A Guide to Health: healthy eating, active living

A Guide to

HEALTH Healthy Eating Active Living Through Hasbro Children’s

Adopting habits of healthy eating and active living can be tricky.

In this booklet, we offer some fun and delicious suggestions to help your child succeed.

HEALTHY EATING Why eat healthy?

A balanced diet helps your body prevent diseases such as cancer, diabetes, and heart disease.

Healthful foods give you energy and fill you up, so you eat less.

Eating healthy and staying active will help you feel better during the day and sleep more soundly at night.

Why is eating well so important for children?

Eating healthy helps children pay attention and perform better in school.

Serving children more nutritious foods decreases their risk for Type 2 diabetes and other chronic diseases.

FRUITS Whole fruits are a key part of our everyday diet. They contain essential nutrients that we need –– and that fruit juices do NOT provide.

Ways to add fruits and vegetables to your meals: Get creative with your salad — add grapes, strawberries, blueberries, orange slices.

Pick a new fruit or vegetable to try every week and prepare it different ways.

Add the new ingredient to a stir-fry, soup, omelet, or sandwich.

Add spinach to your fruit smoothies.

Mix vegetables into tomato sauces.

VEGETABLES We need lots of vegetables in our daily diet, and there are five categories that we need a portion of every week.

Dark, leafy vegetables: spinach, kale, broccoli Red and orange vegetables: carrots, peppers, tomatoes, pumpkin Beans and peas: black beans, kidney beans, pinto beans, black-eyed or split peas Starchy vegetables: corn, green peas, potatoes Other vegetables: bean sprouts, cauliflower, onions, mushrooms, green beans, cucumbers, zucchini

Build a Face Use a slice of whole-wheat bread as the base.

Choose your favorite fruits and veggies to use as the eyes, ears, nose, mouth, and hair.

Pick a name and see your friend come to life!

Smart Shopping Tips Remember, vegetables can be raw or cooked, fresh or frozen.

Check the freezer aisle –– frozen veggies are cheaper and just as nutritious.

Celebrate the season –– if you buy what’s in season, you’ll get maximum taste at a lower cost.

Why pay full price? Check newspaper inserts and the supermarket flier or website for coupons, sales, and special offers.

Plan your meals and stick to your list.

Plant a garden and harvest your own veggies.

GRAINS Whole grains, whole grains, whole grains! White bread has almost no nutritional quality. It provides your body quick sugar that is burned off, making you tired and hungry again. Whole grains give us long-lasting energy and extra nutrients (fiber, B vitamins) that white bread doesn’t.

Try fun recipes with whole grains, such as: Whole-wheat pita pocket with hummus, carrots and cucumbers Rainbow red quinoa salad with peppers, cabbage and zucchini Brown rice stir-fry

PROTEIN Choosing the right protein can be really tricky.

The portion sizes at restaurants are way too big, especially for children, compared to how much we should eat. For example, a hamburger should weigh no more than 3 ounces, which is about the size of a deck of playing cards.

However, most times we are served a hamburger that is almost 10 ounces!

Children should eat 6 ounces of protein in a day, and they get a lot of this protein from foods other than meat, such as vegetables, nuts, and dairy.

Try to limit red meat as much as possible. It hurts your cells and increases your risk for many chronic diseases. Better choices include lean turkey and chicken, fish, beans, and tofu.

SNACKS Snack time is usually when we consume the most calories, fat, sugar, and sodium. However, these foods don’t keep us full, and they make us feel tired.

Here are some suggestions to replace unhealthful snacks with delicious ones that will satisfy you.

Fruits such as apples, oranges, bananas, grapes Cut-up raw veggies such as carrots, cucumbers, peppers, tomatoes. Try adding hummus as a tasty dip.

Low-sugar yogurt with fresh fruit

DRINKS For all children and families, we recommend having zero sugary beverages each day. This includes soda, flavored milks, and juices. Each 12-ounce regular soft drink that children drink daily increases their odds of becoming obese by 60 percent.

Here are some better beverage suggestions: Instead of drinking juice, eat whole fruits.

Flavor the water in your bottle with a slice of zesty lemon or lime, or your other favorite fruit.

Try sugar-free sparkling water instead of soda. One 8-ounce glass of low-fat or fat-free milk per day is enough dairy for children.

Try these

HEALTHFUL TIPS Introduce new foods into the family diet: Try a new vegetable or fruit every week, and vary the preparation (bake, boil, cook in sauce, or serve raw).

Make a smoothie with whole fruits and vegetables. Freeze any fruits and vegetables and puree them in a blender with ice and either low-fat milk or water.

Don’t eliminate – replace!

Butter —> extra-virgin olive oil White rice —> cauliflower rice or quinoa Pasta —> zucchini noodles, veggie-based pasta Cook with someone — when families cook together, children have fun while learning about the foods they eat.

Make “ice cream” in the blender from just frozen bananas and blueberries.

Add your own flavor twists, like 1 tablespoon nut butter or 1/2 cup of rolled oats.

Add veggies everywhere.

You can never have too many vegetables in your meal – try adding frozen mixed veggies to soup, sauce, stir-fry, and (thawed) in salad.

PHYSICAL ACTIVITY Be an active family! Try these strategies to work exercise into the day.

Set specific activity times: Pick times throughout the week when everyone is available to be active together – try taking a family walk after dinner.

Plan ahead and track your progress: Write your activity plans on a family calendar, and let the kids help in planning. Allow them to check the activity off once it’s completed.

Include work around the house: Involve the kids in yard work or active chores around the house.

Turn off the TV: Set a rule that no one can spend longer than two hours per day playing video games, watching TV, and using the computer (except for short tasks). Instead of a TV show, play an active family game, dance to favorite music, or go for a walk.

Start small: Begin by introducing one new family activity. Take the dog for a longer walk, play another ball game, or go to an exercise class.

Include other families: Invite others to join your family activities. Plan parties with active games such as bowling or an obstacle course, sign up for family programs at the YMCA, or join a recreational club.

Treat the family with fun physical activity: When it is time to celebrate as a family, plan a trip to the zoo, park, or lake.

Adapted from the USDA Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion’s ChooseMyPlate.gov website

Eat the

RAINBOW! Fruits and veggies of these colors have super health powers:

Red

Help your heart

Orange

Help your eyes

Yellow

Keep you from getting sick and help you heal

Green

Make your bones, teeth, and immune system strong

Blue and Purple

Help your brain and memory

White and Black

Keep you full

Diets rich in...

may help...

Colorful fruits and vegetables

Reduce risk of heart disease; protect against certain cancers

Fiber from whole fruits/veggies

Keep us fuller from fewer calories; reduce the risk of heart disease, obesity, and Type 2 diabetes

Potassium (sweet potatoes, bananas, tomatoes, spinach) Vitamin A (red, orange, yellow)

Vitamin C (red, yellow, green)

Maintain healthy blood pressure

Keep eyes and skin healthy Heal cuts, keep teeth and gums healthy, strengthen immune system

What is

HEALTH? HEALTH is a clinic within the Primary Care Division of Hasbro Children’s Hospital that addresses the significant problem of childhood obesity and aims to prevent the associated illnesses that may develop in later adolescence and young adulthood.

One in every three children and adolescents in the United States today is either overweight or obese, with significant increases seen since the 1970s.

Our Approach Patients are referred to the HEALTH program by the pediatric residency team and primary care attending physicians. Residents consult about patients they are treating, and patients are introduced to HEALTH while continuing to see their primary care providers.

Volunteers from The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University serve as family and patient coaches during treatment.

REMEMBER...

Try to incorporate 5-2-1-0 into your child’s life every day.

servings of fruits and vegetables hours (or less) of screen time hour (or more) of physical activity sugar-sweetened beverages — give your child water to drink.

Dairy Fruits Grains Vegetables Protein Water

ChooseMyPlate.gov

Hasbro Children’s Hospital 593 Eddy Street Pediatric Primary Care, Lower Level Providence, RI 02903 401-444-4691