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News About Nutrition
9 Recommendations from the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee
By Melissa Granberry
How to choose carbs wisely? Lisa Hark, director of the nutrition education and prevention program at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, provides a list of "good carbohydrates" in the book Nutrition for Life (DK Publishing, 2005). Following are a few of the good carbohydrate choices:
- Seven-grain or whole-wheat bread
- Brown rice
- Whole-meal English muffin
- Angel food cake with fresh fruit
- Whole-wheat waffle
- Apple with skin on
6. Increase daily intakes of fruits and vegetables, whole grains and reduced-fat milk and milk products.
Getting kids to eat their vegetables – not to mention their fruits, whole grains and milk products – has been a challenge faced by parents for decades. Ostrowski, who is a mother of two boys ages 5 and 7, shares tips on how she gets her children to eat healthy:
- "I chop up fresh fruit, vegetables and low-fat cheese in the morning," she says. "I put these on a platter, cover with Saran Wrap and put it in the middle shelf of the refrigerator. When the boys open the refrigerator looking for a snack, it's the first thing they see." Though chopping fruit sounds like an impossible task on hectic mornings, she states that it only takes a few minutes – sometimes the children even volunteer to help!
Additional healthy snacks that Ostrowski provides for her children:
- "Ants on a log" – Celery sticks filled with cream cheese or peanut butter and topped with raisins.
- Fruit Smoothies – Combine low-fat vanilla yogurt with any fresh fruit you have on hand. Mix it with ice in a blender and your kids can drink their fruit milkshake-style.
- Dipping Fun – Cut up fresh fruits and vegetables and have kid-friendly dips available, such as yogurt, peanut butter, honey mustard or ranch.
- Trail Mix – Combine favorite dry cereals with pretzels, peanuts and raisins.
