TOP 10 Choices You Can Make To Be
The Healthiest Family
The Healthiest Family
By: Melissa Halas-Liang
1. Make sure your diet has color diversity – eat fruits, veggies, beans, whole grains and nuts in every color every day. Powerful plant fight-o-chemicals provide the anti-disease compounds you need.
2. Focus on plant proteins more. Go meatless on Monday’s – make animal protein a special event or complement to your meals. Especially cut back on red meat.
3. Include nuts every day; just make sure the portion is not too big.
4. Switch to good fats –yummy avocado, olives, seeds and nuts!
5. Decrease refined grains –whoa there’s a whole lot of white flour going on! Goldfish and pretzels –who put these on the healthy list in the first place? Choose fresh or dried fruit, veggies, whole grain crackers and low fat cheese. Make one small change at a time –it all adds up to big results.
6. Stop those sugary drinks. Watch out America! Sugar intake is way above the recommended 8 teaspoons a day per 2000 calories. No wonder… every time you turn around a kid is getting a sweet treat as a reward. Don’t give sweets as a reward for good behavior. Rethink rewards – choose healthy and learn why using candy as a reward leaves a very bad taste in your mouth.
7. Slow down – be a mindful eater. Isn’t it great to relax at mealtime and taste what you’re eating? Teach your kids to eat mindfully.
8. Stay away from food that unravels DNA. Nitrates are known cancer causers –why give hotdogs regularly to your kids anyway? When you do –be sure to choose nitrate free hotdogs and make your hot dog a health dog.
9. Get moving! Exercise! Be fit as a family. Take family walks, play catch –go to the park, play Wii. Love each other? Then love each other’s hearts and keep them tick’in!
10.Practice gratitude. Be grateful for our ability to choose to feed our kids right; teach them what health is really is; teach them about how advertising influences their food choices, and teach them they have the right to choose foods for a healthy body! We have so many rights in America that people die for elsewhere. Let’s show our kids gratitude by living the healthiest life we can where food isn’t scarce and we have safe access to water every day.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Melissa Halas-Liang, MA, RD, CDE is a Registered Dietitian, Certified Diabetes Educator and wellness coach with a Masters in Nutrition Education. She is the coordinator for several nutrition courses, including Functional Family Nutrition that provides the latest research on eating attitudes, super foods, food behaviors and earth-friendly eating. She is founder of SuperKids Nutrition Inc where she is "saving the world, one healthy food at a time." Discover how nutrition can help you live your best life through on-line nutrition courses at www.nutritioned.net.