Fall is generally a busy and hectic time for families.  As the school year moves into high gear, so do the many academic commitments and extra-curricular activities.  It’s sometimes easy to let healthy eating, good nutrition, family mealtime and physical fitness fall to the wayside.  

Fortunately, the fall season is also the time when the National Frozen and Refrigerated Foods Association (NFRA) celebrates the October Cool Food for Kids program. NFRA teams up annually with education specialists, Young Minds Inspired, to bring elementary school teachers and parents across the country a creative, hands-on educational curriculum focused on establishing healthy family lifestyles through good food choices, portion control and increased physical activity.  

Studies show that kids who eat dinner with their families regularly are less depressed, less likely to take drugs and alcohol and get better grades in school.  Numerous studies have also overwhelmingly pointed to the fact that families who eat together have better overall nutrition. In turn, this means they also have a lower risk of many diseases and of being overweight or obese.

Cool Tips for Healthier Eating:

• Check serving sizes on the nutrition labels to keep your food portions at just the right amount.
• Get your day started off right – breakfast is the most important meal of the day and a good time to share a meal together.
• Frozen foods can make it easy to put a cool dinner together – try the many varieties of frozen vegetables, potatoes, chicken or fish.
• Get your family up and moving by planning fun activities after dinner.

Fruits and vegetables are extremely important for a growing child’s daily diet – in fact, experts recommend five or more servings per day.  Fruits and vegetables benefit good health in many ways – they are naturally low in calories and fat and are full of vitamins, minerals, water and fiber.  They also have phytochemicals, which are what give fruits and vegetables their colors.  That’s why it’s important to eat a variety of colorful produce every day.  

Are frozen fruits and vegetables as healthy as fresh ones?  Yes!  And in many cases, frozens can have more nutrients than fresh when produce is frozen immediately after harvest.  This process is called “flash-freezing”.

Ideas for serving more fruits and vegetables:

• Make sure they are served at every meal.
• Serve veggies and fruits with peanut butter, low-fat dips and cheeses.
• Top waffles, pancakes and cereals with berries, bananas or other tasty fruits.
• Enhance your lettuce salads with colorful fruits and vegetables like radishes, carrots, broccoli, peppers, cauliflower, apples, oranges and raisins.
• Add finely chopped-up vegetables to pizzas, omelets, pasta and other foods you regularly cook (hard for kids to pick the vegetables out!)

With the prospect that this year’s flu season will be very challenging – it’s important to remind kids to practice good hygiene. It’s also a good time to remind them to be careful when handling foods. Here are some quick tips to help them stay healthy:

• Wash hands before and after eating.
• Provide kids with hand sanitizers to take to school – use in the cafeteria after lunch, or even between classes.
• If you are packing lunches, be sure to keep foods cold with an ice pack, or a frozen juice box.
• Teach kids to put food back in the refrigerator or freezer – germs can grow quickly if foods sit out for long periods of time. Remind older children that foods like pizza are perishable, and not safe to eat if left out of refrigeration for more than two hours.

A Great Way to Get Kids to Eat More Vegetables!

GRILLED HERB CHICKEN BREASTS

4 frozen, skinless, boneless chicken breasts, thawed
1/2 bottle Italian, herb salad dressing
1 16oz. pkg. frozen, mixed vegetables
 
Marinate, cover and refrigerate chicken breasts in dressing for at least 2 hours or up to 48 hours. Preheat grill to medium high heat or set oven to broil. Remove chicken from marinade (discard leftover marinade) and grill or broil for about 6-7 minutes per side, or until chicken is cooked through and no longer pink inside. In the meantime, prepare frozen vegetables according to package directions. Serve chicken breasts atop bed of vegetables.
Serves 4.

BANANA NUT PANCAKES

6 frozen pancakes
1/3 cup maple-flavored syrup
2 Tbsp. butter or margarine
1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 cup chopped nuts
1-2 bananas, sliced
 
Combine syrup, butter and cinnamon in glass measuring cup; microwave 30-40 seconds or until heated. Microwave pancakes according to directions on box. To serve, sprinkle pancakes with nuts, top with syrup mixture and sliced bananas. Serves 3.

SWEET POTATO FRIES W/HERBED MAYONNAISE DIP

1 bag frozen sweet potato fries
1/4 cup fat-free mayonnaise
1/4 cup plain fat-free yogurt
1/4 tsp. dried oregano
1/4 tsp. dried tarragon
1 tsp. lemon juice
 
Combine last 5 ingredients in a small bowl; stir well and set aside. Bake sweet potato fries according to package directions. Serve fries and dip as snack or side dish. (can also include catsup for dipping)

Congratulations to our most recent Sweepstakes winners ...

Here are the winners of the June Dairy Month Dairy ... Healthy for the Whole Herd $10,000 Sweepstakes!

Grand Prize, $5,000 Winner:
C. Carroll; Camas, WA

First Prize, $1,000 Winners:
V. Shaner; Dunedin, FL
J. Scudamore; Batavia, IL
M. Fratto; Kansas City, MO
L. Curry; Austin, TX
O. Baker; White Pigeon, MI