Breakfast for kids…the most important way to get them started right for the day. Did you know that sending your kids to school on a donut or sugar cereal can set them up for poor concentration, irritability and a complete sugar crash before they make it to the lunch hour?
Last night, my 8 year old daughter and I made a run to the grocery store for a couple of items that we needed for breakfast. She wanted to take a stroll down the cereal isle…not the one in the “health market” part of the store, but just the general cereal isle. She saw the boxes of Apple Jacks and started talking about how yummy they are. It was her lucky day as I took them off the shelf and decided to “school” her on the spot. I asked her to read the ingredients on the box. Immediately she looked for the sugar and protein content and she was excited to see that it contained 1 gram of protein and thought that was a good sign. I pointed her in the direction of the actual ingredients and again asked her to read. As she went down the line that started with sugar and ended on multiple artificial items and added coloring, I picked up the Udi’s granola out of my cart. I asked her to again, read the ingredients…oats, honey, canola oil, almonds…(aka…food). I showed her the box of Apple Jacks again and said, “What you are looking at in this box and the rest of the boxes in this aisle, is a CHEMICAL CRAP STORM”. She started laughing. So maybe it wasn’t the most appropriate thing to tell my daughter, but it is true. She is the age where she has become aware that she eats differently than some kids. She used to complain and feel like she had pulled the short straw being dumped into my household. However, she is starting to understand and complain less. Habits and cravings start early and it is easy to just “give in”. I encourage you to fight the fight and keep pushing your child toward healthier choices. It is important to pick your battles and this is one worth fighting! There are many great breakfast options for kids and I encourage you to get some protein and fiber in their bellies as they keep them fuller for longer. Here are a few ideas and I encourage you all to share your healthy, kid-friendly breakfasts in the comments! • Protein Smoothie: Add ingredients such as a milk alternative, fruit, spinach/greens (high speed blenders will hide this ingredient and they never know it is there), UltraCare for Kids (good source of protein, dairy-free calcium and other nutrients), almond butter, Dynamic Greens vitamin powder, powder probiotic, etc. You can start basic and add one ingredient each day or each week. • Udi’s Granola: This granola is a great option when time is short in the morning. It has a decent amount of protein and fiber and it can be served with homemade or store-bought almond, rice or coconut milk (watch for carrageenan in the ingredients and avoid). You can also serve it over plain Greek yogurt with some fresh berries if your child is not dairy sensitive. Homemade granola (as long as it doesn’t have sugar added) is another great option. • Eggs and Avocado: This sounds like a stretch and maybe it is for some! I can get away with the avocado (You can also add to smoothies for a thicker texture) but my daughter has simply grown sick of eggs. This is why variety is key! • Fruit. This one is easy but it is important to also include protein to keep their tummy full. • Nut butters. Almond butter, cashew butter and peanut butter are all good options to serve on gluten-free toast or celery sticks (add a few raisins on top and it brings me back to my childhood treat of “Ants on a Log”). For nut-sensitive children, sunflower seed butter is a good option. • Homemade overnight oats or Overnight Chia puddings. Some of my favorites can be found on mywholefoodlife.com. You can made these ahead of time and just grab and go in the morning! There are other options but I would like to hear from you! Please share your triumphs in the kitchen and it is important to remember that you should NOT force your child to eat something they hate. I have found success in introducing on multiple occasions and eventually, I usually win her over on 3 out of the 4 foods. There are a few foods that I don’t like and our kids will experience the same! By Heather Elton, DC, DACBN
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It’s Tuesday and that can mean only one thing…another tush tip!!!! Meet the Sling Shot hip band. It is my new favorite tool to bring to the gym but the great news is…you can use it in the comfort of your home too! It creates a whole new resistance to common exercises and is a great, inexpensive tool to help you strengthening those glutes and abductors. Here’s the deal about strengthening…it isn’t about how much weight you use, it’s about isolating and contracting the muscle you are focusing on and gaining strength without adding a heavy load onto those knees, hips and other joints.. The nicer we are to our joints, the longer they will be nice to us!
I have added a few pics and a couple videos of exercises to try with your band. If you don’t want to buy the Sling Shot, you can use your current band initially too! You should be able to find the Sling Shot Hip Circle on Amazon.com for less than $30 and I recommend looking for the blue band as it has less resistance than the red. 1. Put your band above both knees, legs are shoulder width apart and you should feel resistance on the band here. Slowly settle down into the squat position and return to standing. Repeat 8-10 times. 2. Squatted or standing side steps. Put the band around the ankles and more advanced can settle into a squat position and those with sensitive knees or beginners can stay in the standing position here. Take 10 steps in one direction, leading with the right leg and then take 10 steps in the other direction to the left side. 3. Lying clamshells. Laying on your side with the band above your knees. Keep your feet together and knees bent. Separate your knees, like a clamshell, as far apart as you can. Repeat 8-10 time and switch to the other side and repeat 8-10 times. 4. Seated, bent knee abduction. Sit on a chair or sofa so your knees are at 90 degrees. With the band above your knees, open up your knees as far as you can, without moving your feet apart and return to starting position. Repeat 8-10 times. 5. Seated, straight leg abduction. In a seated position, put the band above your knees and straighten your legs in front of you. Focus on one leg at a time and abduct your right leg as far as you can and return to starting position. Repeat 8-10 times and continue onto your left leg and repeat 8-10 times. You can repeat this sequence for a second or third round, or just start with an exercise or two. Bring your band to work, (Mary Turner shared this idea early this month) and use it while sitting at your desk. DO NOT use this while driving. That would not be good. Here’s to making a tighter tush on Tuesday! Let's chatter about breasts! We smash them into bras too small with underwire that digs into our armpit. We don't massage them often enough. There are some pretty important lymph nodes located near your girls. I for one don't want to plug up my sweat glands nor cause a back up in my lymph nodes there.
Dry brushing your skin is one way to stimulate lymphatic flow and that will flush out the crud faster. Get yourself a long handled natural bristle shower brush. Keep it outside the shower because you are going to brush your skin BEFORE you shower. Start at your feet and drag the brush up toward your groin. Do not rub back and forth but rather drag it from down to up over and over. Continue up at inner and out thighs, especially over fatty area of your saddlebags and butt. Rub toward your belly button. Know there are important lymph nodes in your groin so that needs attention too. Some of the areas may feel really good and others may almost hurt. You will get used to it. It is not meant to be a long process but maybe take you 2 minutes total to do your whole body. Continue from belly up towards chest. Then do your arms. Always run toward your heart or groin area where lots of lymph can drain. Rub each arm from hands up to shoulder. Do your back (which feels heavenly). Focus on each armpit. Super important to stimulate that area around breasts and armpit region, especially for females. Lift your breast if need be and brush under and all around them. Scratch lightly from your neck down towards your breasts. That's it! So my tip is to do this in the shower before you turn it on so the dead skin cells that you will brush off will then get washed down the drain. Gross, I know. Then you can shower. This will really wake you up in the AM! Then you need to layer on your deodorant. Well, have you thought about what is in there?? The big trouble maker is the aluminum that is used in all mainstream antiperspirants. You NEED to sweat crap out of your pits and it stops that from happening. Plus it goes inside you and wreaks havoc with some people's bodies more than others. The organic sticks will be deodorants but NOT antiperspirants. That means you won't stink but your pits will be clammy. You just can't win! It is the bacteria that live on your pit skin and hair there that cause the wetness to start to stink. Feel inspired to make your own and control what goes Into it?! It is very easy and you can control both the odor and lessen the sweat. I'll post that tomorrow but for now Read on for ways to naturally help the stink! Remember we NEED to sweat but odorless sweat is ideal. 1. Use a few drops of purification essential oil in each pit. 2. Use pastey coconut oil smeared on each pit. 3. Try apple cider vinegar splashed on each pit. Warning this totally helps bring your pH more alkaline so if you have a lot of detox to do your pits will get angry red and itchy. 4. Make a magnesium spray. I LOVE to do this but do NOT spray it on after shaving or you will feel a bad burning sensation. I do this before bed. 5. Slap some Baking soda in each pit. Again, this will affect your pH in a good way but if you have a lot of junk in your body and have meds you are on and medical issues, you are going to get itchy, red pits so deal with those issues first. 6. In a pinch use your Thieves toothpaste! 7. Another reason to clean up your diet and lifestyle! Good morning! Ok so I personally coughed and coughed ALL night and ended up sleeping in a bit today. Things I did last night to support myself and what I plan to do today: 1. I propped myself up on a few pillows to slow the post-nasal drip. I will have to get my neck adjusted today since that is not the best way to sleep but I think I can fit a spinal correction in my schedule today. ;)) 2. I guess I am getting a cold so I NEED that adjustment anyway since I personally SWEAR it helps my immune system rock things WAY faster. It doesn't mean I won't ever get sick, you just gotta know how to support yourself during that sick part. 3. I have a diffuser machine beside my bed and happened to have an essential oil that helps support my respiratory system. I added 8 drops of Raven to my diffuser with water and got that thing fired up. 4. I went into my kids' room and took this bottle with a special roller top on it that we have filled with the essential oil Theives. I rolled that onto my neck where my lymph nodes are and onto the soles of my feet. I then took a big smell from the lid-mmm, cinnamony/clove delight! 5. I went into the bathroom linen closet where I store the "homemade vicks" and slathered that on my chest. Yep, that stinks but I can breath so I don't care. Plus it is 2 AM so who is gonna complain?? 6. I drank a big glass of water since my mouth was dry. I couldn't breath thru my nose so I was breathing thru my mouth. That dries out your mouth and I knew I needed to help that. 7. I went back to bed and tossed a bit till i drifted off. Now that it is morning I am going to continue the support for my body based upon what it is telling me. 8. I have some elderberry syrup in the fridge so I am going to take a spoonful of that this morning and get some photos up with a recipe for that but here are the SIMPLE ingredients used to make your own, Grapefruit!!! Let's chat the lovely citrus with a pretty pink interior. They are plentiful now and for around $1 you can have a refreshing sweet snack that is a low-calorie substitution. It has wonderful properties that help keep your blood sugar balanced so you don't have fluctuations that lead to the feeling of starvation mode. Grapefruit juice itself can interact with certain statins (cholesterol meds) and some blood pressure meds so always consult your physician if you take those medications.
Here is a favorite go-to snack of mine. Quick and easy! What are favorite grapefruit ideas? Want a 10 minute meal?Take 2 cloves of garlic and a pinch of red pepper flakes and sauté in a swirl of olive oil. Add one can of drained and rinsed cannelloni beans. Stir in 2 cups of veggie stock. Let simmer for about 10 minutes. Stir in 1/3 cup pesto and 1/4 cup parmesan cheese. Serve with crusty bread and a delicious salad.
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Hi, I'm Dr. Heidi!A mom of 3, pediatric chiropractor, natural remedy guru and wellness educator. Archives
January 2024
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