Food Fun for Kids Nutrition Blog

Beware of Junk Food Masquerading as Health Food

foodfun4 — Thu, 25 Mar 2010 22:42:29 +0000

Most people when they see the words 100% Natural on a package assume that what is inside is healthy. Ha! It pays to read the fine print. Take for example Quaker 100% Natural Granola, Oats, Honey & Raisins. Sounds good and good for you. The reality is that a bowl contains 420 calories, 12 g. fat (7 g saturated) 8 g fiber and 30 g sugars. That is about the same as eating 8 chicken wings. Believe it or not, you would get less sugar and fat and more fiber if you ate a bowl of Cocoa Pebbles. For more interesting info on foods to avoid check out this article- http://bit.ly/vPaz

Famous Chef Takes on Fat America

foodfun4 — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 00:15:51 +0000

Chef Jamie Oliver has a new show coming out and it follows his attempts to get the unhealthiest city in America to change its ways. The show called Food Revolution looks entertaining and seems to have its heart in the right place. Look at the promo. http://bit.ly/7g7Ct4 and tell us what you think.

It’s fun to play with your food.

foodfun4 — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 21:45:26 +0000

Most moms tell their children not to play with their food. I say it’s ok to have fun with food as long as you’re learning along the way. To that end there are some really fun games that pack lots of nutrition education along with some laughs and entertainment. Some of my favorite sites for nutrition games are:

http://bit.ly/9ndhZE here you will find a wealth of nutrition information and a fun free online game called Mission Nutrition. This game is perfect for kids grades 2-5 as well as for parents.

My other favorite site is mine http://foodfun4kids.com Ok so I may be a bit biased, but the nutrition card games I came up with my husband have been used by hundreds of schools and 1000′s of families and have been featured in Parenting Magazine. Each deck includes eight easy to play games, a calorie chart and 52 cards filled with handy and colorful nutrition information.

Another online fun food game site is:http://www.nutritionexplorations.org here you will find a game called Monster Nutrition that older elementary kids will enjoy playing. The goal is to slingshot good-for you food into the monster’s mouth.

Fun Kitchen Games

A site that has a number of ideas for sharing some fun in the kitchen with your children is called http://coolest-kids-games.com

They have a section called Gross Games that takes playing with food to a new level. Think of these items for some rainy day fun.

If you have any favorite food games. Please share them.

Food News… The good the bad and the ugly.

foodfun4 — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 23:09:53 +0000

It seems like no matter where you look these days all we get is a steady diet of bad news. On this blog i try and find a balanced diet of important information and fun facts. This week in the world of food here are some of the tidbits I want to share with you.

The good: It seems like schools are finally listening to parents like you and me when it comes to getting rid of the junk food in our kid’s schools. Last year, the percentage of secondary schools not selling candy or salty, fatty snacks rose from 46 percent in 2006 to 64 percent in 2008. Yahoo.. a step in the right direction.

The bad: Just when you thought it was safe to return to the grocery produce section a bit of bad news has surfaced in beautiful Northern California.

The California Department of Public Health said Sunday that West Sacramento, Calif.-based Raley’s had voluntarily recalled 1,120 cartons of Del Monte brand whole cantaloupe because radom testing discovered that the fruit may be contaminated with Salmonella .

The affected cantaloupe was sold between Oct. 5 and Oct. 16 at Raley’s, Nob Hill Foods, Bel Air and Food Sources stores in Nevada and Northern California. Stores removed the cantaloupe from the shelves on Oct. 16. State officials said there have been no reports of illnesses.

Shoppers with questions should contact Raley’s Consumer Affairs, 1-800-925-9989, or e-mail them at feedback(at)raleys.com.

The ugly: In the 2009 Half Moon Bay world championship of pumpkins, the winner was Don Young of Iowa, whose big squash tipped the scales at a whopping 1,658 pounds a world record.

World's biggest and perhaps ugliest pumpkins.

Having fun with nutrition wish you were here.

foodfun4 — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 23:56:18 +0000

It seems to me, in the last few years, that childhood nutrition has become a very serious topic. As a nutrition educator for over two decades, it’s clear that poor nutrition and not enough exercise can have serious consequences. However, as a mother of two teens, I also realize that serious doesn’t sell. Fun is what gets their attention and the attention of the thousands of students I have worked with over the years. This blog is my way of sharing with families some ways to win over your children’s hearts, minds and stomachs with games, nutrition news, recipes, and thoughts about good food and healthy living. I hope you share your success stories, questions and ideas with me so we can all put the fun back in food.