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When SP was born we joined a Mom’s group from Rhode Island New Moms Connection, we met some great moms who we’ve kept in touch with for playdates.  I loved RINWC because the groups are set up by your child’s age, so all the mommies in our group were first-time moms and we all had babes under 3 months. 

Our playdate a couple of weekends ago was the first time SP and I had seen the other moms and babes in several weeks.  Like all parents, we were asking each other what everyone’s respective babies are doing.   Sitting without support?  Rolling both directions?  Getting up on all fours?  Eating?  What are they eating?  We’re all secretly comparing our kids to the others – some are doing more in some areas and others are doing more in other areas.  But looking at one particular child, we’ll call her A, it was so clear how we mommies influence our children.  If you’re not convinced how much what you do affect your kids – here’s a little story for you.

A’s mom is a physical therapist and as you all know SP’s mom (me) is a dietitian.  Now A started rolling before any of the other babies in our group.   She was rolling everywhere – both directions!  SP is still only rolling one direction.   As if A’s skills were not impressive enough, just a few weeks later, at our January playdate, little A is up on all fours!  OMG, up on all fours – that kid is a genius – ready for the Olympics!  Of course, I immediately go home and try to prop SP up and of course her little head drops right to the floor and her knees splay out sideways.  She flops like a seal for a bit and then arches her back enough to maneuver from her belly to her back – not the most graceful roller by any means.  So, naturally I’m concerned – SP is delayed, she’s going to be behind, she’ll surely be held back in kindergarten – she can’t roll, she can’t get up on all fours!

Flash forward 5 weeks to our most recent playdate.  SP is still only rolling one direction, but I’m over my fears of a lifetime of parent-teacher conferences and math tutors.  Now it’s SPs turn to shine a light on little A.  As the playdate goes along SP gets more and more hungry, her bottle is drained and it’s time for solids.  I sit her up in her highchair like the big girl that she is and commence feeding her some pretty chunky peas, she handles them like a pro!  A’s mom comes in and observes the scene she exclaims, “Whoa! A isn’t doing anything like that!”  Oh my, but do I swell with pride.  That’s right my SP is light years beyond A in her eating skills! 

After playgroup ends, I’m still beaming with pride in my little girl and I’m sure A’s mom is beaming with pride in her little girl – as we both should be.  And I think to myself – the PT’s daughter is excelling in her gross motor skills and the RD’s daughter is excelling in her eating skills.  Hmmmm….it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to see the influence here. 

The lesson here is that you are influencing your children at any age.  So, watch what you say, watch what you do, watch what you eat and how much you move because your children are paying attention.

Jill Jayne, Rock Star Nutritionist – love her! Own it! Nature’s Candy Dance Party – YouTube http://ow.ly/9FJ64

Gerber Voluntarily Withdraws a Specific Batch of Gerber Good Start Infant Formula and Offers Replacement Product to Consumers http://ow.ly/9CM0m

Fruits and veggies make you attractive – that’s sweet!
Fruits, Veggies Can Be Beauty Tools, Study Says http://ow.ly/9xdrb

To my patients the message “make 1/2 your plate fruits and vegetables” should sound very familiar! Happy MyPlate Day everyone!
What’s on MyPlate? – YouTube http://ow.ly/9xawm

I’m planning a talk for a group of case managers who work with teen parents, who are also low income.  Needless to say these kids are facing some challenges.  I’m charged with giving the case managers some tools they can use to help their clients eat better and feed their young families nutritious foods on a budget.  I know now hard it to be to put healthy food on the table night after night and I have the education and the means to do it – so what are these kids going to do?

During my brainstorm for this talk I fell upon how to make fast food part of a healthy, family meal.  Is it even possible?  I remember when I was young and my mom gave us fast food.  Sometimes we had a whole value meal in the car somewhere between piano and softball and in between bites we were putting on our uniform.  But sometimes we went through the drive thru and we were allowed get a sandwich, which we had to bring home and eat with a glass of milk and a salad.  Hey, that’s actually not a bad idea.  Why can’t you run in for French fries and bring them home to serve alongside baked fish and steamed broccoli?  Who says you can’t bring home cheeseburgers and serve carrot sticks and milk with it?  Why does fast food automatically mean fat, calorie and salt-laden meals that leave you feeling like a puddle of mud on the couch after you eat them?

Maybe if we thought of fast food as an accompaniment to healthy meals instead of the entire meal we can actually learn how to eat these foods…in moderation.

Oatmeal is like a blank canvas.  You can add just about anything to it that you want and it’s usually delicious!  With February being American Heart Month, oatmeal is a good think to consider adding to your diet to help out your ticker and make up for all those Valentine’s Day indulgences!

Here’s the low-down on your oats:

• Oats help to reduce cholesterol.   Simply put, soluble fiber binds to cholesterol in your gut and keeps it from being absorbed into your bloodstream, thereby reducing your LDL (bad) cholesterol.
• All oats are created equal.  Old fashioned, steel cut, instant, Irish – it doesn’t matter – they all have heart health benefits.
• Oats might help you lose weight.  Oats have lots of fiber and fiber keeps you full.  Having a fiber-rich breakfast may help curb afternoon snacking.
• ½ cup of oats has 4 grams of fiber, which is 15% of your daily needs.
• Oatmeal is a great vehicle for other healthy foods – like nuts, fruit and peanut butter.

Try these yummy, Nurturing Nutrition-tested oatmeal recipes:

Chunky Monkey Hot Brekkie

• ½ cup instant oats
• 1 tsp. Skippy, all-natural peanut butter
• ½ ripe banana, sliced

Classic Morning Oats

• ½ cup instant oatmeal
• 2 tbsp raisins
• ½ tbsp brown sugar
• 1 tbsp sliced almonds
• Cinnamon, as desired

Tropical Treat Oatmeal – sorry, no pic.

• ½ cup instant oats
• 1 tbsp sweetened coconut
• 1 tbsp dried cherries
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• ½ tbsp. macadamia nuts, chopped
• Cinnamon, as desired

Other delicious additions – apples, dried cranberries, chocolate chips, dates, walnuts, flax seeds, honey, mango, pineapple, blueberries.  What do you add?

Budgets can be tough to stick too, especially if sticking to a budget is a new thing for you.  If you’re the type of family that doesn’t think twice about what groceries cost, like we used to be, going from that to a budget is an eye-opening experience.

We were never ones to overspend, we pay our credit card in full every month, we’re never behind on mortgage or car payments and we can still afford to eat out and buy extras when we want.  But then life changes, a baby and a job loss moved us from easy comfort and into stretching every dollar.  We put tape around our credit cards and I imposed the “envelope method” for budgeting.  We allot a certain amount each month for groceries, gas and extras.  At the beginning of the month the envelopes are filled with cash and we can only use that cash to buy our essentials.  It has taught B and me a thing or two about how much we used to spend and how we can really live off of so much less.

The biggest change to come out of this is how we’ve been able to stretch a meal.  This is the story about how we got 12 meals out of one chicken.

Day 1: Roasted Chicken with mashed potatoes, gravy and broccoli.  This was a frozen whole oven roaster chicken that finally saw the light of day.  It was bought at a BOGO sale months ago, so already half-price chicken!  Fed 2 adults (Meals 1 and 2).

Day 2: Chicken soup.  The night before I got my hands slimy and tore apart the chicken to remove every edible morsel of meat.  The chicken soup was simple enough – Sautéed onion, celery and carrots, sliced garlic, and whole peppercorns.  Then chicken broth,  1 1/2 cups of chicken meat and pre-cooked whole wheat egg noodles.  This was served with ½ a grilled cheese sandwich.  Fed us for 2 dinners and 2 lunches. (Meals 3-6).  With about 3 cups of chicken meat left I froze 1 cup knowing that I wouldn’t be using it until the next week.

Day 3: Chicken Pot Pie.  See Cooking Light recipe here.  We used a real pie crust, B was sick of the biscuit top, so it was a treat!  Meals 7, 8, 9 and 10 because we had it on day 3 and day 5.

Day 7: Chicken Quesadillas.  I took the 1 cup of frozen meat out to thaw.  We whipped together sautéed garlic, onions and peppers, the thawed chicken meat, frozen corn with some chili powder, cumin and garlic salt.  Used whole wheat tortillas and cheddar cheese to make 1 whole quesadilla, split in half for 2 adults.  Served with avocado, sour cream and salsa and a green salad on the side.  Meals 11 and 12.

And that’s that, twelve meals made from one chicken.  Granted, B and I eat small portions, I know that one family could easily devour a whole chicken in one sitting, so you might need a bigger bird.  But by following proper portion guidelines and adding vegetables or fruit to every meal and this plan can easily feed two adults for a week.

What are some ways your family stretches your food dollar?

What else would you do with extras from a whole chicken or turkey?