How to Raise a Healthy Child

“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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Banana Almond Bread

Preheat oven to 350 or 180C

9- by 5-inch (2l) loaf pan, buttered

• 1/2 cup sweetened almond milk or whole milk, 125ml
• 2 tsp freshly squeezed lemon juice, 10ml
• 2 cups sifted unbleached all-purpose flour, 500ml
• 1 tsp baking powder, 5ml
• 1/2 tsp salt, 2ml
• 1/2 tsp baking soda, 2ml
• 1 cup granulated sugar, 250ml (I used only 3/4 cups or even less, it’s still great)
• 1/2 cup (1 stick)  unsalted organic butter, softened, 125ml
• 2 eggs
• 2 very ripe bananas, mashed (1 cup or 250ml)
• 1 cup roasted almonds, chopped

1. In a small bowl combine milk or almond milk and lemon juice. Let it stand until milk curdles, about 1 minute. Put it aside.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, salt and baking soda. Set it aside.
3. Place sugar and butter into mixer bowl. Mix for about 2 minutes until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time and beat until combined. Add bananas and beat until combined. Don’t worry if mixture looks a bit curdled. Beat in flour mixture alternately with milk mixture, making 3 additions of dry and 2 of wet. Stop mixing and scrape the bowl down. Add the roasted and chopped almonds and incorporate.
4. Pour batter into prepared pan and bake in middle of preheated oven for 45 to 60 minutes and let it cool for 10 minutes after it has tested done with a tester. Let it cool completely on a rack after removing from pan.

Enjoy!

Stay Healthy!

Monika Baechler

Original Recipe from the Mixer Bible, second edition (I changed the the recipe to almond milk and added almonds not pecans)

Some Parents ought to be slapped!

Enough is enough. When will parents realize that they are responsible for the health of their children and their grandchildren. Stop feeding your kids fast foods, Take-Outs and microwave oven meals! All I hear is whining and complaining from parents who say that they don’t have time, money or the know-how to prepare a homemade meal? Really, that is your excuse? Isn’t it just laziness? North Americans watch three, four or five shows at night and during the day and it adds up to 13 years in one’s lifetime. The weekends are mostly reserved for TV and food, they sit around on the weekends doing nothing. How is it possible that there is no time to care for our children’s health or your own health for that matter?

You are the parents and you only make the decision what to feed your kids. Not the other way around. “But I feel so guilty if I don’t take her/him to McDonald’s for lunch”. Is that your final answer? You feel guilty? Don’t you think you should feel actually guilty for taking your child there in the first place? I do get it, It’s so much easier, faster and more convenient to drive up and let them eat what they want. At least they leave you alone for a while. Right?

What about, “I’m just not a great cook! I have no idea how to prepare a nutritious meal from scratch!” This answer is unacceptable as well, with all the different cooking shows out there and youtube videos you can not be serious. Better yet, ask your neighbor, your friend, your mom or aunt to teach you. It is so simple to take action and responsibility. If your mother didn’t teach you how to cook homemade meals – shame on her too. Don’t make the same mistake.

Would you let your kids eat from a garbage pile? Why not? You’re already feeding your children dead food. You heard me “DEAD FOOD”. There is nothing nourishing in a burger with fries. It has been processed, poisoned and killed. Oh, excuse me, you are feeding your kids the chicken nuggets with apples and milk. Well of course, that does sounds much better! The nuggets are all leftover garbage meat (if you actually can call it meat), filled with poison like antibiotics and other medicine, shaped in a neat little shape and then fried in hot, rancid, carcinogenic oil bath. The apples are soaked in chlorine so they don’t turn brown and the milk is filled with lots and lots of more chemicals, antibiotics and hormones to really make sure that your kids get the daily toxin and poison requirement of the day. There you have it! The perfect meal for your precious little one, a child you brought into this world  whom you promised to take care of with all your strength and means.

Whole foods are simple, inexpensive, wholesome and a necessity to our and our children’s health. Period.

Whole foods are simple, inexpensive, wholesome and a necessity to our and our children’s health. Period. Most behavior problems arise from malnutrition and deficiencies. What about learning difficulties or social problems. Even allergies like asthma will be gone by providing our children with home made foods from whole foods, the way mother nature made them. (not your local fast food chain)Now you can argue with me about this topic all you want, and if you do argue with me, that means that you are feeding your children manufactured crap and you are trying to defend your actions and thoughts.

The only right thing to do here is to acknowledge your mistakes and work towards a healthier and more nutritious home for your kids and family.

With that said, I do believe that mothers can make a change if they are organized and are taught how to do it right. Why do I say Mothers? Well, Mom is the Head of the household. She buys the food, brings it home and cooks the food (zapping it in the microwave). Not only does the Mother buy the groceries but she also budgets the food money (sometimes anyway).

Every time you’re thinking about the next meal, I want you to have one thought: Would Monika approve of this meal I’m about give my family? If the answer is “no” or “maybe not”, I want you to rethink your menu. Wholesome meals are very easy to prepare, they sometimes take less time and money then ordering from your local pizza delivery place. Think about it! Sometimes I spend less then $20 on three days of groceries. Vegetables, whole grains and fruits are not more expensive than manufactured crap that comes in a box. Take out all the processed foods off your grocery list and only add whole grains like millet, brown rice and whole wheat pasta (there is more), vegetables and fruits. Your bill will be much, much less.

Eating healthy, nutritious home cooked meals is less expensive

This morning for example: it was fast, delicious and inexpensive

Breakfast Banana Smoothie with dates

• 2 bananas
• 2 cups almond milk
• 3 dates
• 2 tbsp silken tofu
• add 2 servings of green+ (green food supplement)

blend everything until smooth, done! The boys gobble it up in seconds, and I mean seconds!

Grain and vegetables dishes and fruit dessert are not only feeding the mind and body, they also feed the soul. If you feed your children’s soul, you will experience a more balanced family life without frustration and conflicts. Some kids are very angry and troubled because of malnutrition, deficiencies and toxic livers. Whole grains and vegetables will balance hormones and toxic blood from over acidity.

One more thought. If you’re still using dairy products, make sure you are only choosing organic whole milk. Organic means without any antibiotics or hormones given to the cows. Just to be clear, dairy is not a necessary food group. Not even for children – specially not for children. Milk is mucus forming and very hard to digest for little tummies. Children get many ear infections because of milk products as well as other allergic symptoms, but that is a topic for another blog.

Today I would like to leave you with this:

“Do not believe in anything simply because you have heard it. Do not believe in anything simply because it is spoken and rumored by many. Do not believe in anything simply because it is found written in your religious books. Do not believe in anything merely on the authority of your teachers and elders. Do not believe in traditions because they have been handed down for many generations. But after observation and analysis, when you find that anything agrees with reason and is conducive to the good and benefit of one and all, then accept it and live up to it.” Buddha

Stay Healthy!

Monika Baechler

P.S. Your pediatrician got 6 hours of Nutrition Education and I studied Nutrition and Asian Nutrition since 1999, who are you going to trust? Think about it!

Strawberry-Banana-Apple Smoothie

Start your day with a delicious fruit smoothie!

It’s fast, easy and oh so good for you! Children in particular love anything that can be “consumed” with a straw, it’s a fact! Drinking smoothies is also sweet, why would you start your day with a horrible bitter black liquid that turns your stomach acidic? Just wondering sometimes about the choices people make.

Now to our fruity glass of deliciousness. What you will need for this particular recipe is:

• 2 ripe bananas
• 4-7 strawberries
• 1 small cup of organic apple sauce
• some organic soy milk (original, not sweetened)

Put everything in the blender and mix. You can even add raspberries or leave the applesauce and add instead some frozen peaches. It’s all up to you. This recipe is just a suggestion because everybody has their own favorite fruits, milks and juices they like to add. No matter what you put in your smoothie it’s going to be a delight every time you drink it.

Now go and make yourself a nice fruity smoothie! Enjoy.

Monika Baechler

Mayonnaise Free Tuna Salad

I was trying to figure out what to put in my starving stomach.

Wondering around in my kitchen I found a jar of roasted eggplants, which I neglected for a while. Since eggplant dip is very low in fat and has no nonsense put into it, I thought I give it a try in my tuna salad.

This is what you will need:

• 1 can of tuna in water, drained (of course you knew that!)
• 4-5 black Spanish olives, pitted
• 1/2 red bell pepper
• 1 stalk celery
• herbs or salt free seasoning
• some garlic salt to taste
• 2-3 tablespoons of roasted eggplant dip

Just mix everything together. You can even add a green salad or more vegetables. Add black olives to taste, but remember that about 4-5 olives have 1g of fat. This tuna recipe is very low fat but creamy and delicious because of the added eggplant. Even if you don’t like eggplant, you should give it a try!

Why not wrap it up in a whole wheat tortilla and take it to work or give it to the kids for lunch. Kids like anything in a wrap, specially tuna salad!

I hope you enjoy this recipe, I know I did.

Once a week or so I will try to post one lean-mean recipe, so keep an eye out for that.

Bon Appetit!

The 101 on caring for kids if they get the Flu

Quite frankly, it is a scary thought but if my family can get through it so can you. Sunday a week ago my 5 year old told me his throat hurt, which scared the poop out of me. Since it was just two days after helloween I wasn’t alarmed, because they sometimes scream so much while trick or treating that they do develop a soar throat. Well, we were not so lucky. Sunday evening he got a fever and I knew we had a flu case on our hands. Monday came and with the morning came also the cough and higher fever. His fever lasted about three days with some normal temperature in between. The highest temperature we measured was 101.3. My 5 year old complained about aches and pains, head ache, lungs hurting when he coughs, runny nose, fever, stuffy nose, night sweats, shivers, chills, fatigue, watery eyes, sleepiness and so on…

On Friday it seamed like he reached a plateau and just to be sure I took him to the doctor to check out his lungs. The doctor gave us an ok and sent us home to rest. He told us to keep him hydrated and resting. It wasn’t until the 7th day until his cough subsided a bit and he started acting like a five year old again.

My 9 year old had similar symptoms but closer to what I experienced. He also started with a soar throat and cough but he complained about severe leg pains and muscle weakness. Runny nose from almost the onset of symptoms and high level of fatigue. We all had clear runny nose, fever, chills, cough and muscle pain with severe head aches for about two days.

What you should have at home to get through the flu with your children:

• Echinacea Elder Tea, Herbal Tea, Traditionally used to fight off colds, flus, and infections, especially of the respiratory tract
• Ginger Lemon Tea, Herbal Tea, Great with honey for little upset tummies or big tummies, ginger is also a great anti viral, anti bacterial
• Olbas Oil, Olbas Oil is a traditional Swiss herbal medicinal remedy containing a unique mixture of essential oils, all carefully selected and 100% pure, put on chest and back
• Nasa Mist, Saline Spray, Specially Designed for Babies and Children, Allergy and Sinus Relief
• Organic Lemon, for hot lemon and honey tea, reliefs cough and sore throat

Keep them hydrated and warm, even if they have a fever. A lot of children in the hospital are there because of dehydration, keep them drinking tea and water all day! It’s important not to give them fever reducing medicine, fever is needed to produce anti bodies. A fever above 103 and 104 is dangerous and should be seen by a doctor. Also help the children breath easier with some vapor bath made with eucalyptus and menthol with lavender.

What is Homeopathy and how can it help us with the H1N1

Homeopathy uses all natural ingredients to stimulate and assist the body’s natural ability to heal. For over 200 years, physicians and homeopathic specialists have used homeopathic treatments. Homeopathy is a “holistic” remedy, which seeks to treats the whole person. Homeopathy takes a different approach from conventional medicine in diagnosing, classifying, and treating medical problems. The term homeopathy comes from the Greek words homeo, meaning similar, and pathos, meaning suffering or disease. In classical homeopathic treatment, we strive to include all aspects of the patients health into their prescribed remedy.

Key concepts of homeopathy include:

• Homeopathic practitioners select remedies according to a total picture of the patient, including not only symptoms but lifestyle, emotional and mental states, and other factors.
• Homeopathy seeks to stimulate the body’s defense mechanisms and processes so as to prevent or treat illness.
• Treatment in homeopathy is very personal (tailored to each person).
• Homeopathy believes the body can heal itself, however our lifestyles and negative habits prevents our bodies from doing so.

How does the treatment work?

Typically, in homeopathy, patients have a lengthy first visit, during which the provider takes an in-depth assessment of the patient. This is used to guide the selection of one or more homeopathic remedies. During follow up visits, patients report how they are responding to the remedy or remedies, which help the practitioner, make decisions about further treatment. In classical homeopathy, only one remedy will be given at any time.

Why are homeopathic remedies great alternatives?

• No known side effects
• No medications interaction
• Very effective
• Homeopathic remedies will stimulate your own bodies natural ability to heal plus it will strengthen your immune system
• Remedies are all-natural
• Homeopathy is highly affordable, comparied to a lifetime of drugs and surgeries

Who can safely use Homeopathy?

Homeopathy is versatile and is used for any illness, everybody can use it. Even safe during pregnancy and on infants without side effects. The remedies are pretty inexpensive plus homeopathy has the potential to  save you money by reducing prescriptions.

What are homeopathic remedies?

Most of the homeopathic remedies are derived from all natural substances. A homeopathic remedy is prepared by diluting the substance in a series of steps. You can get homeopathic remedies sold in liquid, pellet, as well as tablets.

Game: Can you taste the ingredients?

My nine year old son asked me, mommy, what’s in this? This question started a brand new game we play at times. The kids try to taste the ingredients of their lunch or dinner. It gives them some kind of control and assures them, that it’s not some kind of mystery food.

The boys help me all the time preparing food in the kitchen, they can chop and wash the ingredients. Even the 5 year old can help with things, I usually give him plastic knife for cutting mushrooms or tomatoes. Children are more likely to eat what they make themselves. I know dinner will obviously take a little more time preparing, but it’s really worth your time. Children will remember times like these for ever, I usually take pictures of the kids cooking with me and we remember what we cooked that day!

Sometimes the children tell me what they would like to put in the dish. Salads are always fun for kids, the colors are great and children love the crunchy stuff!

So, just have fun in the kitchen and your kids will too.

Monika

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