the daily weigh
your serving of nutritious advice
your serving of nutritious advice
THEDAILYWEIGH.COM
See It On the Plate
So speaking of talking with kids about weight and nutrition, last night I had the opportunity to talk to a group of 12 and 13 year old boys about healthy eating. It turns out their attention spans aren't much longer than my 5 year old. You may have seen the new "MyPlate" method to replace the Food Guide Pyramid. It's a great system that puts the appropriate food group proportions on a plate. As an activity with the boys, I had them write down everything they typically eat in a day on individual strips of paper (separating all the food types, i.e. milk, cheerios, banana or peanut butter, jelly, bread). Then they placed them in the appropriate food groups to see how their day balanced. It really helped them see which food groups were being neglected in their diets. Try this with yourself or your kids. Where are you falling short? Putting your day on a plate really puts things in to perspective.
The Talk
(photo courtesy google images, some information adapted from Parade magazine)
When you have kids, you probably dread the talk about drugs and alcohol and especially sex. But what about if your child is overweight? According to new research, parents feel more uncomfortable talking to their kids about weight than they do sex and drugs. Really!?! I have to say I was surprised. Some parents don't want to talk about it because they too are overweight and feel hypocritical, others are afraid of triggering an eating disorder, and half of the parents with overweight children don't realize there may be an issue. So what is the best way to approach a child? Don't tell them how they need to lose weight (that is not helpful advice for child), instead make it a family affair. Tell them the family is going to be getting healthy together, which will encompass food, exercise, sleep, and stress. If you want to get a pedicatrician involved, look for one that knows how to handle weight loss and maybe even has a dietitian working in the office. It doesn't need to be a dreaded talk, try and talk about healthy choices with your children whether they are overweight, obese, or normal weight. Everyone can benefit from living healthy.
Halloween...Ugghhh!
Is it just me, or does Halloween just beg you to eat candy? Well, for me, it certainly did! I ate a little over a pound more than I should have according to the scale. Eek! I know I posted about what to do with candy to help you avoid eating it, but now we are really purging the house, so here is my plan. I wanted make a little count down chain to Thanksgiving with each day telling something different we are grateful for. Well, what better way to make the kids excited about the chain than to have a little piece of candy waiting for each of them everyday. That way they still get to enjoy Halloween candy, mommy and daddy don't eat too much and we are reminded of the wonderful holiday we are going to be celebrating this month. Perfect! As for the rest of the candy, it's going with daddy to work. Good-bye Halloween candy, see you next year!
Cake Mix Waffles
I saw this idea the other day and had to give it a try on our "Snow" day here in Colorado. I will say it was delicious and easy. Simply mix up a cake mix as directed then pour it in a waffle maker just as you would waffle batter. Spray your waffle iron with non-stick spray, then pour in the batter and let it cook and then top with fruit, syrup, whip cream, or whatever sounds tasty to you. You can use applesauce or pumpkin in place of the oil in the recipe to make it a bit healthier. The waffles will turn out a little floppy, you could say. If you let them sit on the counter for about 1 minute they will crisp up a bit. It was yummy, give it a try. I tried chocolate cake mix with strawberries and whip cream. Can you say YUM!
Good Food
Isn't this the truth?!? Stock your fridge with tasty healthy food you like. Grab some veggies, grab some fruit. How about some string cheese and some light yogurt. Take an assessment of your fridge....ask yourself, "Should I kick it, or keep it?"
Lots of Halloween Loot
(this is my friend Melinda's loot and sorting activity)
After my children went to bed on Halloween night, I couldn't help but combine all the candy and see how much it weighs. We ended up with nearly 9 pounds of candy. That is definitely 9 pounds I don't want on my hips, but it keeps beckoning to me on the counter. Oh, what to do? Here are a few options.
1. Do some science experiments with candy. What happens if you put vinegar on it? How fast does it dissolve in water? Does it expand in the microwave? You can get all sorts of fun ideas on line.
2. Freeze it for a later date.
3. Chop up those chocolate bars and make some goodies then give them away.
4. Send it to work and feed it to co-workers.
5. Sort it by wrapper color, then by starting letter, etc. This will be lots of fun and time well spent with the kids.
6. Let the kids do a taste panel and take one bite of lots of things. Then get rid of the rest.
Happy Halloween
Holidays are for making memories. Let those kiddo's load up on candy, eat junk and make memories all day long. Every once in a while it's totally worth it and really it won't cause permanent damage. Have a Happy Halloween!
Win the Cold Battle
Is it just my house or does it seem like that time of year when colds are rampant! My kids have all come down with one in the past week and it is finally creeping in to my system. What the best way to combat a cold? There are of course the drugs to minimize the symptoms, but there are also things you can do with food to help get you through.
First, drink plenty of fluids. Visualize drowning those little cold viruses, because that's what you need to do. Warm fluids are easier on a sore throat.
Get your daily dose of Vitamin C, abround 500-800mg. Drinking a Vitamin C fortified drink will get you fluid and vitamins, the best of both worlds. Of course herbal tea with honey is always soothing.
Eat a balanced diet, and consider taking a conservative multi-vitamin. Vitamin C is extra important for fighting a cold, but our body needs all the essential vitamins and minerals to truly function properly and fight a virus.
Give that cold a battle it is bound to lose.
The Season Begins
Sorry about the missed post yesterday, ugghhh!! At least it's an improvement since the last week. Small goals, right? I can tell it's already that time of year when life gets busy and it's so incredibly easy to gain weight! It used to seem the holiday food happiness began at Thanksgiving, now it seems to begin at Halloween. Today I had a treat from a friends house, then some friends brought over some cookies and candy and it's just the beginning of the season! YIKES! Recognizing we are hitting this season and making some goals early on is the best way to combat what lies ahead. So here are some of my goals for the next couple months.
1. Only one sweet treat a day. This is painful, but necessary.
2. Exercise 2 days a week. Life is busy so let's be realistic.
3. Eat out only once per week. Save on money and calories for the holidays.
4. Think portions, portion, and more portions. This will come in handy during especially during parties.
5. Enjoy the holidays, afterall isn't that most important.
Pumpkin Whoopie Pies
Pumpkin roll was formerly my favorite October dessert until I discovered this little treat from Martha Stewart. I should have known she could top it. These whoopie pies are AMAZING! They aren't too difficult to make and look impressive, petite, and delicious when complete. It's a perfect treat.
Pumpkin Whoopie Pies
For the Cream-Cheese Filling
- 3 cups confectioners' sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Pumpkin Whoopie Pies
For the Pumpkin Whoopie Cookies
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
- 1/2 tbsp ground ginger
- 1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice
- 2 cups firmly packed dark-brown sugar (or light)
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- 1/2 cup applesauce
- 3 cups pumpkin puree
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Directions
- Make the cookies: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or a nonstick baking mat; set aside.
- In a large bowl, whisk together flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, and cloves; set aside. In another large bowl, whisk together brown sugar and oil until well combined. Add pumpkin puree and whisk until combined. Add eggs and vanilla and whisk until well combined. Sprinkle flour mixture over pumpkin mixture and whisk until fully incorporated.
- Using a small ice cream scoop with a release mechanism, drop heaping tablespoons of dough onto prepared baking sheets, about 1 inch apart. Transfer to oven and bake until cookies are just starting to crack on top and a toothpick inserted into the center of each cookie comes out clean, about 15 minutes. Let cool completely on pan.
- Make the filling: Sift confectioner' sugar into a medium bowl; set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter until smooth. Add cream cheese and beat until well combined. Add confectioners' sugar and vanilla, beat just until smooth. (Filling can be made up to a day in advance. Cover and refrigerate; let stand at room temperature to soften before using.)
- Assemble the whoopie pies: Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside. Transfer filling to a disposable pastry bag and snip the end. When cookies have cooled completely, pipe a large dollop of filling on the flat side of half of the cookies. Sandwich with remaining cookies, pressing down slightly so that the filling spreads to the edge of the cookies. Transfer to prepared baking sheet and cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate cookies at least 30 minutes before serving and up to 3 days.
About Me
I'm Deirdra Patterson, a Registered Dietitian. I love sharing useful information about food and nutrition to help others be more successful in leading a healthy, longer life. So here are my daily blog thoughts about nutrition to inspire a better lifestyle.