And what do you know, Dunkin Donut is jumping on the bandwagon of fastfood chains adding healthier choices in their menu. Customers can have two new choices for under 300 calories with 9 grams of fat or less. You really buying that? Check out Dunkin’ on August 6.

Now, instead of going out for breakfast, dinner or in-betweens, here are healthier menu choices that the family can enjoy:

Busy Family Meals lays out two weeks of summer menus. There is a variety of food groups on the 12 recipes.

Squakfox has 5 cheap, easy and healthy family dinners for $5. Everything looks delicious and worth trying!

Healthy Quick Meals has delicious desserts, one of which is made with tofu. Interesting.

Post from: Blisstree

"Kids’ Meals" out, "healthy, easy meals" in

Here are some ways of helping the young boy develop proper hygiene with puberty.

He really should wash. If he’s not taking daily showers, this is certainly the time to start. Pimples and “zits” will begin appearing soon so getting him to wash his face twice a day will help keep them under control. He also needs to wash his genitals daily to keep infections low.

Buy him deodorant. Sweat under his arms will begin to smell and more so if he doesn’t use deodorants. Antiperspirant may also help reduce his sweat. 

To shave or not to shave. Some boys like to keep the facial hair, some want to shave or pluck every little bit away. Have an older adult, or dad teach him to shave, if he so likes.

Build up the muscles. Encourage him to exercise if he isn’t doing it yet. He’ll probably be happy to be more active now, because his muscles will start to show.

Eating more? Proper diet is also important at this age. He is probably eating a lot more these days, so having a healthy diet will be good for his growing body. If he is overweight, ask the pediatrician about ways to keep his weight under control. Obesity in adolescence is a high risk for disease in later life.

“So, let’s talk”. Wet dreams and erections may be confusing, scary, embarrassing or exciting for him. Have an adult male talk to him about these changes and how to cope with them. They are normal part of growing up and he will eventually learn to control them. Your boy may also begin looking at girls now, and talking to him about sex, girls and relationships will save him trouble later. Teaching him how to be a gentleman will also certainly earn him points with the girls later. Along with his body changes, his emotions are on a roller coaster, and moods will swing like crazy. Help him build a positive self-image. He may not admit it, but he needs his parents now more than ever.

Post from: Blisstree

"How not to smell" and other health tips for boys in puberty

But really, thumb sucking is one of the most common habits of young children. This natural sucking instinct is a child’s way of self-soothing. It also does not cause permanent damage unless it continued past the age of 5. It may however cause some biting problems or protruding front teeth. If you are uncomfortable about letting your child thumb suck, then pacifiers may be a better alternative. Pacifiers are softer and cause less damage to the teeth, and they can be cleaned. However, not all pacifiers are made equal, and some are safer than others. Some are also better looking than others, like this one by Wubbanub.

The WubbaNub is a Soothie brand pacifier attached to a plush stuffed animal, helping keep the pacifier in place and keeps the child feeling calm and secure. Commissioned and used by hospital NICUs across the nation, the latex-free medical grade silicone pacifier is completely safe for all children to use.  The products also aid in hand-eye coordination.  The WubbaNubs are available online at www.mom4life.com and www.twobluepeas.com for around $10.00. For more information, visit http://www.wubbanub.com.

So now, for the give-away: Six winners will receive 2 Wubbanub pacifiers each, so that way you have an alternate when the other is dirty. Here’s how to join:

• Just tell me you want one!
• One entry per person per day
• It’s open to residents of the 48 contingent US states only.
• Contest ends 12:00 midnight EST on August 17, 2008 (Sunday). Six (6) winners will be randomly chosen and announced via blog and email the week after.
• If the winner does not reply within 3 days, he/she forfeits her winnings and an alternate winner will be chosen.

I tried the Wubbanub on my son and he liked it. The pacifier is small enough for an infant and easy to clean. The small stuff toy is a nice distraction that sometimes he ends up playing with it instead. He can also grasp the toy with his hands so the pacifier doesn’t end up on the floor, or squished somewhere hidden.

image used with permission from Wubbanub

Post from: Blisstree

Kids Health Notes give-away: Wubbanub pacifiers

As an incentive I will be giving away a $20 gift card to Amazon to a winner randomly chosen. But first, let’s chat. Here are some questions to begin with -

• How long did you breastfeed? How was the experience like?
• If you did not breastfeed, was it a choice or because you can’t? Care to share the circumstance and experience?
• What breastfeeding tips can you give for first time moms?
• If you’re a dad and you wish to join the contest, feel free to share your wife’s experience (with her approval and discretion, I hope).

Now for details to the give-away:

Did you know there is breastfeeding blog that has the lowdown on everything breastfeeding from no less than a lactation counselor? Check out Angela White at Breastfeeding 1-2-3; she’s also new mom to baby #3.

image: flickrcc

Post from: Blisstree

Amazon GC give-away, world breastfeeding week and a kitchen table talk

But I’m excited to feed him and determined to give him a well-balanced diet at an early age. If I may compare him to his older sister, she is such a slow and picky eater that her weight is constantly on the lighter side. Both children are also diagnosed with multiple allergies, so their choice of food are already limited. But my daughter does love to eat fruit and vegetables so I must be doing something right.

So how do you develop a healthy eater at 6 months of age?

1. Start slow and gentle. Rice cereal is highly recommended as a first food, because it’s practically allergy-free. Get the baby to experience the cereal with his senses – let him touch/mush it. Give a first-time food in small amounts and let baby dictate his preference. For those with a history or presence of food allergies, it is best to delay solids to 6 months or older. It is also recommended to introduce new solids one at a time, and give the new food for 5-7 days to check for adverse and latent allergic reactions.

2. Try and try again. Some babies will eat everything you give them. Others are more cautious about trying new things. The first time you give peas might bring an “eww!” expression on the baby’s face. Don’t give up. Try it again after a few days. Expose the baby to a new food 15 or more times and he will increasingly accept that food.

3. Try a variety of flavors, tastes and textures. Store-bought first foods come as purees but they still have different textures. Once the baby has gotten used to the new food, mix it up with cereal to make it even more appealing.

4. A baby fills up quick. Remember that a baby’s stomach is small and it fills up quickly. For children under age 2, one serving is only about 1/4 of an adult serving. To translate, a serving would be half-a-bottle of Beech Nut or Gerber.

5. Serve five-a-day colorfully.  Vary the color of fruits and vegetables you are feeding so baby can get a wide range of nutrition. Babies are recommended to eat 5 servings of fruits and vegetables in the first year.

• Green: peas, green beans, spinach, avocados, honey dew melon, kiwifruit, green grapes
• Yellow/Orange: Carrot, sweet potatoes, squash, mangoes, apricots, peaches, pineapple, corn.
• Red: apples, cherries, beets, watercolor, red grapes, straw berries.
• White: Banana, pears, cauliflowers, potatoes
• Blue/Purple: Black and blue berries, eggplant, purple grapes, prunes       

Post from: Blisstree

Baby’s first foods: healthy eating at 6 months

The David Beckham Academy has come up with a cool electronic handheld soccer game – MatchMaster – that teaches kids all about managing their health. In the virtual sports game, a player simulates proper nutrition, exercise and adequate rest to increase health and performance. The claim to fame of the MatchMaster is that it is a great soccer training aid for kids since it highlights the importance of a good diet, exercise and the need to train regularly to improve and maintain skill.

In MatchMaster, each gamer has a virtual player (that I nicknamed “Dave”) and set up a “daily routine planner” for it where I had to select at the right time food for breakfast, lunch and dinner, schedule a fitness program and sufficient sleep. After a week of trial and error in training, I was able to gain a healthy lifeline for Dave. The better I was at maintaining a healthy lifestyle (nutrition, training and sleep) through inputs in the daily routine planner, the stronger “Dave” got and the better he was at playing the interactive soccer games. One time “Dave” got injured, and that prevented me from playing in the games. Instead I was adviced to get some physio therapy, recuperate and eat better. If the objective of the game is to have kids become more conscious of their health, the food they eat and seeing the body get stronger with each week of training, then this game has accomplished its goal with my trial. With enough skill, I could even have challenged other gamers in the interactive Infrared games.

MatchMaster was launched at Walmart stores in June and has a retail price of $19.96. A sweepstakes campaign also coincides with the launch and will run through September 1, 2008 at midnight. The grand prize is a trip for ten to London to attend a David Beckham Academy Course. A total of $150,000.00 in prizes is given away. Details of the sweepstakes are available inside each package and online at the www.davidbeckhamacademy.com

Now for the give-away: I have two MatchMaster games (blue and light blue cover) as prizes, and it’s easy to join -

• Just share your thoughts in the comments: “How do you get your kids physically active?”
• One entry per person per day
• It’s open to residents of the 48 contingent US states only.
• Contest ends 12:00 midnight EST on August 17, 2008 (Sunday). Two winners will be randomly chosen and announced via blog and email the week after.
• If the winner does not reply within 3 days, he/she forfeits her winnings and an alternate winner will be chosen.

Post from: Blisstree

Kids Health Notes give-away: Match Master electronic game

So thanks to everyone who joined the Kids Health Notes give-away for Scholastic books for children! Here are the nine winners, randomly chosen.

Post from: Blisstree

Kids Health Notes give-away: Scholastic books for children – winners

But before you order your child that tempting plate of funnel cake, the gigantic onion blossom, or snow cones, STOP YOURSELF.

Here are ten of the unhealthiest foods you can find at the fair:

APPETIZERS: Chicken nuggets. Almost every child loves chicken nuggets, whether at the fair or fastfood. Eeek! Just a serving of 6 nuggets contain 341 calories, 17 g (26%) total fat, 63 mg (21%DV) cholesterol, 870 mg (36%DV) sodium. The chicken strips don’t fare any better either.

APPETIZER: Fried onion blossom. Surely onions are healthy! Not fried, they’re not. Their the worst kind of deceit! One onion, deep fried, has 1320 calories, 72 g (111%DV) total fat/12g (60%DV) sat.fat, and 1300 mg (54%DV) sodium. Thinking of getting fried zucchini instead? Think again.

SIDES: Curly fries. I haven’t figured out the preference over the french variety, but they’re the same deep fried potato. Only curly fries have spicier seasonings, which make it a candidate for the “Most Sodium” Award. One serving/ 7 oz cup has 620 calories, 30g (46%DV) fat, 1540 mg (64% DV) sodium.

MEAL: Corn Dog. A staple at fairs is corn dog, “and make it jumbo please”. Watch out. Its packed with 375 calories, 1170 mg (49% DV) sodium, 75 g (25%DV) cholesterol , and 21g (32%DV) fat.

DESSERT: Funnel cake. Who hasn’t gone to the fair and not eaten these puffy, sweet smelling ribbons of deep fried batter? An 8 oz cake would cost you 760 calories, 4 teaspoons (16 g) sugar, and 40% of daily value of saturated fat. Add sugared strawberries, candies or other toppings and you could easily gain 1000 calories.

I know you’re gagging already, but we have five more to go…

DESSERT: Cotton Candy. There should be nothing in this right? Correct. And that’s the problem. There is nothing in it. 45 grams or equivalent to 10 teaspoons, of sugar. And I think these ladies are not just eating a serving of candy.

MEAL: Personal pan pizza, cheese. Somewhere along the way, pizza evolved into a healthy food alternative. Not if a 7″ pizza has 667 calories, 24 g(37%DV) total fat, 41 mg cholesterol and 1085 mg (45%DV) sodium. The pepperoni is worse, and the pineapple and ham pizza is a killer.

MEAL: Nachos, with cheese. This is one weakness in my family – it’s got to have cheese, so much of it we can’t find the nachos. A 9″ serving plate has 861 calories, 59 g (91%DV) fat, 70 mg (23%) cholesterol, 1811 md (75%DV) sodium.

DESSERT: Snow cone. Unfortunately, snow cones are another empty food. It’s really all just flavored water and sugar. One serving is 270 calories, 156 mg sodium and 68 g (23%) sugar. A teaspoon is roughly 4.2 grams, so you can compute. Sherbet is almost the same way.

DESSERT: Fried Twinkies. What is it with carnivals and deep-fried food anyway? Fried oreos… fried snickers… fried twinkies have 420 calories, 34 g(52%) fat, 45 g carbs.

Sorry to spoil your appetite for carnival food. But I showed you the worse of the lot, or course. Calorie King has a listing of all kinds of carnival and fair food, and unfortunately I haven’t found any that is a dollop healthy. Maybe it’s time to re-think how we eat at the carnivals, fairs and theme parks. Now if only these places allow us to bring our own food in.

images: flickr (Creative Commons license; each image is attributed with name of user)

Post from: Blisstree

Ten unhealthy carnival and fair food

If you say YES to the questions below, prep yourself, your boy is going through puberty.

• Has his voice become deeper?
• Has his muscles gotten bigger? (Like you didn’t see him flex it more often too!)
• Is he suddenly taller?
• Is he getting pimples on his face or back?
• Has he started to grow facial hair?
• Have you noticed new body odors?
• Has his penis gotten larger? (Sorry, you gotta ask. Or maybe dad’s doing the asking.)
• Has hair grown under his arms, or around the penis or testicles?

YES to most of it? Then it’s time to talk to your child about changes in his body. Tell your boy about the changes that will happen to him during puberty. Read up on the topic yourself so you’ll be more familiar and knowledgeable about it. Remind him that every boy goes through the same thing, but the timing may be different for each. Be open, honest and keep the talk light. Humor is fine, but don’t make fun of it or of him. Chances are, he’s also scared about the changes going on (including the emotions and raging hormones), so being confident and reassuring will help him early on.

When is the best time to talk? Timing is everything, but don’t wait for him to approach you. He may be too embarrassed or confused about it. If you can talk to him before any of the signs of puberty appear then he’ll be better prepared for it. Even when he says at first, “Ugh! That’s gross!”

Source: Healthy Advice Networks

Post from: Blisstree

Eight clues to puberty in boys

Half-sleepovers are just the cool kind of pajama parties where parents drop off their girls, in pajamas, and then pick them in time for bed. It’s more like pretend sleep-overs, but girls still have fun like it’s the real thing.

Set the stage. Think of a theme your girls will love. Transform her room into a mini party room, with decor, balloons, cool lights, and small table for snacks and drinks. Set up a TV area, lounge (pillows on the floor or bed will do), maybe small stereo and/or stage too. Mock make-up session  would also go well with tweens. And don’t forget the camera!

Set limits. Before your little girl starts inviting friends, talk to her about house rules. Keep the guest list small. Rule of thumb is to limit the number of guests to the age of the child. Have her help with menu planning (even if it’s only snacks) and preparing it with you. Have her (and maybe her friends) help clean the room up before the party ends. Be around to supervise but let the girls have room to be by themselves (they’re sharing secrets they don’t want mom to hear!).

Save the best for last. Now for the party flow. Invite the girlfriends to come in their pajamas, with their favorite cuddly toy. Let ‘em loose! End the evening with a movie to get everyone to wind down before their parents pick them up for the night. Send each girl home with mementos – polaroids or digitally-printed pictures or a craft she has made will be remembered, and talked about for days to come.

Post from: Blisstree

Half sleepovers – the slumber party for under 10