Embracing Everyday

We were walking around the aisle’s of SM Sucat Hypermarket when a happy grandmother passes by and says, “Wow, you’re so lucky. All my grandchildren eat are junk food.”

Sky was walking around munching on a juicy, red apple while walking around.

So how do we get Sky to nibble on fruits?

1. Be an Example. Aside from being conscious with our words and actions, we also make it a point to eat healthy. If he sees us eating a banana, he takes a bite too. More often than not, he spits it out after letting it swirl in his mouth. That’s just fine, since he’s still developing his sense of taste, thus learning his likes and dislikes.
2. Let him help out. Whenever I’m preparing salad, I let Sky toss in the corn, sliced tomatoes, carrots and croutons. He gets excited when he hears me thank him for making the food I just ate.
3. Go Around the Produce Section. We point out the names of a random fruit or vegetable in the produce section of a Grocery. Tell him the color and let him feel a fruit or two. Just keep him exposed to the healthy stuff.
4. Give him fresh juice. Offer him a fresh juices as part of a snack. Not the powdered kind please. Those are loaded with sugar.
5. Put a smile on a fruit or make a broccoli to a tree. Etch out a smiley on an apple, a grape or a banana and let the fruit “talk” to him before he gobbles it up!
6. Mix it in. Add vegetables and fruits in some recipe’s that it may not be exactly called for. Like, carrots, spinach, peas, mushroom in spaghetti meat sauce instead of meat.
7. Relax. If Sky doesn’t like to eat a particular healthy food. Don’t force it. The more you forced it, the more he becomes fussy about it.

Although, once in a while, we let him eat Chips and cookies. We don’t want him to feel too deprived.

This is my first post on my culinary expertise (if there’s any!) But seriously I like to cook too.. But lately, I’ve been leaving the cooking to D’s or Ate Ging’s hands. My hands are always full with Sky’s affection these days.

Since D and I are on the same route to decreasing body fat percentage. We taper off our Carbohydrate intake by the end of the day. And having a hearty salad for dinner is the best choice for us.

Aside from having salad for dinner, there are times that we also have it for breakfast! Seems weird right? However, we feel satisfied bulking up on greens at the start of a day. And it’s easier for us to workout an hour or so after a green breakfast.

It’s almost impossible to have energy to workout in the morning after a normal breakfast of bread or rice.

What we like to toss in our salad are:

• mixed greens
• tomatoes
• carrots
• young corn
• Century Tuna in water or Grilled Chicken
• ripe mangoes
• button mushrooms
• grated parmesan or feta cheese
• BREAD PAN!
• extra virgin olive oil with balsamic or apple cider vinegar

It really varies on what are mood is for the night. Sky always helps out in assembling our salad plates. If you’re aiming to loose some weight. A big serving of salad at night is the best option, minus the CREAMY dressing of course!

Have a Happy weekend! Enjoy the Botak Paa-bilisan race this Sunday, if you’re running there!

I recently joined in a forum all about Milk, etc. at Female Network web site . I am continually updating myself with the said forum. And I think using Formula or Fresh Milk or even Goat’s milk is a personal choice for all mom’s out there. For me, I switched Sky to Fresh milk from Breast milk (yep, I breast fed him for that looong.) when he refused my breast when he turned 12.5 months in January of this year. My reasons were:

1. I had cousins who have been guzzling down fresh cow’s milk when they turned 1 in the U.S. And they are younger – but TALLER than me.
2. I noticed that kids here in the Philippines have really bad cavities at age 1-4 years. Might be the SUGAR in the Formula? Or forgot to brush the teeth?
3. When my friend accidentally left a can of formula open – there was a colony of ANTS within 15 minutes?
4. Sky has occasionally spilled fresh milk in the floor – and NO ANTS were in sight within 1 hour. (I didn’t clean it immediately, just to test it out.)
5. I can buy a small 250ml of fresh milk in any 7-11, ministop, grocery or even in a gasoline shop station. Very convenient.
6. Have you seen how NICE, CLEAN and SPARKLY the teeth of Western kids are? Enough said.

I also found the following information from Ask Dr. Sears:

QUESTIONS YOU MAY HAVE ABOUT COW’s (Fresh milk) MILK NUTRITIONAL BENEFITS

Why is milk so good for children? While cow’s milk is really designed for baby cows rather than baby humans, it’s a nutritional staple in the diet of many cultures. For children who are not lactose-intolerant or allergic to dairy products, milk is one-stop shopping for nutrition. It contains nearly all the basic nutrients that a growing child needs: fats, carbohydrates, proteins, vitamins and minerals (except iron). While it is true that most of the nutrients in milk can be gotten easily from other sources, such as vegetables, legumes, and seafood, milk puts them all together in a convenient package. Realistically, children eat or drink dairy products in greater amounts and more consistently than other foods. While whole milk is not the only way to get calcium in a child’s diet, it’s the most practical way. Good luck serving your child a breakfast of calcium-rich broccoli, kale, and sardines. Specifically, these are the nutritional benefits of milk, per 8-ounce glass:

• Protein: 8 grams.
• Carbohydrates – lactose, 11 grams
• Fat: Depending on what kind of milk you choose (nonfat to whole milk), milk contains anywhere from negligible amounts of fat in non-fat milk to eight grams of fat per 8-ounce glass in whole milk.
• Calcium: 300 milligrams or 35 percent of the RDA for school children. Note that the percentage of calcium absorbed from dairy products is much higher than that absorbed from most vegetables. Milk is fortified with vitamin D, which boosts calcium absorption.
• Vitamin B2 (riboflavin): 8-ounces of milk supply half the RDA for children under three years, one-third of the vitamin B2 requirement for school-age children, and one-fourth the requirement for teens and adults.
• Vitamin B-12: 30 percent RDA for children
• Zinc: one eight-ounce glass, 10 percent RDA for children
• Vitamin D: 25 percent RDA for children and adults
• Vitamin A: 10 percent RDA for children and adults

While milk isn’t the perfect food, it still delivers a lot of nutrition in all its various forms, such as cheese, cottage cheese, and yogurt. Besides, milk and dairy products are foods that kids will eat and drink willingly. Despite the bad press about milk, it has a lot of good nutritional things going for it.

This is just my opinion that other mother’s may want to know. In the end, as I said before, it is still a personal choice. What works best for you, well, that’s the best for you.

I just ran 30 minutes and did 2 sets of circuit weight training this afternoon – after a two week hiatus. Ever since Ate Day came here – all we did is eat and eat and eat. I am not complaining about the eating. It’s just getting hard to run after a 1 year old who DOES NOT WANT to stop walking!

Aside from adding exercise again in my routine. I’m integrating HEALTHY EATING again. Hopefully. Crossing my fingers. Here’s a sample menu when I want to get back in shape in a jiffy:

BREAKFAST:
1. 1 cup whole wheat cereal with skim milk and a piece of fruit OR;
2. 2 whole wheat toast with smothered with 2 Tablespoons of peanutbutter OR;
3. 1/2 cup oatmeal or muesli with skim milk and brown sugar for a little sweetness OR;
4. 3 eggwhites (scrambled/poached/boiled) with 2 pieces of whole wheat toast with fruit.
Drinks: Green Tea OR a glass of unsweetened Grape juice OR Skim milk OR Orange Juice with pulp.

after 2-3 hours have:
SNACKS
1. 1 serving of ANY non-fat yoghurt
2. Any fruit
3. 1/2 cup of peanuts, cashew, almond or walnuts. (unsalted and baked if possible)
4. 3 whole wheat crackers

after 2-3 hours have:
LUNCH/DINNER
1. 1 fist sized portion of chicken or fish with a hefty serving of steamed veggies and 1/2 cup brown/red rice.
2. Tuna (in waterm drained) with mixed greens and Extra Virgin Olive Oil with balsamic vinegar as dressing.
3. 1 palm size portion of whole wheat pasta with tomato sauce and salad greens again on the side.
4. 1 cup or bowl of Minestrone or a variation of. NOT CREAMY.
5. 1 fist-sized portion of ANY VIAND wit1/2 cup brown rice and lots of veggies.

after 2-3hours. Have a SNACK and after 2-3 hours again. Have DINNER.

ADDITIONAL TIPS:

• Drink a glass of water every 2 hours.
• Steer away from Iced tea, “fruit juices” with lots of sugar, fraps, etc.
• Have a glass of skim milk before going to bed – instead of chips and dips (which I still do when I’m on a mini-vacation)
• Have a CHEAT day once or twice a week. (I NEED THIS)

This is the sample menu I tell friends who ask me when they want to lose weight. I’m not a certified trainer or nutritionist – I just read a lot on this stuff and I actually like sharing anything that would benefit anyone. Just remember to amp it up with exercise even for just 30minutes each day.