KidFit Online

Eating healthy on a budget can seem difficult; but it can be done! Being creative can help you stick to your budget and incorporate nutritious foods into your diet. Try to incorporate some of these healthy foods under $1 into your weekly menu planning.

1. Apples
Great for: Snacks, green salads, main dish salads, and fruit salads.
What’s a serving? 1 large apple.
Price per serving: About $1. Apples sell for about $1.99 per pound, and an extra large crisp apple weighs about 1/2 pound.
Nutrition Info per serving: About 118 calories, 5.5 grams fiber, 18% Daily Value for vitamin C, and 7% Daily Value for potassium.

2. Bananas
Great for: Snacks and fruit salads, yogurt parfaits, and smoothies.   
What’s a serving? 1 banana.
Price per serving: About 45 cents. Bananas sell for about $0.89 per pound, and a large banana weighs about 1/2 pound
Nutrition Info per serving: About 121 calories, 3.5 grams fiber, 14% Daily Value for potassium (487 mg), 20% Daily Value for vitamin C.

3. Baby Carrots (in bags)
Great for: Snacks, casseroles, stews, veggie platters, and side dishes.
What’s a serving? About 1/2 cup or 2 ounces raw.
Price per serving: 19 cents. A 16-ounce bag costs about $1 on sale and contains about 8 servings (2 ounces each).
Nutrition Info per serving: About 21 calories, 2 grams of fiber, and 166% Daily Value for vitamin A.

4. Canned Beans
Great for: Green salads, casseroles, stews, and chili. Types of beans range from 50% less sodium kidney beans and black beans to white beans and garbanzo beans.
What’s a serving? Each can contains about 3.5 (1/2-cup) servings.
Price per serving: About 28 cents. You can buy a 15-ounce can for about $1 on sale.
Nutrition Info per serving: About 108   calories (for kidney beans), 7 grams protein, 7 grams fiber, 12% Daily Value for folate, 8% Daily Value for iron and 9% Daily Value for potassium

5. Canned Tomatoes
Great for: Italian and Mexican recipes, chili, stew, and casseroles. Flavor options range from no-salt-added sliced stewed tomatoes to diced tomatoes with garlic and olive oil.
What’s a serving? One can contains about 3.5 (1/2-cup) servings.
Price per serving: About 28 cents. You can buy a 14.5-ounce can for about $1 on sale (often less for store brands).
Nutrition Info per serving: About 20 calories, 1 gram fiber, 7% Daily Value of potassium, and 19% Daily Value of vitamin C.

6. Oranges (extra large navel oranges)
Great for: Snacks, green salads, and fruit salads.
What’s a serving? 1 large or extra large orange.
Price per serving: 40 cents for a large orange and 79 cents for an extra large orange. Oranges sell for around $0.79 per pound, and a large orange is about 1/2 pound, whereas an extra large orange is about 1 pound.
Nutrition Info per serving: (for an 8 ounce orange): About 86   calories, 4.5   grams fiber, 5 % Daily Value for vitamin A, 163 % Daily Value vitamin C, 14 % Daily Value for folate, 7 % Daily Value for calcium, and 10% Daily Value %for potassium.

7. Pears
Great for: Snacks, as an appetizer with cheese, green salads, and fruit salads.
What’s a serving? 1 large pear
Price per serving: about 45 cents for a large pear. Pears sell for about $0.90 per pound, and a large pear weighs about 1/2 pound.
Nutrition Info per serving: About 133 calories, 7 grams of fiber, 16% Daily Value for vitamin C, and 8% for potassium.

8. Lentils (dry)
Great for: Soups and stews, cold bean salads, and casseroles.
What’s a serving? 2 ounces (dry)
Price per serving: 14 cents. A 16 ounce bag sells for $1.12 (on sale) and contains eight servings.
Nutrition Info per serving: 200   calories, 15   grams protein, 17   grams fiber, 24% Daily Value for Iron, 17 % Daily Value for magnesium, 16% Daily Value for   potassium, and 68% Daily Value for folate.

9. Pearl Barley (dry)
Great for: Soups and stews, cold salads, and casseroles.
What’s a serving? 2 ounces (dry)
Price per serving: About 12 cents. A 16 ounce bag of dry pearl barley sells for about $0.94 and contains about 8 servings.
Nutrition Info per serving: 200   calories, 9 grams fiber, , 6 grams protein, 8% Daily Value for iron, and 11% Daily Value for magnesium.

10. Yogurt (plain, lowfat, or fat-free)
Great for: Smoothies, yogurt parfait, dips, and dressings.
What’s a serving? An 8-ounce or 6-ounce container is usually a serving.
Price per serving: 60 cents. This is usually the price for an 8-ounce container of plain fat-free yogurt.
Nutrition Info per serving: (for 8 ounces of fat-free plain yogurt): 127   calories, 13 grams of protein, 45% Daily Value for calcium, 11% Daily Value for magnesium, 17% Daily Value for potassium, and 7% Daily Value for folate. 

11. Eggs
Great for: omelets, hardboiled, salads
What’s a serving? 1 medium egg (Limit egg yolks to more than four yolks per week)
Price per serving: about 13 cents per egg
Nutrition Info per serving: 63 calories, 4g fat, 186mg cholesterol, 62mg sodium, 0g carbohydrates, 6g protein

Feeding your children nutritious meals between all your daily activities can be a challenge. While you zoom back and forth between soccer practice, the dance recital, the PTA meeting and picking up the dry cleaning, you’re lucky to find time to grab a meal at the drive-thru. If you must eat on the go, here are some tips to make fast food healthier for you and your family members:

• Pass on the “value-size.” When you supersize, the size of your fries isn’t the only thing that gets bigger.
   
• Skip the sides. Eating a burger or sandwich by itself is often filling enough. If you do want a side, consider ordering a fruit cup or side salad. Most fast food restaurants now offer them.
   
• Avoid double meat and bacon. A serving size of meat is 2-3 ounces — about the size of a deck of cards. You’re probably getting well over that with a single meat patty. Bacon is high in calories and fat with little nutrient content.
   
• Try the grilled chicken sandwich. Poultry without skin is significantly leaner than the meats most fast-food companies use in their burgers.
   
• Eat your sandwich open-faced. By eating only half the bun, you can eliminate unnecessary calories.
   
• Ask for a wheat bun. Some places offer a wheat alternative, some don’t. It never hurts to ask.
   
• Skip the mayo and other sauses. These dressings and sauces add unncessary calories.
   
• Drink water, diet soda or low-fat milk. Sodas are loaded with sugars, which have calories you don’t need

All information provided by the American Heart Association at http://www.heart.org/HEARTORG/GettingHealthy/HealthierKids/HowtoMakeaHealthyHome/Make-Fast-Food-Friendlier_UCM_303806_Article.jsp

Pint-Size Banana Raisin Pancakes

Ingredients

• 2 very ripe, medium bananas, peeled
  1 egg
  3/4 cup lowfat milk
  1 tablespoon vegetable oil
  1 cup pancake and waffle mix
  1/2 cup raisins
  1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  1 recipe Warm Tropical Fruit Topping
  

Directions

1. 1. Break up bananas into a mixing bowl.
   2. With back of fork, mash until smooth, about 1 cup.
   3. Add egg, milk, and oil; combine.
   4. In another mixing bowl, combine pancake mix, raisins, and cinnamon.
   5. Add pancake mix to banana mixture and stir until moistened.
   6. Heat skillet over a medium high heat.
   7. Measure 1/4 cup batter and pour into skillet.
   8. Cook as many pancakes at one time as you can.
   9. Brown the underside of the pancake and when bubbles appear on the surface, carefully flip pancakes over and continue cooking for another minute.
   10. Slide pancakes onto a platter while you continue cooking the remaining batter.
   11. Spoon Warm Tropical Fruit Topping over hot pancakes.

Nutritional InformationPer Serving:

• 221 calories	6g protein	5g fat (1g sat.)
  36g carbohydrate	312mg sodium	35mg cholesterol

Recipe and nutritional content provided by Dole at http://www.dole.com/SuperKids/Recipe/BreakfastRecipes/BreakfastRecipesDetails/tabid/722/Default.aspx?contentid=2458

Everyone knows that vegetables are good for you and many parents earnestly strive to ensure that their children eat them everyday–sometimes with little success. In light of this all-too-common challenge, parents often ask for tips to get their children to eat more vegetables.

A good attitude and a little creativity are key
Perhaps the most important factor to consider is your own attitude and approach towards eating in general. Avoid forcing your child to eat vegetables–or any other food for that matter. Encourage your child to try a spoonful, but don’t get upset if she refuses it. Eventually, she will try it, so keep reintroducing various foods from time to time. And remember that even young children can learn why nutrition is important; you can simply say: “They taste good and make you healthy, big, and strong.”

Some other tricks of the trade:

• Add vegetables to store-bought foods or to those you already prepare (some suggestions are listed in the next section).
• Set out a plate of raw vegetables or a salad of cold, cooked vegetables before the meal–the time when your child is hungriest.
• Keep a bowl of cherry tomatoes or baby carrots in the refrigerator for a quick and handy snack. (Of course, you’ll want to take into account the fact that these foods can be potential choking hazards for toddlers and preschoolers.)
• Serve raw or lightly steamed vegetables with salad dressing or cheese sauce dipping.
• Make mashed sweet potatoes instead of white potatoes, since sweet potatoes contain lots of vitamin A.
• Let your child make her own taco with shredded lettuce, tomato, ground turkey and a little cheese.
• Serve foods with tomato sauce or stewed tomatoes often.
• Try not to overcook vegetables to preserve their taste, bright appearance, and valuable vitamins.
• Help make your child familiar with vegetables; serve them everyday.
• Prepare meals together (e.g., younger children can wash and older ones can chop vegetables for stir-fry dishes and salads).
• Let your child help choose fresh vegetables when you’re shopping.
• Plant a vegetable garden with your child or even just put a small cherry tomato plant in a pot in a sunny spot in the yard.
• Most important, set a good example. Remember that your actions will speak louder than words. Besides, parents need their veggies, too!

Helpful additions
If your child turns up his nose at a lot of vegetables, try slipping them into her food by:

• Making muffins with your child and adding pumpkin, zucchini, or shredded carrots to the muffin mix.
• Tucking in a lettuce leaf, a tomato slice, or carrot curls into sandwiches.
• Adding chopped spinach or a handful of frozen vegetables to soups, ramen noodles, spaghetti sauce, or lasagna.
• Adding chopped tomato or grated carrots to tuna, chicken, or pasta salads.

• Cooking frozen mixed vegetables according to the directions and then adding them to store-bought potato salad.
• Making pizza with your child and adding chopped broccoli or spinach to frozen pizza or frozen bread dough topped with tomato sauce.
• Adding chopped broccoli or extra carrots to canned or dried chicken soup.

All information provided by Dr. Spock at http://www.drspock.com/article/0,1510,6131,00.html 

You don’t have to try to fool your kids into eating food that’s good for them. You just have to slightly more clever than they are. That’s where these five handy food hacks come in. Just little tricks that will help you get more vegetable matter into those little mouths.

Putting out veggie appetizers. I learned this one from my friend Kate who just mentioned it in passing one day and it’s brilliant. Kids are always hungry while you’re preparing dinner and start asking for snacks. Meanwhile when faced with a plateful of food, the vegetables often get left on the side of the plate. I’ll steam some broccoli or cut up carrots and put them out while I’m making dinner. The kids will almost always polish off all the vegetables before I’m done cooking. Result: A pleasant meal with absolutely no nagging.

Smiley face salad. I remember the first time I saw my daughter eating a salad at a friend’s house. She was a toddler and I had never even tried to give her salad yet and there she was happily munching away on raw spinach no less. The trick – take a small plate and make a face on it using salad items. I like baby spinach hair, a baby carrot nose, grape tomato eyes, red pepper lips, and cucumber ears. Set out a little cup of salad dressing for dipping and sit back and watch some magic.

Basil-Spinach Pesto. I often read about people who hide veggies in sauces. It sounds like a great idea, but every time I try to do it, I end up watching my children pick their food apart when they discover the “hidden” intruders – or just refuse to eat any more. One recipe that has been successful in our house has been this basil spinach pesto recipe that I found in Martha Stewart’s Everyday Food years ago. I don’t follow the recipe exactly (I skip the sauteeing shallots), but it still comes out great. I’ve also just made my traditional pesto recipe and added spinach which is equally good.

Yuck-Away. Yuck-away began as a story we made up to encourage my daughter to eat things that didn’t look cute when she was a toddler. It was something about a mad scientist who invented this stuff that made all things yucky taste good. While I told the story, I would pour a teaspoon of maple syrup on her vegetables. I figured that a little unrefined sugar was better for her than not eating vegetables at all. Once she got used to eating veggies, the yuck-away was no longer needed.

Soup. I said above that I could never hide vegetables in sauces, but for some reason my kids will eat things otherwise unimaginable if it is in a soup. I have no explanation and I don’t care to discover one. I’m happy enough to let well enough alone.

All information provided by Mommy Poppins at http://mommypoppins.com/ny-kids/five-food-hacks-getting-kids-to-eat-vegetables-and-love-it

If you have a picky eater than this month’s topic is just for you! When you get home from a long day at work, the last thing you want to do is wage war over broccoli at the dinner table. That’s why it’s so easy to fall into the trap of making mac-n-cheese or ordering pizza. It keeps you out of an “eat your vegetables” fight. The good news is, getting a picky eater to eat a nutritious meal doesn’t have to be a battle. Here are some tips for dealing with a picky eater:

1. Start by introducing healthier elements into foods that your child already likes. .
2. Include your kids in the prep work.
3. Don’t buy unhealthy foods.
4. Schedule snack time and stick to it. 
5. Have healthy finger foods available.
6. Repeal the “clean your plate” rule.
7. Encourage kids to “eat their colors.”
8. Don’t cut out treats altogether.
9. Veg out at the dinner table, not the TV.
10. Be a good role model.

All information provided by the American Heart Association at http://www.heart.org/HEARTORG/GettingHealthy/HealthierKids/HowtoMakeaHealthyHome/Tips-for-Dealing-With-a-Picky-Eater_UCM_303811_Article.jsp