Crazy! A dieting book for preschoolers!

So I just read about this book that is coming out this fall about dieting for children! Is this what bedtime stories are about  these days?!? This new book is called Maggie Goes On a Diet and instead of teaching your children not to say 4-letter swear words, parents should be more concerned about a scary word to teach them…to….Diet. A pre-school child needs a healthy, balanced diet to fuel his or her active and growing life. Also important is for you, the parent, to give the right foods and model healthy eating habits yourself. This can help your child to ward off any childhood health problems such as obesity or even diabetes.

Maggie Goes On a Diet will be available this fall, and while it’s a book about a 14 year old girl who goes on a diet, Amazon is listing the reading level as appropriate for kids ages 4-8.

According to Jezebel, the book is described as follows:

This book is about a 14 year old girl who goes on a diet and is transformed from being extremely overweight and insecure to a normal sized girl who becomes the school soccer star. Through time, exercise and hard work, Maggie becomes more and more confident and develops a positive self-image.

I understand and agree that many of the kids, especially in the United States, are obese or on their way to being overweight, but reading it in a book at a young age is only going to possibly lead to distorted understanding of body image and even worse, eating disorders. What happened to teaching your kids about making good choices with the food they put into their bodies and exercise??? A chubby girl in a poorly styled and ill-fitting dress is not going to show your child what it means to have a “healthy and active lifestyle.” Do kids so young really need to learn about diets? Would you ever read this book to your preschooler?

Preschool children need healthy foods to meet the demands of their growing, active bodies. Provide your child with a diet full of whole-grain foods, colorful vegetables, fruits and high-protein foods, such as lean meat and beans. Children need foods that are high in calcium and iron. Milk, white beans, broccoli, sweet potatoes, cheddar cheese, yogurt and fortified orange juice are excellent sources of calcium. Increase your child’s intake of iron with lean meat, fish, nuts, peanut butter, beans, spinach, strawberries and whole-grain bread.

You can give your child a kid’s multivitamin to supplement your kiddo’s balanced diet; however, this should not replace eating healthy foods.

Just Remember…Proper nutrition helps prevent obesity, weak bones, and diabetes. Provide your child with a healthy diet to help prevent diet-related diseases when your kid grows up. A healthy lifestyle will also boost your child’s concentration, provide her or him with genuine energy and just help your child feel good every day!

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Vegetarian Meal for Your Little One & Vegetarian Facts!

Veggie Burger

I was speaking with my friend Dani last night and she used to love meat and especially hearty dishes like ribs. I asked her why she became a vegetarian, she did so for health purposes – many families these days are vegetarian families and there are many great ways to make sure your kiddos get the nutrients they need.

“I can’t eat that, I’m a vegetarian!”

You may have heard kids in the cafeteria or at a birthday party say this as they passed on a burger and grabbed a slice of cheese pizza instead. Did you wonder what a vegetarian is exactly? A vegetarian is someone who doesn’t eat meat, and mostly eats foods that come from plants, like grains, fruits, vegetables, and nuts.

Did you know…there are many types of vegetarians?
Here are some of them:

• semi-vegetarian: eats meat, but only fish and chicken
• pesci-vegetarian: eats only fish
• lacto-ovo vegetarian: eats no meat, but will eat dairy products (milk, butter, cheese) and eggs
• ovo-vegetarian: eats eggs, but no meat or dairy products
• vegan (say: vee-gun): eats no meat or animal products

Can Kids Be Vegetarians?
Kids can be vegetarians, but they can’t do it alone. They need grown-ups to help them make sure they get the vitamins and minerals they need. Eating a nutritious diet helps kids develop and grow as they should. Meat is a good source of protein, iron, and other important nutrients. So someone who’s a vegetarian needs to take care to replace those nutrients with non-meat foods.

CLASSIC VEGGIE BURGER RECIPE

These easy meatless burgers are prepared with bulgur wheat, canned pinto beans, grated carrots, and Swiss cheese. Cook the patties in a skillet!

Serving: 4 ppl

INGREDIENTS:

• 1/2 cup bulgur
• 1 can (15.5 ounces) pinto beans, rinsed and drained
• 1/2 cup grated Swiss cheese
• 1/2 cup finely grated carrots (from 2 medium carrots)
• 1 scallion, thinly sliced
• 1 large egg, lightly beaten
• Coarse salt and ground pepper
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 4 buns
• Sprouts, for serving
• Avocado slices, for serving

DIRECTIONS:
1.  In a large bowl, combine bulgur and 1 cup boiling water. Cover tightly and let sit until bulgur is tender, 30 minutes. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve, pressing to remove liquid, then return bulgur to bowl. In a food processor, pulse pinto beans until coarsely chopped. Add beans to bulgur, along with Swiss cheese, carrots, scallion, and egg. Season with salt and pepper; mix well.

2.  In a large skillet, heat olive oil over medium. Add 1/2 cup bean mixture and press lightly with a spatula to flatten. Make 3 more patties, working in batches if necessary (add more oil for second batch), and cook until browned and cooked through, 3 minutes per side. Serve burgers on buns with sprouts and avocado slices.

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