Tag Archives: nutrition

Ways to Make After School Snacks Healthier!
After school snacks can get junky and repetitive.  Just as fast as our morning goes, we’re awaiting our kids at the bus stop before half the laundry gets done.  Exhausted, yet wired, kids are ready for the afternoon.  Hours of soccer, ballet and gymnastics cram our days and my daughter is always STARVING from the moment she sets her book bag down!
Bags of chips, chocolate filled granola bars and sugary cookies are often what kids want.  As Smart Mamas we need to remember nutrition is still important, even after a long day at school.
Making Better Choices
Here’s a chart provided as part of my involvement with the Hormel Extended Family Blogger program to help Smart Mamas think of healthier snack options.

Instead of…
Try this…

Sugery-sweetened beverages
Soda

100% Fruit Juice
Fat-free or 1% milk
Low sodium vegetable juice
Water with sugar-free flavoring

 Full calorie chips & crackers

Unsalted sunflower seeds

You know I love milk. Whether it’s skim, chocolate or yummy Simply Smart, I have at least a glass a day.  The glass typically gets mixed in with my morning cereal.
Yes, I’m a cereal person. I know that there are many more of you out there.  I could eat cereal for breakfast, lunch and dinner. I’ve been known to take a bowl for snack time too!  My daughter takes after me.  It may be her favorite breakfast food!  How about you? Are you a cereal person?  What’s your favorite?
In previous blog posts, I’ve shared some other breakfast ideas for moms on the go. The Jimmy D’s Griddle Stick is a popular one among many of you. With the tremendous data that supports breakfast as an essential part of a healthy lifestyle, are you doing your Smart Mama job of providing your children with a …

Seafood during pregnancy, it’s considered a must by many OBs. What does your doctor say?
What a week it has been!  We found ways in this Smarty Pants Mama household to include seafood in 2 dinners, plus a few lunches!  My daughter even tried, and enjoyed scallops for the first time!  We are told by experts in nutrition and health that seafood consumption in an important part of a healthy lifestyle.  I want to continue to encourage each of you to include 12 ounce of seafood in your diet each week.  Most importantly, I want you to instill these healthy, nutritious eating habits in your children.  Fish sticks and shrimp cocktail shouldn’t be the only seafood served.
Please be sure to review  the “A Seafood Lover’s Guide to Eating during Pregnancy” that has been put together by The Perinatal Nutrition Working Group, Healthy Mothers, Healthy Babies and the National Fisheries Institute. It …

As we each continue to Delve into 12 this week, attempting to consume 12 ounces of seafood, I wanted to share a favorite taco recipe. This recipe, as well as many others, are part of the awesome Delve into 12 gift basket that will offered as a giveaway next week! Be sure to share a comment to let me know that you are taking on the challenge!
Tasty Tilapia Tacos
Ingredients

2 lbs fresh tilapia fillets
8-12 whole wheat soft tortillas
1/4 cup of olive oil

Sauce

1/3 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
2 jalapenos, seeded
1/2 cup plan low fat yogurt
1/2 cup low fat sour cream
1 avocado, pit removed & sliced
1 tsp fresh lime juice

Toppings

Shredded cabbage
Salsa
Fresh lime wedges

Directions

Combine cilantro and jalapenos in a food processor.  Mix until coarsely chopped.
Add yogurt, sour cream, avocado and lime juice.  Blend until smooth.  Keep this sauce refrigerated until need.
Brush tilapia fillets with olive oil and grill over medium …

Fish Tacos, Ceviche, Tuna Salad, Baked Halibut, Linguine with Clam Sauce, Pasta with Shrimp…all are delicious.  Do you make them?  Are they ever part of your family’s weekly menu?  Do you know that many of these meals take as much time and often less time that the traditional spaghetti and meatballs or chicken nuggets? Yet, each of these seafood dishes provides us with a bountiful amount of vitamins and minerals without overdoing it on the calories.  As Smart Mamas we need to make sure to incorporate seafood dishes into the daily menu of our children and ourselves.  12 ounces a week is the recommendation by many leading nutritional authorities, including the Food and Drug Administration, The Perinatal Nutrition Working Group and Healthy Mothers, Healthy Babies.  They each recommend that pregnant women, women who are planning to become pregnant, nursing mothers, and very young children to eat 12 …

Constant running around, up and down the monkey bars, swimming in the pool and more, the days of summer are here.  We need to remember that children are humans; they require similar physical care that aging adults do. Warm ups, stretching, nutrition & hydration are equally important to an 8 year old as to a 38 year old.
Below ChicagoHealers.com practitioner Dr. Richard Ezgur, DC offers tips for parents to keep kids safe and injury free during summer sports and activities.
Warm Up – Like adults, children are also vulnerable to muscle pulls and joint sprains and strains. The most common causes of these injuries include inadequate warm-up time and stretching.  Before beginning the activity, encourage your child to take a few minutes to warm-up.

A good warm-up will imitate the actions that your body will undergo during your sport, but at a lesser intensity.  So for most kids, a …

Here’s a product I was super skeptical about.  A lollipop that fights cavities?  What?
That package arrived and as I opened it a purple lollipop fell out.  My daughter’s eyes stared and she shouted, “Yea, a lollipop for me!”  I guess so.  I let her open it up and try it.

I waited to see what her reaction would be.  I was expecting a gross look when she realized that this wasn’t the standard lollipop she was used to enjoying on occasion.  I received the opposite.  Honestly, no reaction.  She sat there, continued watching her tv program and licked away at the lollipop.
CariFree, the leading innovator in cavity treatment and prevention, has come up with a clever way to keep kids smiling and cavity free! The Xyli-Tots Lollies are sugar-free and contain Xylitol, the sugar substitute that has been shown to fight tooth decay and cavity …

Ever wonder what’s another way to use the yummy Vlasic Stacker Pickles in your fridge? I’m sure!  Well here’s a recipe for a glorified meatloaf sandwich I came across and I couldn’t stop drooling!  As the recipe stands, it wins no award for great nutrition, however a few tweaks and it can turn into a great, healthy meal.  In purple I’ve made some healthy adjustments.
BUFFALO MELTS
Serves 4
INGREDIENTS:
2 pounds, ground BUFFALO MEAT (ground turkey or lean ground beef)
2 EGG YOLKS (1/2 cup of egg yolk)
1 small ONION, chopped
SALT and PEPPER to taste
1/2 cup, TOMATO SAUCE
4 slices SOURDOUGH BREAD (whole grain bread)
1 jar, VLASIC® STACKERS PICKLES
4 slices CHEESE ( reduced fat cheese)
DIRECTIONS:
1.      In a large mixing bowl, mix the ground meat, egg yolks, onion, salt and pepper well. Use your hands!
2.      Stuff mixture into a bread pan or deep baking pan.
3.      Add tomato …

Well we made it until she was 39 months for her 1st dose of antibiotics. She had a nasty ear infection last month that actually came back (or maybe never went away) this month with the added bonus of some sort of respiratory infection. So now not only are we on antibiotics AGAIN, but the poor thing is on steroids and using a nebulizer 3x a day. My poor baby.

I think that 39 months antibiotic free is really good. What do you think? I’m not a health nut, although my recent postings about produce might convince you otherwise. We watch what we eat but we did finish a bag of Doritos yesterday. So how has she maintained this great immune system (obviously, up until now?) My guess: she has a vitamin a day, loves blueberries and devoured 3 months of …