Nutritious choices made simple ®
Despite your best efforts, cold and flu symptoms sometimes may get the best of you. When they do, we have a few options to naturally and healthfully treat symptoms, as well as comforting recipes that are just what you’re looking for. So, push those sugary lozenges aside, pass on the salty soup, and try some of these options instead.
I’m a meal planner. After all, is there any other way to feed a family of four that’s going in different directions every day, leaving me with little time to make dinner? I also hate to waste food. With both attributes in mind, I offer you this menu that will take your busy household from Sunday to Saturday with more home-cooked meals, less time in the kitchen, and likely less waste too. Scroll all the way down for a shopping list.
The Food Marketing Institute promotes September as Family Meals Month and uses it to remind us of the importance of gathering family around the table to connect, chat and enjoy a nutritious meal. But, let’s be honest, September is also all about busy evenings, trying to grasp a new, demanding school schedule, and realizing that you only thought you were done back-to-school shopping. So how can we manage all that and still get dinner on the table every night? It starts with choosing a protein that will carry you through for a few meals. It ends with you not cooking every day.
A vegetarian middle schooler? An adolescent who only wants to eat “natural foods.” Neither is rare. Both can be frustrating for caregivers who want to be supportive, but see their adolescent’s food choices as limiting, inconvenient, or sometimes unnecessary. While a young person’s desire to control their diet may seem out “of the blue,” it’s quite common and not always a bad thing. Done correctly, a shift in food preference gives an adolescent an opportunity to consume a balanced diet, understand where their food comes from, and possibly learn a bit about the food industry. There may even be a chance that the rest of the household can learn from their young family member.
It’s easy for nutrition to go out the window when life gets busy. With a schedule that’s packed with commitments, which seem to have you running from the moment you wake, it’s hard (seemingly impossible) to also get into the kitchen to prepare a balanced, nourishing meal. Turn this trend around with a bit of strategizing and a lot of making nutritious meal planning an important part of your all-too-busy life
It may not be for everyone, but my family loves a fun road trip. Of course, keeping it fun isn’t always easy. Sometimes we get bored or let’s just say “less than nice” along the way. When restlessness rises it’s easy to turn to snacks to fill the void. Before long, our eating can go downhill quickly. Keep your snacking on track with these tips and a menu designed to get you to your “nutrition” destination.
Summer is all about being outside. Whether it’s gearing up for a strenuous hike, enduring a seemingly endless road trip or just enjoying a long day at the beach, warmer weather and later sunsets call for doing as much in your day as possible. If you’re like me, it also means a lot of packing snacks and making sure they match the summer scene you’re taking in.
The American Heart Association recommends consuming fish at least twice per week, while the Dietary Guidelines for Americans calls for weekly consumption of about 8 ounces of a variety of seafood. At a quick glance this guidance seems aligned, but considering it more deeply, it’s important to note the use of fish versus seafood. Is this simply a different choice of words or an intentional, but significant nuance in the guidance? As you may assume, food policy isn’t written on the fly and goes through many revisions before being shared with the public. That being said, does it matter if we aim to regularly consume fish (fatty fish specifically) or seafood in general?