tracking nutrients has never been easier

For the last year or so I've been tracking the nutrition and foods my kids eat through food journals.  Sounds a bit overwhelming.  But not when there are easy-to-use programs available.

Go to http://www.mypyramidtracker.gov/

It's easy to use.  First you register to use the site.  You'll have to enter you and your children separately to get accurate amounts for each child or you can estimate if your children are close together.  That's what I've done.  You enter your age and gender. 

Then you add the food that you eat all day into the DAILY FOOD INTAKE.  You can add food that you eat often to make it easier the next time you fill out your DAILY FOOD INTAKE.

Next click on Analyze your Food Intake.

The program will do the work for you by showing you how many nutrients you've consumed compared to the USDA guideline recommendations for your age and gender.  You can see what nutrients are lacking in your diet and then adjust or add foods to compensate.  Great tool to help ensure your family is getting the NUTRIENTS NEEDED.

It will also help you track your calories.  You can add your exercise into the program as well.  THIS SITE IS SO AWESOME!!!!! I didn't know about it for a long time and did everything by hand.  

fun sites for kids

http://kidshealth.org/

http://www.mypyramid.gov/

Get your kids excited about nutrition.  There's lots of fun games they can play while learning.  Here's a few sites we use.

my theory (part 4)

I spent the next 4 months really working at getting my children the daily nutrient requirements based on the Center for Nutrition. I filled out charts and tracked the vitamins and minerals and the food they ate.   If they wouldn't eat the nutrition, then they drank it.  I was disguising every vegetable possible in their drinks and other food.  I did have a more powerful blender back then because I was able to blend beets and carrots, celery and tomatoes, etc.  They had no idea what they were drinking most of the time but the thing is THEY LIKED IT.  Some smoothies were just bad but you can mask anything with frozen fruit and juice.  Anyways, I'll share my recipes in upcoming posts.   I didn't realize it but my theory about nutrition had been evolving and I was in the middle of testing it.  Slowly my extremely picky eaters, Spanky and Bubbles, began eating real food.  I didn't believe it myself when one night for dinner they started eating beets and asked for more.  UH...double take.  These were the same kids that gagged on every vegetable that came close to touching their mouths.  It's interesting when we give our bodies what it needs AND get rid of sugar (see post about sugar) our body's natural instincts are allowed to make choices based on what our bodies need.  The garbage food and sugar and deficiencies takes away this natural instinct.  For all of you with picky eaters, find a way to sneak in those daily vitamins and minerals.  This might be the only way to get rid of the picky eating habits.  More info on this theory and how to be sneaky with it in my book (coming really soon).

You DID WHAT...?

Sounds crazy to put the family's grocery shopping into the hands of a 9 year old but I did this past week.  I gave her the weekly budget and told her how much she could spend and that it had to feed the family for at least 4 days.  At first Spanky starting making lists of food that were processed and not good for us like chips, soda, etc.  (What kid wouldn't!)  I didn't say much except that she needed to have a menu for each day with what we were going to eat AND that it needed to correlate with the food guide pyramid AND if there was any extra money she could spend it how she wanted to. BUT if she didn't get enough food, we wouldn't have anything to eat.  Risky, I know.

So off to Sunflower Market we went (my favorite store).  She was so excited.  I followed her around the store as she started grabbing all her favorite foods like hotdogs, frozen pizza, frozen breakfast sausage, and chicken nuggets.  She learned really quickly about how much food costs and what she could buy with the money she had.  I gave her a calculator and told her to add everything up so she didn't go over.  I made sure I had cash and that's all she was getting.  I went and sat in the front with a magazine.  She was gone shopping for a half hour or so.  I saw her pick up things and put them in her cart and then awhile later she'd put some things back.  It was actually really cute and comical seeing her little mind at work.  Eventually I migrated over to her and saw her progress.  To my suprise all the processed foods except one item (hot dogs) had been taken out.  I asked her what happened and she said, "The food I originally wanted was too expensive so I had to make some changes."  Interesting results! EATING HEALTHY IS CHEAPER.  A 9 YEAR OLD CAN TELL YOU THAT.  Not only did this teach Spanky a valuable lesson about money, it also taught her about meal planning and creating well balanced meals. We didn't eat like kings by any means.  Our meals for the 4 days were pretty simple but she was in charge and she was excited.   I was proud of her efforts. Oh and on a side note she did go over a bit.  She hasn't learned about sales tax yet.  I guess it's never too early to start teaching these valuable lessons to our children.  It will stay with them forever.

Use what you've got!

I've had some questions about what kind of blender I use. I wish I was using one of those sweet VitaMix blenders. SOMEDAY! For a long time I used an inexpensive blender that my sister gave to me. I wore it out after 6 months of using it several times a day. It was a Cuisinart. So for Christmas I got one of these blenders and I LOVE IT!Plus it came with a food processor which I've always wanted but couldn't ever afford.  This has really made things easier for all the raw food recipes I make.  The great thing is it was at Costco for less than $60.  I've been impressed with it.  Obviously if I could have bought the Vitamix they were selling I would have but I took what I could get and have been happy as can be. Thanks honey!

The point is YOU DON'T NEED AN EXPENSIVE BLENDER.  I don't even have one. For those of you who have a Vitamix, I hope you're using the crap out of them.  Use them for all us poor people working with 1/4 of the power you've got:)  Happy Blending!

"Oh no he's turning green!!!" (part 3)

I experimented over the next few months.  It was summer so there were plenty of fresh vegetables to choose from.  I researched more and more about the essential vitamins and minerals.  We had a shake a day.  (A different one each day of course)  At first I had to use more juice and frozen fruit to mask the taste of the vegetables and greens.  Now I don't have to use as much sweet stuff.  I used this basic recipe.  It's easy to make and easy to digest and a best-seller at our house.
fill blender pitcher 1/2 full of apple juice (I use the unfiltered or homemade apple juice but use whatever juice you have)
add 3 red chard leaves, 3 kale leaves, beet greens, handful of spinach, handful of romaine lettuce, spirulina (powder 1/2 tsp) and ice and water if needed. . 
The thing is I've tried this recipe on some of the pickiest eaters. I've babysat kids and tried it out on them.  Consistently, it’s a big hit.  It's awesome. I have to coax them a bit to take the first drink by making a game out of it or using some fun straws.  We call it "Hulk Juice".  Whoever finishes all of their drink first acts like "hulk" with his superhuman powers.

We established the tradition to "hulk out" after drinking it.  We all say as each kid finishes his last sip, "OH NO HE'S TURNING GREEN! WATCH OUT!"  It's fun for the kids.  They pretend to grow and rip their clothes out.  They act like they have superhuman strength like the hulk by picking up ridiculous things like the sofa chair or refrigerator or even each other. 

All I can say is if this is what it takes to get them the much needed vitamins and minerals they need each day, I'll do it because I'm committed to providing them with the best nutrition possible.  

Curious about what vitamins are found in this drink:

Red Chard has fiber, vita K, Magnesium, Calcium, Iron, vita E, Folate.

          Kale has Vita C, Riboflavin, Vita A, Vita E, Vita K, Iron, Fluoride.

          Spinach has Potassium and Zinc, Vitamin B-6.

          Spirulina is high in Kelp, Protein, Essential Fatty Acids, Vita B12

This drink not only will cleanse the body but will also build the immune system. Try it.  I’m serious.  You’ll love the way you feel after drinking it. It's awesome!

Eat it Or Drink it (part 2)

Every night I tried to make a salad for dinner.  I love salad and wanted my kids to start eating more of them or at all I guess would be a better way of putting it.  Of course they would shove the bowl away and never eat it.  One night I was especially frustrated with them and couldn't stand the fact that they wouldn't eat all the good food I was offering them.  


I bribed them and begged them to eat their vegetables.  I felt like a broken record night after night.  An idea came to me right there in the spur of the moment and I blurted out, "if you don't eat your salads tonight... you'll have to drink it!"  They all just laughed at me.  So I took their salads threw them in the blender added some apple juice and ice and blended it right in front of them.  (DON'T MESS WITH ME!! haha). They sat there quietly as I put jars of this green drink in front of them.  I told them they couldn't get up from the table until they drank all of it.  I still remember their faces. Bubbles Pat, my 4-yr-old, was the first to drink it.  
And HE LOVED IT! What the heck!  The others started drinking theirs and liking them.  It was such an incredible night.  I felt like my prayers had been answered.  Soon I was experimenting with all kinds of stuff I could throw into these "green drinks."  

Keep reading for the results!