Food and Nutrition

It’s spring, and that means that soon it will be the time when you can go to your local farmers' market and buy fresh and organic produce and other goodies. There are some year-round farmers' markets in Marin, but the majority of them start up again in spring after going on hiatus in the fall. Some of the year-round farmers' markets that I really like are the Civic Center Farmers' Market in San Rafael, which happens every Thursday and Sunday morning from 8:00 am to 1:00 pm. They have lots of organically grown produce, breads, eggs, and fresh cut flowers. This farmers' market is a great one to take the kids to. If you haven’t been there yet, it’s located next the Civic Center duck pond and playground.
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A recent AP article in the IJ  (Wednesday, February 13, 2008) stresses the necessity of making sure active kids eat healthy snacks throughout the day. Younger children, especially, need two snacks during the day since they definitely need the energy. I'm not going to rewrite the article here (and I can't find it on the IJ's website), but the gist of it is that kids need healthy snacks low in fat and sugars and high in fiber and nutrients. Fruit and crackers, two snack staples in our home, are specifically mentioned.

At least five servings of fruits and vegetables are recommended; that's at least 2 1/2 cups of vegetables and 1 1/2 cups of fruit. One of the ways we like to make sure the kids consume enough fruit is through fruit smoothies like the one we wrote about here.

Like many families these days, we find ourselves grabbing lunch or dinner on the go probably more than we should. Since restaurant meals are often loaded with excess fat, calories, and sodium, we try to find places to eat that offer healthy food, or something close to it. Fortunately, two of the places we like to go to offer either free or reduced-price dining for small children, which is great for the wallet!

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Since we're all making our New Year's resolutions, we thought it would be a great time to publish a guest post by Marin fitness expert Michele Vaughan. There's one tip here for each week of the year! Michele Vaughan has been in the fitness industry since 1980. She has a Masters of Science in Physical Education and Dance. Michele has the highest certifications of NSCA as a CSCS and ACSM Advanced Personal Trainer along with ACE group exercise, personal training, lifestyle and weight management. She has a certification in Pilates with the Stott Method, a certification in Yoga for Fitness Professionals and a certification as a Spinning Instructor. Michele is the President of The Balance Workout, Marin's premiere fitness studio. 

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Many of us try to buy (and pay a premium for) organic food whenever possible, since it promises to be more healthy than the conventionally grown varieties. But what exactly does “organic” really mean? Many products bear the USDA organic seal, which has been in use since 2002. USDA regulations for organic production

• prohibit the use of irradiation, sewage sludge, or genetically modified organisms
• reflect National Organic Standards Board (NOSB) recommendations for allowed synthetic and prohibited natural substances
• prohibit antibiotics in meat and poultry
• require 100% organic feed for livestock

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I thought I'd share something that we make almost every day in our house as part of breakfast (sometimes it is breakfast for me and my husband!): the fruit shake, AKA the fruit smoothie! Why get an expensive smoothie from some place like Jamba Juice when you can make one at home in seconds for a fraction of the price? We always try to keep some frozen fruit on hand just for this purpose (bless you, Trader Joes). The children love it and it's an easy, painless, and delicious way to get everyone to eat all their fruit for a nutritionally balanced diet. Here's a basic recipe; amounts can vary depending on your taste or what's on hand.

Marin Mommies Fruit Shake

One banana
2 cups mixed frozen berries (I like to use Trader Joes' berry medley, but almost anything will do. Sometime I just use blueberries. Frozen pineapple and mango chunks work really well, too.)
1-2 cups orange juice
1 cup lowfat (or nonfat or whatever) vanilla or plain yogurt

Put all ingredients into blender jar and blend until smooth, about 1 minute (nobody like chunks in their smoothie). Use more or less orange juice depending on how thick and frosty you like it. Of course fresh fruit from the farmers' market would work great, too, but make sure you add some ice to the mix to make up for the frozen fruit.

With all the reports about pesticide residue on foods, organic seems like to best choice to make when feeding your baby. If you don’t have the time to cook and puree your organic produce, you don’t have to look far to find a few companies that will do it for you.

Plum Organics, a local bay area company that was started by a mom, offers delicious foods with all the basic nutritional building blocks that your baby needs. They offer smooth texture foods (for babies from 6 months) including sweet potatoes, pears and apples, and greens, as well as foods with more texture, such as chicken whole grain pasta and red lentil veggie. You can purchase Plum Organics at a variety of local grocery stores throughout the bay area. To a find store in your area to purchase Plum Organics baby food, go to www.plumorganics.com and search their store locator.

Another local company that offers prepared organic baby food is Baby Cubes & More. They use certified organic fruits and vegetables and puree and freeze them into cubes. All you need to do is warm them up and they are ready to eat. Baby Cubes offer a variety of seasonal selections from apples, cantaloupes, and plums to carrots, broccoli and peas. Each bag contains ten 1-ounce portions of pureed organic food. For more information, go to www.baby-cubes.com.

I recently was looking on the web for info about organic foods and recipes for my kids. I came across an article that discusses the dangers of pesticides and how they can adversely affect people, especially during periods of fetal development and childhood when exposures can have long lasting effects. The Environmental Working Group (EWG) tested for pesticides on fruits and vegetables collected by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Some of the produce with the highest pesticide loads included peaches, apples, and sweet bell peppers. Among those with the lowest pesticide loads were onions, avocados and sweet corn. For produce with high pesticide loads, the EWG recommends buying organic, which certainly seems to make sense. To read more about this study and to see what other types of produce made the highest and lowest pesticide load lists, go to www.foodnews.org for a free printable “Shoppers Guide to Pesticides in Produce”.