Child Obesity

With the growing epidemic of obesity in the United States, our children are at a threatened risk for major health issues at an early age.  The scary fact is that many children will be taking medications at an earlier age than their parents due to obesity from lack of exercise and poor nutritional choices.  Our children are being bombarded with the same media marketing that was used with cigarette campaigns, but to make matters worse they are exposed to modern day food science.  The chemicals and food engineering of their food is something that our generation has never had to deal with.  SCARY!!

I truly believe to fight this growing epidemic that our children face, we must do our best to provide education. The children and parents need to know how to make to healthy food choices. I think a practice of the past was educating our youth on how to actually cook.  Just speculating here, but I think our adolescents are clueless on how to actually prepare a meal that is not from a box or being prepared in a microwave. What ever happened to Home Ec in our school systems?  

Our families need to go back to what has worked in the past…organic farming.   Our food choices need to be in the raw form and as close to what our ancestors were exposed to.  I think we need to resort back to farming practices that use less chemicals and herbicides.  I know this could be a heated debate…but I believe this is a  link to our major cancers.    I also think with our youth, we need to choose organic dairy products.  The overuse of rBST hormones in our dairy industry is scary…breast cancer and reproductive disorders comes to mind with our youth.   Obviously, scaring people of all the health hazards of smoking has not worked.  People know that every time they smoke ,they have a high  percentage of cancer and a shortening their life span..but that does not stop people!  People have heard how bad McDonald’s is,  yet they are recording record quarterly earnings.   

 

 

Food choices are the key to having a young healthy generation.  Children are at a higher risk of developing cancers due to the food they eat.  The food choices that are fast and convenient are laced with chemicals such as acrylamide.  Acrylamide  proposes a high carcinogen rate and is hidden in every major food that children eat.  Foods such as potato chips, french fries, margarine, processed foods, frozen foods, and soda’s are packed with this preservative chemical.  Children and adults are exposed a minimal of 4x per day to dangerous food additives.

 

 

I believe that once children and adults desire the taste of processed foods, the transition to healthy food is tough!  Let’s take McDonalds for an example…the french fry attracts young kids because of salt and sweetness which is desirable for the palate.  I personally disguise french fries with sweet potatoe french fries…my children don’t know the difference:)  So..here is a few recipe alternatives that are healthy!  Everyday we must fight to keep our nation healthy!!  If I can not scare people with the facts hopefully I can help show people the healthy alternatives.  

Please feel free to comment about this subject or the recipes.

 

Trans Fat Free Fish Sticks

INGREDIENTS:

1/2 cup crushed Kashi High Fiber Cereal

3 egg whites beaten

4×6 oz white fish fillets (Tilapia, sole.)

1 clove garlic  crushed

1 tbsp Old Bay seasoning

PREPARATION:

1. Preheat oven to 375 . Cut fish into rectangles.
2. Mix seasoning and cereal.  In separate bowl mix egg whites
3. Dip each fish fillet into the egg  and dip into cereal mix.
4. Bake 5 minutes on each side or until golden brown.

Chicken Nuggets:

INGREDIENTS:

3 boneless chicken breasts

1/4 cup oat bran

1/4 cup wheat germ

1/4 cup of ground almonds

1/2 teaspoon of sea salt

1/2 tsp white pepper

pinch of garlic powder

1/2 cup of low sodium chicken broth

1 egg white

PREPARATION:

1. Preheat oven to 400
2. Cut chicken breast into nuggets
3. Combine seasonings and ingredients together.  In separate bowl beat the egg and dip chicken into mixture then into seasoning bowl. 
4. Bake for 10-15 minutes or until golden brown

Sweet Potato Oven Fries

INGREDIENTS:

2 large sweet potatoes, skin on

1 1/2 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil

4 garlic cloves crushed

1/2 tsp of sea salt

Fresh ground pepper

1 tbsp dried oregano

1 tbsp fresh rosemary

PREPARATION:

1. Preheat oven to 450
2. Cut potatoes to mimick McDonalds
3. Place potatoes into the mixture bowl
4. Place on cookie sheet and bake for 30 minutes

The Quarter Pounder Look Alike

INGREDIENTS:

1 lb of lean ground turkey, bison, or lean ground beef 93% or leaner

1/2 cup of oat bran

2 tbsp of ground flax seed

2 egg whites

1/4 low fat chicken or vegetable stock

2 tbsp of cooked sweet potato

1 garlic clove crushed

Fresh ground pepper

1tbsp of low sodium soy sauce

PREPARATION:

1. Combine all the ingredients together and combine
2. Place patties on the grill or spay pan
3. Cook 4-5 minutes per side
4. Serve burgers on an Ezekial Bun or Rye bread.

Trail Mix

1/4 cup unsalted srouted almonds

1/4 cup of raw unsalted Jungle Peanuts

1/4 cup of raw unsalted sunflower seeds

1/4 cup of unsulfured cranberries

1/4 cup of pitted dates

1/4 cup of Goji berries

Recipes taken from The Eating Clean Guide for Kids and Family  by  Tosca Reno

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