In this issue:
Back to
school - diet and nutrition
Past newsletter issues online
Back to school
It's mid-August and,
around the country, this means that our children are
returning to school. This also means that it's time to
revisit a key factor in your child's school experience -
diet and nutrition.
The
challenge
Children require lots of
nutrients, like protein, calcium and vitamin D for bone and
muscle growth and B vitamins for energy production.
If kids are low in these
nutrients, they may experience fatigue, difficulty in
concentrating and focusing, muscle discomfort or cramps and
more. And if they are low in these nutrients during
school hours, these problems may impair their ability to
learn, to perform school tasks and to socialize.
Then there is the issue
of calories. We've all heard the recent news about
widespread childhood obesity. We've learned that, for
many school aged children, 25 to 40 percent of their caloric
intake comes from soda, sweetened drinks and refined flours.
Sweetened drinks offer
lots of calories, but usually offer little or no nutrients.
Their frequent use can suppress children's appetites for
foods containing more nutrients. Refined flours - used
in hamburger and hot-dog buns, white bread, cookies and
cakes - have high amounts of sugar and salts.
Many believe that high
sugar diets for school-aged children contribute to
hyperactivity and an inability to focus - a disorder known
as attention deficit disorder (ADD) or attention deficit and
hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Recent studies have
shown that, in addition to sugar, food additives, food
colorings, preservatives and caffeine (no surprise here!)
also contribute to ADD.
Organic
fruits and vegetables
One of the best things
that we can do for our kids to help them succeed in school
is to provide them with a diet of nutrient-balanced foods.
To ensure that your child
has her or his energy and growth requirements met, provide
them with a balanced, whole-foods diet including a variety
of vegetables, fruits, whole grains, legumes and nuts - and
have them drink plenty of water.
A nutritionist that we
talked to suggests that, for a nutritionally balanced lunch
or dinner, fill one half of a child's plate with colorful
vegetables, one quarter with quality protein and one quarter
with whole grains. She also suggest supplementing your
child's main meals with healthy fruit, vegetable and nut
snacks.
Goodness Greeness
provides a great variety of organic fruits and vegetables to
help you meet your child's dietary challenges. Here
are a few ideas:
For healthy snacks, try
these organic products:
Broccoli
spears (dipped in hummus)
Carrot sticks (dipped in yogurt)
Celery sticks (filled with almond butter)
Cherry tomatoes (in a paper of plastic bag)
Fruit smoothies with berries or bananas
Apples, peaches, pears or grapes
For a lunch sandwich, try
an avocado and cheese sandwich with lettuce and sliced
tomatoes on whole grain bread.
And for the "vegetable
half" of the child's dinner plate, try these organic veggies
that children often like:
Green beans
Broccoli
Avocadoes
Artichokes
Note: leafy greens, like
spinach or bok choy, are great sources of calcium.
Kids often don't like them, so try using them in a casserole
or a salad - they might "slide by".
Tip: try replacing
sweetened juices or sodas with water and a quarter of a
fresh lemon, lime or orange.
We recognize that meeting
your child's nutritional needs is an on-going challenge.
We wish you good luck in trying to meet the challenge.
And if we can help you in any way, email us at
newsletter@goodnessgreeness.com with your questions or
comments.
Contact
us
You can find
a rich variety of
organic
fruits and vegetables from Goodness Greeness at your local market.
Email us
at
newsletter@goodnessgreeness.com if you can't find them and we'll help you
locate them.
Past
issues online
As you know if you've
been reading this weekly newsletter for awhile, there is a
lot of information provided on organic fruits and vegetables, their
nutritional qualities, availability, shopping and
preparation tips, as well as some recipes.
You can now access most of
the past issues of Organics for you on our web site (www.goodnessgreeness.com).
Click on the Newsletter link at the top of any page on the
site. There you'll find a quick index of all past
issues. Select the back issue you want, click on the
issue # and you'll find that tip that you were looking for.
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