Why do I care about your kids health?

What will a healthy kid look like in ten years? Will they be the minority? Will heart disease, diabetes, obesity, food allergies and malnutrition be the new normal? I hope not. I know that the children and future generations that are their peers will be the ones to take care of my generation as we age. I worry that my generation as the generation X's will have to take care of both our aging parents and our unhealthy children. The time to do something about it is now. That is why I do what I do. I don't get paid much, if any, to rally for my beliefs. It will cost us more in the long run if more people like me don't stand up for our kids.

Will you help me?

I just found out the new date for 2013's Food Revolution Day! I am very excited to announce that May 17 will be the next Food Revolution Day. I have lots of ideas but I need your help. Here's what I want you to ask yourself...

 If I could help, even just a little bit, what could I do to 

change one small thing at my child's 

school or my community? 

In my dream world I will organize 3 main events: A farmers market at my son's school, a farmers market festival and a home centered pot luck with my dearest friends (maybe even throw in a viewing of the best food related documentary). Lots of work to come. But in the end I believe its all worth it!

Post your ideas or email me privately. I would love to hear them. 

What's the story with the Food Revolution and School Nutrition?

This week I had the opportunity to hangout and contribute my view of school nutrition with the Jamie Oliver Foundation, Chef Ann Cooper, Portion Size Me's Marshall Reid, Dr. Eric Rimm from Harvard School of Public Health, Virginia and Food Revolution Ambassador Ann Butler from Edible Education. This very cool Google+ hangout discussed the new school nutrition guidelines, Marshall Reid's teenage perspective on changing school nutrition and other experts in the field. To watch the YouTube recap of the hangout follow this link 

http://youtu.be/h4vKCqYMnBk 

To read a new article just released from the Jamie Oliver Foundation head over to: 

http://www.jamieoliver.com/us/foundation/jamies-food-revolution/news-content/kids-need-to-know-where-broccoli-is-grow

As the ambassador of Boca Raton's Food Revolution Day I will keep you posted on upcoming events and important details in school nutrition. "Like" my facebook page and keep up to date on the topic. 

https://www.facebook.com/pages/ABCD-Eat-Right/171027139622824?ref=hl

www.ABCDEatRight.com 

I'm Hungry...words you hate to hear.

Teeth are brushed, water is at the side of the bed, books are read and then the two year old says "I'm hungry". Here is the predicament, she did not eat much of a dinner (which she does when she does not like it). Encouragement was made to try and eat more. She stubbornly resisted and now time has passed and it is time for bed. "Kitchen is closed" is what I want to say and then I worry that she will wake up in the middle of the night with hunger pains. 

Making everyone sit down to eat together as a family at dinner time has always been important to me. Timing meals and making it to where everyone knows that we eat between 5:30-6 every night has been a part of the process that I think is important to get kids to eat healthy. But now what do I do when she won't eat when, and what, I want her to eat?

 

So along with my mission to decrease the amount of junk food in my children's diet, here are some things that I tried to do to increase what she ate at dinnertime:

 

• I limited the amount of snacks before dinner and limited the "grazing" hours between 4-6. Filling this time with only fruits and vegetables. Distracting her with outdoor playtime also seemed to help.
 
• Increased the protein filled snacks in hopes to satisfy her longer. Choosing snacks like milk, cheese, low sugar yogurts, lean cuts of deli meat, bean dips, seeds and nuts.
 
• Incorporating foods with more fiber such as whole grains, fruits and vegetables. Popcorn, fresh cut up fruit and vegetables along with high fiber breads can be a good place to start. To help them eat more of their vegetables I just purchased a new veggie dip that Sabra makes. The same company that makes a delicious hummus also makes a cucumber dill veggie dip. My friend told me about it and I can't wait for them to try it. It seems a little healthier than Ranch dressing because it is made with Greek yogurt.  
 
• I also chose to have both kids become more involved with the meal planning. I know what you may be thinking, they are only 5 and 2, but I am finding that the more that they can help me choose what we eat the more apt they are to eat it. I have designed dinner recipe cards in which they can help me choose from. We place the dinner cards on the refrigerator in magnets so that everyone knows what is for dinner. For more info on these recipe boxes visit: www.abcdeatright.com/parents . The site is still under construction but if you want to order a recipe box email me at Brandi@abcdeatright.com . 

 

Sometimes I think it is ridiculous that I worry that my daughter is hungry at night when thousands of children in the US go to bed without eating anything at all. I realize that it may be a phase and that she does eat well when she wants too. But I still want to focus my attention on getting her to eat with some normalcy in her schedule. It is a challenge to balance everything with children. As a mom and a Registered Dietitian I face a constant personal battle with healthy nutrition. My ultimate goal is to instill good eating habits within both of our kids while they are still young. Arming them with nutrition education will benefit them throughout their lives and will end up being one of the best gifts I could give them.

How do you get through your feeding struggles?

 

True or false: Pasta is from animals and yogurt is from plants.

Twenty percent of Australian children think that the above question is correct. Sad but true. Most kids, around the world, only receive 3.4 hours of food education a year. Although people understand that nutrition is important they seldom practice what they preach and when it comes to educating children about nutrition, the topic is usually dismissed as something they will learn in school or when they get older. The underlying issue with minimal nutrition education is that 42 million children under the age of 5 are obese. Two million people around the world die of diseases that are linked to being overweight or obese. The numbers are staggering. Nutrition education is at the heart of change. Encouraging people to get back to basics, cook their own foods, teach their children about making healthy choices will empower them to make simple healthy changes in their diets and their children’s diets. 

The term “real food” is all the rage these days. Real food is food that is not processed, food that is in its original form. Think of it as food that you would typically find on the outer perimeter of a grocery store. When you pick up real food you can name it with 1 or 2 words such as: chicken, turkey, beef, apples, cheese, milk, bananas, mangoes, sweet peas, corn, spinach, rice, beans, quinoa, seeds and yogurt.

If any of these facts make you mad, sad or highly motivated to make changes I encourage you to get involved! Food Revolution Day is May 19 and there are events all over the world that will be promoting the importance of food education. Visit Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution Day website at www.FoodRevolutionDay.com. Watch Jamie’s video on the about the day page, look up a local event, register your child’s school and/or donate to the foundation.

On a personal note, Food Revolution Day is consuming my family these days.  I recently became the Ambassador of Boca Raton for Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution Day. I am more than excited yet also working crazy hard to figure out how I am going to educate my town about real eating. I have lined up a few events at farmers markets and green markets. I have met tons of new people in the community who are willing to help out with cooking demonstrations and kids activities. My hope in all of this promotion of Food Revolution Day is to spread the word about nutrition education and raise a little money to support the cause. If you are in South Florida stop by Ellenville’s green market May 17 and Bedners Farmers Market May 19. I will also be visiting Hammock Pointe Elementary kindergarten and fifth grade classes during the same week. Stop by, say hi, or leave me a comment below about your real food experience. One story or one activist could make a major change in a child’s life!  

Email me your questions at: Brandi@AbcdEatRight.com  or visit my website at www.AbcdEatRight.com .