RDsWeighIn

Fight Childhood Obesity: Give to your local food bank

As odd as it may seem, households in the U.S. with food insecurity are also households with childhood obesity. Some have proposed theories that low income households are consuming high fat, high calorie foods to make up for the lack of quantity of foods, thus contributing to overweight. Another theory is that when money is available and food is abundant in the household, high amounts of food and calories are consumed in a short time leading to a feast-famine cycle. This somehow effects the physiology of the body, leading to excess weight gain. But really no one completely agrees or is quite sure why this paradox occurs. What we do know is that 11% of households in the U.S. were considered food insecure in 2004. Given the current economy and job loss, this number is likely higher today.

A recent study published in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association found that food insecure households with hunger was associated with higher obesity rates in girls ages 2 - 5 years old. An association was not found in food insecure households without hunger. Food insecurity is defined as an uncertain or limited ability to obtain adequate amounts of food and nutrients in socially acceptable ways. In other words not knowing when or where your next meal will come from. Food insecurity with hunger takes this definition further to the point at which meals are regularly missed or one meal may need to be spread through out the day. Food is insufficient to sustain normal physical function and activities.

Given the public health concern of childhood obesity, many community outreach programs exist within schools and after school programs to teach kids to make healthy food choices and exercise more. There are legislated mandates to teach nutrition in schools. It seems everyone wants in on the action to prevent childhood obesity. But how does all this education help if the families of these children can't afford and don't have access to healthy foods in the first place?

You can help fight childhood obesity by helping to make healthy food available. Donate to your local food bank or help tend a community garden. It doesn't matter how much one knows about nutrition, if nutritious foods are not available or affordable, people will not eat them.

Food Ideas for Children with Multiple Food Allergies

 

I have been helping some parents of children with multiple food allergies on what to eat and how to prepare foods differently. Sometimes the child is allergic to eggs, milk, soy, nuts and wheat. It gets complicated but with the help of an RD, it is easy to introduce new foods in the family’s diet and know the products available to use when cooking.  

So, I thought of passing on a few ideas of some other foods and Hispanic dishes that might come in handy when there are multiple food allergies in the family. I know that new foods or some of these foods in this list might seem daunting for you to introduce. My children eat all of these foods because they have been introduced at an early age. This makes it easier. Be patient with little ones and keep trying.

1. Potatoes: Add in soups and when mashed, add in corn burritos. Have you made frittatas? You can use an egg replacer or add broth and add any vegetable you like in the mixture.  
2. Yuca: It looks like a tree root or branch, it is brown and white inside, also known as cassava. You cut ends, peel and cut into 3 inch pieces. You can boil in salt water until tender. Discard the water and serve the yuca with some salt and cilantro. It has the flavor of a strong starchy potato. Another suggestion is to cut it like big fries and fry it. In some Hispanic markets you can find yuca already peeled for you in the frozen section.
3. Plantain: If they are firm, peel and cut in thin slices or lengthwise diagonal and fry. Find the recipe for “tostones” or “patacones”. Here is another dish, “plátanos maduros”. If they are tender, then peel and use milk free margarine to sauté, then add brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, lime juice, water and a small amount of vanilla, cover and simmer until tender.
4. Eggplant: Make eggplant lasagna. Peel the eggplant and cut lengthwise thick slices, steam the slices or boil 4 minutes in water and use instead of pasta.
5. Beans: Boiled beans, refried beans, black bean soup, bean dip with corn tortilla chips for snacks. For breakfast make burritos with corn tortillas and beans and salsa. Here is another dish “Gallo pinto” a Costa Rican dish that is eaten for breakfast. It has white rice, beans, red pepper, onions.
6. Lentils: White rice and lentils, with a lean protein. Mmm, the best dish. Lentils are so easy to make, and fast too.
7. Hominy: It is a large kernel corn, find “posole soup” and make it with pork or chicken.
8. Cornmeal: I like to use masa “P.A.N” found in the Hispanic markets. It is cornmeal, just add water and you have the cornmeal dough, add annatto seasoning to the dough for flavor. You can make empanadas with lean ground beef, “arepas” a Venezuelan dish that looks like corn cakes and you can fill it with anything you like, meat, chicken.
9. Rice: Think of chicken and rice or “arroz con pollo”, chicken paella, fried rice, black beans and rice, rice cakes (potatoes and rice mix with egg substitute and fried). A dessert made with rice milk could be “arroz con leche”. You can use rice milk and coconut milk.
10. Soups: Don’t forget chicken soup, gazpacho (tomato based soup), avocado soup made with chicken stock, and the fabulous black bean soups.

Let me know if I missed a good one to add to this list. Buena suerte.

 

Kid Friendly Fruit and Veggie Tips

Recently, Registered Dietitian Ruth Frechman offered some great healthy eating tips for kids in her post "National Nutrition Month" - The Theme is "Eat Right". I thought I would follow that up with some more kid friendly tips for parents to help them pack more fruits and veggies in their diets.

• First ask your kids what their favorite fruits and vegetables are and how they like them prepared
• Then take your kids grocery shopping with you and have them pick out new fresh, canned or frozen fruit and veggies to try out
• Make mealtime fun-let your kids help you prepare fruits and veggies at home-they can tear up broccoli, wash vegetables, toss salad etc.
• Kids like to have control. Put out small bowls of raisins, baby carrots, cherry tomatoes, crunchy noodles, chopped fruit etc. and let them make their own salads
• Pick a dressing they will like-they tend to go more towards the sweeter ones like honey mustard, rather than a vinaigrette
• They can make their own wraps or tacos too, loaded with beans, tomatoes, corn, cucumber, avocado, tomatoes and so on
• Stuff a baked potato with salsa and guacamole
• Serve chopped veggies (like baby carrots, celery stalks, Jicama sticks, asparagus spears, broccoli and cauliflower florets) with salsa, low fat ranch dressing, flavored hummus, peanut butter, or guacamole
• Dish up boiled edamame in their shell as a snack (soy beans in the pod-they’re such a fun food)
• Add pureed or finely chopped veggies to soups, sauces and casseroles
• Start the day with a fresh fruit smoothie by blending ½ banana, ½ cup frozen strawberries, ½ cup 1% milk and ½ cup 100% fruit juice
• Have your kids make ants on a log for a snack-spread peanut butter onto celery stalks and top with raisins

For our kids we should shoot for at least 1 ½ cups fruit and 2 cups vegetables every day. An apple, orange, pear and medium banana all count as a cup. For some of the smaller fruit, about 8 strawberries, 3 small plums and 32 grapes make a cup.   Note: ½ cup of dried fruit counts as 1 cup. 100% fruit juice counts too but limit juice to 6-8 ounces a day. Juice is high in calories and is easy to over consume.

As for veggies, a medium potato (of course having them as French fries negates their benefit,  and eating the skin is key to get the maximum nutrition), about 12 baby carrots, 2 large celery stalks and 2 cups salad greens are equivalent to 1 cup. Beans and peas count as veggies too! Think of corn not as a vegetable but as a whole grain.

For more tips and information on fruits and vegetables visit www.fruitsandveggiesmorematters.org or www.mypyramid.gov. 

Have a fruit and veggie filled week!

It's All in the Family: The Benefits of Breakfast

As a mother of two boys, aged 10-1/2 and almost 7, I know first hand how harried morning time can be. Whether you're scrambling to get yourself and your children dressed, make edible brown-bag school lunches, or pack backpacks, breakfast may seem secondary and can often get sidestepped in the morning which can, at the very least, leave parents and kids hungry. 

In this month's issue of the journal Appetite, researchers reviewed 24 studies that looked at the impact family habits such as eating breakfast have on the eating habits of children and adolescents.  It's no surprise that researchers found that those who had parents who ate breakfast were more likely to consume a morning meal themselves. Regular, consistent breakfast intake is associated with myraid health and other benefits such as enhanced feelings of energy, increased mental alertness, and a lower body mass index. Breakfast provides an unparalleled opportunity to get in several key foods/food groups including low fat or nonfat dairy foods (that provide calcium and vitamin D), fruit (that provides fiber as well as a variety of vitamins, minerals, and powerful phytochemicals, plant chemicals that promote health and prevent disease), and whole grains (that often pack in fiber and also provide complex carbohydrates to rev engines early in the day). Having breakfast is also associated with long-term weight loss maintenance in people who have successfully lost a significant amount of body weight as demonstrated in the National Weight Control Registry. Because of the many potential benefits of breakfast, and because skipping breakfast (which can lead to increased feelings of hunger and overeating later in the day) becomes more commonplace as children and adolescents get older, it's important for parents to take even a few minutes to have some sort of breakfast as a way to model and encourage the same in their children.

Following are five quick, easy, and delicious, no-fuss breakfasts my kids and I often whip together in a matter of minutes. We all pitch in when it comes to breakfast, and we value the together time it lends us as a family. The bonus is that we're all fitting in some of the key nutrients we need for energy and to be heathy. 

Breakfast #1: A yogurt parfait made with 1 cup low-fat plain yogurt, 1 cup sliced strawberries, 2 tablespoons walnut halves, and 1/4 cup low fat granola.

Breakfast #2: A 1 cup oat bran flakes topped with one sliced banana, 2 tablespoons chopped almonds, and 1/2 cup skim milk.

Breakfast #3: 1 hard-boiled egg (made the night before) plus 1 cup instant oatmeal topped with 1/2 cup blueberries, 1 packet of sugar or artificial sweetener (if needed), and 1 cup skim or 1 percent milk.

Breakfast #4: English muffin pizza made with 1 toasted whole wheat English muffin, 1/4 cup low sodium tomato sauce (or canned, diced tomatoes), and 1 slice (1 ounce) OR 1/4 cup shredded mozzarella cheese and 1 cup orange juice.

Breakfast #5: 2 whole grain waffles topped with either 2 tablespoons light syrup and 2 teaspoons vegetable oil spread OR 4 tablespoons natural applesauce, and 1 cup skim milk (if choose the former option, add 1 cup fresh berries of 1 fruit of your choice).

Inspiring Children to Cook

One of my parental goals has been to teach my kids the basics of cooking and inspiring creativity with textures and flavors.  I decided I needed to pay particular attention to this in my own children after counseling many 20 and 30 year-olds. What most impressed me was that so few knew how to cook beyond opening a package and adding water. When we would talk about basic nutrition and eating healthy, most confessed they had never really cooked a meal using whole foods.

I can’t imagine the boredom if I didn’t know how to cook and had to rely on either quick, convenient, purchased meals or someone else always cooking for me. The sense of freedom to be able to walk into a kitchen and pull together something tasty and healthy is very satisfying. 

Granted, working with preteens, much less your own, is not easy by any means. It takes time, patience and dedication. I started working with our daughter a few years ago and only recently with our ten-year old son. But I hope my children, when they are on their own, will feel comfortable enough in a kitchen and have a few meals they can prepare for themselves that include more than tearing open a box or a bag. 

Helping to inspire creative cooking these days are the many cooking shows on television. The food always looks beautiful. There is usually a celebratory feeling and the show’s stars always look like they are having so much fun. Recently, after returning from two full weekends of swim meets, I noticed our television recorder was loaded with cooking shows our daughter had preset to record. Since we limit television viewing, I came up with what I thought was a great idea. For every one hour of viewing, she would plan and cook a meal. Of course I’m there to help, but the meals are hers.

Well, she rose to the challenge yesterday. She pulled together some recipe ideas and came up with the following. It was simply delicious and fun to make. Yes, I am admittedly always impressed by her accomplishments, but all of us, including her much less easily impressed two brothers, thought it was very good. Even our 6-year-old loved this meal. The best part for me is, it answered one of my greatest cooking challenges – cooking fish.

I particularly liked the meal because it is easy and healthy. Just add some brown rice and you have a two-dish meal that tastes wonderful, includes good quality protein, vegetables and whole grain.

White Fish with Vegetables

1 to 1 1/2 lbs. white fish – in 3 or 4 thin fillets
Zest and juice of one lemon
Lemon, thinly sliced
2 Tbsp. olive oil
2 Tbsp. white wine
½ tsp. kosher salt flakes
2-3 Tbsp. fresh dill, chopped
1 green pepper, sliced
2-3 yellow squash, sliced
1 lb. snap peas

Stir wine, olive oil and lemon juice in bowl. Add vegetables and toss gently. In small bowl. mix lemon zest and salt. Take a piece of aluminum foil large enough to hold one fillet and some vegetables. Fold the sides of foil so juice mixture doesn’t run over. Place vegetables in the middle of the foil and place one fillet gently on top of the vegetables. Put zest and salt mixture on fish. Top with dill and lemon slices.  Wrap foil around each fillet so it is closed on all sides. Do this for each fillet. Place foil wraps on a cookie tray. Cook at 350 degrees for 20-35 minutes. depending on thickness of fish. Serve with fresh dill, lemon wedges and brown rice.

Our daughter has announced the next time she makes this recipe she’s going to try a different vegetable combination with different herbs.  I’m all for it!

For Kids on the Go, Don't Forget the H2O

Summer is here and your kids are probably like mine always on the go. Whether it’s basketball and soccer camps, swimming competitively, or just running around the backyard, it’s essential they drink plenty of fluids. Children, however, do not instinctively drink enough fluid.

Water makes up two-thirds of our body weight and plays an important role in almost every major bodily function. It regulates body temperature, helps digestion, carries nutrients and oxygen to every cell, protects organs, and removes waste.

Getting children to drink plenty of fluids is particularly important on those days when they are outside with high temperatures and humidity. Because children have limited sweating capacity, this hinders their body’s ability to cool itself. Children do not adapt to temperature extremes as effectively as adults.

Signs of Dehydration
Children who don’t drink enough fluids run the risk of dehydration. They may find it difficult to concentrate, develop headaches, fatigue easily, or become dizzy or nauseated. Signs of good hydration include:
-Urine that ranges from clear to lightly colored. Dark urine is a sure indication of poor hydration.
-Going to the bathroom regularly. Not going to the bathroom for a few hours may indicate dehydration.

Dodging Dehydration
Waiting until active children are thirsty to offer them something to drink is often waiting too long. Children need to consume adequate fluids before, during, and after activity. By the time a child athlete is thirsty, he or she may have already lost more than one percent of their body’s water. This can impact their performance, making their heart pump harder and cutting blood flow to muscles and skin, which reduces their body’s ability to lose heat and keep cool.

Filling up with Fluids
Water is always a good first choice. It’s the most economical source of fluid for physical activity lasting less than an hour. Other drinks such as milk, fruit juice, and fruit flavored vegetable juice mixtures can be good choices. Activities that last longer than an hour or played in high temperature and humidity may warrant drinking a sports drink.

When purchasing juice look for “100 percent juice” on the packaging. “Fruit punch” and “juice drinks” contain less than 10 percent juice. Although these products are often fortified with vitamin C, most are high in sugar and low in potassium and other minerals compared to the real thing. If you do decide to give your child fruit juice try diluting the juice with one-third water.

Poor choices for fluid replacement are caffeine-containing beverages such as energy boosting beverages, soda, tea and coffee.

Food, a Fluid Source?
While water and other beverages can supply the body with a good portion of its fluid needs, solid food also provides a surprising amount. During the summer heat and outdoor playtime, consider serving these high-water containing foods for snacks and meals: watermelon, melons, apples, carrots, fruit popsicles, soups, cottage cheese and yogurt.

Children need to be reminded to drink even when they are not thirsty. To help your kids stay well-hydrated this summer encourage them to never ignore thirst, take regular water breaks, drink fluids before, during, and after strenuous physical activity, and limit caffeine and sugar loaded beverages.

The Slow Evolution of School Food

School food has long been criticized for being unhealthy because it often resembles the kinds of "junk" foods we see in fast food restaurants i.e. hamburgers, chicken nuggets, pizza and so forth. Granted school food can use some improvements but the school meals in fact must adhere to nutrient guidelines set by the United States Department of Agriculture. States and Districts themselves can set more stringent guidelines such as what we have done in the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD).

For starters the LAUSD meal program has lowered the total fat, saturated fat, added sugars and sodium content of the entrees. We are now working to incorporate more whole grain products, and more fruits and vegetables into the meals. Vegetarian and entree type salads are also offered daily. We haven even gone so far as to hire an Executive Chef to help enhance the flavor profile and presentation of the meals so that they are more appealing to the students. And we are continually gathering input from those students to ensure they play a significant role in the planning of the school menu.

Yes we are still serving pizza, chicken nuggets and nachos etc. But not every day and they aren't the same nuggets you'd find at the drive-through. They are a "healthier" version of those types of fast food. One can argue that by continuing to serve even the healthier versions of "junk" food we are sending the wrong message that these foods are okay. I agree with that but I also acknowledge that Rome can't be built in a day. The food environment outside of the school needs to change as well so that fast food is considered a treat and not food for every day. It's tough to compete with that.

There is still much work to be done to improve the school meal program but we are slowly getting there. Slowly getting there with a mere $0.67 available in funding to provide a full meal to each student. It is not an easy battle and the rising cost of food doesn't help. However, we have a committed team who believes in the bottom-line that each and every student should be provided with healthy school meals so that she or he can excel.

If you'd like to learn more about the LAUSD meal program visit the Food Services Branch website at www.cafe-la.org .

Stay tuned...

Help Your Kids Become Responsible Drinkers

If your kids are like most in America, they're drinking tons of soda, fruity beverages (including 100% fruit juice), energy drinks, milk beverages, and other sweetened beverages. These liquid calories make up, on average, about 20% of their total daily calorie intake--or about one out of every five calories they ingest. While all drinks can certainly be worked into an otherwise healthful diet, especially those that provide key nutrients (e.g. milk, rich in calcium, vitamin D, and high quality protein), it's clear that too many liquid calories can crowd out healthful beverages and certainly contribute to excess calorie intake that can expand our kids' waistlines and lead to diet-related diseases and conditions associated with being overweight including insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes.

Unfortunately, over recent decades, we've gone from serving our children the basics--milk, fruit juice, and water--to watching them gulp down an ever-expanding variety of sweetened beverages including vitamin-infused water and soda. Of course it's hard for kids, just like adults, to resist these beverages that taste great, often come in attractive packaging, and are easy to gulp down when you're on the go especially when the weather is warm. But because portion sizes are so enormous--case in point, a small soda at a movie theater tends to often mean a 32 ounce portion--the equivalent of almost 3 cans of soda--and because these beverages are often high in calories, mostly from sugar, and many are devoid of key nutrients, it's important to teach kids to think before they drink. These drinks will certainly hydrate you, but those high in calories and sugar can cause peaks and valleys in blood sugar, they won't really fill you up, they will erode your teeth (especially if your teeth are soaked in a sugary beverages for long periods throughout the day), and too many may very well crowd out healthful beverages such as calorie-free water or seltzer, low fat and skim milk, and even 100% fruit juice. Milk is rich in calcium, vitamin D, high quality protein, and other key vitamins and minerals to support optimal growth, especially growth and maintenance of bones and teeth during the critical childhood years), and 100% fruit juices such as orange juice, purple grape juice, apple juice and cranberry juice are often good sources of key vitamins and minerals as well as antioxants, powerful chemicals that sop up free radicals that can damage cells and produce disease.

Being the mother of two boys (one is almost 10 and the other will turn 6 in a few weeks), I decided a while back that we would not keep soda in the house or offer it to our children. While my husband and I do drink soda (but only diet soda), we do not keep it in the house--instead we keep 1% and skim milk, bottled water (and filtered tap water), and orange juice in the house; we also keep on hand 4 ounce apple juice boxes, especially for my younger son who is not such a big fan of fresh fruit (and even he prefers milk to juice--my older son loves his oj, just like me, but the mantra in our home has always been milk first, then juice). My older son does like to have gatorade from time to time, especially after basketball when he is all sweated up-- I do allow this, but it is not something I keep in the house and he has it only from time to time and usually stick to just plain water to hydrate, especially after exercise. When he does have juice (usually orange juice), I encourage the no more than one cup a day rule--this is easy for him to follow especially because he loves fresh fruit so much and he also enjoys water and low fat/skim milk. Both of my kids drink a lot of water and at least 2 or 3 cups of milk a day--plain, low-fat or skim milk (I don't buy flavored milks because I think of them as milk and cookies--and since I did not offer this to them when they were young, they did not develop a taste for them)...I often advise parents to choose their battles, and if flavored milk is all your kids will consume, I recommend at least looking for low fat varieties, keeping portions small, and teaching kids that flavored milk or even yogurt drinks count as milk and a treat, like a cookie or candy because of the extra calories they contain from sugar. 

Only time will tell if my beverage rules will help my kids develop into healthy teens and adults--so far, they are growing well both physically and mentally, are at a healthy body weight, and seem to be getting all the nutrients they need to support them at school and on the ballfield. For now, I'm sticking with the rules and know at some point I will have to expand the rules to include coffee beverages (which my kids have yet to try--and I don't even drink coffee but see all the teens doing it-yikes! ) and dare I say it, alcohol!!

Sneaky Nutrition

My mother called me the other day to tell me about a book she had seen promoted on a popular talk show.  The book was about how to puree vegetables and put them into things like brownies so that your kids end up eating their vegetables without even suspecting it.  The poor woman had no idea that she had just reached me in the middle of an insanely hectic day where I was attempting to squish three days’ worth of “to-do’s” into one afternoon.  To say the least, the very thought of trying to puree vegetables so that I could “sneak” them into my child’s diet was overwhelming.   

Since then, I’ve received questions from likewise overwhelmed parents on the subject, usually laced with anxiety.  Typically they sound like this:  “I have a hard time getting my child to eat anything green – do I have to try to sneak it in?”

Here’s my answer to these parents.  If you like cooking, and the thought of tinkering with a recipe that calls for pureed squash cleverly hidden in macaroni and cheese, by all means go for it.  But, don’t lose sight of what we are really trying to do when we feed children – we are trying to raise them to be capable eaters, who have been exposed to a variety of foods over and over, and who do not freak out at the sight of an asparagus spear on their plate. Hide the broccoli inside of the brownie if you must, but please keep on serving plain old broccoli on the side.  It’s the only way a child will learn to co-exist with broccoli, at the least, and also the only way the child may learn to like broccoli.   

I like to refer parents to the research of Ellyn Satter, which shows that children do best when adults pay attention to the Divisions of Responsibility:  the adult decides what, when, and where food is served, and children decide how much to eat of what is served.  In other words, it is our job as parents to get the vegetable to the table.  It is the kiddo’s job to eat the vegetable, and that may take time.  Kids sometimes need to be exposed to a food item many, many times before they actually eat it.  Luckily, Ms. Satter’s research also shows that kids grow just fine, in fact optimally, when fed this way.  When we get too pushy, it can tend to backfire and cause power struggles at the dinner table.  This in turn can lead to even more food refusal or sometimes overeating in the child. 

So, go ahead and try that intriguing recipe that mixes prunes into the meatloaf; but, if you feel like you are suddenly a slave to the kitchen, trying to sneak in your kid’s nutrition, remember that what really benefits kids is to sit down to a family meal with real, basic food and happy caregivers. 

Think Outside the Lunch Box

Well, the kids are back in school, so what’s in their lunchbox? Making time to plan your child’s lunch while finding items that he or she will actually eat can be quite challenging. Having a balanced lunch can provide your child with the energy and nutrients necessary for learning! This year, consider the lunchbox ABC’s:

A: Aim for 4

B: Be creative

C: Consult with your child

Aim for at least 4 food groups to ensure balance. Include a whole grain, protein, low fat dairy, and a fruit and/or vegetable. Examples of whole grains are whole wheat breads, whole grain crackers, low fat popcorn, whole grain cereals, whole wheat pitas or tortillas. Low fat dairy options include low fat yogurt, low fat cheese- consider cutting into cubes or string cheese, and low fat milk, including flavored ones. Proteins can be challenging and ideas are: lean deli ham, turkey or roast beef, almond or peanut butter, hard boiled eggs, cottage cheese, hummus, refried beans, tuna fish or egg salad. For fruits and veggies try bite sized ones and include a yogurt dip or low fat dressing for the vegetables. If buying juice, make sure it reads 100% fruit juice and consider vegetable juice or the fruit/veggie blends- they, too, are tasty!

Be Creative: not all children like the standard sandwich of meat in between two slices of bread. Try making wraps, tortilla triangles, or stuff a pita pocket. You might have an easier time sneaking in vegetables, such as a shredded carrot or chopped romaine lettuce. Think beyond a piece of fruit and consider cutting up the fruit to use for dipping in yogurt.

Communicate with your child by including your child in the meal planning process. Make a grocery list together and have your child pick certain items at the store to help increase the likelihood that he or she will eat it. Your child might prefer dipping or eating a wrap.

The following are five lunch suggestions your child just might like:

The Healthy Lunchable:

Lean deli man (or turkey or roast beef)

Low fat cheese cubes or squares

Whole grain crackers

Carrot chips and dip

Grapes Kid’s

low fat yogurt

Bean Tortilla Triangles

Refried beans and salsa, topped with shredded, reduced fat cheese spread in a corn or whole wheat tortilla, cut up into triangles

Watermelon chunks

Low fat milk

Sandwich Wraps

Turkey, Romaine lettuce and some shredded carrots, slice of Swiss cheese and mustard in a whole grain tortilla

Pineapple chunks

Low fat yogurt

Grazer’s Delight

Hard boiled egg

Home made snack mix of whole grain cereal, dried fruit, nuts and seeds

Yogurt

Vegetable juice

Dipper’s Dream

Hummus (can also use cottage cheese) w/ Carrot chips, sliced cucumber or sliced red pepper

Whole grain pita triangles

Graham cracker sticks and strawberries

Yogurt- for dipping