As we come to the end of February, National Heart Health Month here are some great tips to keep in mind all year long.The American Heart Association’s top ten ways to help kids develop healthy habits.  This should sound pretty familiar, but it is always good to have a reminder.

If you are doing all of these, don’t worry.  What’s important is to start making changes now and gradually change.  Pick one item on the list and work on that.  Set a goal and be positive.  Remember, it takes time to change our habits and every positive change is a step toward a healthier child.
Here are the top 10 tips for helping children develop a healthy heart -  drum roll please!

1. Be a positive role model.  Kids are little sponges and absorb your habits.
2. Be active as a family. Here is some “Being Active” tips and ideas.
3. Limit screen time.  For more help, read “how to limit TV time”
4. Find activities that kids like to do.  Here is a list of ideas.
5. Be supportive.  No nagging please.
6. Set Goals and limits.  Here is a list of kid friendly goals and tracking sheets
7. Avoid rewarding kids with food
8. Make dinnertime, family time.
9. Make it fun to read food labels.  Here is a fun game for kids to learn how to read food labels.
10. Stay involved.  Make healthy choices a priority for the family.

Source AHA

I wanted to share with you a recipe contest that is open to all  7 and 8th graders.

Our partner, Healthy Kids Challenge, is hosting a Stirring Up Health™ National Middle School Recipe Contest.

March 13, 2010         Entry deadline
April 9, 2010             Contest winners notified
May, 2010                Chef for a Day visit or prizes
June, 2010               Contest results posted on HKC Web site

To read more about the entry rules, click here.

Good luck and Happy Cooking!

January is National Soup Month!

It’s winter, it’s cold and it’s time for some soup.  Soup is a great meal or complement to a meal.

My five top reasons I think soup is great for the family.

1. Its warmth is soothing to the tummy on cold days and nights.
2. There are so many different ways to make soup that your kids won’t get bored.
3. It is usually pretty economical, so great for the budget.
4. You can put all the ingredients in a crockpot and let it slow cook all day while you do something else.
5. It tastes great!

How to keep soups healthy:

• Add lots of vegetables for a tasty and healthy soup.
• Make soup based in water – it’s lower in calories
• If your soup is cream based, then use low fat cream or milk for a lower fat soup
• Watch the salt, you can always add a bit more salt if needed
• Combine a cup of soup with a tasty sandwich or salad

Healthy Soup Recipes:

Veggie Chowder- Soup Recipe A tasty soup that’s easy to make from Meatless Monday- corn based with many vegetables make this a healthy soup!

Broccoli Soup Recipe Easy and healthy recipe from kidscooking.about.com- some children may enjoy getting their servings of vegetables from soups, plus cooking together is fun way to interest kids in vegetables and eating healthy!

Chicken Chile Tortilla Soup Recipe from Laura’s Best Recipes- if you have some prep time and time try this new recipe for a hot and different winter soup!

Share your comments with favorite soup recipes and what kinds of soups your children most enjoy!

It’s Oatmeal Month!  So I guess I should start by saying “Happy Oatmeal”!

Did you know that more oatmeal will be eaten this month than any other month of the year.  In fact, according to the Quaker Oats company, Americans buy enough oatmeal in January to make 470 million bowls.  That’s a lot of healthy fiber which is good for your heart and a healthy breakfast for your child.

Healthy benefits of oats:

• Oats have been proven to lower cholesterol.
• Their high fiber level also is good for the digestion system and fills you up.

I love oatmeal and other hot cereals for breakfast.  It brings back memories when I was a kid and my mom used to leave us oatmeal ready to eat before she went to work.  She would put different fruits and even chocolate sometimes to change it up.  My son still likes his oatmeal with some butter.  My daughter likes hers with brown sugar and some fruit.  I think that is one of the fun and versatile features of oatmeal.  You can let your child be creative and try putting in some favorite ingredients to make hot cereal a morning favorite.

Here are some ideas for adding some oats into you child’s diet:

• Add oats when baking- substitute oats for 1/4 of the flour
• Add oats on top of fruit
• Add oats to yogurt
• Make a crunchy salad crouton just toast some oats. Lightly brown oats by baking 1/2 cup oats at 350 F, about 15 to 20 minutes until lightly brown. Let cool and sprinkle on salad
• For a healthy snack add 1/3 cup toasted oats to 1 cup peanut butter and 1/4 cup honey. Spread on apple slices or whole wheat bread or crackers
• Try oats instead of bread crumbs or cracker crumbs
• Use ground oat flour for bread or cracker crumbs when coating chicken, just put oats in blender or food processor until finely ground and follow your existing breaded chicken recipe.
• Add 1/4 to 1/3 cup oats to your child’s fruit smoothie.

Comment to share your favorite oatmeal recipes and ideas for adding oats to healthy recipe makeovers!

Visit our website for more resources on healthy breakfast habits for kids:

Healthy Breakfast Family Contract

Healthy Breakfast Printable Tracking Sheet

Healthy Breakfast Planner for Kids

Children and Fiber Article

Holiday season is gift giving time. Yes, I know, it came too fast, wasn’t it just Halloween?

Well back to gift giving… gift giving time provides an opportunity to promote healthy choices to kids. How? You can shop for healthy gifts and thereby teaching kids that being healthy is important. While you are shopping, you can be explaining the reason it is important to take care of your body and how healthy choices helps your body feel great and grow strong.

Also, instead of buying gifts for kids to give to others, you can have them make “Gift of Time” coupon certificates! This is a great personal gift, let’s kids really be the gift giver and it promotes being active!

You can print ‘gift to time’ coupon certificates holiday printable activity sheets for free! Choose full size- color version or black and white for a holiday coloring activity for kids. ‘Gift of time’ coupons for fun activity together is also a great inexpensive gift to give to your kids!

gift coupons- holiday coloring activity

printable Holiday gift of time coupons-full color version pdf

Here are some free gift ideas to get the kids started:

‣ Set a special table and make a meal for mom and/or dad or grandparents
‣ Do chores for a week without being asked
‣ Vacuum the living room or another room
‣ Clean up the table after a meal
‣ Time together doing a special activity
‣ Make your and your parents’ bed
‣ Dust the furniture
‣ Give the pet a bath
‣ Pick up the toys
‣ Clean and pick up your closet or drawers
‣ An hour of pulling weeds
‣ Help cook dinner
‣ Clean the garage
‣ Help grocery shop
‣ Plan a family picnic
‣ Watch a movie together
‣ Look at family photos together and reminisce
‣ Plan a family hike
‣ Do chores for a week without being asked
‣ Hug coupons- redeemable forever!
‣ Free time for mom coupon (or special someone) where the kids are quiet and let mom enjoy peaceful time to read a book or do whatever she likes

Here are some ideas for healthy gifts for adults Mayo clinic has posted the top 10 list of healthy gift ideas, when children see us choosing healthy gifts for adults this role models that healthy choices are important.

1. Water bottle
2. Whole grain cornucopia
3. Walnuts
4. Herbs
5. Lunch tote
6. Assorted teas
7. Pedometer
8. Compost bin (not sure about this one!lol)
9. Steamer basket
10. Dark Chocolate

New resources from Nourish Interactive for a healthier holiday:

Healthy holiday cookies and snacks tips

Kids healthy Christmas cookies story and fun page

Four simple steps to creating a healthy holiday dinner for the whole family

Holiday food safety- Guidelines for buying, storing and thawing your turkey

Printable coloring pages for kids- cards, bookmarks and nutrition activities- click on the image to see them!

Free holiday printable coloring pages for kids

It is Latino Nutrition Month from September 15 through October 15. This was announced by the Latino Nutrition Coalition and Oldways organization. Their goal is to raise awareness amongst the Latino community that making healthy choices can reduce the risk of chronic diseases.

The Latino population has a high rate of diabetes and heart disease:

• 10.4% of Hispanics aged 20 years or older have been diagnosed with diabetes, according to the CDC
• one in four Hispanic adults living in the U. S. was obese
• 16.8%Hispanic high school students in overweight
• 16.7% of Hispanic high school youth are at risk of b becoming overweight

As a nurse and Latina, I am very much aware of the impact that childhood obesity has amongst Latinos. This is one of the main reasons I made a commitment to have a Spanish version of all our nutrition games and tools for Hispanic speaking kids and parents.

What I love about the organization is that they are not focusing on the negative, but promoting and celebrating the healthy foods in a Latino diet.

They are offering toolkits with recipes, tips and cooking ideas on how to make healthier choices. You don’t have to be a Latino to love Spanish food! There are so many delicious recipes.

In honor of this Latino Nutrition Month, they are holding a recipe contest this month.

Here are the details from their website:

Consumers should submit a recipe that uses at least two Latin American diet products (list is featured below). Winners will be drawn at the end of October, and announced on our websites. Prizes include wonderful Latino products, a new poster of the Latin American Diet Pyramid, and autographed copies of our widely praised recipe book, The Oldways Table.

*** Submit a recipe for a soup, side, main dish or dessert to Adriene Worthington (aworthington@oldwayspt.org) using at least 2 of the following ingredients: Amaranth, Avocado, Bell Peppers, Beans, Carrots, Cheese, Chicken, Chickpeas, Chilies, Cilantro, Fish, Guava, Kiwifruit, Lemons, Limes, Maize, Mango, Okra, Olive Oil, Orange, Papaya, Pasta, Peanuts, Pineapple, Plantains, Potatoes, Pork, Quinoa, Rice, Salsa, Shellfish, Soybeans, Soy Milk, Squash, Sugar/Sugar Substitutes, Tomatillos, Tomatoes, Watermelon, Whole Grain Cereals, Yuca, Yogurt.

Good luck and happy Latino Nutrition Month!

Back to school time can signify hectic schedules, homework and lots of eating on-the-go, but it doesn’t mean your family can afford to slack off on their physical fitness or healthy lifestyle. Jango Mango, official mango ambassador for the National Mango Board (and overall health nut), shares his tips to help keep your family in tip-top shape for back-to-school and all year long.

1. A fresh start: A new school year is a landmark that can bring new traditions, resolutions and decisions. All you have to do is make them. Make a list of goals for you and your family to get ahead of the game. Some great ideas include a central chalkboard in the house to track which chore each family member is responsible for, or get a calendar marking down family nights to ensure you get together at least once a week.

2. Stick to the pyramid: Mangos are an excellent source of vitamins A, C and good source of fiber. Energize your children with the healthy diet they need by avoiding junk food and offering nutritious options such as some Mango Oat Breakfast Bars to start your day off right or Sweet and Savory Mango Roll Ups for a fun after-school snack.

3. Meals at the ready: Need to get dinner on the table quick? There are quick and healthier alternatives to takeout that take the same amount of time to prepare. Try this Mango and Bacon Barbecue Pizza for starters which can be prepared in 20 minutes! You can also prepare snacks and meals a few days in advance to relieve some of the pressure. Try serving some baked tortilla chips with a fresh and healthy Cinco de Mango Salsa and storing it in the fridge for when hunger strikes.

4. Find the time to get active: Things can get busy, but try to set aside time each week to get the whole family together for an active day of fun. Play soccer, hold your own family marathon or get the whole family singing and dancing the Mango Fandango.

5. Make Learning Together Fun: Learning doesn’t have to stop when the bell rings. Try quizzing your child about geography and other fun facts in unique way with the Jango Geography online game.

I grew up on many fruits and vegetables.  Mango was one of my favorites.  It is so sweet and a great substitute for candy!

This Monday make outdoor eating healthy
Choose lean-meats and fat-free hot dogs on whole grain buns.   Add cucumbers, tomatoes and sprouts for crunch, flavor and vitamins.

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.

This Monday prepare for the 4th with fruit
Go red, white and blue with pomegranate, bananas and grapes in your salad. Blend strawberries, plain non-fat yogurt and blueberries for a smoothie rich in flavor and antioxidants.

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.

We all love some sweets. My husband loves his chocolate. My kids love their apple pie! I love my lemon.. lemon anything, I am not picky.

But sometimes, combining sweets and healthy in the same sentence can seem a bit challenging. If it is healthy, it might not be sweet enough to compete with the brownies and cookies the kids are asking for. With summer just around the corner and school out, kids will be looking in the cabinets and refrigerator for something to snack on, and their sweet tooth might be acting up.

I ran across this snack food and was surprised at how good it tasted. I am a stickler with food labels so right away looked to see how much sugar was in a muffin. Only 5 gms of sugar and only 2.5gms of fat. Now compare that with your average muffin which has 10 gms or more of sugar and 10gms or more of fat.

I wanted to share this with you because I was excited to find a sweet tasty snack food. Of course, portions are important, so if you eat 4 or 5 of them, like anything else, the calories and everything else (sugar, fat) add up.

I contacted the manufacturer of the snack food Matisse and Jacks Snacks and explained to them about our website and how we are helping parents who are teaching their children to eat healthy. They agreed to give all Nourish Interactive visitors a 15% discount in the month of May. Just enter the code: CSolus09

I am not their spokesperson for this company but if I find something that I think is great to pass along, then I will. I believe in healthy but tasty snacks and I really like the idea of kids and mom/dad/grandmother/or other wonderful caring adult role model baking in the kitchen with the kids. I have some nice memories from my own childhood and as a mom baking with my kids.

The four baking snacks they offer: cocoa, cranberry, granola and chocolate chip

Additional resources for healthy snacking food ideas for kids and tips to encourage healthier snack choices:

Nourish Healthy Kids – Healthy Snacks for Kids article and tips

Nourish Interactive’s Healthy Tips- Printable Healthy Tip Sheets 
Printable healthy family tips, eating healthy, picky eater tips, and more!

ADA list of some other ideas for healthy snacks And they go well with milk!-read more about calcium and kids.