A breakfast for champions

Start the day with a healthy breakfast is essential for good health, especially for children who are growing.

So why is that a large number of adults and children leave the house in the morning without having tasted food?

Experts believe that one of the main reasons is the lack of time. Most of us woke up just in time to shower, hair styling, make-up, get dressed, leave the kids at school and be on time to the office.

However, preparing or providing a healthy breakfast to our family should not take much time and so, Sharon Junge, nutrition counseling and family studies and consumer Cooperative Extension, University of California, offers the following easy options healthy breakfast:

• Spread cinnamon raisin bread with peanut butter and add sliced banana
• Waffles with strawberry frozen yogurt
• Pancakes with jam, peanut butter or applesauce
• Cheese and crackers
• A grilled cheese sandwich grilled
• Banana Bread or muffins (muffins) of blueberries or a glass of apple juice
• A Muffin Français style bread with peanut butter and jelly
• A bowl of applesauce and toast
• Combine your child's favorite cereal and place in a plastic carrying bag
• A breakfast burrito (we give you the recipe below)

One of the most appropriate and fast food for breakfast is cereal, as long as you choose one that contains fiber, calcium, folic acid, but above all, that is low in fat and sugar.

UC experts recommend that you choose cereals that contain:

• Grain, as well as bring extra fiber, help to protect against cancer, heart disease and diabetes.
• High in iron, young children need high amounts of this element to support their growth. Cereals that contain 45 percent DV are the best.
• Low sugar content, the ideal content is 6 grams or less per serving. Every four grams represent a spoonful of sugar.

The specialist recommends that it is important to serve cereal with skim milk containing 1 percent fat and to add fresh fruit like sliced bananas, peaches, pears, strawberries, blueberries, berries or raisins.

To Eat Fiber

Today, children consume a lot of foods high in sugar and fat, but little or no fiber.

Integrating fiber-containing foods in the family diet is not as difficult as it seems, nor required to serve foreign food, the advice of Sharon Junge, chief of nutrition and family matters and consumer Cooperative Extension, University of California.

Your children can get enough fiber by simply eating the recommended servings of fruits, vegetables and grains daily.

Then, the specialist offers tips for increasing fiber in your family:

Eat the skin on fruits and vegetables whenever possible. In the shell is where the greatest concentration in fiber. Buy a vegetable brush and plane right instead of peeling.
· Serve high-fiber vegetables like carrots, peas, green beans, corn, spinach, green vegetables, broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage and squash.
• Remember that the fruit in its natural state contains more fiber than fruit juice. Complete with an apple peel contains 12 times more fiber than six ounces of apple juice.
· Serve at least 3 ounces of whole grains such as breads, cereals, pasta and crackers every day. Read labels to choose products that indicate that are whole grains (whole grain) and wheat (whole wheat).
• Choose cereals that contain fiber. Prepare grain breads and cookies, most delicious recipes offered in their cases.
· Prepare breads, pastries (muffins) and oatmeal cookies. Oatmeal is a natural grain with a high fiber content.
• Incorporate legumes into your meals. Legumes are a good source of fiber and protein. Try bean soup, chili, salad, beans and other bean-based dishes.
· Test with refried beans. The bean burritos are easy to prepare lunch. Cheddar cheese melted over beans and serve as a snack with tortilla chips.
· Another sandwich: Spread whole grain crackers with peanut butter, which is a good source of fiber.
· Serve fruits and vegetables as snacks. Among the fiber-rich fruits are pears, peaches, apples, strawberries, blueberries and raspberries.

Improve your children's school lunch

For many parents, preparing school lunches for their children is part of the morning routine. Other parents give their children money to buy something at school. And there are others who let their children who are prepared to carry lunch to school.

Parents can do much to try to make lunch for their children to be healthy. Jeanette Sutherlin, nutritionist and Family Affairs and Consumer Cooperative Extension University of California, recommends that you give your children the opportunity to decide what to eat for lunch. She also suggested that any recommendation offered is more of a suggestion than an order, thus increasing the likelihood of actually eat lunch, so either take home or to buy at school.

To prepare school lunches at home that really are healthy, safe and delight your children, Sutherlin offers the following recommendations:

Encourage your children to help plan and prepare school lunches, taking into account nutrition, proper food storage and the cost thereof. It is very important that you guide your children to start, eventually, they will probably be responsible for preparing their own lunches.

Include at least four of the five major food groups such as grains, fruits, vegetables, high protein foods and dairy products. For grains, choose muffins or bagels with low fat, screw-type rolls (bagels), whole wheat bread, pita-style bread and low fat crackers. Choose fruits as bananas, grapes, apples, oranges into sections, melons, peaches, pineapple or kiwi in a small bowl, children eat more fruit if they have to peel or cut. You can include vegetables such as carrot sticks, celery and jicama, broccoli and cauliflower, cucumber slices and, on sandwiches, salad.

Foods high in protein that are well suited for school lunches are processed slices of lean meats, tuna, cooked chicken pieces, peanut butter, beans and sunflower seeds. Also include a dairy product as low-fat yogurt, low fat cheese and cheese known as "string cheese." Your children can also buy milk at school.

Take insulated lunch boxes to carry food as well as multi-purpose synthetic ice. The night before, prepare everything you do not have to heat and store in coldest part of refrigerator. In the morning, put the synthetic ice in a lunch box. If you include soup, heat and pour into the thermos just before their children leave school course.

Upon returning from school, get rid of any food rich in protein or dairy products has included in his lunch and that their children have not eaten. As this kind of food is heated during the day, the bacteria multiply and cause food poisoning.

Since not all people have the same care when preparing food, encourage your children not to share your lunch by someone else.

"Whether they prepare their children a lunch with soup or stew in a thermos, last night's pizza (most of the kids like cold), sandwiches or foods such as those mentioned above, it is good that from time then include in their children's lunch something special, like a rich cookie with lots of fiber and iron ", the specialist recommended.

Prepare healthy meals for their children of school age

If you have school-age children and prepares them packed lunches to school, share this activity with 47% of parents. The challenge we all face is what foods to include in school lunches that are healthy and happy children.

With this in mind, Martha Lopez, chief of nutrition and family matters and Consumer Cooperative Extension University of California provides recommendations and suggestions for packing healthy lunches and appealing for children.

Ideas to facilitate the development of healthy school lunch

* Plan ahead. Make a list of school lunch menus covering a week and make a list to go and buy the necessary ingredients.
* Prepare lunches the night before. If possible, have your children help you prepare. Make sure you are ready to leave everything they can to facilitate packing lunch the next day, such as slicing vegetables, put the cookies in the bag and cool drinks.
* Note you need to keep food at proper temperature. Take a thermos if you are packing food to be kept warm. For food to be kept cold, use a source of artificial ice or freeze the drink and stick with cold food in a bag or insulated lunch box. Keep hot foods hot and cold foods cold is essential to prevent children from getting sick from eating food contaminated by harmful bacteria.

Ideas to make their children eat school lunches prepared at home

* Involve children to go buy the ingredients. This helps them to feel a connection to carry lunch to school and helps them recognize the food they buy in the store that are now part of your lunch.
* Include healthy foods that children enjoy. The goal is that children will eat lunch prepared at home. Make sure to include foods are fresh, are nutritious and have a good presentation.
* The variety keeps the interest. Help your children do not get bored eating "the same thing." In addition to sandwiches, use pita bread, crackers and something to spread on them, slices of beef or chicken, cheese, meats, vegetables and a sauce for soaking.
* Consider the age to determine the portion. Young children eat small amounts. Include healthy snacks in small packages.
* Include some fun in the school lunch. This can be something as simple as a nice note from mom or dad, or a sandwich cut with a cookie cutter to give a different form. It may also include a food that has added to artificial food coloring.

Healthy foods can be included in school lunches for their children:

low-fat milk, whole-fruit prepared without fat popcorn

low-fat fruit yogurt with chunks of whole wheat bread

low-fat cheese with dried fruit pita bread, muffins (muffins)

cheese sticks (string cheese) 100% fruit juice (4 to 8 ounces)

breads (muffins) low fat ricotta mixture of dried fruits and nuts

pretzels peanut butter graham crackers

tuna salad, corn muffins egg salad

jelly or low-sugar jam chicken salad rice cakes (rice cakes)

any vegetable into pieces applesauce vegetable soup, packed in a thermos

Ask your children to always bring home what you do not eat your lunch. So you can see how much you actually eat and what foods they enjoy most.