Moms' Nutrition Tip Liven up your child’s lunch box with the following food ideas: - Make our Juicy Strawberry or Juicy Mango Jigglers, and pack a few squares in a small plastic container. Be sure to place the container next to an ice pack so the squares don’t melt! - Besides the usual baby carrots and dip, try other fun veggies including sugar snap peas, green beans, sliced red or yellow bell peppers, snow pea pods, or celery sticks. - Liven up snack time with our homemade Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins, Chocolaty Pumpkin Bars, or Blueberry Snack Muffins (see Recipe section of our website). More tips
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Nutrition Tips

• To make mealtime more enjoyable for everyone in your family, try the following:
  - Set your table with pretty placemats and napkins.
  - Light a candle or two to set the mood.
  - Turn off the TV to avoid distractions.
  - Play nice music.
  
  
• Adding good nutrition to your holiday treats is easy with a few ingredient substitutions:
  - Instead of regular eggs, use omega-3 eggs to increase the heart-healthy fats.
  - Instead of all white flour, replace half the white with whole wheat for more nutrients and fiber.
  - Instead of butter, use canola oil (1 stick butter = about 3/4 cup canola oil), low in saturated fat and a good source of mono and polyunsaturated fats. - Add good-for-you ingredients to your goodies such as dried fruit, finely chopped nuts, and ground flaxseed.
  
  
• To make packing and preparing fresh fruits and veggies for kids easy and fun, use cool containers and clever gadgets.:
- "Pear Packers," plastic pear-shaped containers from www.consumerstore.usapears.com eliminate the squish factor that fresh pears can suffer when taken on the go.
- Kiwi spoons make cutting and scooping Kiwifruit a breeze. Look for them in the grocery store produce aisle or check out www.zesprikiwi.com.
- Apple dividers core and slice apples into easy-to-grab shapes in one fell swoop (www.oxo.com).
- Child-friendly chopsticks make healthy snacks easy to pick up and gobble down (Zoo Sticks and Fish Sticks at www.IdeaKitchen.net).

• Contrary to what many moms and even pediatricians may think, drinking 100% fruit juice doesn't make kids overweight or obese. In fact, new research shows that juice drinkers eat a pretty healthy diet -- consuming less fat, saturated fat, and added sugars and more nutrients like vitamin C, folate, and potassium. To make fruit juice part of a healthy diet, follow these simple tips:
- Choose 100% fruit juice or 100% fruit & veggie juice.
- Stick to the American Academy of Pediatrics 100% juice guideline of no more than 4 - 6 ounces for 1 to 6 year olds and 8 - 12 ounces for older kids.
- Blend 100% fruit juice or fruit & veggie juice into thirst-quenching fruit smoothies for extra nutrition.



• If your child won’t try new foods, create a "tasting" chart and hire her to be your official taster. Janice does this with her 7-year old daughter, Leah. Every time Leah tries a new recipe, she gets a sticker for her official opinion (10 stickers can be traded in for one dollar or a prize)! It’s fun and encourages Leah to be more adventurous in the kitchen.



• Switch from large plates to smaller ones to cut calories and keep your weight in check. Big dishes and spoons often tempt people to serve themselves too much food. A recent study led by Dr. Brian Wansink of Cornell University showed that subjects given a large bowl (34 ounces) served themselves over 30 percent more ice cream than those given a smaller bowl (17 ounces). Spoon size also correlated with portion size. The experts concluded that the larger sizes acted as subliminal clues because the people being tested were generally unaware of serving themselves more.



• Gravy is notorious for being way too high in fat and calories. By using a gravy separator to separate the pan drippings from the turkey fat, it’s easy to create delicious gravy without all the saturated fat and calories. In fact, when we roasted a 12-pound turkey, we were able to pour away 3/4 cup turkey fat for a savings of 170 grams fat and 1,500 calories!



• Switch from large plates to smaller ones to cut calories and keep your weight in check. Big dishes and spoons often tempt people to serve themselves too much food. A recent study led by Dr. Brian Wansink of Cornell University showed that subjects given a large bowl (34 ounces) served themselves over 30 percent more ice cream than those given a smaller bowl (17 ounces). Spoon size also correlated with portion size. The experts concluded that the larger sizes acted as subliminal clues because the people being tested were generally unaware of serving themselves more.



• Gravy is notorious for being way too high in fat and calories. By using a gravy separator to separate the pan drippings from the turkey fat, it’s easy to create delicious gravy without all the saturated fat and calories. In fact, when we roasted a 12-pound turkey, we were able to pour away 3/4 cup turkey fat for a savings of 170 grams fat and 1,500 calories!



• Tired of packing the same old PB&J sandwich in your child’s lunch box every day? To liven things up a bit, create a sandwich with a new twist. Instead of the usual white or whole wheat, spread peanut butter and jelly on one of the new whole grain cinnamon swirl breads now on the market. We like Pepperidge Farm Whole Grain Swirl Bread and Thomas’ 100% Whole Wheat Cinnamon Raisin Swirl.



• According to the dictionary, a snack is defined as, “food eaten between meals.” To make those between-meal bites as healthy as possible, skip the chips and store-bought cookies and instead, try some of the following:
  - Fruit smoothie made with a cup of 100% apple juice, ½ cup lowfat yogurt, half a ripe banana, and a handful of frozen berries (serves 2 to 3).
- Toasted walnuts, pecans, or almonds.
- Lowfat cheese stick.
- Fresh fruit including apples, oranges, bananas, berries.

• Reduce trans and saturated fats in baked goods by replacing solid fats such as butter, margarine, and shortening with canola oil. The benefits include less saturated fat and more heart-healthy monounsaturated and omega-3 polyunsaturated fats. Also, you’ll end up using 25% less total fat, and the results will be a moister product with a soft texture.

  Solid fat  Canola oil
    1 cup…   3/4 cup
    3/4 cup… 2/3 cup
    1/2 cup… 1/3 cup
    1/4 cup… 3 Tablespoons


• Milk offers one of the best sources of dietary calcium. An 8-ounce glass has about 300 milligrams (children ages 4 to 8 need 800 milligrams daily). But milk isn’t the only good source of calcium. Consider some of these other foods:
- 8 ounces lowfat fruited yogurt for 285 milligrams
- One orange for 52 milligrams
- 1/4 cup almonds for 80 milligrams
- 8 ounces calcium-fortified orange juice or soymilk for 300 milligrams


• Cooking with more beans adds a kick of fiber and antioxidants to the family diet. Believe it or not, beans (especially red, kidney, pinto, and black) are some of the highest antioxidant foods out there. To cook with more beans, try the following:
  - Turn to canned beans. They’re inexpensive, convenient and versatile. Drain and rinse first to wash away about 40% of the sodium.
  - Add a can of black beans to ground beef for a delicious taco filling.
  - Add chick peas to pasta salads and soups.
  - Make a Tex Mex pizza by spreading refried beans on a pizza crust, then topping with corn kernels, salsa, and lowfat shredded cheese.
  
  
• August marks the start of wild blueberry season. It’s a short yet sweet time of year and a great time to add more of these antioxidant-rich berries to your family’s diet. Here’s how:
  - Blend them into a fruit smoothie or our delicious Blueberry Frosty
  - Drink them. You can now find blueberry juice at the market along with blueberry juice boxes (look for the 8-ounce juice boxes from Wyman’s)
  - Add wild blueberries to pancake, muffin, and quick bread batters
  
  
• Have you seen the new Food Guide Pyramid yet? If not, check out www.mypyramid.gov. To help you navigate your personal pyramid, consider that a moderately active 40-year-old woman needs about 2,000 calories a day along with 2 1/2 cups of vegetables and 2 cups of fruit. Here’s one way to meet that produce requirement.
- 2 1/2 cups vegetables = 1 large sweet potato, 1/2 cup broccoli, and a salad made with mixed greens and sliced tomatoes
- 2 cups fruit = 1 banana and 1 cup mixed berries
- If you can get more into your diet, go for it!


• To meet the new goals in the 2005 Dietary Guidelines, try the following: - Consume 3 or more whole-grain foods a day (whole wheat bread, whole-grain breakfast cereal, whole wheat pasta, brown rice)
- Consume less than 2,300 milligrams of sodium per day (approx. 1 teaspoon of salt)
- Eat 2 cups of fruit and 2-1/2 cups of vegetables daily (based on a 2,000 calorie diet)
- Keep trans fatty acid consumption as low as possible


• Fight the cold and flu this winter by keeping your immune system strong. Here's how:
  - Wash hands often with soap and warm water.
  - Walk daily to increase white blood cells (they defend against infection).
  - Eat a well balanced diet.
  - Consume foods rich in zinc, an immune booster found in chicken, lean beef, yogurt, milk, and eggs.


• Switch to healthier fats and oil. Here’s how:
  - When a recipe calls for vegetable oil, use mild-flavored canola oil instead for extra omega-3 fat
  - In place of butter or margarine on bread, vegetables or pasta, drizzle with extra virgin olive oil for healthy monounsaturated fat
  - Try whole wheat pasta or brown rice

• Offer your family at least three high-fiber, whole grain foods a day. Here’s how:
  - Chose a breakfast cereal with at least two grams of fiber in a serving
  - Make sandwiches with whole wheat bread or whole wheat versions of pita, flour tortillas, and English muffins
  - Add flax oil to salad dressings



• To keep you and your kids well hydrated in the summer, try the following:
  - Make your own freezer pops using 100% fruit juice
  - Fill a water bottle with ice and water and carry it with you wherever you go
  - Enjoy a variety of fruits such as watermelon, grapes, peaches, and plums since they have a high water content
  
  
• To bolster the amount of heart-healthy omega-3 fats in your family's diet each day, add a handful of walnuts to your salads, toss a tablespoon of ground flaxmeal into baked goods or pancake batter, switch to omega-3 eggs, and enjoy canned salmon in a sandwich or chowder.
• Fill your saltshaker with Diamond Crystal kosher salt instead of table salt. Diamond Crystal has half the sodium and it tastes a whole lot better.

• For a super-nourishing alternative to potato chips, try sweet potato chips. Cooked in healthy oils such as canola, one serving has nearly a day’s worth of vitamin A and a respectable 3 grams of fiber.
• Add a can of drained & rinsed black beans to your favorite beef taco recipe to double the fiber.
• From sloppy Joes to chili, when a recipe calls for ground beef, turkey, or meat-free crumbles, sauté with a shredded carrot or finely diced red pepper. The veggies will blend in while providing a boost of antioxidants.
  


• For a quick after-school treat, make a fruit smoothie by blending together a cup of 100% fruit juice, 1/2 ripe banana, a handful of frozen strawberries (or any other fruit for that matter) and 1/2 cup vanilla or fruited lowfat yogurt.