SIMPLE WAYS YOU CAN CHANGE YOUR KIDS SNACKS JUST IN TIME FOR BACK TO SCHOOL!!!

 

It's the most wonderful time of the year!......you know the song!!  Well it's time to dust the sand off your feet, put away the sunblock, and finish buying school supplies......even worse, it's time to start thinking about school lunches and snacks. This is what I do....try to look at the first day of school as if it's New Year's Day.....a new beginning!!! I do and I also try to take the opportunity the make good changes in my kids nutrition.  I strongly urge you to take this opportunity to make small changes....very subtle to start. 
First and foremost, I beg of you to please, please, please......buy the snack size "baggies" to teach your kids proper portion sizes.  Even if you fill them with what you would normally give them, I can guarantee you that you will cut the portion size in half if you buy these bags (see above!!!!).  Also very cool are the little disposable containers that are available in the supermarkets (see above!!!)......only I just keep washing them and reusing them....no waste!! 
Second, lets talk about what we can fill these bags and containers with.  My advise, make one change at a time.......kids and adults for that matter adapt best with small changes...one at a time, maybe one per week.  Introduce one new healthy food at a time.  For example, if you typically give them regular potato chips, buy a bag of baked chips and mix them in with regular chips and then taper off the amount of regular chips as time goes on until there are no more!!!.  Give them low fat or reduced fat cheese cubes or sticks instead of the full fat version.   Instead of those orange stained puffs or chips....give them Whole Grain Goldfish, whole grain crackers, pretzels, or Pirate Booty.   Nuts are always a great protein packed snack and if you mix them with pretzels, raisins, or dried fruits......you have an awesome trail mix!!!! The high protein snack bars (so many to choose from) also make a great school snack.  Kind Bars, Cliff Bars, Special K Bars are all great choices!!!

Don't count out Vegies or Fruits as snacks either!!!!  Put some humus, reduced fat peanut butter, or low fat ranch dressing in one the small containers you are going to buy (my subliminal message) and your kids can dip them!!!
As parents, we need to remember that we set the example and we buy the food!!!!  Yes, kids are creatures of habit.....but we can still change what we started......that's right...we created this and we can change it!!!  Sit down with them in the next few weeks and explain to them that you are going to slowly change their snacks to help improve their health....involve them....the more you involve them...the more they will feel a part of it.  Ask them if there is anything they would like to try...you may be surprised...and if they don't like what you're doing....just remember you're THE BOSS!!! Stay strong and remember that it's our job to teach our kids what good nutrition is.  Good luck and if you have any questions......please post and ask!!



Do You Suffer From

Carb Confusion??

 

 

 

 

Picture this.....you are sitting in one of your favorite Italian restaurants and there is a delicious basket of bread in front of you and then you're given a menu and you instantly begin to salivate over the ocean of pasta dishes before you!  Decisions, decisions.......and then this terrible, haunting voice in your head says....."You can't eat CARBS!!!!!"   But is this voice correct????  I think not!!!

 

One of the most frequently boasted statements I hear from people as a Registered Dietitian and dare I say...they even wear it as a badge of honor..."Oh, I don't eat Carbs."   But, is this the right way......I think not again!!

 

I am happily here to tell you, "Of course you can eat Carbs!!   Don't get me wrong, the kinds of carbohydrates you eat are important and even the timing of when you consume them is important too.  Here's the skinny on this subject...the bulk of Carbs you eat should come from the slower digesting group such as whole wheat pasta, whole wheat cereals/breads, brown rice, legumes, and various fruits.  Here is a little tip just to give you an idea as to how much is enough in one day...1 gram of carbs per pound of bodyweight for a woman on days that you workout....on "no workout" days, cut it down to .5 gram of carbs per pound of bodyweight...so a 130 pound woman can have 130 gram of carbs on workout days and 65 grams on days with no exercise. 

 

Fast-digesting Carbs such as white rice, regular pasta, white bread, sports drinks, and potatoes leave your stomach and are absorbed in your intestines faster resulting in an insulin surge (a hormone in your body), which may make you hungry again faster, but should they be eliminated.....absolutely not!!!  All foods have a place in our lives.....you just need to eat them in MODERATION and know when the best times are!!!  Some studies have suggested that after you workout, your muscles benefit from a surge in insulin to help fuel muscle growth and to help recover...so this may be a better time to consume fast-digesting Carbs.

 

The bottom line...the more you know about what you are fueling your body with, the better you will know how to do it and you won't have to ban any food!!  Now imagine this....you are sitting in the same Italian restaurant.....and now the voice in your head says, "order whatever you want because you know what your doing!!!"   Much better!!