On a recent visit to a friends house, we were chatting in her kitchen when her 8 year old walked to the fridge and pulled out a container of cottage cheese.

“Put that back, it’s almost time for dinner” she told him.

“Aw man!” and the 8 year old walked away disappointed.

“Interesting,” I thought to myself. I would never see my kids disappointed about not getting to eat some cottage cheese. In fact the only place any of us eat cottage cheese is mixed in with our lasagna. But cottage cheese is a great source of protein and a low-fat source of dairy.  It’s a fabulous snack mixed with fruit or yogurt.  There are lot’s of kids and babies that do like cottage cheese, just not mine and that is my fault.  We usually even have it in the fridge because I make lasagna so often. So I dished out some for the kids to try, and they spit it out.  It’s a texture thing for them I’m guessing.  I really believe with this one, the earlier you start the more likely they’ll like it. And it didn’t help that when the kids asked what they were eating, I told them it was like “lumpy yogurt.”  I guess that was not an appetizing spin. Maybe for your kids try it if you rename it, “Curdz and whey”.

I do like cottage cheese mixed with yogurt (from my ‘Body for Life’ days), or with canned peaches. You can also use it as a dip for whole-grain crackers with a little salt and lemon juice, or sprinkle it on some plain pasta while still warm..it get’s cheesy and it’s pretty good.

I wouldn’t dream of sending my kids to school without breakfast, but sometimes when we are in a rush, it’s tough to make it a balanced breakfast.   I wake them up at 7am, and they have to be out the door by 7:30. Exactly 30 minutes to get dressed, eat, and pack a lunch. If I haven’t gotten everything finished I do in the mornings, I’ll turn the TV on to distract the little one. This backfires on me though when the school age kids get distracted too.  I’ve been known to shove them out the door with a piece of toast in hand  they get to eat at the bus stop. Although I shouldn’t have to hover over them to make sure they are eating,  going to school without breakfast leads to behavior problems, inability to concentrate, and lack of energy. Plus it’s a LONG morning when you don’t have anything to eat till noon.

According to the “American Dietetic Association Guide to Healthy Eating for Kids”, a good breakfast should:

1. Contain 3 or more food groups
2. Include high fiber foods like whole grains, produce, or beans.
3. Be low in fat
4. Be something they will eat!  It does no good to have a balanced meal that they won’t eat.

Some of suggestions are:

1. Yogurt, whole grain bagel, glass of OJ
2. Whole grain toast with peanut butter, glass of milk.
3. Whole grain bagel with jam, scrambled eggs, glass of OJ
4. High fiber cereal, piece of fruit, glass of low-fat milk.
5. Fruit smoothie with high fiber muffin.
6. Oatmeal with milk and raisins.
7. Whole-grain cereal with low-fat milk and sliced banana.

To be successful at getting your kids to eat before school:  Keep it simple, eliminate distractions such as tv, wake up earlier, and engage the children in helping out. 

This one……

….got fed to the dog.

For lunch I used a spinach wrap, spread some light cream cheese, added canned chicken and cheese. Spun it into a pinwheel and sliced.  The kids wouldn’t touch it because it was green. I thought it was a bit dry, but we aren’t used to canned chicken.  The spinach wraps aren’t bad though. I’ll try it again in a different setting. Perhaps burrito’s or quesadilla’s.  I may have had better luck if it were st. Patricks day and just told them they were regular tortilla’s turned green by the leprechans.  Instead I told them it was a spinach wrap.  They turned their nose up and started the whining process.

I love this time of year, strawberries are coming down in price, and getting super sweet.  In our house however, fruit does not need to have dip the way veggies do to be enjoyed, but it’s fun to have fruit dips for dessert.  So I decided to have a fruit dip night for dessert!

The dip we tried was simply whipping up some light cream cheese with a touch of milk and a spoonful of flavored yogurt.   This was perfect for dipping stawberries.

Other dipping ideas;

1. Vanilla yogurt mixed with a touch of brown sugar.
2. Light sour cream, spoonful of yogurt, and instant pudding mix.
3. Berry flavored yogurt mixed with non-fat whipped topping.
4. Dip in chocolate, than roll in nuts.
5. Creamy peanut butter, light cream cheese, sugar… perfect for apples.

Any other ideas?  What does your family like to dip fruit in?

There is generally one person in the home that controls 72% of the food decisions that the children and the spouse will make. Dr. Brian Wansink calls this person the “Nutritional Gatekeeper”.  This person generally purchases and prepares the majority of the food.  Talk about pressure!  The gatekeeper should make sure their family is eating healthy food 72% of the time.   Here is some help:

Kashi granola!  Yum, yum.  This Kashi granola has 300mg of omega 3 fatty acids, two full servings of whole grains, and 6 grams of fiber.  Their two flavors currently are summer berry, and Cocoa Beach.  Plus this granola has big chunks, which I like.  My kids generally won’t eat granola straight from the box, so this is what we use granola for:

Use it as a base to make granola bars, add it to baked bread (pictured), sprinkle it on frozen yogurt(this is especially good with the Cocoa flavor),  mix it with yogurt (Summer Berry mixed with strawberry yogurt), bake it with fruit for “Fruit crisp”,  add it to the top of an apple and microwave for “apple pie”, make trail mix by adding dried fruit, nuts, m&m’s, coconut, etc.

I made granola bars with the Summer Berry.  They turned out so delicious, even earning the term “cookie” around my house.  Then I made some wheat bread and added “Summer Berry Kashi Granola” to it.  Also very delicious.  My kids love homemade bread.

Granola bar recipe The things I changed to this, was I used half the shortening, and half the sugar, and more granola. It still turned out terrific. Although this granola bar is cookie-like, you can feel good about the omega fats and whole grains from the Kashi granola.

Between two Easter Egg hunts, two class parties, and a visit from the Easter Bunny, my kids made off with more candy than they do on a warm Halloween night. It was insane.  However, it leaves me with two options.  I can either ration the candy high up in the pantry, allowing a few pieces per day with the possibility of the candy lasting till summer, or I can let them keep it and eat all they care to for the weekend, and then Monday morning, it all goes in the trash. Normally after Halloween I let them eat till their sick, and the next day the candy “disappears.”  But then it doesn’t linger for months on end.  But as I thought about this approach I began deciding it is a bad idea.  One of my food issues is that I am a “finisher”, and this is exactly the script I am teaching my children.  I have never been able to leave three cookies in a package like some people. I HAVE to finish it off. And I will think about the cookies, cereal, bag of candy, or whatever, until it is GONE. At which point I can move on with my day.  I always finish what’s on my plate or in my bowl, no matter how full I am. And now unfortunately I have just taught my children to do the same thing.  “Finish that basket of candy, cause you won’t get a chance to eat anymore tomorow.” 

A better approach:  Put their stash in a cupboard to  be rationed out.  Most likely after they have a few pieces over the next few weeks, they start to forget it’s there. Out of sight, out of mind.  And even if they don’t, they will learn a much more valuable lesson.  It’s OK to have a small treat once a day. It is much more destructive to gorge yourself on candy till the point of being sick.  I am much wiser today.  It’s only taken 9 years.  Hopefully the food scripts I’ve taught my kids can be reversed.

I’ve only owned one other exercise ball since having kids.  They loved to play with it.  I have found it down the street, in the garden, they’ve used it to knock pictures off my wall, knock eachother down like bowling pins, it’s been deflated, blown up again, drawn on.  I’ve tried to replace it for them with a big bouncy ball so I could actually use the ball for exercise, but those have lasted a day or two and then they pop.  My exercise ball seemed to be the terminator ball. It NEVER popped. No matter what they did to it.   But everytime I went to use it for exercise, I could never find it.  OK, that can be their bowling ball, but I wanted an indoor ball that was never allowed outside. One that didn’t have dog poop on it, ever. 

It has become our new family room chair.  We don’t have enough seating in our family room for our whole family to watch a movie, so I decided everyone can use this new exercise ball as the extra seat.  The kids love to sit on it, and it does good things for them. Thier posture, their balance, and a little leg exercise.  If you are going to watch tv, it’s certainly the lesser evil…couch potato lounging or exercise ball balancing!

Tip of the day… Share your SAFE exercise equipment with your kids.  They’ll probably enjoy it more than you do.

This post is for all the carnivores, or all those with husbands that think a meal is not complete without meat.  Do you buy ground Turkey because you believe it’s leaner than ground beef? Think again. It can be if you read the label, but don’t choose a hunk of ground turkey and assume.

Ground Turkey can range in percent of saturated fat in a similar way ground beef does.  When you purchase the leanest ground beef,  (such as 93% lean) it contains less saturated fat than say ground turkey that is processed with the skin and dark meat checking in at 85% fat.  So while you can get healthier ground meat in turkey, make sure you check your labels and either choose the leanest ground beef or the leanest ground turkey.  Ground beef, full of iron and protein, can have it’s place in your families healthy diet in moderation. 

Tip of the day: Make mini-meals:  Use 93% lean ground beef and shape mini hamburger patties.  Use whole-wheat dinner rolls as your bun and add lettuce and tomatoes.

For all you sale shoppers out there, I haven’t seen a great stock up price on 93% lean ground beef lately. But as soon as I do, I will post it.  The meat sales this week are all about ham. Happy Easter.

Ahhh yeah…. I should be a food photographer.  My french toast looks sooo flaxy!  I just love the ground flax meal.  It’s so versatile, so healthy, so fabulous!  Always have a package of flax available. Buy the seeds, buy the meal, buy it because it has appeal.  Let me count the reasons why you should have some flax.  It is super rich in omega 3’s (2 TBLS have 150% of your daily value).  Folate 15%, Fiber 20%, manganese 30%.

This morning I added a few tablespoons to the egg mixture for french toast.  What a perfect way to start the school day.  We know Omega 3’s make you smarter, and we all know how tough the third grade can be these days.  My kids need he cinnamon was the perfect disguise.  You didn’t know if you were looking at cinnamon or flax meal.  It was the perfect high protein, nutrient rich breakfast. Kids loved it.

FIND NEW PLACES TO ADD FLAX TODAY

That’s how my kids say pistachio’s, and pistachio’s are the Roskelley’s favorite nut.   If I’m feeling kind enough to buy a bag of them, they go crazy.  I would never buy the pre-shelled, or they would be eaten much faster. They like pulling the shells off anyway. The funniest thing is when they bring them in their school lunch, kids will offer to trade their desserts for a couple of the nuts. I have never had one child, neighbor, relative, friends, anyone not like pistachio’s.  If your haven’t let your kids try them, do it today!

Other reasons to love them; they contain no cholesterol. Your immune system will benefit due to the copper, magnesium, and Vitamin B. They provide 10% of your daily requirement for fiber and phosphorus.  There is no need to try and “sneak them in” because so many kids like them plain.