Category Archives: Nutrition

Tomorrow is National Take Your Parents to Lunch Day. What does that mean? Parents across the country will be stopping by school cafeterias to have lunch with their kids. The day — sponsored by KIWI, the School Nutrition Association, the Whole Kids Foundation, and Stonyfield was created in 2011 with the goal of opening the lines of communication between parents and schools and for parents to see firsthand what goes into their children’s lunches. This year, you might be surprised at what the cafeteria is serving. Through Michelle Obama’s championed Healthy, Hunger-Free Kid Act, higher nutrition standards have been set in place for the first time in 15 years. These standards insist that school meals offer more fruits and veggies (kids must take at least one serving per meal), only fat-free or low-fat milk, and more grains that are “whole-grain rich” (minimum of 50% of the grain is from whole … Continue reading →

What’s in a rice cake? Rice. That’s it. And my daughter has loved this healthy snack since she was two years old. Of course you have to find the right rice cake. We like Lundberg and Mother’s, brown rice or plain. Because that’s all I buy, I don’t think Sofie realizes there are such flavors as caramel corn or chocolate crunch. Be sure to check the ingredients. A good rice cake will only list rice. And maybe sea salt. Some brands include sugar, fructose, maltodextrin and other “natural flavors” in their ingredients, which takes the ‘health’ right out of a healthy snack. The Lundberg family is committed to sustainable farming and continually experiments with eco-friendly methods of pest control, water management, crop rotation and energy conservation. They even have an Egg Aid program that rescues the eggs of the wild ducks who use their rice fields as habitat in the … Continue reading →

This is the title of the chapter I’m reading from the book How Eskimos Keep Their Babies Warm And Other Adventures in Parenting by Mei-Ling Hopgood, a mother who shares research and observations on how other cultures handle child-care challenges from bedtimes (midnight in Argentina!) to potty training (12 months old in China!). Apparently France has a handle on healthy eating. I went in thinking Sofie was a good eater. She has a distinct interest in food (always asking for her next meal). Compared to some of her friends, her diet seems varied: she likes at least five different vegetables and her favorite dish is a Filipino one, chicken adobo. Then I read about these darling French children who dine regularly on steamed leeks, salmon, artichoke salad, white beans and vegetable quiche. They eagerly choose this food themselves. No parent is standing over them saying, “Finish your dinner if you … Continue reading →

Fresh milk delivery to your home is such a quaint concept to me (reminiscent of a tune-filled Doris Day scene from Send Me No Flowers). Of the four states I’ve lived in, Rhode Island is the only one in which I discovered this nostalgic concept to actually be a thriving business. And while I have not been a part of it, last week I came home to find two bottles of milk on our front doorstep. I immediately assumed the delivery was intended for a neighbor, but I was wrong. The handwritten note attached to the glass bottles had my name on it. I’m not sure how he found me, but Steve the Milkman wanted me to try some free samples. Awesome! We are a milk-consuming household — this was going to save us a few bucks and an extra trip to the grocery store. The milk (even the low-fat … Continue reading →

In the grocery store the other day, a woman was food shopping with her two granddaughters. When she tossed a box of macaroni and cheese into their cart, the older girl - not more than seven years old — piped up: “Is it organic?” The grandmother looked a bit taken aback but was eventually able to find her way to the Annie’s organic mac n’ cheese, a box the girl recognized and was satisfied with. Myself, I was impressed with the girl’s request. I wanted to ask her if she knew what “organic” meant and why it was better for her or if she was just mimicking the word from her parents. Still, I liked the fact that she used the word and exhibited a preference for organic macaroni - it certainly wasn’t a word I knew at age seven. These days, we try to buy as much organic food … Continue reading →