Dinner Tonight

Dinner Tonight

Healthy Cooking for a Healthy Texas

Naturally Occurring Sugar versus Added Sugar

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Did you know that almost half of the added sugar in our diets comes from beverages such as sodas, fruit drinks, and other sweetened beverages?

The 2025-2030 Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommend limiting calories from added sugars to no more than 10 percent each day.  On a 2,000 calorie eating pattern, this would equal 12 teaspoons or about 200 calories.

Added sugars are added to a food or food product when they are processed or prepared.  They can include ingredients such as sugars (brown, raw, turbinado, granulated), corn syrups, molasses, honey, and nectars to name a few.  Added sugars contribute calories but do not provide essential nutrients.

Some foods have naturally occurring sugar like fruits, vegetables, and milk, these foods are not added sugar.  Replacing foods and drinks high in added sugars is a step to establishing a healthy eating pattern for our children and family.

You can make a few choices throughout the day by replacing foods high in added sugars.  Here are a few options:

  • Eat fruit for dessert instead of cakes, cookies, or ice cream.
  • Flavor water with fresh fruit instead of sodas or sweetened tea.
  • Try choosing a smaller size of a food with added sugar.
  • Reduce the amount of sugar in an original recipe by one third.

Making small steps to reduce the amount of added sugar is a step in establishing a healthy eating pattern.

Watch this video to learn how to limit calories from added sugars.

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Importance of Family Breakfast

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Breakfast is a great time to start the day off right and connect as a family. Here are a few tips for how to make breakfast your first ‘family mealtime’ of the day!

  1. Gather around the table as a family and eat breakfast together.
  2. Talk about the plans for the day and what everyone is looking forward to. Here are a few examples:
  • What are you most excited about doing today at school (or work)?
  • What are you looking forward to doing this afternoon when we get home?
  • How can you be kind or helpful to others today?
  1. Empower children to be part of preparing breakfast. It does not have to be complicated, slice some strawberries or bananas (or have older children help!) and let younger children place these on whole grain waffles or toast spread with low-fat cream cheese or peanut butter. This is a fun and easy way to get children active in making a nutritious breakfast.

For more tips on living a healthy lifestyle in 2016, check out this fact sheet from the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (http://www.eatright.org/~/media/eatright%20files/nationalnutritionmonth/handoutsandtipsheets/nutritiontipsheets/16healthtipsfor2016.ashx).

Try out theses Cream Cheese and Strawberry Waffles!

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Cream Cheese and Strawberry Waffle

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Try this yummy twist on a breakfast classic! This breakfast starts with a freezer staple, the frozen waffle and then amplifies the flavor by spreading low-fat cream cheese on top and decorating with sliced strawberries.

Cream Cheese and Strawberry
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  1. Once you have toasted your morning waffle, spread low-fat cream cheese on top. Top with sliced strawberries or give your child a chance to play with their food by decorating their waffle with their own strawberry design.
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Cream Cheese Strawberry Waffle Label

Benefits of Family Mealtime

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Learn more about how eating meals as a family is beneficial for your children. Our Family Mealtime initiative encourages eating healthy meals as a family.

Why Family Meals Matter

Maureen Bligh, Andrea Garen and Ashley Rosales, Registered Dietitians. Click here for original article from the Dairy Council of California.

When was the last time you sat down for a meal with your family? Was it last night, last week or last month? For some families, eating together is reserved for special events and holidays, like birthdays or Thanksgiving. These special occasion meals allow families to connect with each other, strengthen family ties and pass on family cultural traditions.

But family meals don’t have to be reserved for special occasions. Family meals can happen any time of day, any day of the week! If the words “I’m too busy” pop into your mind, you’re not alone. You probably even hear this from other parents and peers.

But family meals can fit into even the busiest of schedules and they offer a host of benefits for children and adults alike!

Children who eat with their families are better nourished, have lower rates of obesity and better vocabularies1,2,3. These factors can have a positive impact on classroom behavior and academic performance1,2,3. And when it comes to improving the health of our children, family meals are a great way to instill healthy eating habits that will last a lifetime4.

Research into family meals and their benefits is becoming more in depth, with some interesting findings:

  • Dining as a family can create an environment for parents to lead by example for their children. Children who eat with their families consume more fruits, vegetables, milk and dairy foods compared to those who eat fewer family meals5. Parents will be thrilled to learn that young adults who were raised eating regular family meals consume more vegetables4 (there is hope yet for teenagers!)
  • Adults also report that eating as a family is a positive portion of their day6. Mealtime creates a feeling of togetherness and family cohesion. The concept of family meals does not exclude single-parent homes or couples without children. The routine associated with meals can provide a protective value for some of the risks associated with single-parent homes. For couples, the routine of sitting down together carves out time for each other and creates work schedule boundaries creating a balance between work and personal life.
  • There is an association between family meal frequency and lower rates of obesity4. However, while the meals are more nutritious (especially when prepared and eaten at home) they are not necessarily lower in calorie. Family meals consumed while distracted (watching television, taking phone calls, reading the mail) may actually increase food consumption7.

 

But the benefits of family meals go beyond nutrition and family unity. Family meals are also an opportunity to promote child development2. Regular family meals teach children many things that will enrich their lives beyond the immediate health benefits of eating nutritious food.

  1. Memories Taking the time to sit together at mealtime helps create positive memories for yourself and your family.
  2. Enjoyment The first and most important place where children learn positive attitudes about food is in the home. Eating meals together starts a lasting and positive relationship with food.
  3. Self Esteem Mealtime conversation brings the family together and promotes positive self-esteem in children.
  4. Life skills Children learn best by doing, not watching, so get them involved! You can teach children how to cook balanced meals for themselves by including them in meal planning and preparation.
  5. Traditions Mealtime is an ideal time to strengthen family ties and pass on family cultural traditions. Whether you are celebrating a holiday or just eating an everyday meal, things you do in your home will be passed down to your children and grandchildren.
  6. Curiosity Kids are more likely to try new foods when they are involved in meal preparation. They have a natural curiosity about food so be sure to offer new foods at mealtime (but never force them to try them.)
  7. Relaxation Family meals are the perfect time to connect with each other and share your stories of the day. Shared time and positive experiences with your children is great way connect and relax together after a hectic day of work, school and errands.
  8. Responsibility Research has shown that cooking with kids and assigning tasks surrounding mealtime, promotes independence and a sense of responsibility in the kitchen – and in life.
  9. Communication Having conversations at mealtime increases your children’s vocabulary. Encourage them to speak by asking about the best part of their day and probe more about what made the best part so great.
  10. Love Children watch and imitate adults, and look to them to learn proper behavior for everything from saying please and thank you to learning about fitness and nutrition. Mealtime is the ideal time to remind your children every day that they are important and loved.

Isn’t it time to make family meals a habit in your home?

1. Harrison ME, Norris ML, Obeid N, Fu M, et al. Systematic review off the effects of family meal frequency on psychosocial outcomes in youth. Canadian Family Physician. 2015 Feb;61(2):e96-e106.
2.  Utter J, Denny S, Robinson E, Fleming T, Ameratunga S, Grant S. Family meals and the well-being of adolescents. J Paediatr Child Health. 2013 Nov;49(11):906-11.
3. Snow CE., Beals DE. Mealtime talk that supports literacy development. New Dir Child Adolesc Dev. 2006;(111):51-66.
4. Fulkerson JA, Larson N, Horning M, Neumark-Sztainer D. A review of associations between family or shared meal frequency and dietary and weight status outcomes across the lifespan. J Nutr Educ Behav. 2014 Jan;46(1):2-19.
5. Neumark-Sztainer D, Hannan PJ, Story M, Croll J, Perry C. Family meal patterns: associations with sociodemographic characteristics and improved dietary intake among adolescents. J Am Diet Assoc. 2003; 103(3):317-322.
6. Videon T, Manning C. Influences on adolescent eating patterns: The importance of family meals. J Adolesc Health. 2003; 32(5):365-373.
7. Bickham DS, Blood EA, Walls CE, Shrier LA, Rich M. Characteristics of screen media use associated with higher BMI in young adolescents. Pediatrics. 2013. May;131(5):935-41.
8. https://www.fcconline.org/the-importance-of-family-mealtime/
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How to offer new foods!

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Enjoying new foods with your family is an opportunity to grown towards a healthy eating pattern. Whether this is their first time trying a new food, it is important to talk to your children and encourage them to make new fun food choices.

Here are a few tips in getting your child to try new foods!

Offer a new food first, at the beginning of a meal.  

Children are more likely to eat a new veggie or food when they are hungry.  Be sure to serve them the new food before serving the rest of the meal.

Prepare new foods in many different ways.  

Sometimes it is not the food the child does not like; it is how the food is prepared.  If your child does not like the food the first time, try it again either raw or cooked in a dish rather than by itself.

Engage your children in foods by having them describe the food by color, shape, feel, smell, and sound!  

This can make dinner entertaining!  Ask your children to describer the food in positive ways! Making trying new foods fun can help them develop their “taste” for a variety of foods!

Get them out in the garden and let them grow their favorite veggie!  

If you have a garden or even a small container, have your children grow a new vegetable or fruit and let them decide how to make it it!

Try new foods with your children.

 Children learn from watching others.  If you try a new food, they are more likely to try foods with you.

Food variety makes eating more interesting and incorporates a variety of foods into a healthy eating pattern.

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