Back in February, I sent a survey out to the LHT community. Over 200 of you responded, and wow … did you have questions! You wanted to know about the best ways to plan healthy meals; tips for getting your kids, even your independent teens, to eat more fruits and veggies; you wanted dinner ideas that could do double duty, pleasing the vegetarians and meat eaters at your table; and a lot of you were eager for advice on cutting sugar from your family’s diet. You asked … and I’ve got the answers on this show.
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On this week’s show, I’m joined by my Boston University intern, Dan, who runs through a bunch of your most pressing food and nutrition questions.
“Don’t over juice your kids. They’ll either get more calories than they need or end up getting full and then not eating their meal.”
~Liz Weiss MS, RDN
Here’s Dan enjoying a piece of dark chocolate covered caramel. At the end of the show, I promised to reward him with a small, satisfying few bites of my favorite sweet treat.
Show Highlights:
- Dan’s background in nutrition and his work as my intern
- Five ways to feed your family a healthy diet:
- Use the USDA’s “Choose My Plate,” and fill ½ your plate with fruits and vegetables, a quarter with protein, a quarter with grains, hydrate, and get good-for-you fats into your diet, especially omega-3s. USDA’s Choose MyPlate
- Quick and healthy dinner meals:
- Serve “build your own” nights for things like tacos, Buddha bowls, or pizza
- Use versatile, healthy foods like eggs and rotisserie chicken
- Check out my Eggs for Dinner post from the LHT blog
- Pumpkin Maple Pancakes recipe
- Tips about meal planning and prep
- You’re going to love this blog post on 30 Meal Planning Tips from Registered Dietitians
- Listen to this episode for lots more dinner planning ideas: Jessica Levinson’s podcast interview on Dinner Dilemma Solved
- You can find my FREE 7-Day Meal Planner and aisle-by-aisle Supermarket Shopping List printables over on the Freebies section of my website.
- Making vegetables more appealing to teenagers:
- Use veggies with dips, roast veggies to bring out the sweetness, and make quesadillas with veggies
- 12 Tips for Getting Teens to Eat Vegetables Happily
- How to wean kids off too many carbs:
- Know the difference between whole grains and refined grains, which have added nutrients
- Use carbs as part of the meal and not the whole meal
- Whole Grains versus Enriched Grains. Slice for slice, enriched white bread, as well as other enriched grain products, are a good source of iron and four B vitamins; thiamin, niacin, riboflavin and folic acid, as well as complex carbohydrates.
- How to deal with kids and their endless snacking:
- Think of snacks as mini-meals to fill in the nutrient gaps in your child’s day
- Low-sugar options for desserts:
- Limit soft drinks and sugary “fake” juice drinks
- If you’re baking something like a muffin that calls for 1 cup of sugar, cut it down to 3/4 cup or 2/3 cup.
- Listen to my podcast interview with Laura Hoover, MPH, RD on tips for Cutting Back on Sugar
- My low-added-sugar recipe for Mango Soft Serve
- How to get healthy omega-3 fatty acids, which are good for the heart, brain, and eyes:
- Get these healthy fats in seafood, walnuts, flaxseed, edamame, and soy
- The scoop on omega-3 fats. They’re good for your heart, eyes, and brain … but how much should you get each day? Visit Always Omega-3s for the answers.
- How to make healthy substitutes for chicken fingers:
- Try fish fingers like my Parmesan Salmon Sticks or “no fry” chicken finger recipes like my Crispy Oven “Fried” Chicken
- Read labels on frozen chicken nuggets and look for the most protein and the least amount of sodium
- Adding more fermented foods to your diet:
- Add kefir to fruit smoothies and sauerkraut to sandwiches
- Listen to my podcast on Probiotics for more info on “good” bacteria
- Getting enough calcium when dairy is a problem:
- Look for calcium-fortified foods, broccoli, kale, almonds, and salmon and sardines with bones
- Calcium sources
- Cooking with more spices and less salt:
- Make your own salad seasonings and dried taco seasoning
- To replace the salt in recipes, use fresh herbs, lime and lemon juice, citrus zest, and Diamond Crystal Kosher salt
- How to please both meat-eaters and vegetarians:
- Make a veggie lasagna and put sauteed lean ground beef or turkey in half of it
- Create “build your own” nights for pizza, tacos, and Buddha bowls
- Grill portobello mushrooms and serve as burgers
- Incorporating more inexpensive whole grains into the family diet:
- Try Trader Joe’s 10-minute grains that cook quickly
- Don’t be afraid to try tabouli and couscous
- Try my Tabbouleh with the Works
- Tips for feeding an athlete:
- Try Chicken of the Sea Infusions, which are ready-to-eat seasoned tuna snacks
- Other ideas include Greek yogurt, cheese sticks, hummus with carrot sticks and crackers, Bush’s Best Bean Dips, peanut butter and jelly on whole wheat, ready-made smoothies, and milk
LINKS:
My email: [email protected]
- The Parents On Demand Network
- www.superhealthykids.com
Products Mentioned:
Bush’s Beans seasoned savory canned beans and Bush’s Best Bean Dips
Chicken of the Sea Infusions
Trader Joe’s 10-minute grains
Buddha bowl meal ideas:
Jessica Levinson’s build-your-own buddha bowl
Have a question about the show or a suggestion for a future show? Ask away by posting a comment below or joining my Podcast Posse
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