Food Made Fun: Featuring SuperKids Nutrition's Super Crew® (Part 5 of 5)

Meet Super Baby Abigail. Her powers change with the different foods she eats. Wearing her blueberry encrested cape, Baby Abigail gets her powers from all kinds of foods, and she is constantly finding out new powers she gets with every food she tries. Baby Abigail is part of the Super Crew® characters, a group of culturally diverse, superhero kids who get powers from eating healthy foods of certain colors. Brought to life through the Super Crew® colorful website, coloring pages and beautifully illustrated children’s books, the Super Crew® encourages kids to understand and value the importance of good nutrition. Super Crew® adventurous learning is geared toward children ranging from pre-kindergarten all the way up to 8th grade. My daughter has both of the Super Crew® books - Havoc at Hillside Market and Super Baby Abigail’s Lunchtime Adventure – and loves them! As a mother, I love them because they reinforce what I teach her about what “always” foods do for her body. The extra benefit with these books is that there are free downloadable book guides and activities that the kids can do to reinforce their learning.  The Super Crew® coloring pages are wonderful for children to color or watercolor while moms are cooking.  If you "like" the SuperKids Nutrition Facebook fan page, you can get daily tips on feeding your family.
The Super Crew® was created by a dietitian that I highly regard, Melissa Halas-Liang, MA, RD, CDE. I met her a few years ago when she was developing her SuperKidsNutrition site (back then it had a different URL) and was looking for online article editors. “Kids are savvy consumers and they make choices based upon what they know,” says Melissa. “The problem is that children have been inundated for years with kid-targeted marketing and messages and that becomes what is familiar. At SuperKids Nutrition, we are trying to change that by providing kids, parents and schools with knowledge about the powers of healthy foods and making healthy choices and showing them how simple education can make a difference.” [More on Melissa Halas-Liang, MA, RD, CDE in a future Mommy Dietitian guest interview.]

When I met Melissa back in 2007, she was just finishing up Super Baby Abigail’s Lunchtime Adventure and we instantly connected due to our passion for helping healthy families. Since that time, her SuperKids Nutrition and Super Crew® sites have really taken flight. Not only is her Super Crew® portal a place where kids can have fun learning about food, but her SuperKids Nutrition website is a place where parents can get “news you can use” child nutrition information and recipes. As a pediatric and family dietitian, SuperKids Nutrition is one of my favorite family nutrition websites by far. And by the way, remember Super Baby Abigail? She is named after Melissa’s now 4 year old daughter who’s favorite food from the beginning was blueberries.

As I wrap-up Mommy Dietitian’s 5-part series on "Food Made Fun," my hope is that you take time to expose your children to these resources. Tell your friends, schools and communities. Spread the word so that these resources will stay around for maximum impact. These resources empower children to make the right food choice for their own sake – not just because Mom or Dad said so. And that will help set them on a right path that you can be proud of years from now. Cheers to that!

Tweens/Teen Girls: Be Happy. Be Healthy. Be Beautiful.You. (4 of 5)

Be Happy. Be Healthy. Be Beautiful. You.  Isn't that a great tagline?  I interpret that as saying, "You are beautiful just being you." It's the tagline on my next 'Food Made Fun' feature in this 5-part series focusing on education and empowering children at their level.  Many kid-friendly websites are geared toward elementary school age, so I wanted to highlight one that is geared more to adolescence.  GirlsHealth.gov contains great food and nutrition education, although it is more complex as our girls are more beautifully complex in nature. Girls are at risk for emotional eating that can begin at an early age, and the issues around relationships and peer pressures can take their toll.  This site may not be as "fun" as the other features, but it sure discusses many important issues related kids of this age in a way they can understand - including tween/teen girl's emotions, relationships and bullying. After all, isn't those some of the most important things to a young girl?  I remember back when I was 11-17 years old, life was all about school, yes, but emotionally it was about socializing and being liked.  These pressures impact a child's decision-making when it comes to their health - I know they did for me.  By now, you probably know how passionate I am about empowering children to make right decisions and this is definitely the case for our future women and mothers of the world.  I think of my own 6 year old daughter, Hannah.  My hope for her as her mother is that she has the confidence and knowledge to make her own decisions that grow her into a healthy and strong woman in mind, body and spirit.  It's one thing to have your mother teach you a healthy self-confidence that is the basis of every healthy decision (very important!).  But it's another thing to know that your girls have a good, reliable resource to turn to when they don't want to talk to Mom or Dad about their issues.

Girlshealth.gov (formerly 4Girls.gov) is a program sponsored by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office on Women’s Health (OWH). It was developed in 2002 to fulfill the need for reliable, current health information on the Internet for adolescent girls, and to help improve the health of women from childhood to adolescence and into adulthood. Girlshealth.gov motivates girls to choose healthy behaviors using positive, supportive, and non-threatening messages. 

My series on cool food websites for kids could go on and on, but next week will be the last feature.  I am finding some great stuff out there for our children!  But to give our U.S. Government some great kudos, I wanted to let Mommy Dietitian readers know about other great sites they have put together to teach your children about health and wellness.

Other great U.S. government "Food Made Fun" websites for children include:
Small Step Kids: Kids can find out cool stuff about food and what it can do for them.
BAM! Body and Mind: Center for Disease Control's (CDC) kid-friendly site on explaining disease, health and wellness.
MyPyramid Kids: Of course we must include the US Department of Agriculture's MyPyramid Kids pages that have the Blast Off game to teach children about the MyPyramid way of eating.
Fish Kids: Environment Protection Agency's (EPA) site to educate children on fish, mercury and other chemicals that can contaminate our seafood supply.

If I missed one, I would love for you to share with me and the rest of the Mommy Dietitian readers.  I feel like I am leaving one out!  Anyway, check out the ones I listed with your children and feel free to send along any feedback as to how beneficial they are in your daily lives.  Let's do this parenting together!

Food Made Fun: Featuring Nourish Interactive (Part 3 of 5)

"The fun way to learn about nutrition."
http://www.nourishinteractive.com/

If you are looking for a very well-rounded child education resource that includes lesson plans, educational printouts and children’s games that go along with those lessons - or even if you're interested in only one of these components - you must check out Nourish Interactive. This incredibly creative, interactive and multi-faceted website was a grassroots creation born as a result of one person that wanted to make a difference. Maggie LaBarbera was an intensive care nurse for many years and the patients who impacted her the most were the children that came in for weight loss surgery due to morbid obesity. Out of all the health issues she saw, this was one issue that could be fully prevented and she wanted to be part of the solution. Hence, Nourish Interactive was born. Maggie’s goal for the website is simple - that children have fun when learning about living a healthy lifestyle. The games she created are primarily geared toward children ages 4-10 years old, which are the critical age range when teaching about healthy habits. The main character on the website, Chef Solus (named after a Roman God that means “health), invites the children to join him in the Nourish Interactive “playroom” where they can play a variety of fun, interactive games. What a great marriage to encourage your children to have fun all the while learning about food balance and variety through Food Guide Pyramid basics and being active through character movements and challenges! They even have a reminder to take a break from the computer after 20 minutes and be physically active. 


Parents, community activists and educators must check out the lesson plans on this website. There are all-inclusive lessons with an educational plan, interactive game, worksheets and even ideas to assess their learning of each lesson. Create an online account, which will give your parents and/or students log-in codes so all learning can be retained within your group account.  By the end of the summer, Nourish Interactive will roll out a complete 7-8 week program for schools that will include both online and offline learning activities.  Sooner additions within a month include a parental nutrient tool and a virtual cooking game for kids.

Did I mention that all of this access is FREE? Did I mention that the entire Nourish Interactive website has been created in both English and Spanish? All because an awesome nurse who believed she could make a difference in the obesity epidemic. What a great reminder that we can all do our part! Encourage educational entities to take advantage of this great resource so Maggie has reason to continue doing what she is doing so well. Use this great resource for your own family.  Encourage your children to play around on Nourish Interactive today and ask them what they learned.  Food made fun! 

Food Made Fun: Featuring The Only Rockstar Nutritionist (Part 2 of 5)

Jill Jayne, MS, RD as The Rockstar Nutritionist
For more information, go to: http://www.jumpwithjill.com

Meet Jill Jayne, Registered Dietitian with a severe passion for child nutrition. Also meet Jill Jayne, musician, songwriter and creative performer. Who do you have? Jill Jayne, the world's only Rockstar Nutritionist. Jill specializes in engaging and empowering children to make healthy food and activity choices. One of the reasons I love Jill's business model is because I have always believed that empowerment is one of the keys to a child's long-term success in healthy eating. Jill Jayne's performances do just that. She understands that a person can have all the knowledge in the world, but that knowledge must be taught in creative and memorable ways that will last after the educational session. In this case, Jill puts on an age-appropriate and age-interesting show that knocks kids socks off. I have experienced her Rockstar Nutritionist show firsthand, and I and everyone else that attended was left wanting more of her energy and knowledge! We were on our feet the entire time singing, dancing and learning, all simultaneously. Jill's shows historically have focused on elementary school children, however, her shows have been so popular all around the country - over 100,000 children will have seen her show after her Spring 2010 tour - that she is now branching out into the preschool and adolescent population. Jill has a preschool CD entitled, "Jill and Jam" slated for release this Fall. She has just launched a creative new website for adolescents, very aptly named http://www.iwillnotbebought.com/.

Jill is a registered dietitian with a master's degree in nutrition education from Columbia University and a bachelor's in nutrition and theater from Penn State University. The resulting combination launched a unique and exciting career in nutrition entertainment. Before becoming a professional Rockstar Nutritionist, Jill was writer, producer and host of the nationally-syndicated, nationally-acclaimed children's nutrition news program What's in the News for PBS and a New York City public school teacher. Jill is also the lead singer of a real life band called Sunset West. Sunset West has toured and recorded extensively in the mainstream music scene including The Vans Warped Tour and The Next Great American Band on FOX. Jill is from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania but calls New York City home these days.

Whether you are a parent, teacher or community activist, consider booking The Rockstar Nutritionist to come to your local school or school district. Find the point person for assemblies-- this might be the school nurse, principal, food service director, or PTA. This person is in charge of the school's assembly funds or a pocket of money for health education. You need an advocate on the inside, like a gym teacher or PTA person. Present Jump with Jill's press kit to your local PTA, or at parent teacher night. For more information on Jill's shows, including funding ideas and ways to receive discounts, go to: http://www.jumpwithjill.com/jwj/booking.

I have to say, her single off her Get Me Goin' CD called "Beat of the Body" is by and far my children's favorite tune. My children love the "Whoop! Whoop!" part so much, and the get that the song promotes moving their body so it works well - the heart, the lungs and the muscles. Jill has a music video for this song and I had to post it with this write-up. "It's the Beat of the Body, Whoop! Whoop!" I'm serious. Watch it once or twice and you're hooked. Rock on, Jill!!

Food Made Fun: Featuring DooF (Part 1 of 5)

Balanced nutrition education must start in the home.  Don't feel equipped?  I've got great news!  I love to share great resources for families that help make nutrition education fun.  This series of 5 blog entries, starting with this one, will feature some of my favorite "finds" when it comes to fun nutrition education for children.

One of the resources I recently found is a website simply called, "DooF."  What is DooF?  Well, it's food spelled backwards.  But even more so, DooF is a food education initiative created by Mike Axinn in 2005 after seeing his daughter's interest in adult cooking shows.  Mike has quite the professional resume in the film industry, having worked on well known films such as Star Wars, Titanic, Moulin Rouge and Fantastic Four.  But this project of Mike's was something different.  Combining his love for food, education and a desire to work with like-minded individuals with these passions, Mike moved forward with the concept of DooF.  DooF features "Doofians" - Cookbot, Y, Pollo and Trippe, all from Planet DooF. The Doofians challenge Earth kids to discover the What, Why, When, Where and Fun of food through visits with food experts and regular Earthlings at markets, farms, and home kitchens.  The characters discuss their food discoveries on their logs entitled, "DSS of Gastronomy."  If you or your child would prefer to watch instead of read, have them tune into Channel DooF's School of Broc and they will find fun videos about food.  DooF also has a database of healthy recipes that you can search by food type.

We all know the imbalance our children are exposed to when it comes to food advertising.  DooF is one of those initiatives that allows children to see healthy food in a positive way.  The goal of DooF is simple: they want to become the place kids come for good food fun, and to create a healthy alternative to the barrage of unhealthy advertising that indundates our culture.  DooF recently aligned with a media company and together, they plan to do a traveling tour thoroughout the San Francisco Bay area and possibly even the entire West Coast.  DooF will also continue to develop their television show.  Over the next year, they will be rolling out a calendar of live events, new videos and Web-based activities so keep checking their website for new information.  Right now, they are gearing up for DooF-a-Palooza 2011, a major hands-on food event featuring purveyors, fun food activities for children and well-known food celebrities.  I was happy to learn that they hope to take DooF-a-Palooza to cities all over the country in the future.  But they need our support - sponsors, ideas, information on how they can spread their message.  They welcome the involvement of people who share their mission to get kids excited about healthy food.  Anyone interested should contact them at info@foodbackwards.com.  Stay in-the-know with DooF by following their blog, The DooF Glob.

My children have already spent some time on DooF and they absolutely loved it.  We plan on checking in with them regularly as they continue to expand their love for creating fun ways for children to learn about healthy foods.  I am so happy to have this resource for my children, and I hope that you join me in helping efforts like DooF keep doing what they do best.  Stay tuned for more great finds.  More features coming!

Need Practical Healthy Eating Resources for Families!

I really want to connect the nutrition and healthy lifestyle professional to the average family.  Often times I see a disconnect because some of the recommendations are unrealistic to families, or they are not followed up with the "how" to implement.  The key component to any connection is summed up in one word: P-R-A-C-T-I-C-A-L.  You see, I am educated as a Registered Dietitian and am extremely passionate about my profession, but I am also a mother trying to make it happen despite our very busy lives.  I tell families that they must make it a priority to feed your family well, and while that is certainly true, we also need easier ways to get it done in order to meet those goals.  Don't you agree?

This Mommy Dieitian project brings
new meaning to "Will Work For Food!"

That is why I am starting a very important project that I know you will be excited about.  The details will be announced in the near future.  But what I am looking for is this - Do you know of a practical resource out there that will help families eat healthy?  It could be a food product, a book, a website, a blog or even a place.  Whatever it is, I want to know about it! 

My goal for this blog is NOT to monetize, and professionally, I do not want to be paid by food companies or organizations that will make me appear biased in my recommendations to others.  I am the advocate for the child and family.  If I like something, I will let everyone know.  It's that simple!  This blog has not been up and running very long and I've already been approached by many people to review and recommend their products.  I'd love to do so, but I want to be honest and transparent in my views about those products.  There is my disclaimer.

So, please.  Send me your favorite resources!!  The gathering process is off to a great start.  I plan to use them in a way that children, mothers, fathers and families as a whole will benefit from - just wait and see!  By the way, if you have not already done so, please join the Mommy Dietitian Facebook fan page.  This page is a already a fan of many possible resources for families, and the fan pages will be growing.  As I am gathering resources, I will blog about some that I am extra excited about.  Thanks in advance for the help!

Yogurt Emergency!!

Our morning started off like any morning. My 2 year old son wakes up with his first words out of his mouth. No, not "Mornin', Mommy" nor "Hi Mommy." It was more like, "Yogurt. Yogurt, Mommy." You see, for him yogurt is like most adult's coffee in the morning. "OK, honey. I'll get you some, I said." Oh wait...oh no! I just remembered that the kids polished off the yogurt this weekend and there is no more left. Uh-oh, this is not good. (Pause) "Um, Evan, we are out of yogurt. But Mommy will get you some today when I go to the grocery store" (notice I spoke in 3rd person as to separate myself from the issue). Well, you might as well have pulled his small toe off because that's what his whaling and crying must have sounded like to anyone standing at the end of our street. Wow! Toddlers are dramatic, aren't they? Sheesh! Needless to say, Daddy had lots of fun getting him dressed while he was going through his complete and total meltdown. This is the same boy that has absolutely hated to get his diaper or clothes changed from day one and still does. Now he's being messed with and he hasn't had his yogurt!! Not pretty.

Now my Twitter followers now know part of the backstory of my getting to the grocery store without a grocery list this morning. Yes, I blame it on the yogurt emergency. Mommy to the rescue! After getting my daughter dropped off at school, I trucked it up to Kroger to re-stock the yogurt supply. At that point I realized that my weekend was way too relaxing because I did not pre-think this grocery store visit and we needed more than just yogurt. I needed to capitalize on this grocery store run and re-stock our pantry and fridge. This doesn't happen often with me, but when it does I remember that many other moms run into this situation and we need to find avoid this situation from ruining our food plans for the week. What do you do? I found myself using my Notes app on my Blackberry to make a list in the car before going in (after tweeting my no grocery list confession, of course). Unfortunately, situations like this do not really afford you to try new recipes, therefore, promoting food variety. But I was able to plug in family favorite meals in which I knew the ingredients like the back of my hand. I called the hubster and he added some items to the list as well. Next thing you knew, I had a somewhat of plan before I walked into the store. No coupons, no new recipes this week, but I had a plan. Even if you don't make your grocery list before you leave, have a plan before you walk in or else you will certainly leave without enough food for the week and that promotes too much dining out. At least that's what I've experienced. I'd love to hear from you, moms and dads, on what you do to get it together when the week's planning doesn't happen. Share it so we can learn from you!

By the way, we have yogurt now! Thank the Lord for that.