The Family that Eats Together Stays Healthy Together
Recent studies have shown that not only do children like to sit down at the dinner table and eat a meal with their parents, but they are more likely to eat a well-balanced, nutritious meal when they do. But with… Continue reading
Why Sharing Meals Is So Important
You may think that the biggest benefit of eating together as a family is to ensure everyone has food in their stomachs. However, sharing meals does more than feed each person physically; it also feeds them emotionally and draws them together. Keep reading to find out why sharing meals is so important.
Family meals allow conversations to take place. Simply being together chatting about the day can be enough to help you stay connected. No matter which meals you eat together, you’ll appreciate having the opportunity to find out what’s going on in each member’s life. You’ll have a chance to encourage your children as they take tests or remind your partner of important events coming up.
Encouraging your child’s vegetable eating
It’s a parenting dilemma struggled with for generations, or at least since the first blob of mustard greens or lentil loaf was spooned out onto a toddler’s plate: how to get them to eat their vegetables.
Before going into the cute ideas that might help, like carving radishes to look like a head of each member of the family, let’s take a look at what science has found out about the problem. You didn’t think scientists haven’t been paying attention have you, after all, there are quite a few scientists that are mothers as well. A recent study conducted by Mildred Horodynski, a researcher with a Ph.D. in nursing, set out to uncover the factors in families that had a strong impact on child vegetable eating. Looking at families that were at risk for lower veggie intake overall, two influences at the dinner table emerged. The first, of course, was role modeling. The researcher found that children whose mother ate fruits and vegetables as a bigger part of their own diet also had kids that ate more fruits and vegetables. Surprising? Not really when you think that what mom likes might show up on the table more often, and that kids do pay attention to whether or not we have eaten our carrots just like we have been paying attention to them.
Great Tasting Healthy Family Recipes – January
Your Family Chef from Parenting Today is here each month with great meal ideas.
Here are some ideas for some tasty meal for the month of January.
These meals offer good nutrition while making it easier to get kids and teens to eat more nutritional meals.
Great tasting recipes for this month include: Crispy Chicken Dinner, Ground Beef Casserole, Seafood Spaghetti, Tortellini with Sundried Tomatoes and Bacon, Scrumptious Cheesy Potatoes, Delicious Banana and Oats Pancakes
Reasons Why Children Should Avoid Fad Diets
It’s not unusual for adults to choose to go on fad diets in order to lose weight for a special occasion. While no one expects fad diets to work long term, they are eager to try nearly anything to lose those stubborn pounds. However, there are good reasons why children should avoid fad diets even if their parents use them.
Fad diets, or sometimes called crash diets, aren’t healthy for anyone – much less children or teens. These types of diets restrict what you can eat, often to the detriment of your health. They may not provide enough calories to fuel your body. They also don’t provide the amount of nutrition a growing body needs.
Children often learn more by watching their parents than they do by being told what to do. Your children will be less likely to want to try fad diets if your entire family eats healthy meals and are active. They will also avoid fad diets if they don’t see you or anyone else in your family using them.
A Frugal Thanksgiving Celebration: A Guide to Saving Money for Your Thanksgiving Celebrations
Each year the cost of having Thanksgiving dinner rises. Experts will tell you the increase in prices is due to simple supply and demand. Perhaps there has been a drought which means some fruits and vegetables aren’t available this year in the same amount they’ve been available in the past. Many of these cost increases are due to the price of gasoline to ship items across the country. These costs of shipping are then passed onto the consumer through the price of food.
No matter what the reason why the cost of having Thanksgiving dinner has risen each year for the past couple of years, families in today’s economy are interested in having a frugal Thanksgiving celebration and need ideas for enjoying the day with loved ones without breaking the budget.
Great Tasting Healthy Family Recipes – November
Your Family Chef from Parenting Today is here each month with great meal ideas.
Here are some ideas for some tasty meal for the month of November.
These meals offer good nutrition while making it easier to get kids and teens to eat more nutritional meals.
Recipes for this month include:
Basic and Easy Turkey Stuffing, Quick and Easy Family Pork Chop Dinner, Ham and Cranberry Casserole, Sweet and Spicy Almond Snack , Sweet Potato Pie
Visit Healthy Meals for Kids for more information on family meal planning and nutrition for children and teenagers.
How to Encourage Your Teen to Make the Right Food Choices
Parents want their children to grow up to be fit and strong. One way to ensure their well-being is to encourage your teen to make the right food choices. If they learn to eat healthy foods at home, they are much more likely to continue eating in the same manner when they move away from home.
There are a number of ways to encourage your teen to make the right food choices. One of the most important is to have regular family meals. Many families have busy schedules these days. One parent has to work late, teens have after school jobs or sports, and even children have activities planned. It’s no wonder families often eat at different times and become disconnected from one another.
The benefits of eating meals together as a family are varied. Eating together gives your family the time it needs to reconnect. You have more control over what foods your family eats. Your teens are also less likely to become involved in drugs and alcohol.
Another way to encourage your teen to eat the right foods is to be a role model for them. If they see you eating junk food on a regular basis and yet you tell them to eat foods which are good for them, they could see you as a hypocrite. However, the reverse is also true. If your teen sees you making good food choices, they’ll see how important you feel eating healthfully is and will be more likely to follow suit.
Back to School Nutrition – Why It Is Important for Your Child’s Success at School
Nutrition is one of the single most important factors when it comes to a child’s development. Proper nutrition is essential for children to succeed in school. By feeding your children a proper diet, you are helping them to be able… Continue reading
Great Tasting Healthy Family Recipes – September
Your Family Chef from Parenting Today is here each month with great meal ideas.
Here are some ideas for some tasty meal for the month of September
These meals offer good nutrition while making it easier to get kids and teens to eat more nutritional meals.
Recipes for this month include Labor Day Chicken Skewers, Labor Day Baked Beans, Labor Day Baked Beans, Creamy Potato and Carrot Soup, Labor Day Sangria Punch, Frozen Peach Yogurt Dessert
