Tips, Tools and Activities

Before the first of the year quickly becomes the first day of spring, spend some time together as a family to talk about individual and family goals for the upcoming year. A few ideas may include connecting together as a family more often, spending time planning for healthier meals, managing your home’s weekly chores together, planning for monthly family dates. Once your family has a few ideas, ask questions that prompt specificity, such as, would we like to have a family night weekly or monthly, how much time will we set aside for our family night (45 minutes, 60 minutes), what do we need to do to make sure our family nights happen each week or month. The same types of questions need to happen for an individual goal as well. For example if the goal is to eat more veggies this year, how many servings are you currently having every day or week, how many more servings can you realistically add to your daily intake, and how could you gradually add more to reach your ultimate veggie servings per day goal.  Once your family has identified a goal or two, work out the action plans and talk ahead of time about the possible barriers that could come up and prevent your family from meeting its goals. All plans and discussions ahead of time will be an ounce of prevention that allows your family’s goals to be met this year. 

Healthy Eating

It was six years ago this month when food labels were required to disclose trans fat amounts in the product. Food labels continue to be updated and provide a wealth of information, if we know what you are looking for. If your family is currently not reading labels, make this exploration process something to tackle this month or this year. Since the labels contain a lot of detailed information, start by looking for one item, i.e. the amount of fiber in a serving, what is a serving size for the package/container, sodium content, Trans fat, or protein. If you can keep your focus to one item, it can help the practice of reviewing a food label from feeling overwhelming. Aim for one section of the label with all your family’s food choices, and increase your awareness on that certain informational area and how it may impact your future food purchases.

Q&A

What is resistant starch and is it good for my family?

This type of starch plays a familiar role to fiber in the body.  It is not digested in the small intestine, but has healthful effects in the colon and the rest of the body. Legumes (beans, peas, etc.) contain a large proportion of resistant starch. Some grains, when whole and intact (e.g. not processed or ground into flour), contain moderate amounts of resistant starch. In general it is still important to receive your daily intake of fiber from a variety of plant based foods. People who consume adequate fiber have less chronic disease. Daily food choices that are higher in fiber can have a protective effect on your family’s cardiovascular health. Consuming plant based foods (fiber) are known to make one feel fuller, and can assist with weight management.

Sleep Well

Did your family make goals for the New Year related to improved health? There continues to be evidence that supports sleeping well really does impact our ability to meet our health related goals. Making time and planning for healthy sleep patterns in the New Year can improve our memory, cognitive functions, and be an important factor in weight maintenance.  Find an extra 15 minutes in the family’s sleep routine and either tack this quarter of an hour on to the morning or evening sleep well time.

Eat Healthy   •   Play Every Day   •   Get Together   •   Go Outside   •   Sleep Well