Six Tips to Improve Your Family’s Health
The importance of creating healthy habits.
Oklahoma’s Shape Your Future is a health communication intervention funded by the Tobacco Settlement Endowment Trust (TSET) and Oklahoma State Department of Health (OSDH). Shape Your Future gives families information they need to build a foundation of healthy habits now to help prevent future health problems. Exercising together as a family, choosing water as your go-to drink and learning to use seasonal produce are simple changes that can improve your family’s health starting today.
Summer is long gone, but that doesn’t mean that fresh, healthy foods are a thing of the past. Many of the local farmers markets you frequented in the summer months are open through mid-October, and switching up recipes to incorporate seasonal fruits and vegetables can have your family eating healthy all year long.
6 Ways to Improve Your Family’s Health
- Incorporate seasonal foods into your diet
- Exercise daily; kids need 60 min. of exercise per day
- Fill half your plate with fruits & veggies at every meal
- Choose water over sugar-sweetened beverages, juice boxes or sports drinks
- Find ways to exercise as a family
- Be a role model to children; model healthy habits such as avoiding sugary drinks, so that children will follow your lead to form healthy habits into adulthood
Incorporate Seasonal Foods
“I love to try new recipes or rework the old ones to incorporate more of these seasonal foods,” says Paulson. “Some of my family’s fall favorites include various squashes, Brussels sprouts, pumpkin and sweet potato.”
When you feed your family seasonal foods, you’re exposing children to a variety of fresh options, which can lead to a lifetime of healthy eating habits. And, Paulson says there are other reasons to go seasonal when it comes to cooking. “Our bodies need the added natural nutrients that seasonal items can provide,” she says. “In the winter, my family takes advantage of citrus fruits by lightly broiling to bring out the flavor, and citrus fruits are packed with vitamin C to help us battle winter colds. Seasonal, fresh foods are beneficial whenever possible, not to mention they taste better and can be less expensive as well.”
While fresh may be best, Paulson says using frozen and canned fruits and vegetables are good options as well. “Just check to make sure there’s no added sauces or syrups when you’re buying these items,” she warns. “Seasoning at home lets you control exactly what’s going in your food.”
Healthy Diet & Exercise Improve Academics
Feeding your family right not only helps prevent illness and future chronic health problems such as diabetes and heart disease, it also can provide brain-power for school. A solid diet of nutrient-packed foods paired with plenty of exercise give kids the edge when it comes to academics. According to a U.S. Department of Health and Human Services study, there is a link between academic performance, nutrition and physical activity. “After just 20 minutes of physical activity, students tested better in reading, spelling and math,” Paulson says. But she advocates for even more playtime. “While 20 minutes is great, 60 minutes each day for kids is even better and parents should join in because the physical activity benefits go beyond just thinking better.”
And, mom was right when she said to eat a good breakfast! “Students who eat a healthy breakfast tend to have better standardized test scores,” Paulson says. “Plus, they have better school attendance with reduced tardiness rates.” It’s a win-win!
Water, Water Everywhere & More Healthy Habits
But, what is healthy eating? How do we know what to feed our kids? “Shape Your Future has a few simple messages families can keep in mind to help kids’ minds and bodies stay healthy,” Paulson says. “First, fill half your plate with fruits and veggies at every meal. Second, kids should get at least 60 minutes of physical activity every day, and third, choose water over sugar-sweetened beverages like juice boxes, soda and sports drinks.”
One way to make the shift to water is to serve fruit- or vegetable-infused water, allowing kids to choose the fruits or vegetables to put in their water. “We like to make a pitcher of our favorite fruit-infused water together in the evenings so it’s ready to got the next morning for the whole family,” Paulson says. “Just fill up some reusable water bottles with watermelon jalapeno water – one of our favorites – and you’re ready to go!
Water is the healthiest choice — helping control weight, aiding digestion, preventing constipation and keeping you hydrated — but it does much more. Did you know that water boosts your energy level and your mood? That’s pretty great for a drink that’s virtually free!
“When you combine daily physical activity with healthy food choices and drinking lots of water, you are giving yourself and your family the building blocks for lifelong healthy habits,” Paulson says. For some ideas on family activities, go to http://shapeyourfutureok.com/move-more/
Plan Now for a Healthy Future
While these suggestions are simple, Paulson recognizes that busy families are faced with a long list of challenges that can get in the way of making lifestyle changes. Sports, homework, chores, clubs and work can make a dash through a drive-thru and a can of soda seem like an easy choice. But Paulson encourages parents to avoid that option. “Really, you are cheating your body of what it needs to perform at optimal health,” she says. “I try to really think about how to divide up our limited time and focus on grocery shopping together and talking about the food choices we are making, cooking and eating together whenever possible.”
Paulson suggests making sure that water is the easiest drink to reach for at home and on the go. She is also intentional about making activity time family time. For Paulson, a family walk becomes a time to talk about the day and a chance to plan ahead. “It really is trying to figure out that quality time to instill healthy habits in our family routine so we are all functioning the best we can.
Try these recipes for seasonal fall cooking:
Baked Apples
Ingredients
- 6 apples
- ½ cup of raisins
- 4 cup of chopped walnuts
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 ½ cups of 100% apple juice
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350.
- Wash and core apples; remove peel from around the top. Place apples in 9-inch-square baking dish.
- Combine raisins, nuts and cinnamon in a small bowl; fill center of each apple with raisin mixture. Pour juice around apples; cover loosely with foil.
- Bake for 30 to 35 minutes; uncover. Bake for an additional 10 minutes or until tender.
Nutritional Information
Calories: 170
Fat: 3.5g
Carbs: 37g
Protein: 1g
Source: VeryBestBaking.com
See more here.
Spiced Pumpkin Bread
Yields 36 servings
Ingredients
- 4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 can (15 ounces) Pure Pumpkin
- 2 cups packed brown sugar
- 1 cup 100% Apple Juice
- 4 large eggs
- 1/4 cup vegetable oil
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 cup chopped nuts, divided
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350. Grease two 9 x 5-inch loaf pans.
- Sift flour, pumpkin pie spice, baking powder, baking soda and salt into a medium bowl. Combine pumpkin, sugar, apple juice, eggs, oil and vanilla extract in a large bowl; stir well. Stir in flour mixture and ¾ cup nuts just until moistened. Spoon into prepared loaf pans. Sprinkle remaining ¼ cup of nuts over top of loaves.
- Bake for 60-70 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in pans on wire racks for 10 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely. Cut each loaf into 9 slices, then each slice in half.
Nutritional Information
Calories: 150
Fat: 4.5g
Sodium: 120mg
Carbs: 25g
Protein: 3g
Source: VeryBestBaking.com
See more here.
Skillet Chicken with Cranberries and Apples
Yields 4 servings
Ingredients
- 1 pound chicken tenders, trimmed and cut in half on the diagonal
- 3/4 teaspoon dried thyme, divided
- 1/4 teaspoon salt, divided
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
- 2 tablespoons canola oil, divided
- 2 crisp red apples thinly sliced
- 1 large red onion, quartered and sliced
- 3/4 cup apple cider or 100% apple juice, divided
- 1 cup cranberries, fresh or frozen (thawed)
- 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
Instructions
- Sprinkle both sides of chicken tenders with 1/4 teaspoon each thyme, salt and pepper.
- Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to medium and add the chicken. Cook, stirring, for 3-4 minutes until lightly browned on all sides. Transfer to a clean plate.
- Add the remaining 1 tablespoon oil to the pan. Add apples, onion, 2 tablespoons cider (or juice) and the remaining 1/2 teaspoon each thyme and salt. Stir to combine. Cook for 3-4 minutes, stirring often, until the apples and onion are softened.
- Add cranberries and sprinkle flour over everything in the pan; cook, stirring, for 1 minute.
- Return the chicken to the pan and pour in the remaining cider (or juice). Cover and cook about 3 minutes more, stirring once or twice, until the sauce has thickened and the chicken is cooked through.
Nutritional Information
Calories: 283
Fat: 8g
Saturated Fat: 1g
Sodium: 265mg
Carbs: 29g
Protein: 23g
Source: EatingWell.com
See more here.
Pumpkin Spice Pancakes
Yields 20 pancakes
Ingredients
- 2 cups whole wheat flour
- 4 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 tablespoon ground nutmeg
- ½ tablespoon ground ginger
- ½ cup brown sugar
- 1 egg yolk
- 2 cups skim milk
- 1 cup canned pumpkin
- 3 tablespoon apple butter
- 3 egg whites
Instructions
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and spices.
- In a separate bowl, mix together the egg yolk, pumpkin, brown sugar and apple butter. Stir in milk until well-blended. All at once, add milk mixture to dry ingredients and stir just until combined.
- In a medium bowl, beat egg whites until light and fluffy (you can use a fork, whisk, or electric beater for this). Fold egg whites into batter.
- Ladle batter by 1/4 cup amounts onto a preheated nonstick griddle lightly sprayed with cooking spray. Cook until evenly browned on both sides.
Nutritional Information
Calories: 74.1
Fat: .5g
Saturated Fat: .2g
Sodium: 183mg
Carbs: 16.1g
Protein: 3.3g
Source: Recipes.SparkPeople.com
See more here.
