Rocker Girrl Wrote:
My pediatrician once told me that people can basically get the same vitamins and minerals from fruit as they can from veggies so if my child is liking fruit more to go with it for now. Do you agree?
 
Dear Rocker Girrl,
 
This is a great question because you're just choosing between good and better here. When it comes to nutrition, we’re feeding our kids (and ourselves) the best there is when we eat either fresh fruits or fresh veggies.
 
Of course, your pediatrician is right that people can get the same vitamins and minerals from fruits as they can from veggies, but there’s a lot more to food (fuel) than just vitamins and minerals.
 
Fruits and veggies have particular nutritional strengths that you may want to emphasize in your child's diet at particular times. For example, the higher sugars (good sugars) in fruit mean a quicker burn time and not as long sustained energy that most veggies give. So for long term weight management and sustained energy, veggies are the better choice. You get more nutrients for less calories, and less sugar, in vegetables.

That said, most kids do favor fruit. So, by all means, keep feeding them fruit!  You may have to make fruits available a little more often during the day due to the quick burn, but what a great “problem” to have, especially these days. Go with your child’s preference for fruit right now. They’ll come around to veggies eventually, even if you have to sneak 'em in for a while.
 
Try to provide variety. “The deeper the color the better” is a good rule of thumb when it comes to both fruits and veggies. Look for the dark blue of blueberries, the dark green of spinach (when you get that far), and the deep orange of carrots.
 
Also, be sure to offer some whole grains and protein, like in beans, tofu, dairy, etc., to balance out the quick burning sugar in the fruit. That’ll help keep the energy smooth and steady throughout the day.
 
Enjoy your great kids!

WIth healthiest regards,

Missy Chase Lapine
 

Hi Everyone,

vtmomof2 wrote:

"My family, myself included, love dessert. I was wondering if you have some healthy dessert recipes?"

Desserts are a fun part of life that should be enjoyed guilt-free. I mean, what's the point otherwise? To enjoy on one level but torture ourselves on another? If there's one moment in the day to really indulge, it's dessert. It's almost a meditation when everything comes together just right!

Now, if we also keep one eye on the long term effects of our diets, then we can literally have our cake and eat it, too.  

The trick is to simply build a better brownie. You can find free recipes on my website, www.TheSneakyChef.com, including Brainy Brownies, with hidden blueberries, spinach, wheat germ, oats, whole wheat flour, and only half the fat and sugar. Kids and adults totally love 'em, and no one has guessed yet that there's any sneaky enhancements at all.

We're going to be dedicating an entire section of our site to "The Sneaky Chef Healthy Bake Sale". The idea came about while I was reading an article in the New York Times recently about cupcakes and bake sales being banned in schools across America.  Cupcakes banned?! The more I read, the more determined I became to offer my solution to this burning issue.

So I am now offering any school or PTA my recipes for chocolate cupcakes–enhanced with hidden spinach, blueberries, and whole grains. They contain half the fat and sugar of standard cupcakes and, by the way, have earned the seal of approval from the most discriminating taste-testers of all: kids! Plus, a dozen more delicious healthy pastry recipes just like it. All are  perfectly suited for home, schools and bake sales.

Any of you parents who have been prohibited from sending cupcakes to school for your kids' birthday, or from raising funds through bake sales, take a look at our website under "Sneaky Chef Healthy Bake Sale."

Information will posted there in the next few days with the simple steps to hosting a "Sneaky Chef Healthy Bake Sale" at your school or next team fund raiser. In the meantime, here's the link to the recent New York Times cupcake article:

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/05/business/05junkfood.html?_r=1&oref=slogin%0A

And another great article in the Washington Post that ran last Christmas:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/12/10/AR2006121001008.html

So, vtmomof2 did you get a little more than you bargained for? : )

Here's to a win/win solution that works for everyone!

With healthiest regards,

Missy Chase Lapine

The question this week comes from vtmomof2

"My 4 year old son has suddenly decided not to eat dinner, what are some healthy snack ideas that I can feed him through out the day so that at least he gets the nutrients he needs, until he starts eating again?"

Dear Vermont Mom,

You have a classic case of "I control at least what goes into my mouth" on your hands. Kids have very little control over their lives. Food, and what it eventually comes out as, is about it. So, they exercise that control whenever they can. It's quite understandable, really. Psychology experiments show that the most stressful situations for people are the ones that they have no control over. Taking a little control, even if it's just over what they eat, can make a child feel much more at ease. So "giving in" once in a while is healthy. Of course, giving in too often leads to obvious problems, too. Ah, parenting...

That said, the best snacks will incorporate several food groups, not just carbs or sugar which burn quickly and leave an energy void (or "crash") in short order. Include a little protein like beans, tuna or sardines, tofu, spinach, or whole grains; and some good fats, like those contained in nuts, avocados, fish and olive oil.

Since most kids aren't going to sit down to a nice Salade Nicoise on the veranda, nor even take a bite of anything that looks remotely healthy, we've got to simply sneak it in. Hence, the easy purees. Purees hide beuatifully in foods of like color and texture. Take a look at these recipes from The Sneaky Chef–Simple Strategies for Hiding Healthy  Foods in Kids' Favorite Meals:

(You can find free recipes for many of these nutritous snacks and meals at http://thesneakychef.com/recipes.php.)

Each of these dishes contains several completely hidden healthy ingredients including such nutritional superfoods as spinach, blueberries, carrots, yams, cauliflower, white beans, wheat germ, whole grains, tofu, sardines, avocado, peas, broccoli, garbonzo beans, and almonds.

To answer your question specifically about snacks, try Sneaky Breakfast Cookies and Milk, Peanut Butter and Jelly Muffins, Grilled Cheese Muffins, or Complete Corn Muffins, Quick Fixes for Tuna Fish Sandwiches, Packed Pizza Bagels, Quick Fixes for Spaghetti-O’s, Franks ‘n Beans, Pigs in Healthy Blankets (with White Bean Puree Variation and No Cheese Variation).

Of special interest would be such greats as Brainy Brownies with hidden spinach and blueberries, Health-by-Chocolate Cookies, Thumbprint Peanut Butter Cookies, Crunchy Corn Chips, Cheesy Chip Variation, Bravo Nacho Cheese Dip, Cinnamon Sugar Rattle Snacks, No Doc Guac, Cheesy Animal Crackers, and Grab ‘n Go Crispy Granola Bars.

So you see, there's really no end to the nutrition you can get into your son without him ever knowing. No dinner tonight? No problem!

Enjoy in good health!

Missy Chase Lapine
The Sneaky Chef

Hi Everyone,

I'm the mom of one great eating 9 year old girl, Emily, and her extremely picky 7 year old sister, Sammy. Needless to say, it was Sammy who forced me to become quite creative in thinking up ways to get her to eat most anything at all. And after 5 years, the result is The Sneaky Chef book!

I didn't realize that everyone else was wrestling with the same problem of how to get their kids to eat healthy foods, but it seems this simple solution has struck quite a cultural chord. So now I'm out to share these easy ideas and tips with anyone who'll listen, and I'm very excited about all that MyBaby has to offer.

Working from home and in between kids is it's own challenge as many of you know, but I'll be sharing really great tips, as well as answering a representive question or two from all of your submissions every week (posted on the Nutrition & Meals in the Sneaky Chef Recipes, Tips & Suggestions topic), and posting a monthly blog as well!

I very much look forward to hearing from you all : - )

With healthiest regards,

Missy