Often, women Go Red not only for themselves but also for their families. Women want to be healthy for those who need them, especially their children, and want their kids to adopt healthy habits, too. It’s important to create and maintain a healthy lifestyle together.
The cornerstone of a healthy lifestyle is eating well, and what we feed ourselves and others is a decision we make several times a day. Making healthy food choices in the midst of busy schedules is not always easy, but the recipes in this book can help you. We’ve created several recipes that are ideal for breakfasts on the go, lunchbox fare, and after-school snacks. Look for lists of these. Tips throughout the book offer ideas, including how to make recipes portable for school or after-school activities and adapting recipes to make them more appealing to kids.
Breakfast on the Go Food challenges can strike with the first meal of the day! When many of us are rushing to get the kids out of bed, dressed, and ready for school, along with getting ready for work ourselves, it can be an easy decision to either skip breakfast or eat a store-bought muffin or other convenience breakfast food, which is likely to be high in added sugars, fats, and sodium. Several of our breakfast recipes can be put in a to-go cup or thermos, or wrapped in wax paper, so they’re easy to take on the bus or in the car. Try these healthy choices in the morning: Baked Oatmeal “Pie”, Banana-Nut Bread, or Honeyed Berry-Kiwi Cereal Parfaits.
Lunchbox Ideas Kids can consume as much as half their daily calories while at school, so it’s important that their midday foods are nutritious. Many convenience-meal products are designed to be easily packed in a lunchbox and include packaged snacks, treats, or desserts. It’s easy to be tempted by these processed foods. However, healthier alternatives that you make at home can be inexpensive and are easy to pack with insulated food jars and lunch bags and reusable ice packs. Today’s thermoses have double-walled insulation that can keep cold food chilled and hot food hot for several hours, allowing for many portable lunch possibilities, including homemade soups and chilis. Send your kids off to school with homemade lunches, such as: Pumpkin-Apple Soup, Italian Vegetable Soup with Mini Meatballs or Beef and Hominy Chili. For sides, snacks, and treats, here are just a few suggestions: Crunchy Apple-Carrot Slaw, Applesauce Cake and Strawberry-Melon Salsa with baked tortilla chips.
After-School Snacks Snacks can be an easy way to get more healthy foods, such as fruits and nuts, into your kids’ diet. Replace the packaged snacks with our kid-friendly recipes, including Autumn Apple “Fries” with Creamy Cranberry Dip, Frozen Chocolate-Covered Banana Pops and Orange-Yogurt Dream Pops. If you’re on the run to soccer practice, for example, you can quickly whip up some Chocolate–Peanut Butter Smoothies, put one serving in a thermos, and bring it with you on the road. Create a batch of Cherry-Nut Trail Mix on a Sunday, divide it into airtight snack bags, and you have a healthy, portable snack to keep on hand for that time when hunger strikes between school and after-school activities.
Another way for you and your family to be healthy is to move more. Getting regular physical activity can help prevent or control high blood pressure, high blood cholesterol, and diabetes. Regular exercise is also a very important part of maintaining a healthy weight for you and your kids. Adults should aim each week for at least 150 minutes (2 hours and 30 minutes) of moderate-intensity activity or 75 minutes (1 hour and 15 minutes) of vigorous-intensity activity, or a combination. During moderate-intensity exercise, you should be able to talk but not sing. Vigorous-intensity activities should make you breathe rapidly and substantially increase your heart rate; you should be able to say only a few words without having to catch your breath.
Kids, too, need to get regular physical activity for their own good heart health. The recommendation for children is a total of 60 minutes a day of moderate-to-vigorous exercise. This can be accomplished through participation in organized sports, as well as through active play, such as running around the schoolyard at recess or jumping rope or shooting hoops with friends.
As a family, plan fun physical activities, such as bike riding on designated paths in your area, hiking in local parks on weekend mornings, or walking the dog together around the neighborhood after dinner. As a parent, you are your children’s most important role model. If you eat healthfully and exercise, your kids will have a good example to follow for lifelong, heart-healthy living.