It is almost St Patrick’s Day and that means put your lucky “Green On”.

Holidays are a fun way to incorporate nutrition and healthy eating habits!  St Patrick’s Day is certainly no exception.  We have created some very cute and positive nutrition messaging for St Patrick’s Day.

Have the kids learn about nutrition with our “The Lucky Food Pyramid” in which each food group tells you how they bring you luck.  For a fun coloring activity to promote positive nutrition- print the ‘Find and Color’ Lucky Green Vegetables page. Celebrate the luck of St Patrick’s Day and eating healthy with nutrition bookmarks, coloring pages, word scramble puzzles, mazes and more.

Lucky green means lucky green fruits and vegetables!

Oh and the pot at the end of the rainbow.  Yup, it is full of healthy foods from the food pyramid!  And lots more healthy nutrition fun- over 7 Lucky St Patrick’s Day printable activity pages for kids.

Check out our free St Patrick’s Day Nutrition Activities and Coloring Pages and promote nutrition in a fun way!

Michelle Obama has really helped promote a new trend and a very healthy one,  fresh farm foods.

I know many schools are trying to incorporate fresh grown fruits and vegetables into their cafeteria program and their nutrition education programs.  I ran across this fairly new organization and wanted to share it with you.

Farm to School brings healthy food from local farms to school children nationwide. The program teaches students about the path from farm to fork, and instills healthy eating habits that can last a lifetime. At the same time, use of local produce in school meals and educational activities provides a new direct market for farmers in the area and mitigates environmental impacts of transporting food long distances.

They have created a network to help parents and teachers find this type of program into their local schools.   Meeting local farmers and learning about how foods are grown are all part of helping kids love nutrition!

Find a Farm to School Program by clicking on your state.

Related Resources- from our website Nourish Interactive:

Fruits and vegetables worksheets

Food pyramid food groups – fun coloring and learning sheets

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

Michelle Obama speaks out on the new initiative “Let’s Move”

Let’s Move will give parents the support they need, provide healthier food in schools, help our kids to be more physically active, and make healthy, affordable food available in every part of our country.

We support Michelle Obama and our President 100%.

Healthy Choice Resources

Fun Healthy Goals and Tracking sheets

Nutrition Games and Tools for Kids

Nutrition Tools for Parents

Nutrition Tools for Teachers

I attended the Network for a Healthy California earlier this week in Sacramento, CA.  This meeting was attended by predominantly schools from around California who are providing innovative ways to promote nutrition to children.  I think what really impressed me is their commitment to making nutrition education part of their curriculum.  With all the budget deficits, cuts to program funds and to teachers, they continue to work together and share ideas and resources so children can learn the importance of healthy living.

Their studies are showing that teaching children about fruits and vegetables and healthy choices is making a difference.  It was exciting to see such a positive impact and very motivating to keep doing the work we do here at NourishInteractive.com to support them.

I was happy to be able to attend and share with them our free nutrition tools and games.  Schools are actively looking for resources to help them bring nutrition and exercise into the schools despite limited funding.  So please, take the time to pass on our website to your child’s school.  We are here to help them and rely on word of mouth to spread our resources.

You can print out this flyer and drop off to your child’s teacher or principal.

I just read a very colorful  little book called, “H is for Healthy Diet” by Keith Turner.

Kids nutrition book

This mini book is packed with good information and tips about healthy eating and why it is important.  It is great book for older kids to read for themselves.  I think parents can also use this book to review key nutrition messages with the younger child.  There are lots of food image and cartoon illustration to help reinforce the message.

Some of the key points I really liked in the book are:

• the visual examples of what is a healthy breakfast:  one at home and one for the on the go breakfast
• the visual example of the difference in portion sizes, one for adults and one for children
• the examples of what foods are low energy foods (unhealthy foods) and what exactly is healthy foods

Kids are open to receiving healthy messages when they are presented in a positive and especially fun manner.  Really, no different than adults.  We all enjoy learning about things that are presented in an interesting way that keeps our attention.  Books are a fun, colorful way to introduce healthy choice concepts.

For more information about this book, you can go to their website -Parents and teachers will find several books written for children in this series- Health/Nutrition, Safety, Hygiene and more!

I was not paid to share this information.  If I find something I like, then I am always happy to pass it on to you.  Happy Reading.

I just read an article that talked about the misleading claims on food packaging.  This was a hot topic at the Childhood Obesity Conference last June because marketers are finding ways to make their brand sound really healthy! When in fact, their claims are misleading.  How is the average consumer to know?

According to this article, here are the six meaningless claims found on Food packaging to watch out for:

• Lightly sweetened:  This may be found on cereal packages.  It sounds like there is very little sugar, right?  What does that really mean?  There is no regulation on what can be termed “less sugar”, compared to what?  When shopping for a cereal for your child, look for cereals that have the five-five rule.  Five grams or less of sugar and Five grams or more of fiber in a serving.  Now this may be harder to find, but at least you have a guide.
• A good source of fiber: But are these foods providing fiber that naturally comes from whole grains, legumes, vegetables or fruit?  Some food manufacturers are adding what is called “isolated fibers” which have not been shown to have the same health benefits.
• Strengthens your immune system:  Read carefully.  Immune systems need a variety and balance of vitamins and minerals that work together to build a good immune system.  This comes from natural fruits and vegetables and a balanced diet from foods from all five food groups.
• Made with real fruit: What you want to look for is 100% real fruit juice.  And even then, fruit juice has a lot of sugar, so children should be limited to one 6oz glass of 100% juice per day.
• Made with whole grains:  Again, you want 100% whole grains.   Otherwise, it may have some whole grains but it can also have lots of refined or processed grains.  Check the label.  It should be the first item in the ingredients list.
• All natural: All I can advise is to read the label.  It could be full of high fructose corn syrup.  We know what real “natural” foods are.  They usually don’t come in a package.

For more help, here is a fun way to learn how to read food labels

Free printable “health food claims”  guidelines

Food Claims article

Quick Food Label printable – take the grocery store for quick reference

Healthy shopping list

Other blogs on food labels:

Food labeling systems

Smart Choices food labeling system

A new study published in Pediatrics was conducted using McDonald’s menus.  The research showed that when parents were provided with calorie information, they chose foods that were about 100 calories less per meal.   The study surveyed 99 parents of 3-6 years.  The researchers showed parents food items, half with calorie information and the other half without calorie information.

• On average, parents with calorie information would select a meal that had 102 calories less than if they did not have the calorie information

• An interesting side note, in this study there was no difference in the food choices parents made for themselves.

This is obviously a very small study and there is a lot of press discussing how this study is really hopeful in fighting childhood obesity.

I personally think this gives mixed results.  I am not trying to down play the importance of calorie information because I do believe that it will be helpful.  I have written several blogs on this topic and even I, myself, have changed my menu choices when I saw the calories!  So I do think menus should show the calories.

But my concern is that kids are learning from their parents, we are the role models.  So if this study shows that parents continued to choose high calorie foods despite the fact they chose a lower calorie option for their child, I think that is a big red flag.  Eventually when the child becomes more independent, they will probably choose food items similar to their parents’ choices.  AKA high calorie foods!

The child may also resent that they are given a “lower calorie option” while their parents are eating the higher calorie foods.  This could make them want their parents’ food choices even more.

So, my take away is simple.  Changing a child’s food choices and helping them form healthy habits starts with the family making a commitment to eat healthier.  Changing habits as a family doesn’t have to be this awful, depriving experience.  Gradually changing choices and setting small goals is the best way to change habits.  And finally, celebrating each small step towards a healthier lifestyle.

Here are more tips on how to work with kids to set goals and track changes, all in a fun and positive way.

Free Cute Friendly Goal Contracts

Free Kid Friendly Tracking Sheets

This is that time of year where everyone is making New year resolutions and for many, losing weight will be their resolution.

When we tend to focus on a “losing weight” goal, it usually means some extreme restrictive diet that makes us feel like we are “sacrificing”.  But it is hard to sacrifice forever and to maintain a healthy weight is a life long commitment.  So in a way, we have already set ourselves up for failure by committing to do something we already know we can’t do for the rest of our lives.  And yes, I am certainly guilty of doing that to.

But for kids, the focus should not be on losing weight but rather eating healthy and being active.  Eating healthy means eating foods from all the food groups in the correct proportion.  This is also good advice for us adults.  This is something we can do for the long term and the only sacrifice is really learning to eat in proper servings.

This year, I say, throw out the diet resolution and instead work as a family to eat healthy foods and a balanced meal.  Work on increasing activity steadily.   By working as a family, you help kids learn the importance of being healthy but in a positive way rather than a restrictive way.

To start, set small steps towards changing your habits because it is too hard to make big leaps in eating and activity levels.  Help kids learn how to set healthy goals as part of a family activity that is fun and positive.  Here is a great article written by our dietitian that gives a step by step planning process on how to set and achieve goals in a very fun and positive way with the kids.

If you haven’t set your family goals, it is never too late.  Keep it positive and keep it fun.  And remember that each small change will add up to a healthier child (and family!)

Setting Goals as a Family and Keeping Kids Motivated

Setting Goals and Tracking Success Activity Page

Free Printable Kids Healthy Goals Contracts and Activity Tracking Sheets

Just wanted to wish everyone a very Happy New Year!

It is hard to believe that another year has rolled by.   We believe that the best way to fight childhood obesity and keep our kids healthy is through early fun nutrition education.

We thank you for your support over the last two years.  We could not have grown to over 350,000 hits per month without you kind words about our site.

We are so appreciative and grateful to all the moms, dads, grandparents, teachers and nurses  and kids who took the time to pass our site along to others.

We are so excited for 2010 and look forward to working with you in a fun way to promote healthy eating and daily activity to our children.

Look for us in twitter, facebook and myspace as we join the social networking world with new free games, nutrition tools and printable worksheets!

We will see you in 2010!