I am thrilled that the new Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2015 has a focus on added sugars. It was touch and go there in terms of whether or not the this recommendation would be added to the new guidelines. As you can imagine, the sugar industry will not be too happy about this and they lobbied hard to prevent it. 

So how did the guidelines do?  Well they set a limit that no more than 10% of one's daily calories should consist of added sugars and they called out the worst offender: sugar sweetened beverages. What I didn't like is that the limit they chose was so much higher than what the American Heart Association recommended with the 2010 guidelines: that up to 1/2 the empty calories (set in 2010) be used for added sugars. Take a look at the difference in the chart below. For a 4 year old in the new guidelines they can have 7 1/2 tsp of sugar and for a 14 year old boy 15 teaspoons a day, which is a lot more than about 4 and 8 teaspoons a day.  It is a start though and for that I applaud the new guidelines.  
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We all want to bring up healthy eaters without needing to pull out all our hair in the process.  Feeding children is difficult, really difficult.  In a land full of processed food, we are fighting the tide each and every day.  Here are some tips to help you along the way:

·      Do not rely on your child’s taste buds to lead the way. They will always want processed food over whole food. Why? Because it tastes better.

·      Continue to offer healthy food over and over again. You are not looking for it to become your child’s favorite food but one that is OK for them to eat.

·      You cannot rely on your child’s ability to self-select a healthy diet. He will seek out sweet and salty tastes because that is what he is hard wired to do.

·      Set up clear expectations for meals and snacks: a vegetable must be eaten at each meal and snack time for example.

·      Have consequences at the table from a very early age. If you child does not want to eat the healthy food you served, do not offer another option and do not serve her a sweet until she eats her healthy food first.

Creating a healthy eater is hard work, but so is bringing up your child to be polite, kind and to get to bed on time.  As with all other behaviors that we teach our children, be consistent, firm and loving and remember the goal: to bring up healthy, strong and smart kids that know how to eat in a world full of processed food.  

My family and I just finished up a week of no screen time. I really can't believe that we did it; honestly I didn't think that I could make it. I wasn't so worried about my children because I knew they could do it; they had no choice.  How was I going to get anything done without the distraction that electronics brings? 

Would you be surprised to know that the average child spend 7.5 hours in what is now called 'media time'?  Let me explain. In the last decade we had campaigns that advised us to "Turn Off TV Week" , which then morphed into "Screen Free Week" and now we are being told to limit the media messages our kids hear.  Experts are trying to keep up with the ever changing world of technology.  Children used to zone out in front of the TV and then that changed to zoning out in front of video games, hand held devices, computers and televisions.  What scientists are now looking at is the amount of minutes/hours your child is not only engaged in screen time, but that they are being fed messages through advertisements, music and product placement.  If I was able to get a message to each child for 7 1/2 hours each day to eat healthy, our kid's diet would be awesome.

I have to confess that I was nervous going screen free for a week with my two boys.  I was afraid of not having the crutch of the TV so that I could cook dinner or do the laundry.  It was relatively easy for my boys to go without the electronics, but for me it was a little harder but so worth the effort.  Here are just some of the benefits I noticed:

• The constant chatter inside my head lessened: "buy this"; "look like that"; "feed your kids this" and hundreds of other messages telling me what I should do or buy each day started to disappear
• I was no longer living my life worried about what was happening on Modern Family or Parenthood. I would often find myself thinking during the day "I wonder what is going to happen to Julia next".  I can focus on real life stuff:) 
• My kids were able to fill their time with imaginative play: really they played, real play, old fashion play, go outside and play type of play. 
• There was so much reading happening that I had to tell my boys several times to put down the book and go outside to play
• The nagging "Can I watch TV now? How about Now? "Now?"" stopped after 3 days. This one made the whole week worth it.
• I got an extra 1 1/2 hours of sleep a night. Thats right: I find TV stimulates my mind and keeps me up later.  When I don't do electronics to zone out after a busy day, I fall asleep when I am tired. 
• I got to have more conversations with my sons, real ones like who do you find cute at school,or do you still want to marry Cassie when you get older?

These are just some examples of the benefits I found after just one week of screen free time.  I am going to declare Monday through Thursday screen free time in my family from now on.  Are you up for the challenge? You will be so glad you turned off the chatter. 

Who says feeding our kids should be easy and fun?  And really, I want to know who got us to believe that eating is all about pleasure? When your little one yells "It is not fair, I don't want to eat my veggies" do you cringe a little inside, thinking you are doing something wrong? If you are like many parents, you do because you have this illusion that feeding kids should be easy.

If you think about it, what other behavior do your teach your child that has you believing that unless it is easy, fun and pleasurable, YOU are doing a bad job as a parent?  Your child doesn't clean up his room; go to bed on time; go to school or study; take a bath; share with others; exercise and go outside because it feels good to them. They do it because we tell them too; because we know that it is good for them.

Feeding our children falls into the same category as the behaviors listed above. It is our job as a parent to teach our children how to master these and other skills until our children can do them by themselves with ease.  They may not always make the best choices when we are not around but by the time they leave our nest they will know the difference between right and wrong; good and bad; healthy and unhealthy, even if it kills us (It won't, I promise).
 
Here is the truth about feeding children:
1. Feeding children is difficult at times, really difficult, especially around the independent toddler years and the tween/teen rebellion period. Make sure you give yourself the time and support you need during these times.
2. Some children are easier to coach at the table than others. They don't leave their personalities at the door before they sit down to eat so don't expect that feeding one child will be anything like feeding your other child.
3. It takes years of instruction, encouragement and mirroring healthy behaviors before your child will be ready to take over making the majority of his/her "food choices". As a parent, it is our job to hand over little bits of responsibility to our child when they demonstrate that they can make healthy choices. 
4. As much as you try to make food as tasty as possible, it really isn't possible or wise to only feed your child their absolute favorites.  Why? Because then you are teaching them that they only have to eat food that is super tasty and this is not true or healthy. Meals are about nourishment first and pleasure second.  
5. Children need to understand that food can taste awesome to awful. On a 10 point scale, with 0 being "the yuckiest" and 10 "the tastiest", they are expected to eat those foods that fall in the 3 to 10 realm. In reality many veggies fall in that range. "You don't need to like it, but it likes you" is my favorite go-to phrase to get kids to eat their veggies.

From a child's perspective going to bed on time, cleaning up their room, having to go to school, fdo their homework and having to eat food that is not their favorite (veggies) is not fair.  Nope, it is not fair, it just is, because our job is to make sure they grow up healthy, clean, wise and strong. 

Gone are the days of telling our children that there are starving kids in Africa in order to get them to finish their meal.  As much as I hated hearing this as a child, what I did love was that it gave my four brothers and sisters and I a respect for food. We would no more take a bite of something, say Yuck, and throw it away; not if we wanted to continue living under my parent’s roof that is.

So how do we instill in our children a respect for food so that they grow up with an appreciation that a good meal is a gift that takes hard work?  I think it starts from knowing that not everyone has access to a good meal, and here are some other suggestions:

1.     Set the Table: One of the first things that you do when you want to celebrate something or someone is to get dressed up in honor of that person or accomplishment. Do the same for the meal that you are serving tonight.  I don’t care if it is ‘take out’ or you slaved over the stove for hours. Set your table so that it is pleasing to the eye and inviting for everyone.  That means removing all books and papers from your dining room table, even if you have to resurrect your table from years of neglect or misuse. Also, children love to decorate, so give them the chore of creating a table worthy of a feast. When you do this long enough, you just may get back into your kitchen to create a feast again (or for the first time).

2.     Leftover Makeovers: If children see you throwing away food into the garbage can, they will come to believe that food is not valuable.  Since they would never throw something of value in the trash, that is a valid conclusion. If there are leftovers from a meal let your children know how you are going to transform them into a delicious dinner tomorrow night or pack for their lunch tomorrow. 

3.     Say Thanks: Religion aside for a moment; giving thanks for the food that is in front of us at a meal sends a powerful message to our children.  It says that food is valuable and what we put in our bodies deserves our attention. A ritual before a meal that brings insight into the steps that it took to get food on the table can be quite instructional.  For example, give thanks to everyone that helped get dinner to your table: mom and dad for working to pay for the meal; the farmer who grew the meal; the driver who brought the meal to the store; the grocery store clerk who sold it to you. Something that requires so much attention and people must be very valuable.

4.     Perspective is Key: While I do not promote using the old-fashioned technique of talking about kids in India or Africa starving in order to get our kids to eat their meal, I do think that this information serves an essential purpose. Children need to know that not all children have enough to eat in the world in order for them to understand that there is not a limitless supply of food. With this understanding children are more apt to value the food they get and perhaps help others get enough to eat too (see the following suggestion).

5.     Sponsor a Child: I want to bring up my children with an awareness that there are children in the world that go to bed hungry, both in the United States and other places. The fact that it does not take a lot of money to support feeding a child gives us as a family a way of making a difference in the world without stressing our budget. I want them to know that food is about connection and love and I think that sponsoring a child is the best way to demonstrate that belief. Here are some examples of places that you can go to in order to sponsor a child:

a.     www.children.org
b.     www.Feedthechildren.org

Future generations need this generation to work towards a healthier future; one in which healthy food, food straight from nature, is abundant for all. This begins with honoring food. 

On my morning walk today I found an abandoned birds nest lying by the side of the road. I picked it up and immediately noticed how intricate the outer structure of the nest was and it struck me how much work was put into the design and the creature comforts of the interior of the nest.  It caused me to think about what a home is and how one turns a house, tent, condo, igloo or an apartment into a home.

What it takes is blood, sweat and tears with equal measures of love and patience.  I think that it is how the mama and papa bird made this nest.  I noticed that it was not only made up of things that were found in nature like twigs, hair and bark but also it was made up of the bird’s own feathers.  What parts of me were in my nest? It is a daily effort to keep my home clean, comforting and welcoming to my family and guests, which does require my sweat and sometimes tears to get it to where I want it to be.

And then I notice that right on top of the interior was a layer of pine needles. What would their purpose be?  Perhaps the prickliness of the feathers is what it took to get the baby bird to leave the nest as he got older. It made me think of teens, and especially my tween, who seem to become more and more uncomfortable in their home as they get older, especially when being told what to do.  Is it this prickliness, this uncomfortable-ness that makes it easier and dare I say necessary, for our babies to leave our nest?  And an even bigger question: does it make it easier for us to let them go and fly? Perhaps. 

Is yogurt a healthy snack or just a disguised treat that is no better than candy? The short answer is, it depends on what type you choose.  If you buy the plain low-fat version, it is a healthy snack: but who does that really? Most of us buy fruit yogurt or other sweetened yogurt. I certainly never see children sitting down to plain yogurt. They either are sucking on the yogurt sticks or mixing the yogurt that has candy or crushed cookies on top.

Here is what is healthy about yogurt: it is a great source of protein; it is also a great source of calcium that kids need for their growing bones; the live active bacteria in  yogurt is very beneficial for bowel health and maybe even help your child’s mood. What can turn the healthiest of yogurts into a product that is unhealthy is the amount of sugar that is added to it, along with artificial sweeteners, colors and flavors. Luckily, most kid branded yogurt is free of artificial colors and flavors.

Here is the skinny on yogurts:
·      The way Greek yogurt is made makes it a superior yogurt; you get double the protein and about half the sugar but you need to stick to the low fat versions. Greek yogurt also has less lactose.
·      Regular plain yogurt has sugar but it comes from lactose, which is not a concern unless your child is lactose intolerant.
·      There about 12 grams of “sugar” from lactose in 8 oz of yogurt. You do not need to worry about that. 
·      Do not buy light versions of yogurt as they have artificial sweeteners in them (acesulfame potassium, aspartame, nutrasweet)
·      The second ingredient in each of these yogurts is sugar
·      4 grams of sugar equals 1 teaspoon
·      Sugar in the tables (attached) includes added sugar, the lactose in milk, and fruit juice concentrate and fruit.

Yogurt Tubes

[DOWNLOAD PDF FILE BELOW FOR SPECIFIC INFORMATION ON BRANDS]

BOTTOM LINE: Chobani is the winner.  If you do not care about growth hormones, than Yoplait Protein is another option.

Small Yogurt Cups

[DOWNLOAD PDF FILE BELOW FOR SPECIFIC INFORMATION ON BRANDS]
BOTTOM LINE: In milk there is about 1.5grams of lactose sugar per ounce. Ounce for ounce you are looking at 3 grams of sugar per ounce of yogurt for the first 3 brands.  Activia has more like 4 to 4 ½ grams of sugar per ounce unless you chose the light variety with artificial sweeteners, which I do not recommend. I would recommend the Stonyfield or Chobani over the others from a ‘no growth hormone added’ perspective.

Yogurt Drinks

[DOWNLOAD PDF FILE BELOW FOR SPECIFIC INFORMATION ON BRANDS]

BOTTOM LINE: Dole Shakers have much less sugar than Danimals or Yokids.

CONCLUSION Are kids tube-yogurts healthy?  In 2 ½ or 2 oz of yogurt (about ¼ cup), there are 1 to 1 ½ teaspoons of added sugar, 2-5 grams of protein and about 10% vitamin D and calcium. I think you can provide a snack that doesn’t have as its second ingredient SUGAR.  Why do you think kids gobble it up?  Because of the calcium, protein and live active cultures? No, they gobble it up because it takes like candy.

Your best bet is to get your baby and older child accustomed to plain yogurt and add your own fruit.  You can even add 1 teaspoon of maple syrup or honey too.  Anything that has as its 2nd ingredient “added sugar” is not a healthy snack in my book. To put it in perspective; the best sweetened variety (has the lowest sugar) is the adult yogurt, Fage’s fruit yogurt; they have 2 teaspoons of added sugar in the 5.3 oz container.  If your child had one a day that would equal 15 cups of added sugar a year.

There are some times in our lives that we need to go with the flow, and others when it is certainly appropriate to buck the system.  When it comes to Halloween are you the house that children love to come to, with great decorations and Halloween candy, or you the house that gives out raisins, pencils and other sugar-free treats?

I am certainly a believer that our children are eating too much candy.  In fact I wrote a book about the subject, Beat Sugar Addiction Now for Kids; about how our kids are eating their weight in sugar every year and why that is so utterly unhealthy for them.

When it comes to Halloween however, I say use this day and the weeks after as a learning opportunity for our kids.  Teach them how to live in a world filled with junk food.  Teach them that 1. Candy is a treat 2. You can have it sometimes and 3. You first have to eat healthy stuff first before you get your treat.  Here are some great suggestions that work if you both make a plan and discuss it with your trick-or-treaters before Halloween arrives:

• Starting Halloween night, limit the amount of candy that your child can consume in one day. One small bar for young children, and two for older children for example.
• Set a time limit on the number of days that your child can eat candy: no more than a week after Halloween.
• Use that “treat time” to your advantage. If you have a child that refuses to eat his vegetables, use his one small candy bar as a bribe to get him to eat veggies only during the week after Halloween. 
• Make a plan to get that stuff out of your house where both you and your child will see it, and perhaps hear it calling to you.
•  Make a plan BEFORE Halloween to get rid of the candy: Here are some options:

o   Switch Witch: Have your child put their candy in a bowl by their bed; when they wake up a small gift or money has taken its place
o   Operation Gratitude: Send it to our troops at http://www.operationgratitude.com/halloween-candy-buy-back-2012/
o   Dentist Buy Back: See if a dentist in your area buys back candy at http://www.halloweencandybuyback.com
o   Throw it Away: It’s junk, throw it away.

You don’t have to be the house that gets ‘egged’ on the block because you give out pencils. Use Halloween as a training opportunity that’s drives home two essential nutrition messages that children need to learn to grow up strong and healthy: 1. There are two groups of food, healthy food and treats 2. You can have a small amount of treats only after you eat the healthy stuff first. 

My family rarely eats out because I love to cook and in all humbleness I am a terrific cook and cant stand paying for a meal that I can cook better.  Anyway, last night we were running late because my eldest son needed a knee brace from a soccer injury and by the time we got out of the ER it was dinnertime. We headed over to what we call “Chop, Chop Japanese”, where they cook right in front of you. Instead of eating until I was overfull, I saved 1/3 of my meal, my son’s bowl of white rice, and poured a small bowl of the dipping sauce in the to-go container.  This picture is what I transformed those leftovers into.

When you eat out, the servings you get are usually too much to eat in one sitting.  If you are trained to clean your plate, or even if you don’t like letting food go to waste, instead of overindulging think about what just a little bit of leftovers can do.  A third of a steak serving can turn into beef stir-fry; that pasta can transform into a primavera pasta dish. 

Do you want to perform magic in your kitchen where you turn leftovers into not only a tasty meal for six, but also a healthy one at that?  You can if you follow a few tricks.  Here they are:

1.     When your food is served immediately push a portion to the side of your plate to take home.

2.     Think flavor or protein. What do I mean by that? If there is a tasty sauce, or a flavorful dish, or a piece of chicken, pork or beef leftover, save it for the base of tomorrow’s dinner.

3.     Vegetables are your secret ingredients.  I added 3 cups of vegetables to the leftover stir fry I had: broccoli, carrots and peapods were steamed first and then added to a frying pan with the leftovers.  I didn’t even have to add spices because the sauce and leftovers were so flavorful.

4.     Think stir-fry. which is ¼ protein (chicken, beef, pork, fish) + ½ vegetables + ¼ grain (rice or pasta).  Steam the vegetables briefly; heat up oil and chopped onion in a frying pan; add the steamed vegetables and any leafy greens; add the leftovers cut up into bite size pieces; stir, heat and serve.

Happy eating and share your favorite creation!

Finally! Someone (actually a few individuals) announced today that they are no longer going to continue pretending that Energy Drink companies are not marketing to our children.  I am beyond thrilled.  Today, Senators Markey, Blumenthal, Rockefeller, and Durbin sent letters out to 16 companies that manufacture energy drinks and energy shots asking them to voluntarily commit to not only the dozen steps they agreed to at a meeting in July but also asked them to go even further and commit to five more steps in the right direction, which is protecting our children from the harm that these products can and have done.

What they were asked to do is the following:
1.     Stop marketing to kids
2.     Stop promoting guzzling and/or drinking too many energy drinks
3.     Do not promote mixing energy drink products with alcohol or other drugs
4.     Especially do not market, sell or provide samples at schools (Grade K-12)
5.     Tell us how much caffeine is in there
6.     Report if something bad happens when someone drinks your product

Additionally they were asked to:
1.     Restrict access to social media sites for kids under 18 years of age
2.     Do not advertise anywhere where 35% or more of the audience is under 18 years of age
3.     Do not sponsor a child less than 18 years of age. You see this in extreme sports like skateboarding where young kids wear energy drink logos.
4.     Do not market energy drinks as sports drinks
5.     If the caffeine content in energy drinks is more than that allowed in soda (70 mg per 12 oz) than they would have to display a warning label.

Read the letters here: (http://www.markey.senate.gov/energy_drinks.cfm)

You may be wondering why make it a request instead of passing a law about it. The reason for this is that something has to be done NOW to protect our kids; asking for a voluntary commitment worked with the cigarette industry; and it takes a very long time to pass a law such as this especially with such a powerful (rich) industry trying to prevent it. 

What can you do?  Let our senators know we agree with them by signing the petition here:  http://www.change.org/petitions/manufacturers-of-energy-drinks-stop-advertising-energy-drinks-to-children