How involving children in kitchen activities can help them eat healthier.

Even small children can help out in the kitchen. Always remember to tell them about some kitchen safety lesson first.

• Wash your hand with soup before working in the kitchen
• Don’t run with utensils, don’t run in the house! Period.
• Stay away from the hot stove

Cooking with kids can take longer than cooking alone, especially when you just start introducing the basics. Keep in mind the various benefits that children will be developing, from an increase in fine motor skills, to advances in math, measurements and direction taking, as well as a sense of confidence in the kitchen. Cooking together is also a great time to bond for parents and children, take advantage of the fun and the laughs. (7)

Start with simple tasks like mixing and measuring baking ingredients, pouring liquids and washing fruit. Older kids can graduate to harder tasks like chopping fruits, vegetables and preparing salads.

Just remember to be patient with children. Give directions as often as possible and let them know how well they’re doing. Spills can happen if children help in the kitchen and it’s a welcoming opportunity to teach them how to clean up. (7)

Kids who get to touch and prepare foods are more likely to sample it. For that reason, why not let them pick out a new vegetables at the market and figure out a way to cook it together? I bet he or she will be excited to try the weekly vegetable.

Having family meal times can prevent unhealthy eating habits in your children

For many families, eating together has become a lost tradition. The facts are on the table: eating dinner together every night keeps the doors of communication open. It’s the perfect time and place to reconnect and to show your kids that they are your priority. Find out more about your children’s likes, dislikes, and daily life. Having this information can help you guide your children toward positive activities and behavior. (8)

Why are family meal times important?

1. Having sit-down dinners and taking time for your children shows that you care and that your children are important to you
2. Girls who have five or more meals a week with their families are one-third less likely to develop unhealthy eating habits, which can range from skipping meals to full-fledged anorexia (9)
3. Family dinners are a perfect time and place to get involved in your child’s activities and learn more about friends.
4. Parental involvement and influence is an important role in preventing substance abuse (8)

How to put this into a workable plan?

• Limit computer and all media types to 1-2 hours a day
• give them a chance to play outside for at least 30-60 minutes daily
• make sure they get enough exercise 30 – 60 minutes
• monitor their water and fluid intake
• limit their sugar intake
• provide their meal with sufficient whole foods, raw and steamed or broiled
• Let them help in the kitchen

• plan a sit-down meal at least once a day

I wish you and your family good health. If you enjoyed this publications, please don’t forget: Caring means sharing, please share with your friends on Facebook. Keep in touch by subscribing to my eNewsletter.

Stay Healthy and Keep Juicing!

Monika Baechler

1. kidshealth.com
2. Water.org.uk Wise-up Children!
3. Dr. Mercola’s article “This Addictive Commonly Used Food Feeds Cancer Cells, Triggers Weight Gain, and Promotes Premature Aging”
4. Nancy Appleton, PhD, author of the book “Lick the Sugar Habit”
5. Professor Gary Null “Complete Encyclopedia of Natural Healing”
6. “Enzymes: The Fountain of Life”, by D.A. Lopez
7. National Network for Child Care – NNCC. Part of CYFERNET, the National Extension Service
8. American Dietetic Association. Making the Most of Mealtime, last referenced January 31, 2008.
9. The Importance of Family Dinners IV, The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse (CASA) at Columbia University, September 2007.

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“The percentage of overweight children in the United States is growing at an alarming rate, with 1 out of 3 kids now considered overweight or obese.”

Are your children hooked on electronics?

Hours and hours of video games, on the phone with friends, on the computer chatting with friends and too much junk food can lead to overweight children and later overweight adults. You already knew this and it’s no wonder with all the “excess” in this world today.

According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, the average child is watching about 3 hours of television a day. And the average kid spends 5½ hours on all screen media combined (TV, videos and DVDs, computer time outside of schoolwork, and video games). (1)

The combination of to much excess and not enough of the healthy components can leave your child lethargic, depressed and unhappy. What follows is craving more of the bad stuff like TV, candy, fast food, and more junk.

How can I get my kids to exercise?

Don’t refer to exercise as exercise. Just ask them if they want to go play outside or ride their bike. Children love to play and run. They don’t know that playing tag and soccer is exercise. Well, not consciously anyway.

Adults usually think of exercise as something negative, a chore, something like a never ending treadmill session. For children, exercise is fun. Remember your school recess? Running after others, being chased by your friends, ( hopefully they were playing a game of tag!), skipping rope and so forth. Remember how much fun you had climbing trees and spending hours outside with classmates monkeying around on play structures?

How important is outside play to children?

You as a parent can provide the happy childhood you had to your children, by replacing the negative habits with positive ones.

Let them play almost everyday outside, even if there is a chill in the air or it’s rainy. I understand how that might not seem like fun to you, but hear me out. Children love to play in wet leaves, in puddles and on forest trails. Why not, how much harm can they get into if it’s a little wet outside. Put them in warm clothing, a pair of rain boots and a hat. Fresh air detoxifies the lungs and body and can clear your mind.

Exercise doesn’t only control obesity, exercise helps them:

• develop stronger muscles and bones (1)
• have a leaner body because exercise helps control body fat (1)
• decrease the risk of developing type 2 diabetes dramatically (1)
• possibly lower blood pressure and blood cholesterol levels (1)
• fell positive about themselves (1)
• fit in better with their peers (1)

How to spot dehydration symptoms in my child?

The human body is about 60% water. It is necessary for our health and well-being. Water is part of our cells, blood, digestion, and waste elimination. Water also controls cravings. We can’t live more than a few days without water – water is life.

Too little water can lead to dehydration and the following symptoms:

• Fatigue
• Headache
• Dry mouth
• Dry and itchy eyes
• Muscle weakness
• Dizziness
• Lightheadedness
• Lack of concentration
• Overeating

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This is more and more a problem among men. They don’t understand why it happens to them, worse, men (and women) actually think it’s normal. Let me tell you one thing: It is absolutely not normal and definitely not healthy.

It is easier to say,”I don’t like doing that”, then saying,” you have a funky tasting spunk.”

Could you be to Acidic?

Your body should be at a healthy PH-level between 7,37 – 7,45. The lower your personal Ph-level the more acidic you are. Personal acidity comes not only from bad food, alcohol, smoking and junk food, our body’s PH-level gets affected by stress as well. You can download my “Acidic Foods, the good, the bad and the ugly” here in a couple of days.

What are the obvious symptoms of acidity?

Well, there are a couple but the most important signs are change in color of the whites of the eye (grey, yellowish), bad breath, digestive problems like acid reflux and heart burn, weak immunsystem, rashes, funky spunk, weight issues and more… These are some important signs to look for but you don’t have to have all of them to be acidic. If you have one of these symptoms then you are most likely too acidic and need a change of diet and lifestyle.

What can you do today to turn it all around?

It’s quite easy.

• Stop drinking alcohol
• Stop eating lots of meat and milk products
• Stop drinking pop/sodas
• Stop smoking
• Stop eating only fast foods
• less sugar, less pastries
• less bread
• less coffee
• less chocolate
• less stress
• more exercise
• more veg
• more fruit
• more water
• more juicing
• more water (I know I said that already but it is really important)
• more herbal tea

If you can incorporate the changes into your lifestyle then your lady is going to be –  how can I put this – very appreciative?! You know what I mean. Now go on and make yourself a juice. By the way, eating some pineapple or drinking pineapple juice once in a blue moon is not going to turn the wheel around. Put in more effort – and I guaranty you – she will too!

Don’t forget to visit my sister site, 30dayjuicefast.com, which is a great place for detailed information on detox and  juicing for better health. If you guys want to be a “human lollipop”, juicing is the way to go.

It comes down to this,  take care of yourself, eat healthy, exercise more and you can start enjoying the “REWARDS”!

If you are a women, please print this article and give it to your men!

For your entertainment I included the very funny and “open” Samantha from the Hip TV Show, Sex and the City. Enjoy! Episode Segment “Funky Spunk.