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Nut Nugget April 2016

Today's kids average nearly three snacks a day. Swap a banana for cookies, sugar snap peas for chips, fat-free milk for juice. Encourage snacks that will contribute to your child's nutrient intake.

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81 views

Nut Nugget April 2016

Today's kids average nearly three snacks a day. Swap a banana for cookies, sugar snap peas for chips, fat-free milk for juice. Encourage snacks that will contribute to your child's nutrient intake.

Uploaded by

api-292118595
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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April 2016

Food and Fitness for a Healthy Child

Evansville Christian School

Free samples
Borrow an idea from food
warehouse and specialty
stores: Offer your child
free samples of the
(healthy) foods youre
preparing. When youre
slicing carrots or breaking cauliflower
into florets, put some on a small plate
or in cupcake liners. Your youngster
will enjoy the tiny tastes, and they will
whet his appetite for whats to come.

Be safe outdoors
As the weather warms up, review
outdoor safety tips with your children. They need to use helmets when
biking, scootering, or skating. Also,
they should wear sneakers or other
closed shoes, and they shouldnt have
drawstrings or necklaces dangling.
Finally, be sure they apply sunscreen
and wear hats, even on cloudy days.

Recipe math
Invite your child to cook and bake
with you, and put her in charge of
doubling or halving recipes to fit the
number of people youre serving. Shell
get comfortable with adjusting recipes
as she works on multiplication (2 x 1
lb. pasta = 2 lbs. pasta), division (16 oz.
2 = 8 oz.), and fractions (2 x 43 cup
cheese = 121 cups cheese).

Just for fun


Q: Whats round and red and moves

up and down?
A: A tomato
in an
elevator!

2016 Resources for Educators, a division of CCH Incorporated

Make snacks count


Did you know that frequent snacking is tied to
obesity? In fact, todays
kids average nearly three
snacks a day and get
about a quarter of their
daily calories from
between-meal eating.
Use these strategies to
keep your youngsters
snacking under control.

Add nutrients
Encourage snacks that will contribute
to your childs nutrient intake, rather than
her sugar or salt intake. For instance,
swap a banana for cookies, sugar snap
peas for chips, and fat-free milk for juice.
To motivate her to choose healthy snacks,
speak her language: Try offering strong
snacks for your muscles or smart snacks
for your brain.

Avoid grazing
Eating all day long makes it hard for
your youngster to burn off fat. Together,
decide when shell snack (perhaps after
school and an hour before bed). Then,
have her sit down instead of eating on the

run andmost importantkeep the


television and other electronics off. Distracted eating causes kids to eat more,
since theyre not paying attention to how
much they put in their mouths.

Watch serving sizes


Keep snacks a reasonable size. Pick
up little bowls at a discount store, and
use them for small servings of vegetable
or miso soup, whole-grain cereal, or
unsweetened applesauce (sprinkled with
cinnamon). Or make your own snack
packs by putting tangerine sections, a
handful of nuts, or grape tomatoes into
snack-size baggies.

Pre-diabetes: A plan
If your child is diagnosed with pre-diabetes,
take heart. There are steps you can take to try
to prevent him from developing full-blown
type 2 diabetes.
1. Be active. Exercise lowers blood glucose levels
as well as body fat. He should aim for 60 minutes
a day of physical activity.
2. Eat a healthy diet with lots of vegetables, high-fiber foods, and whole grains.
Stay away from foods with added sugar.
3. Maintain a healthy weight. Work with a registered dietitian, a nutritionist, or
another health professional on ways to shed pounds.
Note: Diabetes warning signs include increased thirst, frequent urination, unusual
tiredness, and blurry vision. If you notice any of these problems, consult a doctor.
USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer.

Nutrition Nuggets

April 2016 Page 2

Eating in different
languages

Bread = bread = bread.

Call it pita, focaccia, harcha,


naan, or tortillapeople in
every culture eat some kind
of bread. Set a goal of tasting
a different kind each week.
Your child could keep a
bread journal, recording how
each type looks, smells, and
tastes. Hell learn that bread is
a delicious reminder of the cultures that make up our world.

Food is a funand deliciousway


to expose your child to different cultures.
These activities will teach him about
diversity while he discovers new foods.
Country to country. Help your youngster understand how people express their
backgrounds through the foods they eat.
Ask him what foods he sees at other peoples
houses that he doesnt eat at home and what foods you
serve that his friends dont have. Let him explore foods at ethnic markets, and bring some home to try.

Try this: Read Everybody Cooks Rice (Norah Dooley), a


childrens book about a girl who goes from house to house
and finds rice being made in different dishes like Chinese stirfry, Caribbean rice and black-eyed peas, and Indian biryani.
Help your youngster use a map to find the countries named,
and make the rice recipes from the back of the book.

Hit the track


My neighbor recently
mentioned that he runs on
the high school track when its not being
used. I realized that would be a great
place for my son Joey and me to take
up running.
At first we alternated
walking and
running
walking
3 minutes
and running for
1 minute
once around
the track. After a week, we switched to 2
minutes of each. Eventually, we worked
up to walking 1 minute, running 3 minutes, and then finally to running the
whole time. Joey was excited to learn
that each loop around the track is a
quarter-mile. He has already set a goal
to run 1 mile without stopping.
Im glad were spending time together
and getting fit together. Maybe hell even
run on the track one day as a member of
his high schools track team!
O

To provide busy parents with practical ways to promote


healthy nutrition and physical activity for their children.
Resources for Educators,
a division of CCH Incorporated
128 N. Royal Avenue Front Royal, VA 22630
540-636-4280 [email protected]
www.rfeonline.com
Nutrition Nuggets is reviewed by a registered dietitian. Consult a
physician before beginning any major change in diet or exercise.

ISSN 1935-4630
2016 Resources for Educators, a division of CCH Incorporated

Fun with obstacle courses


These ideas present no obstacle
to getting fit! You and your youngster can create obstacle courses for her to run, crawl,
and dash through with elements like these.
Stepping-stone climb. Line up steps of varying
heights with telephone books, step stools, or old
cushions.
Tunnel crawl. Drape an old sheet over lawn chairs,
or cut the ends off large cardboard boxes.
Zig-zag run. Set up soccer cones in a pattern for weaving in and out.
Shoebox slide. Put out two shoe boxes. Step in (one foot in each), and slide
from one point to another.
Wagon pull. Fill a wagon with stuffed animals, and pull back and forth between
two spots.

Super sliders
Your family is sure to
get a kick out of these healthy versions
of sliders (miniature burgers).

Chicken and waffles


Bake or grill boneless chicken
breast, or use leftover cooked chicken.
Drizzle with a little pure maple syrup.
Sandwich between two toasted mini
whole-grain waffles.

Meatball
Roll lean ground beef into
meatballs. Broil until cooked
through, about 6 minutes
(flip midway). Place each
meatball on the bottom

of a mini whole-wheat roll, cover with


1

2 slice mozzarella cheese, and broil 1

minute more. Spread the top half of the


bun with 1 tbsp. marinara sauce, heat,
and put the sandwich together.

Salmon
In a blender, combine 1 cup plain
Greek yogurt, 21 cucumber, and 2 tbsp.
fresh dill (or 2 tsp. dried). Set aside. Broil
or grill salmon fillets, 45
minutes per side. Cut
into small pieces, and
place each in a multigrain dinner roll with a
dollop of sauce.

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