Healthy Eating Tips for Kids

December 14, 2019 by 2 Comments

Today, I’m sharing parenting tips on healthy eating tips for kids.  Implementing small steps is the key to getting your child to eat healthy. Pushing your kids until they eat their greens might ensure that they get the right nutrition, but it’s not going to get them excited about choosing the right foods.

 

 

kids healthy eating tips

 

 

 

 

As any parent knows, there’s more to teaching children about the benefits of healthy eating than simply encouraging them to eat the right foods every day.  It’s also important to make sure that your children feel passionate about the meals that they’re getting.  They’re more likely to build healthy habits that last for a lifetime.

The good news?  Changing your child’s attitude towards food doesn’t have to be as complicated as it seems. Everything from getting your child involved in the cooking process to gamifying the experience of learning about food can make a huge difference.

 

5 Healthy Eating Tips for Kids:

 

Start Gardening Together

Our kids healthy eating tips begins with a garden.  Gardening with your children can also help to improve your child’s attitude towards nutrition and healthy eating.  When your child works with you on tending a garden and growing their own fruits and vegetables, they’re less likely to turn their noses up at the same items on their plate.

Children want to celebrate their achievements and eating the food that they have grown themselves is a way of doing that.  You don’t need to start a huge vegetable patch to make a lasting impact on your kids with gardening either.  There are plenty of foods that you can grow in a very small space. For instance, tomatoes and runner beans grow perfectly in smaller spaces, if you’ve got a wall or some sticks for the vines to climb. You can even work with your children on finding vegetables that would be suitable for your garden.

 

Start Cooking Together as a Family

Having kids in the kitchen can often be a recipe for disaster. However, if you really want to create a positive relationship between your children and their food, then you’re going to need to deal with a little mess.

 

kids healthy eating tips

 

 

 

Bringing your children into the kitchen gives them a chance to experiment with different ingredients and flavors behind the scenes.  They get an insight into what’s going into their food before they see it on their plate.  And, they’ll be more likely to want to experiment with new things.  One study found that school-based cooking programs can have an excellent impact on the food-related preferences of children, as well as their attitude towards food.

At the same time, you get the benefit of being able to spend some quality time with your youngsters, teaching them skills that they’ll be able to use in the future.

 

Get Technical

When it comes to kids, it’s always a good idea to gamify.  If simply telling your children why certain foods are so good for them doesn’t seem to make an impact, use something they love to make them passionate about food—use technology!

Technology is not a bad thing and can make things easier for you and them too. In fact, you can even use apps that help you monitor your kid’s health and progress. There are also plenty of amazing educational apps built specifically for children that uses fun graphics to connect exercise and food for children into a language that they can understand.

You might find an app that teaches your children the benefits of each food item on their plate are by having them match food to its healthy outcome.  Alternatively, you could download apps that allow you and your child to plan future meals together.

Planning meals with your little one will make them feel more invested in the food that they’re eating so they will clean off their plate more often.

 

Share the Benefits of Nutritious Foods

Children like to know the reasons for what they’re doing. There’s something exciting about getting to see the inner workings of the world around you.

Rather than just telling your children that they need to eat their carrots, tell them that those carrots are an amazing source of good things like antioxidants, beta carotene, and other crucial substances and explain what they do.

 

kids healthy eating tips

 

Sitting down and talking to your children about the food on their plate each day and why it’s going to make them healthy and strong will make them more likely to want to eat it.

Try linking the benefits to something that matters to them.

For instance, if you eat your broccoli the iron in it will help give you the energy you need to do really well in your next soccer game.

You could even go online and watch some educational videos about how certain foods improve your health and fitness.

 

Be a Role Model

If you’re constantly dieting or struggling with erratic eating habits where you fail to have a full meal every night, then you’re going to confuse your children.  It’s important to learn how to be a role model for your children.  Although it’s tempting to make sure that your child gets good food, then completely forget about your own needs, it’s important to remember that your behavior makes a difference to what your child sees as normal.

Be honest with yourself about the kind of messages you’re sending to your child about food. Whenever you can, sit down for a full meal with your little ones at a table, and let them see you eating the same ingredients that they’ve got on their own plates.

You could even bring your child along to the supermarket and let them see what kind of food you buy, and why.

 

Teaching Kids About Food

Teaching children about food isn’t always easy. The chances are that your little ones will automatically want to spend more of their time eating fast food and sugar than fruits and veggies.  However, the five tips above will give you the support you need to introduce your children to the amazing world of healthy ingredients, and their benefits.

Remember, successfully teaching your children about food means building habits that they can keep honing over the years. Don’t give up if your first attempt to impart wisdom on kids healthy eating tips doesn’t have an impact.

 

Lisa Michaels is a freelance writer, editor and striving content marketing consultant from Portland. Being self-employed, she does her best to stay on top of the current trends in business and tech. Feel free to connect with her on Twitter @LisaBMichaels.

 

 

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Tackling Women’s Health Issues

August 27, 2019 by Leave a Comment

Bringing children into the world is a rewarding privilege.  However, the effects of carrying and delivering babies can have a significant effect on the body.  Although you are grateful for the journey to motherhood, the aftermath can have an impact on mental health.  Furthermore, it can leave you feeling disheartened when you feel unable to restore your pre-baby body.  Today, I’m sharing empowerment tips on tackling women’s health issues.  

 

womens health issues

 

 

 

Count Your Calories

Women’s health issues include weight loss.  The only way to lose fat is to implement a ‘calorie deficit’ regime.  This means consuming less calories than we burn each day.  Downloading a calorie tracker is a useful way of monitoring consumption. Keeping a food diary will allow you to track and be more mindful of the calories that you consume.  Additionally, we are a few ways to reduce calories from your diet:

  • Avoiding creamy sauces or dressings
  • Switching to skimmed milk for hot drinks
  • Using sweeteners instead of sugar in drinks and baking
  • Fill up on veggies to feel satisfied and reduce hunger pangs
  • Avoid heavily processed foods full of sugar and salts
  • Drink water, often thirst is mistaken for hunger
  • Track your drinks, this is often forgotten and can add up over a day

Increase Activity Levels

Increase the number of calories that you burn each day by increasing your activity levels.  Activities can include walking to school or running to the shops rather than jumping in the car.  Furthermore, squeeze a 20 minute stroll into your day.  Walking for 30 minutes each day is scientifically proven to offer many health benefits.

Swimming is a great full-body exercise.  Particularly for those with mobility issues or for those who struggle with joint pain or obesity-related complications.  Other ideas include cycling, running, dance classes, climbing or skating. Pick something that you enjoy and you will have a greater incentive to stick with it.

 

 

womens health issues

Lift Weights

Contrary to popular belief weight lifting is actually more effective for weight loss than excessive cardiovascular activity.  In addition to burning calories it also helps with shape and tone. Focus on compound exercises like squats, pull-ups and bench press to maximize results. Most gym facilities can offer help and guidance for beginners.  Or, if you are able invest in a personal trainer who will devise a plan specifically tailored to your personal goals.

 

Medical Intervention

If you have tried the above and still aren’t satisfied, you may prefer to opt for medical assistance. Your medical practitioner may be able to offer advice or make a referral for services that can help or recommend a dietician or exercise plan.

Other procedures are available, such as Los Angeles Coolsculpting performed by Dr. Fedonenko, which uses temperature to non-surgically break down fat cells and help to tackle stubborn areas such as abdominal fat or thigh and hip areas and avoids invasive surgical interventions.

 

Love Yourself

You need to be happy in your own skin whatever your shape and size. Your figure is a beautiful testament to the incredible journey your body has been on.  So, it is not something to feel ashamed of and you can embrace your body and love yourself just as you are. However, if you choose to make a change for you, then these tips offer a good starting point for a weight loss journey towards you feeling confident and happy.

 

 

 

 

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13 Ways To Use Garlic: Health and Food Uses

August 22, 2018 by Leave a Comment

gardening, garlic uses,

 

I harvest around 30 cloves of garlic in the spring from my fall planting.  I’ve been growing my own garlic for about 3 years now, and I love it.  It tastes so much better than the garlic purchased from the local grocery store.  It’s more flavorful, and you get to choose what you grow.  Last year I planted Georgia Fire and Red Toch.  The Georgia Fire is hot and great for making salsa.   Red Toch is great eaten raw or in cooked dishes.  Both do well in cold climates.  I live in Zone 6B, which has a short growing season.  Unfortunately, we experience very cold winters so , we must make everyday count during the growing season.

 

Image-Home-Grown-Garlic

 

 

Here are 13 ways to use garlic, and some of favorites:

Pesto – Toss pasta with garlic pesto or use it on toasted bread.  Either way using Genovese basil will give the pesto the flavor needed for delicious Italian dishes.  So, add pesto to your ways to use garlic list.

Garlic Butter – Also, butter like garlic is one of my loves when it comes to food and cooking.   So, it should come as no surprise that I make garlic butter.  I use it on bread, potatoes and as a dip for my crab legs.  However you decide to use it, use plenty of garlic when  you make it.

Garlic Knots –  Pair Garlic Knots with a salad, Baked Ziti, Lasagna, Spaghetti and many other dishes.

Roasted –  Furthermore, roasted garlic can added to your ways to use garlic list too.  Roasted garlic can be used in mashed potatoes, to make hummus, or as a spread on bread.  There are other uses, but these are a few of my favorites.

Stir Fry –  I love chicken and garlic stir fry.  When I’m preparing my chicken, I add lots of chopped garlic.

 

 


 

 

Use in Pickles – I use garlic gloves in my homemade dill pickle recipes.  You can a jar of refrigerator dills when you just can’t wait to indulge or can a few jars to eat over the winter.

Mashed Potatoes –  I love creamy mashed potatoes.  They go with beef, chicken, turkey and pork.  I make my mashed potatoes several ways, but adding chopped/pureed garlic is my favorite.  So, add garlic mashed potatoes to your list of ways to use garlic.

Chimichurri Sauce – I love a good chimichurri sauce over steak or other beef dishes.  You can also use chimichurri sauce as a dip for meats.

Hummus –  My grandson is a fan of hummus with celery.  Unfortunately, his vegetable palate is limited.

Salsa – There’s nothing better than fresh salsa with loads of garlic.  Check out my fresh salsa recipe here.

 

 

benefits of growing garlic

 

Tomato Sauce –  What’s tomato sauce without garlic.  Not to brag, but my homemade tomato sauce is delicious and kid approved.  Get the recipe here.

Source of Iron –  For many years I had an iron deficiency, which lead to me being anemic.  As a result, I included leafy greens and garlic into my diet.  I struggle to include with the leafy greens at times, but my love for garlic has never wavered.

Heart Healthy –  High blood pressure, hardening of the arteries, and high cholesterol runs in my family.  Unfortunately, I have high blood pressure.  As  a result, ways to use garlic has been added to my list of health regimes.  It helps to keep my blood pressure in a normal range.  I use it chopped in salads as well as cooked dishes and I eat tons of it.

 

So, we hope that you add a few of my suggestions to your list of ways to use garlic!  Use a fresh lemon to remove the smell of garlic from your hands.  Mouth wash, milk and or a good brushing will remove the garlic smell from your mouth

 

 

Filed Under: Nature-Gardening, Vegetable Garden Tagged With: , ,

Best Vegetable Plants for Fall Gardens

August 19, 2018 by Leave a Comment

Today, I’m sharing backyard vegetable garden tips on the best fall vegetable plants. There are plants that grow better in the fall than in the summer.  Furthermore, there are plants that should be planted in the fall so they can harvested in the spring or early summer. Planning is important when it comes to your backyard garden. 

 

 

fall gardens

 

 

Best fall vegetables plants:

 

Garlic – I plant garlic in the fall for harvest in early summer.  The garlic bulbs are huge and the garlic is flavorful.  I use garlic to make homemade tomato sauce in the fall.  I usually have a few cloves left to use through the winter.  These garlic plants are just about ready to be harvested.  They were planted in the fall for summer harvest.

 

backyard gareden fall vegetables

 

Brussel Sprouts – Brussel Sprouts are called little cabbages in my house.  They are loved by my granddaughter, my daughter and me.   Brussel Sprouts are rich in antioxidants and Vitamin K.  Vitamin K helps to prevent blood clotting and bone health.  I love my Brussel Sprouts either sautéed with garlic and butter or roasted with olive oil and garlic.

Turnips – Personally, I’ve never eaten a turnip.  My grandfather used to grow them when I was growing up, but for the life of me I can’t remember anyone eating them.  He bartered, so turnips may have been one of his bargaining chips, lol.  My mother said that you prepare them by peeling and than boiling them as you would potatoes until tender.  Season as desired.

Collard Greens – My son-in-law is from the south, so Collard Greens are big in my house.  My daughter fixes the best greens ever.  I saw a pot disappear at a family gathering in 15 minutes.  It was truly incredible.  She doubles the amount of greens that she fixes now for large dinners.  In my opinion, collard greens become more flavorful after the frost hits them.  As a result, fall is a great time to plant collards, turnip and mustard greens.  Furthermore, they are high in Vitamin A.  This makes them great for the hair and skin.

Green Onions – I love green onions in my beef and broccoli recipe.  They give a dish an extra kick, and great flavor.

Radishes –  I love adding radishes to vegetable trays.  I think home grown radishes are a little spicier and have better flavor.  They are great with dip, and in salads.  Also, radishes have great water content.  They are great for hydration.

Peas –   Peas like cooler weather.  So a fall planting is perfect.  My grandchildren love shelling them, but not eating them.  I freeze them for soup.  Both of my grandchildren love soup, but the peas get left in the bowls.  Personally, I love them.  They’re always a winner in the garden.

Green Beans – I plant both bush and pole green beans.  I prefer bush beans because I can harvest them at once, while pole beans produce throughout the season.  Green beans are expected at family gatherings.  I freeze them so I can use them for Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years dinners.

 


 

Carrots –  Planting carrots is a good project to do with the kids.  You can plant the regular orange or go bold and plant bold colored carrots.  You can freeze them for soup or casseroles over the winter.

Broccoli –  Next, my granddaughter loves broccoli.  My grandson not so much.  She loves broccoli steamed with a little butter and seasonings.  It’s my go to when I have my grandchildren.  No matter, the broccoli will be devoured.  You can also freeze fresh broccoli.  So, add broccoli to your list of best vegetable plants for fall gardens.

Cauliflower –  I love cauliflower raw.  I eat it with dip or in a salad.  However, a friend of mine fixes it with a cheese sauce.  I love that too.

Cabbage – Another vegetable to add to your list of best vegetable plants for fall gardens is cabbage.  My granddaughter loves it.  Simmer a head of cabbage with a little bacon or a ham bone.  Peel and quarter Yukon Gold potatoes and add to them to the pot.   Simmer until tender.  If you love slaw and sour kraut, add cabbage to your backyard garden.  It definitely goes on my list of best vegetable plants for fall gardens.

Kale –  I love kale with apple cider vinegar.  Cook Kale the same way you cook collard greens.  They are in the same family as the cabbage, broccoli and cauliflower.

So, here are my suggestions for best fall vegetable plants for fall gardens.  Plant according to the packet to direct sow or get a head start and start seedlings under grow lights about 6 weeks before planting outside.

 

 

 

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