Whole
Health Nutrition News
The Back to School Issue:
20 Minute Meals,
Thursday, Sept. 23rd, 7-9PM. Wellness Clinic and Denton Massage, 426 Olympic
Ave., Arlington. This fun class will
show you how to prepare healthy meals with a gourmet taste in under 20 minutes.
Registration:
360-435-8490
With the incidence of
childhood obesity and diabetes on the rise, the new school year provides an
opportunity to examine the contents of the school lunchbox. For many parents, back to school means back
to routine and the challenge of getting the kids out the door in the morning
without missing the bus or being late for school. Hectic schedules make it
difficult to think about what to make for dinner, let alone packing a
nutritious school lunch day after day. The goal is to make healthy eating a habit instead of
a chore. With a little forethought, there are plenty of ways to sneak
"good" food into your kids' daily diet. Here are some suggestions for tasty school lunches and wholesome
after-school snacks that your kids will love, but aren't loaded with sugar or
fat.
To start, try sitting down
with your kids and brainstorming a list of lunches that you both agree on.
Include a few fun items that your kids can help prepare such as “ants on a log”
– spread celery sticks with peanut or almond butter and top with raisins and
sliced almonds for extra crunchiness. Fruit kebabs are another healthy treat
that are easy to prepare but more fun than apple slices. To encourage
consumption of those all-important veggies, include a small container of hummus
or ranch dressing for dipping baby carrots or cucumber slices
For the main course, use
whole grain bread instead of white bread for sandwiches. Choose breads that
list “whole wheat” as the first ingredient. If the main flour listed on the
label is “wheat” or “unbleached wheat flour,” the product is not whole grain.
Try some alternatives to the old standby
PB&J sandwich. A whole-wheat tortilla can be used as a wrap for a variety
of fillings, or spread it with cream cheese and top with shredded carrots,
lettuce and finely diced sweet red pepper. Roll up and slice for pinwheel
sandwiches. Use whole wheat pita bread as a pocket for chicken salad or other
fillings. Or wrap thinly sliced turkey or nitrate-free deli luncheon meats
around string cheese sticks, dill pickles or carrot sticks. Create your own
“Lunchables”… cut nitrate-free meat slices and cheese into pieces that will fit
on crackers (avoid those containing partially hydrogenated oils). Heat frozen
whole-grain waffles and make a PB&J sandwich with them, or fill a hollowed-out
apple with a mixture of farmers cheese, granola and raisins. The key is variety
– it keeps things interesting and lessens the boredom factor.
What about beverages? Many juice boxes are full of added sugar,
artificial flavorings and colorings. Read labels and watch out for juice drinks
like Sunny Delight, Hi-C, Fruitopia and Capri Sun. With no more than 10% juice,
they’re really sugar water disguised as juice.
Additionally, recent research has implicated artificial colorings and
flavorings as a contributing factor in attention deficit hyperactivity
disorder. Buy only those that contain 100% juice. Or better yet, fill a small
thermos with milk, or juice diluted with a bit of sparkling water. Fruit
smoothies are also a hit. To prepare, simply blend half a banana, a half cup of
any frozen or fresh berries, and one cup of milk.
It’s fine to include a
dessert, but make good choices such as yogurt, fresh or dried fruit, granola
bars or trail mix. Or bake a batch of muffins with healthful ingredients, freeze
them and place one in your child’s lunchbox the night before.
As parents we have the
opportunity to shape the lifelong eating habits of our children. Preparing
healthy school lunches and snacks may not be as easy as packing a “Lunchable”,
but the extra effort will pay off and help your children get a smart start to
the school year.
Trail
Mix
This is a nutrient-rich alternative to cookies.
Dried cranberries, cherries or raisins
Walnuts, pecans or assorted nuts (raw is best, or toast at home)
Chocolate chips
In a small plastic zip lock bag combine dried fruit, nuts and chocolate chips.
Fruit
Kebabs with Yogurt Dip
These fruit kebabs are fun and easy to make, and are high in many important
vitamins, especially calcium, vitamin C and A. Kids can make this recipe all on
their own. All parents have to do is supply the ingredients.
Cantaloupe, cut into 1 inch cubes
Strawberries, hulled
Kiwis, cut into 1 inch cubes
Seedless grapes
Bananas, cut into 1/2 inch slices
Dried figs, optional
Bamboo skewers
Low-fat vanilla yogurt
Thread fruit on bamboo skewers. Dip fruit kebobs into yogurt.
The Seattle School Board has
decided to stop selling sodas and junk food in schools. A new policy bans all
foods containing high levels of sugar and fat.
The school board says the
policy is one of the strongest in the country and aims to create a
"healthy nutrition environment" at the 100 public schools in the
city.
The policy goes into effect
immediately at elementary and middle schools and in February at high schools. A
current exclusive contract with Coca-Cola will be phased out.
The policy also directs the
school meal program to offer fresh, local, organic, unprocessed food whenever
feasible.
Beginning September 2004,
Everett schools will start stocking vending machines with healthier
alternatives, such as water, juice and milk.
And in the cafeteria, say
good-bye to French fries and tater tots.
The National Health and
Nutrition Examination Survey revealed nearly one in six adolescents are obese –
more than triple the rate in 1980. And overweight teens are more susceptible to
heart disease, diabetes and high blood pressure.
Within the year, vending
machines will have snacks with less than 40 percent fat calories and less than
40 percent sugar by weight.
Some schools earn tens of
thousands of dollars each year from vending machine sales and some students
worry the healthy drinks and snacks won't sell well, which could mean less
money for extra curricular activities.
The school district says
other schools outside of Washington who made the change experienced no adverse
cash flow.
Artificial food colorings and preservatives have a
"significant" impact on hyperactivity levels in very young children,
finds research in Archives of Disease in Childhood. Removal of these substances
could be in the long-term interest of public health, say the authors.
The authors base their findings on over 1800 three year old children, who were
screened for hyperactivity and allergies.
Almost 300 children, divided into four groups, completed the four week study.
During the first week, the children ate only foods free of artificial
additives, including colorings, such as tartrazine, sunset yellow, and
carmoisine, and the preservative sodium benzoate.
During the second and fourth weeks they were randomly assigned to a daily dose
of fruit juice, with or without colorings and preservatives.
The children's behavior was assessed before the study began and regularly
throughout the study period by formal clinical assessment and parental diaries.
The parents were unaware which type of juice had been given to their child.
Parental ratings showed that the children became significantly less hyperactive
during the period when the additives were removed from the diet, and much more
hyperactive when they were put back in.
The authors suggest that for those children with high hyperactivity scores,
this translates as a reduction in prevalence from 15% to 6%. But this figure
must be interpreted with caution, they say. [email comments; not in paper].
These changes were not reflected in the formal clinic assessments. But the
authors suggest that parental ratings might be more sensitive as parents see
their children's behavior over a longer period of time, in more varied
settings, and in less optimal conditions.
Children with more extreme forms of hyperactivity were no more or less likely
to respond to dietary changes than children at the milder end of the behavioral
spectrum. And the effects were seen irrespective of whether the child was
hyperactive or allergic before the study began.
Previous research has shown that young hyperactive children are at risk of
continuing behavioral difficulties, such as poor social adaptation and
educational problems, say the authors, pointing out that there could be a
potential long term public health benefit, if this issue were addressed.
"These findings therefore suggest that significant changes in children's
hyperactive behavior could be produced by the removal of artificial colorings
and sodium benzoate from their diet," they conclude. Studies should be
undertaken to see if the same effects might be seen in older children as well,
they suggest.
ARCHIVES OF DISEASE IN CHILDHOOD 2004; 89: 506-11
What’s in Season
Corn
Corn
on the cob, a staple at any respectable summer barbecue is a great source of
dietary fiber, B vitamins and magnesium.
To best enjoy fresh corn's
flavor, "the sooner the better" is a rule of thumb. Try not to store
corn for more than a few hours; cook it as soon as possible after it is picked,
and be sure to refrigerate it the moment you get home if you are not cooking it
immediately. (At room temperature, sweet corn loses its sugar six times faster
than at 32°F--up to half its total sugar in one day.)
The best way to buy corn is
in the husk. The tassel (silky strings at the tip) should be golden brown; a
pale tassel is an indication the corn was picked too early.
Recipe of the Month
Corn Toppers
Traditionally
we eat corn on the cob slathered and dripping with butter and salt. Try these
heart-friendly alternatives instead. Each recipe makes enough for 4 medium
ears.
Lemon-Basil
Vinaigrette
Whisk
1 tablespoon lemon juice, 2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil and 2 teaspoons
minced fresh basil in a small bowl. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Brush
over hot corn.
Aztec
Lime
Whisk
1 ½ tablespoons lime juice, 1 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil and ½ teaspoon
chili powder in a small bowl. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Brush over
hot corn.
Moroccan
Spice
Mix
2 teaspoons ground cumin, 2 teaspoons ground coriander, 1 teaspoon dried
oregano, ½ teaspoon ground ginger and ¼ teaspoon coarse kosher salt in a small
bowl. Brush ½ teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil over each ear of hot corn and
sprinkle with the spice mixture.