Healthy Family, Happy Family (5 page)

A simple rule when serving lunch and dinner is this: fill half your plate with vegetables, one quarter with quality protein (meat, fish, beans) and the other quarter with quality carbohydrates (rice, pasta, grainy bread). If you want dessert, favour fruit.

Grazing all day can lead to overeating or worse—fussy eating habits. So only schedule in one snack break between main meals. For example: snack time for children is 10a.m. and then again at 3.30p.m. after school. Ideal snacks include vegie sticks with dip (see the Wishing Plate), fruit, quality yoghurt, grainy crackers, cheese and quality grainy bread.

Once the food you eat is digested, it releases either an acid or an alkaline base into your bloodstream. For example, foods such as meat, dairy products and most grains release acids into the blood. Vegetables, some fruits and nuts such as avocado, apricots and almonds, release an alkaline base and this influences the blood and body tissue’s pH.

Your blood needs to be slightly alkaline—at a pH between 7.35 and 7.45—to be healthy. Your body has buffering systems in order to keep the blood from becoming acidic, such as leeching the alkaline mineral calcium from your bones and excreting acids via the kidneys. As you can imagine, this is not ideal for your bone or kidney health and years of eating an excessively acidic diet can lead to dental problems, osteoporosis, muscle loss and kidney stone formation. There are other health problems that can occur from an acidic diet; however, most of the scientific research on alkalising foods centres around their benefits on bone and teeth health in children and adults.[11], [12], [13], [14], [15]

The benefits of eating more alkaline-forming foods and fewer acidic ones include strong bones and teeth, healthy skin (less risk of eczema and acne), pleasant breath and reduced body odour; it can also be easier to lose weight or maintain a healthy weight, and people report having fewer aches and more energy.[16], [17]

However, please keep in mind that it is not necessary, or recommended, to eat an all alkaline diet. There are many acid-forming foods such as seafood and wholegrains that are important for good health, and you can enjoy red meat and bread in moderation. Your aim should be to eat a healthy, balanced diet with a variety of fruits, vegetables and other alkaline foods served alongside nutritious acid-forming foods.

Good examples of a balanced diet include a bowl of rolled oats served with soy milk or milk of choice teamed with alkalising apricots, banana and almonds for breakfast; a wholegrain chicken sandwich for lunch with alkalising baby spinach, grated carrot and avocado; and for dinner, a serving of salmon and basmati rice with alkalising mashed sweet potato, broccoli and beans. Alkalising drinks include caffeine-free herbal teas such as dandelion root tea and peppermint tea; filtered water with a squeeze of lime or lemon; freshly made vegetable juices; green drinks such as liquid chlorophyll or barley grass or a splash of apple cider vinegar in chilled water. It’s also important to stay well hydrated so drink approximately six to eight glasses of filtered water daily (this can include fresh vegetable juices and herbal teas). I have designed the recipes in this book to have a healthy balance of acid and alkaline-forming produce.

While lists of alkalising foods and drinks are sometimes contradictory (especially those found on the Internet—some say soy milk is alkalising while others say it’s acidic), I have a general list on my website,
www.healthbeforebeauty.com,
so you can get further acquainted with the acid and alkaline principles if desired.

3

‘It’s very, purple. What is it?’

Your partner offers to cook dinner. But they serve you a purple sponge-like food they bought at the Asian markets. You take a bite. It tastes unusual—a bit bland and not at all like the foods you’re used to. You think, ‘I’m not sure if this purple thing is cooked properly. It doesn’t look very nice. I don’t like the spongy feeling in my mouth.’ Suddenly your appetite has vanished.

Your child may experience similar feelings when they try something new. The texture of grainy bread can feel strange on their tongue. A salad wrap has no flavour at all until after the fifth chew. Cucumber just sounds weird and zucchini may as well be called bland, bland, bland. And your child has no idea why they should be eating these odd new foods when they know cake and chocolate reside on the middle shelf in the fridge. In their early life so far, taste has played a major role in their eating pleasure. But flavour is only one aspect of food enjoyment.

What else can whet a child’s appetite?

If, after your partner puts the purple sponge food onto your plate they tell you, ‘This purple sponge food is full of an amazing antioxidant called purcetin, which is great for extra energy, clear thinking and it is the reason women from Okinawa have such beautiful, smooth skin, even at age eighty,’ would you eat it? Of course, I am presuming you care deeply about having energy, clear thinking and beautiful skin but if these were your greatest desires would you have another mouthful?

Have you ever considered why many adults drink spirulina and wheatgrass juice? They eat goji berries and add psyllium husks to their breakfast cereal. So what’s in it for them when they consume powdered green algae or liquid grass or sour berries and
flavourless husks? Obviously, it’s not to tantalise their taste buds. But maybe they believe they can get some kind of pay-off. Something they deeply desire. More energy and increased sex appeal? A flat stomach and smoother skin, maybe? There are a range of health and beauty promises that can convince people to wolf down products that taste like liquid sawdust (or spinach!). Your child is no different.

I call these desirable health promises that make nutritious foods sound very appealing ‘healthy marketing’. And many of the healthy marketing tips that are featured in this chapter are derived from a standard communications principle. This principle is used by journalists when they write a newspaper article, by PR consultants when they prepare a media press release and by speech writers and prime ministers and it’s essential in advertising. Without it, these professionals would struggle to get their message across.

On a daily basis, parents are struggling to get their health messages to register with their children and this is when healthy marketing can help. If you want your child to remember your ‘health messages’, it makes sense to follow the tried and tested principles that are used by the best communicators. What are these? Answer the what, where, when, why and how questions for your ‘audience’. What is it? Where is it? When is it happening? How can it help me? And, most importantly, why should I care? Or else why should they care?

So when you decide to serve your child zucchini fritters or vegetable soup your job will be easier if you let them know exactly why they should eat it. ‘What’s in it for me if I eat my vegies, Mummy?’ If you can answer this question in a way that excites your child you will convince your child to eat just about any food you plonk on their plate, including stir-fried vegies, mild curries and grainy sandwiches.

The day I finally convinced my five-year-old daughter to eat a plate of green beans and carrots was the day I answered this question for her. She did not ask, ‘What’s in it for me, Mum, if I eat my beans and carrots?’ I think I answered this quite by accident. I knew she liked climbing and jumping and she was always trying to beat me in running
races. She was also having swimming lessons and, quite frankly, she wasn’t excelling at any of these things. But I wasn’t going to tell her that. So I said, ‘I’ve popped green beans on your plate to help you have strong swimming arms and the carrots are for good jumping legs.’ Then I added a challenge: ‘Let’s see if they help you to jump higher.’ And that was all I said. She enthusiastically leapt off her chair and did the biggest jump she could. Then she ate a carrot stick and jumped again. I was honest and said I wasn’t sure if she jumped any higher so she ate the rest of her carrots and tried again. ‘Yes, I think you jumped higher,’ I said. Then she ate the beans and flexed her arm muscles. We laughed. Wow, a harmonious dinner with no tears and a smiling child. And no scraping her vegetables into the bin as I silently fumed. I really thought a miracle had occurred.

There is really only one question you need to answer for your child: ‘What’s in it for me?’ But you will need to answer this question in many different ways. You need to use language that is appropriate for your child’s age and comprehension, and you will need to provide compelling reasons on a regular basis, so these 95 tips will give you the ongoing material you need to keep it fresh and fun for your child. I have also included information from some interesting scientific studies that reveal other positive ways to get kids eating healthy foods voluntarily.

How fast these techniques work for you depends on how strong willed your child is and how
excited
you can make them. For example, my daughter is not happy about being the second shortest girl in her Year Three class. One day I served her a lamb and vegetable casserole and she complained that she didn’t want to eat it. I replied, ‘But it’s a special meal designed to help people grow taller.’ This was not a lie either, as population studies show that populations who eat red meat, rich with iron, are taller in stature. My daughter’s eyes widened in alarm.
‘Mum!’
she scolded. ‘Why haven’t you been feeding me this more often?’ Of course, she ate the whole meal and I could rest easy knowing she had consumed a healthy, mineral-rich meal that can help promote proper growth and development. She may never be a giant (like her brother) but a healthy meal is going to assist her body more than filling up on dessert.

You could persuade your child to eat a carrot stick on the spot with Activity. Or it may take a week, or two or three, for the marketing effect to weave its magic and for your child to eat their greens. I have heard many parents say, ‘I never thought this would work on my child. They are so stubborn.
But it really works!’

So put yourself into your child’s pint-sized volleys for a few moments each day and think ‘What’s in it for them?’ You have 95 examples and ideas coming up which will give you plenty of creative ideas. Of course, not all of these tips will be appropriate for your child’s age or personal desires and hobbies but you will no doubt spot many examples that you could use. It may take a lot of thought initially but only a moment once you figure out what ignites your child’s imagination. Have fun with the healthy marketing techniques—they are designed to get you and your family talking, laughing and eating.

Observe your child and find out what they are most interested in. Have you ever noticed how car enthusiasts love talking about cars? On the other hand, talk to them about your paper crane collection or good nutrition (and food pyramids) and watch their eyes glaze over. Even if they are being polite and nodding in agreement, they’ll soon forget what you’ve said about the mind-bending benefits of wholegrains. But your seventeen-year-old revhead son would be blown away if you commented on his rims (never call them alloy wheels). If you ask about their car they may tell you they’re
rolling on 20s (the size of their rims ... just nod and try not to look bewildered) or if they say it has a twin turbo V8, just remember to look suitably impressed.

If you want a person to listen to you, it is polite to firstly be genuinely interested in talking about a topic that interests them. Your child is no exception so let’s pinpoint what excites them. If a young child likes jumping and climbing, they might be interested in talking about animals that jump and climb skilfully, such as frogs, kangaroos and monkeys. Does your child sit for hours at a time drawing pictures and making boats out of milk cartons? Then collect items and help them make something. Do they practically jump out of their skin with excitement when the words ‘swimming’ or ‘pool’ are mentioned? Then talk about the types of foods that swimming stars would eat for energy to swim and win races. Does your child stand at the back door screaming with impatience because they want to ride their bike or play with their truck? Do they hassle you to use the computer at every opportunity? Then learn a bit about how to use the computer so you can show them how to do a fun PowerPoint presentation. My nine-year-old knows more about PowerPoint than me so I thank her for teaching me new tricks.

Does your child write stories or listen to a particular type of music? Are they crazy about a certain TV program or a broadcast such as motor car racing? Observe your child and then research the subject that excites them. Find out an interesting fact about tennis, or football or dancing. Find a useful website about boats, or bikes or trucks and show it to your child. Watch the TV program they love so you can talk to your child about it. You will have far greater influence over your child if you take the time to learn about their interests. You will have their undivided attention whenever you are conversing about topics that fascinate them. And they will be far more likely to agree to eat a healthy meal if you have just taken the time to talk about the website you found on monster trucks. For example, my daughter loves arts and crafts so I look for creative websites with her and we often find ones where she can design and print out bookmarks and puzzles. Yes, you guessed it: this is a good time to serve celery sticks and dip.

Answer the question ‘What’s in it for me?’ When a company markets a product, any product, this is the first question they aim to answer. They think: what do my customers want and how can I inspire them to buy? People like to be entertained, so ad execs may create a fun TV commercial or use images to suggest their product will make you happier, smarter or more attractive. Marketing fails when you only think in terms of what you want. You want your child to eat healthy foods because they need good nutrition. But this is your wish, not theirs. Ask yourself ‘What does my child wish for and how will eating healthy foods help them get it?’ and then get creative. For example, if you have a child who loves to kick balls you can say, ‘Vegies can help you run fast and kick well so I’ve put a yummy carrot in your lunch box today.’ You can also link eating vegies to having fun because having fun is probably one of your child’s main goals. For example, ‘I’ve added zucchini with dinner to help you be strong and have fun at football practice tomorrow.’

This has to be the most ethical and kind-hearted way to use marketing because you are inspiring your child to eat healthy, life-giving foods. You are forming positive habits that will serve your child well for the rest of their life. And you are telling them the truth. Studies show that vegetables and other healthy foods can reduce the risk of adulthood diseases and bone weakening, so they really do make your child’s body stronger. You are simply rewording this in a very basic and fun manner that your child can relate to. ‘What’s in it for me, Mum, when I eat my greens?’ Now put yourself in their shoes. ‘What’s in it
for them? What is a fun reason why they should eat their vegies?’ This is ideal to use for most age groups above eighteen months old—just phrase it in a manner to suit their comprehension and interests.

Serve them something healthy then walk away. If you have a surly teenager it may be hard to talk to them about the mind-blowing benefits of eating broccoli. So you can try a different approach to begin with: if your child is interested in music, or books or a particular TV program, research the subject thoroughly and then talk with your child about it. Then when they seem happy and agreeable, serve them a healthy, vegie-rich dinner and then walk away.

This is often the only way you can successfully converse with a moody adolescent. So talk to them about their latest pair of Converse, their Simpsons DVD collection or the Kings of Leon CD that takes pride of place on their messy desk. Then serve them that healthy stir-fry you’ve whipped up, and walk away. Your child, at first, may be wary of your new-found interest in them so be patient. Your goal is not only to feed them a stir-fry, you should also be interested in your child’s hobbies because they are your child’s hobbies. Because you want to develop a great relationship with them. If, initially, they don’t eat your food it does not matter. You do not need to always get a result or reward when talking with your child. Be interested and talk to them. Your undivided attention is one of many ways you can help your child to be healthy and happy. Talk to them in a fun, light-hearted manner about their school projects, team sports or favourite Wii game. Serve them a healthy meal and then walk away.