Put Your Goal in a Bowl

By: Holly L. Goroff MS, RD, CDN

Placing POWER on the sideline, bringing WILL to the frontline. Willpower - The weapon of choice to lose a food fight.

Have you ever noticed that when dieting willpower doesn’t always work? Either it doesn’t work at all or doesn’t work for long. It may ‘help’ you make a ‘good’ choice for a moment (what to eat, if you exercise or not, etc.) but it’s exhausting to stay consistent. Yet, people constantly say ‘I need more will power…then I’d lose weight, exercise more, or achieve my goal.’

What is Willpower? 

It’s defined as control deliberately exerted to do something…to restrain one’s own impulses. (Sounds exhausting!)

Let me put you at ease. Willpower, if it’s anything to your goal, is a saboteur! Think of it this way: it is a high (emotional and psychological) energy state. It’s essentially a fight and if it’s for weight loss…it’s a food fight!

The Vicious Cycle

You want a second portion of lasagna, or a fifth cookie but you ‘shouldn’t’ because it’s ‘bad’. So you breakout your willpower and tell yourself it’s bad, you should not, you try and walk away. But it is so hard! Your friends are eating whatever and it feels good to eat it - until right after, of course, when the guilt sets in and the story repeats. You can easily break a sweat fighting against your momentary desires to try and meet your goal. This clearly applies to many areas in life that far surpass food. But let’s face it, by the time your exhausted at night, and potentially starving, your strength runs low and you’re more apt to binge or say ‘forget it, I’ll try again tomorrow’.

Don’t Follow Misguided Thoughts

So why all the quotes in the above paragraphs? To highlight misguided thoughts. Let me explain.

When I was trying to lose weight (one of the many times before I successfully kept it off) I said to myself ‘I want to be 145 pounds’. In honesty, I’m sure the number came from somewhere, but since I can’t remember, it tells me for the most part the number was arbitrary. When I was tempted to eat too much at a party, out with my friends or just bored at home, the thought ‘Hey, Holly, don’t eat that. Don’t you want to be 145 pounds?’ fell flat. A number is a general statement like ‘I want to be healthy’ and it is sterile and not motivating.

Find Your Own Goals

When I personalized my goals and thought of specifics that would change in my life as my goal was achieved that was way more motivating than ‘I want to be 145 pounds’. For example: Instead of saying, ‘don’t eat the five cookies because that’s ‘bad’ and then if I do I’ll feel failure and shame’, I’ll ask myself what do I want more? Five cookies, which might mean I won’t lose weight for that day or be one meal and step closer to feeling confident in a bathing suit, or not feeling my clothes being so tight?

When you ask yourself to choose between two things you want, there is no fight. You don’t even really need power. You just need to actually want to achieve your goal and realize you always have many choices to make. What to eat is just one of them and an example I am covering currently.

Put Your Goal in a Bowl

Here is my recommendation on how to help train yourself to choose for your goal….put your goal in a bowl!

Let’s say you’re at a party and there is pizza. You had your one slice, fine. You want the second slice because it was so good, even though you’re not hungry. Your goal is to lose weight so that you feel comfortable in a bathing suit. This is what you do…

Step 1: Desterilize your goal - Make the goal personal and relatable rather than abstract or impersonal. Example: Instead of ‘I want to be 145 pounds’ ask yourself what about that number you really want (because I didn’t actually know if that number was the number that would make me comfortable). Instead, I want to lose weight so that I am confident going to the beach in a bathing suit and my clothes are not tight.

Step 2: Imagine next to the slice of pizza you want to take there was another plate (or bowl). In that bowl imagine there are the things you want: your beach body, your jeans that fit you, photos of a more confident you, etc. Now look at the two options: Second slice of pizza because it’s good OR bowl filled with success that occurs when you choose to forego eating too much.

Step 3: Choose which one you want more!

Step 4: Be happy for yourself! Now instead of fighting you are merely making informed decisions for your life completely based on things you want! You’re acknowledging that weight loss and heath goals are intermixed with all of your other life goals. By repeating steps 1 and 3 you are making informed and balanced decisions.

Step 5: If you chose the second slice of pizza instead of your goal in the bowl…move on. Of course you’ll choose the food sometimes. Just try and outweigh the times you choose your extra food with how much you choose your goal.

One Step Closer to Your Goal

When you choose the goal in the bowl more often than the second slice of pizza, or whatever your temptation is, not only are you going to be one meal closer to your goal, but you didn’t have to use willpower or any power. It’s not an exhausting process. You simply made an informed decision using your will and your will only. I invite you to listen to a sample of Choosy Kid's song, "I'm Learning to Choose" that may help you focus on what our bodies need most. It doesn't matter that the song was created with children in mind. Rather, think of it as an honest reminder. You can also read the full lyrics by clicking on the image below.

About the Author: Holly is an experienced dietitian in both clinical and community nutrition. She is currently serving as the Clinical Nutrition Manager at now guest blogger for Choosy Kids!

She received her Master of Science degree in Nutrition and Food Studies from the Steinhardt School at New York University. She is published through her research and contributing work at Burke Rehabilitation Center investigating nutritional factors impacting neurological rehabilitation in stroke patients.

In addition to managing her staff of clinical nutritionists, she has a passion for serving at-need and underserved communities. She teaches outreach programs focused on mindful eating and strategies to make healthier lifestyle choices to at-risk community populations. She has recently been made lead in her hospital for teaching and managing the outreach classes to reduce childhood obesity.

She has expertise in: weight loss and management, heart disease, stroke, diabetes, dealing with polypharmacy and achieving nutrition goals, achieving wellness goals in a creative and resourceful manner and motivating change.

Let’s Make Our Children Rich and Fit for Life

By: Dr. Linda Carson, CEO, Choosy Kids

A friend of mine recently bought a Powerball ticket after being reminded of the popular saying, “You can’t win if you don’t play.” The odds of winning the Powerball jackpot that day was about 1 in 292 million, and there were nearly 700 million tickets sold! Human nature is ambitious that way. We’re willing to fantasize and sometimes even invest in pipedreams that we wish we could have—even when the odds of achieving them are overwhelmingly stacked against us. Maybe we could use our human nature for “aspiring for more” to our advantage. If we invest in something that we will receive a huge return on and keeps accumulating positive benefits for life, wouldn’t that be worthwhile? I think yes!

Let’s Invest in Health

Your body is your bank and health deposits of physical activity and nutrition can accrue great dividends. In actuality, health is the only true wealth and investing in it often in small increments can improve it and enhance it. And of course investing in children’s health has life long benefits. Let’s make our children rich and fit for life by investing in them too.

National Children’s Health Month and Day

October is National Children’s Health Month and the first Monday of each October is Child Health Day. October is a great time of year for transition and change in weather. It’s also a wonderful month for getting outside and enjoying the beauty and adventure of nature, our outdoor classroom. Let’s embrace October for its emphasis on making children as healthy as we can.

Since 1929, Child Health Day has been a United States Federal Observance Day on the first Monday in October. On Child Health Day the President invites "all agencies and organizations interested in child welfare to unite on Child Health Day in observing exercises that will make the people of the United States aware of the fundamental necessity of a year-round program to protect and develop the health of the children of the United States."

The Environmental Protection Agency celebrates Children’s Health Month. Download this poster and see how many tips you can fit into the month of October. This year’s EPA theme, Healthy Communities, Healthy Children, highlights EPA’s commitment to work with communities to ensure every child has a safe place to live, learn and play.

The Environment Affects Your Child’s Health and Wellbeing

Check out some information and resources from the EPA:

Outside: Studies show that spending time in green, natural environments can have positive impacts on children’s mental and physical health.

• Researchers from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign found that a 20-minute nature walk helped boost concentration levels in children who had been diagnosed with ADHD.
• A study of 3rd, 4th, and 5th graders in New York suggested that having nature in close proximity reduces the impacts of stressful life events such as bullying or family relocation.
• Australian 10-12-year-old children who spent more time outdoors were 27-41% less likely to be overweight than their peers who spent less time outdoors.

Want to Learn More about the Health Benefits of Nature?

The National Environmental Education Foundation (NEEF) established in 1990, implements broad public awareness and engagement campaigns, which showcase how simple everyday actions based on sound environmental knowledge can lead to huge impacts. Check out this infographic from NEEF about children and nature by clicking on link under the image. 

Be sure to also check out Get Into Nature for Better Health, a resource on free apps to help get you and your family out to the park.

More from the EPA

Inside: The “environment” also includes indoors. The “inside” environment, where Americans spend up to 90% of their time, such as at home, work, school, or daycare, can also have a significant impact on a child’s health.

• About one out of every 10 school-aged children in the United States have asthma, and every year, more than 10.5 million missed school days are attributed to this disease. Indoor air quality can be compromised with environmental asthma triggers such as mold, second hand smoke, or pet dander.
• Because children are not miniature adults, they are often more likely to be at risk from environmental hazards than adults. Learn to spot situations that may pose a risk to your child, such as exposure to pesticides, radon, and lead, with this guide from EPA on children’senvironmental risks.  
• Interesting but slightly dated facts about environmental health hazards and children can be found here.

AAP And Head Start National Center on Early Childhood Health and Wellness

The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and the Head Start National Center on Early Childhood Health and Wellness has resources for building healthy, active lives for everyone in the family. Especially helpful is the Growing Healthy Family Goal Setting resource.

The 5-2-1-0 message campaign adopted by the AAP provides suggestions for families to help meet or exceed these recommendations for living a healthy active life:

• Eat at least 5 fruits and vegetables a day.
• Keep screen time (like TV, video games, computer) down to 2 hours or less per day.
• Get 1 hour or more of physical activity every day.
• Drink 0 sugar-sweetened drinks. Replace soda pop, sports drinks and even 100% fruit juice with milk or water.

You can read more about this in a past Choosy Kid's blog!

And Finally...

One final resource to recommend for families looking for ways to invest in the health of their children might be the website, www.KidsHealth.org, managed by the Nemours Foundation. It is a site devoted to children's health and parenting. There is a specific link just for kids and one for parents as well. Nemours is a leading pediatric health system and highly regarded for its research, and educational outreach.

  

It’s Children’s Health Month! So, let’s hit the jackpot! Let’s invest in the body banks of our children to reap dividends for a lifetime. 

Are there other resources that you have used and can share with our blog community?

About the Author: Linda Carson, Ed. D, is the founder and CEO of Choosy Kids, LLC, and the Ware Distinguished Professor Emerita at West Virginia University. An award winning, nationally recognized expert, Dr. Carson has devoted her career to promoting healthy preferences for young children and the adults who make decisions on their behalf. Click here to learn more about Linda.

To Supplement or Not to Supplement

By: Heather Dyson

Many parents come to me worried that their child is not getting all of the nutrients they need for proper growth and good health, especially if their child is a “picky” eater. There are a number of different vitamins and supplements available for kids in fun shapes and tasty flavors. But parents often wonder, “Is it worth it? Does my child really need it?”

Requirements for supplementation vary depending on the child’s age. Both breastfed and formula fed infants meet most of their nutritional needs. Once your child transitions to solid foods, it is important to offer a well-balanced diet, including plenty of fruits, vegetables and whole grains, which will go a long way to helping them meet their nutritional needs. Even “picky eaters” often get enough vitamins and minerals, but a children’s multivitamin might not be a bad idea if you are worried your child does not eat enough variety. Just be sure to choose one that is made specifically for children, such as L'il Critters or Flintstones brands.

It is recommended that exclusively breastfed infants be supplemented with 1 mg/kg iron at about 4-6 months when it is believed that baby’s iron stores become depleted. Breastmilk does not contain iron in amounts that are recommended for infants. However, many feel that since breastmilk is a complete food for infants, supplementation is not necessary, especially if baby is starting solid foods. There are many foods that will provide iron for babies, including meats, eggs, dry beans (such as pinto, garbanzo, kidney, etc.) and fortified whole grain cereals. Formula is fortified with iron so supplementing is not necessary for formula fed babies.

Another vitamin that is often recommended for infants and children is Vitamin D. We get most of our Vitamin D from the sun, however in the fall through spring months we cannot get enough sun to make the Vitamin D we need. Also, the sunscreen we use to protect our skin from harmful rays also blocks the rays we need to make the vitamin. Infants can be supplemented with 400 IU of vitamin D per day and children over the age of 2 with up to 800 IU per day. Be sure to buy a children’s version as Vitamin D supplements are sold in many different dosages. Enfamil’s Vitamin D drops are a good and safe choice.

Always speak to your pediatrician or a Registered Dietitian before supplementing your child or if you are concerned about your child meeting his or her nutritional needs.

About the Author: Heather Dyson is a Licensed and Registered Dietitian who currently focuses on counseling patients with a variety of health situations, and in ages ranging from infancy to elderly. Click here to learn more about Heather.

Why Enforcing Rules Makes a Difference

By: Emily Murphy, Ph.D.

When I reflect on my childhood, I remember certain instances that I would say to myself, “I will never turn into my mother.”  Well guess what, I was wrong.  Don’t be mistaken, I love my mom more than the world itself, but as a head-strong child and adolescent there were certain things that I was convinced that my mom (and dad for that matter) had no clue about.  Below are a few examples of some of these things.

As a very involved and active child, my parents had a rule that both my sister and I were only allowed to be enrolled in a maximum of two organized activities at any one time.  So I was tasked with deciding between field hockey, cello, piano, softball, etc. At the time, I did not see any purpose for this parental decision being forced upon me. The only explanation that I could see through my child lens was that my parents were being mean and selfish.  Boy was I wrong.  Fast forward 15 years to the time when I became a parent myself and the reasons behind that rule now appear crystal clear. My parents developed and enforced this rule because they knew that family time was equally, if not more important than, a multitude of structured activities.

In our busy world today, many parents think that in order for their children to be successful they must get them involved in as much as possible.  But in reality, families need quality time together to be creative, to be physically active together, and to simply enjoy time together.  I often tell parents that I encounter through the various programs that I teach, that being overscheduled does not necessarily translate into having a healthy, happy child.  Many times, being overscheduled mean that children spend a lot of their spare time in a vehicle being transported from one activity to the next, eating fast food in the back of the car, and standing on a sport field waiting for a ball to be hit to them or their turn to play.  Unstructured family time can be filled with family-friendly physical activity like walking the dog or simply playing tag in the backyard. It can be spent preparing meals together, having a family game night, or a variety of other activities. 

Another thing that my parents always made us do when I was growing up was to sit down at the kitchen table and eat dinner together as a family most, if not all, days of the week.  Compared to my closest friends and neighbors, my family was one of the only families that had this ritual.  I used to think that my friends who were allowed to make themselves something to eat, or eat their meal in their bedroom or in front of the TV were so lucky.  Yep you got it, I was wrong again. 

Family mealtimes are important for many reasons.  Family meal times allow family members to connect and talk about important things that are going on in each other’s lives.  Eating meals as a family has also been shown to improve various health outcomes like more healthful dietary patterns (Larson, Neumark-Sztainer, Hannan & Story, 2007). In a study done in 2007, families who ate dinner together every day consumed an average of 0.8 more servings of fruits and vegetables compared to families who did not eat dinner together (Rockett, 2007). These families also had higher intakes of important nutrients such as dietary fiber, calcium, folate, vitamins B₆, B₁₂, C and E, and iron, and they were less likely to eat unhealthy fried foods and drink soda (Rockett, 2007).  In addition, children from families who eat together on a regular basis are more likely to have family support, positive peer influences, and positive adult role models (Fulkerson, Neumark-Sztainer & Story, 2006). 

I am sure glad my parents were right and that I was wrong about many rules that they had as I was growing up. In fact, most of those rules, including the two examples above, are now rules in my own household.  And yes, I am sure that my kids sometimes think that I am mean when I tell them to turn off the TV and put their cell phones away when we sit down together for a meal as a family, but I also know that when they look back at their childhoods they too will realize that my husband and I had these rules because we wanted what is best for their overall well-being. 

About the Author: Emily Murphy is an Obesity Prevention Specialist with the West Virginia University Extension Service.  By trade, she is a Pediatric Exercise Physiologist and her passion is promoting physical activity for kids and families.  While her daytime job is working as a faculty member at WVU, her most important, most rewarding and hardest (at times) job is being a mom to two amazing, creative and loving children.  

A state and national leader in childhood obesity prevention, Emily has nearly 15 years of experience helping children, communities and families get active and healthy.

She holds Bachelor’s, Master’s and doctoral degrees in exercise physiology from WVU. She served as an Extension specialist with the Family Nutrition Program from 2003 – 2005. She then joined the CARDIAC Project at the WVU School of Medicine where she helped implement and gain funding for new programs, like West Virginia Games for Health.

Murphy’s approach to better understanding and helping to resolve obesity issues is to begin by looking at the barriers unique to West Virginians.

To contact Emily, e-mail emily.murphy@mail.wvu.edu, or call 304-293-8589.

You’re Invited! Participate in Nickelodeon’s Worldwide Day of Play

By: Christine Cox, The Choosy Mommy

Choosy Kids is honored to have been asked by Nickelodeon to be a part of their 13th annual Worldwide Day of Play (#WWDoP). I really had no clue what this was when we were first introduced to it, but the concept is wonderful and I am excited to invite you to participate with us!

Nickelodeon’s #WWDoP is an entire day committed to the celebration of physical fitness and active play. As part of the company’s health and wellness messaging and outreach to kids, Nickelodeon goes completely dark on #WWDoP (September 26), suspending their programming on all of their channels -even shutting down their websites globally to reinforce one simple message about physical activity and healthy living: get up, get out and go play!

This is a perfect fit for Choosy Kids because we promote this all of the time and encourage parents, care givers and teachers to get children up and moving, exercising and eating right on a daily basis!

This year, #WWDoP is taking place on Saturday, September, 26. On and around this day, Nickelodeon supporters across the world will celebrate play by hosting their own #WWDoP events. Choosy will be making special classroom visits to friends in his home state of WV during the week of September 21-24 and will make a video showcasing just how much fun it is to move and dance, especially to Choosy Kids songs!

Choosy wants you to participate too so we are also going to have a nationwide dance party! We will all be dancing to our favorite Choosy music and you can do the same! If you are new to Choosy music, you can download our song of the month, Empty Space Club, for free!

Show us your moves by sharing any photos or media with Choosy Kids on Facebook or Twitter (#ChoosyPlay) so we can showcase your support for the #WWDoP theme of celebrating physical activity. If social media isn’t a medium for which you communicate, please feel free to send any video, pictures and information to info@choosykids.com.

Choosy’s dance party is more than just fun; it’s an exciting way to help promote active play and teach about healthy habits. Our health mascot and “Health Hero” Choosy, encourages young children to have fun while moving and dancing to his music. We hope that preschools and families all around the country can participate indoors or outdoors in our nationwide dance party.  Let’s take this opportunity to reinforce and demonstrate to our children that music can help us stay active during playtime, reinforce healthy habits, and have fun with family or friends while elevating moods and heart rates!

Have fun with your dance party, share it with us, and be sure to check out other #WWDoP events in a city near you!

About the Author: Christine Cox is the blog master and The Choosy Mommy for Choosy Kids. She has always had a passion for writing and is honored to contribute her work to this blog. Most of her writing inspiration comes from her daughter, Capri, who is fun-loving and full of energy, and newborn son Cam. Click here to learn more about Christine.

What Exactly Does Organic Mean?

By: Kerry McKenzie

or•gan•ic
ôrˈɡanik/  adjective; of, relating to, or derived from living matter. Now days, “organic” has many meanings, and it’s confusing. There’s "organic" clothing, "organic" dish soap and "organic" milk, eggs and other foods. The price tag is usually higher for “organic” than for items that don’t use “organic” on labels in the supermarket or other stores.

When you see “organic” on the label, it offers confidence that the item has fewer chemicals than the non-organic options. In many cases, it can be shown that organic products are less-processed, contain less synthetic ingredients, and are produced in ways that are more gentle to our environment. In other cases, the organic label offers assurance that the products are made only from living materials, not from chemicals.

What makes a product organic and what allows a product to be legally marketed as “organic” can vary, product to product, because the government and industry have policies with criteria that are specific to say, eggs, or milk, or spinach. Each one of those products has its own criteria. So, it can be confusing.

The bottom line is that when you see “organic”, you can be sure it doesn't contain ingredients created from petroleum or other non-living sources.

If the price seems too high consider this - the list below has the highest pesticide load so buy them organic or grow them organically yourself:

• Apples
• Strawberries
• Grapes
• Celery
• Peaches
• Spinach
• Sweet bell peppers
• Nectarines (imported)
• Cucumbers
• Cherry tomatoes
• Snap peas (imported)
• Potatoes

And buy these conventionally grown products, if you have to, as these have the lowest in pesticide contamination:

• Avocados
• Sweet corn
• Pineapples
• Cabbage
• Sweet peas (frozen)
• Onions
• Asparagus
• Mangoes
• Papayas
• Kiwi
• Eggplant
• Grapefruit
• Cantaloupe (domestic)
• Cauliflower
• Sweet potatoes

Pesticides and other chemicals are unhealthy all of the time, but especially during vulnerable times such as fetal development and childhood. It's always best to buy organic whenever possible to promote the health of our families as well as the health of our planet. Not everyone can afford organic produce so Choosy reminds us that when shopping in the supermarket,

“Fresh is best,

Frozen is okay/fine,

Canned and boxed,

Are last in line!”

We are all busy, but no matter what, let’s make time to carefully select and wash the produce we purchase for our family. And let’s create early conversations with our children about healthy and not so healthy foods. Challenge them with sorting activities like this one from Choosy. And remember: Be Choosy…Choose Well!

What organically grown produce/products do you purchase?  

About the Author: Kerry McKenzie, B.A., M.S., has been working in education for more than 13 years. She is a Certified Health Coach, a 500 level (E-RYT500) yoga teacher and specializes in early childhood motor development. She has a passion for working with expecting moms, babies, toddlers and preschool age children and their caregivers at Greenville Health Systems pediatric clinic, child care centers and in the community. Click here to learn more about Kerry.

FACT OR FAD? What makes food HEALTHY? Part 1 of 2

By: Holly L. Goroff MS, RD, CDN

Have you ever heard someone say something to the effect of ‘I bought something healthy – it was a gluten-free … (insert food name here)’? Or, ‘It’s good for you – NO CARBS!’? I have and it gives me chills! We are such targets of manipulative food marketing that our sense of ‘healthy’ has been obscured and our wallets are consequently drained.

It seems like every six months to a year there is a new definition of healthy. Healthy one day means juicing every morning, colon cleansing and antioxidants and the next it is eating quinoa, going gluten-free, drinking kefir or almond milk and no dairy...the list goes on and on.

I refer to these changing definitions of healthy foods as ‘food fads’. In addition to being heavily marketed, they also seem to get adopted by key public health figures, say…Dr. Oz, Jillian Michael or someone similar. Daytime shows have special guests to speak to the fads and drop key words like ‘toxins’, ‘metabolism’ and ‘cleansing’ and know they will capture your interest to hear more about the latest health craze.

What makes things a bit complicated is that these fads generally have some element of truth to them. It’s just not the WHOLE truth. And generally, it’s a truth that is subjective. We’ll get into this in a minute.

If I were to ask you WHY some of these foods are healthier than others, what would your source of information be? If it is Dr. Oz, Jillian Michael or someone similar, a quick Google search, branding or word of mouth, I would suggest you consider those resources questionable. Ask yourself, what makes them experts in nutrition? They could be super smart in cardiovascular disease and or fitness, but why does that make them worthy of dictating your diet?! Does what works for them work for everyone?

Another red-flag for establishing if your source is credible is asking if their recommendations ebb and flow with the moving trends. If your source’s recommendations change with the trends, I would suspect there is a financial benefit for them and/or lack of knowledge of actual nutrition research guiding their advice.

With all of these food fad’s flying around and your busy life which prevents you from doing scholarly research, what does “healthy food” actually mean? How do we know? And, how do we know quickly?

Excellent questions! Let me help…

Let’s start with the basics. What does it mean to be healthy? 

Here are some helpful definitions to keep in mind:

A) Health – The condition of being well or free from disease.
B) Macronutrients – Food (substance) required in relatively large quantities for providing energy and essential nutrients: Protein, Carbohydrates (including fiber) and Fat.
C) Micronutrients – Organic compounds (notably vitamins and minerals) essential in minute amounts to the growth and health.

Putting it all together:

A healthy food will provide macro and micronutrients to support your bodies’ optimal functional performance. This includes healthy weight, controlling your blood pressure and cholesterol.

Notice I said, YOUR bodies’ optimal performance. Each person has unique needs either for optimal nutrition to accommodate a fast-paced life, athletic lifestyle, pregnancy or perhaps a disease state.

Quick tip for choosing healthy foods before we get to part 2:

• Shop the perimeter of the supermarket where the fresh produce, meats and dairy are located.  Or, patron farmers markets and fill in the nutritional blanks by purchasing a protein like chicken or fish at the supermarket, butcher or fish store. 

Stay tuned to next week’s blog to learn how to calculate YOUR bodies’ optimal performance.
(UPDATE: Click here to read part 2!)

But until then, tell me, what do you consider ‘healthy’ foods for you or your family, especially when you are grocery shopping? 

About the Author: Holly is an experienced dietitian in both clinical and community nutrition. She is currently serving as the Clinical Nutrition Manager at now guest blogger for Choosy Kids!

She received her Master of Science degree in Nutrition and Food Studies from the Steinhardt School at New York University. She is published through her research and contributing work at Burke Rehabilitation Center investigating nutritional factors impacting neurological rehabilitation in stroke patients.

In addition to managing her staff of clinical nutritionists, she has a passion for serving at-need and underserved communities. She teaches outreach programs focused on mindful eating and strategies to make healthier lifestyle choices to at-risk community populations. She has recently been made lead in her hospital for teaching and managing the outreach classes to reduce childhood obesity.

She has expertise in: weight loss and management, heart disease, stroke, diabetes, dealing with polypharmacy and achieving nutrition goals, achieving wellness goals in a creative and resourceful manner and motivating change.

-----------------------------------------

[A] Merriam-Webster.com. Health. Available at http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/health. Accessed on June 15, 2015.

[B] Mahan, K. Escott-Stump, S. Food, Nutrition and Diet Therapy 11th Edition. 2004. Page 38. Saunders

[C] Merriam-Webster.com. Micronutriends. Available at http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/micronutrients.Accessed on June 20, 2015.

Health Needs a Hero!

By: Dr. Linda Carson

When I was growing up, a sailor with big arms and a gruff voice had an influential message about getting strong by eating spinach. Popeye was so influential that he increased the sale of spinach by 33% in the 1950’s. I understand that there is an effort under way right now to bring him back for a new generation of children, but this time without his habit of smoking a pipe! A new Popeye and other children's characters with health messages are desperately needed in our country and around the world.

Currently, American children see an estimated $1.6 billion a year worth of food and beverage marketing, and many of those ads are foods that are high in calories and sugar, but low in nutrition. Some of our cereals and other processed foods in a box are so depleted that they have to be “fortified” and even then, the nutritional value is extremely compromised. For some products, there is not much nutritional difference between the contents in the box and the cardboard the box is made from.

Until food and beverage companies are using children’s characters to market only healthy products, it is up to each family and the other significant influencers to share and repeat consistent health messaging with children and families. The research (samples noted below) confirms that children’s characters are profoundly influential, whether positive or negative.

And a very positive thing that the family and/or preschool teacher can do is take advantage of what we know from research---create or introduce a familiar character to help deliver messages about healthy nutrition, physical activities that help make your body healthy, and appropriate dental health behaviors. Plus, having a character as an influential “assistant” helps with the consistency factor that we humans have trouble with at times.

I have spent my career promoting healthy choices, and advocating for parents as the best play partners ever. After teaching in public school enough years to appreciate the needs and barriers of that context, I spent the next 30 years teaching University students who wanted to be teachers. While methods of delivering the content has changed over the years, one thing has remained constant---the need is great for dedicated, well prepared teachers who collaborate and engage with parents on the profoundly important task of getting young children ready to make responsible decisions about learning and life.

In recent years I have had the privilege of developing resources for parents and teachers who are laying the foundation for healthy decision-making by children and entire families. Long before Popeye was given a do-over, we introduced CHOOSY as a health hero for this generation of young children. Choosy’s name stands for Choose Healthy Options Often and Start Young.

If you want to use Choosy as a health hero in your home or classroom, see www.choosykids.com for examples of unique, easy to use resources, especially children’s music that contains health messages. There is such a thing as stuck song syndrome that can work like reminders. If children (and adults) can’t get that song out of their heads, health messaging is working!

Bottom line: If a character promotes it, whether in a story book, on a window cling, or in music, a young child is likely to be influenced by the character’s preferences! What a concept and what a big help to busy Mom’s and Dad's.

**Research examples supporting the influence of children’s characters on health 

  choices and preferences:

Kotler, et al Journal of Health Communication (2012); 

Roberto, et al Pediatrics (2010); 

Lanigan, J.D. Child: Care, Health and Development (2010) 

About the Author: Linda Carson, Ed. D, is the founder and CEO of Choosy Kids, LLC, and the Ware Distinguished Professor Emerita at West Virginia University. An award winning, nationally recognized expert, Dr. Carson has devoted her career to promoting healthy preferences for young children and the adults who make decisions on their behalf. Click here to learn more about Linda.

Mom, Get off the Couch!

By: Christine Cox, The Choosy Mommy

There are some mornings that it is hard to get out of bed. I swear I just put my 2 year old to sleep an hour ago (but really it was like 9 hours ago) and now she is up and roaring to start the day. Milk in her hand, coffee in mine and we sit down so I can slowly wake up while she watches her favorite TV show.

Some days are harder than others to get motivated and move. Many moms can relate to this I am sure. We are tired! Being a mom is a full time job on top of whatever else you may do outside of the home. But for our children’s sake, we need to get off the couch and move! By being a healthy role model for our children, they can learn healthy habits from us that will last a lifetime. But where can a parent find the resources to help children move more and form healthy habits at an early age?

Not since Popeye has there been a health-hero for children. Research has demonstrated that children’s characters are profoundly influential. Choosy Kids can help promote healthy habits in your family that will stick with everyone for years to come. When used consistently, health messages paired with the image of Choosy can become familiar and favored.

Healthy habits can include simple things like teaching our children how to brush their teeth and wash their hands properly. Health also coincides with nutrition and Choosy Kids focuses on reducing the number of obese children in our country. It is an epidemic that needs to change sooner rather than later. To do this, children need to move! Movement is another Choosy theme. Through Choosy Kids’ music and DVDs, children can learn about their bodies, how to move them and how to be healthy all while having fun!

Now mom, I know what you are thinking. “Great, another annoying kid’s song to get stuck in my head.” WRONG! Choosy Kids music is fantastic. I bet you’ll even be bobbing your head while listening and dancing along with the directional movements!

I know that I will do what it takes to teach my children healthy habits while they are at home because once they go to school, they will learn to explore other choices that weren’t available at home (vending machines!!!) So let’s all be Choosy Moms, healthy role models, and active play partners to promote healthy habits in our families.

About the Author: Christine Cox is the blog master and The Choosy Mommy for Choosy Kids. She has always had a passion for writing and is honored to contribute her work to this blog. Most of her writing inspiration comes from her daughter, Capri, who is fun-loving and full of energy, and newborn son Cam. Click here to learn more about Christine.

Healthy Summer Snacks for Children Age 5 and Younger

By: Heather Dyson and guest Angela Kuhn

Summer is on the way and now is time to start thinking about healthy hydrating snacks for the kids. While many families spend much more time outside during this season, it is more difficult to stay hydrated in the heat.

Research shows that children are at a greater risk than adults for becoming dehydrated throughout the summer. They are more likely to forget about drinking fluids – especially when they're having fun playing outside. Infants can be provided with breast milk or baby formula to prevent dehydration. Children over 12 months of age should be offered water as their primary source of hydration. Sugary drinks such as juice can be presented in moderation (4 oz. or less per day) and that includes sports drinks too.

There are some hydrating healthy snack options that are great alternatives to sugary drinks which are perfect for the summer time. Give these a try:

Homemade Popsicles: Blend 2 cups of frozen berries, 1 banana, 1 cup of yogurt, ½ cup of juice, 1 tablespoon of pure maple syrup and divide equally into 8 freezer-pop molds. Freeze until firm (1-2 hours). If you don’t have freezer-pop molds, you can use small paper/plastic cups instead.

Make a Smoothie: Smoothies are a great healthy alternative to milkshakes or ice cream in the summer. They are an excellent way for kids to get lots of fruit and calcium into their diet while allowing them to stay hydrated. Blend up the ingredients below and garnish with a slice of pineapple or orange for fun! Don’t limit yourself to only these combination of ingredients. They can all be mix and matched to make the perfect personalized smoothie your child will love.

• Strawberry-Banana Protein Smoothie- 1 medium sized banana, 1 cup strawberries, ½ cup Greek yogurt, 1 tablespoon nut butter and 1 tablespoon of ground flaxseed (adds omega-3s in this fresh fruit smoothie recipe). Use 1 cup of ice cubes if you like a frosty smoothie or add water instead if you don’t want it so cold. 
• Berry-Orange Smoothie- 1 cup orange juice, 1 banana, 1 cup frozen berries, such as raspberries, blackberries, blueberries and/or strawberries, ½ cup low-fat silken tofu, or plain yogurt, 1-2 teaspoons Stevia.
• Very Green Smoothie- 3 peeled and quartered kiwis, 1 cup mango, half of an avocado, ½ cup milk, 1-2 tablespoons of maple syrup. 

Offer Fresh Fruit: Summertime means that there will be a plentiful availability of fresh fruits. These are just a couple common summer fruits and their benefits:

• Watermelon is packed with fiber, water, and other beneficial nutrients such as vitamin C. 
• Cherries are a refreshing treat that contain a good source of fiber, vitamin C, and the building blocks of muscle known as amino acids. 
• Grapes contain a high amount of vitamin C, fiber and phytonutrients which have health-promoting properties including antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and liver-health-promoting activities. 

Fresh Fruit Kabobs: Try making a fresh fruit kabob by using sliced watermelon, grapes, cantaloupe, kiwi, strawberries, and bananas. Chop up any other fruits you can think of that are in season and let the kids customize their own kabob.

What other healthy summer snacks do your children and family love? Share them with me in the comments section!

About the Author: Heather Dyson is a Licensed and Registered Dietitian who currently focuses on counseling patients with a variety of health situations, and in ages ranging from infancy to elderly. Click here to learn more about Heather.

About the Author: Angie Kuhn is a Dietetic intern at WVU. She has attended Bastyr University, Kenmore, WA (B.S. Dietetics); and Leeds Metropolitan University, Leeds, England, UK (MSc Sport and Exercise Nutrition). Click here to learn more about Angie.

First Comes Brushing, Then Comes Flossing!

By: Amy Requa, MSN, CRNP

We have all heard about the key elements to excellent oral health and hygiene for young children: brushing their teeth twice a day, before bed and after breakfast, with a smear of fluoride toothpaste on a soft child-sized toothbrush; providing tooth-healthy drinks, such as water, instead of sugary beverages; flossing between teeth as soon as you see that they are touching each other; and taking your child for regular check-ups starting when the first tooth erupts. We’ve discussed creating good brushing habits with your children and starting regular check-ups when their first tooth appears, but what happens after they have been seen by the dentist and are on the way to mastering daily dental routines? 

On one of our recent posts, a mom mentioned that her little one likes to dip his/her toothbrush into a cup of mouthwash and rinse with that. It got me thinking, as I am sure many children would love to do that. What does it do to their teeth/mouth? Is it safe? 

The instructions on the label of mouthwashes is that children under six should not use the product. This is likely due to the fact that many, but not all, mouthwashes have a form of alcohol in their liquid and it is not safe to be swallowed in large amounts. This is something you will want to discuss with your child’s dentist. There’s no need to wait for your child’s next dental visit, just pick up the phone and call your dentist and ask for current recommendations! 

Also, it is important to understand that any ingredient that limits our normal production of saliva will actually be counterproductive and can even lead to more decay of our teeth. Saliva is very beneficial because it has a buffering effect on the “acid attack,” composed of acid waste products that are created when the bacteria in our mouths digest sugars and carbohydrates.

If your children are anxious to start copying your mouth washing techniques, my suggestion is to teach them how to floss instead. Flossing between two teeth that are touching is helpful because it breaks down the build-up of plaque between the teeth, which is essential to do because the toothbrush bristles cannot get in-between the teeth that are tightly spaced. It is important to help children with flossing because they do not have the manual dexterity to floss by themselves until they can write cursive. Be sure to move the floss gently under the gum line, where the germs causing decay are more likely to grow because that is where it’s dark and warm. The gum line is also where there are leftover food particles hanging out (which the germs love to eat). Flossing between our own teeth and our child’s teeth on a daily basis will disrupt the plaque traps and prevent the germs from building up. By demonstrating flossing between our own teeth on a daily basis, our children will want to copy us. 

The manufactured “flossers” for children are very helpful because they are easier to grasp for small fingers and they fit into small mouths more easily, plus they are colorful and animated looking! 

Have your children tried flossing? What age did they start? Remember to check out Choosy Kids CD and DVD collection for brushing songs and videos!

About the Author: Amy Requa, MSN, CRNP, CPNP-PC, is a board certified Pediatric Nurse Practitioner. She has 20 years of experience in public health nursing, maternal and child health, family and community health promotion and has extensive health expertise in oral health, childhood obesity prevention and child nutrition. Click here to learn more about Amy.

Gardening for Good

By: Kerry McKenzie

Research has shown that kids who are involved in growing and making their own food are more likely to try different foods and eat healthier.  And digging in the dirt is only half of the fun when it comes to gardening!  Getting dirty is so good for you!  Recent research has proven that there are health benefits to digging in the dirt.  There is a particular strain of bacterium in the soil that has been found to trigger the release of a chemical in your body called serotonin, which is called the “happy chemical” because it elevates your mood and decreases anxiety.  And on top of that, this little bacterium has been found to keep your brain healthy and possibly even treat cancer and other diseases. Contact with soil, through gardening or other means, is beneficial!  Now there's a great reason to get outside and garden for good and get your kids involved too!

You don’t need to have a green thumb to get started or even any plant knowledge. Kids can learn as they GROW! All you really need is a yard to dig in or a space to put a few containers. You can even reuse an old sandbox (remove the bottom) and turn it into a raised bed garden or keep the container that last night’s rotisserie chicken dinner was in and put some dirt and seeds in there.   

When planting in pots or an old sandbox, purchasing potting soil in bags is a good choice.  Keep in mind that plants need sunlight and water to grow, so plan your garden in a sunny spot that will catch rain or is easy for you to hand water with a watering can or hose.  If you want to plant your garden in the ground, remove all of the grass and rocks before you start. Tilling or breaking up the soil will help when you are putting the plants in the ground.

Involve your children in deciding which fruits or vegetables to plant as this may gain extra attention when gardening. Make sure to try some new fruits and veggies, like Okra!  I like to plant seedlings so the kids can watch them grow from the very beginning. You can buy seedlings at any home and garden store.  Gently place the seedlings in little holes, cover with a thin layer of dirt and drizzle with some water.

It's important to plant your garden at the right time, and the key is knowing when your area will see its last spring frost. You may lose your warm weather crops if you put them in the ground too soon. Search the Old Farmer’s Almanac freeze chart in your area! 

The next part is amazing!  Water, fertilize with old leaves, pick out the weeds and watch your plants grow. Before you know it you will have fruit and vegetables to pick and eat!  It’s that simple! And it’s fun!

What kind of fruits and veggies do your children like to watch grow? Share your growing tips with us in the comment section!

About the Author: Kerry McKenzie, B.A., M.S., has been working in education for more than 13 years. She is a Certified Health Coach, a 500 level (E-RYT500) yoga teacher and specializes in early childhood motor development. She has a passion for working with expecting moms, babies, toddlers and preschool age children and their caregivers at Greenville Health Systems pediatric clinic, child care centers and in the community. Click here to learn more about Kerry.