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Introduction:  5 Tips To Keep Your Family Healthy

Welcome!  You probably have lots of questions about healthy eating and it’s understandable as there is SO much information out there and it’s often hard to decipher what is correct since there seems to be so much conflicting information.   Should I eat Paleo? Vegetarian? Keto? Gluten-free? Organic?   What is best for me and is that different than what is best for my children?

Here at MoDex we focus on being healthy, not losing weight or getting thin.  There are lots of very unhealthy and unsustainable things you can do to lose weight.  We DO NOT encourage any of these things.  You’ll often hear us say “There are NO shortcuts”.   The only way to achieve results is to put in the work.   If you take shortcuts, you’re just selling yourself short.  We are focused on building healthy habits for good health in both the short and long term.   If you’re in good health, it will show on the inside and the outside.

You may have heard the phrase “Let food be thy medicine”.  This could not be more accurate.  If you eat healthy, whole foods you are far MORE likely to be healthy.  If you eat (or drink) processed, packaged food in a bag or a box with a barcode you are far LESS likely to be healthy.   Know that every food/drink choice you make is either helping or harming you.  It’s truly that simple.

We’ll be posting a series of blog posts on many topics dealing with nutrition and health and other key lifestyle factors (especially for children) but here are a few highlights to start off with.

Here are few basic ideas to keep your family healthy:

    1. Understanding “Why do we eat?”  

We all know that eating is essential for survival, but it’s so much more than that! Our bodies require a wide range of nutrients to function correctly, stay healthy and provide energy.  Food should also bring us pleasure.   At its core, food serves as a source of nourishment, providing our bodies with the energy and building blocks needed for daily life.  This includes healthy types of protein, fats and carbohydrates (macronutrients) and vitamins and minerals (micronutrients) – and we need a mix of all of these.   While satisfying hunger is crucial, the quality and variety of what we eat determines our overall well-being.

For more information on this topic, check out the blogs below:

Link to eating for nutrition blog

Link to emotional eating blog

2. What should my children be eating?

You and your children should be eating the highest quality and variety of whole foods you can access and afford. This will ensure that your children receive the essential nutrients needed to grow and develop and you’ll get what you need to stay healthy and keep illness away as you age.  It’s so important for children to eat a balanced diet as their bodies and brains are developing and require a variety of micro and macro nutrients to do this.

Also, your children should eat what you eat.  Stop giving them “Kids foods”.  These are almost always extremely unhealthy!   When you feed your children ultra-processed foods that are full of sugar, trans fats, food coloring and other chemicals, you are giving them “empty calories”, lots of sugar and chemicals and they are NOT receiving the nutrients they require. 

Ultra-processed foods are found in a bag or box with a barcode.  They typically have five or more ingredients. They tend to include many additives and ingredients that are not real food products, such as preservatives, emulsifiers, sweeteners, and artificial colors and flavors.

Regularly feeding your child ultra-processed foods and fast food contributes to childhood obesity, diabetes 2 (never seen in children until recently) and other severe ailments.  It also makes ADHD worse and makes it harder for children to sit and focus at school.    

A good rule to follow is the Harvard healthy eating plate:

    • Fruits. Fresh, local, seasonal fruit is best. Encourage your child to eat a variety of fruit.  Though fresh is best, you can also use canned, frozen or dried fruits. Look for canned fruit that says “light” or “packed in its own juice” as many canned fruits have heavy syrup (this would have lots of sugar).  Also, keep in mind that 1/4 cup of dried fruit (like raisins) counts as one serving of fruit.  Frozen fruit is great as well!  Try freezing grapes and banana slices.
    • Vegetables. Fresh, local, seasonal veggies are best (and less expensive).  Serve veggies with lots of different colors!  You can also serve canned or frozen vegetables. When selecting canned or frozen vegetables, look for ones that are lower in sodium and have no additional additives.   Steam, roast, bake, boil or lightly stir fry or air fry with very minimal olive or avocado oil.  Many veggies are great raw, plain or with a healthy dip, as well as cooked.
    • Protein. Choose seafood, lean meat and poultry, eggs, beans, peas, soy products, and nuts and seeds.  Fish, meat and chicken are best roasted, baked, broiled or grilled – watch the marinates that you use as many have lots of added sugar and salt.  Often some vinegar, Dijon mustard, and local herbs & spices is enough to make a tasty meal.
    • Grains/Carbs. Choose whole grains, such as whole-wheat bread or pasta, steel-cut or rolled oats, popcorn, quinoa, or brown or wild rice and limit the serving size.  Sweet potatoes are also a great addition to a meal.   White rice, white pasta and white bread are NOT recommended options.  It can be complicated to determine which grains and carbs to eat so we’ll dive deeper into this in another post.
    • Dairy. If you and your child can tolerate dairy, which many people cannot, occasional organic, grass-fed & finished yogurt/Greek yogurt or cheese  can be a healthy addition to your diet as another source of protein.  It’s important that it’s organic and grass-fed and finished.  Factory farm raised cows do not produce milk that is healthy for consumption.

For more information on this topic, check out the blogs below:

Link to eating for nutrition blog

Healthy eating for families

Marketing

Daily

3.   Read Labels

As a parent you are responsible for most of the foods and drinks your child ingests and so your knowledge is POWER to make healthy choices to make healthy bodies.  Learn how to read the back labels to understand exactly what is in this product and what it is truly providing for your family.

When you pick up something at the market, ask yourself  “Does this come in the package it was grown in? (like raw fruits and vegetables) or in a box or package that has a long list of ingredients that you can’t pronounce (like Doritos) or somewhere in between (like rolled oats)?

Food companies that sell ultra-processed food in a bag or a box with a barcode ONLY care about selling products and they will put ANYTHING on the front of the package (to the edge of the law) to entice you to purchase it.

Remember, the front of the package is marketing – words and images to entice you to buy.  Companies can make anything sound like there are health benefits – even Lucky Charms cereal promotes some nutritional information on the front of the box.  That doesn’t make it a good choice. 

Companies are allowed to use words that mean nothing like “healthy” or “natural” or “heart healthy”.   These are marketing terms, not scientific ones.  It can be very confusing!  Today, very few countries require front of package nutrition labeling to help consumers make quick, easy choices on healthy choices for their family.  Hopefully front label nutrition labeling requirements will increase in the near future to help parents trying to make healthy choices.

When you’re reading back labels, here are a few key things to look for.  First, look at number of servings per container and actual serving size.  Often what we think is one serving may be two or three, especially with drinks and small bags of snacks.    Look at the number of calories (remember this is for one serving)   Look at nutrients and try to limit products with added sugars, saturated and trans fats, and too much sodium (salt)   Kids should have less than 20g of sugar each day.   Review the Ingredient list.  This information lists each ingredient in the product in descending order by weight. The ingredient that weighs the most is listed first, and the ingredient with the least amount is listed last.   If there are more than 5 ingredients and lots of ingredients that you can’t pronounce , you should put this back.  Also remember that there are over 50 types of added sugar and often ultra-processed foods use multiple types of sweeteners.  And chemical sweeteners, like aspartame or “diet sweeteners) are even worse for you!

For more information on this topic, check out the blogs below:

Decoding labels

Reading lables

Link to sugar

4. Plan/Prepare/Pack

Preparing meals at home allows you to control the ingredients, nutritional content and portion size.  Yes, preparing food at home takes time, but we share tips on making this relatively fast and painless.  We don’t like to spend too long in the kitchen either!  But if you take the time now to create healthy meals with and for your family (get the kids involved) you’ll save yourself time, money and heartache in the long run by avoiding serious illness and disease and set your kids on a path for good health for life.

We encourage families to make a meal plan for the week so you know what you’re eating when and can shop and prepare in advance.  It’s possible to cook twice per week and then mix and match and re-heat throughout the week so you’re not cooking daily (we don’t encourage this – it gets exhausting!)

However, it’s important to have meals and snacks readily available so you’re not tempted to pick up outside food when you’re late, tired or in a hurry.

Many businesses that sell prepared food and certainly fast-food restaurants are using the lowest quality and cheapest ingredients since they don’t care about your health (or sometimes even taste).  They care about making a profit.   It’s often less expensive to use chemicals in food to simulate sweet or salty tastes than to actually use real food, its also more addicting.  Most food outlets also use lots of sugar, salt and unhealthy oils to enhance the taste of foods as it is often less expensive than using higher quality marinates, herbs and spices.

We encourage families to cook in batches and pack extra servings in the freezer.  You can also batch cook with friends. One family makes meal A and the other family makes meal B and you swap.  There are lots of ways to have healthy, homemade meals throughout the week without spending too much time preparing.

The key to cutting out ultra-processed food is planning ahead! If hunger strikes and you don’t know what your next meal is, you might find yourself at the drive-through or snacking on box or bag of something that is very unhealthy.

Plan/Prepare/Pack

5. Snacks

Healthy snacks for kids (and often adults) play a crucial role in managing hunger and energy.  We all have felt  the 3pm crash and for kids, they need more nutrients to keep them focused and energized to do homework, play sports and engage in other activities outside of school.  

Instead of sugary or heavily processed options, opt for nutrient-rich alternatives. Keep snacks below 300 calories and include 3 or more grams of protein and fewer than 8 grams of sugar.  Protein, fiber and healthy fats are filling and whole grains/carbs provide energy without a sugar spike and crash.

Fresh fruits like apples, bananas, or berries are not only tasty but packed with vitamins and fiber and add some healthy peanut or almond butter to add protein and healthy fats. Veggies like carrot sticks, sweet peppers or cucumber slices with hummus are excellent choices. Greek yogurt (for those who can tolerate dairy) with some granola (watch out for added sugar in both) provides protein, healthy fats and carbs. Whole-grain crackers with peanut butter offer sustained energy. Smoothies made with yogurt, spinach, and fruits can be both delicious and nutritious. By choosing these options, you’re helping kids develop good eating habits that can benefit them for a lifetime.

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