Vim & Vigor - Winter 2019 - CH - 13

GETTING KIDS TO EAT
HEALTHFUL FOODS

Times. "We'll eat brown rice, not white.
Pop-Tarts used to be a regular thing,
but if I opened the box, I'd probably
finish it all. Keeping it out of the house
is the key."
But even Brown leaves room in his
healthy diet for the occasional indulgence.
"[I eat] carbs at the top of the day,
more vegetables than anything else,
lean protein and good fat, like avocado,
olive oil and DHA [a type of healthy
fatty acid]," he told People. "However,
Sunday brunch, anything goes."
Rebecca Scritchfield, RDN, author
of Body Kindness: Transform Your
Health from the Inside Out-and Never
Say Diet Again, recommends making
time for family meals, too. She suggests aiming for seven family meals
a week-and being flexible with the
defi nition of family meal. It could
be one parent and one child or the
whole family.
"People get really busy," she says.
"Even if you grab something from the
grocery store or a restaurant and bring
it home and eat on plates, that can
count as a family meal."

Get Moving-
with the Kids

Brown says his abs don't come from
spending every waking hour at
the gym.
Instead, he says, they come from
flexibility-with his schedule.
"I try to get something in five days
a week," Brown told People. "My work
schedule doesn't always accommodate
my workout schedule, but I make do
with what time I've got."
Brown's workouts have quite a bit of
variety, too.
He said he tones his abs with a
workout based on P90X's Ab Ripper
X exercises.
"I love basketball because it's social,
and you're not even thinking about
working out-you're just playing a
game and getting great exercise at the
same time," he told People. "I also run,

Kids can be picky. Try two basic strategies to help put your
entire family on the healthy eating team.
1. Weave regular family meals into your routine.
"Research shows children who eat regular family dinners
tend to consume more fruits, vegetables, vitamins and micronutrients, as well as fewer fried foods and soft drinks," says
Julie Santana, a dietitian at St. Catherine Hospital.
Consistent family dinners have been found to reduce symptoms in certain medical disorders such as asthma. Children who
eat regular family meals are less likely to be obese as adults.
"You don't have to cook a gourmet meal," Santana says.
"Keeping it simple is OK. Providing a variety of nutritious foods
is the key."
2. Recruit your kids to help cook. This will give them more
ownership in the meal and make them more likely to eat whatever nutritious dish you've made together.
Try something simple like macaroni with real cheese. Instead
of baking a cake, make granola bars with cranberries, oats, flaxseed and nuts for a high-energy snack. Keep a pitcher of water
in your refrigerator that is infused with cucumber and mint or
lemon as an alternative to soda or sweetened drinks.

APPOINTMENTS

See a Dietitian
Call Community Hospital at
219-703-1560, St. Catherine
Hospital at 219-392-7060
or St. Mary Medical Center
at 219-947-6063 for information about dietary evaluations by a registered dietitian
and consultation fees.

swim, bike, lift, do yoga. I just try
to do something to sweat at least an
hour a day."
And Brown doesn't work out
alone. He told the Los Angeles Times
that he likes to take his son to exercise
with him.
"I'll push him just enough to
where he wants to come back and
do it again. We'll go to a park with a

one-third-mile track," he said. "I'll
say, 'OK, big boy, I'm going to give
you a 30-second head start. Then,
Daddy's going to go all out to try
to catch you.' And he takes off. He's
fast. Sometimes I catch him, sometimes I don't."
Either way, Brown says, his son learns
the importance of exercise.
"I try to expose him to fitness at an
early age-not just to sports-but what
it means to live a healthy lifestyle,"
Brown told the Los Angeles Times. "That
way, although he may not be able to
play sports the rest of his life ... he can
always take care of himself."
So, as Brown models a healthy lifestyle, his kids follow his example of
incorporating healthy habits into their
own lives.
You can do it, too. By taking care
of yourself-drinking plenty of water,
choosing healthful foods and working out-you can show your kids that
healthy habits are part of the family. ■
WINTE R 2019

Vim & Vigor - Winter 2019 - CH

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