Healthy gifts to gift for the holidays (Top 7 choices for families and kids)

Every year I come up with a list of healthy gifting ideas. Some years I recycle ideas from years past but this year I found some interesting contributors. I may not be Oprah,  but here is Americas Dietitians list of favorite things for the Holidays!

1. I like a gift that keeps on giving 
throughout the year. Recently I ran into a company called MightNest. They have a monthly shipment full of healthy solutions that every household needs. For only $10 a month your recipient receives simple yet useful items for the home. Check it out at Mightfix. 

2. Start your sous chef early by getting them a kitchen kit to help them cut fruits and vegetables safely in the kitchen. Curious Chef fruit and veggie prep kit is safe, colorful and fun. 

3. Give the gift of physical activity by buying: Jump ropes, balls, indoor mini trampolines, bike, skateboards, scooters, skates or a hula hoop. 

4. Gardening tools- From making their own Terrarium to kid sized gardening tools, gloves and aprons helps to promote a love of getting dirty and growing real food. 

5. So Easy Pop Maker is a fun way to eat smoothies, low-fat chocolate milk, lemonade and any other variety of frozen treat. Making a quick blend of vegetables and fruits and freezing them in an easy to use, and clean, pop maker makes for a quick and healthy after school snack. 

6. ChopChop Magazine is a gift that keeps on giving throughout the year. A parents choice award winning magazine will provide recipes and great ideas to keep those creative culinary skills cooking throughout the year. 

7. Help them dress the part by buying new running shoes. Shoes that fit comfortably are more likely to promote more physical activity and with all the fun colors and styles you can't go wrong. 




This past summer we did a major purging of "stuff" from our lives and as we approach the holidays I am standing by my promise to myself to think about each and every gift that the kids get. I don't want to contribute to the waste in the world and I want to make sure that the kids understand that healthy gifts can be fun! 

Share the love and share the health! Have a great Holiday! 

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Back to school with a full belly for breakfast! Top 5 easy and quick breakfast ideas.

Starting the new year can be a hectic time. Organizing the morning routine can be a tricky task and often breakfast gets left out of the picture. It's important to remember that breakfast is considered the most important meal of the day. Children, and adults, who eat breakfast not only perform better in school and sports but have reportedly have better behavior at work and in the classroom. 

Eating any old breakfast also won't do. So skip the sugary cereal aisle and focus on breakfast foods that are protein and fiber rich in order to provide the best nutritious punch for your  money.

Here are the top 5 best breakfasts to kick off 

the new school year! 

1. Yogurt parfait (layer nonfat Greek vanilla yogurt with granola and fruit (blueberries or bananas)

2. Whole grain waffle with peanut butter and banana

3. Scrambled egg with cheese sandwich on whole wheat toast and a banana to go

4. Smoothie (Add any variety of low fat milk or yogurt, nuts, seeds, peanut butter, frozen fruit, avocado, and bananas)

5. Trail mix to go (mix up Cheerios, nuts, seeds, raisins, dried cranberries and dried mangoes)

Go back to school, full and healthy! Have a great School year! 

#KidsEatRightMonth 

@ABCDEatRight1

Facebook: ABCD Eat Right

www.ABCDEatRight.com 

Summer Survival #Nutritionandkids

At the beginning of the summer I always have high hopes of teaching my kids more about cooking and getting them involved in what they eat. I have visions of them eating healthy snacks everyday as I cheerfully teach them a lesson about nutrition or science. But in reality I still have to work and my patience is limited as the day goes on and as the summer progresses, I switch to more of a survival mode as to who will win, junk food or fruits and vegetables.

Here are some quick ideas that have saved our busy summer from completely slumping off into a dietary disaster.

1. With the plenitude of great produce during the summer it has been an easy task to cut and keep fruit available. I even added some to a skewer and froze them for an easy grab and go treat. 

                                   



2. We tried to "play with our food" more by doing food related science experiments. We made fresh whipped cream by agitating cream in a jar and dehydrated mangoes and pineapples to see what would happen when all of the water was taken out of the fruits. Both of these experiments took minimal prep and were easy to do. 

3. We tried to stay active everyday. Even with the really hot and humid temperatures we made sure that we had enough water to drink. 

          

4. When we ate out we tried to eat healthy! When we were taking a break from the rain at the beach we stopped at one of our local favorite places and they had the coolest "Greek Yogurt banana split" for breakfast. Topped with fresh fruit and nuts this Greek Yogurt made a healthy breakfast option for the kids. This is also easily created for a healthy and quick breakfast at home. 

With only 4 more weeks left of summer, I think I feel like I can continue to make it more healthy than not, which will make it more enjoyable for the kids and the adults! 

Have a great rest of the summer! 

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Festive snacks for the 4th of July!

Have your kids taste buds go POP this Fourth of July with these easy, healthy and delicious treats!

1. Patriotic fruit kebab . Cut the bananas last and prepare right before you serve for a great way to squeeze in a serving of fruit. 

2. Banana ice cream (1 ingredient- frozen bananas! Just freeze, blend and serve)

3. Ring pop frozen fruit pops. I love this idea but did not have a chance to practice it before the blog was published. You can reuse the ring pops plastic portion and top with cut up fruit. Freeze until frozen and enjoy! 

4. Watermelon cupcakes. Made with cut out watermelon. Top with fresh fruit or whipped cream. 

5.Ice pops. I love these Zipzicles! They are the best especially on a hot day. I fill them with leftover smoothies or 100% fruit juice. 

Have a great Fourth of July!

www.AmericasDietitian.com

Brandi@ABCDEatRight.com

Facebook: ABCD Eat Right 

Twitter: AbcdEatRight1

Favorite 4th of July Menu...festive, filling and fun!

I love the patriotic colors of the holiday and like to include red, white and blue in the festivity snacks although I prefer to not invite red dye #40 and blue dye #1 to the festivities. This holiday I have included a menu of delicious patriotic treats that can be included in your day of patriotic fun. 

Since breakfast is the most important meal of the day consider these strawberry waffles. The secret ingredient is white beans included for extra protein and fiber to fill the bellies and last them through the early morning sandcastle building or swimming. Click here for the delicious special release of my families test kitchen waffle.

Lunch:  Cream cheese, peanut butter and grape jelly wrapped in a whole wheat wrap served with a side of Hummus with red pepper, cauliflower, and purple carrots (can also be served in a wrap or pita bread) if PBC& J not a favored lunchtime item.

Snack: Firecracker/ eagles nest trail mix: popcorn, yogurt covered raisins, dried strawberries and pretzel sticks.

Dinner: Grilled chicken breast served with Watermelon, feta, blueberry and mint salad

Dessert: A fun frozen dessert or fruity cupcakes for the firework festivities. Frozen yogurt, blueberry and strawberry pops or Watermelon cupcakes.

Have a great Fourth of July!

 www.AmericasDietitian.com

Brandi@abcdeatright.com

Facebook: ABCD Eat Right

@ABCDEatRight1

Health 'full" gifts for the Holidays

Every year I come up with a list of healthy gifting ideas. Some years I recycle ideas from years past but this year I found some interesting contributors. I may not be Oprah,  but here is Americas Dietitians list of favorite things for the Holidays!

1. Someplace to put that healthy lunch and keep it safe as nobody likes a food borne illness as a guest for the holidays and for that matter, year round. Fit and fresh  has a line of lunchboxes and food carriers that are worth looking into. 

2. Start your sous chef early by getting them a kitchen kit to help them cut fruits and vegetables safely in the kitchen. Curious Chef fruit and veggie prep kit is safe, colorful and fun. 

3. Give the gift of physical activity by buying: Jump ropes, balls, indoor mini trampolines, bike, skateboards, scooters, skates or a hula hoop. 

4. Gardening tools- From making their own Terrarium to kid sized gardening tools, gloves and aprons helps to promote a love of getting dirty and growing real food. 

5. So Easy Pop Maker is a fun way to eat smoothies, low-fat chocolate milk, lemonade and any other variety of frozen treat. Making a quick blend of vegetables and fruits and freezing them in an easy to use, and clean, pop maker makes for a quick and healthy after school snack. 

6. ChopChop Magazine is a gift that keeps on giving throughout the year. A parents choice award winning magazine will provide recipes and great ideas to keep those creative culinary skills cooking throughout the year. 

7. Help them dress the part by buying new running shoes. Shoes that fit comfortably are more likely to promote more physical activity and with all the fun colors and styles you can't go wrong. 



This past summer we did a major purging of "stuff" from our lives and as we approach the holidays I am standing by my promise to myself to think about each and every gift that the kids get. I don't want to contribute to the waste in the world and I want to make sure that the kids understand that healthy gifts can be fun! 

Share the love and share the health! Have a great Holiday! 

"Like" us on Facebook: ABCD Eat Right

Follow us on Twitter: @ABCDEatRight1

Check out our recipes and resources at: www.ABCDEatRight.com