October, 2003 Whole Health Nutrition News
In this Issue:
Karen’s Class Schedule for
October
Vegetarian Cuisine. Learn simple ways to add whole grains, beans, and other delicious
meatless entrees into your diet.
Monday, October 6th, 7-9PM, Jennings Park Barn, MarysvilleRegistration: 360-651-5085. Cost: $18.00 + $2.00 supply fee due at class. Fifteen Minute Meals. Learn how to make healthy, delicious meals in less than 15 minutes. New fall recipes!
Thursday, October 9th, 7:15-9:15PM, Richmond Highlands Rec Center, Shoreline.
Registration: 206-418-3383. Cost:$22.00 + $3.00 supply fee due at class. The Joy of Soy. Learn about the various forms of soy such as tofu, tempeh and miso, the health benefits, and sample several delicious recipes.
Saturday, Oct.11th, 1-3PM, Senior Center, Downtown Everett.
Registration: 425-257-8300. Cost: $15.00 + $8.00 supply fee due at class. Healthy Low-Carb Cooking. Learn how to make pancakes, breads and quiche that are grain-free, high in flavor and healthy.
Tuesday, October 14th, 6:30-8:30PM, Mountlake Terrace High School.
Registration: 425-640-1840. Cost: $25.00 Fifteen Minute Meals. Learn how to make healthy, delicious meals in less than 15 minutes. New fall recipes!
Wednesday, October 15th, 7-9PM, Mountlake Terrace High School.
Registration: 425-640-1840. Cost: $25.00 Healthy Eating on the Run. Learn how to make healthy, delicious meals in less than 15 minutes. New fall recipes!
Saturday, October 18th, Noon-2PM, UW Campus
Registration: 206-68-LEARN. Cost: $14-$18.00 + $10.00 registration fee. Fifteen Minute Meals. Learn how to make healthy, delicious meals in less than 15 minutes. New fall recipes!
Monday, October 20th, 7-9PM, Jennings Park Barn, Marysville
Registration: 360-651-5085. Cost: $18.00 + $2.00 supply fee due at class. The Joy of Soy. Learn about the various forms of soy such as tofu, tempeh and miso, the health benefits, and sample several delicious recipes.
Wednesday, Oct.22nd, 6:30-8:30PM, Mountlake Terrace High School.
Registration: 425-640-1840. Cost: $25.00
Vegetarian Cuisine. Learn simple ways to add whole grains, beans, and other delicious
meatless entrees into your diet.
Thursday, October 23rd, 7-9PM, Senior Center, Downtown Everett.
Registration: 425-257-8300. Cost: $15.00 + $8.00 supply fee due at class. The Joy of Soy. Learn about the various forms of soy such as tofu, tempeh and miso, the health benefits, and sample several delicious recipes.
Tuesday, October 28rd, 6:30-8:30PM, Frances Anderson Center, Edmonds
Registration: 425-771-0230.
Cost: $18.00 + $3.00 supply fee due at class.
Munchie Madness. If you have a picky eater at home, this class is for
you. Learn how to make kid-friendly meals and snacks that are healthy.
Monday, November 3rd, 7-9PM, Jennings Park Barn, MarysvilleRegistration: 360-651-5085. Cost: $18.00 + $2.00 supply fee due at class. Healthy Low-Carb Cooking. Learn how to make pancakes, breads and quiche that are grain-free, high in flavor and healthy.
Thursday, November 6th, 7:15-9:15PM, Richmond Highlands Rec Center, Shoreline.
Registration: 206-418-3383. Cost: $22.00 + $3.00 supply fee due at class. “FOOD FIGHT”, reviewed by Michelle Simon
The Inside Story of the Food Industry, America's Obesity Crisis, and What We Can Do About ItBy Kelly Brownell and Katherine Battle Horgen, Public health experts agree that obesity has become a national crisis. Less clear is what should be done about it. While government health officials tout exercise and "personal responsibility," more and more nutrition advocates are blaming the food industry for creating a world where Whoppers, Big Gulps, and Twinkies are more available and much cheaper than tofu, brown rice, and broccoli. Enter Food Fight, the latest book to take a deeper look at the social and public health consequences of America's love affair with junk food. The book's primary author, Kelly Brownell, is the Yale psychology professor who coined the phrase "toxic food environment." He has been making quite a name for himself by helping to move the public discussion of obesity beyond a focus on diets and behavior modification. True to form, big food corporations have accused him of being a member of the "food police," a "nanny" bent on saddling them with advertising restrictions, junk food taxes, and other pesky regulations. To read the full review, visit: http://www.informedeating.org/docs/battling_the_bulge.html
Kids’ “picky eating” is a
common complaint among parents, many of whom worry that their children’s
nutrient intake suffers as a result.
According to a recent study, fussy eaters may actually fall into two
distinct groups – one unwilling to try unfamiliar foods and the other unwilling
to eat a variety of relatively familiar foods.
Children classified as
neophobic – those unwilling to try new foods – tend to score higher on measures
of anxiety than other kids. They often
have mothers who are also reluctant to try new foods, according to this new
research published in the Journal of the
American Dietetic Association.
Researchers suggest that “food neophobia” may be either a relatively
stable personality trait, or a somewhat natural part of childhood that kids
grow out of as they age and encounter more foods.
In contrast, picky eating –
being unwilling to eat many different familiar foods – is reportedly not so
much a personality characteristic as a development from life experiences. This pickiness could reflect a genuine
dislike of the scorned foods or an effort to resist parental attempts at control. In the new study, children who scored high
as picky eaters were more likely to have mothers who felt they did not have
enough time to eat healthfully and lacked a variety of vegetables in their own
diets.
This new study, combined
with past research, suggests the following advice: Don’t assume that children
will grow out of picky eating. The
number of foods kids like does not change much from the age of two or three to
age eight. In fact, new foods are often
more likely accepted at age two to four than at four to eight. Don’t hold off a wide variety of foods,
assuming children are too young.
To establish enjoyment of good eating, offer a wide
variety of healthy foods. Surprisingly,
babies are often offered more vegetables as baby food than they receive as
toddlers. Later, vegetables are
restricted by dislikes of mothers and other family members, frequent complaints
that preparing vegetables takes too much time, and unfounded beliefs that
children don’t eat particular foods.
Finding quick-fix ways to serve vegetables benefits everyone and should
be a priority.
To broaden your children’s tastes, let them watch you enjoying many different healthful foods. Children are far more likely to decide they like foods when caregivers show enthusiasm for those foods. In one study, if caregivers simply ate foods without comment, the positive impact was much less than when they enthusiastically consumed the foods.
To further reduce the chance of picky eating, don’t let mealtimes become a power struggle. Behavior scientists see control issues promoting picky eating at least, in some children. Let there be a division of responsibility: parents and caregivers should decide what foods are offered and when. Kids should have sole responsibility for deciding how much to eat. This teaches them to use internal hunger signals to eat only what they need – something many adults raised in the “clean your plate” style find difficult.
Finally, as you implement
all these ideas, be patient. Some
aspects of individual personality and personal food preferences, as well as
normal childhood behaviors that kids do outgrow, can be involved in fussy
eating. Do what you can for them. Then make sure their fussiness is not
keeping you from healthy eating.
Source: American Institute of Cancer Research Class for Picky Eaters? Many of you have expressed interest in my “Healthy Meals and Snacks for Kids” (also known as “Munchie Madness). Although I’m teaching this class in Marysville on November 3rd, enrollment has been low every time I teach it and it gets cancelled more often than not. I’m thinking about putting together a class at Frances Anderson Center in Edmonds for interested parents if I can get enough people. If you’re interested, e-mail me with your contact info to Karen@wholefoodsnutrition.com
Produce Pick of the Month: PumpkinPumpkin gets a starring role this month with Halloween just around the corner. But pumpkins deserve more attention than just as a decoration – they are packed with vitamin A, fiber, potassium, and have a wonderfully sweet flavor. And when you carve that jack-o-lantern, don’t toss the seeds – they’re high in protein, zinc, iron and essential fats, and are excellent for prostate health. Try tossing them with olive oil and sea salt and roasting at 300 degrees until puffed and dry. Recipe of the MonthThis recipe beats granola bars for both nutrition and taste. Pack them into your kid’s lunches or serve as a quick and tasty breakfast or snack. Pumpkin Nut Bars