Healthy Family Meals for Children

Children do what they see others do, so if the family is eating healthy meals the children will also. However, if Dad doesn't eat his vegetables and Mom passes up the salad the children are likely to do the same. According to the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, if a child is obese between the ages of 10 and 13, there's an 80 percent chance he will be obese as an adult. Start healthy eating habits early.

Fast Food
1. Fast food is convenient and, of course, fast. It's also chock full of salt and fat, neither of which is healthy for children, or adults, for that matter. If you find yourself running short of time and are tempted to stop for burgers and fries for the family's dinner, go ahead and stop but substitute salads for the fries and go easy on the burgers. A grilled or baked chicken sandwich has less fat. Order salads for each member of the family -- not just the children.
Classics
2. Lots of food that children love are full of fat and salt as well. Review the recipes of family favorites to see where you can reduce the fat and salt and where you ca add vegetables. Macaroni and cheese is an example. If you're making it from scratch use skim milk instead of whole milk and low-fat cheese instead of full fat. Stretch the servings and increase the nutrition by adding a frozen bag of peas and corn to the macaroni during the last 5 minutes of cooking. Look at the labels of hot dogs and choose those make with turkey, which are lower in fat. Serve half a hot dog, split lengthwise. Fill in the bun with sliced tomatoes, shredded raw cabbage and a spoonful of pickle relish. Make hamburgers with 90 percent fat-free ground beef. Sometimes very low-fat beef falls apart when cooking, so add an egg to bind the meat into patties.
Hide the Fruits and Vegetables
3. Children need between four and five servings of fruits and vegetables per day, depending on their age, height, weight and activity levels. Start the day off right with a fruit smoothie made with fresh fruit. Tuck those vegetables into dishes where they aren't obvious. Grate carrots and add to meatloaf. Finely dice celery and add to potatoes while they cook. When the potatoes are mashed the celery will disappear. Hide the vegetables under a blanket of toasted bread crumbs or a layer of low-fat cheese. The rest of the family won't notice the hidden vegetables.
Don't Take No for an Answer
4. Children may resist trying something new. In her book, "The Sneaky Chef: Simple Strategies for Hiding Healthy Foods in Kids' Favorite Meals," Missy Chase Lapine says kids refuse to taste a new food simply because it is new. Offer a new vegetable or fruit several times in several different ways over a few weeks. For example, serve raw snow peas with non-fat ranch dipping, then in a salad and finally in stir fry. Add the peas to a vegetable dish the child already likes. Appeal to the child's sense of humor -- turn the snow pea into a bug. Wrap the pea in a slice of low-fat cheese and use it as the body. Add wings of orange slices cut in half and sliced strawberries. Bean sprouts form the antenna of the bug.
But I'm Hungry
5. Kids have smaller tummies and may need to eat more often than adults. Don't let children use that as an excuse not to eat a healthy meal when it's served. A child will often pick at dinner and then proclaim an hour later that he's hungry. If that becomes a habit, when the child says he's full, put the plate in the refrigerator. When he says later that he's starving, reheat the dinner and offer it. If he's truly hungry he'll probably eat it.

How to Cook Brown Rice

Brown rice is rice as nature intended it to be eaten. Full of vitamins and a good source of bran and fiber, brown rice can be used in any recipe calling for white rice. It has a slight nutty taste that can compliment any meal. As with all grains, brown rice swells as it cooks. Each cup of dry brown rice cooked will yield 2 cups of cooked rice.

Stove Top Instructions
1
Add 1 1/2 cups of water into a pot or pan that has a tight fitting lid. Add 1 tablespoon butter or olive oil. A teaspoon of salt can be added if desired. Bring to a boil.
2
Add 1 cup of brown rice. Pour it into the boiling water and stir. Place the lid on the pot.
3
Turn the heat on the stove down to low. Allow the rice to cook for at least 50 minutes without lifting the lid.
4
After 50 minutes, lift the lid and, with a spoon, test the rice. If the rice is soft and the water absorbed, it is done. If the rice isn't quite done, let it sit with the lid on another 10 minutes or so.
5
Fluff with a fork to separate the grains. Serve as a side dish or use in recipes as desired.
Rice Cooker Instructions
1
Place the desired amount of rice into the inner pan that came with your cooker.
2
Add 1 1/2 cups water and 1 cup brown rice.
3
Close the lid and turn on the cooker. The light will alert you to when the rice is done.
4
Fluff the rice with a fork before serving.

Is It Safe to Eat Potatoes That Have Sprouts

There's always concern over potato sprouts and whether the potatoes they belong to are safe to eat following their growth. Is this myth or reality? It's a fair question, but while some may believe these sprouts are relatively harmless, potato lovers would be advised to avoid eating such spuds.

Significance
1. The existence of sprouts on your potatoes is more than a cosmetic change. Sprouts and the firmness of a potato have great significance regarding the advisability of eating the spud. Sprouts mean the starch within the potatoes has been converted into sugar. Check the firmness of the potato to determine whether it's safe to eat. If the spud is soft, it has lost most of its nutrients and is no longer safe to eat.
Considerations
2. If the potato is green or has a green tint, it has been subject to an unfortunate amount of light exposure. This excessive exposure changes the skin tone of the potato because of the formation of alkaloid solamin. Removal of any and all green skin before eating is recommended because this skin is toxic.
Misconceptions
3. Despite the fact that soft and/or wrinkled potatoes are not safe to eat, not all spuds with sprouts should be discarded. If the potato has sprouts, you should still check the firmness level. As mentioned, a soft potato is no good and should be thrown away, but a potato that is not wrinkled and has maintained its firmness should still have a majority of its nutrients. Under these conditions, it is good to eat.
Prevention/Solution
4. There are three ways to prevent potato sprouts. Don't store the potato in a humid area. Moisture will ensure that sprouts grow. Potatoes also should be stored where air can flow freely to some degree. Finally, temperature should be closely monitored--anything much higher than 50 degrees may lead to the formation of potato sprouts.
Warning
5. Eating bad (green) potatoes or their sprouts is not life-threatening, but, as members of the nightshade family, potatoes under these conditions are mildly poisonous. While effects are not severe, eating green parts of a potato or eating a potato while raw can cause an upset stomach and digestive problems. Severity is always dependent on the amount of the potato consumed and how much of the potato was bad (green or raw).

How to Make a Crock Pot Pork Roast

Things You'll Need:

* Pork Roast - fully thawed
* Bag of precut carrots
* 5 peeled potatoes
* Three beef-flavored bouillon cubes



Instructions

1.Cut potatoes into quarters. About 8 medium sized potatoes are enough. If you cut too many, they won't fit in the crock pot with the roast.

2.Place pork roast in crock pot. A two to three pound roast is the appropriate size. Placing it in the refrigerator the night prior to cooking it will thaw it.

3.Add potatoes and carrots to the crock pot. Place them all around the roast. This will flavor them from the roast.

4.Add water. The water should reach the top level inside the crock pot. It should cover the roast, and most of the potatoes and carrots.

5.Drop in beef bouillon cubes. Placed them all around the roast and cover them completely by water, so that they can properly dissolve.

6.Turn on the crock pot and cook for 6 to 8 hours, stirring occasionally. Turn the crock pot on before leaving the house for work or school, and upon returning the pork roast will be cooked to perfection--and your house will smell delicious!

7.When roast is tender and fully cooked (no red drainage when poked, barely pink in the middle) serve and enjoy! The potatoes and carrots should also be soft.