A Healthy Monday Start to the End-of-School Marathon

From our friends at Healthy Monday…

It’s the 4^th Monday of June and, if you’re the parent of young kids, chances are your life is a shambles right now.

As the school year races to an end, you may be adjusting to a new schedule, planning a trip or a stay at home vacation, getting the kids ready for camp, or frantically searching for child care you can trust and afford.  It’s stressed-out times like these when parents often find themselves relying for dinner – and maybe even breakfast – on the closest, cheapest purveyor of fast food – aka hi-fat, hi-sugar, sodium-infused junk.

Take heart.  Even if you’re barely eating at home these days, you don’t have to throw in the towel on your kids’ nutrition.  Take a breath, consider the week ahead, and spend just a few minutes rethinking your concepts of “convenience” and “fast food.” Most importantly, rethink your beliefs about what your children will eat.

In a survey that’s been done repeatedly since 1976 – that is, for more than 30 years – the most recent data collected shows that, while fat-, sugar- and-calorie-laden foods such as burgers, fries and cola remain popular with kids eating out, healthier selections are gaining ground with this age group.

Specifically, for the year ending March 31^st, cola consumption was down 10 percent among children under 13, chicken nuggets consumption was down 8 percent and French fries down by 7 percent.  More impressive is that the number of kids choosing soup rose by 29 percent, those opting for yogurt rose 21 percent, those choosing carrots rose by 9 percent and the number of children who picked fruit while eating out rose by 6 percent.

As the New York Times points out, while small, “these trends bolster an argument that children’s health researchers have made for years: if you offer more healthful food, kids will eat it.”

So, as you begin a new week knowing you’ll be feeding the kids while racing between all the maddening activities you’ve got on your plate, think about the convenience of cut up carrots and bell peppers, low-fat microwave popcorn, or reduced fat cheese strings thrown in a zip lock bag.  Imagine how much your kids will enjoy fresh, cold skim milk or ice water from a reusable thermos in an overheated car or on the playground.  Consider low fat yogurt or unsweetened applesauce cups (don’t forget the spoons!),  grapes, peanut butter and jelly on whole grain bread, rice cakes, dried dates – all healthy choices that kids love.

And if you do head off to the nearest fast food joint – look for new options on the menu.  According to the Times, Burger King is now selling apples sliced to look like French fries!  If that’s not responding to consumer demand for better choices, I don’t know what is.