well.

Recently, I saw an almost 9 year old boy, Noah, whom his mother, Monica, called a “picky eater.” She was very concerned about how he would transition to totally new food because he loved foods that had gluten. After our initial education, Monica made it her priority to try a large variety of products on Noah and because of her efforts, Noah is still growing normally. She sent me a very detailed e-mail with specific gluten-free products that Noah likes and I thought it would be helpful for other families with children following gluten-free prescriptions. Please note that the following suggestions are not direct suggestions from me, but suggestions from a mother on the front lines of the gluten-free lifestyle. And I think very highly of my moms! Let me tell you, they get all the kudos out there, seen and unseen. As you know, bread products are the most challenging items for this type of diet so they are emphasized here. Add plenty of fruits, vegetables, lean protein and low-fat dairy to round out a well-balanced gluten-free diet.

------------------------------------------------------

Noah with his family in Jamaica.

From mom, Monica: I get all the following gluten-free products at either Walmart (W), Kroger (K), Sprouts (S) or in bulk from Amazon.com (A). I think the most important thing to tell the parents of your future patients is that there are good tasting GF products out there BUT that realistically they will never be able to match the exact texture of regular wheat products because gluten is what gives elasticity to dough, helps it to rise and to keep its shape, and gives the final baked product its chewy texture. Noah has had to work through this aspect of GF foods and is getting much better. Chris and I try every product we buy and the rule is that if we think it's good then he has to try it a few times before he can decide whether he likes it or not. Now don't get me wrong, there are some GF products that are so gross in texture (think sawdust or kitchen sponge - yuk!) that I would never make him eat it and I have had to simply throw them away after a couple of bites. Anyone that knows me knows that I hate to waste food BUT some I couldn't even choke down myself to try and save money and not waste:) The good news is that Noah is a very picky, textural eater and if he has been able to find the items below that he enjoys, everybody should be able to find some items they'll enjoy too.

Breakfast

• Chex cereals have five flavors that are GF - Noah likes the chocolate and cinnamon Chex best. (W, K)

• Post makes GF Fruity Pebbles cereal (W, K)

• Van's makes frozen waffles that are really good in Apple Cinnamon and Blueberry flavors. (S, K)

Bisquick makes an amazing GF pancake and baking mix that can be used to make easy pancakes, waffles, biscuits, pizza crusts, breading for homemade chicken fingers and oven baked fried chicken - yum! (W, K)

• Kinnikinnick makes some good GF Donuts and Blueberry Muffins. Noah's favorite donuts are the Chocolate Glazed (S)

• Betty Lou's makes some great cereal/breakfast bar replacements they call fruit bars. You can buy them individually at Sprouts or buy them in bulk (12) on Amazon. Noah like the Blueberry, Strawberry and Cherry but they also have Apricot and Apple Cinnamon. (S, A)

• Udi's White Sandwich Bread to make toast with jelly or GF french toast. Udi's also makes an excellent cranberry granola mix. (S)

Lunch

As I mentioned above, the Udi's brand makes the absolute BEST GF bread, hot dog and hamburger buns. There isn't an other brand we tried that even comes close to Udi's. The bread is quite a bit smaller than regular sized loaves (Noah called it toy bread at first) and the texture is a little bit different than regular bread (as is the case with all baked GF products) but it isn't too different and the taste is the absolute best with no sour aftertaste (which we found in most the other brands we tried - yuck!) The great thing about Udi's is that it is one of the only brands that is SHELF STABLE meaning that as soon as I buy it from the freezer section at Sprouts I leave it out on my counter to thaw and it lasts for the whole week without spoiling. This IS NOT the case with most other GF bread - you buy them frozen and then you have to keep them frozen or they go bad quickly. I found that if I put two slices in the microwave for 10 seconds on each side before I make his sandwich it helps to improve texture and soften the bread a bit. We make sandwiches, grilled cheeses, PB&J's, hot dogs and hamburgers with the Udi's products. (S,K)

Pamela's Products makes the best GF bread mix to make at home in a bread machine. (S, K) I add two teaspoons of honey to the mix in my bread maker and it makes it taste more like the honey wheat bread Noah used to eat. I also love and highly recommend the West Bend Hi-Rise Bread Maker I bought from Walmart.com. It was only $90 and makes beautiful, perfect horizontal loaves - very important as most other bread makers make weird vertical loaves that when sliced make almost comical-looking, super tall and skinny slices of bread. It also has a setting to mix and knead perfect pizza dough also using the Pamela's Products Mix. But bottom line, if your looking for convenience, Udi's is the way to go.

Dinner

• Annie's makes a great rice pasta & cheddar GF macaroni and cheese (W, K, S)

• Ian's makes the best GF chicken nugget or chicken tenders. (S)

• Heartland makes the best GF corn and rice blend spaghetti noodles. (W) It taste and has the exact texture of regular spaghetti.

Desserts

• Betty Crocker now has four affordable GF mixes that are great. The offer chocolate cake, yellow cake, brownie and chocolate chip cookie. Noah loves the Chocolate Cake and Brownies the best. We use Duncan Hines whipped frostings on the cakes. They are all GF. (W, K)

• Kinnikinnick makes great Oreo cookie replacements called Kini-Toos. (S)

This blog post was specifically for children and adults with gluten intolerance and celiac disease. I do not advocate a gluten free lifestyle for general wellness. Seek the advice of a Registered Dietitian before beginning any new diet to avoid nutrient deficiency. The removal of gluten entails more than just food restrictions, so it is important to seek advice from dietitians who specialize in gluten-free education. Do not simply rely on Internet references including this one to go gluten-free.

More Than a Meal: Benefits of Eating Together

noreply@blogger.com (Angela Lemond) — Mon, 11 Jul 2011 19:24:00 +0000

This past weekend, I was honored to speak at the Texas PTA Leadership Conference in Austin, TX on the importance of family mealtimes. The benefits of family meals go far beyond nutrition. Did you know that young people who reported eating dinner with their family 5 or more times per week were much likelier to report receiving either all A’s or mostly A’s and B’s in school? Other key items from research include:

• Mealtime conversations help children acquire and improve the language skills that are critical for school success. Children learn new vocabulary, sentence structure, and how to share their point of view with other people.

The benefits of family meals go beyond nutrition.

• Conversations at the family table taught children more vocabulary than they learned from their parents reading books to them.

• Elementary school children who did well in class and on achievement tests were those who generally spent larger amounts of time eating meals with their families.

• Eating meals with their family was a stronger predictor of academic success than whether they lived with one or both parents.

• The more often families eat together the less likely teens are to smoke cigarettes, use illegal drugs, abuse alcohol, become depressed, develop eating disorders, or get pregnant.

Nutrition Benefits
We can’t deny the family mealtime benefits on your child’s current and future nutrition. They include:

• More likely to have a healthy weight

• Less likely to become or stay overweight

• Less likely to develop an eating disorder

• Family meals during adolescence had a lasting positive influence on the quality of their diets and meal patterns, such as eating breakfast. In other words, having family meals with your teenagers improves their chances of eating right in their 20’s.

• Young people who eat more often with their families have higher intakes of fruits, vegetables, grains, and dairy foods.

• For teens, more regular family meals mean fewer fried foods and soft drinks. These adolescents also have higher intakes of key nutrients like calcium, iron, vitamins A, B6, C, E, and folate, as well as fiber.

Keeping It Simple
The great thing to know is that the meal does not need to be complicated to have all of these great benefits. If you are super strapped for time, these ideas don’t even need a recipe:

• Flank steak with tossed salad and frozen vegetables

• Pasta with frozen or canned shrimp, sautéed in olive oil with onion and garlic

• Cheese omelet with tossed salad

• Tuna salad in a whole wheat wrap made with reduced-fat mayonnaise

• Black beans and brown or wild rice with frozen veggies

• Spinach salad with grilled chicken, mandarin oranges, and slivered almonds

• Peanut butter and banana sandwich on 100% whole-wheat bread

• Hamburgers (made with lean ground beef) on whole-grain buns, with boiled potatoes and frozen vegetables

Add some skim/1% milk as a beverage, add quick veggies as needed and serve fresh fruit as a dessert – and you have a very well-rounded stress-free meal. Remember, eliminate all distractions and make all mealtime discussions pleasant and friendly. Involve your kids in the recipe selection, shopping and preparation for maximum impact. And if you are not eating at least 5 meals as a family, consider adding one per week. Dinner is a great time, but breakfasts and lunches work as well.

Eating together is one of the best things we can do as a family to enrich the quality of our children’s lives. Commit today to make family meals a priority in your home and watch all the great things that will follow.

Sportline Product Giveaway!

noreply@blogger.com (Angela Lemond) — Mon, 27 Jun 2011 22:59:00 +0000

Mommy Dietitian Facebook page! All winners are announced on Facebook.>

Well, you heard my Summer Wellness Confessions: And Plans to Execute. Now I want to hear from you! Together, let's stay active all summer long for our own health's sake, and to model healthy behaviors for our children. For a bit of incentive, we are giving away a couple great fitness monitors courtesy of Sportline. There will be one winner for each of the following items:

Sportline Women's DUO 1010 Heart Rate Monitor

Sportline Women’s DUO 1010 Heart Rate Monitor ($69.99 value): A heart rate monitor can set the proper pace for any kind of workout by ensuring the user stays within a certain heartbeat per minute zone to get a more effective workout. This monitor is a works with or without a chest strap. Simple to use, but full of features, the DUO 1010 allows for continuous and on-demand HR monitoring. Activate your heart rate by touching the watch face (no chest strap required), or utilize the included chest strap for continuous measurement. The DUO 1010 provides EKG accurate data and helps the user increase or decrease intensity to get a more effective workout. The DUO 1010 has pre-defined HR zones, audible alerts, numerous heart rate indicators, and tracks calorie burned.

Sportline Qlip Any-Wear Pedometer

Sportline Qlip Any-Wear Pedometer ($34.99 value): Those who walk fewer than 5,000 steps a day are more likely to be overweight…people walking 9,000+ steps daily are more likely to be of normal weight. Pedometers are a great way to get and stay motivated in your walking routine. It’s an advanced digital pedometer that can be worn (clipped) anywhere on the body and provides real-time feedback for individuals pursuing fitness and walking goals, including accurately tracking steps, distance, and calories burned.

I have personally tried both of these items while running and they are quality pieces that provided accurate data for me.

How Does The Giveaway Work? Get one entry for doing any or all of the following:

- Describe at least one thing that you and/or your family has changed to increase your health in 2011 on the Mommy Dietitian Facebook page.

- List out ingredients and directions for a quick, healthy but tasty recipe for a meal or snack on the Mommy Dietitian Facebook page.

- Recommend the Mommy Dietitian Facebook page your family and friends using the “share” button (you can find at the bottom left column of the Mommy Dietitian Facebook page). Make sure to tag us in your status by entering @MommyDietitian in your comment of your post so we count this as an entry.

Please do not include links on your posts on your Mommy Dietitian page comments (any comments with links will not get an entry). This giveaway is not for the purposes of promoting a product or service, but instead providing general ways to include more whole foods and physical activity.

The more entries you have, the better chances of winning! Winners will be selected using randomizer.org. Enter to win through 11:59 PM Friday, July 8th, 2011. Best of luck!!

Special thanks to Nada Shabana, Mommy Dietitian dietetic intern for co-authoring this post, and to Sportline for sponsoring this giveaway.

Summer Wellness Confessions - And Plans to Execute!

noreply@blogger.com (Angela Lemond) — Tue, 14 Jun 2011 20:07:00 +0000

As a mother with a school-aged child, I was filled with fear in the pit of my stomach. School was letting out for the summer and I was reminded of the chaos that ensued in the last month of summer last year. I had joined my mother friends in counting the days down until the little “balls of energy” would be back in school. You see, I nicknamed my daughter the “Texas Tornado” very early in her life because she has the capacity to pull out every craft, coloring book and toy in less than 10 minutes flat. (I am sure you can relate, many of our kids are TTs!) And I have to admit, my private practice was pretty busy at that time and following through on a consistent schedule fell by the wayside. What can I say, I am human just like you. Although I still make a point of staying home 2 days per week to be with my 4 year old son, it takes a conscious effort to keep my work at my office. I guess it’s the struggle of most people that own their own businesses. {sigh}

Well, I have consciously squashed that fear and vow to maximize my time with both my husband and children during the summer months Join me! Family time must be kept a priority and when you see other things are taking precedence – re-align those priorities. After all, I love what I do, but what is it all for anyway I can't find time to spend with my own family, and also live out the wellness aspects I educate on? I had recently done two media interviews – one with My Healthy Steps by Jokari and one with our local NBC Dallas/Fort Worth affiliate on keeping kids eating healthy through the summer months. This started me thinking about my own family challenges - getting the practical logistics down, a plan of family plan of action to staying active together and making family time a priority. Doesn't it usually boil down to logistics? Believe me, I can relate.

Our family at the Desert View, Grand Canyon.

I have to admit, we started this summer off very well as a family. My husband and I absolutely love the outdoors and this summer, we chose to explore the New Mexico and Arizona areas with our children. We bravely set out on a road trip with our 4 and 7 year old – and purposely gravitated toward active outdoor activities that the kids would enjoy and be able to do along with us. We visited a still-inhabited American Indian mesa where we got to see how families still live on top of a mountain with no electric or running water. The kids really loved the raft trip we did in Page, Arizona where we went down the smooth part of the Colorado River and learned about the local history. A highlight of the trip was making it out the incredible, breathtaking Grand Canyon where the kids got to work on being junior park rangers, get up and close with some tame wildlife and even do some canyon hikes. But I think my favorite part of the trip, other than the quality time spent as a family, was our 4-wheel jeep experience in Sedona, Arizona. We climbed some crazy, large rocks with an unstoppable Rubicon Jeep! The kids blew us away by climbing up submarine rock like little monkeys! All in all, it was an amazing trip where we got to challenge our bodies physically, enjoy local food flavors and maximize nutrient-rich eating.

Now that we are back from vacation, I am pumped up! Feeling invigorated by time away, morning runs, day hikes and optimized nutrition on the trip, I want to keep the momentum going with the kids. (Not to mention the book on tape my husband I were listening to in the car – A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail by Bill Bryson) As we were making the trek back, I realized that other moms and dads out there are probably wondering – how to keep the family healthy, happy and sane during the summer months. Here is what I came up with for our family during the car ride, and I hope it helps your family.

First of all -- have a plan! Again, it sounds so obvious, but we start the summer off feeling relieved that we don’t have to be crazy busy in the morning by getting the kids to school. So we savor that for a couple weeks. But then we realize that there is no plan and the kids are taking over! It’s better to start with a plan. Here are some things you can consider adding to your own customized family plan. If there are two working parents, pay special attention to your child's daycare activities and nutrition plan - balance is key. Plan family activities in the evenings and on the weekends. Now, let's get that calendar out and start planning.

ACTIVITIES

• Plan in family exercise/active fun. I need to hear 'family' on this myself because I love my early morning runs with my iPod -- alone. Other than sleeping, it’s really the only time I have to myself. But I have decided to let go of that during the week and take the kids out with me (but the weekend runs are still mine!!). There is a small man made lake within walking distance of our home filled with ducks and water fountains. On the days I am home with the kids, I take the kids out there to feed the ducks, play Frisbee and even run a bit with me. There is also a playground down from that lake that I take the kids to while run around the playground block. Yes, it is different than my runs by myself and my husband had to remind me to flex here (thanks, Jeff!). When I flexed, I realized that I opened myself up to some great time with the children and starting their days off active and energy expended (remember, Texas Tornado??). Hannah actually loves to run herself, and can easily make it around the lake at least one time! This running will help keep her in shape for when soccer season starts back up. Other things to consider doing as a family is camping, hiking, walking, biking, running and swimming. Even a sprinkler, water guns and slip n’ slides offer cheap ways to keep the kids outdoors and running around. Our family looks forward to doing day hikes at local parks on the weekends! Explore your area this summer.

• Local Communities. Our public library has a family story time 2 days per week from 11:15 – 11:45. We will do our morning outdoor time, get cleaned up and head over to the library for some summer reading. Our city also has tons of outdoor events and activities that the kids and/or the family can take part of all summer long. We have decided to take part in many of them and are on our calendar. Check your local area for free events that your family can enjoy.

• Co-op. Moms of your children’s friends are looking for things for their children to do just like you. Set-up a schedule with one or two moms where you can take each other’s kids so you can get some grocery shopping done or have some much needed downtime.

• Summer Camps. Hannah and I are actually scheduled to go to our church summer camp in July. I will be her cabin’s camp counselor – and this will allow us to have extra special time together. The camp also has active, outdoor things to do such as zip line, horseback riding, biking and challenge courses. Summer camps fill up fast, so hopefully you have yours booked!

NUTRITION

• Have fun with food. My free resource page on my professional website provides many websites that give great reliable nutrition information, recipes and ideas to make food production and learning fun. Involve your kids in the planning, shopping and preparation process as much as possible. Take a cooking class as a family so kids can have stress-free experiences playing with outside of meal time.

• Gain back home-cooked meal momentum. Even though I am a nutrition educator, our family still falls off the wagon some weeks where we eat out a bit too much. I may have a business deadline to meet, travel to speak or overloaded with patient paperwork so we grab take out for survival. Ironically, I may be speaking on this very subject! The beginning of any season, including summer, is a great time to try new recipes and get your weekly shopping routine going again.

• Keep proper hydration a priority! Kids can get dehydrated fast, so as we encourage outdoor activity, also encourage proper hydration. (see my blog post, "The Must Knows of Outdoor Hydration with Children.")

• Shop Local. Local produce is typically higher in nutrient content because the distance from farm to plate is much shorter. Shop local by visiting your local farmer’s market – seek out local producer sheds. Make it a game with your kids by making a taste test worksheet. List the local produce that is there and have them taste it for the taste test. I’ve done this many times with groups of children, and you wouldn’t believe how much more likely they will try the food when it’s a “taste test.”

• Pantry Clean-out. Aside from nutrition, this must be done for food safety purposes! The last time I went into my pantry, I think there was still some Easter candy lingering in there. Oops! What's in your pantry? Do your own assessment on your pantry and fridge – I’d say that at least 90% of foods should be what I can “always” foods – lean protein, whole grains, healthy fats, fruits, vegetables and low-fat dairy. Put the always foods where you can see them and make them convenient for everyone to enjoy.

• Utilize the new MyPlate icon and resources. It is a great visual to start with when loading your family plates. The website still provides personalized plans and tons of resources. Get acquainted with it and then teach those principles to your kids in fun, creative ways (see my post, MyPlate: A Nutrition Educator's Perspective).

Like I always tell people, a healthy lifestyle is not perfectly linear. It ebbs and flows. What I love about what I do is that I am constantly reminded of healthy behaviors for my own family, at the same time, share those same practical tips with you. So - the things listed above are our calendar this summer. How about yours? I would love to hear what your family has planned this summer that will keep everyone active and healthy. My family may take on some of your ideas. Let’s share!