Best 100% Juices

I just ran across an interesting study about 100% fruit juices. The researchers looked at the nutrient density (amount of nutrients or good stuff per calorie) of popular 100% fruit juices. Nutrient density is a good way to make sure your calories count. For example, a prune and a piece of hard candy may have the same number of calories but the prune will be healthier because of the nutrients found in the prune. Out of the seven juices tested, which included apple, grape, pink and white grapefruit, orange, prune and pineapple, two were found to have the most nutrients. Orange juice and pink grapefruit juice were the winners in terms of more good stuff/calorie. Click here to read more about the study.

Tips for eating Halloween candy

Here are some tips to cut down on eating too much candy --
-- Dump the candy on the floor with the kids and create a pile of your favorites (both you and your children).
-- Throw away (or donate to your child's daycare treasure box or good manners award chest) all candy that does not make it into your favorite piles.
-- Keep 5 pieces of your favorites for yourself -- again, either throw away or donate the rest of your pile.
-- For the kids, give each 5 Ziploc bags and let them put three pieces in each bag (this assumes the candies are snack size - if they are full size, then just one per bag).
-- Each day (for a total of 5 days, they do not have to be consecutive days) they can enjoy a bag -- Make sure they balance the treat with something healthy like nuts or fruit (that also goes for mom).

Whole Wheat PopTarts Nutritionals

I just got the nutrition information on the Whole Wheat PopTarts (see my 1st post on Oct 8th) -- unfortunately, the product does have high fructose corn syrup as well as corn syrup listed twice on the ingredient label. However, I do like that the first ingredient is whole wheat flour and that they have 3 grams of fiber. BottomLine: The new Whole Wheat PopTarts did not achieve healthy food status, but are a better alternative to the current PopTarts.

What should you and your kids drink?

I get a lot of questions on what and how much juice and milk children should drink as well as what is the best drinks for moms. OK, let's start with the obvious, for daily living, not including high endurance sports, water, water, water to quench thirst without adding unnecessary calories and sugar. Now that we have that out of the way, what about those children and adults who do not like water -- try flavoring the water with lemon, orange or tangerine juice and a little sugar (before adding it, melt the sugar by boiling it in some water in the microwave). Water should make up the majority of your beverage choices, especially in hotter and humid climates where kids and adults are constantly in need of a refreshing beverage. Now, beyond water, what should your choices be --

For Kids (age 4 years and up)

-- in general no more than two 8-ounce 100% fruit juice beverages

-- and at least 2 cups of low fat or fat free milk.

Given the recent beverage guidelines, such as the School Beverage Guidelines and the Guidelines for Adults, food and beverage manufacturers are trying to make healthier beverage options available. I just came across this interesting drink called Bot Flavored Water soon to be available in Whole Foods. It is made for kids as a healthier alternative to juice -- lower sugar (9 g vs over 20 g found in juice), nothing artificial, providing mostly water. I would prefer that kids just drink water and enjoy juice no more than two times a day, but for those who do not like water this may be a good option.

For Adults

--just drink water or flavor it with natural juices (or if you must a low cal powder like Crystal Light).
--Also make sure that you are getting your dairy, two glasses of skim milk, in addition to one cup of yogurt (a bowl of cereal can count as one glass of milk).

By the way, I really liked the opinions shared in the following article (click here) on the New Beverage Guidelines -- read for yourself and tell us what you think.

Eating Like My Kids: I did it!

I did it! I ate like my kids all week. I recommend all moms try this -- I fed them healthier and I ate healthier. I actually had much more energy than normal -- I was eating about every 3-4 hours and trying to stay away from processed foods. Also, I realized that they eat much more fruit than I do. I make sure every snack includes a fruit - since I do not typically snack often, I was not getting as much fruit as my kids. So, last week I ate about 5 servings of fruits a day -- if everyone did this, based on population studies, we would have a lot less heart disease and other chronic illnesses. There are several good habits from last week that I will continue --
-- Eating breakfast sitting with the kids instead of in the car while driving them to school
-- Snacking on fruits, nuts and seeds in the morning and afternoon
-- Eating my meals at the same time everyday
-- Eating at least 5 fruits a day (I typically do hit 5 fruits and veggies a day but this takes me to a whole new level)
Looking at my list, I realize that these are recommendation that I typically give to my clients -- as much as I try to practice what I preach, as you can see, there is always room for improvement.
So, here is your challenge -- eat like your kids for a week and let us know what stuck. I already know of one mom considering the "Eat Like My Kids" Challenge -- a fellow blogger from mom-for-ma-tion.

Eating like my kids

This week I am going to eat just like I usually try to feed my kids (I am not perfect). So, today at 6:45am I actually sat with my children and ate oatmeal and a drinkable yogurt for breakfast. I then sent my daughter to school with snacks, sunflower seeds, mandarin orange cup, banana and water, which I also ate throughout the morning before lunch. For breakfast, I normally would have eaten an energy bar and drinkable yogurt (one without high fructose corn syrup) in the car while driving the kids to school and would not have eaten again until 1pm because of my work. For lunch, I ate at the same time as my children did at school, 11:30 am, and had a sunflower seed butter and natural jelly sandwich on whole wheat bread, raw almonds, an all natural fruit leather (FruitaBu) and milk (I had skim, they had 1%). At the end of the day, I will run a nutrition analysis on how we ate and will report back.

Back to School Snacks

Well, it is time to say goodbye to the lazy days of summer and get back into a regular routine. My daughter started her preschool today and as I was packing her snacks she was trying to talk me into providing all treats to help her through her first day. Although, the treats would make her happy, they would not help her get through the day. So, we compromised. I let her pick one treat. Here are the snacks she took to school,
-- A chocolate Z bar by Clif (this was her treat)-- has a great ingredient deck and nutrition and she loves it!
-- Tasty little crackers (TLC) by Kashi with almond butter (peanut butter is not allowed at her school).
-- Baby carrots -- I hope she eats them.
-- Strawberries with powdered sugar -- just a little, otherwise, she will not eat them.
Quick tip for moms -- try and eat the way you want your kids to eat. By doing this, you will not only eat better but will also be a healthy-eating role model.
I also ran across an article that has some interesting recipes and good information for back to school lunches, click here for the article.

Two Angry Moms...making a difference

Check out Two Angry Moms...these women are on a mission to make school meals healthier. They are asking parents to join their children for lunch at their schools the week of Oct 15-19th and ask questions about the food and ingredients. You can also ask for a copy of their wellness policy.