Recent studies say that today’s children suffer the problem of obesity. And this problem keeps on growing (no pun intended!) unless we curb our unhealthy eating and food preparation practices ourselves.

Kids today are highly influenced by the media–so what they see on TV, or hear in songs have a high likelihood of affecting their habits, and this includes eating. How many times do you see advertisements for fastfood restaurants, and even junk food on TV? And how many times have you seen those shows on TV where kids display a dislike of veggies and just about any food that’s healthy?

And then, of course, the more time that our kids spend in front of the TV watching shows or playing games would mean more time eating snacks that are likely to be oily and fatty.

Childhood obesity can lead to various diseases such as hypertension and diabetes. These usually stay on until a child grows up. There’s a saying that an ounce of prevention is better than a pound of cure. So therefore this means you should try to prevent obesity while your child is young, so that he or she will not have to experience health problems as he grows up.

Nutritionists suggest using the food pyramid as a guide to what you should be feeding your child–and it’s a good idea to adopt this as a guide to what the entire family should be eating, too!

• 3-5 servings a day of vegetables, especially green, leafy vegetables;
• 2-4 servings of fruits a day;
• 2-3 servings of meat, fish, eggs, nuts, or beans a day;
• 2-3 servings of dairy products including cheese and yogurt every other day;
• occasional use of fats, oils, and sweets.
• 6-11 servings of grain a day such as rice, bread, cereals, and pasta;

You will notice that even fats and sweets are part of the food pyramid. Of course. There’s no such thing as “junk food,” since everything we eat will have some nutritional value. However, there’s such a thing as a “junk diet.” This means it’s the combination of what we eat, and how much of each portion, that matters.

Happy eating!

All is finally back to normal here at home. The kids are healthy, Daddy is back from his trip, and Mom is back to pirate mode. One of my major coups this week has been finding the perfect birthday cakes, and thanks to my internet-research-savvy sister, she found me a girl who makes the most fabulous birthday cakes and pretty decent prices.

I love to bake, but in all honesty, one of those fancy “themed” or shaped cakes are totally beyond me. I’ll just leave that to the experts, thank you very much. So when I found this girl called Erika, (a pastry chef in her twenties, baking from home) who could pull off not just the cakes, but matching cupcakes and cookie lollipops in pirate theme, I was thrilled. She sent me a few sketches for approval, and asked for any other input I may have to make the day as special as she could for the kids.

A few more sketches and emails later, we were set! The pirate cake is actually going to be a huge treasure chest, with booty richly overflowing out. But thats not all. Places on a cake board decorated like a desert island beach, she is going to make an edible replica of the treasure map I drew for the party! Add to that some mini-moulded pirate candles we bought to place around the map (5, of course), and we’re set. Exciting stuff aaargh!

[tags]pirate, pirate birthday, pirate cake[/tags]

A wonderful family Christmas tradition I started since the children came along is baking Christmas cookies. My daughter is now nearly 5, but we started doing it when she was 2, and actually do it all year round. Of course, during Christmas it becomes even more special as we make enough to give away and its a good excuse to use our special cutters in holiday shapes like a Christmas tree, bell, star and angel. The gingerbread man is my daughter’s favourite, as is the snowman.

Everyone has a favourite cookie recipe of their own, but this particular one is ideal for the busy Mom as they freeze really well and come in handy when the kids just want to do the shaping and icing part (and you have enough on your hands to want to mix and measure). Oh, and best of all, these taste really good too!

2 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup packed dark brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 tablespoons corn syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 large egg
2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda

Heat oven to 375° F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or aluminum foil.

With an electric mixer on medium-high, beat the butter, brown and granulated sugars, corn syrup, and vanilla for 3 minutes. Add the egg and beat until combined.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, and baking soda. Reduce mixer speed to low and slowly add the flour mixture to the egg mixture. Add ingredients from the variation of your choice.

Unless the directions for the variation state otherwise, form the dough into tablespoon-size mounds. Place on the prepared baking sheets, 2 inches apart. Bake until lightly browned at the edges, 12 to 15 minutes. Cool on the baking sheets for 5 minutes. Transfer the cookies to wire racks. Cool completely.

To Make Now and Bake Later: When you mix a batch of cookies, double the recipe. Bake half the dough according to the recipe and divide the rest into 4 equal portions. Roll each portion into a log about 1 1/2 inches in diameter. Wrap each log in plastic, then place in a resealable plastic bag. To save yourself time and hassle, label the bag with the flavor, the oven temperature, and the baking time, adding 3 to 6 minutes to the regular oven time. Freeze the dough for up to 3 months. To bake, slice the frozen dough into rounds about 1/2 inch thick, making as few or as many as you would like. Bake on a parchment- or foil-lined baking sheet.

Yield: Makes 40 cookies

NUTRITION PER SERVING
CALORIES 105(43% from fat); FAT 5g (sat 3g); SUGAR 8g; PROTEIN 1g; CHOLESTEROL 17mg; SODIUM 67mg; FIBER 1g; CARBOHYDRATE 15g

[tags]Christmas, Holidays, Christmas cookies, cookie recipe[/tags]

I was about to post another totally adorable DIY costume, but I came across these totally disgusting appetisers, which are just too horrible not to share.

To be honest, I feel physically sick when I look at these, but I’m pretty sure it will elicit joy from my daughter and her kindergarten gang. I’m debating whether I should serve it at my next drinks party……just to see the faces of my friends.

These grotesque digits are actually delicious pretzels, and the recipe makes about 45 of them - so perfect for a party (or scaring your husband when he raids the fridge in the middle of the night). The recipe also suggests you sprinkle the fingers with rosemary, to complete the freakish, bristle-laden look.

Ingredients:

24 blanched almonds, halved lengthwise
Red food coloring, optional
1 tablespoon sugar
1 scant tablespoon active dry yeast (one 1/4-ounce package)
5 1/2 to 6 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for work surface
1 tablespoon salt
2 tablespoons baking soda
1 large egg
Sea salt
Dried rosemary (optional)
Vegetable-oil cooking spray

1. Place a small amount of food coloring in a shallow bowl, and, using a paintbrush, color the rounded side of each split almond; set aside to dry.

2. Pour 2 cups warm water (110°) into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the dough-hook attachment. Add sugar; stir to dissolve. Sprinkle with yeast, and let stand until yeast begins to bubble, about 5 minutes.

3. Beat 1 cup flour into yeast on low speed until combined. Beat in salt; add 3 1/2 cups flour until combined. Beat until dough pulls away from bowl, 1 to 2 minutes. Reduce speed to low; add 1/2 cup flour. Knead 1 minute more. If dough is sticky, add up to 1 cup more flour. Transfer to a lightly floured surface; knead until smooth, 1 minute.

4. Coat a large bowl with cooking spray. Transfer dough to bowl, turning dough to coat with oil. Cover with plastic wrap; let rest in a warm spot to rise until doubled in size, about 1 hour.

5. Heat oven to 450°. Heat 3 quarts water to boil in a 6-quart straightsided saucepan over high heat; reduce to a simmer. Add baking soda. Lightly coat two baking sheets with cooking spray. Divide dough into quarters. Work with one quarter at a time, and cover remaining dough with plastic wrap. Divide the first quarter into twelve pieces. On a lightly floured work surface, roll each piece back and forth with your palm into a long finger shape, about 3 to 4 inches. Pinch dough in two places to form knuckles. When all twelve fingers are formed, transfer to simmering water. Poach for 1 minute. Using a slotted spoon, transfer fingers to baking sheet. Repeat with remaining dough, blanching each set of 12 fingers before making more.

6. Beat egg with 1 tablespoon water. Brush pretzel fingers with egg wash. Using a sharp knife, lightly score each knuckle about three times. Sprinkle with salt and rosemary, if using. Position almond nails; push into dough to attach. Bake until golden brown, 12 to 15 minutes. Let cool on wire rack. Fingers are best eaten the same day; or store, covered, up to 2 days at room temperature.

[tags]Recipes,Halloween,Appetizers,Pretzels[/tags]

Before you start planning tomorrow’s lunchbox, I thought it would be useful to make a quick list on what SHOULDNT go into the lunchbox. This is because of the gross amount of things you can find in any supermarket today - things, which masquerade as “healthy” items but are actually NOT.

Here’s what to be wary of:

1. Fruit Drinks - if its not 100% juice, its got very little of the real stuff in and probably masses of flavourings, sugar and coloring. Better choices to give are homemade smoothies or pure juice.

2. Fruit Snacks - I plead guilty to this as seen in my last post’s mention of fruit roll ups (but my daughter loves them!). Anything that says “with real fruit!” on it probably has very little fruit and gargantuan amounts of sugar. Yikes.

3. Processed Snacks - Cheese strings, cheese and cracker packs, and obviously crisps (despite being wholewheat etc) can be loaded with salt and saturated fats. Not good.

4. Flavoured and Kid’s Yougurt - Kids yogurt tend to be sweeter or worse, with those add-ins like sprinkles, chocolate etc which mean too far too sweet. Think of it as 5 teaspoons of white sugar in each pot.

5. Cereal Bars - On the outside these do look convincingly healthy, but the reality is actually about 40% sugar, 30% fat and some major cavities tomorrow. Did I scare you enough?

To continue from the last post, a good way to get started on daily lunchbox planning is to do it based on the 4 vital ingredients. I’ve given some ideas too below.

1. Protein

Try sandwiches filled with chicken, eggs, tuna, cheese or ham (try the turkey kind). My daughter also likes pasta or rice with chicken or tuna.

2. Complex Carbs

Complex carbohydrates, as opposed to refined carbs, release energy slowly, ensuring that your child has enough energy to last the day and wont need a coffee after lunch. Find this in whole grain breads, pasta, brown or red rice and the good old banana.

3. Calcium

Kids simply need calcium for their growth, so do remember cheese, yougurts, fromage frais and milk (including milkshakes). Experts say kids above 5 can go low-fat, but personally I’ll keep mine on whole until they hit puberty. It just seems they should enjoy whole as long as they can.

4. Fruit and Veg

Heres where they’ll get their all-important vitamins, anti-oxidants, minerals and other lovely things. I sneak the veg in pasta sauce (tomatoes and carrots), chicken meatballs (with spinach) and even cake (carrot & pineapple). My kids love raisins, oranges, mangoes apples (with cinnamon sugar - the brown kind) and broccoli too, so I count myself lucky. Oh, and corn too. Does that count as a vegetable?

5. The Treat (entirely optional)

Ok, this bit is optional depending on how much of a health-obsessed Mom you are. But even if you are, you can kinda cheat. As a treat, you could throw in one of those fruit leather things (or fruit roll ups if you’re lazy and feeling indulgent) or some cake or cookies (homemade is better, but a raisin oat variety or wholewheat teddy grahams from the store is ok too).

On Martha Stewart’s site, she drew funny faces on fruit with edible markers or better yet, do as my Mother did when I was little and make faces on top of brown rice using grapes and veg slivers. It got me to eat my complex carbs, and made me the envy of my 1st grade class.

Like billions of Moms everywhere, every morning (or the night before for the more organized ones) I have to come up with what to put in my daughter’s lunchbox. Quite a challenge as each day must have 3 important factors:

1. Yum factor (she’ll eat it)

2. Health factor (to diminish any guilt on my part that I’m feeding my kid right)

3. Variety factor (kids thrive on this in waves, after one particular fave is no longer a fave you’ll have to experiment to find a new one so variety does matter)

And now that my child has both snacktime and lunch at school, I have to be extra creative.

It is extra difficult to succumb to temptation at the supermarket in the name of convenience, where there are miles of aisles devoted to pre-packaged biscuits and crisps, all brightly coloured with kid-ogle-worthy characters but unhappily laden with all the scary mono-poly-whatever fats, salts, refined sugar, msg and other frightening dyes.

I’m no granola Mom (and occasionally buy oreos and take them to yikes- Mac Donalds) but I do like to think that I’m not filling my kids with scary things that will pop out and haunt them later on. And that the rosy glow of health is also a look I like to see on them.

According to a nutritionist a healthy lunchbox should have the capability of improving your child’s attention, behaviour and learning throughout the day and into the afternoon, providing 1/3 of your child’s daily requirements of nutrients.

So to simplify:

1. Protein: to keep them alert

2. Complex Carbs: for slow-release energy

3. Calcium: for growth, healthy bones and teeth

4. Fruit and veg: for vitamins and minerals

More on my next post on ideas for this. Stay tuned Moms.

Saying an absolute “no” to those cookies and chips may be doing your child more harm than good.

As our children grow we have less say over all areas of their life including their nutrition. While we may pack a healthy lunch, there’s not much you can do to stop them trading their nutritious apple for cookies, or spending their allowance on a chocolate bar. While as a parent you may not approve, keep in mind that there is a place for junk food in a diet … as long as that place is a very small one. Pediatrician and co-author of All Shapes and Sizes, Dr. Miriam Kaufman adds that “junk food is sometimes very good for the soul and it’s very important not to deprive our children of this.”

So how do we fit in a little junk food without overdoing it? Dr. Kaufman suggests that we “go with smaller portions, go with them as things that you have every once in a while so that potato chips are not dietary staples. Go with one scoop of ice cream instead of three. Even make your own ice cream with low fat yogurt and milk instead. There are lots of treats which are low fat. Popcorn is one of the greatest. If you do it in a hot air popcorn maker you can stick a tablespoon of butter on it and it’s still pretty low fat.”

Nutritionist Jadine Kairns agrees that a little junk food is okay. In fact, if it’s never allowed it may become the forbidden fruit and that can be trouble in itself. “I think all snacks can be offered. I even advocate chips and candy once in a while. I believe junk food does have a place in our diet, because the more you say no to yourself or have someone say no to you, the more you can really value that. So I really believe in variety, moderation and a relaxed attitude towards eating and what it entails.”

And as for the odd meal at the local burger joint Kairns feels that “the approach to fast food should be the same as to junk food. In moderation it’s okay. You don’t necessarily want a steady diet of it, but when you put together a shake, fries and a burger, you’re getting the milk, protein, starches even a little vegetable. So the four foods groups are covered, but what they are high in is fat.”

So relax when your child is out with friends and has had nothing but junk food. As Dr. Kaufman says, “every once in a while it’s okay for your child to go out and have ice cream and cake at a party.”

Feeding the Healthy Vegetarian Family
By Ken Haedrich (1998, Bantam Books, $16. Reading level: Adult)

Vegetarian father-of-four, Ken Haedrich dishes out more than 250 kid-tested, meat-free recipes that can be prepared in short order, taste good, use easy-to-find ingredients, and are healthy. The book is sprinkled with family anecdotes, sections just for the kids, and tips for enjoying vegetarian meals without feeling deprived.

New Vegetarian Baby: An Entirely New, Updated Edition of the Classic Guide to Raising Your Baby on the Healthiest Possible Diet
By Sharon Yntema and Christine Beard (1999, McBrooks Press, $16. Reading level: Adult)

Certified nutrition educator and counselor Christine Beard teamed up with the author of the original Vegetarian Baby (published in 1980) to create a level-headed, well-researched, timely, and accurate guide to feeding your baby a nutritious yet meatless diet.

Better Than Peanut Butter & Jelly: Quick Vegetarian Meals Your Kids Will Love!
By Wendy Muldawer (1997, McBrooks Press, $17. Reading level: Adult)

Yes, whipping up yet another pb&j is an easy way to keep the kids fed, but even the most change-averse child will get sick of the same old thing eventually. This book packs 150 low-fat, low-sugar, kid-friendly recipes, such as Brown Rice Fruit Salad and Cartwheel Carrots, that can be prepared without a lot of hassle. Snack and party ideas are included, as are vegan options.

Whether you’re merely hoping to get a carrot or two into your child’s meals or wondering how to provide a balanced, healthy diet for a budding vegetarian, check out these cookbooks. They’re chock-full of veggie recipes guaranteed to please fussy family members, including some that even kids can help make.

Pretend Soup and Other Real Recipes: A Cookbook for Preschoolers & Up
By Mollie Katzen and Ann L. Henderson (1994, Tricycle Press, $17. Reading level: Ages 4 to

Vegetarian foodie Mollie Katzen (author of The Moosewood Cookbook) and educator Ann Henderson have teamed up to create a kid-friendly, nutritionally mindful, and parent-perfect book. Each of the 19 recipes starts with individual instructions for both the adult and child, is illustrated with cute animals, and includes insider reviews from kids who have tried the recipes. Children will love the easy-to-follow step-by-step illustrations, and parents will like that science and math lessons are covertly woven into assignments for mixing and measuring.

101 Meatless Family Dishes: Delicious & Satisfying Recipes the Whole Family Will Love (Even the Kids!)
By John Ettinger (1995, Prima Publishing, $15. Reading level: Adult)

Whether your family shuns meat completely or you just want to switch out a couple of animal-based dishes each week for plant-based ones, this book, written by the food columnist for The Portland Oregonian, offers plenty of options. The sheer number of family-tested recipes, such as Texan Stuffed Peppers, Spicy Vegetable Pilaf Casserole, and Herbed Cheese Ravioli, ensures that you’ll find something to please the palates of everyone in your home.