Mini Sized bites...

One of Simone's favorite recipes is mini sized cracker sandwiches.  Very simple to make and just the perfect size for little hands.

Ingredients:

• 2 slices low fat cheese
  
• a few small slices of cucumbers or tomatoes
• 12 mini crackers, such as Ritz Bits

Instructions:

1. Cut cheese into small round circles, you can use a small bowl or a small glass to cut a round shape.  

2.Place a slice of cheese on six of the crackers. Add cucmber or tomato on top of the cheese.  Add the remaining crackers. 

Substitute: You can also add deli meat slices

The power of "so yummy, so yummy"

When my daughter Simone was an infant and had just started to eat solid food, one of the things I always said when offering her food was, "so yummy, so yummy, so yummy in your tummy".  I did this every time I gave her solid food regardless of whether it was something new or familiar. Today she is not afraid to try new food items or recipes. She may not love it or like it but at least she is willing to have a few morsels.  When she eats now, she has this little dance, where she is swinging and titling her head and says, " so yummy, so yummy, so yummy in my tummy tummy tummy".  These words make her happy and I think this association is what makes her a good eater.

What makes children overeat?

David Kessler, the former head of the Food and Drug Administration, addresses America's ever-increasing waistlines in his new book, "The End of Overeating: Taking Control of the Insatiable American Appetite."

When asked about obesity and children in his Wall Street Journal interview promoting the book, he said the following:

" They [children] are getting huge portions of very stimulating foods, hyper-palatable foods. You have huge portions of sugar, fat and salt. Every time they eat those foods it strengthens their neuro-circuitry to eat that food again. It activates them. Once these cues are laid down, and the information is in your brain, it stays there and drives behavior. This isn't a disease. But we've been captured by these stimuli. In the past, it allowed us to survive. Now we have health consequences because it's available 24/7 and we've added the emotional gloss of advertising."

What would be some way to control the stimuli? Is it not giving your child the cookie the child has been asking for? Or do you give only 1 and stop at 1 and let the child cry if they want more?

Is your child eating enough calories?

How much should your child really eat?  Preschoolers in general need about 1, 000 to 1,400 calories per day. Roughly five or six mini-meals throughout the day are what is needed to keep their energy up.  

The following is a breakdown of how much preschoolers should consume for each food group:

Vegetables - 1 cup

Fruits - 1 cup

Grains - 3 ounces

Meats & Beans 2 to 3 ounces

Dairy 2 cups

Oils 3 teaspoons

Fats & SweetsLimit as much as possible



For information on what your elementary school children or high school children should be eating check out:
http://www.epicurious.com/articlesguides/healthy/news/nutritionalguidelinesforkids

How much should your child eat?

I came across this personalized eating plan calculator for preschoolers on a government site. This calculator calculates how much of what a child should eat based on their gender, age, and physical activity and generates a personalized plan for your child. It's a pretty nifty tool. Check it out at Mypyramid.gov.

Preschool lunches not nutritious enough

A recent article on Health Day News said that parents are not packing enough fruits, vegetables and milk and their toddler's lunch boxes. It further cites that almost 13 million children in the US eat atleast 2-3 meals at a day care. With an increase in type 2 diabetes and other chronic diseases, early emphasis on nutrition and educating children is very important.

What are you doing to educate your child/children about nutrition? I would love to hear your thoughts.

My journey starts.....

In 2007 I became a mom for the first time, and since then I have focused on the right activities, the right toys, and the right diet and nutrition for my daughter (which parent doesn't). Over the last few months she went from being a great eater who ate a varied diet to being extremely picking about what she eat. Out of my desperation to get the right calories in her, I have experimented with books, tricks, and bribes ;). This blog is my journey in finding ideas, tips, and products on teaching and feeding our children a healthy and a nutritious diet so that they grow up to be healthy eaters who love to eat a variety of food.