Everyone is busy getting their kids back to school.  What a perfect time to take a little break and bring the kids to a Family Night that will mix fruits and vegetables and lots of FUN.  Nourish Interactive has been working with Fresh Choice to reach out to kids and promote healthy eating.  With September being National Childhood Obesity Awareness month, it is a reminder to us how important healthy foods and daily activity is for kids.

We are happy to let our San Mateo, CA and nearby Peninsula cities know that the Fresh Choice Restaurant in San Mateo will host its First Family Night.  Nourish Interactive will be there with nutrition education games to make fruits and vegetables fun for kids.

Click to go to Facebook Event Page!

Take a night off from cooking and enjoy fresh seasonal fruits and vegetables from their local farm while the kids have some fun learning about healthy food choices.

Just a few of the FREE & FUN nutrition activities for kids:

• Take a picture with Chef Solus
• Play Nourish Interactive Games- winner of Parents’ Choice Seal and Children’s Library Association Award
• Play tic-tac-toe   The vegetables versus Chef Solus
• Coloring fruits and vegetables while kids learn where produce really comes from!
• Spin the wheel, land on a fruit or vegetable and win a prize!
• Healthy eating out tips for parents to take home.
• Each child will have their name entered into a contest and have a chance to win a Wii game system.

Play the Yummy Drops Fruit Game and automatically get a FREE Kids meal coupon for Fresh Choice Restaurant!

More information:

Family Night event at Fresh Choice Restaurant in San Mateo, CA

Fresh Choice and Nourish Interactive Partnership

Nourish Interactive partnered with Fresh Choice!

Sleep: the ultimate school supply

Start the school year off right by getting your kids back on a healthy sleep schedule! Have them go to bed at the same time each night and get a consistent amount of sleep.

Mondays are a great day to renew Family Health vows. Every Monday, you will find some healthy tip to help your family start the week off on a Healthy Note!

Thanks to Healthy Monday organization for sharing their Monday tips.

Related resources:

Getting into sleep routine for back to school- video by St Christopher’s Hospital

Back to school sleeping requirements and tips – from The Sleep Doctor

I want to thank all the wonderful people who supported us in the Michelle Obama “Apps for Healthy Kids” contest.

We won’t know until September (no specific date given) who were the winners of the contest.  But we were in the top five for popular vote and that says a great deal about the support we received from everyone.

But I wanted to give a special shout out to the Mommy Bloggers who really stepped up to support us!  Putting our banner on their page and sharing our website and contest with all their readers.

Please help us support them by visiting their sites.  To make it easy for you to find these great websites, we have created a  special page that lists their websites and the wonderful services they provide for other moms.

We are all mothers and it is great we can help support each other and the wonderful work that every one is doing.

Check out these mom-owned and run websites and blogs.  They have great healthy tips, recipes, products and services to help families.

List of Exclusive Mommy Bloggers Websites

Prime time, not snack time

Avoid having the family munching in front of the television this week. It’s harder to keep track of how much you’re eating!

Mondays are a great day to renew Family Health vows. Every Monday, you will find some healthy tip to help your family start the week off on a Healthy Note!

Thanks to Healthy Monday organization for sharing their Monday tips.

I get asked sometimes what to do for your children when everything you have tried has not worked. Your child will simply not eat any or very little fruits and vegetables.  Kids can be very picky eaters and stubborn, too.

I always recommend continued patience and don’t give up trying to introduce fruits and vegetables in different experiences that can be really fun for kids.  Like planting a vegetable and involving the child so they can see it grow from a little seed.  That can really pique their interest.

But in the meantime, how do you ensure your child is getting the necessary vitamins and minerals they need that only comes from fruits and vegetables.  Although fresh is best, sometimes a child does need a supplement.

I am not an expert at supplements but there is one that my husband and I take every morning and one that I buy for my grandniece who is five years old.  And that is Juice Plus.  It is not a manufactured vitamin but actually made from 17 fruits and vegetables.

As I said, it is not a vitamin or mineral, it is actually whole food supplement.  It is made from 17 different fruits and vegetables that are juiced and then dried at low temperatures so that the water and sugar,  salt and the bulk are removed leaving just the concentrated powder from the fruits and vegetables.  This powder is put inside capsules and chewables for kids.

I am not paid to tell you about this special nutrient.  I just really believe in the importance of fruits and vegetables and wanted to share with you something that my family takes to get all our nutrients. I do eat lots of fruits and vegetables every day but sometimes I don’t get all the servings my body needs.  I know my little five year old is one of those very stubborn picky eaters.   That was when I found out they also had a the kids chewables Juice Plus.

When I find a healthy snack or in this case, supplement that I really think is great, I want to pass that on to you.

Here is a link to their general Juice Plus website where you can get more information about their kids chewables and all the research and science behind their product.

Resources:

Picky Eaters Printable Guide for Parents

Follow the rainbow

Fruits and vegetables of different hues offer a wide range of nutrients. This week make a dish for your family with green spinach, orange carrots, black beans or red berries for a healthy, colorful meal everyone will enjoy.

Mondays are a great day to renew Family Health vows. Every Monday, you will find some healthy tip to help your family start the week off on a Healthy Note!

Thanks to Healthy Monday organization for sharing their Monday tips.

Remind me Monday

You’re more likely to attain your family’s health goals with constant reinforcement. So make a list of family’s desired behavior changes every Monday and keep your goals in sight by posting a reminder on the refrigerator for yourself and your family!

Mondays are a great day to renew Family Health vows. Every Monday, you will find some healthy tip to help your family start the week off on a Healthy Note!

Thanks to Healthy Monday organization for sharing their Monday tips.

A consumer watchdog group is threatening to sue McDonalds for placing toys in their Happy Meals. With the growing concern about our children’s lack of nutrition and healthy habits, McDonalds is now under fire.

The group is claiming that by placing toys in their happy meals, McDonalds is luring kids to want to eat their high fatty meals.  The group states that this is deceptive marketing practices and in violation of four state laws.

Well, there will certainly be arguments on both sides with many people blaming the parents for not just saying “NO”.  But I have to say, being a parent, I am not so quick to blame them.  I mean kids recognize the golden arches before they can even talk!  Now that says a lot about the marketing towards kids.  It is hard to fight millions of dollars of advertising.

Here in the Bay Area, Santa Clara was the first county to pass a law against putting toys in unhealthy foods.  Will this make a difference in kids choices?  It certainly won’t hurt.

We are facing a serious issue and just like everything else, it may mean some drastic measures.

Whatever happens, it probably won’t be soon (most likely).

Parents, you can prepare your children for eating out and setting some expectations.  For example, they could order the happy meal but must have milk instead of soda or fruit instead of french fries.  In other words. there is room for some healthy food.  And in all fairness to McDonalds, they do have some healthier choices.

Here is our printable  guide and tips that you could use with your child before you eat out.  Once you get there, it is much harder to set expectations.  Kids are much more negotiable when you are deciding whether you will take them there.  Use your leverage to vie for some healthy choices.

Four factors that can make all the difference in promoting a healthy weight child.

1. Involve your child in grocery shopping and cooking
2. Avoid having “food rules” like finish all your food on your plate
3. Get the kids playing actively inside and outside
4. Make being active a priority

These are based on new research released by the SymphonyIRI and FMI completed in April 2010.  The study reports “We have found that just a few differences in behaviors can make the difference between the path to overweight and obesity, and that of maintaining healthy weight children.”

Related resources from Nourish Interactive:

Cooking with Kids Tips

Kids Daily Exercise Needs Article

Improving Kids TV Habits Article

Keep Kids Active During Summer Article

Online BMI Calculator- A free tool for parents to check their child’s BMI

BMI tool for children- Instead of a BMI percentile score, children receive positive messages about improving their exercise and nutrition habits!

Learn about our free interactive online games for kids – The fun way to learn about nutrition!

Getting kids involved in the meal planning is a good strategy to promote a balanced meal and a healthy one.

I know this sounds so simple but some of the best strategies for dealing with kids are pretty straightforward.  If they help decide the menu and help in the preparation, then they are a little more vested in eating it.

Here is a simple way to get started:

Print this free colorful and kid friendly food pyramid.

Have the kids plan the menu requiring them to pick a food from each of the food groups.

Have the kids help pick out the fresh fruit and vegetable at the grocery store.  Here is a cute guide for kids and parents to buying fruits and vegetables in season and how to pick them.

Have your child help in the preparation.  Depending on their age, kids can do quite a bit to help.  Here is a quick guide on cooking activities based on the child’s age.

Have the child name the meal or special dish.  Yes, add the little extra fun in it.  ”Tony’s SuperSonic Meal” or “Jazzie’s Dreamy Surprise” .  Kids are very imaginative, let them come up with a fun name that they can use to introduce their meal to the family.