Tips and Recipes

How to choose a healthy breakfast cereal

Walking down the cereal aisle can be overwhelming with all the options available and different cereals claiming to be healthy. Here are some tips for finding the best cereals for your family:
SUGAR

• Look at the Nutrition Facts panel on the side of the cereal box (ignore any health claims made on the front of the box), which lists the grams of sugar contained.
• Find the serving size. If a cereal says it has 10 grams of sugar and a serving size of 30 grams, that means the cereal is one-third sugar.

FIBER AND WHOLE GRAIN

• Be careful about cereals that boast it is “High in Fiber!” if they are also high in sugar. If a cereal is basically 30% sugar, it doesn’t matter much if there is some added fiber.
• Be careful about front of the box advertisement that says “Made with whole grain,” because that can mean made with very little whole grain.
• Instead, look at the actual ingredient list. The first and second ingredient should be whole grain, like whole grain wheat or whole grain oats. Typically, if you see rice or rice flour, it’s not as good for you.

OTHER THINGS TO WATCH OUT FOR:

1. Fake fruits: The “strawberries” in cereals like Strawberry Mini-Wheats are most likely a mixture of food dyes and gelatin, and not real fruit. The “raspberries” in a lot of cereals are more likely to have more salt than raspberry powder. Look for real fruit in the ingredients list, or top your cereal with sliced fresh fruit like bananas or strawberries instead.
2. Yogurt clusters: Yogurt sounds like it should be healthy, but yogurt coating is mostly oil and sugar and has no health benefits.
3. “Slimming” cereals: Some cereals claim you can drop a pant size if you eat a bowl for every meal. Most cereals can’t claim to cause weight loss, and isn’t a balanced and healthy diet to only eat cereal.
4. Low in calories: Watch out for how large the serving size is! If the serving size is ¼ cup, think about how much you fill your bowl—it’s very unlikely you’re only eating ¼ cup!

Adapted from “How to choose a healthy breakfast cereal” at CNN Health. http://www.cnn.com/2012/07/06/health/time-healthy-breakfast-cereal

Easy on the go snack–dried fruit!

Dried fruits like raisins make great snacks. They are easy to carry and store well.
Make an easy trail mix with raisins, peanuts, and whole grain cereal. Store in zip bags and keep handy for on the go snacks.

Ideas for grocery shopping with your kids

Taking your kids grocery shopping can be a great learning experience for them and get them excited about trying new foods. But it can also be a headache! Here are some tips on how to get your kids involved while decreasing stressful situations:

• If you can, plan to go to the store with your child when you have plenty of time and the store is not crowded. 
  
• Plan shopping trips when your child is not tired or hungry. Or bring a nutritious snack for them to eat during the shopping trip.
• Discuss your rules before you enter a store. Remind your child to stay close to you. Also, set ground rules about what is acceptable to put in the cart. Discussing acceptable behavior before going into the store can save a lot of headache later on.
• Give your child a job. For example, ask them to help pick out five oranges or three tomatoes. Or let them choose if you get apples or pears. Kids who help pick out fruits and vegetables are more likely to eat them. Older children may like to hold onto the grocery list and cross off the items as you put them in the cart.
• Set positive limits. When your child does something you do not want them to do, instead of reacting with a negative limit, such as “don’t throw the oranges on the floor,” tell your child what is expected in a positive way, such as “keep the oranges in the bin.”
• Make the shopping trip a learning experience. Keep kids entertained by asking them questions and having them search for items. Teach toddlers about touch by asking how different items feel, like the skin of an apple or if the milk is warm or cold. Teach preschoolers about colors by asking them to point out items of different colors like the green peas or the cereal in the yellow box. Have school-aged children look at the labels and compare items based on nutrition and unit pricing. 

What other tips can you share about shopping with kids?

Adapted from Spend Smart. Eat Smart.

How to Serve Berries

Here are a few ideas on how to serve berries:

• Put some in a plastic container to eat as a snack or lunch on-the-go
• Add to a bowl of whole grain cereal
• Make a yogurt parfait with berries, yogurt and granola
• Sprinkle on salads
• Make fruit kabobs along with other fruits such as pineapple chunks (fresh or canned), bananas and grapes
• Use as a topping for ice cream or frozen yogurt
• Make smoothies

Adapted from Spend Smart. Eat Smart.

Easy On-the-Go Breakfast Ideas

We keep hearing that breakfast is the most important meal of the day, but many people still have trouble finding time in their busy mornings to eat a nutritious breakfast.

Here are some quick grab and go ideas:

• Whole fruit, like bananas, apples and oranges. (For an even faster option, keep peeled oranges in the refrigerator in plastic baggies)
• Whole grains and peanut butter: spread 2 tablespoons of peanut butter on whole wheat bread, bagels, English muffins, or frozen waffles.
• Low fat yogurt cups.
• Fruit smoothies
• Low sugar granola bars
• Hard boiled eggs
• Leftovers: you don’t have to eat breakfast food for breakfast!