When registered dietitian Jeannie Coaker coaches parents about helping their children lose weight, she tells them that healthy eating needs to be a family affair.
Jeannette Cordor, founder of the Chesterfield County anti-obesity program Faces of Hope, says healthy eating habits are the best gift parents can give their children.
It's a gift many of us could use. One in five Virginians ages 10 to 17, or 20 percent, is overweight or obese, according to a 2010 child-obesity survey by the Virginia Foundation for Healthy Youth. The numbers for adults are worse. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 60 percent of Virginia adults are overweight or obese.
We all eat. Some of us even cook. But necessity doesn't have to mean drudgery, and quick and easy don't have to mean fattening and bad. There's plenty of fun in food, and that fun can lead to a more healthful lifestyle.
Even a 2-year-old can layer vegetables into lasagna or help Mom pick ingredients for a smoothie. And teenagers may develop a willingness to try new foods — even green olives — by helping to make pizzas.
Everyone we've talked to has ideas for eating healthier. Here are 22 we like. Make eating an adventure, and maybe the kids will follow right behind. At least some of the time.
1. Pump up your iron
Add spinach to a fruit smoothie.
Why? It boosts iron consumption (and you'll never taste the spinach!).
2. Cut the salt
Rinse canned beans.
Why? It dramatically reduces sodium, which in turn decreases your risk
of heart disease, high blood pressure and other ailments.
3. Not so sweet
Blend regular Cheerios with Honey Nut or Chocolate Cheerios, a little scoop at a time.
Why? It helps kids kick the sugar cereal habit.
4. Turn yucky to yummy
Pick a vegetable you don't like and find a tasty way to cook it. Detest boiled squash? Slice it thin and bake instead.
Why? Variety is the spice of life.
5. Pete and repeat
Keep giving your kids healthy foods they claim not to like.
Why? Sometimes, it takes a while for the kiddies to develop a taste for new things, but persistence does pay off.
6. Play with your food
Give vegetables fun names. Call broccoli "trees" and cauliflower "snow-covered trees."
Why? Kids will eat them!
7. Cut up
Put out platters of cut vegetables. Serve with hummus or light ranch dressing.
Why? Kids will eat whatever is in front of them, and veggies have loads of fiber.
8. No fry zone
Rather than frying foods, bake, grill, roast, barbecue, stir-fry or sauté in a dash of olive oil instead.
Why? Satchel Paige was right: Fried food "angries up" your blood. Cut it out, and you vastly reduce fat.
9. Fizzle out
Kick your soda habit and your kids' "juice" box addiction. Drink water instead.
Why? A 12-ounce can of cola has about 10 packs of sugar; "juice" box sugar content varies, so make sure to read labels.
10. Cut the coffee
Reduce your java intake by drinking hot water with a squeeze of lemon instead.
Why? Reduces caffeine and sugar consumption.
11. Drive past the drive-thru
Bypass fast-food restaurants — or at least eat fast food less often.
Why? Most fast foods are loaded with calories and fat.
12. Fresh off the vine
Eat produce as close to the time it's picked as possible.
Why? Fruits and vegetables lose nutrients as they age.
13. Listen to labels
Choose high-nutrition foods by learning to read labels.
Why? Avoid foods high in fats, calories, sugar or sodium.
14. Cut carbs
Replace high-carb foods, such as potatoes, with similar-tasting low-carb alternatives, such as cauliflower.
Why? Keep the flavor and get more fiber and vitamins.
15. Eat three square
Don't skip meals. Eat a slice of wheat toast or a bowl of oatmeal for breakfast.
Why? Missing meals slows your metabolism and makes you prone to unhealthy snacking.
16. Bypass red meat
Eat skinless chicken breasts and fish instead.
Why? They're lower-fat proteins.
17. Switch to whole grains
Buy brown rice, whole-wheat pasta, whole-wheat tortillas and whole-grain breads.
Why? They're full of fiber.
18. Bye-bye sweet tea
Eat less sugar — cut it out of your tea, coffee, cereal and fruit.
Why? Sugar adds empty calories and raises your blood sugar.
19. Don't douse your greens
Cut back on salad dressing. Eat a light variety or thin your favorite dressing with vinegar.
Why? Reduces your fat and caloric intake.
20. Prepare healthy treats
Make frozen confections by blending yogurt and fruit in paper cups, then freezing with a stick.
Why? Dessert can be nutritious and delicious.
21. Make healthy snacks a habit
Stock your car and desk with water and nutritious snacks, such as almonds and apples.
Why? Avoid temptation to hit a drive-thru or convenience store.
22. You are what you eat
Track your serving sizes by measuring how much cereal and ice cream you eat.
Why? You might not realize the amount you're consuming.
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Extra-Nutritious Fruit Smoothie
Makes 2 servings
1 cup Greek yogurt
1 cup frozen spinach
1 cup frozen strawberries
1 banana, cut into chunks
1 mango, cut into chunks
Fill the bottom of a blender with yogurt, and then add rest of ingredients. Blend. Pour into glasses.
Eggplant Stew
2 medium onions, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large eggplant
1 large red pepper
1 28-ounce can undrained canned tomatoes
½ cup water
½ teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons dried dill
1 teaspoon ground fennel
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
3 cups chopped fresh spinach
Salt and pepper to taste
1 cup feta cheese, optional
Saute the onions and garlic in olive oil in a stewpot until translucent. Peel the eggplant into 1-inch cubes and add them to the pot. Slice the pepper into 1-inch squares and crush the tomatoes. Add them to the pot with water, salt, dill and fennel. Cover the pot and simmer, stirring frequently, until the eggplant is completely tender, about 15 minutes. Add lemon juice and spinach. Simmer for 2 minutes, or until the spinach wilts. Add salt and pepper. Serve topped with crumbled feta cheese, if desired.
Adapted from "Moosewood Restaurant Cooks at Home"
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