Food and Fitness for a Healthy Child

January 2018

Junior chef
Get your child excited about helping in the kitchen
by letting her dress the part. Find a large white button-down shirt she can
wear like a chef’s outfit. Have her write her name
on a mailing label (“Chef Suzy”) and stick it on. Hand
her a colorful spatula, and enjoy cooking together.
Swap parsnips for potatoes Make “french fries” from parsnips, a root vegetable that’s high in fiber and folate. Peel 2 lbs. parsnips, and cut into thick strips. Toss with 2 tbsp. olive oil,
–1 tsp. salt, and –1 tsp. pepper. Place on a
2	4
baking sheet, and bake 10 minutes at 450º. Flip, and roast 10 minutes more.

Swimming builds endur- ance, strengthens all
muscle groups, and is easy on joints and bones. Encourage your young- ster to swim year-round with trips to an indoor community pool. He might take swim lessons or sign up for a winter league. Ideas: Join him in the pool and swim together, race against each other, or play tag.
Just for fun
Q: What’s green and bumpy
and jumps every few seconds?
A: A pickle with hiccups.

Farrell Area School District

Get healthier together!

Make eating better and get- ting fit a family affair this year. Being “in it together” can keep everyone motivated.
Use these simple tips to get started.
Be a role model
Your youngster will copy your good and not-so-good behaviors.
Telling him to eat an orange while you munch on potato chips sends a mixed message, as does using your tablet while
encouraging him to go shoot
baskets. A better approach? Ask him to

help you cut apples for a snack, or sug- gest that you play basketball together.
Focus on variety
Instead of dieting or emphasizing foods to avoid, identify healthy foods to add to meals. Think: fresh fruits, crisp vegetables, beans and lentils, nuts, seeds, whole grains, and lean protein. This ensures you’re not limiting nutrients your growing child needs. It also pushes less-nutritious foods off your plates.

Increase  physical activity

Brainstorm regular family fitness ideas with your youngster, then put them on the calendar. You might try nightly after-dinner walks or Saturday morning bike rides. Move more during everyday activities, too. Park farther from your destination, take the stairs rather than the elevator, or shovel snow together. Before you know it, being more active will become a household habit.

DIY supersized fun
Looking for some life-size entertainment for your child? Let her create a giant tic-tac-toe board!
Materials: old sheet, marker, duct tape,
10 old socks (5 of one color and 5 of another), dry beans, rubber bands
Help your youngster measure and draw a giant square on the sheet. Draw lines dividing the square into
9 equal boxes, and tape the sheet to the floor, or set it outside.
Make beanbags by filling socks with beans and sealing them shut with rubber bands. Each player gets 5 same-color beanbags. Now take turns hopping into a  square,
dropping a beanbag, and hopping out. The first to get three in a row across, down, or diagonally wins.

© 2017 Resources for Educators, a division of CCH Incorporated	This institution is an equal opportunity provider.

Nuuttrriittiioonn NNuuggggeettss	January 2018 • Page 2

A well-stocked kitchen
With the right ingredients on hand, you can quickly whip up nutritious dinners on busy week- nights. Plus, you’ll avoid last-minute impulse purchases or costly takeout.
Try these steps for shopping and planning.
Take inventory. Help your child list ingredients you use frequently, such as rice, pasta, shredded
cheese, green beans, bread, and ground beef. Let her go through the refrigerator and pantry and cross out items you already have. Bonus: She’ll practice reading and writing.

Stock up. Shop together for ingredi- ents that remain on your list. Look for healthy swaps, such as whole- wheat bread rather than white, fro-
zen vegetables instead of canned, and extra-lean ground beef in place of regular.
Figure out meals. Ask your youngster to help you create nutri- tious menus based on what’s on hand. For instance, if you’ve got whole-grain spaghetti and a jar of marinara sauce, there’s an easy meal.

cing.

What’s in your smoothie?
My son Liam loves our local smoothie place, and I’m happy he’s getting more fruit into his diet. But recently, I noticed a sign listing nutrition information, and I realized his favorites have a lot of sugar and fat. So I decided to start making smoothies at home in the blender.

Boosting balance skills
Set your youngster up for success in sports and games by helping her
improve her balance. Consider these fun ideas.
Flamingo contest: See who can stand on one foot the longest. Switch legs, and do it again. To increase the challenge, close your eyes while balan
Cereal box challenge: Have each person place an empty cereal box on her head. Keeping your back straight and chin up, race across the room. If you
drop your box, return to the start. The first player to cross the room wins.
Hula hop: Scatter a few hula-hoops on the ground a few feet from each other (or make circles with pieces of yarn). Family members can jump into each hula-hoop — without losing their balance and falling outside the hoop. Try it again, this time jumping  backward.

To make it healthier, grate zucchini and stir into the sauce. Have a can of black beans and some brown rice? Just add cooked broccoli for a healthy rice bowl.

We experiment with fruit combina- tions like strawberry and banana or

Slow-cooked meals

peach and mango. Instead of flavored
yogurt, which has a lot of sugar, I use plain yogurt and a little honey. Some-

Tap into the power of your slow cooker with these recipes to enjoy on cold winter days.

cooker with 2 cups vegetable stock, 1 tbsp. tomato paste, 1 tsp. dried thyme,

4

4

2

–1 tsp. salt, –1 tsp. pepper, and –1 tsp. gar-

times I include peanut butter or flaxseed
for protein. I’ve even added kale and spinach so my son gets greens.

Liam enjoys our homemade smooth- ies, and now he’s eating more fruits and vegetables — and less sugar and fat.

Chicken-quinoa risotto

2

Place 1–1 lbs. boneless chicken breasts into a slow cooker. Add 1 cup uncooked quinoa, 2 cups low-sodium chicken broth, and 2 cloves minced garlic. Cook on high 4 hours. Shred chicken, and return to slow cooker.
Add 2 cups frozen peas, stir, and cook 30 minutes more.
Vegetarian “pot roast”
Chop 1 lb. mushrooms (white or portobello),
1 lb. sweet potatoes, and 2 carrots. Put in slow

lic powder. Cook on low 6–8 hours.
Beef stroganoff

2

Fill slow cooker with 1–1 lbs. lean stew meat, 1 medium onion (diced), 1 cup low-sodium beef broth, 2 tbsp.
Worcestershire sauce, 2 tbsp. Dijon

4

mustard, and –1 tsp. each salt and pepper. Cook on low 6 – 8 hours.

O	U	R

P	U	R	P	O	S	E

To provide busy parents with practical ways to promote healthy nutrition and physical activity for their children.
Resources  for Educators,
a division of CCH Incorporated
128 N. Royal Avenue • Front Royal, VA 22630 800-394-5052 • rfecustomer@wolterskluwer.com www.rfeonline.com
Nutrition Nuggets™ is reviewed by a registered dietitian. Consult a physician before beginning any major change in diet or exercise.
ISSN 1935-4630

Stir in 1 cup Greek yogurt just before serving. Enjoy over whole-grain egg noodles.

© 2017 Resources for Educators, a division of CCH Incorporated