Childhood Nutrition

girl The value of good childhood nutrition can't be understated. Less than 2% of kids meet government guidelines for a healthy diet, and over 15% of them are now overweight, while many more are at risk. This is a sentinal for many life-threatening diseases later in life like cancer, stroke, heart disease, diabetes, and hypertension. But, if you're like most people, you may feel flooded with information about how to decrease the risks of developing these health problems. Stop being carried away by this flood and start steering your own boat!.

We've all heard about the increase in childhood obesity and diabetes. Here's a good look at the trends from ChildStats.gov

You're probably saying, "Great, but my kids won't eat food that's good for them!" Believe it or not there are many, many recipes that kids do enjoy that are good for them. Meal Mixer makes it easy for you to find them by allowing its members to rate recipes for themselves and their kids! Now you can prepare great food for you and your spouse, and your kids.

Every health professional will tell you that, by far, the three most important things you can do to keep you and your family fit and out of harm's way are to eat sensibly, maintain a healthy weight, and exercise regularly.

Getting regular exercise does not have to be hard. You and your kids can do simple things like walking 20 minutes/day, playing a sport, or swimming regularly.

Less than 2% of US kids meet government guidelines for a healthy diet.
15% of US children are obese (CDC)
80% of US children don't eat enough fruits and vegetables (CDC)
Kids eat 2 times as many calories in restaraunts than at home meals (AHA)
Eating out cost, on average, twice as much as eating in
Shopping without a plan causes poor food decisions, more time, and higher cost

How To Feed Your Family Healthfully

There are a few tried-and-true guidelines you should adhere to for good family heath:

Have a plan. This is the single most important thing you can do. Without a plan you'll not be in control of what you buy, what you prepare, and how much your family consumes.
Serve plenty of fruits and vegetables. They help prevent against heart attack, stoke, and cancer. They lower blood pressure, prevent diverticulitis, and guard against cataracts. We'll let you know how many fruits and veggies you've planned for, reminding you to add when you're short on these vital meal time ingredients.
Eat whole grains. They have a lower glycemic index and therefore don't spike insulin, so they protect against diabetes and obesity. They also help protect against heart disease and GI track problems, and may also help to protect against many types of cancer.
Eat unsaturated fat. That's right, eat fat, but eat the right kind of fat. Unsaturated fat will actually help protect against heart disease. Good sources are vegetable fats and fish.
Stay away from saturated and trans-fats. These increase LDL (bad cholesterol) and decrease HDL (good cholesterol), thereby increasing the risk of heart disease. There may also be benefits in decreasing the risk of cancer.
Maintain a healthy weight. This is key to long-term health and well-being. A good weight (Body Mass Index between 18 and 25) results in more energy and decreases the risk of heart disease. Yo-Yo dieting is very unhealthy. Getting to and maintaining a healthy weight throughout life is extremely important to overall well-being..
Drink plenty of water. Water will keep energy levels high, decreases caloric intake (people often mistake hunger for thirst), and flush body of waste. Stay away from soda, although they may taste good, they'll spike insulin levels which will lead to hunger, and they needlessly add to caloric intake.

It's Harder Than It Sounds...Get Help

Most people know the rules, but far too few have the time to follow them because it takes a consistent plan to pull it all together, and until Meal Mixer, making such a plan was far too difficult to deal with. Without a plan, you'll:

Have no clue what to buy when you're at the grocery store
Forget what to eat even if you have the right food
Buy and eat impulsively
Get bored with the few good recipes you can remember how to shop for and cook

If you could simply, quickly, and easily plan meals that you and your family will enjoy, and all of your meals (even the "unhealthy" ones) fit into a healthy weekly plan, and you could do this all while saving time and money, you and your family would be healthy for the rest of their life! This is what Meal Mixer offers.

In just a few minutes each week, Meal Mixer makes it simple for you to:

Get a complete meal plan that fulfills your dietary needs for weight loss or maintenance, and that matches your taste
Use our recipes or yours to create a great variety of meals
Get a shopping list made for you so you'll have what you need on hand, and save you money in the process
Not worry about what's for dinner

Simple. That's what Meal Mixer is all about. To try it for yourself!

More Thyme: 1. more flavorful meals 2. a longer life through better nutrition 3. more time for other important things in your life.