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the benefits of goji berriesHelping Kids Appreciate A Healthy Meal

Most may remember when classroom bulletin boards displayed the food pyramid. The pyramid � there was only one. One size fit all. Everyone needed to follow the same nutritional guidelines. Everyone was supposed to merely look at the pyramid to figure out how many servings were needed each day.

Almost all would agree that it is a good thing that obsolete food pyramid has almost all but been forgotten! It may have taken a while, but the idea that not all people need the same food intake finally caught on. Nor are children expected to follow the same nutritional guidelines as the adults.

If you're hoping we'll show you the "kid's guidelines" there unfortunately isn't a set guideline. The amount of food from each food group that each person should eat to maintain a healthy lifestyle is dependent on their age, sex and physical activity level. One size doesn�t fit all. You can go to mypyramid.gov to type in some variables to get an idea of how much from each food category to eat each day.

Keep in mind balance is the name of the game. Make sure your kids are eating fruits and vegetables, dairy, meats and beans and grains each day. Then top it off with water, fresh air and exercise. To help you get started, below you will find a couple of healthy meals for kids.

This turkey avocado sandwich wrap uses kid-friendly ingredients for a healthful lunch or snack.

INGREDIENTS:

� Whole wheat tortillas
� 1 avocado mashed
� Sliced deli turkey
� Shredded carrots
� Shredded lettuce
� Shredded Monterey jack cheese

PREPARATION:

Assemble wraps in the following order: Spread mashed avocado on tortilla; Sprinkle shredded carrots and lettuce on avocado; Lay on slices of deli turkey; Sprinkle with shredded cheese.

Additionally, you won't get any looks of disappointment if you inform the kids you're making chicken nuggets for dinner. This kid favorite is delicious in the low-fat, oven-baked version. For easy clean-up and maximum crispiness, lay a sheet of foil on a cookie sheet; and, then place a wire rack on top of the foil.

INGREDIENTS:

� skinless, boneless chicken breasts cut in 1-2 inch squares
� non-fat or low-fat buttermilk
� flour for dredging
� finely chopped corn flakes for dredging
� salt and pepper to taste

PREPARATION:

Preheat oven to 375. Prepare three large bowls for dredging chicken - 1 with flour seasoned with salt and pepper, 1 with buttermilk, and 1 with crushed corn flakes. Prepare baking pan by laying a sheet of foil over a cookie sheet; and then place a wire rack on top of the foil. Season chicken with salt and cut into 1-2 inch pieces.

Drag chicken pieces in flour. Shake off excess flour and coat with buttermilk. Next, generously coat chicken with corn flakes, and place on rack of your baking pan. Bake nuggets for 15 minutes. These keep well for the next day's lunch box so make plenty!

The next time you reach into the pantry or freezer to grab something quick to prepare for dinner, take a good scrutinizing look at the ingredients. The idea is not to serve food that is adequate but instead food that is healthy. Keep in mind that not all of your kids may require the same portions of food.

For Weekly Breakfast & Lunch Menus Created Just For Kids - Log Onto http://www.kidapprovedmeals.com

Vegetables, Buy Frozen To Be Safe

All of us shop on a more or less daily bases. We all look for the freshest in the produce we buy...since we all work hard for the wages we earn. These days, with nutrition becoming more and more of a priority, we are looking for the highest nutritional content, especially in fresh vegetable and fruit. Cereals have been fortified it seems since the beginning of time. On the contrary, (fresh)vegetable and fruit produce have not been so altered in this way. The question is...are they totally without any blemish, i.e., those we select are without bacterial contamination that has possibly festered since their original packaging immediately after picking ?

The Department of Agriculture

The U.S. Department of Agriculture uses every precaution so that there is an absolute minimum of bacterial contamination from the harvesting of any crop by multiple rinsing at the point of packaging to its destination...the consumer. Unfortunately, even with all of the many precautions taken from harvest to consumption, some contamination slips through the system. There is a way to virtually prevent this from ever happening,i.e., freezing and then shipping to market where the vegetables and fruit are then kept in that state until purchase. It has been found that if a par boiling and then a freezing process takes place immediately after washing of the produce, fruits and vegetables will last an extremely long period of time, some even many years and then when they are ready to be used, just defrosted and cooked. The whole idea is that any small amount of bacteria present at harvest will become dormant until the user is ready to consume them.

In the news of late (September, 2006) has reported findings that some spinach was found to be contaminated with a strain of salmonella bacteria that has sickened several dozen people nationwide and thus far has been fatal for one individual. At the same time, it has been reported that similar episodes have been reported with lettuce in the recent past and that studies were being conducted in an attempt to lessen future lettuce source outbreaks. Whatever the outcome of the present studies by the U.S. government to find the exact source and to hopefully halt future outbreaks, there must be a safer source of our vegetables. As explained earlier, at least until this problem is resolved, frozen, packaged vegetables and fruit is a viable alternative solution. True, frozen vegetables do not possess the pliability of fresh, but most of our fresh vegetables, after being stored and shipped for great distances can loose some of their original potent nutrients, whereas our frozen counterpart looses very little. As far as is known, no one has ever been sickened by frozen vegetables...when properly cooked. Some food for thought.

Author: Lucien Beauley writes articles of diverse human interest along with Energy Conservation and the environment. Please visit My Blog

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