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Free
Handout:
Are You a BBB (Best Bone Builder)?
Here's
a fun way for kids to assess their exercise and calcium habits. Remember,
too, that Vitamin
D is an important nutrient for building strong bones. Click
here to download this free bone-building quiz.
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Fun
Ways to be a Fit Family
It's
fun and healthy to play with your kids!
Whether
it's creative cooking in the kitchen, huffing away on a hiking trail,
or tackling a food-themed craft project, your entire family will
benefit when you practice healthy togetherness. Here are some smart,
active ideas to try this spring.
-
Grab
some sidewalk chalk and see if you or your kids can draw the world's
longest family hopscotch game down your sidewalk. See who can hop
the most spaces without stopping!
-
Play
“Produce ABC's” at the supermarket. Challenge kids to
find fruits or vegetables that begin with as many letters of the
alphabet as possible. Try at least one new letter each week. For
inspiration, read The
ABCs of Fruits and Vegetables and Beyond by Steve Charney
and David Goldbeck.
-
Calculate
the “long cut” when walking to school, the store or a
friend's house. Then see if you can add in a few hills, stairways
or secret paths through the woods. When you create an adventure,
it doesn't seem like exercise.
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Crown
a family member “Cook of the Day” once a week. This child
or adult is in charge of planning a healthy menu that includes at
least four of the five food groups*. Other family members serve
as grocery shoppers, cook’s helpers or cleanup crew.
*If you need a refresher course
on the food groups, visit www.mypyramid.gov
-
Create
a piñata shaped like a fruit or vegetable for the next family
birthday party. Fill it with healthy prizes such as pedometers,
pencils, stickers, movie coupons and sugarless gum.
-
Put
all electronics on “pause” one day each week. That includes
television, video games, computers and yes, even your electronic
planners and cell phones. Then go skating, ride bikes, swim or hike
together. Or let your kids pick a new sport for the family to try.
-
Plant
a small vegetable garden this spring. Dig in the dirt together and
you’ll all want to eat your veggies! As a family, visit a local
garden center to get inspiration. Buy some seeds or seedlings and
other garden necessities such as soil, containers, organic fertilizer
and garden tools.
-
Challenge
your kids to create a TV commercial designed to sell healthy food.
Ask them to perform for family members, friends or neighbors. Be
sure to record it with your video camera.
-
Begin
storing your favorite healthy family recipes on your computer. Before
long you can publish your very own family cookbook. Be sure to illustrate
it with your kids' one-of-a-kind artwork.
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Recipe:
Honey Mustard Salmon
This is
a quick and easy recipe that my family really enjoys. The salmon
and walnuts are great sources of heart-healthy fats.
Ingredients:
1 1/2 pounds
salmon fillets
1/4 cup bottled honey mustard salad dressing
1/4 cup crushed corn flakes
1/4 cup crushed walnuts
Non-stick baking spray
Preparation:
1. Preheat
oven to 400°.
2. Spray baking pan with non-stick spray (or use a non-stick baking
pan).
3. Mix crushed corn flakes and crushed walnuts in small bowl.
4. Spread honey-mustard dressing over top of salmon fillets.
5. Top fillets with crumb mixture.
6. Bake 10-15 minutes or until fish flakes easily with fork.
Serves 4
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Connie's
Garden
Follow
Connie's garden from mud to table this season. Read about it and
leave a comment in Connie's new gardening
blog. To view the first video installment, click on March
Mud-Ness! Due to western Oregon's wet and cold April, the
next installment is delayed until mid-May.
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News
in Brief
Eat
Smart. Play Hard.™ For Educators
Eat Smart. Play Hard.™ provides practical
tools to help educators motivate children and their caregivers to eat
healthy and be physically active. Messages and materials are fun and
based on MyPyramid and the Dietary Guidelines for Americans. With the
updated Eat Smart. Play Hard.™ For Educators site, it is now easier
than ever to find updated and new resources, ideas on how to use them,
and ready-to-go tools to use in conjunction with Power Panther visits.
Access
the site at http://www.fns.usda.gov:80/eatsmartplayhardeducators/
CFAITC Releases
2008 Teacher's Guide
The California Foundation for Agriculture in the Classroom has
released the 2008 edition of the Teacher
Resource Guide. Although the focus is on California agriculture,
it is nonetheless an important and comprehensive tool for anyone involved
in food or agricultural education. (Connie's note: I use this resource
all the time!)
Advice to Teen
Girls: Put down that magazine!
Project EAT researchers at the University of Minnesota found that
frequent reading of magazine articles about dieting/weight loss strongly
predicted unhealthy weight-control behaviors in adolescent girls. The
odds of engaging in unhealthy weight-control behaviors (such as fasting,
skipping meals, and smoking more cigarettes) were twice as high for
the most frequent readers compared with those who did not read magazine
articles about dieting and weight loss. The odds of using extreme weight-control
behaviors (such as vomiting or using laxatives) were 3 times higher
in the highest frequency readers compared with those who did not read
such magazines. The research was published in the January
2007 issue of Pediatrics.
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The
information contained in this newsletter is not intended as a substitute
for medical and/or nutrition advice. See your physician and/or registered
dietitian for individual health and/or dietary concerns.
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©2008
by Connie Liakos Evers, All Rights Reserved. There is a modest reprint
fee for reproducing the material in this newsletter in either print
or electronic publications. Please send an email to reprint@nutritionforkids.com
for details and rates.
The
FEEDING KIDS NEWSLETTER is published quarterly (January, April, August,
and November) by 24
CARROT PRESS. To subscribe, click
here.
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