Print |
E-mail to a friend
NEWS
Get Healthy Tri-State: Make food prep a family affair
HURRICANE, W.Va. -- With school back in session, parents and kids alike are scrambling to get up and out the door on time in the early morning rush. As a result, good nutrition is often a priority pushed lower down the list. That's why planning ahead and paying attention to food choices is an important habit to develop early in the school year.
Kimberly Hairston, clinical registered dietitian at CAMC Teays Valley Hospital, says though it's often human nature, when it comes to breakfast, you should try to avoid grabbing those quick and easy prepackaged items unless they're something nutritious you've prepared ahead yourself.
"Usually with breakfast ideas, parents need to be the really good role models and follow their own suggestions," Hairston said.
Since kids mimic adult behavior, if parents make poor food choices, chances are their children will too, she added.
Hairston says the best way to keep everyone on track and thinking healthy is by making meal prep a family affair.
"If you get the kids involved in making their own breakfast, lunch and snacks, they're likely to eat what they've prepared," she said.
When everyone works together, Hairston says, kids get in the habit of doing something quick and easy but nutritious at the same time.
Hairston says there are some easy ideas to replace the traditional Pop-Tart, such as a banana dipped in low-fat yogurt rolled in crushed cereal, whole grain waffles with yogurt and fruit slices or scrambled eggs and cheese rolled up inside a tortilla shell.
Snack ideas can be as simple as graham crackers and apple sauce, pita pockets with Granny Smith apple slices, Ricotta cheese and a dash of cinnamon or a creation called "inside out sandwiches" where lunch meats and/or cheese are wrapped around a Sesame breadstick.
