By Elizabeth Ward, M.S., R.D.

My kids are back to school, and, as usual, I have mixed feelings about the start of another school year. I miss having them around, but truth be told, I am not so sure that I miss entertaining three girls every day!

Now that you’re turning your attention to getting your child ready for school, you may be wondering how to help him do his best in the classroom. There’s plenty that parents can do, at home, and at school, to foster academic achievement.

It doesn’t matter what time of year, children should be encouraged to eat a variety of nutrient-rich foods, such as low-fat and fat-free milk lean sources of protein, fruits and vegetables, and whole grains. In addition, experts say children need at least one hour of physical activity every day. 

Easier said than done, even in this dietitian’s household.  Truth is, once the school year starts, kids may slow down because they’re busy with homework and other school-related activities, and they may reach for more low-nutrient snacks on the fly. (Speaking of snacks, Spinach Dip with whole grain crackers, and Banana Pudding Shake are healthy alternatives to snack chips and sweets.)

It’s important for parents to keep sight of the fact that a growing body of evidence links excess body fat, physical inactivity, and poor nutrition to lower levels of academic achievement.  Since kids spend so much time in the school environment, a program like Fuel Up to Play 60 (www.fueluptoplay60.com) is just the thing to get them moving more and eating better when they’re at home, and when they’re at school.

Fuel Up to Play 60 is an in-school nutrition and physical activity program run by the National Dairy Council and the National Football League, in collaboration with the United States Department of Agriculture. It encourages healthy eating and a minimum of 60 minutes of daily physical activity.

Kids take the lead in Fuel Up to Play 60. Working with adults, students think of ways to increase physical activity before, during, and after school, and how to motivate their peers to eat healthier foods. 

Fuel Up to Play 60 is a great way to get involved with your child’s school, and for your child to be part of a worthy school-based project.  Visit the Fuel Up to Play 60 web site for information about how your child’s school can get involved. 

By Elizabeth M. Ward, M.S., R.D.  

Late August is always a bittersweet time of year for me, because I know what’s coming soon.

Around the middle of the month, I get a bid sad because I start thinking about my kids starting school before Labor Day (I hate that!), and the fact that the entire family will soon be learning new routines that will govern our days for the ten months. No more staying up late on weeknights watching the Red Sox or those mindless cable TV shows about choosing wedding gowns and buying houses. Goodbye spontaneity, hello homework!

On the brighter side, I know that there’s still plenty of time to enjoy the warm, bright days of late summer. And I plan on doing just that with my family, especially when it comes to eating.

Produce is at its peak in late summer and autumn. Locally-grown vegetables are abundant, and backyard gardens are bursting at the seams. We’re eating buckets of our homegrown vine-ripened cherry tomatoes and beans right now, and we’re eagerly anticipating eggplant and Brussels sprouts soon. 

There’s no shortage of fruit, either.  There are so many fun ways to work berries, and other fruit, into your family’s eating plan.  I freeze bagfuls of blueberries (LINK: www.ochef.com/706.htm) now to make blueberry smoothies and blueberry crisp during the winter. 

Speaking of how to use berries, have your tried Simply Smart Frozen “Forehand” Chocolate Strawberry Cups yet? They’re really fun to make and to eat, and each serving provides one-half cup of Simply Smart Milk, which is higher in protein and calcium than regular milk. A Simply Smart Groundstroke Smoothie provides you and your kids with the energy, protein, and calcium you need to fuel activity. 

I may be a New England native, but I still dread the darker days of late autumn and winter. Lately, I’ve noticed that it’s getting darker earlier, and that it’s not as light on the days I get up early to exercise. Instead of letting it get me down, the coming shortage of daylight increases my resolve to spend more time outdoors with my husband and daughters. Here are some easy ways to combine physical activity and family time:

• Take a walk right after dinner. Forget about the dishes. You can always clean up later.

• Turn off the TV and go for a bike ride or a hike together.

• Shoot hoops, throw a Frisbee or play tag with the kids in the yard. 

Summer is on its way out, so let’s make the most of what we have left!

I just returned from two weeks in Italy with my family. It wasn’t our typical summer vacation, and it was truly the trip of a lifetime.

Twelve of us traveled together, including my children and my mother, whose parents left Italy as teenagers, met in the United States, and married here.  In addition to visiting the Vatican, the ruins in Rome and Pompeii, and the coastal area and islands near Sorrento, we had a chance to venture (it took more than two hours to go 28 miles along winding roads) to my grandmother’s town, which was a real treat for all of us.

And then there was the food!  Of course, nearly everything we ate was delicious.

To be honest, because I am careful with my calories, I was worried about gaining weight in Italy. As far as I can tell, I had nothing to be concerned about.  Every meal - all of them in the hotel or restaurants – was so satisfying that I wasn’t looking for as many snacks (my downfall is picking between meals) two hours later. I thought about calories a lot less, and ate only until I was full.  We walked about three to five miles a day, so that helped keep the weight at bay, too.

I’ve been to Italy before, but this time, I was struck by how inconvenient it is to eat between meals. There are no convenience stores or drive-thrus where you can grab fast food, and highly-refined snacks such as chips, crackers, and sugary treats and beverages with hundreds of unnecessary sugar calories, such as 32-ounce sodas.  When I got hungry between lunch and dinner, I munched on fruit, largely because there was little else available. OK, I did have gelato a few times! And it was delicious.

So, as a dietitian and food-lover, what did I learn from my trip to Italy?  Nothing that hasn’t already been said a thousand times and documented in the scientific literature, but here are some lessons that are worth repeating, and adopting.

Take the time to eat delicious food.  We, including yours truly, often “inhale” our food because we think we’re too busy to do otherwise. We mindlessly munch throughout the day, never feeling truly satisfied. That dissatisfaction may be the result of eating too quickly, but it could also be the result of inadequate intake of filling nutrients like water, fiber, and protein.

Listen to what your body is telling you.  Studies suggest that Europeans rely more on feelings of fullness to determine how much to eat, rather than external cues, such as when their plate is empty.  It’s tough to break the associations we have with external cues, but serving yourself smaller portions on smaller dinnerware is a good start to curbing calories.  Mindless Eating, Why We Eat More Than We Think (www.mindlesseating.org), by Brian Wansink, PhD, is an entertaining read about how to become more mindful of your food intake.  

Don’t fear fat. I ate a lot of cheese and olive oil when I was in Italy, and I truly believe the fat in these foods contributed to feeling full on relatively small portions of food. The Institute of Medicine recommends that 20% to 35% of your daily calories come from fat, which amounts to 44 grams to 78 grams on a 2,000-calorie eating plan. 

Keep it balanced.  A very low fat diet may leave you wanting for food most of the time, but going overboard on fat isn’t the ticket to weight control, either.  Meals and snacks should provide a balance of fat, carbohydrate and protein, a nutrient found in Hood Milk and Simply Smart Milk,  and Hood Cottage Cheese, that helps you to feel fuller for longer. Include protein at every meal and snack to increase eating satisfaction.
 
Posted by The Answer Mom 8.2.10

People get sick from food more often during the summer than any other time of the year. It makes sense when you consider that warm, humid weather provides the perfect environment for the growth of germs that can make you and your kids ill.

How much do you know about keeping food safe when the mercury rises? Choose the best answers, then check yours against the correct ones listed below. No peeking!

1. The temperature of your home refrigerator should always be:
a. 50˚F (10˚C)
b. 40˚F or below
c. I have no idea.

2. When you have a BBQ or picnic in warm weather, you should do the following with leftovers:
a. Let them cool, then put them in the refrigerator or cooler after two hours.
b. Put the food in the fridge or the cooler after an hour.
c. Leave the food out until everyone is done serving themselves.

3. When you handle raw burgers, chicken, and seafood, or before touching any food, you should clean your hands in the following manner:
a. Wipe them on a towel or paper towel.
b. Rinse them with warm water.
c. Wash them with soap and warm water.

4. The safest way to defrost meat, poultry, and seafood is:
a. Set them on the kitchen counter until they are thawed.
b. Take them out of the freezer and put them in the refrigerator to thaw.
c. Microwave them.
d. b and c

5. You’re grilling meat or seafood.  Which of the following should you do?
a. Have a fresh platter to put the cooked meats on, and use clean tongs to remove the cooked meat or seafood from the grill.
b. Never reuse the marinade.
c. Cook the meat and seafood to the proper temperature.
d. a, b, and c

6. It's a hot, sunny day and you’ve brought an insulated cooler packed with food along with you. Where should you put it?
a. Leave it in the trunk of your car.
b. Put it in the shade. 
d. It doesn’t really matter.

Answers

1. b. Your refrigerator should always stay at 40˚F or below to prevent the growth of germs that may be present in food.  Measure the temperature of your ‘fridge on a regular basis with a reliable thermometer and adjust the thermostat if necessary.

2. b. When the weather is warm, foods should be refrigerated or put in containers in a cooler packed with ice as soon as possible and within about an hour’s time to prevent the proliferation of germs.

3. c. The best way to wash your hands is with warm water and regular (not antibacterial) soap, lathering up for at least 20 seconds. When soap and water is unavailable, rely on alcohol-based wipes or gel formulas to clean hands. Dry your hands with a clean towel.

4. d.  Leaving food on the counter guarantees that germs will grow as the food warms up to room temperature. 

5. d. Never reuse the plate that had raw animal foods on it unless you wash it with warm, soapy water. Ditto for the marinade – it may look OK, but because it has not been properly heated, it may be loaded with bacteria that is typically killed with cooking. Use a reliable meat thermometer to bring your meat and seafood to the correct temperatures For more information, visit: www.fsis.usda.gov/factsheets/foodborne_illness_peaks_in_summer/index.asp.

6. b.  It may be insulated, but you can help your cooler keep food as cold as possible by keeping the cooler cool. The trunk of your car is too hot for the cooler, so take it out and leave it in the shade or cover it with a blanket.  Surround foods, including beverages such as water, and Hood Milk in a thermos, completely with ice or ice packs. 

Summer has been in full swing for just a few weeks, and if your kids are anything like mine, their otherwise healthy eating habits have suddenly taken a vacation, too.

Just about every day, and sometimes more than once, my children actually expect to have foods that they typically eat once in a while during the school year, including chips, soda, lemonade, and French fries. What gives?

I’m convinced that summertime may actually outdo the holiday season for poor nutrition.  The school bell rings for the final time, and kids, and their parents (I am as guilty as the next person!), relax the reigns on healthy eating. But, while it’s a struggle, it’s really important to offer children healthy foods, and encourage regular physical activity, year-round. 

You would think that summertime is when children are more active and eat better, given the amount of fresh produce that’s available.  But research shows that many kids actually gain excess weight during the summer months, probably because they are out of their school-year routine, which may include more exercise and more structured meal and snack times.

Here’s what you can do to help your child stay healthy and happy this summer:

• Serve a balanced breakfast every day, whether your child is off to camp, the beach, or his part-time job.  A bowl of whole grain cereal topped with Hood Milk and fruit starts the day off right and keeps kids from clamoring for fatty snacks, like donuts and Danish.

• Snack Smart: Kids get nearly 25% of their calories from mid-meal noshing, so make it count by serving foods that are rich in nutrients. When you’re at home, there’s even more opportunity to eat. Offer these healthier snacks to your kids:

• Low fat yogurt

• Hummus and vegetables or crackers for dipping

• Trail mix made with ¼ cup each: raisins and whole grain cereal, and 2 tablespoons chopped nuts or sunflower seeds

• Low-fat popcorn

• Half of a sandwich

• Berry smoothie

• Plan meals. It’s summer and your routine is relaxed, but letting it go too far can have unintended consequences for your child’s weight.  When you shop for healthy ingredients for easy summer lunches and dinners, you rely on fewer processed and restaurant foods, which are typically higher in fat and calories than what you would make at home. Greek Pasta Salad  is one of my all-time no-cook summer favorites. Add leftover chopped, cooked chicken or grilled shrimp and a green salad and you’ve got a complete meal.

• Allow treats.  There’s room for fun foods of all types in your diet, and your child’s.  It’s OK to have foods like hot dogs, fries and chips as long as you eat healthy foods, including at least three 8-ounce glasses of Hood Milk every day, most of the time.