Moms can get stumped for variety in nutritious snacking. Celery, carrots, and apples aren’t the only options. To complicate matters, many schools prohibit dairy and nuts, because so many children have allergies. That means healthy foods like walnuts, almonds, peanuts, yogurt and cheese are eliminated right off the bat.

We get in a rut and believe snack items must come out of a bag or box. We need to think of snacking as mini-meals. Most kids do NOT eat the recommended five (or more) servings of fruit and vegetables per day. So that’s a good place to begin.

One elementary teacher told her students their snacks should be something “picked or plucked” from a tree or the ground. Good advice!

Dani thinks snap peas
are a yummy snack.

The Variety Is Astonishing!

Slice Up Fruit:
Apple
Apricot
Banana
Berries: Blackberries, Blueberries, Raspberries, Strawberries
Cantaloupe
Cherries
Grapes
Kiwis
Mandarin Orange
Mango
Nectarine
Orange
Peach
Pear
Pineapple
Raisins
Tangerine
Watermelon

Raw Finger Vegetables:
Broccoli
Carrot sticks
Cauliflower
Celery sticks
Cucumber
Peppers (red, green, yellow or orange)
Snap peas
Snow peas
String beans
Grape or Cherry Tomatoes
Squash slices (summer squash, zucchini)

Other  Dairy- and Nut-Free Snacks:
Banana Chips
Popcorn
Nut-free granola bars
Nut-free Trail mix
Pretzels
Pita chips dipped in hummus
Backed Tortilla chips with bean dip
Fruit leathers
Baked dried apples (Bare Fruit is available at Costco and is like eating chips)
Sunflower and Pumpkin seeds
Hard-boiled eggs

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School mornings can be hectic getting everyone out the door. Making lunches adds to the confusion. For sure, there is “someone else” making your kids’ lunches… the government.  They’re not doing such a good job, despite the promotion of the Food Pyramid. The government Food Pyramid was designed to help families make wise food choices and remain healthy. Yet, government schools are contributing to obesity with their lunch programs.

In a USDS study, researchers found that kids who are a part of the National School Lunch program are more likely to become overweight, that kids who don’t eat school lunches at all. “The fact that federally funded school lunches contribute to the childhood obesity epidemic is disconcerting, although not altogether surprising,” said economist Daniel L. Millimet at Southern Methodist University in Dallas.

Caley says, “Let’s eat”.

For the study, published in The Journal of Human Resources, the researchers analyzed data on more than 13,500 elementary school students. Students were interviewed in kindergarten, first and third grades, and then again in later grades. The National Student Lunch Program supplies meals to about 30 million children in 100,000 public and nonprofit private schools, according to USDA.

I know it takes time to plan and the make kids’ lunches, but it’s well worth the effort. Overall, school lunches are not healthy. Even if your child’s school offers something resembling a nutritious lunch, like a salad bar, most kids will pass it up in favor of popular nutrient-lacking junk foods.

Pack a Healthy Lunch…It’s Easy
The only way to be certain your child will receive a healthy lunch is to send one to school with him/her. First, give yourself a pat on the back for making nutrition a top priority. Then, make sure you have the right equipment. Purchase small reusable ice packs and insulated lunch bags or boxes. Reusable containers come in handy as well. (Bento make the cutest lunch boxes.) There are a million great lunchboxes available. Be sure the lunch bags are cleaned each day.

A Few Tricks for a Busy School Morning:
• Of course, having real healthy food items on hand is essential.
• Make school lunches the night before and refrigerate.
• “Planned-overs” from dinner make a quick lunch when you add a piece of fruit, veggie sticks & a bottle of water.
• Salads make for an interesting lunch. Try one of the salads in the Recipe Section to the right of this blog.
• Have your kids make the lunches.
• Make lunches in an assembly line, with each person responsible for adding one or two items.

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Jane Lubchenco, director of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, said laboratory testing of 1,200 seafood samples from Gulf waters had turned up no signs of oil contamination.

Neil Sass, retired state toxicologist for the Alabama Department of Public Health, said, “We’re going to have to keep monitoring — random sampling to look for oil byproducts that might be in the tissue.”

Unbelievably, some are saying smell is to be the ultimate test. If fish are eating any of the oil they are going to taste and smell like it.

Think Before You Eat
All crustaceans (shellfish) are scavengers, which were created to keep our oceans clean. They’re living garbage disposals, consuming the waters refuse. Shrimp consume: decaying animal parts such as clams, worms, fish, snails and plant debris. Many species are cannibalistic. Lobsters eat other crustaceans: mussels, crabs, clams and sea urchins.  Adult crabs eat everything.

Ben is proud of his catch–a fish with fins and scales.

How much of the oil pollutants will crustaceans consume? We don’t know. Local shrimp, before the Gulf oil spill, was thought of as safer and fresher as long as it’s caught wild. If you think that imported shrimp is the answer to the Gulf spill, think again. Imported shrimp is usually “farmed.” Farmed shrimp are grown in little ponds, swimming in their own feces. Imported shrimp are often fed with lower level protein feed and fish meal levels (and who knows what else). Crowded shrimp are sick shrimp, receiving daily doses of antibiotics. Seventy-five percent of farmed shrimp is from Asia (mostly Thailand). Imported shrimp are rarely inspected and are raised in a chemical cocktail, many illegal in the U.S.

On average, each person in the U.S. eats about 4 pounds of shrimp a year. More if you eat at Red Lobster, known for its “Endless Shrimp.” Red Lobster is no friend of local shrimpers, as it doesn’t purchase U.S. shrimp. Red Lobster buys 5 percent of the world’s shrimp and is Bangladesh’s biggest costumer.

Father Knows Best
For centuries, Kosher dietary laws prohibit the eating of fish without BOTH scales and fins. That eliminates a number of seafood: all shellfish (lobster, crabs, mussels, shrimp, clams, oysters), catfish, eels, sharks, sturgeons, squid, swordfish, just to name a few.

Long before the Gulf oil spill, Leviticus 11:9 set the standard, “These you may eat of all that live in water; anything in water, whether in the seas or in the streams, that has fins and scales–these you may eat.”

It’s taken scientists years to discover why the Lawgiver limited fish consumption. Today, we know that fish with scales AND fins are equipped with a digestive system limiting the absorption of poisons and toxins from the waters into their flesh. Fish without fins and scales are often toxic as they’re scavengers (bottom feeders), eating the decaying refuse from the ocean floor. This is compounded by the recent Gulf oil spill. No one is absolutely sure of the ultimate toxins being absorbed by the Gulf fish.

Adding insult to injury, Louisiana State University fish toxicologist Kevin Klinow found the dispersants for the oil used in the Gulf increase the amount of toxins the fish absorb and then, once exposed, makes it harder for the fish to get rid of the toxins through normal biological processes.

If ever there was a time when it’s wise to avoid fish without fins and scales, it’s now.

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Bad Egg
The number of people sickened in the recent salmonella outbreak by contaminated eggs has risen to nearly 2,000. The massive recall is above half a billion eggs and growing! How sad and what a waste.

Katelyn says know the chickens you get your eggs from.

Common side effects for salmonella are diarrhea, stomach cramps and vomiting, but, in some cases, can lead to more serious illness. Salmonella can be fatal to those most vulnerable to infection: young children, elderly and those with compromised immune systems.

How could a nationwide recall happen? It’s because we don’t get our eggs from one local farm. Chickens don’t run around the farmyard pulling up juicy worms. Eating local is better and the egg recall has spurred the sale of eggs at farmer’s markets. Ninety-five percent of eggs come from mega farms, where the eggs have been washed (often in chlorinated water). The washing destroys the egg’s protective coating, so eggs are then coated with  a petroleum product. Because the shell is porous, what goes onto the shell, goes into the egg. Small producers often “dry brush” the eggs.

Salmonella is a result of dirty conditions. Hens can be infected with salmonella and pass it to their eggs in a couple of ways. The bacteria can come from workers, but also can be transmitted from rodents, which leave fecal droppings in feed troughs and silos.

Originally, the recall began at mega egg-laying facilities run by Wright County Egg in Iowa. Wright County Egg is a major egg producer shipping its eggs to widely-scattered distributors, who in turn package the eggs under a numerous brand names and send them to retail in a still larger sphere. More than two dozen brands are involved in the recall.

Should I Throw Out My Eggs?
If you want to be sure, throw out any eggs with recalled codes (see below). Salmonella can be destroyed by cooking the eggs at 160 degrees Fahrenheit for at least 15 seconds. That means not eating “over easy”, poached or soft-boiled eggs. Cook the eggs until both the white and yolk are firm. Also meringues and salad dressing containing uncooked eggs can be suspect. Investigators believe many of the reported cases of illness stemmed from people eating raw eggs used in salad dressings or meringue.

Recalled eggs should have been removed from market shelves by now. Here are the all-important egg numbers and codes from the first couple of recalls, which include Julian dates of 136-229 and now includes plant numbers 1026, 1091, 1413, 1686, 1720, 1942, 1946 and 1951. The plant number will be preceded by the letter “P” and followed by the Julian date code. You can see a photo of how to read the code here. Sell by dates vary.

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But this TOPS them all!

A team of British doctors suggested that fast-food chains offer free “sides” of statins. It is believed statins would help people eating burgers and milkshakes minimize the risk of heart attacks and strokes from consuming those foods. A generic form of statins can be purchased over the counter in Great Britain, but not in the U.S.

How in heaven’s name did we get here? Before you laugh too hard, American’s are in the same boat as the Brits. We’d rather take cholesterol-lowering drugs instead of changing our diets. We’d rather give our kids Ritalin or other stimulant drugs, than remove the artificial ingredients from their food. We’d rather take diabetic meds, than eliminate the sugar from the food we eat.

Katy & Madison are playing doctor. Should fast food restaurants play doctor, too?

A small voice of reason in the debate: Some health authorities believe that offering statins at quick serve restaurants might send the wrong message. Do ya think?

Dr. Franz Messerli, director of the hypertension program at two New York hospitals, St. Luke’s and Roosevelt, told Reuters Health that “providing complimentary statins to customers might imbue them with a false sense of security.”

“False sense of security” and “wrong message”? Is that the only thing that comes to mind? How about NOT eating fast foods? I guess self-control is no longer in vogue. What about the side effects from statins? Isn’t anyone concerned about that? Muscle pains and weakness are common complaints from people taking statins. Kidney failure and memory loss are other possibilities.

Why are we so opposed to eating whole foods? Do people really think eating healthy means tasteless? Are we so brain-washed that we can’t think for ourselves any longer? Good grief, we really are on the Lemming Diet. ( Click Here for more on the Lemming Diet.) I’m still shaking my head in disbelief at this latest recommendation.

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Americans across the board do NOT meet the USDA recommendations outlined in the Food Pyramid. While the merits of the Food Pyramid can be debated, a recent study found the majority of the U.S. population over-consume solid fats (translate to altered fats), sugars and alcoholic beverages.

The study was published in the Journal of Nutrition. Data was obtained from 16,338 persons, aged 2 years and older. Quantities of foods reported on 24-hour recalls were translated into amounts of various food groups using the MyPyramid Equivalents Database.

Usual dietary intake distributions were modeled, accounting for sequence effect, weekend/ weekday effect, sex, age, poverty income ratio, and race/ethnicity.

The Lemming Diet?
Charlie’s not sure he likes that idea.

Surprisingly, age did not seem to be a factor. Eighty percent of those over age 71 and 90 percent of other age groups ate empty calories (junk foods) that exceeded calorie allowance. Okay, I’m not into counting calories…for anyone. BUT the research findings tell us what kinds of foods Americans are eating. We’re not eating whole foods. Is it any wonder we are so sick?

I am especially saddened for our children. What hope is there for them to live a long healthy life, when their parents and grandparents are like lemmings. Yes, lemmings (small rodents). Lemmings migrate when their numbers increase to a point they can no longer survive at their present location. Many perish, because they’re not thinking for themselves. They’re following the mass frantic and single-minded migration across long distances in search of greener pastures. They’re often so focused on moving forward in a frenzied rate, that they can plunge straight off of embankments.

We are like lemmings. Following the culture, even defending and promoting our unhealthy diets, to our ultimate death. If you doubt it, read some of the comments defending fast foods on my “ Happy Birthday to My Happy Meal” blog.

Your family can be healthy. The choice is yours. Or you can be a lemming, following the American food culture to your death.

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“Food and beverage manufacturers are being challenged to address this by offering more products for children that promote good nutrition.” Okay, so what’s the problem with that? It’s not so obvious.

Good nutrition is vital to support healthy growth in children. There’s no question about that.

They go on to say that food fortification in processed foods is the answer to our kids’ dilemma. I disagree. This seminar misses the mark.

Jayden doesn’t understand why food has to be fortified.

We still don’t know much about food synergy. It’s only been ten years since we became aware of phytochemicals or phytonutrients. One vitamin or phytonutritent enables the other to be better assimilated. When we mess around with God’s design we always come up short.

We get hung up on specific nutrients. For health we need to eat a variety of whole foods. What our kids need is not another food product, but to be taught how to enjoy whole foods. While food fortification may have its merits, you can’t outdo the benefits of natural whole foods. You can’t take parts of foods, expecting them to be as beneficial as the whole.

One example: “Experts” have decided that whole milk is not as beneficial as low-fat milk for kids. It’s part of the “fat scare” that has taken over the Food Pyramid, nutritionists’ and physicians’ thinking. So milk producers remove the fat from milk. When they do that, vitamins A and D are removed, because they are found in the fat. So what is done to compensate? Synthetic vitamins A and D are added back into the fat-free or low-fat milk. Only there is another little problem. Both vitamins are fat-soluble. They need the fat, which was removed from the milk, to be properly assimilated into the body.

Recent studies have found a diet including whole grains reduce most chronic disease. Of course when whole grains are included in a diet, processed grains and processed foods are usually eliminated. Western diets include less than one serving a day of whole grains and compared with several of white flour. We consume about three pounds of sugar a week…per person.

Eating food as close to natural as possible is the best solution for health and preventing disease. Vegetables, fruit, whole grains, nuts, beans and legumes are whole foods rich in vitamins, minerals, fiber and protein. If you want your children to be healthy stay away from processed foods, especially if the label states “fortification.” Children don’t need fortified foods; they need whole foods to be healthy.

Have a picky eater? Baby Bites: Transforming a Picky Eater into a Healthy Eater helps you transform daily food battles to fun multi-sensory learning experiences for both you and your child.

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Carrots provide our body essential enzymes, vitamins and minerals. It is a good source of fiber, folic acid (vitamin B1, vitamin B2, vitamin B6), vitamin C, vitamin K, biotin, potassium and thiamine. Carrots also offer an excellence source of beta-carotene. No other vegetable or fruit contains as much vitamin A as a carrot.

Carrots are easily assimilated by the body, but they’re fat-soluble. That means a carrot’s nutrition is absorbed better with the presence of oil.  You’ll want to add a drop of olive oil or flax oil in a glass of carrot juice to help effectively absorb it’s nutrition. Carrots make a great addition to a veggie drink as well.

Haley’s great-granddad grows super carrots.
One giant carrot = carrot juice for a year!
Photo with permission from ZIMage Photography

Getting the Most from a Carrot
Most of a carrot’s nutrients are concentrated just under the skin so it’s best not to peel off the skin. To clean it, simply use a hard brush and brush the skin while holding the carrot under running water.

Carrots are the exception to the rule – they’re more nutritious cooked (or juiced) than raw. Because raw carrots have tough cellular walls, the body is able to convert less than 25 per cent of their beta carotene into vitamin A. Cooking or juicing partially dissolves cellulose-thickened cell walls, freeing up nutrients by breaking down the cell membranes. In order to assimilate the greatest quantity of the nutrients present in raw carrots, it’s important to chew them well.

Pregnant or Nursing?
Regularly drinking carrot juice during pregnancy, especially during the last few months, will reduce the chance of jaundice in your baby. Do you have water retention during your monthly menstruation cycle or pregnancy? Carrot juice is diuretic and helps to eliminate excess fluids from the body, reducing water retention. Furthermore, carrot juice is said to enhance the quality and quantity of a mother’s breast milk.

Baby Carrots: Less Nutrition, Higher Cost
Baby carrots are not a baby variety of carrots. The baby carrot was developed because regular carrots, which are often irregularly-shaped and funny-looking, were not selling. Full-sized carrots are cut down to “baby” size and peeled by machines. They are then packaged and called “Baby Carrots”

Baby carrots are tiny and cute, but not as nutritious as whole carrots. They’re grown and ripened quickly and have only 70 percent of the beta carotene of a regular carrot. Phenolic compounds, which are antioxidants, are located in the skin of fruit and vegetables. In the process of making a carrot baby-sized many, if not most, of the phenolic compounds are peeled away. Save grocery dollars and nutrition, purchase regular-sized carrots. For bite-size carrots, cut in Julienne strips.

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Italian researchers did a comparative study in children from Europe and Burkina Faso, a rural African village.

Children from Burkina Faso ate a diet high in fiber content, similar to that of early human settlements at the time of the birth of agriculture. They were found to have significantly more gut flora than European children, who ate processed foods.

The researchers found the African children had a healthier balance of good and bad bacteria, compared to the European children.

African kids had higher levels of fatty acids that produce energy, and had less of the harmful bacteria, such as E.coli, which are linked to gut problems including diarrhea and upset stomach.

They theorized the fiber-rich African diet provided good energy levels while protecting the gastrointestinal (GI) tract from inflammatory and other colonic diseases.

“Do you mean if I eat whole grains & veggies, I might not get a tummy ache?” asks Chase in disbelief.
Photo with permission from ZIMage Photography

Children on Western diets in developed countries eat junk and processed food, which are low in fiber, high in altered fat, sugar and protein. This appears to have changed the natural microflora balance in the gut, leading to the recent rise in allergies, autoimmune and inflammatory bowel diseases. (Learn more about probiotics, Click Here.)

We have come to believe the advertising hype that processed and fast foods (processed foods are purchased in boxes, bags and cans) are nutritious. After all each food product has a “nutrition label” with the nutrients listed. For healthier children, a diet high in whole grains and veggies is vital. Baby Bites: Transforming a Picky Eater into a Healthy Eater incorporates multi-sensory learning during mealtimes. Even a picky eater will be voluntarily eat previously refused whole foods in only a few days, when the Baby Bite steps are implemented.

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Leader of Nutrition studies at the Institute, Associate Professor Wendy Oddy, said the study examined the dietary patterns of 1800 adolescents from the long-term Raine Study and classified diets into Healthy or Western patterns.

A healthy diet was deemed to be one high in fresh fruit and vegetables, whole grains and fish.

A Western pattern in diet is one where take-out and other fast foods, sweets, fried and refined processed foods dominate.

Kids with ADHD can have learning and behavior problems and often exhibit impulsive behavior.

“We found a diet high in the Western pattern of foods was associated with more than double the risk of having an ADHD diagnosis compared with a diet low in the Western pattern, after adjusting for numerous other social and family influences,” Dr Oddy said.

“When we looked at specific foods, having an ADHD diagnosis was associated with a diet high in takeaway foods, processed meats, red meat, high fat dairy products and confectionary,” Dr Oddy said.

“We suggest that a Western dietary pattern may indicate the adolescent has a less optimal fatty acid profile, whereas a diet higher in omega-3 fatty acids is thought to hold benefits for mental health and optimal brain function.

“It also may be that the Western dietary pattern doesn’t provide enough essential micronutrients that are needed for brain function, particularly attention and concentration, or that a Western diet might contain more colors, flavors and additives that have been linked to an increase in ADHD symptoms. It may also be that impulsivity, which is a characteristic of ADHD, leads to poor dietary choices such as quick snacks when hungry.”

While this study sheds light on this ever-increasing problem, the diet connection in ADHD is not new. More than 30 years ago, my journey to whole foods began with my third daughter, Jenny. Out of desperation, I found help with Dr. Feingold’s work. He pioneered a food connection to hyperactivity. Feingold found that 70 percent of children improved or completely lost the ADD diagnosis when changes were made in diet and additives such as artificial colors and flavors and petrochemical preservatives BHS and BHT were eliminated. Also sugar is kept to a minimum. For more information about the Feingold Diet, Click Here.

Success to transforming a child’s diet rests on the ability of parents to clean out process foods from their kitchens and teach their children how to appreciate whole foods. If you have a picky eater who refuses to eat whole foods (or want to avoid every having one), Baby Bites: Transforming a Picky Eater into a Healthy Eater is a valuable asset. Click Here for a synopsis.

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