Maintaining healthy family eating habits when money is tight
How many times have you heard people say or have thought to yourself "it's just too expensive to truly feed my family healthy foods?" And now that we're experiencing a horrible time as a nation with many of us struggling to keep from being laid-off and really watching every dime we spend it's hard to justify paying three dollars for a pound of grapes. Yet, for the sake of our kids' happiness and health now and as they grow into adults we can't ignore the fact that the rate of childhood obesity continues to rise and will only get worse as the suffering economy forces more school programs to be cut. "Help kids maintain a healthy diet without a hefty cost" by Nanci Hellmich of USA Today is a great article chock full of advice and how-to. According to her "Many parents with overweight children would be willing to break the bank to help their kids reach a healthy weight, but luckily, that's not necessary. Some of the simplest and easiest ideas for reshaping eating habits are also the cheapest, nutritionists say." The article lists reasons and simple modifications for turning unhealthy habits into healthy/cost effective ones. Many of the ideas are common sense that too many parents already knew just have chosen to ignore. My two favorite tips include:
"Rethink snacking habits. Parents used to give preschoolers two tiny snacks a day and children under 10 one snack after school, but now kids get 300 calories or more from two to three snacks a day, often with soft drinks, chips and cookies, Popkin says. Parents should serve fruit and cut-up vegetables instead, which would save hundreds of calories and add valuable nutrients, he says."
"Teach children how to plan and prepare meals. They can learn how to scramble eggs, bake chicken or make a soup, Ayoob says. It takes a little time in the beginning to teach them these basic skills, but it pays off in a big way. "Kids become more competent in the kitchen, more invested in eating what they prepare, and learn life skills that will benefit them for years to come," he says."
The article also links to some other great resources for parents to consider such as a yummy recipe for homemade chicken nuggets, suggestions and recipes for cooking on a dime proving that, yes, healthy can be cheap and a really nifty sidebar tool for you to explore the complications of obesity on a child's body effectively designed for scaring you into making healthful eating choice for your family starting today. Even if you already feel your family is the epitome of perfect health you still will find tons of helpful ideas for you to implement. Just some food for thought in this new, uneasy year.
