Back-to-School Nutritional Tips Eating right provides the nutrients to energize children, build strong bones and fight diseases and other conditions. Pay attention to what and how much your kids eat. Unfortunately, nearly one-fourth of kids’ daily energy intake comes from nibbling on mostly prepackaged snack foods, which are high in calories and low in nutrients. Young children actually need snacks, since their stomachs are small. They often can’t obtain all the nutrients they need from daily meals. It’s not always easy to persuade your kids to eat healthy snacks and their snacking habits won’t change overnight, but here are a few snack-time tips: Snacks: Plan Them; Don’t Ban Them! Offer your child frozen yogurt or soda crackers instead of ice cream or pretzels. Select snacks from a variety of food groups, so your kids won’t be bored. “Disguise” fruits and vegetables, such as celery with peanut butter, or carrots with a low-fat dip.
Food Allergies According to the Food and Drug Administration, as many as six-percent of American children younger than age three have food allergies. For some kids, food allergies can cause only minor discomfort, but for others they can be severe. Try to work with your child’s school to find ways your child can be supervised to prevent contact with allergenic foods. Ask who would treat your child and discuss your child’s allergies with that person, making sure that he or she has the necessary medications and medical information. Fruit Juice: Friend or Foe? Although juice does contain some healthy nutrients, it’s high in calories and it may contribute to weight gain and tooth decay if consumed in excess. Some juice drinks, even those with 100% juice, have more calories than sugary carbonated beverages do. Juice also lacks the healthy fiber of whole fruit.
Going the Extra Mile For Health
During the last several years, the physical activity recommendation for optimal health has been to
exercise at least 30 minutes most days of the week. This recommendation may very well be adjusted in the coming months.
Recently, studies have shown that the benefit of regular exercise on your HDL (good) cholesterol actually kicks in after the 30-minute mark. One study found that for each additional 10 minutes of exercise, there was a 4% increase in HDL. The results were particularly interesting because the study also found that frequency and intensity did not impact on HDL. This means that, for HDL, it is all about duration (time).
The trick to exercise for longer periods of time is to make exercise enjoyable. You have fun and learn useful skills in your martial arts class, so you are fully engaged in the class, both physically and mentally, and the time just flies.
For many of the other health benefits of exercise, such as stress reduction, calorie burning and even reducing fat in the abdomen (gaining weight and depositing fat in the abdomen is linked to many health risks), the frequency is of utmost importance. For example, a recent study found that taking even two days off from exercise resulted in a greater percentage of fat deposits in the abdominal area. This strengthens the recommendation for exercising most days of the week.
The key is to schedule exercise as part of your daily routine. Attending martial arts class two to three times per week takes care of most, if not all, of your longer workout requirement. On your non class days, you can practice martial arts, go hiking and dancing with friends, play outside or opt for more traditional exercise regimens.
Exercise daily, usually for more than 30 minutes and most importantly, have fun!
Recipes for Health
This series offers recipes with an eye towards empowering you to cook healthy meals every day. Produce, seasonal and locally grown when possible, and a well-stocked pantry are the linchpins of a good diet, and accordingly, each week’s recipes will revolve around a particular type of produce or a pantry item. This is food that is vibrant and light, full of nutrients but by no means ascetic, fun to cook and a pleasure to eat.
As this stunning risotto simmers, it takes on a beautiful red hue. If you use saffron, the dish will gain bold flavor and an even richer color.
6 to 7 cups chicken or vegetable stock 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil 1/2 cup finely chopped onion or shallot 2 plump garlic cloves, minced 2 large red peppers, finely diced Salt to taste1 1/2 cups arborio or carnaroli rice 1/2 cup dry white wine A generous pinch of saffron threads (optional) Freshly ground pepper to taste 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley, or a mixture of parsley and thyme 2 ounces Parmesan cheese, grated (1/2 cup)
1. Bring the stock to a simmer in a saucepan with a ladle nearby. Season generously with salt. 2. Heat the olive oil in a large, wide, heavy skillet or saucepan over medium heat, and add the onions or shallots. Cook gently until they begin to soften, about three minutes. Add the garlic, peppers, and 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Cook, stirring, until the peppers are limp and fragrant, about eight to 10 minutes. Add the rice, and stir over medium heat until the grains are separate and beginning to crackle, about three minutes. 3. Stir in the wine and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly. The wine should bubble, but not too quickly — you want some of the flavor to cook into the rice. When the wine has almost evaporated, stir in a ladleful or two of the simmering stock (about 1/2 cup), enough just to cover the rice. The stock should bubble slowly (adjust heat accordingly). Rub the saffron threads between your fingers, and add to the rice. Cook, stirring often, until the stock is just about absorbed. Add another ladleful or two of the stock and continue to cook in this fashion, not too fast and not too slowly, stirring often and adding more stock when the rice is almost dry. Continue for 25 minutes, until the rice is cooked through but still a little chewy. Taste and adjust seasoning. 4. When the rice is cooked through, add a generous amount of freshly ground pepper, and stir in another half cup of stock, the Parmesan and the herbs. Remove from the heat. The rice should be creamy; if it isn’t, add a little more stock. Stir once, taste and adjust seasonings, and serve. Yield: Serves four to six Advance preparation: You can get ahead on the risotto, cooking it halfway through step 3, about 10 to 15 minutes, then spreading the rice out in the pan or on a baking sheet. Reheat and proceed with the recipe shortly before serving.
With 10 times the antioxidants of grapes and twice the antioxidants
of blueberries, the Brazilian Acai berry (AH-sci-EE) is considered to
have the best nutritional value of any fruit on earth.
With
the symmetry of a grape and the size of a giant blueberry, the Acai
fruit tastes a bit like wild raspberry with a hint of grape. Most
people have trouble putting their finger on the taste because it's so
different.
The Acai Berry
is a dense source of a particular class of flavonoids called
anthocyanins. Acai Berry's ORAC value (a measure of its antioxidant
properties), is higher than any other edible berry on the planet.
The
Acai Palm is a tall slender South American (concentrated in Brazil,
Guyana, Suriname) palm grown for its fruit as well as for the "cabbage"
(the cluster of new leaves more commonly called the "heart of palm").
It prefers swampy areas, and grows quickly. The fronds were (and still
are) used for thatching and weaving. Each Acai palm tree produces small
deep purple, almost black, fruit (berries) in groups of 3-8 per bunch.
The fruit is edible, and its pulp is used in wines, liqueurs, as
flavoring, as colorant, and on its own as a juice.
"The most immediate consequence of being overweight, as perceived by children themselves, is social discrimination."
What's So Great About Exercise? By Donna Rae Siegfried
Arthritis and Diabetes
"Reducing inflammation, as through exercising, may reduce your joint pain, as well as your risk of developing diabetes."
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