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September 2008 - Times-Standard Articles

September 10, 2008 - Memories Are Made at Family Meals Chicken and Dumplings

September 17, 2008 - Make Healthy Family Meals a Habit Fast Salsa Spaghetti

September 24, 2008 - Use a Variety of Foods for Kid’s Lunches Mango Chicken Stir-Fry

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September 10, 2008 - Memories Are Made at Family Meals

As was mentioned several weeks ago, meals can become challenging when September rolls around. Children are back in school and there are many planned activities at various times of the day and week. Actually, it doesn't seem to matter whether you have children or not -- things get busier as we approach autumn. It's important to remember the value of eating meals together during these busy times.

People have unique memories of childhood family meals. For some, it may have been a special time when the family gathered and discussed the happenings of the day. For others, it may have been a battleground, a time of arguments and scolding. Then again, some individuals may never have experienced a family mealtime.

Whether positive or negative, some of our most vivid memories of childhood may include family meals. Meals are necessary for both nurturing and nutrition, and parents frequently identify the dinner meal as most possible and most important. It may surprise you to know that in several studies, teenagers also identified dinner as a meal they would like to have more frequently with their families.

Families who plan and prepare food at home and have family dinners usually consume more fruits, vegetables and nutrients than those who never or seldom have family dinners. It has been shown that children eat a greater variety of healthful foods that they would not necessarily have otherwise chosen if they were not part of their family meals. In addition, foods introduced during a family meal have a better chance of becoming preferred foods as a child matures.

Having structured, predictable mealtimes may be even more challenging at this time of the year, but children do benefit when that occurs. The structure of regular meals gives children an anchor and assures them that they will have contact with their parents, will be fed and will not have to be responsible for obtaining their own food. Through regular meals and snacks, children learn to deal with hunger, and have less need for uncontrolled snacking. Irregular mealtimes are frequently full of tension and noise that make it difficult for anyone to be able to identify what or how much they would like to eat.

OK, there you have it: better family relationships, more nutrients and healthier families. Those sound like pretty compelling reasons to schedule family dinners during the week. Aim for at least three meals together each week, but know that any meals together will add to overall family health.

Next week we'll explore some ideas for keeping family dinners simple and quick. In the meantime, here's an easy dinner recipe that your family may enjoy:


Chicken and Dumplings
(adapted from Everyday Healthy Meals)

2 1/4 cups canned low-sodium or reduced sodium chicken broth
1/4 cup water
1 medium onion, peeled and chopped
4 1/2 cups frozen mixed vegetables (your choice)
2 cups cooked, chopped chicken
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 1/4 cups prepared baking mix (use one containing whole wheat flour, if available)
1/3 cup 1-percent or nonfat milk
1 egg

1. In a large pot over medium heat, combine chicken broth, water, onion, vegetables, chicken and thyme. Cover and bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes.
2. Place baking mix in a small bowl. Remove 2 tablespoons and stir into simmering pot.
3. Add milk and egg to remaining baking mix and stir with a fork to blend. Drop rounded tablespoons into hot stew. Cook over low heat, uncovered, for 5 minutes.
4. Cover and cook for 5 minutes more. Serve while hot.

Makes 6 servings, with 193 calories per serving, 6 g fat, 75 mg cholesterol, 257 mg sodium, 3 g fiber (it will be higher if whole wheat baking mix is used), 16 g carbohydrate, 20 g protein.

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September 17, 2008 - Make Healthy Family Meals a Habit

It's very easy to get into a habit of running to the grocery store and purchasing the same thing week after week, and then still not know what you'll be preparing for dinner each evening. As was mentioned last week, dinners can be challenging at this time of the year because of work, school and after-school schedules. It is much less expensive and more healthful to prepare meals at home. Here are a few ideas to make life easier, and family meals more interesting and enjoyable.

• Keep staples on hand. What foods does your family frequently enjoy? They may include pastas (preferably whole grain), brown rice, potatoes, canned tomatoes, onions, garlic -- they depend on your family's preferences.
• Make a plan. It doesn't have to be in great detail, but identify what you will prepare for a main dish at dinner for at least three different days of the week. (It could include at least one casserole that you can make big enough to serve for two meals, with a day in between).
• Ask family members to make suggestions for main dishes or vegetable side dishes each week. It's much easier and more relaxing to come home and cook when you know what you will cook and that you have the ingredients on hand. Also, ask them to help choose new foods for the family to experiment with.
• When you go shopping, either carry a list of your main dishes for the week, or have it in your head. Consider what would make the best side dishes for each entree. Look for special prices on vegetables as well as protein sources, and consider how you might be able to switch them into the current week, or how you might safely store them for the next week. (Fresh vegetables should be used during the week they're purchased, but meats can be well-wrapped and kept frozen for a future week.)
• If you have sports practices or meetings in the evening, plan for a hearty early snack that can be eaten before practice and a dinner that is prepared ahead of time and can be quickly re-heated after practice. Or, plan for the reverse, with dinner early and a hearty snack later. Find out what will work best for your family. A variety of planned meals and snacks will be better than resorting to chips and soda or frequent fast foods.

To find some ideas for quick main dishes, go to www.northcoastlean.org. There are numerous easy-to-use recipes in the KVIQ section.

Try the following recipe with your family. It's quick, easy and tasty:


Fast Salsa Spaghetti
(adapted from 5-A-Day for Health)

1 pound lean (90 percent) ground beef (or crumbled tofu, ground turkey or chicken)
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder or 1 clove garlic, minced
2 cups chunky-style salsa
3 cups cooked spaghetti (preferably whole grain)
1/2 cup reduced-fat Monterey Jack (or part-skimmed Mozzarella) cheese, shredded

1. Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add beef (or other meat or tofu) and cook until browned, 5 to 7 minutes.
2. Drain meat (you can decrease fat even more by putting the cooked beef in a colander or strainer and running very hot water over it) and return to pan. Add garlic powder or minced fresh garlic and salsa; reduce heat to low and simmer 10 minutes.
3. Toss with hot cooked pasta and top with cheese.

Makes 4 servings, with 446 calories per serving, 8 g fat, 75 mg cholesterol, 463 mg sodium and 5 g fiber. (You can decrease calories and fat by reducing the amount of meat used to 1/2 to 3/4 pound, and increase fiber by using whole wheat spaghetti.)

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September 24, 2008 - Use a Variety of Foods for Kid’s Lunches

A couple of weeks ago I shared some ideas to make “home constructed” lunches interesting and appealing. To create lunches that will be carried to work or to school . . . and eaten, it is essential to make a variety of preferred foods available in the kitchen. For children's lunches, there are several additional thoughts to keep in mind if you want the food to be eaten rather than traded or thrown away.

• Many children will only eat foods that they feel comfortable eating in front of their friends. Of course, some children delight in having something "different" in their lunches, but many prefer foods that will be “acceptable” to their buddies. If you want your child to eat and enjoy their lunch, respect their feelings and work together to choose foods that are nutritious and acceptable. There’s a good chance that your child will have the “cool food” that everyone else wants to copy.
• Help your child accomplish getting their fruits and vegetables, by including crunchy, fresh varieties when they’re available. If you want to promote something new, first give it a try at home over the weekend, your child will appreciate it.
• Children will only eat as much as they feel like eating at the time of their meal, or even more likely, only as much as they have time to eat at their designated lunchtime. Many children will eat only enough to stop the "hunger attack" in order to go out and play at the lunch-time recess. (Of course, if some of their lunch is left uneaten, hopefully they will eat it on the way home from school . . .)?

Some schools have reversed the more common lunch/recess sequence, which means that children are given recess first, and lunch second. Lunch is then eaten the 15 to 20 minutes before going back into the classroom.

Studies show that children eat better, settle down from their physical activity, and are ready to work in the classroom when they have their physical activity first and lunch second. Surprisingly, even though this type of “activity-then-meal plan” has been identified as beneficial to both students and teachers, many local schools have yet to adopt it. It might be something to explore at your child’s school.

Children also have the option of buying lunch at school. Many public schools are working to make school meals more nutritious and acceptable to children of varied ages. By federal mandate, all school districts now have Wellness Policies that should address school meals and ideas for improving them in each school. The School Wellness committees should now be meeting to explore opportunities to assist their school districts in implementing all areas of their policy. Check with your school administration and be a part of the solutions needed to improve school meals.

The following recipe can be made ahead, can include a variety of vegetables or fruits, and makes a delicious lunch entrée for home, work or school. Give it a try!


Mango Chicken Stir-Fry
(adapted from Everyday Healthy Meals)

Nonstick cooking spray
1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-size chunks
¼ c. pineapple or apple juice
3 Tbsp. low-sodium soy sauce
¼ - ½ tsp. ground ginger
1 bell pepper (your choice of color), cut into bite-size strips
2 mangos, pitted and cut into bite-size strips (try substituting with pineapple, apple, or nectarine chunks)
¼ c. toasted, slivered almonds (or try walnuts)
Ground black pepper to taste
2 c. cooked brown rice

1. Spray a large wok or skillet with nonstick cooking spray.
2. Sauté chicken over medium-high heat until cooked through, about 10 minutes.
3. In a small bowl, stir together the pineapple juice, soy sauce, and ginger. Add sauce and bell pepper to the skillet (if using fresh apples, add them at this time).
4. Cook and stir for about 5 minutes until the peppers are crisp-tender.
5. Add the mango and almonds to the wok or skillet and cook until hot. Season with ground black pepper to taste. Serve stir-fry over brown rice.

Makes 4 servings, with 387 calories per serving, 9 g. fat, 68 mg. cholesterol, 496 mg. sodium, 7 g. fiber, 47 g. carb., 31 g. protein.