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• Get moving. Walk, hike, clean, dance, swim, or play sports 30-60 minutes five days a week. Plan weekly family exercise outings where you all venture out for a hike, go bike riding, or simply head to the park to throw a Frisbee.
• With all the activity that surrounds a typical day as a mom, it becomes easy to forget to look after ourselves. However, in order to take care of your family, you must nurture yourself.
• Nourish your body. Store easy-to-grab snack packs with sliced fruit and veggies, granola, or yogurt in your cupboard and fridge. Make natural fruit smoothies instead of milkshakes for you and the kids. Your body is primarily made up of water; keep your body refreshed by drinking eight glasses of water a day.
• Find time to relax. Meditate, read, and meet with friends to enhance your health and happiness.
• It is important for your body, mind, and soul to feel the same care you so freely provide for your family.
Replenish Yourself
Brain Food for Preschoolers
• Your preschooler’s brain is growing at a most impressive rate, and she’s soaking up everything around her. In order to keep your happy little sponge extra absorbent, she needs to get the vitamins and nutrients that aren’t found in jelly and mac-n-cheese.
• The brain grows fantastically when given plenty of fatty acids, iron, protein, and zinc. DHA or docosahexaenoic acid is a vital nutrient that facilitates the development of synapses that are used to transport information from one cell to the next to the brain. Our babies thrive when receiving a healthy dose of DHA, which is naturally found in breast milk.
• To supply this to your children as they grow, look for foods containing omega-3 fatty acids, including fish, eggs, yogurt, or sprouted breads. Iron rich foods include fish, meat, nuts, and cheese.
• Whole grains, milk, fruits and veggies, such as peas and bananas, contain B-vitamins that help keep the brain healthy and their energy levels on full speed.
• Make sure your preschooler is continuing to drink low-fat organic milk, yogurt, and cottage cheese for calcium and protein. It’s important to promote your tot’s ability to learn.
• Filling her belly with the right ingredients is important for your rapidly growing child, it also ensures her brain is getting the right stuff to keep up!
• Talk with your pediatrician about your preschooler’s healthy diet.
Simple Tips for Healthier Grocery Shopping
• Follow the Food Guide Pyramid when planning your family menus and making your grocery list.
• Shop the perimeter of the market where all the fresh foods are offered.
• Buy foods that are raised on an organic or cage-free farm, (for example, chicken, beef, eggs) grow on a tree (such as fruit), or grow in the ground (vegetables, grains, legumes).
• Avoid processed foods, food in cellophane, and food from boxes.
• Avoid sugar.
• Avoid artificial sweeteners.
• Avoid fried foods.
• Avoid food coloring.
• Stock up on water.
• Shop for organic food from sustainable and local farms.
Vitamins are Lifeamins!
• Diets rich in potassium may help to maintain healthy blood pressure. Good fruit and vegetable sources include sweet potatoes, tomato paste, tomato puree, beet greens, white potatoes, white beans, lima beans, cooked greens, carrot juice, and prune juice.
• Vitamin A keeps eyes and skin healthy. It also helps to protect against infections. Good fruit and vegetable sources include sweet potatoes, pumpkin, carrots, spinach, turnip greens, mustard greens, kale, collard greens, winter squash, cantaloupe, and red peppers.
• Vitamin C helps heal cuts and wounds and keeps teeth and gums healthy. Good fruit and vegetable sources include red and green peppers, kiwi, strawberries, sweet potatoes, kale, cantaloupe, broccoli, pineapple, Brussels sprouts, oranges, mangoes, tomato juice, and cauliflower.
Eat Your Fruits and Vegetables
• Fruits and vegetables are great sources of many vitamins, minerals, and other natural substances that may help protect you from chronic diseases. Eating a balanced diet and making other lifestyle changes are key to defending your body’s good health.
• Diets rich in dietary fiber have been shown to have a number of beneficial effects, including decreased risk of coronary heart disease. Good fruit and vegetable sources include navy beans, kidney beans, black beans, pinto beans, lima beans, white beans, soybeans, split peas, chick peas, black eyed peas, lentils, and artichokes.
• Healthy diets with adequate folate may reduce a woman’s risk of having a child with a brain or spinal cord defect. Good fruit and vegetable sources include black-eyed peas, cooked spinach, great northern beans, and asparagus.
Follow The Food Guide Pyramid
• The Food Guide Pyramid is a picture of what to eat each day. It’s super easy to follow and will help you plan your daily menu.
• Fruits and vegetables provide essential vitamins and minerals, fiber, and other substances that are associated with good health.
• Low saturated-fat diets rich in fiber-containing grain products, fruits, and vegetables may reduce the risk of heart disease and some types of cancer.
• Milk products provide protein, vitamins, and minerals and are a great source of calcium.
• Monounsaturated fats lower total cholesterol and LDL cholesterol (the bad cholesterol) and increase the HDL cholesterol (the good cholesterol). Nut, canola, and olive oils are high in monounsaturated fats.
• Drinking enough water is essential to keeping hydrated, converting food into energy, and carrying nutrients through the body.
• It's never too late to start eating well.
• Just like your grandmother told you, an apple day keeps the doctor away.
Healthy Eating Starts in the Kitchen
Introduce healthy eating habits by engaging your children in cooking and dining activities. Preschoolers can:
Arrange serving trays
Mix ingredients
Set and clear the table
Stir ingredients
Fold napkins
Break ingredients with their hands
Practice their phonics by reading words in recipes
Pour ingredients
Learn math by measuring
Crack eggs
Make up cooking songs
Peel hard boiled eggs
Dance, sing, and enjoy!
Butter bakeware
Play Time is Family Time
•Nothing is more contagious than the affection and energy gained from your preschooler during play.
•Hide n’ seek games follow the traditional peek-a-boo fun that your baby once thrived on.
•Preschoolers adore art. Make an art table outside in your backyard. Paint, glue, and draw to your heart’s content.
•Get outside and explore. Gather leaves and ask your child to sort by size, color, or shape.
•Use bean-bags to bowl down empty plastic bottles, or cut 2-litter milk bottles in half and roll a small ball back and forth to scoop it up using your homemade glove.
•Container play is a great opportunity to work fine motor skills as well as problem solving abilities. Use a large coffee can and cut out various sized circles in the lid. Have your young preschooler fill the can by pushing objects through the correct sized holes.
•Make your own “treasure” bag by using a pillowcase filled with various objects, including, a spoon, ball, cup, book, or small doll. Ask your child to close their eyes and locate the object you ask for by touch only.
•Preschool play is time to grow, learn, and explore together; so get down on the floor and enjoy!
Develop Healthy Habits in the First Three Years
Developing healthy nutrition, movement, and exercise habits starts young. As early as 10 months babies are running about exploring their environments. Teach your children the habit of movement beginning in the early years:
:. When baby is 6-10 months of age, walk with baby in stroller or in a baby carrier.
:. When baby can walk, begin exploring your garden, go for short walks in front of your home, and delight in trips to the park.
:. Encourage your preschooler to play, jump, throw, skip, and run.
:. Walk as a family to and from school.
:. Walk around the block after dinner.
:. Play catch, shoot the basketball, and kick the soccer ball for 10 minutes anytime!