Healthier Eating

You may wish to pick up a copy of "The Eat-Clean Diet" by Tosca Reno. It is a great clean-eating primer with fantastic nutritional guidance. She also has a book for children. Finally, both books are chock full of recipes.

You will not fix her gut issues until you find out what's causing them. Usually dairy and or wheat. Gluten free-Casein free (GFCF) study it and make those changes for her well being and behavior. If you don't want to mess with diet, an alternative is NAET treatment. I can tell you it worked for me, my daughters and about 50 other people I know. Go on NAET.com and find a dr.

You should see if you insurance would pay for a nutritionist, you might be able to get a referral from your doctor due to your daughters digestive issues or your health issues etc.

That being said you do not need to go vegetatian to have healthy meals (nothing against it - but we are omnivores). Not sure about your medical issues, but it is not as difficult as it seems to have a low cholesterol / low sodium diet.

As far as organic - I use Organic milk and buy all of my thin skinned fruit organic (bananas, oranges etc. have thikerskins and are peeled so the pesticdes are not so much of an issue). Stores by me do sell organic meats, but they tend to be expensive. Purdue chicken has no hormones or steriods added so I usually go with that.

A simple chicken dish - Prehat your oven to 350 and spray a baking dish with PAM take a package of boneless chicken breast, dip them in a mixture of mayo and cider vinegar just to coat then put coat them in bread crumbs, place the pieces in the pan. By the time you get the pieces coated your oven should be heated, bake them for 45 minutes to hour (internal temp of 170 F) .

SIde dishes are a little more difficult - stay away from white rice. Using canola oit of olive oil you can do a quick an easy stir fry. Another ish my husband loves is Spinach with Pignoli nuts and garlic. Toast in a large pan with some olive oil about 1/4 of nuts (stir often), when they start to brown and minced garlic (fresh is best, keep stiring) and when the garlic starts to brown as well add about 1/2 lb - 1 lb of par-cooked chopped spinach (easiest is to nuke the contents of a bag of frozen spinach for a couple of minutes). Make sure there is enough oil to coat, sprinkle liberaly with nutmeg and add salt and pepper to taste (you only need a little salt, no more than 1/4 tsp kosher salt). Misx well (no spinach clumps) and serve.

Also check out all recipes.com!

Good luck!

Hi T.,
Great that you are trying to get your family healthier. No offense to some, but they are morons if they think it's difficult to get enough protein on a vegetarian diet. America is the fattest and least healthy countries in the world and eats WAY too much protein. Did you know that too much protein causes your body to leach calcium from your bones? So does eating dairy products as our human bodies are not meant to consume and digest the mammary excretions of a cow, we are not calfs! Also, there is a difference between animal protein (flesh that rots in your intestines for weeks and causes long term damage as cancers, etc) and non animal protein which quickly and easily goes through your body. Most vegans (no dairy or eggs in addition to no animal flesh) eat too much protein too. If your family enjoys 'meaty' stuff get this stuff called gardein which is a vegan alternative to the carcass. For your child that has digestive issues I suggest getting off gluten too. Introduce things slowly if you want. Tempeh is awesome and sooooooooo nutritious. It can be marinated with almond butter or tamari (remember no soy sauce as it's not gluten free) and thrown over rice and veggies. There are some great cookbooks out there. I belong to a yahoo group online that is called vegan and gluten free, you can get some recipes and great info there. Some cookbook suggestions: vegan lunch box (I don't love it as it's mostly junky food and processed but can help to start out, esp for kids). I really like any books by tanya Barnard and Sarah Kramer one is called How it all Vegan! A really nice book is The Gluten-Free Vegan by Susan O'Brien
You can check out some books at the library too.
If you need some more help, let me know, I'd be glad to help!
Peace

It sounds like you and I grew up the same way! Now when my parents come to visit, they can't wait to see what I'll throw together. My husband and I have had a lot of fun experimenting in the kitchen over the years, and our boys are not all that fond of experimenting, either. We've had to experiment within some pretty narrow boundaries.

Here are my hints and tricks:
1. Always make at least one thing that is familiar. It makes it easier for the kids to try the new things if they have something that they know they like.
2. FInd a cookbook you are comfortable with. The two that I absolutely LOVE are "How to Cook Everything" (it's very easy with step-by-step instructions) and "The Joy of Cooking" (the authors explain everything, ingredient-wise, so you learn a lot as you cook).
3. If you can, watch some of the Food Network shows. Their food tends to be pretty healthy. I am a particular fan of "Good Eats" with Alton Brown. The Food Network website (www.foodnetwork.com) will also bring you to a "Good Eats" section of the website.
4. Check out your local library. They usually have some great cookbooks there, and you don't have to make the commitment of buying something that you may or may not use.
5. Find someone whose cooking you would like to emulate. Ask to make a few meals together to find out how they do it.

Above all, good luck, and have a great time cooking for your family! It is a learning curve, but it is so worth it!

There is so much information out there these days on nutrition, supplements etc that it can be overwhelming. Often they contradict themselves as well which only makes it more confusing. I hear you!!!

After lots of exploring myself, I've come back to basics - balanced meals with fruits and vegetables and grains and a good source of protein. I cut out as much processed sugars as possible, I don't eat much bread at all (although I LOVE it). I stay away almost entirely from processed foods. It's entirely possible to eat healthy, keeping it simple and tasty too. Maybe you can get them on board and send them on the internet to a recipe site like RecipeZaar or Food.com and ask them to find one or two yummy recipes they would like to try. It's worth a try.

I look forward to other responses for cookbooks or whatever. - A great question!

---Yes - JuicePlus is great!!! But I think it's still important to balance it with good, balanced eating otherwise you're still putting a lot of junk in your system.

I have found some big changes in our family by giving up processed foods (look for things with short lists, no chemicals, etc.), limiting dairy, and limiting gluten. For dairy you can do soy, almond coconut milk/ice cream/yogurt. For gluten, try rice pasta and spelt bread (spelt still has gluten but is more easily digestible). The rice pasta we like is http://www.tinkyada.com/ Some of the others we tried had a funny texture. Good luck! You can message me if you have other questions. I've really noticed a big change in my girls (2 and 3)

If you are interested in a vegetarian lifestyle but your family isn't into experimenting, you could be in for a big battle. An alternative approach would be to modify your current eating habits one step at a time. Pick something you want to change and concentrate on that for a week or two. Then pick another thing to change and concentrate on that. Form good habits one by one. For example, aim to have one serving of fruit and one serving of veggies at every meal. Once you are doing that consistently, take one of your favorite pre-packaged meals and research how to make it from scratch. Then serve healthy smoothies for dessert instead of cakes and cookies.

Here are some websites I go to for recipes
http://www.eatbetteramerica.com/
http://lowfatcooking.about.com/
http://www.jamieoliver.com/ (I really liked his TV show this past spring and liked his approach to working with kids and getting them to change their eating habits)

Best wishes to you!

I would try kraft.com for some ideas.
But most of all I would highly suggest
Juice plus for you and your family.
If you want more wonderful information on it, please feel free to send me a personal message and I would be happy to give you more info.

Live well.
= )

I love my CookingLight cook books - pretty much all 5 ingredient/ 15 minute recipes and most important - pictures so i know what i'm cooking is supposed to turn out looking like!
Changing your diet for the better is great but be sure to watch the serving sizes, too. I can cook healthy for my husband all day everyday but if he is eating twice the serving size - it doesn't help! Also take vitamins and drink lots of water - an easy way to help you do this is keep a 24 ounce bottle with you all day and refill it at least twice a day so you know your getting in at least 72 oz - this will help you feel full after smaller portions and is very good for your body. Going vegetarian is not always the best way to go to get healthy - especially if you don't know exactly what your doing - it's very easy to not get enough of very needed protein in your diet and a vegetarian diet also leans itself to you still eating mac and cheese and lots of other pastas - all which are not great for you in large quantities. Seeing a nutritionist who specializes in one of the diets your interested in would be beneficial I'm sure.
However, i would try out some healthier recipes first before doing anything as drastic as going vegetarian :oD

I agree with Joanne that you should really invest in seeing a dietician - even if insurance doesn't cover the cost. You'll easily spend the same amount in cookbooks as you will paying the full cost to see a Registered Dietician at your local hospital.

Joanne's advice was really good - you want to avoid prepackaged foods as much as possible because they're loaded with fat, sodium, and carbs to make them last longer.

Eating healthy can be really easy, and I'd recommend starting with a cookbook from the American Diabetes Association. Because people with diabetes - both type 1 and type 2 - often have heart disease, the diets are low sodium, definitely lower carb, and tend to focus on heart-healthy fats.
The American Heart Association is also a great place to look for recipe ideas.

I'm a full-time working Mom, and I make dinner from scratch every night. It doesn't have to be fancy to be healthy. Two nights ago we did kabobs on the grill: steak, zucchini, peppers, onions, mushrooms + whole wheat egg noodles and fresh fruit. Last night was ham & cheese sandwiches with cucumbers and fruit.

You should just focus on having as many fresh ingredients as possible, avoid frying, and use frozen vegetables (not canned) when you can't get good produce at the stores.
There is still a lot of debate on what kinds of fats are healthiest. Diets rich in Omega-3 fatty acids are good for helping cardiovascular health - interestingly, it's believed today that butter is better than margarine.

Here are a few websites for you:
American Dietetic Association: http://www.eatright.org/
American Diabetes Association: http://www.diabetes.org/
American Heart Association: http://www.heart.org/HEARTORG/

Good luck!

You've gotten tons of good suggestions here. :) Here's my 2 cents:

If you're concerned about organic/non-organic, check out these:
* The "dirty dozen" -- aka the most pesticide laden fruits/veggies that you should try to buy organic if you can; and the "clean 15" -- 15 fruits & veggies you don't need to buy organic:
http://www.cnn.com/2010/HEALTH/06/01/dirty.dozen.produce....
(if the link didn't come through, just search "clean 15 fruits vegetables" and "dirty dozen fruits vegetables")

We keep fruits & veggies on hand for snacks between meals. No chips in the house, and usually no cookies/chocolate/ice cream. For "desserts" we have pudding, or make our own smoothies or popsicles with fruits (If you want the smoothie recipe, let me know).

Use whole wheat for everything you can (if you're not wheat sensitive)--whole wheat noodles & pasta, whole wheat bread, bagels, tortillas, etc. Substitute brown rice for white rice -- they now make an instant brown rice that has been a lifesaver for us, since we use a lot of rice. We buy the big bags of ww pasta at GFS & save $. :)

Read labels. Even if you're buying prepackaged food. Compare 2 brands and/or the generic--you might be surprised at the difference in sodium/fat when you compare. So at least if you're going to buy prepackaged, you can choose the better options.

Buy frozen veggies/fruit instead of canned, if you can't find fresh or don't have the fridge space for fresh. The frozen veggies section is a treasure trove, IMO. Just make sure you check the ingredients--I was very surprised to learn that some frozen peas have added salt! But for the most part frozen veggies are far and away more nutritious than their canned counterparts.

If you do buy canned veggies, especially beans, rinse them very thoroughly to remove as much salt as possible. For whatever reason, I'm challenged when it comes to cooking beans, so I do admit to buying canned black beans sometimes.... But cooking from scratch is cheaper, no salt is involved, and you can freeze cooked beans very easily.

I use a crockpot a lot (frequently 2 times a week). For good crockpot recipes, I like the cookbook: Better Homes and Gardens the Ultimate Slow Cooker Book. The version I have (it's not the newest) has a section of recipes for 5 ingredients, and another on skillet recipes).

We occasionally cook vegetarian and when we do, I like to try recipes from http://vegweb.com/.

We sure can relate. This is why we created the Family Food Experts and Kid Kritics taste test programs. Go to www.KidKritics.com. Afterwards, please email me with your questions. Happy to help you mom... for the health of your family, E. (family food mom!)

WestonPrice has a cookbook Nourishing Traditions- inexpensive food that is super health, and the book is a fun read.
best, k

Hi T., I run the Cherab Foundation and we have many children who have digestive issues. Please be very careful with any restrictive diets especially with growing children as if not done with medical supervision the side effects of some of these diets (such as cutting out dairy) can lead to weak brittle bones, small statue and obesity according to studies. I highly recommend looking to add essential nutrients through whole food sources. Fish oils for one (our group uses nordic naturals if you are in the US -if in the UK EyeQ is a good formula -or Coromega if looking for a good pure Omega 3) I have more below about a product that contains ALL of the essential amino acids and nutrients per serving- it was for someone looking for more info with pros and cons how to be involved with a fundraiser we are doing with the company behind it. Please let me know if you have any questions! But PS- here are some serving suggestions http://pursuitofresearch.org/serving_suggestions.html

I live in Florida too and I run the nonprofit Cherab Foundation. I am working with the Zrii corporation which makes healthy whole food products that combine the wisdom of both eastern and western medicine which are formulated and endorsed by the very well respected Dr. Deepak Chopra. We have been using it as a fundraiser \in our nonprofit and the feedback from both parents and professionals has been beyond belief. Our site is http://www.pursuitofresearch.org You only spend the amount of time you want to spend, it currently costs just 24.95 to be a distributor and you just purchase whatever products you need, and most I know are making between hundreds and thousands a month part time and I work with a few people making well over one hundred fifty thousand dollars a month. I like Zrii because it's founded by Mr. Bill Farley, a man who has been a multi billionaire since the 80s http://www.meetbillfarley.com who is respected as one of the top business icons of all times. Please feel free to call me for more info ###-###-#### so you can see if this is something for you. I seriously can't think of a downside. It's lucrative, fun and extremely rewarding. If you read some of the testimonies here you'll see why as this is just a few of our almost across the board results http://pursuitofresearch.org/testimonials.html and if you wanted to be in touch with any of these parents or professionals just let me know.

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Look for recipes that are Mediterranean style. They are low fat, very healthy, and don’t have too crazy ingredients. You don't have to invest in a cook book...just check out foodtv web site or www.epicurious.com web sites (search by Mediterranean key word). You can use organic ingredients. If you shop whole foods or other organic store…you and try to shop the perimeter of the store for fresh and healthy items to replace first to avoid the mutiny! Good luck!