Use this guide to help monitor your youth athlete’s nutrition and keep them fueled.
Fueling Your Youth Athlete
Category: Nutritious Nudges
Hosting a Healthy Halloween Party
I really enjoy hosting Halloween parties and participating in trick-or-treating. It’s funny, though: Halloween can be a tricky topic to discuss when people know you are a dietitian. They expect you to play the role of party-pooper because treats are indulgent foods and Halloween is a celebration of them. Dietitians are not the food police. We’re focused on helping people find balance, practice moderation, and enjoy healthful indulging. For this month’s Nutritious Nudge, I want to share some tips for hosting a healthy Halloween party. Spoiler: candy still made the invite list.
School Lunch Supplies List
It’s back to school season. That means it’s time to stock up on new gear, so your students are prepared to start the school year in style. Don’t forget about school lunch as you create your shopping lists. Whether your family has decided between school lunch or lunch from home, there will likely be a field trip where your child could use these lunch supplies. Parents have a lot of cool new products to choose from to ensure that their child’s lunch is not only nutritious and safe, but also looks appetizing at lunch time. For this month’s Nutritious Nudge, I created a list of lunch supplies and considerations to help parents with their back to school shopping.
“Green” Grocery Shopping
Despite the increased interest in sustainability among consumers and growing sales among more sustainable products, there are still major shifts needed in our food system. However, small changes can still make a big impact. Let’s start with a few simple, grocery shopping shifts that can “green” our carts and lessen our collective impact on the environment.
Love Thy Vegetables
It’s probably cliché for a dietitian to say this, but vegetables could really use some more love. They provide key nutrients like vitamins, minerals and dietary fiber and most are low in calories. Those are enticing benefits to consumers for any food. And by eating enough vegetables (and fruits) as part of an overall healthy diet we can reduce the risk of many chronic diseases, like cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, some cancers, and obesity. Unfortunately, less than 10% of adults in the U.S. meet the recommended intake of 2 to 3 cups per day.
Remember Your Role in Feeding
Influencing children’s eating habits is one of the most important roles parents play. Parents establish the environment where the meals take place and decide what food is are served. From positive eating experiences early on, children can develop healthy eating habits later in life. It’s common for parents to feel pressure and uncertainty around their crucial role in the feeding relationship. They might have memorable feeding experiences from their own childhood that influence how they want to parent around food. Perhaps resources like time and money impact decisions for feeding their family. Regardless, parents want what’s best for their children and that includes a healthy relationship with food.
Find More Nutrition Per Bite
With every new year comes an opportunity for a fresh start. After 2020, that’s what many of us are craving. The coronavirus pandemic shifted a lot of our daily routines, including the ways we eat. Did you eat out less and cook at home more last year? Many of us did. Perhaps you ordered more […]
Make Brown Rice a Pantry Staple
Rice is the epitome of a pantry staple. It’s a basic, inexpensive ingredient, with a long shelf life, that’s easy-to-use in a variety of ways. In fact, rice is a main staple in over 100 countries worldwide. By keeping this sure-to-please grain on hand, you’re well on your way to creating a delicious dish. For this month’s Nutritious Nudge, I want to share some reasons why brown rice is worthy of staple status in your pantry.