Family meals promote children's healthy eating

Eating with your kids is very important to their long term health. A new study found that when families ate together 5 or more times a week, children were more likely to establish healthy eating habits and less likely to participate in unhealthy eating and dieting behaviors. The researchers looked at adolescents, ages 13-16. Specifically, they found a strong relationship related to girls; the less a family ate together, the greater the potential for disordered eating and extreme weight loss measures (diet pills, laxatives, bulimia).

While my children are still quite young, I recognize the strong messages and eating behaviors that are established when you sit down together for a meal. Children look to adults for cues about what they should be eating and are certainly more likely to try new foods and eat vegetables if they see you do it. I know this is how my 4 year old started eating salmon; he saw us doing it. Lately, we've had a tough time sitting down to dinner as a family since my husband doesn't get home from work until after the kids' bedtimes. But, it's important for many reasons to eat together; so, we've come up with a few solutions that may work for you, too, if you have the same dilemma:

• on the weekend have family meals several times, including lunch or breakfast; make sure to have a variety of healthy foods (even when eating out)
• during the week, eat together as much as possible - breakfast may work better on some days; perhaps schedules can be altered to go to the office earlier one or two days to come home earlier for dinner
• resist over scheduling children with activities so they are always eating on the run; set a rule for the number of days participating in extra-curricular activities and get all of your kids on the same schedule
• if every member of the family can't join for dinner, that's okay; still sit down and eat a balanced meal with those that can

Mealtime is so important to the well being of your children. Besides establishing good eating habits and offering greater nutrition, it's a time to catch up on events of the day or week and unwind together. In the hectic race through life, slowing down and eating together are the times you will cherish and remember, and so will your kids.

2008 New Year Resolutions

Here is a quick list to add to your 2008 Healthier Eating New Year Resolutions.
-- Eat 1/2 cup serving of beans (eat all kinds including soy beans) and lentils every day - do not add any fat, instead add some garlic or other spices for seasoning.
-- Eat a handful, just a handful (1.5 ounces) of nuts a day. That is about 30 almonds, 21 walnuts, 42 peanuts, 67 pistachios, 27 pecans and 15 macadamias.
-- Eat at least 5 fruits and vegetables a day (or try for 10, which has been shown to decrease the risk for several cancers) -- count at the end of the day to make sure you hit your goal.
-- Drink water instead of calorie-laden drinks or drinks full of artificial sugars and colors. Or, at least swap water for another beverage twice a day.
-- Exercise, do something everyday. Even if it is just jumping in place to your favorite music. You can exercise in spurts - research shows that three 10 minute sessions of exercise a day can provide health benefits (and, not to mention, will help you maintain a healthy weight)!
Cheers to a healthy 2008!

The smell of weight loss?

I ran across a blurb in the latest edition of Health Magazine about a research study that showed participants experienced reduced cravings for sweets and subsequent weight loss by wearing a vanilla-scented arm patch. I looked up the study and while it was done in 2000, it does seem that perhaps there's some validity to the notion that the scent of vanilla may curb cravings for sweets. Here's another article that reported on the study. Lighting up a vanilla-scented candle or wearing a vanilla-scented spray is a pretty low cost way to potentially help you pass up that basket of leftover holiday treats. And even if it doesn't work you and your house will smell really nice.

Exercise a matter of time?

A new study from Wake Forest shows that people who have flexibility at work tend to have better health habits including getting more exercise. The researchers surveyed 3200 workers over the course of a year. Interestingly when a person's work situation became more flexible (from the beginning of the study to the end of the study) certain health habits improved but they were not necessarily more apt to workout. In some cases having more time meant more time to exercise, but for others it seemed not to make a difference.
Of the people that I know who exercise there are two types of personalities. One type would exercise no matter what their work or home situation; this person fits it in early in the morning, late in the evening and on weekends. She makes sure that there is a convenient way to get in her workout. Exercise is a regimen and is scheduled the way that meetings or other important appointments are. The other type of personality exercises when it is convenient but working out tends to fall farther on the list of priorities so may fall off the list altogether. I would say this is the more common personality.
As we approach January 1 and the date of New Year's resolutions including many peoples' vows to exercise more, it would be of benefit to try to become more like the first type of exercise personality - the one that makes exercise like brushing your teeth or taking a shower, something that's a necessary part of the day. Start by finding the time of day that works for you, schedule it in and make it a no excuses must-do. I'm not a morning person, so for me the best time is in the evening after I put the kids to bed and before my husband comes home from work. I have equipment for my home and there's a tv show on at that time, which I enjoy. I tell myself in order to watch it, I have to be on the treadmill or elliptical machine. There's no negotiations.
Flexibility at work, at home or not at all, if exercise is part of the routine, it will surely be accomplished. And when we're talking about seeking weight loss and lifelong weight maintenance, exercise is a necessary component. As your resolution this year, find the way to make exercise a must-do part of your life.

Delish dish in just 10 minutes

It seems like my day has gotten shorter. Although I know that intuitively a day is still 24 hours as it always was, it just feels like I've lost a number of hours somewhere. (And when I say "somewhere" I mean changing diapers, doing infinite loads of laundry, cleaning up spills from under the high chair, fetching milk, water, yogurt, crackers, etc, playing game after game of Candyland, you know what I mean). When it comes time to make dinner I need things that are quicker to make than ever and more importantly, from ingredients that I have in the house. (If I have to run to the grocery store, forget it. I'll just order a pizza.) So, I am thrilled to share my newest recipe creation that takes - get this - 10 minutes! Here's what you'll need to buy in your weekly grocery shopping:
1/2 pound frozen or fresh shrimp
1 bag steam-in-the-bag veggies (Birds Eye SteamFresh Asian mix is what I used - any are fine)
1 bottle of Asian salad dressing (Ken's Sesame Ginger Light is what I used)
Boil-in-bag brown rice (5 or 10 minute)
1 bag frozen edemame or soybeans

Serves 2. (Double ingredients if you want to serve 4.)
First put the water on to boil for the rice. Run 1/2 pound of shrimp under cold water to defrost (or use fresh). Put a saute pan on medium-high heat for the shrimp. Put a bag of rice in the boiling water - when there's five minutes left on cooking the rice throw 2/3 cup edemame into the boiling water with the rice bag. Pop the veggies in the microwave for 5 minutes. Peel the shrimp and throw in the heated pan with 1-2 Tbs of the salad dressing. Cook about 2-3 minutes until shrimp are no longer pink. Everything should be done at the same time. Drain the water from the rice bag and edemame. Divide among two bowls: the rice, the veggies, the edemame, and the shrimp.
Voila - dinner's done in 10 minutes! It's really healthy, too - you've got veggies, whole grains, fish and legumes with just a touch of sodium from the dressing. The portions are a good size - my husband was definitely satisfied with the meal. This one is definitely being added to my rotation.
Gotta run - just heard the cereal bowl being thrown from the high chair!

Fertility Diet follow up

I got an email yesterday from the authors of the Fertility Diet in response to my last posting about the book. Apparently they had gotten one negative, rather lengthy review on Amazon from a woman that took issue with the book. (They were pleased to see a positive response from a dietitian to counter her opinion.) The critic's main argument is that the book takes too many leaps by making recommendations based off of just a few studies and that women will believe that changing their diet is a cure for infertility and fail to seek help from their doctors. While she presents an interesting case, I don't agree with her analysis. When analyzing whether recommendations are sound I look for several things - these are the questions you can ask yourself when deciding if a "diet" is appropriate:
- Is it based off of research? Is there a body of research and not just one study? Are the studies large, lengthy and reputable?
- Do the recommendations jive with what we know from other research?
- Will following this eating pattern harm the person in any way?
- Is there a lifestyle component to the recommendations?
Since the recommendations passed these criteria and following the eating pattern is more healthful for multiple reasons, I gave it a green light. In addition, I think that people are wise enough to know that while diet and lifestyle are an important part of health, seeing a doctor for a specific condition is a necessary aspect of care.
Nutrition is an interesting field because we learn new information everyday while we have to make recommendations based off of the best knowledge that we have at the time. So, while nutrition is a definite science with hard data there is an element of judgement that comes into play. To make the best diet choices for yourself, you can look to credentialed experts for help and be your own judge by asking and answering the right questions. And most important of all - will eating this way work for you, can you implement these recommendations into your daily life? Only YOU can answer these questions.

Trouble getting pregnant may be related to diet

A new book called "The Fertility Diet" has some interesting insight into the potential link between what a woman eats and her ease with getting pregnant. I would normally think something with this title could be folklore, however, the diet is based on research from the Harvard School of Public Health and the book is written by the study authors. They're on the Dec 10th cover of Newsweek along with an article summarizing the data. The researchers looked at over 18,000 women that are part of the ongoing Nurse's Health Study, which is a huge, long-term research project assessing the effects of diet on a number of diseases. They found that women who readily got pregnant ate a diet with lots of whole grains, fruits, vegetables, vegetable oils, and plant proteins and ate less trans fats and animal protein. The women who had fertility and ovulation issues were eating nearly the opposite. Interestingly, they also found that consuming whole milk foods - ice cream, cheeses, full fat yogurt -was beneficial for fertility. The book also mentions exercise and maintaining a healthy weight as key lifestyle factors in promoting fertility.

Bottomline: The book gets the green light for overall soundness and balance. The Fertility Diet promotes a healthy diet rich in the foods you should eat the most - whole grains, fruits, vegetables - and those you should eat the least - fatty meats, baked goods, and processed snack foods. While having full fat dairy is more controversial since it is high in saturated fat, dairy overall is rich in calcium and other nutrients your body needs. Just stick to 1-2 appropriate portions per day if the dairy is full fat: 1/2 cup ice cream, 1 oz cheese, 1 cup yogurt. If you've been trying to get pregnant and are having trouble, paying attention to your diet and making healthier choices is certainly a step in the right direction.