the good better best path

“Best” varies. It differs among our Smart Foods Healthy Kids families, and in my own home, “best” is not what it was even a few months ago. That’s why we focus on the “Good Better Best Path,” supporting every access route and speed we can! What’s right for me now, might not be right for you now. Or a year from now…

There are many healthy ideas, though, that are worth looking at: new research or old wisdom might make a big difference for you and your family. Here are a few Smart Foods Healthy Kids 101 pointers to get you started on your own Good Better Best Path.

food

I didn’t believe it when read that people no longer on junk food actually crave healthy food, not candy bars or (in my case) cookie dough. But it is true, so don’t be shocked (like many of my students) when your child asks for the asparagus from your plate, or when she turns up her nose at a drugstore candy bar (“It feels like wax, Mom!”), and asks for a piece of dark chocolate, or some Smart Foods’ chocolate chip cookie dough. Sounds crazy, but it just happens. Email me and let me know when you feel the shift in your family. (I love all the turn-arounds from “my child would NEVER eat…” situations!)

I think food should be as fresh and as close to its original form as possible for our bodies to get the most nutrients available. And variety is key. That said, there’s always room for a cookie! (Of course, mine don’t have white sugar or wheat.)

recipes

The recipes on our website aren’t “gourmet” by any stretch. If I can throw ingredients in a pot and forget about it for the day, it gets made around here. Better yet, if I can get away without cooking (either serving raw or reheating “bonus food” from another meal, the dish goes way up in my esteem and makes it to my table frequently.

If a recipe takes more than two bowls’ worth of cleaning, I seldom garner the enthusiasm to make it. My twin goal (besides being healthy!) is always to make foods as simple to prepare (which for me includes minimal clean-up) and as kid-friendly as possible. Not every child will like every recipe of course, but every recipe in our repertoire has been kid-approved at some level (and not just by my own kids who actually eat raw broccoli with our best sauce ever).

calories

Contrary to most recipe sources, you won’t hear much about calories from me. As a nation, we’ve been focusing on calories for years, and we’re the fattest we’ve ever been. Perhaps we’ve been pointing our flashlight in the wrong corner. If habits insist on you counting something, let that something be fiber grams, or servings of daily fruits and veggies (hardly anyone gets the recommended five to nine servings a day). I challenge anyone to get nine helpings of produce daily and still be concerned about weight (or heart problems, or diabetes, or any of these food-provoked modern illnesses).

ingredients

I guarantee you’ll meet some new ingredients through Smart Foods Healthy Kids. Don’t be afraid of them! In fact, they may just become your new best friends. By exchanging things like white table sugar and hydrogenated oils for agave nectar and coconut oil you’ll improve the health of your whole family (now and for the long-term). And though I can’t guarantee it for you, I bet you’ll end up skinnier (that’s just a natural side effect of what happens when people switch out sugar-coated neon breakfast crunchies for real food, like quinoa and hempseed).

going organic

There are about five zillion reasons to go organic, ranging from better taste and about 30% more antioxidant power on average, to less pollution on the planet. But the number one reason I can think of is our health and the health of our children. One of my students switched to organic foods, and got her period on a regular basis for the first time in years (pesticides can be hormone disruptors); the week after one student switched to organic milk, she ended her long struggle with eczema…the benefits list is pretty darn long, so I suggest and hope you use organic whenever possible.

Since organic food is currently more expensive at the checkout stand than the stuff doused in chemicals, sometimes a trade-off or two is necessary (see the Environmental Working Group’s list of the most and least pesticided produce to help in decision-making). However, from a broader view than the grocery bill as you swipe your card, you’ll be able to find organic savings that might surprise you. Your son might stop wheezing when you start using non-toxic laundry detergent, or household cleaners. In our family’s case, we pay VERY LOW (relatively speaking) health insurance rates because our blood, weight, etc. all looked so good to the insurance company (a feat I mainly attribute to healthy organic eating).

food allergies

Our recipes all highlight their “freeness:” gluten-free, dairy-free, etc., (no recipe calls for wheat) which will make them valuable for the increasing number of people dealing with food allergies. Unlike many allergy-focused recipes, however, mine do not try to emulate the highly-processed, highly-sweetened foods that made us fat and unhealthy in the first place (there, I said it, kind of rude, but it’s really how I feel.) OK, so we all want a traditional sweet thing every now and then, but if someone in your family is allergic to something, use that bodily message as a fabulous opportunity to upgrade. If allergies are involved, there’s a chance that immunity has been compromised, which is all the more reason to eat healthy WHOLE foods!

By the way, congratulations to you if you’re a parent who has figured out your child’s allergy status. It’s not always easy to do, but the sooner you discover and make adjustments, the sooner your child can thrive to his or her fullest potential!!!

environment

My master’s degree in public policy focused on international environmental matters. In my subsequent environmental work, I traveled over much of the globe learning things about chemicals I wish I could download into everyone’s brain cells. If you’d seen what I’ve seen, you’d be trying your darndest to limit your use and exposure—and your family’s—to chemicals.

Sure, sometimes it seems a little over-reactionary to bother over one extra plastic bottle on the planet, or a few chemicals in a sport drink…“What’s the biggie?” If one were the real number, it wouldn’t be a biggie. But these days, exposure comes in bigger doses than we even know about. And because of their size and developing metabolism, kids are even more affected by the “doses.” So, as a mother, I try to limit what I can—in my home, in my kids’ food, and while thinking about the planet my kids are going to inherit from me and a few gazillion other people.

learning

People learn in different ways, so we’ve got info available for those who need to watch, read, or hear. And even then, everything might not sink in all at once. You might watch a video once, and then, six months later when you watch it again, it may seem completely new to you, since you’ll have so much more context!

I recently received an email from a mother who said, “I’m learning lots about healthy things and say repeatedly to my husband that, ‘Kelly told me that 10 years ago. If only I’d been ready to hear it then…’” To which I say, “Better late than too late,” and I’m glad you have found your way to Smart Foods Healthy Kids!

shopping

I’m not a big shopper, but since everything I need doesn’t grow on trees in my backyard, I do the inevitable. And as long as we need to buy stuff, it’s a good idea to buy as conscientiously as possible (particularly if we have kids who will inherit our trash-o-rama leftovers). For instance, I try to buy my foods in bulk, when possible, storing things in my own reusable glass containers. The practice reduces not only my cost, but packaging, shipping costs (which translates into reduced use of non-renewable petroleum) and space in landfills. (I’ve noticed that our family-of-four trash bin is usually only half-full for its weekly pick-up.)

And more good news, eco-conscious shopping can be beautiful and stylish (Jackie, our Style Guru, initially feared going organic because she thought she’d have to stop wearing make-up and cute clothes!) These days there are lots of great options for clothes, furniture and even cars that are big improvements over their predecessors.

fun, family and friends

Food should be a celebration, not a drudgery! If you’re on the Path, and an old habit wrapped in plastic and filled with trans fat pushes you off, don’t fret. Enjoy the moment! And when you go to friends’ homes, just take a healthy dish with you to share, and remember not to lecture about unhealthy things (disclaimer: I am still learning this one, but don’t “they” say we teach best that which we most need to learn?”)

Of course, you’ll be tempted to share what you know, especially once you stop getting colds, or start getting thinner, but just remember that “force creates resistance,” so deliciously share what you know via a cup of soup, or a beautiful potted plant!