Good morning! It’s the day after the Preakness here in Baltimore and, thanks to the unending rain this Spring, I didn’t need to scrape any drunks off my lawn like last year or chase anyone from using our “woods” as a bathroom. Woods in a city neighborhood? Yep. Welcome to Baltimore, one of the most lush and green cities in this country. On Preakness Day, we are even more lush than usual.
Speaking of green, I wanted to share with you sneaky ways I get green into my kids. First of all, let’s get the description of DKos Health and Wellness group out of the way:
The Dkos Health and Wellnes group meets up every Sunday at 8AM to discuss aspects of health and wellness that impact our lives. Wellness is something that a lot of us are passionate about, and the intent of this group is to provide a forum for some serious discussion of how (and why) every one of us makes our physical and mental health a higher priority in our lives. If you'd like to follow our group, just go to the group page and click "follow". If you'd like to join the group and get involved, just ask!
I’ll set the scene a little: I have boy/girl 13 year old twins. My son is allergic to dairy, eggs, peanuts (and lentils!), my daughter will eat almost anything. My son can eat things with dairy and eggs in them, but can’t eat a container of yogurt or eat scrambled eggs or drink a glass of milk. Add that to his hatred of vegetables and you have a nutrition problem: how to get calcium, fiber, oils, and proteins into his stubborn stomach.
I’ve hit upon a couple of tricks I thought I’d share with you. The first is the morning smoothie (I’ll share other recipes in future diaries). It sounds time consuming, but once you get into the grove and the repetition, it takes about 10 minutes to make each morning.
Tools and ingredients: blender, greek yogurt, spinach, bananas, splash of whole milk, frozen blueberries, frozen pineapple, Stevia, water, fish oil.
I start with two heaping tablespoons of nonfat Greek yogurt slopped into the blender
Add as many heaping handfuls of baby spinach as can fit in the blender
Smoosh in (term of art) two bananas
Add a splash of milk.
Chop and wait for the mixture to turn a smooth green.
Add a half cup of frozen blueberries, then a cup or so of pineapple and let the blender chop away.
When it’s smooth, add Stevia to taste and a little water. I then add their daily dose of fish oil.
My kids love this. They can’t taste the fish oil which is really great because it delivers lots of Omega 3 as well as some Vitamin D (though I’m thinking of adding liquid D to the mix). The rest of the ingredients add folic acid, Vitamin C, protein and a lot of other good stuff they need throughout the day. After a recent blood test, their pediatrician said their numbers were “enviable.”
A word about the cost of the smoothie….it’s not cheap, but it’s not prohibitively expensive. That’s important since I am looking for a job and my husband’s work supports us. I build the cost into my food budget, but I am always on the lookout for inexpensive whole ingredients. I tend to shop for basics at Aldi’s (a German chain brought to you by the same people who own Trader Joe’s, it’s really inexpensive) and managed to get a week’s worth of spinach, frozen fruit, Greek yogurt, and the rest of the ingredients for under $15 10. The nutrition packed into the smoothie and the fact that that is breakfast for two kids five days a week makes it worth it.
I want to understand the nutritional impact of Stevia a bit more. I have read that non-processed forms are better and I haven’t read anything that indicates it’s as unhealthy as sugar or other sugar substitutes.
How do you get nutrition in your family members? I’m interested in hearing what you do to keep those family members eating right, whether they are kids or a family member for whom you are a caretaker.
And of course, please feel free to comment about any health and wellness issues you encounter in the comments! Thanks.
Here’s the upcoming schedule for DKos Health and Wellness Group diaries:
5/29: indubitably
6/5: Chrislove
6/12: Sandy on Signal
6/19: theKgirls
6/26: Richard Cranium
If you want to volunteer to write about your health and wellness concerns, tips, strategies, knowledge, or issues, let us know in the comments!