Healthy Food for Your Family and Kids

Cereals marketed to kids have 85% more sugar, 65% less fiber and 60% more sodium than those aimed at adults.  This comes from a report by Yale University’s Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity.

The content of popular cereals were analyzed using a nutrient profiling system and data was reviewed on how cereals are marketed to kids. Findings released this past weekend revealed that:

•The least nutritious cereals are often the most heavily marketed to children, such as Reese’s Puffs, Corn Pops, Lucky Charms, Cinnamon Toast Crunch and Cap’n Crunch.

•Most major cereal companies have products that are nutritionally good for consumption, but not many of those are advertised to children.

•Companies have reduced sugar content of kids’ cereals, on average from 3½ teaspoons to 3 teaspoons of sugar a serving.

•Average preschoolers see about 642 TV cereal ads a year; most for cereals with the worst nutrition ratings. Cereal companies spend over $156 million a year marketing to children.

We are extremely happy to announce that the FDA has stepped in and addressed the Smart Choices food labels that have been hitting shelves.  A food industry group is voluntarily halting promotion of its "nutrition" labeling program after the FDA suggested that their labeling could mislead consumers.  We informed you about this program when it first was introduced, with our grave concerns over this labeling. http://www.ziggityzoom.com/parentsguide/content/smart-choices-food-label...

The Smart Choices program, which includes nine major companies such as Kellogg's, Kraft Foods and General Mills, has been highly critized for handing its green seal to processed foods that are high in sugar, such as Froot Loops and Cracker Jack snack foods.

The FDA is working to define the criteria manufacturers must meet to make certain nutritional claims on product fronts.  Stay tuned, we will keep you updated here on ZiggityZoom.com.

Nutritionists are up in arms and they well should be!  There is a new food-labeling campaign that is called Smart Choices and it is being backed by many of the nation's largest food manufacturers.  Maybe that should tell us something right off.  One would have hoped that companies would have used this opportunity to really help parents and get exceptional nutritional products into our children, who are currently in the midst of an obesity epidemic. But that is not how it is playing out.

The green checkmark label will replace some of manufacturers labels that supposedly denoted a healthy choice for consumers and this new label is starting to show up on hundreds of food packages.  Sadly, this label has been placed on products such as Cocoa Krispies and Froot Loops, two cereals that have an over-abundance of sugar.  How did they get the label?  Well, supposedly these cereals are better choices than things like a sugary donut!

Supposedly, the program's criteria is based on government dietary guidelines and widely accepted nutritional standards.  Well then, the guidelines are in major need of change ... we already have children that are suffering because of the packaged foods they are eating,  we don't need Labels that are a real misrepresentation of a true healthy choice for our children and families.

The Smart Choices program has also given this new seal to both regular and light mayonnaise, leading consumers to believe that both are equally healthy.  This label allows packaged meals and sandwiches to contain up to 600 milligrams of sodium, when the daily total is 2400.  How absurd!

School is back in session for many kids so let’s talk school lunches. Sodas, juice drinks, cookies, hotdogs, and chips- all common school lunch components but none healthy. Over the past years, some schools have improved the nutritional quality of their lunches but it is an area that desperately needs more attention by both schools and parents.

What’s scary is that the obesity rate of young kids to teens is significantly rising and poor lunch options aren’t making things any better. Over 1/3 of our nation’s youth are either overweight or obese. Poor food choices and a lack of physical activity are contributors to this epidemic. So, what can you do as a parent do to help prevent your child from weight control issues?

For starters, making sure that they have a healthy and adequate lunch will put them on the right track. Kids can be awfully picky when it comes to choosing and eating certain foods. In general, there is an overconsumption of high calorie drinks and high fat foods and an underconsumption of fruits, vegetables, and whole grains. If you are unsure about what your kids may be eating at school, get the school menu and consider visiting at lunchtime. You can also volunteer to serve the children to get a better understanding to see what they are actually eating.

If your kids are taking lunches from home try to limit the highly processed snacks and give them more fresh food items like fruits and vegetables. If you have healthier foods available at home to make a healthy lunch, you can send your kids to school with the reassurance that they’re getting a nutritious meal.

Follow these 5 tips for packing your kids school lunch:

1. Plan Ahead: Since you can only pack a good lunch if you have the foods available make sure to go shopping at least 1-2 times per week so you will have fresh foods on hand.

Smoothies are a great way to get some extra fruit and calcium into your kids and they love to help make them.  Even though these are a great tasting Summer treat you can also make these year round for snacktime or a last minute dessert.

Smoothies are really easy to make and all you need is a blender and a few ingredients.  Use whatever fruit you have available and add a little milk, some yogurt and some ice cubes.   It really is simple.  And you can vary flavors and experiment with fruits you happen to have on hand.  You know how kids love to experiment anyway, so they might come up with a favorite flavor all by themselves.  Be sure to let them make some choices.  For all recipes, just add ingredients into the blender and blend until smooth.  Add extra milk or juice for a thinner smoothie, yogurt for a thicker smoothie.  You can also add a little honey or vanilla to increase flavor if needed.

Great Smoothie Recipes

Tropical Smoothie

• 1 cup Orange Slices
• 1/4 cup Lemon Juice
• 1/4 cup Pineapple
• 1/4 cup Milk
• 1 cup Yogurt

Strawberry Banana Smoothie

• 1 cup Strawberries
• 2 cups Orange Juice
• 1 Banana, cut up
• 1/2 cup Milk
• 1 Tsp Honey

Peach Mango Smoothie

• 1 Peach
• 1/2 cup Mango
• 1 cup Yogurt
• 1/2 cup Milk
• 1/4 cup Crushed Ice

Blueberry Pineapple Smoothie

• 1/2 cup Frozen Blueberries
• 1/4 cup Pineapple
• 1 cup Yogurt
• 1/4 cup Milk
• 1/4 cup Crushed Ice

Banana Smoothie

Cheese Puffs, Chocolate Cake, Soda Pop, and Milkshakes- Are These the Things Our Little Boys and Girls are Made Of? Do you remember the original Willy Wonka Movie? There is a scene where the winners of the Golden Tickets enter the fantastic world of Willy Wonka’s Factory to find every imaginable and unimaginable candy creation. Even the river is filled with melted chocolate. It is a place that every child’s candy is within reach.
But the kids that eat, and eat, and eat every sweet they pass end up with a problem and are eliminated from the contest. The only boy left is the one with self control who follows the directions. Now imagine being your child and going through every aisle in a grocery store and seeing all of the colorful and fun looking foods. Wow, I bet it is a bit like seeing all of those treats in Willy Wonka’s factory. A bit overwhelming for most kids at first glance. Who blames them- the colorful, fun shaped, sugary foods are very enticing. Your child begs for the sugary cereal pops and frosted pop tarts and Sunny D Drink. What is a parent to do?

Technorati Profile Today there are so many food choices it is sometimes difficult to navigate a trip to the grocery store, not to mention trying to find healthy food choices,especially if we have kids in tow.   We hope to help you navigate through your local grocery store and give you some basic advice about shopping for healthier food options and which products our families love.
If you have not ever watched the show that was on TLC last year called, Honey, We're Killing the Kids you should look it up on www.tlc.com. The show brought a nutritionist and family counselor into the homes of many different families and showed each family what the effect of poor eating, the lack of exercise and the family's current lifestyle would do to the family's kids in 10, 20, 30, 40 years and the results were terrifying. As the kids were shown at different ages using a computer program and gathered data, the kids looked heavy and older than their ages (in many cases the kids are already having health issues at the age of 6,10,14. The Show helped the families learn to eat healthier, get rid of the junk food and unhealthy foods, get exercise and limit screen time for tv and video games.
The show is a perfect example of what is happening to most of America - we are depriving our kids of the healthy foods they need to grow and giving them foods that hurt their bodies (unhealthy foods, sugary drinks, and fast food ... most of these food have little or no health benefits and tons of adverse effects.) Often parents do not seem to realize the harm they are causing to their children now and in the future just by making poor or no food choices for their kids.