Kids
June 2010
Easy To Grow Easy Summer Veg with Kids
Already growing your summer veg? Keep reading for our 5-Minute Raw Recipe Idea
Gardening and growing things is both educational and healthy for children, they love to get involved with growing their own plants and produce. By encouraging them to grow plants, herbs, fruits and flowers at home, teaches them how plants are vital for life and the planet, and also gives a sense of responsibility by actually looking after them.
A garden is not essential either, as lots of lovely fruit and plants can be grown in pots in a back yard, or herbs in a window box.
Easy to grow vegetable ideas
A great way to get kids to eat their ‘greens’ is to involve them in growing them.
Grow bags are ideal, mainly for plants that don’t have deep roots, such as tomatoes, cucumbers, sweet peppers, chilli peppers, aubergines and courgettes. Just plant two to three plants in each bag during spring.
Tomatoes
Tomatoes are a real delight and are very easy to grow. You can easily buy a plant ready to go straight into the grow bag, where they will grow well, but make sure that they get lots of water. Tomatoes are an excellent source of Vitamin C and lycopene.
Courgettes
Grow into a large wide plant with very prickly leaves. The large yellow flower becomes the courgette, and if left longer – a marrow. This plant needs regular watering. Courgettes can be eaten raw, in slices or grated.
Cress
This is a great one for kids. The seeds can be grown indoors on a few sheets of tissue (unbleached is best) or in a little compost. You can also use a sprouting / germinating jar – which is great for sprouting seeds such as cress, lentils, beans etc.
The grown sprouts can be sprinkled on top of a salad, vegetables or go nicely in a sandwich.
Quick 5-minute raw recipe
Ingredients:
multi-coloured raw pasta
1x courgette
1x Carrot
1x large tomato
A handful of cress
Olive oil
Salt
- Top and tail both the courgette and carrot
- Use a vegetable parer and peel the courgette length ways
- Do the same with a carrot
- Chop the tomato
- Mix with Raw Pasta strips
- Drizzle a little olive oil and add a pinch of salt
- Sprinkle cress over the top
And there you have a fantastic ‘proud grower of vegetables’ meal for one.
This is such a good opportunity to spend some precious time with the children and get them involved in gardening. And as they get a chance to take in some fresh air, they will also learn more about the environment and nature at work.
Useful Starter Kits:
Biosnacky Starter Pack Organic Seeds
May 2010
Kids & Obesity – Top Reasons UK’s Children Are Getting Bigger & How We Can Prevent It
Obesity is a medical term used to describe children or adults who carry 20 per cent extra body weight.
This extra weight can cause serious health problems if not treated at an early stage; being obese can cause problems such as arthritis, cancer, heart disease, stroke, diabetes and depression.
Childhood obesity is growing in the UK!
As adults, we have the freedom to make choices around all aspects of our lifestyle, and as adults we are fully responsible for what happens in our lives – at all times.
Our children however, are at the behest of our choices and lifestyle, and we, as parents need to take that responsibility onboard.
Fact One: Three in ten boys and girls are classed as being either overweight or obese and 10% of children in Reception and 18% in Year 6 were classified as obese in 2007/08 (NHS Report 2009)
Fact Two: The latest Health Survey for England (HSE) data shows that in 2008, 61.4% of adults (aged 16 or over), and 27.3% of children (aged 2-10) in England were overweight or obese, of these, 24.5% of adults and 13.9% of children were obese. (UK Governement Report 2009)
Unhealthy diet and a lack of physical activity are the main causes of childhood obesity:
- Non nutritious, high fat and sugar content foods and drinks, such as sweets, crisps, fizzy drinks, processed and fast food are cheap and readily available to children – particularly when we buy them!
- Physical activity plays a lessening part of most children’s day. With some children never walking or cycling to school or playing any sport; instead they’ve substituted that time by spending many hours on the computer or in front of the TV.
- If there is a family history of being overweight or obese, it’s the shared eating and activity habits which are the highest contributing factors in obesity in children.
How can I prevent or turn around obesity in my child?
Change eating habits and encourage your child to eat a variety of nutritious foods -
- Lead by example:
- Do not buy high-fat, high-sugar snack foods or drinks
- Buy healthy snacks such as Trail Mixes, Raw Chocolate, Goji Berries or make nutritious smoothies with Raw Cacao, Bee Pollen, and fresh fruit
- Provide fresh homemade meals, and snacks at regular times to prevent ‘grazing’ throughout the day
- Don’t make outings for fast food
- Instead get your child involved in shopping, cooking or preparing food this will engage them with different types of food
- Encourage your child to grow food, Sprouting for example is great fun, with a highly nutritious result and can be easily done anywhere
- Make mealtimes an occasion by eating as a family group, around the table as often as possible
- Encourage your child to eat when hungry rather than out of habit, and to stop eating when full
- Teach your child to eat food slowly and enjoy it. More nutrition is gained by chewing, and they will feel fuller more quickly and be less likely to overeat
- Make sure your child is drinking enough Pure Water.
There are many ways you can help to increase the amount of physical activity your child does -
- Encourage walking and cycling to school and friends
- Get the whole family involved in activities such as bike rides and swimming, going to the park, playing football, cricket, etc
- Visit a local leisure centre to investigate sports and team activities your child could get involved in. Guides and Scouts are another good way to involve your child in group activities and exercise
- Make exercise into a treat by taking special trips to an adventure play park, an ice skating rink, laser quest, etc
Be aware that when used to comfort or reward children, food can take on emotional significance.
- Be careful not to use food to comfort your child – instead give attention and hugs, praise, and talk with them
- Don’t use food as a reward, as this will reinforce the idea of food as a source of comfort. Therefore, rather than having a take-away or fast food meal to celebrate a good school report for example – go to the cinema or have a friend stay overnight instead
Fact Three: Government reports have predicted that levels of obesity among children and young people will continue to rise in the future. If action to tackle this trend is not taken, it is predicted that by 2025 14% of young people under the age of 20 will be obese. (NHS Report 2009)
Want more healthy living ideas for the whole family? Download our Golden Rules for Healthy Living – it’s free and easy to understand.
If you are at all concerned about your child’s weight, then talk to a health practitioner or nutritionist.
April 2010
Tasty & Healthy Chocolate Treats for Kids
At Nutri-Health, we know how much kids love their chocolate – so we’ve got some really delicious chocolaty treats that your young tribe are going to love – and so are you! But here’s the best bit – they’re actually good for you too!
A chocolate treat doesn’t have to be laden with fats and sugar; it’s been a well-kept secret for far too many years that a treat can be scrummy and nutritious, so we’re going to let the cat out of the bag.
- At Nutri-Health, we love the Lucky Me raw chocolate bar which is bursting with superfood goodness – and no sugar or diary!
- Our new Magic Mix trail mix is full of chocolaty carob pieces along with dried fruit and coconut.
- How about a bag of Raw Cacao Powder which can make oodles of raw chocolate shakes, way beyond Easter!
Not sure how to use it? Here’s a little film clip that we prepared earlier!
This chocolaty link will demonstrate just how easy it is to put some supercharged goodness into your child’s diet (and yours as well) and have them wanting more.
We’ll be putting up more films soon on our Nutri-Health YouTube channel, showing you how to use some great, tasty superfoods to boost your family’s nutrition, so check back soon
March 2010
Satisfy Their Sweet (and Savoury) Tooth With These Healthy & Delicious Snacks
It can be challenging to give our children healthy snacks, particularly when there is an abundance of crisps and chocolate to compete against.
Given the amount of nutritional information now available to us about what does go into our foods and the effect it has on our health, it is important that we encourage our children towards healthy snacking.
Trail Mixes are increasing popular and interesting to eat – every mouthful contains a different combination of dried fruit, nuts and seeds.
A Trail Mix with Goji berries for example is fantastically tasty, healthy and the berries provide a nice chewy texture.
Children with a particular ‘chocolate’ sweet tooth will definitely enjoy a Trail Mix with Carob Chips in it. The chips provide a sweet chocolate alternative, and, mixed with dried fruit nuts and seeds, the Trail Mix is an all-round taste sensation.
Raw chocolate is a superfood – in every respect – it is one of the best dietary sources of sulphur and magnesium and is a positive powerhouse of antioxidants, minerals, and many other health-giving elements, such as PEA, which boosts mood and improves brain function. Our raw chocolate bar does not contain dairy, fat or sugar and will appease any chocolate craving. Do not confuse it with the sugary, fat-laden stuff they call chocolate in the shops!
Raw Cacao Powder is also a ‘new’ notable kitchen cupboard staple when you have children around. Given its amazing ingredients and healthy attributes, it’s a brilliant smoothie ingredient – just whizz up with water or rice milk and a banana – they’ll be begging for more! See our You Tube channel for the recipie for this Cacao Shake
For those who like a salty crunch, a great alternative to crisps are seeds which have been marinated in tamari and gently dried, again they are another delicious and nutritious snack.
Swapping unhealthy snacks for nutritious alternatives will benefit your child on so many levels – wellbeing, blood sugar balance, appropriate energy levels, concentration at school, weight – the list is endless.
Let’s start them off in the way we want them to carry on!
As always, if you have any questions about healthy foods for your kids, contact Nutri Health – we can help.
February 2010
How knowledgeable are your children about healthy eating?
Take our quiz
| Poor | Good | |
| How many vegetables can your child name? | 0-4 | 5+ |
| How many fruits? | 0-4 | 5+ |
| How many salad items? | 0-4 | 5+ |
| How many items of each does your child eat a day? | 0-4 | 5+ |
| Does you child… | ||
| Understand why brown bread is better than white? | No | Yes |
| Have a basic understanding of which nutrients come from which foods? | No | Yes |
| Have an understanding of how those nutrients affect the body? | No | Yes |
If your answers were all in the ‘good’ column, then you’re already doing a fantastic job in teaching your child(ren) about healthy living so well done! However, if one or more answers were ‘poor’, you need to do a little (or maybe a lot!) more educating in the merits of eating and living healthily.
It is so important for our children to understand the vital role food has in fuelling our lives – and theirs. Of course, that’s not always an easy task as children are generally attracted to the neon-coloured sweet and sticky items, which all look terribly inviting to them. However, have you ever stopped to look at the ingredients list on the wrapper? They will generally read more like a chemistry kit than a healthy, nutritious snack (not much life-force going on in there!). For a healthy but sweet tasting snack alterative, try our Magic Mix. It tastes delicious but only contains natural products.
As parents, it’s our job to engage and inspire our children with real food; whether we’re buying it or preparing it, there are plenty of ways to make the experience fun for the children. For example, give them their own shopping list (this could be in picture form for the younger ones), ask if they’d like to help make dinner (this could inspire the fussier eaters to eat more), ask them to count the number of carrots/apples/mushrooms in the bag…….we can even use food in play (cue Mr Potato Head!). Or, how about growing their own food? Our Biosnacky Glass Germinator is a simple and easy way for them to see their own beans and shoots grow, and they get to eat the finished product!
The more children know about what food is, what it does, and how we can use it for the betterment of our health, the more chance they have of not being controlled by what one small taste-bud desires. Of course when we use the word ‘food’ in this context, we’re not talking about the pre-packaged, highly processed, overly salted and sugared stuff……it’s about the pure, natural foods that can be just as delicious, especially the important superfoods group. In fact, a great way to introduce your child(ren) to superfoods is with our superfoods starter pack and superfoods booklet.
When you next take your child(ren) on the food shop (and I know that can be challenging in itself), try talking about the foods you’re buying and explore the answers to the questions above. Shopping for the food that feeds you and your family is integral to all your health, and educating your children about healthy eating gives them a great start to a hopefully long and healthy life.
Life is amazing, and to feel alive is amazing. Let’s show our children that too.
Our children are our most important asset. They are the future and it’s vital that we take care of them – the ‘whole’ of them!
Tooling yourself up with the right information, knowledge and ideas is a great way to prepare for the challenge of getting our kids to appreciate their health, their potential and their future – and it also helps to lead by example!
We at Nutri-Health are delighted to be working with a fantastic woman who is well-versed in the wily ways of children. Click here to read about Rebecca Elliott aka Miss Rainbow.
Miss Rainbow’s Magic Corner for Nutri-Health
Blissful Sleep techniques from Miss Rainbow
“It’s too hot – I can’t sleep!”
It is a muggy summer night here in London. Miss Rainbows tips for blissful sleep can also be used on holiday or anywhere where it is just hot!
You hear your son or daughter call out. What can you do? The window is already wide open, glass of water by the bed. If they don’t fall to sleep soon then it could be a bad day ahead with a tired child.
Over the many years of working creatively with children I have developed and perfected really simple techniques for situations like this. Hot, bothered and tetchy children. For a remedy, all you need is – You! And a little creativity. So, here goes…And just before we start this simple technique I may as well say that it is just as much about you going in to the fantasy world as it is for your child.
I am going to set this out like a list. It will keep it clear and simple. Once you have the hang of it (which is so easy) you will probably not need to look at it again!
1. Enter your child’s room with ease of movement.
2. Speak in a soft slow voice.
3. Say very naturally; “We are going to go on a magic journey together….to a beautiful cool magical waterfall.”
4. Set the scene where the waterfall might be. Here is a suggestion to help you; “You’ve been walking in a green valley with tall trees and colourful birds. It is very hot and you really want to cool down. You stop and hear the gentle sound of water. You move a little closer. The sound becomes louder. You realise that it is the sound is of a waterfall! The water glistens in the golden sunlight. You walk towards it. You step under the water. It feels so lovely. The water trickles on your head, down your neck, your back…..Oh, it’s so cool! You slowly begin to feel cooler and cooler as the water keeps trickling all over you. Your breathing becomes slow and long, lovely and relaxed. Mine too (give a natural example of slow, long breathing, your child will naturally copy you.”
5. Stroking your child’s hair during the short story also aids relaxation.
That short example can be modified or extended in any way you choose. The more detailed you can make the visualisation the more the child yields to the magic.
The key to this being a successful way to help your child cool down and sleep is in the auto suggestion of the cool water trickling over their body, the slow breathing which naturally helps regulate body temperature. Your creative words which fire up the imagination of your child will create a calm soft place.
To support and enhance your little visualisation very soft, very simple music (without words) can be played but your voice alone is capable of setting and maintaining the scene.
Another time, after you have already offered it to your child, ask them to tell a short story like that for you. This type of visualisation really stimulates their creative processes and can actually enhance their powers of language and literacy. It is also a freer place as no pen in hand or marking is required. There are no limits to the magical places words can take us!
Adults and children have incredible powerful imaginations. The only difference is that children often seem more willing to suspend their version of reality for longer than an adult. And because of that they probably experience more magic and fun!
Enjoy being cool!
Previous Kids Articles
Previous ‘Kids’ articles have been archived in the Library
