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Every other Tues - we have a guest in on our 4pm show from the UW Pediatric Fitness Clinic..topics range from kids fitness, how to encourage healthy lifestyles to nutrition. I thoroughly appreciate the time they give us for on air content - this is such an incredibly important topic, as the rate of childhood obesity continues to soar. And I can't imagine the frustration of not only health care providers in trying to fight this battle.. but that of parents and kids alike, as they struggle with weight, image and health care issues that may come up as a result. Because how we eat is such a big part of how we live, I thought it important to reiterate and pass along the following for those that may have missed our segment this past week. We always sat down for a family meal when I was young. No matter what. And while I didn't always care for the rutabega or some of the other things I was required to eat (liver, blue gill, brussel sprouts).. as an adult, I fully admire the job my parents did as well as the role models they were for the healthy lifestyle I now do my best to lead. While the hour is a bit later at my home now than the time we would have had dinner as a kid, it is still one of the most important things I feel I can do each day with my own daughter. Eat together when we can, spend time talking, and make the most of the meal (healthy, quick and easy). Thank you, Marcy Braun, nutritionist, for the following! Busy lives in America are often at the expense of the family meal—clearly, with all of our time-saving foods and gadgets, if meals aren’t happening it’s because they are dangerously low on the priority list!!
Meals really stabilize eating, so let’s talk about ways to make it happen.
· Make it easy
o Use the grill so there is less clean-up
o Eat outside
o Buy pre-washed vegetables
o Eat fruit—it only needs to be washed and sliced
o Idea: chicken pounded thin will take 5” per side on the grill, slice some whole grain bread add a melon wedge for home made dinner in 20”
· Work together
o A call home from work to remind the kids to start the water for pasta or get the fish out of the freezer
o One person may start the meal before leaving the house and another finish cooking it
o Idea: start the main dish in the crock pot early in the day; the next shift can make the rice and vegetable.
· If you can’t all eat together, plan a meal that can be eaten in shifts
o Soup or stew in a crock pot
o Meat or fish taco filling in a slow-cooker, with the sides ready in the fridge
o English muffin pizzas—have all the ingredients ready to assemble and bake your own
· If you can’t all get together at dinner, how about family breakfast or lunch?
o A high protein breakfast idea: Krusteaz Wheat ‘n Honey pancake mix made with milk instead of water, then add frozen blueberries to get all food groups quickly and easily
· Get it to go
o Grab a jar of peanut butter a loaf of bread, a bag of fruit and some milk chugs and eat at the ball diamond as a family before the game
o Host a tailgate dinner at the practice field or other outdoor event—pack a cooler with sandwiches, trail mix and veggies.
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Posted by: Matt Location: Stoughton
Carleen, I agree completely. Childhood obesity is out of control as you mentioned. Healthy eating plus physical activity are the keys to this totally preventable disease. "No Child Left Indoors" should be the new motto for parents everywhere. Posted by: Cindy Location: Blue Mounds Thanks for the pointers Carleen! I feel lucky to say that we eat as a family about 90% of the time (the other 10% being soccer season). Most of the time we are able to eat fairly healthfully using many of the strategies you listed. If we are out and about with out our own packed healthy lunches, we tend to eat at Subway and the kids get the Fit Kids Packs with milk and no soda. We can make it work. It is harder to find things when you are on the go that provide some semblance of a healthy meal, but they are out there if you look. Hopefully, many more parents can use these stategies. |
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