Every Mother is a Working Mother

• Begin to teach kids some guiding principles---like a meal should include 3 food groups, one of them a good protein source (like peanut butter, cheese, hummus, turkey, etc.). Or that they should have milk with meals, at least most of the time. This helps them start to self evaluate their choices.
• Since kids make more of their own decisions about snacktimes, I try to teach them how to space snacks so they are still hungry at mealtimes.
• So much emphasis these days are on what NOT to eat. There’s so much more to nutrition than that! For instance, my daughter’s friend might pick baked chips and a diet soda and think she had a great snack—my concern as a registered dietitian is that she also didn’t really get in many nutrients, either. Choosing nutrient-rich foods are important (foods that offer more nutrition for your calories.—  www.nutrientrichfoods.org )
• I’m big on the importance of family meals. (As a mom with busy kids, I also know it’s not always easy to sit down together.)  That mealtime predictability and routine is good for kids, though, and offers a chance for parents to role model healthy eating and discuss what’s going on. (I have a lot of research on the benefits, etc, fascinating stuff, if you want to discuss.)
• I think treating snacks like mini-meals helps boost their nutrient content.
• I try to make better nutrition almost as easy as eating junk food is! It’s so easy to grab a bag of chips or open a bag of cookies—I try to keep on hand some easy-to-eat, more nutrient-packed foods, too. Like I buy fresh fruit and put it in an easy-to-see location in the kitchen. I wash grapes or cherries and leave the colander out on the counter. I will pick up single serve orange juice, fruit and yogurt smoothies, & chocolate milk for my kids to grab and go. I buy those microwave bags of veggies because my girls will make those when they fix food for themselves. I buy frozen fruit, yogurt, milk so my kids have supplies for making smoothies, a favorite for snacks or for breakfast when they don’t feel like eating. (I have lots more on how to make a great smoothie!)
• Involve them! For instance, when kids get so they don’t feel like eating breakfast or they need something fast, sit down after school and brainstorm with them a list of easy-to-eat and quick-to- consume possibilities. Keep that list handy. Take kids to the grocery store to help pick out some foods that help solve the problem. (give them so parameters to guide their choices.)

·         For breakfast or for afternoon snack, set out a parfait station. Then let them build their own fruit and yogurt parfait by layering cereal, fresh fruit and yogurt. (We also like to pick these up at the drive-thru window at McDonalds. Now, Starbucks and other coffee shops carry them, too.)

• One of my girls really likes to dip (she is my pickier eater) so I slice up fruit for her to dip into vanilla or fruit flavored yogurt. Or she eats vegetables (baby carrots, broccoli crowns, pea pods, etc) and dips those with a ranch dip or melted cheese. You can also use salsa, hummus and bean dips that are so popular
•  My kids love quesadillas and so I (or they) make those for snacks. Using a nonstick pan, I heat a tortilla then add shredded cheese, cumin, maybe a little hot sauce, etc. I top it with the other tortilla, and cook till both sides are toasted and the cheese is melted. Then I slice it into wedges with a pizza cutter. Salsa is also good on this and adds a vegetable.

• For most, my emphasis would be on getting more of the food groups that Americans tend to not get enough of---fruits, vegetables, whole grains and low fat dairy.
• Eating three meals a day plus some scheduled snacks. As kids get older, they can make more of their own decisions in regards to snacks, but it helps them to understand how big of a snack to eat depending on whether they have 4 hours till mealtime or less than 2 hours.
• Eating breakfast, whether at home or school.
• Since kids often eat fast food, I try to help them learn some better choices there. Again, not just to minimize fat or calories but to boost nutrient intake, too. They need to know how to enjoy some favorite foods but still meet their nutrient needs. For instance, getting a smaller order of fries or sharing them. If they want a burger, get the small one and add something else, like the fruit and yogurt parfait, or a small salad or a baked potato or yogurt, etc. I encourage milk with the meal, too.

• 6 (1 oz) servings of grains—half should be whole grain, not just for the fiber but for the vitamins and minerals they offer
• 2 ½ cups of veggies
• 1 ½ cups of fruits
• 3 cups of milk, cheese, yogurt
• 5 oz meat/protein
• http://teamnutrition.usda.gov/resources/mpk_worksheet.pdf
• http://teamnutrition.usda.gov/Resources/mpk_poster2.pdf

• Kids tend to fall short in getting enough fruits, vegetables, whole grains, dairy.

• Lettuce/tomato/etc on sandwiches
• Soup—you can incorporate veggies and beans. Also, use a hand blender (also know as an immersion blender) to thicken the soup and smooth out those chunks of veggies.
• Dips like salsa, hummus, bean dips.
• Old standbys like peanut butter on celery sticks.

Go to www.MyPyramid.gov   to get an individualized evaluation of your calorie needs.

 Then look up that calorie level to help see what you should be eating each day…

http://www.mypyramid.gov/downloads/MyPyramid_Food_Intake_Patterns.pdf#xml=http://65.216.150.153/texis/search/pdfhi.txt?query=calorie+levels&pr=MyPyramid&sufs=2&order=r&cq=&id=4592b6548