National Watermelon Day is just around the corner — August 3. Watermelon is a summer favorite with kids. It’s a good thing they often eat it outside.  Who doesn’t remember spiting watermelon seeds to see who can propel them the furthest during the dog days of summer?

According to eHow you need to drink water right before you put a watermelon seed in your mouth to keep it moist. Tilt your head upward and blow hard to get the most distance for the seed.

Watermelon is mostly water, right? We know it’s refreshing on a sweltering summer day, but is there much nutritionally when watermelon contains 92 percent water?

Watermelon is from the same family as cucumbers, pumpkin and squash. Watermelon is nutritionally low in calories and is high in energy, making it a great energy boost! Watermelon contains powerful antioxidants. Antioxidants neutralize free radical damage to cells.

Lars is beating the heat with a juicy slice of watermelon.

Free radical molecules contribute to tissue damage and the progression of disease. They are unstable and bond to other molecules, which change their function. Free radicals also increase inflammation making most diseases worse.

Some say eating watermelon is like taking a multi-vitamin – except it’s tastier and more refreshing than popping a pill. Some of the vitamins, minerals and antioxidants found in watermelon include:
*Vitamin C, Vitamin A (beta carotene)and Lycopene (Lycopene is found in red fruit and vegetables like tomatoes. Lycopene has been found in human studies to be effective in preventing some cancers.)

*Watermelon is also packed with B vitamins, which are necessary in energy production. It is a good source of vitamin B1, vitamin B3, and vitamin B6.

*It is also a rich source of essential minerals like calcium, magnesium and potassium.

As nutritious as watermelon is, it’s high on the Glycemic Index (The Glycemic Index measures how the body absorbs carbohydrates–sugar). Watermelon rates around a 76 on this scale. Although this is high, the concentration of carbohydrates in watermelon is low. The fruit is mainly water and one cup of watermelon contains about 11 grams of carbohydrates, which is a glycemic load of 4—less than apples! You would need to eat a lot of watermelon to have the same impact on your blood sugar as a slice of bread.

Watermelon is a perfect addition to a salad, salsa or refreshing drink. (Click Here for Frosty Watermelon Drink recipe.) For a cool treat, top chunks of sweet watermelon with fruit sherbets or sorbets. Use watermelon cubes in a fruit Kebab. You can also freeze pureed watermelon juice in ice cube trays to add in tea or freeze as Popsicles. You can be sure that kids love watermelon ice pops on a hot day!

Click Here for the Baby Bites Store.

For info about the free Baby Bites Ezine, CLICK HERE.

1. Hot Cocoa
There’s nothing like a hot cocoa on a cold day. The instant variety is usually loaded with trans fat and sugars. Make your own with whole milk and Stevia. For every cup of milk add two packets of Stevia (one teaspoon) and one tablespoon of organic cocoa (purchased at a whole foods store in the bulk section without sugar). Mix well. I find it easier pulse the drink in the blender before heating. Heat the cocoa mixture. If the cocoa isn’t sweet enough for you, stir in a little more Stevia. Avoid topping hot cocoa with marshmallows, which are only chemicals and sugar. Top with a dollop of real whipped cream.

2. Fruit Compote
Use 3 to 5 different stone fruits pitted, peeled, and cut into bite-size pieces (pears, apricots, peaches, plumbs, bananas, etc.) Add in a handful of chopped dried fruit like raisins, figs, cranberries or prunes. Cook for about 10 to 15 minutes in 1 cup of water or apple juice (sometimes for company I use wine) and ¼ to 1/3 cup honey or agave nectar.
Ally knows how to stay toasty.

Cook until the fruit is soft and the liquid is reduced. Serve warm. May be topped with a small dollop of yogurt.

3. Warm Pumpkin Pudding
Comfort puddings are traditional winter desserts. Pumpkin is a super food which is available all year long…canned. Be sure to purchase just pumpkin with no added sugars. Click Here for a yummy recipe. Served warm it’s like a hug.

4. Cookies Right from the Oven
Homemade cookies can be just as unhealthy as the store bought variety. It all depends on what ingredients you use. When you make them yourself with whole-wheat pastry flour, butter or coconut oil, and honey or agave nectar for the sweetener at least they won’t contain altered fats, or bleached sugars and flours.

5. Mini Pizza
Make a mini pizza with half of a whole-wheat bagel topped with a tablespoon of tomato sauce and grated mozzarella cheese. Heat until the cheese is bubbly.

6. Brownies
Make brownies with a secret ingredient: black beans. I made these for company and asked them to guess the secret ingredient. No one could! Click Here for the recipe.

7. Warm Applesauce
Peel, core, and slice the about 6 tart apples. Put them into a pan and add 1¼ cups water. Cover and simmer until the apples are tender – about 20-30 minutes. Add about 3 tablespoons of honey or a packet of Stevia (1/2 teaspoon) and cinnamon to taste. Makes 12 small servings.

CLICK HERE for ordering information for Baby Bites: Transforming a Picky Eater into a Healthy Eater and The Forest Feast: Baby Bites Mealtime Adventures.

For info about the free Baby Bites Ezine, CLICK HERE.

What’s wrong with people food? For the most part it doesn’t support health. The sad truth is that most of America’s children don’t eat as well as their pets. That’s saying a lot, because most pet food is highly processed. At least pet food has measured amounts of nutrients for animals.

Only two percent of children meet the U.S. Food Guide Pyramid’s recommendations for a healthy diet. One quarter of children ages 5 to 10 years old have early warning signs for heart disease, such as elevated blood cholesterol or high blood pressure. Type 2 diabetes used to be called adult onset diabetes.

Angel loves fruit!

“Adult onset” has been dropped from type 2 diabetes label, because up to 45 percent of children with newly diagnosed diabetes do NOT have type one, but type 2. Type 2 diabetes is directly connected to the processed sugary foods kids eat and is avoidable. Today, people eat one hundred and fifty pounds of sugar in a year. Yikes, that’s two-and-a-half pounds of sugar each week! Kids consume more sugar than their parents.

We have picky kids because we fill our pantries with highly processed food items and we regularly take toddlers to fast food places. We purchase snack items, lacking nutrients, because we don’t think of snacks as food. Chips, cookies, crackers, and candy take the place of healthful fruit and veggies.

I’ve heard moms say that fruit is too expensive, yet they find the money to purchase junk foods. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the average cost of a serving of fruit or vegetable is 25 cents per serving. I stopped in Safeway today to compare the price of organic fruit (fruit is a cheaper if you don’t purchase organic) to junk foods. Veggies, like carrots, celery and snap peas, would be less expensive than fruit. I didn’t see any savings when purchasing junky snack items.

This is what I found:
One organic banana is about 35 cents.
Two ounces of organic raisins is about 40 cents.
One organic apple from a 3 pound bag is about 55 cents.

A candy bar costs about 80 cents.
A single-serving bag of chips is about 70 cents.
One oatmeal cookie from a box containing a dozen is about 25 cents.
One vanilla ice cream bar from a box of 6 is about 45 cents.

Last year, I researched purchasing whole foods on a food stamp budget. I found that it’s possible on a very limited income to eat whole foods, including fruit and veggies. Obviously, costly processed snacks (chips, cookies, candy) were not included in my budget. Whole foods, like fresh produce, whole grains, and dairy, satisfy hunger and pack a lot of nutrition into a few bites. Each calorie is nutrient-dense with vitamins, minerals, phytonutrients, and essential amino and fatty acids. Whole foods take longer to digest, warding off food cravings between meals.

Your children, even picky eaters, will eat healthy snacks, when all you have in your kitchen are whole foods. Instead of processed snack foods, purchase fruit and veggies. Make hot-air popcorn and smoothie or fruit juice Popsicles. YUMMY! Healthy snack ideas are limitless: Pumpkin or sunflower seeds, edamame, plain yogurt mixed with a mashed banana and topped with granola, apple slices dipped in peanut or almond butter. I could go on, but you get the idea.

For info about the free Baby Bites Ezine, Click Here.

Listen to today’s podcast, Click Here.

For a synopsis of Baby Bites: Transforming a Picky Eater into a Healthy Eater, Click Here.

Even if you don’t have a picky eater, kids don’t get the recommended five fruit and veggies a day. The average number of veggies a child eats each day is one, while 33 percent of kids don’t eat any. You know what kids are eating…junk foods. That’s usually simple carbohydrates, quickly filling up a tiny tummy with little or no health benefits.

Kids’ taste buds have become accustom to sugary and salty foods. Junk foods include most fast foods like hot dogs, pizza, French fries and fried chicken, soda, boxed macaroni and cheese. The snacks we regularly offer our kids such as chips, cookies, and crackers are also lacking in the nutrition department.

Kaylee is shocked that her favorite rainbow foods are good for you, too.

When beginning the Baby Bite steps, you’ll want to eliminate junk foods. In just a short time, your child will begin to appreciate new tastes. The focus should then shift to nutrient-dense foods. These are whole foods packing a lot of nutrition into a few bites. Each calorie in a nutrient-dense food is packed with vitamins, minerals, and essential amino and fatty acids.

When you’re incorporating new vegetables into your child’s diet, which ones are most healthful? A quick rule of thumb for the most beneficial vegetables and fruit is the produce with the deeper colors. Phytonutrients are contained in the plants pigment. They are the vitamins, minerals, carotenoids, flavonoids, isoflovens, phytoestrogens, and pholyphenols found in food. Phytonutrients protect the body and fight disease, they promote health!

Organic vegetables and fruit have not been sprayed with pesticides, other chemical sprays, or contaminated in other ways, such as from the water, soil, or industrial treatments. In order for the plant to naturally survive, it must fight off insects and other invaders with its own resources. To do this it produces more phytonutrients, making the plant (and you) stronger. Organic fruit and vegetables have been found to have more antioxidants, vitamin C, and trace elements.

Go for the Rainbow

When you “eat your colors” you will be packing more nutrition into each bite.

Red—Tomatoes, radishes, red peppers, cherries, strawberries, watermelon and pink grapefruit. The color red indicates it contains powerful antioxidants such as lycopene, plus beta-carotene.

Orange and Yellow—Sweet potatoes, corn, pumpkins and other squash, carrots, apricots and peaches, and yellow peppers. Orange and deep yellow carotenoids protect plants from sun damage. Carotenoids, which turn into vitamin A, and vitamin C.

Green—Kale, asparagus, cabbage, spinach, broccoli, avocado, bell peppers, zucchini, and romaine lettuce. Green foods are plentiful in fiber and minerals including calcium. They are in high antioxidants, thanks to abundant chlorophyll. They are especially rich in phytonutrients.

Blue/Violet/Purple—Blueberries, blackberries, beets, plums, purple cabbage, eggplants, and grapes indicate fiber and anticancer qualities, thanks to the pigment anthocyanin. Grapes contain bioflavonoids or betalains powerful antioxidants. Beets and prickly pear contain the pigment betacyanin a powerhouse nutrient.

For info about the free Baby Bites Ezine, Click Here.

Listen to today’s podcast, Click Here.For a synopsis of Baby Bites: Transforming a Picky Eater into a Healthy Eater, Click Here.

Resolutions are great. We promise our selves to make changes that will benefit us (and our families) over time. Resolutions are fulfilled when we are able to carry them out. The best way to see our New Year Resolutions stick around is to adjust our routines for the long haul. Unless, we manage to change our habits, then even the best resolution will quickly fade away.

You’ll want to check out the following blogs which will help your family get on a healthy track in 2009. The place to begin is at the grocery store and in your kitchen.

The news for 2009 is mixed. First, the good news, gas prices are down (and so are lottery ticket sales). The rest of the news isn’t so good: The stock market fall was the worst in seven decades, the auto industry is in the tank along with our banks. During the evening news, I heard that grocery prices were up 13 percent. Even with that gray cloud, there is a sliver lining. You can improve your family’s diet and not go broke in the process.

Go Organic without Breaking the Bank
What does organic mean? To earn the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s organic certification, the land must be free from prohibited substances such as synthetic fertilizers, pesticides, and other toxins for at least three years. For most, organic means less processed or unprocessed foods. The top reasons for organic usage are the absence of pesticides and growth hormones. Consuming fewer pesticides and growth hormones is a good idea, but, are organic foods any healthier than conventionally grown produce?
> CLICK HERE to find out how you can purchase organic foods without breaking the bank.

Whole Foods with Food Stamps
The Sunday Denver Post ran the article “Healthy Lessons,” about the cost of school lunches. Most of the article discusses the school lunch program. Some schools are now including salad bars, fresh fruit, and other healthy food options. A Big Nonna Hug to them! Regrettably, the article also reinforced the notion that preparing healthy foods at home is expensive. Interviewed were parents who stated that it wasn’t easy to prepare inexpensive healthy meals for their families.

Bridget, a single mom of four, struggles with making healthy meals. She admits to using Hamburger Helper, even though the family doesn’t like it. She told the Post, “If you want a meal to be healthy, it takes time and money.” Yes, preparing healthy meals may take a little time, especially in the beginning. It’s essential to shop for the best nutritional value and then have a resource of healthy easy-to-make recipes.
> CLICK HERE to find out how to purchase whole foods, even on a food stamp budget.

Do Your Veggies and Fruit Fight?
Did you hear that? Bang, Kaboom, Pow! It’s my fruit and veggies fighting again! You may think your kids fight a lot, but fruit and vegetables don’t like each other at all. They’re probably fighting right now in your refrigerator, too! The solution for happy produce is to keep fruit and veggies apart from one another. Manufacturers understand this; that’s why they construct refrigerators with separate bins for each. For a long time, I didn’t know that it was important to separate fruit from veggies, so I just shoved produce into which ever bin had the room. I was just asking for a fight to break out. >CLICK HERE to find out how you can save money by making your produce last longer.

It’s my fruit and veggies fighting again! You may think your kids fight a lot, but fruit and vegetables don’t like each other at all. They’re probably fighting right now in your refrigerator, too!

The solution for happy produce is to keep fruit and veggies apart from one another. Manufacturers understand this; that’s why they construct refrigerators with separate bins for each. For a long time, I didn’t know that it was important to separate fruit from veggies, so I just shoved produce into which ever bin had the room. I was just asking for a fight to break out.

Vegetables don’t contain seeds and fruit are plants with seeds. We think of some fruit as vegetables, such as tomatoes, bell peppers, and avocados, but they contain seeds. Botanically speaking, Anything with seeds are fruit. Vegetables are roots (like carrots), tubers (like potatoes), stems (like celery), flowers (like broccoli), or leaves (like lettuce).

Apples, avocados, melons, peaches, and pears manufacture ethylene gas as they ripen. When fruit are stored with vegetables, the vegetables loose their green color and spoil more rapidly. You’ll save not only money when your veggies and fruit are stored in separate bins. But also flavor, as vegetables stored with fruit will develop a bitter taste.

Here are some other useful tips for longer produce storage:

• Remove the tops from beets, carrots, and radishes, because the sap will continue to flow from the root to the leaf. This deprives the part to be eaten of some of its nutrition.

• If your lettuce or celery is wilted, soak it in cold water. The vegetable will absorb the water and crisp up once again.

• Place mushrooms in a brown paper bag to enhance longer storage. Mushrooms collect moisture and get slimy when kept in an airtight container, like the plastic bag from the grocers.

• Potatoes, onions, and garlic should be stored in a cool, dark, well-ventilated place-not the refrigerator. Don’t place them under the sink either, as the moisture will cause them to quickly spoil.

• Bananas turn black when stored in the refrigerator. Keep them on the counter. When you have too many ripe bananas, peel, place individually in sandwich bags, and freeze. Defrost a frozen banana for a sweetener in baked goods and they’re very handy when frozen. They turn a regular fruit smoothie into a frozen shake.

• ALWAYS thoroughly wash vegetables and fruit to remove bacteria. Preferably wash and dry before placing in the refrigerator.

Click Here for Go Organic without Going Broke.