Nearly a quarter of Americans eat together at home less than 3 times a week.  17% of teens report that they never eat family meals. Combine this with the fact that 20% of teens say they eat fast food every day or nearly every day and you can see we’re heading down a road to long term health consequences. Do your part to reverse this trend by making family meals a priority in your household. Studies show that eating at home with your family leads to better eating and better attitudes.

Benefits of Family Meals include:

·         higher intakes of fiber, calcium, folate, iron, vitamins B6, B12, C and E and lower intakes of saturated and trans fat as a percentage of energy

·         higher intakes of fruits and vegetables

·         healthy eating patterns later in life

·         better grades at school

·         happier teens

·         healthier habits for teens

We all know it can be a challenge to get a meal on the table some days, especially as kids participate in sports, gymnastics, dance, club activities, and more. But, clearly it’s worth the effort, for your kids social and emotional well-being as well as nutritionally.  Here are some of my tactics so my family can eat together most nights of the week: 

• Grocery shopping is 90% of the battle for me; I shop once a week and buy enough lean protein foods, produce and bread to last the week as well as filling the cart with certain staples that will last longer, such as canned beans, frozen veggie burgers, whole grain pasta and brown rice.
• I have go-to recipes that take about 15 minutes to prepare. Ground turkey tacos, pasta with chicken and veggies, stir fry shrimp and rice are some in my regular rotation.
• I plan the vegetables first. To make sure we all get in our veggie servings - dinner is often the only time of day my kids and husband eat vegetables so I have to pack them in! - I fill half of everyone’s plate with veggies first. Eli likes red peppers and tomatoes, Oliver wants carrots, Harris and I have salad or another green vegetable. By cutting up all the veggies at once and filling our plates it not only saves time but putting them on the plates first means I use more of the plate and leave less room for starch and protein, which we should have in smaller quantities. Note: no matter what the main entree is, we always fill the plate with veggies first. If there are veggies in the main entree, bonus!
• On days when either my husband or I will be out in the evening, one of us sits down to dinner with the kids. Sometimes I’ll have just my salad with them and then eat the other parts of the meal later with him. If one of the kids has an activity, we’ll eat in shifts; my husband will have an early dinner with the younger kids and I’ll eat later with the other one or vice versa.

The bottom line: eating family meals together as often as possible to share conversation and model healthy behaviors is well worth the effort. Just a little thinking and planning ahead and it can be done!     

Tags: benefits of family meals, eat at home, healthy eating

Just read some interesting stats on the number of times each month that the average American “does the drive-thru.”  Half of Americans visit drive-thrus at least twice per month; nearly a third drive-thru every week. FYI…the survey was commissioned by Taco Bell.

No surprise to any of us moms, but 30 percent of people say that having kids in the car is their reason for choosing the drive-thru option.  I can count on one hand the number of times I’d gone through a drive-thru before having kids - not having to tote 3 kids into a restaurant is my ONLY reason for going through the drive-thru.  I will say I don’t drive-thru very often, maybe once every couple of months because I just don’t really like the food you can get nor is it very healthy.  Well, maybe til now. 

Taco Bell has an ad campaign called the drive-thru diet with a woman who lost 54 pounds (the Taco Bell version of Jared, I guess) eating certain items at Taco Bell made Fresco, which uses tomato salsa instead of cheese and sauce. This lowers the fat and calories.

What do I, as a dietitian, think about this diet? Not something I’d want to do nor advocate as a permanent lifestyle change. The sodium is still sky high and you’d get more fiber and nutrients making your own tacos and burritos at home using whole wheat tortillas and added veggies. However, on a crazy day when you need to drive-thru, the Taco Bell Fresco menu items are a better option than a burger and fries. Just don’t make it a whole diet plan.  Eating less processed, home cooking, full of fruits, veggies, whole grains, lean proteins, (and love), is still a healthier way to shed weight.

Tags: fast food, processed food, taco bell diet, weight loss

Do you reach for chocolate when you are stressed or overwhelmed? Your body might be trying to self medicate.  A study that published this past December shows chocolate might help decrease your body’s reaction to stress.  In the study, the participants were fed a dark chocolate bar (40 grams) for two weeks.  They found that cortisol (a stress hormone) was decreased.  You may have heard or seen the word “cortisol” recently — it is heavily covered by the media as a contributor to belly fat, headaches, cardiovascular health, blood sugar control, etc - all of the symptoms related to stress.  More research is needed to better understand the effects and if less chocolate will do the trick.   For now, we know that chocolate is a good thing, and bonus, it might help control the release of cortisol.  Here are some additional healthy ways to help deal with stress, the release of cortisol and the symptoms related to stress.

Eat foods that release the feel good hormone serotonin — eat your whole grains and fruit

Exercise, even if you only have 10 minutes — go for a walk, do some stretching, jump rope, shoot baskets with the kids, play chase and time yourself if you are short on time

Enjoy your chocolate in moderation – sit down, without distraction and truly savor a few squares of darker chocolate (at least 45% cocoa)

Practice deep breathing – when you inhale, fill your belly first, then your chest, then exhale and release the air from your chest first, then down to your belly

Find some favorite yoga poses – go to a yoga class regularly, if you do not have time, find some poses you like and do them throughout the day

Meditate – when you are stressed, practice your deep breathing and close your eyes for 10 minutes and focus on a beautiful scene.

Tags: baby fat diet, chocolate, health, nutrition, stress, Valentine's Day

Try this lunchbox swap — instead of PB&J, spread natural almond butter on your whole wheat bread with fruit preserves. 2 Tbs of almond butter has less saturated fat, more fiber, and loads more vitamin E than peanut butter plus it has a nutty taste you might enjoy. My father-in-law brought me a jar of MaraNatha Natural Almond Butter (www.maranathafoods.com) and we’ve all been eating it, kids included. I actually think it has more flavor than peanut butter - and I am a peanut butter fanatic! I found I could use less, which saves calories too. The jar was a little more expensive than Skippy but comparable to an all natural, no sugar, no preservatives peanut butter. Give it a try and see what you think.

Tags: almond butter, maranatha, peanut butter

I did not blog last week on my new cooking class because we had to delay the start of the class to Feb 4th.  This works well for me, since I would like to shave more time off the recipes.  My goal is to have the prep time 10 minutes or less and cooking time no more than 25 minutes for each recipe.  Here are the recipes for the first 4 sessions — Succulent Salmon, Sweet Potato Chicken Nuggets, Vegetable Lasagna and Paprika Pork Fillet.  I am going to continue to work on these recipes and will begin posting the information covered in the cooking classes in February.  For now, here is my Succulent Salmon recipe -

Servings 4

Time - 15 minutes

1.5 lbs Wild Alaskan Salmon - skin removed

3 Tbs olive oil

1/4 cup balsamic vinegar

1/4 cup soy sauce (to lower sodium use low sodium soy sauce or liquid aminos)

1 minced garlic clove

2 cups baby spinach leaves

1/4 cup feta cheese

Combine first 5 ingredients in large zippered storage bag and shake.  Make sure to thoroughly coat salmon with all ingredients in bag.  Heat skillet on medium heat and once warm, add all ingredients from bag to skillet.  Cook for 2-4 minutes (depends on thickness of salmon) on each side or until salmon is pink and flaky.  Serve about a 4 oz piece of salmon (a little larger than a deck of cards) on top of 1/2 cup baby spinach leaves and sprinkle with feta cheese.  Then enjoy!

Tags: baby fat diet, healthy eating, healthy foods, healthy recipe, lose weight, nutrition

Are moms just destined to be heavier than other women? A new study says yes, but I say no way! The study from the American Journal of Preventive Medicine found that in a decade moms gain more weight than either women with a partner but no children or single women (20 pounds vs 15 pounds vs 11 pounds).  Interestingly, all the groups in the study gained weight, on average, but moms gained the most. Of course, we, as moms, know that time for exercise and a focus on healthy eating takes a back burner to a baby. And, the researchers note that stress and lack of sleep for moms may also be contributing to the extra pounds. So, the results may not be that surprising.

But, I say it doesn’t have to be. Read “The Baby Fat Diet” for simple things you can do to help take off the baby weight and maintain it longterm.  By the way, it’s pretty unhealthy to gain even the 11 pounds that the single women were gaining in a decade. Think about how that would add up over a lifetime! Plus, the health problems that come along with it, like heart disease and diabetes.  

The next time you forgo your workout or skip a healthy breakfast because you don’t have time to think about yourself, keep in mind this study. You need to prioritize yourself, or at least be on the list, in order to stay healthy for your family. Whenever I feel a little guilty for being that mom who puts her kids in the gym babysitting to take a kickboxing class, I remind myself that my health is really, really important to my family.  I want to be there for them for the next 50+ years. Now grab your calendar and make a date (with yourself) to workout.

Tags: american journal of preventive medicine, baby fat diet, single women, study, weight gain in moms

I am starting the new year by teaming up with the YMCA in Houston, one of the largest in the nation, to help Houstonians get fit in 2010.  The class is a healthy cooking class where families will learn about nutrition, and will prepare their own meal for the evening.  Each class will end with dinner preparation that the families take with them and can be cooked for under 25 minutes at home.  I will post the information on this blog, so that you can benefit from the class as well.  This Thursday, we will start with The Foods You Can’t Live Without and will make Succulent Salmon and Blazin’ Beans.  I will post the information and the recipe for you on Wed. before the class.

Tags: baby fat diet, cooking class, healthy cooking, healthy eating, Houston YMCA, weight loss