Category Archives: Opinion

New Approach to this Blogging Thing

I’ve decided to take a new approach to my sad little blog here.  Anyone who reads it knows that I’m not very good at keeping up new posts and I think it’s because I try to figure out what people want to know about, so I end up writing about topics that don’t interest ME very much and I have a hard time following through.   So, I’ve decided to take on a new approach and I’m going to start blogging about what’s going on with me – nutrition related, of course!

I have a new baby (four and a half months now), we’ll call her SP (Sweet Pea, Sweetie Pie, Stinky Pants…take your pick).  Feeding SP is a blog all in itself.   Also, my family has also just implemented a new budget and we are learning how to stretch our food dollar more than ever before!  So, there will be lots of budget-friendly tips and recipes!  Then there’s feeding myself and my husband.  For me losing my baby weight, running and beginning training for another half marathon while working full time and being a mom will all be nutrition and fitness challenges that I’ll need to face.  As for my darling husband (we’ll call him B), one might think that having a dietitian for a wife automatically makes you the perfect specimen of health – I wish.  Every once in a while we’ll discuss my efforts to get him on my bandwagon!  So, stick with me and invite others to join you.  It’s my New Year’s Resolution to pick up the pace, get on board with this blogging thing and bring need-to-know nutrition information to the masses (I’m thinking positive here)!

I apologize now for my sentence structure and grammatical errors – that’s next year’s resolution!

Halloween Survival

Many parents are concerned about the abundance of Halloween candy that will be flowing into their living rooms in a little over a week.  Parents with overweight children are especially concerned and I don’t blame them.  But this can be a very good lesson in moderation, kids can learn to enjoy small amounts of treat foods without over-indulging.  Still, some little tricks to keep up your sleeve during Halloween season are always helpful.  Here are a few that I recommend and have heard along the way.

What sort of things do you do at Halloween to ensure healthy fun for your kids?

1. Wait until the last minute to buy candy for your own house, so it’s not around tempting you and your kids.

2. Handout non-food items, online sites like Oriental Trading have tons of stuff for cheap.

3. Walk with your kids on Halloween night, don’t drive.

4. Allow 1 treat with lunch and 1 after dinner.  Have your kids brush their teeth right after eating their evening treat.

5. Offer a trade.  “You can trade all your Halloween candy for _____.”  Make it something active or at least non-sedentary (no video games or movies).  A new shirt maybe?

6. Hold all kids and adults to these rules.  Don’t single out your overweight child.