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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

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

Information from keepkidshealthy.com

Year after year, we hear and read the same advice: Handle food carefully in the summer because foodborne illness — also known as “food poisoning” — is more prevalent in warmer weather. Do foodborne illnesses increase during the summer months? If so, why?

Yes, foodborne illnesses do increase during the summer, and the answer appears to be twofold. First, there are the natural causes. Bacteria are present throughout the environment in soil, air, water, and in the bodies of people and animals. These microorganisms grow faster in the warm summer months. Most foodborne bacteria grow fastest at temperatures from 90 to 110 °F. Bacteria also need moisture to flourish, and summer weather is often hot and humid.

Given the right circumstances, harmful bacteria can quickly multiply on food to large numbers. When this happens, someone eating the food can get sick.

Second, there are the “people” causes for the upswing in summertime foodborne illnesses. Outside activities increase. More people are cooking outside at picnics, barbecues, and on camping trips. The safety controls that a kitchen provides — thermostat-controlled cooking, refrigeration, and washing facilities — are usually not available.

Fortunately, people seldom get sick from contaminated food because most people have a healthy immune system that protects them not only from harmful bacteria on food, but from other harmful organisms in the environment. At the same time, FSIS, other government agencies, and food producers go to great lengths to keep food safe. And, of course, consumers can protect themselves at home with proper refrigeration and thorough cooking of perishable food.

We know foodborne illness increases in warm weather. We also know that consumers can Fight BAC!™ by following these four simple steps to safer food in the summertime.

Clean: Wash Hands and Surfaces Often.

Unwashed hands are a prime cause of foodborne illness.

• Whenever possible, wash your hands with hot, soapy water before handling food and after using the bathroom, changing diapers, and handling pets.
• When eating away from home, find out if there’s a source of clean water. If not, bring water for preparation and cleaning. Or pack clean, wet, disposable washcloths or moist towelettes and paper towels for cleaning hands and surfaces.

Separate: Don’t Cross-Contaminate.

Cross-contamination during preparation, grilling, and serving food 
is a prime cause of foodborne illness.

• When packing the cooler chest for an outing, wrap raw meats securely; avoid raw meat juices from coming in contact with ready-to-eat food.
• Wash plates, utensils, and cutting boards that held the raw meat or poultry before using again for cooked food.

Cook: Cook to Proper Temperatures.

Food safety experts agree that food is properly cooked when it is heated for a long enough time and at a high enough temperature to kill harmful bacteria that cause foodborne illness.

• Take your thermometer along. Meat and poultry cooked on a grill often browns very fast on the outside, so be sure that meats are cooked thoroughly. Check them with a food thermometer.
• Cook hamburger and other ground meats (veal, lamb, and pork) to an internal temperature of 160 °F, and ground poultry to 165 °F.
• Cook steaks and roasts that have been tenderized, boned, rolled, etc., to an internal temperature of 160 °F for medium and 170 °F for well-done. Whole steaks and roasts may be cooked to 145 °F for medium rare.
• Whole poultry should be cooked to 180 °F in the thigh; breast meat to 170 °F.
• Cook meat and poultry completely at the picnic site. Partial cooking of food ahead of time allows bacteria to survive and multiply to the point that subsequent cooking cannot destroy them.

Chill: Refrigerate Promptly.

Holding food at an unsafe temperature is a prime cause of foodborne illness.
Keep cold food cold!

• Cold refrigerated perishable food like luncheon meats, cooked meats, chicken, and potato or pasta salads should be kept in an insulated cooler packed with several inches of ice, ice packs, or containers of frozen water.
• Consider packing canned beverages in one cooler and perishable food in another cooler because the beverage cooler will probably be opened frequently.
• Keep the cooler in the coolest part of the car, and place in the shade or shelter, out of the sun, whenever possible.
• Preserve the cold temperature of the cooler by replenishing the ice as soon as it starts melting.
• If a cooler chest is not an option, consider taking fruits, vegetables, hard cheeses, canned or dried meats, dried cereal, bread, peanut butter, crackers, and a bottle of refreshing beverage.
• Take-out food: If you don’t plan to eat take-out food within 2 hours of purchase, plan ahead and chill the food in your refrigerator before packing for your outing.

Leftovers?

Food left out of refrigeration for more than 2 hours may not be safe to eat. At 90 °F or above, food should not be left out over 1 hour. Play it safe; put leftover perishables back on ice once you finish eating so they do not spoil or become unsafe to eat.

If you have any doubts, throw it out.

Many things can be done to prevent food poisoning. These precautions should be taken at every stage a food takes — from preparation to cooking to storing leftovers. A lot of this responsibility falls on grown-ups, but kids can help fight germs, too. One of the best ways is to wash your hands if you’re helping to prepare foods.

When should you wash? Before you start helping — so germs from your hands don’t get on the food — and after so you don’t pass along germs from the food to yourself or anyone else. If you don’t, here’s how germs can travel:

1. You help make hamburger patties.
2. You get bad bacteria from the raw ground beef on your hands.
3. You hold your little sister’s hand.
4. She uses that hand to eat a snack.
5. Now the bacteria have made it inside and can make her sick.

Other steps you can take to keep your food safe include:

• Wash fruits and vegetables well before eating them.
• Only eat foods that are properly cooked. If you cut into chicken and it looks pink and raw inside, tell a grown-up.
• Look at what you’re eating and smell it, too. If something looks or smells different from normal, check with an adult before eating or drinking it. Milk is a good example. If you’ve ever had a sip of sour milk, you know you never want to taste that again! Mold (which can be green, pink, white, or brown) is also often a sign that food has spoiled.
• If you’re going to eat leftovers, ask a grown-up for help heating them up. By heating them, you can kill bacteria that grew while it was in the fridge.
• Check the date. Lots of packaged foods have expiration dates or “sell by” dates. Don’t eat a food if today’s date is after the expiration date. Use it before it expires. Some of these dates are “sell by,” which means that the food should leave store shelves by that time. Ask an adult for help deciding if it’s past the sell by date.
• Cover and refrigerate food right away. Bacteria get a good chance to grow in foods that sit at room temperature. By putting food in the fridge, you’re putting the chill on those bad germs!

Information provided by: http://kidshealth.org/kid/ill_injure/sick/food_poisoning.html 

Reviewed by: Steven Dowshen, MD
Date reviewed: May 2008

As a coach, you are ultimately responsible for the safety of your athletes. Creating a safe playing environment for your students can significantly reduce the number and severity of injuries during your practices and games. The National Center for Sports Safety has outlined a few guidelines to help you create a safe playing environment.

• Develop an emergency action plan and make sure all of your assisting coaches are familiar with the emergency procedures.
• Always have an accessible, working phone at practice and at games to ensure that emergency personnel can be contacted quickly in case of an emergency.
• Make sure that your first aid kit is with you at all practices and games.
• Always have water or sports drinks available for your athletes, giving them numerous breaks to prevent dehydration.
• Examine your playing fields, courts and other surfaces before practice and games for potentially dangerous obstacles such as holes, loose tiles, buckled wood, wet spots and sharp objects.
• Regularly check the players safety equipment before practice to make sure it is put on correctly and that nothing is cracked or missing pieces. If equipment is damaged, do not let the athlete use it.
• Make sure to store unused equipment away from the playing field so that no one trips over it while playing.
• Encourage your athletes to be aware of any unsafe playing conditions and report them to you.

Summer is here and that means it is time to keep your kids fit and active.

Step one is to turn off the television. It is too easy for kids to sit passively and watch TV for hours on end.

Limit the amount of time your children can spend watching television, or eliminate it entirely.

Don’t let your children swap one electronic babysitter for another. You will also want to limit computer time, cellphone time, and video game time as well.

Encourage your children to play outdoors. Your child should have sunscreen on when playing outdoors, and should avoid playing outside during the hottest part of the day, usually 10:00 a.m. until 2:00 p.m.

Playing in the water, whether it is swimming or just splashing, is a wonderful way to be active and stay cool. Remember that water washes away sunscreen, so reapply as needed.

Summer is a great time for new indoor activities, like dancing or martial arts classes. Summer is also a perfect time to attending various camps that are usually filled with all types of fun activities, even new ones like canoeing or hiking tours.

When you plan your summer holiday, look for opportunities to be active. Perhaps you are visiting a place that has walking tours or hiking trails. A visit to the zoo can be a lot of fun, and it offers plenty of opportunities for walking.

Swimming, as mentioned before, is a popular activity available at most summer vacation destinations. Even a game of miniature golf or walking around an amusement park can be fun. The important thing is to find easy ways to add movement to your day.

During the summer, many communities offer sports through their recreation or parks departments. Consider signing your child up to play soccer or baseball, or even to use the community pool. Your local YMCA may also offer activities.

Many children love riding bicycles. If your child has a bicycle that is no longer the right size, you can get a new one inexpensively by trading with another family, or by checking local thrift stores. Make sure your child has a well fitting helmet and wears it whenever he is riding his bike.

Skateboards, balls, jump ropes and other toys can be inexpensive and encourage your child to play outdoors.

If there are other children in your neighborhood, encourage your child to invite them over to play. Just two people are enough for a quick game of hoops or tossing a Frisbee, and only a few people are needed for a game of kick ball or soccer.

Article featured on www.theparentszone.com