School Dressing Days

The community has once again come together to offer a GREAT event to help kids and their families get back to school in style this year. Hosted at the Bragg Hill Family Life Center, the 2011 School Dressing Days event is underway and a HUGE success so far!

WIC participated in Saturday's 9AM-4PM event and will be back out at BHFLC today and tomorrow, spreading the word about our fabulous program and other Health Department opportunities.

Estimates put the number of participants at Saturday's event around 9,000 and the whole crew at Dressing Days is certainly excited to see hundreds more excited and appreciative faces today and tomorrow!

Check out the official flyer below and come by Bragg Hill to revamp your wardrobe for the upcoming school year!

What's for breakfast?

We hear all day long from kids, family, etc. "what's for dinner?" or "what am I going to make for dinner?"....but what about breakfast?? Many people do not eat breakfast for multiple reasons, the biggest excuse being I DON'T HAVE TIME! With how fast paced our society is, many people just simply don't make time for breakfast.

Let me tell you why you should eat breakfast every morning and persuade you with some delicious meal ideas to start your day!

Breakfast gives you the energy you need to start your day. Many people rely on coffee, 5- hour energy drinks, sodas, etc. to get them started in the morning. Why not try eating a little something for breakfast to go with that cup of coffee?? Eating a healthy breakfast is important to keep you alert at work or out and about. Breakfast helps to jump start your metabolism and get your body functioning. Without breakfast sometimes you might feel a bit sluggish!

Alot of research has been done over the years to find out if skipping breakfast has any connection to being overweight. If you are "dieting", you may think that skipping breakfast will help you lose weight....think again my friend! Skipping breakfast tends to make you overeat at other meals and wont allow you to get the appropriate amount of calories you need in a day. Eat structured meals throughout the day and try not to let your stomach get to the "growling" stage.....that means you have gone too long without a snack or meal.

Here are some helpful ways to fit breakfast in during your busy morning.

1. Wake up an extra 15 minutes everyday to eat a quick bowl of cereal

2. Pack some of those delicious WIC cereals in a little sandwich bag and take it along with you to eat at work or when you get to your destination

3. Pack/ make something the night before, so you just have to pop it in the microwave at work or before you leave. This way you don't have to worry with making something, its made the night before when you have a little more time.

4. Grab some cereal bars to tuck into your bag when leaving the house. It helps you avoid stopping for fast food and spending extra money.

5. Eat some fruit, its quick and easy, just grab and go!

Look for foods high in protein and fiber for breakfast!

Here are some ideas:

1. Instant oatmeal with some fruit and /or nuts mixed in

2. Whole grain cereal, dry or with low- fat or fat- free milk, add fruit!

3. Smoothies! Low-fat milk, frozen strawberries and a banana

4. Stuff a whole wheat pita with eggs and cheese

5. Whole grain toast with peanut butter

6. Omelet with turkey sausage and cheese

7. Fruit and low-fat yogurt with granola

* A small cup of 100% juice and/ or water are nice additions to breakfast!

If you don't normally eat breakfast, start slow with something small. I would challenge you to try eating breakfast for 2 weeks and see how much your energy level and alertness increases!

Happy eating!

-Christy Redmond, Nutritionist

Raise a Healthy Eater

A recent study has come out suggesting that babies' taste preferences are shaped very early in the womb through amniotic fluid. Many flavors (such as garlic, vanilla, carrot) have been proven to pass through to the amniotic fluid. The researchers suggest that a mother's diet choices while pregnant could shape the baby's taste preferences for the rest of that child's life by exposing the fetus to different and exotic flavors. In other words, if you want your child to grow up liking broccoli, eat broccoli while you are pregnant!

While it certainly won't hurt (and you should really try for your own enjoyment) to eat a variety of flavors while pregnant, I wouldn't count on doing this to ensure your child grows up a "healthy eater". Children from all different cultures learn eventually to eat what their parents eat. Chinese children learn to eat Chinese food. Indian children grow up learning to eat spicy Indian food. French children learn to eat French food.

What has been proven is that repeated and neutral exposures to different foods are necessary to help a child learn to eat. Don't give up on a new food just because the child doesn't like it the first time they are exposed. It can take MANY times of seeing a food before they will even try or accept it. Children who grow up to be "picky eaters" often have parents who continually only offer them a limited selection of "safe" foods (chicken nuggets, macaroni and cheese, hot dogs... sound familiar?) Or sometimes parents will make a whole separate meal for a picky child because they will not eat what the rest of the family is eating. This is a sure way to raise a picky eater.

So how can you raise a healthy eater?

1. Eat with your child as much as possible. Or have some responsible adult eat with them. Don't just feed them. They learn good table habits by watching you!




2. Offer new foods along with favorite foods. You can be child friendly and considerate of your child's preferences without catering to them or serving only "kid food". Serve a favorite or easy to like vegetable like corn with a less liked main dish. Serve a favorite main dish with a less liked side. That way if they don't want to eat the new food they can eat something else on the plate.
   



3. Do not pressure, bribe, or coerce your child to eat anything. This will make them back off of that food even more. Just present the new food as a "matter of fact". If they don't want to try it this time that is not a big deal. If it is something your family eats regularly they will likely accept it eventually.




4. We all have things we don't like to eat. Teach your child to politely turn down food they do not want to eat. It is OK to say "No thank you". It is not OK to say "Ew, YUCK!"
   

If you are a WIC client and have questions or concerns about your child's picky eating, call your local health department and ask to talk to a nutritionist.

Allison Leonard RD

World Breastfeeding Week 2011!

It's that time again, folks!  World Breastfeeding Week 2011 is August 1-7.  The theme this year is Talk to Me.  Breastfeeding , a 3-D Experience.  This theme is meant to encourage us to think outside the box when it comes to the way we view breastfeeding.  We want to spread the word across all cultures, genders, and ages about the great benefits of breastfeeding!  To celebrate, the Rappahannock Area Health District will be holding our baby shower (details here) on August 5th.  We hope that all you breastfeeding moms out there will celebrate too!