Getting your kids to eat vegetables is a battle worth fighting, daily.

Struggling to get your kids enough vegetables? Who isn’t J What if we told you that we have a few ideas for y’all! The most important thing to remember is; if at first you don’t succeed then you better try try try again. Kids are conditioned to believe that vegetables are bad for them before they really even give them a fair chance. Many parents don’t even realize how much their own likes and dislikes rub off on their children. If they don’t believe you would eat them, then good luck ever convincing them to give it a fair chance. Sometimes placing the vegetables in front of your child at mealtime is just not enough. This doesn’t mean that you should just accept that they aren’t “veggie eaters” and move on. It means you may have to get a bit creative on how you get them to eat vegetables. Kids enjoy creativity and fun and sometimes it really is all in the presentation. Below are a few ideas that you should try:

      1.  Grow a garden and have your children help in each step of the process. They will be so proud of their accomplishment they will want to try the finished product. Plus an extra bonus is that it will allow you to spend some quality time teaching your child one of the best lessons in the world, how to provide for themselves.

      2.  Puree recipes and put them in some of your family’s favorite meals. I would suggest this only if you are truly struggling to get them to eat their vegetables. I am by no means opposed to pureeing vegetables; I think it is a great way to get more in the whole families diet regardless of how picky they are. The reason I think we should avoid using this method as a primary way to get more vegetables into our children’s nutrition is because once our children are on their own they will be unable to make their own healthy choices. They need to understand and appreciate why it is so important to include vegetables in our daily nutrition.

      3.  Let them pick out the recipe and help prepare it. Kids are far more interested if they feel like they had a choice of what vegetable is on their plate or at least how the vegetable was prepared. This doesn’t always mean that they will like what they pick out but it usually is a green light for them to at least try it. Just make sure while picking out recipes you don’t hide anything from them. If they pick out a recipe that includes something they don’t like then be sure to discuss if they would like to exclude it. Encourage them to keep it in the recipe by explaining that each vegetable used in cooking helps to create the tasty meal as a whole. Sometimes excluding a certain ingredient can change the taste of a dish dramatically. If they are set on excluding it then you may want to approach them with a substitute ingredient that will allow the dish to keep close to its original taste.

      4.  Create a picture with your children and talk about different vegetables you could use to create the image. And then do it. Doing tasks like these takes the “seriousness” of vegetables out of the equation. They stop looking at them as a carrot or cucumber and begin seeing them as trees or flowers. This takes away from the negativity surrounding several vegetables. It also allows your child’s imagination to run wild and free. Sounds like a win-win to me J

      5. Keep them cut up in the fridge and accessible. Offer them as a snack when a child says they are hungry. It’s amazing what children will eat when they have no other choice. It is said in several places that when children are truly hungry, they will eat. If a child truly wants a snack and their options are cucumbers or carrots, I bet you would be surprised at their ability to make a decision. As a society we make excuses for why our children wouldn’t choose a healthy option, instead of allowing them to make the choice for themselves.

      6. Our final piece of advice is to communicate with your children. Know and understand some of the basic reasons to eat vegetables yourself. Explain to them why it is important to make vegetables a regular part of their nutrition. No matter what age the child is you can usually reason with them in their own terms. This gives them the feeling that they are in control. We all know that children enjoy feeling like they are in control.

Getting your children to eat their vegetables really is an important battle to fight. Some days it may feel exhausting, but vegetables are proven to keep us healthier and to increase our energy. This allows us to live a more fulfilling life. We owe it to our children to make good choices for them while they are too young to understand. As they grow older it is ALSO our responsibility to make sure that they learn and understand why vegetables are so important. Each child is different. This is why we say to try a few different ways to peak your child’s interest in vegetables. I promise you, this is a battle worth fighting!

Mucho love to you all and wishes to live a healthy and happy lifestyle,

LORI J

Get your children involved in the kitchen :)

Children need to be hands on so that they fully experience and understand why eating healthy is so important to living a fulfilling life. They have to know how to take care of themselves and more important we need to teach them how to teach others so that they may continue to pass it down to generations to follow. That way maybe our world will be around for some others to enjoy.

FIVE WAYS TO GET YOUR CHILD INVOLVED

1.     Start by letting your child tag along to the farmers market and grocery store with you.

They need to get familiar and comfortable with both of these places. They also need to understand the difference. Once they get comfortable it is good for them to interact with the farmers. They need to see you doing the same and asking some of the important questions. After all children do their best learning by observing. This may seem like a pain in the butt and no I don’t have any children of my own, but I have been to a grocery store with kids, around kids, and I once was a kid. I remember how dreadful my mother made it seem to take us into the store with her. Lets remember though it is for their own good and it also allows you time with your child teaching them something priceless. Something that one day, they will need to pass down to their child. That my friends is more important than any video game, movie, TV, jewelry, or anything else that money can buy.

TIP: Make it fun for your child by playing I spy and teaching the names of each fruit and vegetable, switch it up after several times and have your child do the calling. Try to focus on some of the more unfamiliar fruits and vegetables.

2.     Let your child help you wash, cut and store your fruits and vegetables.

Ah yes, this may seem dangerous. No I am NOT telling you to hand your two year old a butcher knife. There are products you can buy for young helpers in the kitchen that allow them to help and yet be safe. If you don’t feel comfortable having them cut up the fruits and veggies then there is still plenty they can help with. Washing and storing the fruits and veggies are teaching them very important lessons early on. They should understand and you should talk with them about why we wash our fruits and veggies. Don’t sugarcoat it, simplify it. They need to know and understand why they are doing what they are doing if you want it to make an impression on them. Storing the fruits and veggies will allow them to carry that on to get the most out of each farmers market visit. Lets face it nobody likes letting their food go to waste, especially yummy fruits and veggies. If you are worried about a mess with little helpers in the kitchen then you should set them up a “station” get a tray from the dollar store and allow them just to be present. It will impact them just being in the kitchen with you.

TIP: Make a chart with your child list which fruits and veggies should be stored where.  For younger children cut out pictures from a local advertisements and glue onto chart. Keep this on the fridge so that they may look at it while helping.

3.     Measure and pour ingredients.

Very few kids (or people for that matter) enjoy math. In the kitchen we have a chance to use some of those forced math skills. More so, we have a chance to help our children gain general knowledge of measurements and fractions and you get more quality time with your little ones. Sounds like a win-win to me. This process is not one that you can let them do on their own until they are fairly old enough. After all some ingredients are hard to remove if too much are used. To be on the safe side you can have them measure ingredients over the sink and then add them to the bowl.

TIP: Give your child the measuring cups and spoons and have them tell you what each one is. If they need help be sure to tell them at the beginning what each one is and have them repeat each one. Also have them read the recipe to see the measurement this will allow them to get familiar with the layout of a cookbook.

4.    Allow them one night a week that is their night to pick/cook dinner.

This is something that as a kid I LOVED to do. It allowed me to express a little bit of creativity and it made me feel like I had a role in the family each week. To make this a little bit easier on yourself you can absolutely put a few restrictions. Don’t allow there to be too many though, you want them to explore and be creative, but you also want it to feed your family J Keep in mind though, they are kids and may possibly make mistakes. Don’t leave them unsupervised if you are uncomfortable with how the end result may be.

TIP: Sit down and go through recipes with your children once a month. It doesn’t have to be for a long period of time, but just enough to find some new recipes to try in the month the follow. Have your child make their own recipe book it will allow them to have their first recipes for years to come. If they are too young to make their own then have them draw a picture and then you write the recipe down for them. No matter how simple you think the recipe is write it down.

5.     Most importantly, make sure that they help with clean up.

I say that this is most important because this is the part that we all would like to skip out on. Lets face it though; very few of us are rewarded with that luxury. Kids need to understand and get use to the fact that cleaning up is just part of the job. Any spills or oops that your child had should be cleaned up by your child. No this is not a form of torture it is just showing them that if they are responsible for their messes. It is a great lesson to teach them and the earlier the better. Be realistic on what they can help clean up, but give them more credit then you think. Make sure though that if you helped out in the kitchen you help with some of the clean up, they are learning from your habits.

Tip: While you are cleaning up with your child make sure and discuss some food related topics. You can talk about kitchen safety or where different parts of the dinner originated from. Figure out what interests them about food and health and try to appeal to that as much as possible. Once again, the younger they are the better.

Getting your children involved doesn't mean that you have to give them the control. It just means to allow them to understand where their food comes from and the process it takes to make it something delicious entering their bodies.

Love to you all and wishes for a healthy and happy lifestyle,

Lori J

Do or Dye? The truth about artificial colors

For most of us artificial dyes have been flying far below the radar for much too long! Unfortunately it isn’t our generations that are going to be affected the most, it’s our children and our children’s children. That’s a scary thought. We spend so much time trying to protect our children and the honest truth is that we may be the very ones harming them the most. This world needs so many things to keep it going round, but our bodies need 3 main ingredients. They are oxygen, water, and the most important FOOD. Not imitation unreal makeshift food, we need legit natural delicious food.

            It is easy to dismiss the effects of artificial dyes since our parents nor ourselves have not had quite as much exposure. We are not feeling or seeing the side affects that occur when exposed to large amounts. It is quickly catching up with us though. Everyday we are seeing more and more people that are losing quality of life due to the “food” they are putting into their bodies.

            Since our food has dramatically changed in the last 30 years, we are going to start to see more evidence of the negative effects of artificial dyes. That scares me. Food that I grew up on is quickly being exposed as unhealthy and some have even been found to be dangerous. Like I said though, we are not the ones that are going to be affected the most. It’s going to be our poor, innocent, and uneducated children. We have an obligation as parents, aunts, uncles, grandparents, caregivers, teachers, and doctors to make sure that we teach our children how to take care of themselves. The problem is though that we are not educated enough to take care of our own bodies, let alone pass healthy habits onto our children. Since they will be exposed to these products longer during their lifetime, their risk increases dramatically. There is a VERY good chance they will experience the negative side effects of artificial dyes.

            Not only do they have to worry about these artificial dyes, but they are also the ones that most of these companies target. They use well-known cartoons and action figures to promote their brands. This makes the battle for a caregiver ten times worse. Not only do they have to battle the “delicious” taste of these products but they also have to battle their “hero’s” being on the packaging. Ugh. The unfortunate part is that we really can’t blame ourselves as caregivers, because we are constantly being fed new information and its not always the correct information.

            Over the years there have been 24 artificial dyes used in our food products. By the year 1978, 17 of these have been banned and labeled as “unsafe”. So what makes those other 7 artificial dyes different? Not. A. Darn. Thing.

            Still used in our foods are the dyes; red 3, blue 1, blue 2, green 3, yellow 5, yellow 6 and red 40.  They don’t sound bad or dangerous, until I tell you that these dyes are made from petroleum and coal tar. Now I hope I have your brain spinning and no that isn’t a typo. No wonder we are getting sicker and sicker as a whole that’s just plain disgusting.

            Not only are these artificial dyes made from less than appealing chemicals, but they are also known to cause some health risks. These risks include cancer, allergic reactions, asthma, eczema, migraines, hyperactivity, and behavioral problems in children. I hope you are all thinking what I was when I learned these facts; what in the heck do we use them for then? Well we use them to make our food more appealing although they provide absolutely NO nutritional value. Seems kind of silly to me.

            Our bodies don’t need “attractive” food to survive they need REAL food to survive. We also need real food to function properly and live an energetic lifestyle. Isn’t that what every caregiver hopes to give their child? I know I wish that for every child out there. Most parents think that it is too big of a hassle to worry about this one thing. If it’s in our food then it must be okay, because our government wouldn’t steer us in the wrong direction. Ha. I will leave my comments on that topic to myself, but lets be serious we all know our government often has ulterior motives. It is each of our individual jobs to keep our children safe and if you don’t believe me do some research. The facts are there. If you don’t act now, I have a feeling we will all regret it down the road.

            My tips to you all are:

·      Read nutrition labels. If you can’t pronounce it should you really be putting it into your or your child’s body?

·      Cook as much of your own REAL food as possible. That way you know exactly what is going into your food and your family’s bodies.

·      If you must eat out with your family don’t be afraid to ask exactly what is in the food you order. You are paying for it and personally I think that gives you the right to know.

·      Provide fruits and vegetables as snacks for your children. You can’t go wrong with fruits and vegetables. If you want to take it a step farther grow your own garden.

·      If you have any questions or concerns it is better to not put it into yours or your child’s body.

Artificial dyes are scary and unhealthy no matter how you look at them. What’s even scarier is knowing that we are putting these into our children on a daily, shoot hourly, basis. If you still don’t understand or believe all the hype, then please do some of your own research. You owe that to your children as well as yourself. I know most people want to live to be able to meet their grandchildren. It can’t hurt right?

Love to you all and wishes for a healthy and happy lifestyle,

Lori :)

Pic credit: (healthychild.org)

The long and short of it....

If you want to know the long and short of it….

           In 2008, Erin was living at home with my parents after graduating from Olivet College with a Sports Recreation Management Bachelors Degree. I was in my last year at Olivet College, where I completed a General Business Bachelors Degree.  The idea originated as an after school program. We wanted to give kids a place to go after school that would give them positive activities to put their energy into. This was also when we (USA) were starting to see the health and physical education classes disappear from the classrooms. We decided that we would provide a program that kids would receive an hour workout out and then the remainder of the time they could work on homework while they waited for their parents to get out of work.  Originally we wanted to start as, Minds in Motion. We attempted an open house in Alpena, however it was not the turn out you are looking for when you are starting out. So as discouraged as we were, we didn't give up, however we didn't press forward either. We attempted to regroup and figure out what to do next, but life seemed to keep getting in our way. In 2008, we lost our biggest support system. Our mother, Gloria Elizabeth, was diagnosed in 2005 with breast cancer and taken July 3, 2008. Craziest time of our lives. Seeing first hand how short life can be inspired Erin and I to chase our dream, one that my mom supported with everything she had. She knew it was what we were meant to do. 

           We had grown up playing sports and being active on a daily basis but it was my mom getting sick that sparked both of our interest in nutrition. Growing up, we ate pretty healthy. Going out to eat was a "treat" for us, even in our hundreds (and I mean HUNDREDS) of miles traveled as a family growing up we RARELY got to eat out. We grew up in a household that ate dinner together, at our dinner table EVERY night possible. My mom was a great cook and my dad had a good job, so this allowed our meals to always be well balanced. Even while we were traveling, the cooler was packed with all the necessities! This wasn't something we as kids were overly enthused about, but looking back that was one of the best things my parents did for us. (I feel the need to mention here that we also have a little brother, he is 3 years younger than me, Kevin) So back to where I am headed with this, my dad and we as kids always ate well, but my mom never seemed to eat much when we sat down. Nor do I remember her eating breakfast, unless it was something small as we were walking out the door to school/work. I also remember her snacking a little bit when we would get home from school and that was about it in the evenings. So in our journey to further educate our selves about optimum nutrition Erin and I agree poor nutrition may have had a big impact in her struggle to beat such a violent disease. I am not saying that my mom died because of her nutrition, but after almost 5 years of research I am certain it did not help. This being the case and watching as the world started to figure this same thing out, Erin and I knew we needed to continue full speed ahead. We were brought to this journey for a reason and we were going to see it through. The buzz that was starting to stir up about child obesity and how our food is processed just continued to confirm that we were headed down a path that was going to change the world. But could we handle that, were we really meant to be women entrepreneurs in this tough and crazy world?! 

             June 2009 we were living in Battle Creek and we finally made our first official move. We got our LLC, naming it Minds on the Move. Minds in Motion was already taken, but looking back at this it worked out in our favor, our new name fit our new direction. We were ready to take on the child obesity problem head on by providing a program for kids that would educate and support them in living a healthy and happy lifestyle. Our focus is not on how much weight a child does or does not weigh, we focus on the fact that every child needs adequate physical fitness and nutrition DAILY. They not only need it daily but also need to understand WHY they need it daily. As parents you can't always be at their side, at some point they will have to make a decision on their own. We can't expect them the make the right choice if we do not educate them on what that is, especially when it is a decision as important as what they are going to feed their bodies. We live in a world where they are telling us that our children are going to die before us. What is that?! I am 27 years old with no children yet, however I can't even imagine bringing a child into a world that I would have to see them leave just as quickly. It was hard enough to bury a parent, and that is the natural sequence of life. Absolutely scares the heck out of me to think about the effects that will be brought on this world if we don't do something now about how we eat and process our food. We needed a space and we needed a space fast. Time was here to start educating our children so that they could live healthy and happy lives or at least have the ability to make educated decisions for themselves.

             We got a space in Marshall, Michigan next to a nutrition club that was just opening up. We traded working hours in the club for the use of the building, doesn't get much better than that. We had 5 clients going within just a few short weeks. We went strong for a year and a half, eventually moved down to a building on the main downtown strip of Marshall. There was a lot of cliental turn around, but we did have one young lady who stuck with us from start to finish. They were a great family that we will always be grateful to have been able to work with and get to know. Then life got in the way one more time. I had been working at a daycare since I was a junior in college and Erin was an adjunct professor at Olivet College teaching yoga and Pilates. Both of us were also coaching volleyball at Olivet High School. Then my boss’s husband’s plant closed and they were off to Oklahoma so I was out of a job. Olivet College was no longer going to offer the yoga class, which made it impossible to keep seeing how bills have to get paid. Erin being the adventurer that she is decided she was off to California and I was on a job hunt. MotM took a back burner. Erin was home from California by the end of the summer and shortly after the holidays I finally got hired in at a gym in Battle Creek. Of all the places, I truly did not seek this job out. One day my friend came walking through the door with an application telling me that her gym was hiring. Within a few days I was the newest front desk receptionist at Blue Moon Fitness (When I got hired it was actually Gold’s Gym) and Erin was waiting tables. Not where either of us wanted to be but we were paying the bills and had food on our table, which is important. After a year and a half, we realized that I had actually been once again given a valuable tool in our journey. I suddenly had a whole network of people interested and supportive of our innovative program and they encouraged us to press forward.

          So here we are in 2012. What a great but rocky year it has been. Erin and I found a building and quit our jobs for several reasons. Mostly because we decided that we were going to put everything we had into MotM and if it didn't work then and only then we would move on. We knew neither one of us would be satisfied until we did it and did it right. We had an opening date, we had all the materials we needed to open, we had people ready to check it out and then just like that we lost the building. The long boring details of it aren't necessary, but lets say that scary world they warn us all about with the shady people, it really does exist. We didn't let it hold us down though, within 24 hours we had another building lined up and what we thought would be ready to go quickly. After almost 2 months of monkeying with this building in a not so great neighborhood it still wasn't ready for us to go. The frustration was wearing us down and you could tell we were losing steam. After a few very quite days at our house I couldn’t take it I had to tell Erin that something didn’t feel right. She didn't really surprise me when she agreed. I think we both knew it all along we just weren't ready to give up and didn't know where to go if we didn't have this building. The next building to fall into our laps was perfect, except that our landlord totally pulled our chain for a month and a half. After claiming the building was “ready to go” we found out that the cement blocks that made up the foundation of the building needed to be fixed. So that took two and a half weeks. Then when it was finally truly ready to go and we were getting ready to sit down and sign a lease we were hit in the gut again. Our landlords were not only trying to make us pay for the two and a half weeks we couldn’t get in the building, but they were also trying to up our rent payment after the first year (we did agree to signing a two year contract for one price). Neither were things that we had agreed to and neither of those things were we going to commit to. So once again we bounced and were left buildingless and what seemed hopeless.

            Since it was right around the holidays we decided just to get through Thanksgiving and Christmas. Well January was here before we knew it. December 31^st Erin and I were sitting around and decided that it was time to make some decisions. We knew that financially we needed a change; personally and professionally. We knew we needed to reevaluate choosing the structure of an LLC. We are learning all of this as we go and looking back now we know that we probably should have gone the nonprofit route. This would allow us to receive grants and make our program available to EVERY child out there. After all that was the whole point of our program to begin with to make it affordable and environmentally friendly.

            My dad being the amazing man he is offered to help us write our grant proposals, which he has a lot of experience in. So the clear option seemed to move home and find some part time jobs while switching Minds on the Move around to a nonprofit. YIKES. “I haven’t lived at home with my dad in 10 years” was all that kept running through my brain. Not that I don’t love my dad to death, but everybody knows living with the parents at the ages 27 and 30 is not exactly what Erin nor I had dreamt about growing up. But onward we would march, so we called my dad he agreed it was a reasonable option. We moved forward at full steam giving our landlord a month notice. My first phone call after that decision was to my best friend. Since she knows me better than 95% of the people in my life, she knew that this wasn’t the option I was looking for but I was desperate for a change and to keep moving forward.

            That’s when the offer of a lifetime was given to Erin and I. My bestie offered us a free place to live with her and her hubby and my 3 wonderful nieces for 6 months. If y’all could have seen the face I made when she offered it you would of thought that there was no way it was ever going to happen. That’s pretty much what was going through my brain at that point. Then it was like I got a serious smack in the face (probably from my angel mother), why wouldn’t we take her up on this offer. We still could spend the time getting MotM switched around, while getting a chance to get out of the draining state of Michigan. So off to Oklahoma we would go.

            We got down here March 10^th and so far so good. I have started a blog, but decided to move the host location, which resulted in a revamp of my first post. This is an up to date post and at this moment we are working on continually educating ourselves and spreading the word to all of you. I have gotten certified in Nutrition Advising and by the time I am done I hope to have my Nutrition Consultant certification.

We need your help to spread the word so please add yourself to our email list to receive our latest posts dealing with kids fitness, kids nutrition, family activities, family friendly recipes, superfood facts and much much more. Find us on Facebook and “like” us please. Share our page with your friends and family. Email us and visit our blog frequently, we promise you won’t regret it.  It is time to make a move and correct the obesity epidemic while we still have a fighting chance. If you don’t take action for yourself, how about for your children or grandchildren?!

Love to you all and wishes for a healthy and happy lifestyle,

Lori :)