Stuffed Jacket Potatoes!!!

Ingredients

4 large potatoes, scrubbed

Suggested fillings

frozen peas, steamed
sweet corn or canned sweet corn, drained, steamed
mixture of diced tomatoes, white onion and lean ham
bolognaise pasta sauce, warmed
spicy salsa, warmed
baked beans, warmed

Toppings

reduced fat cheese, grated
light sour cream
reduced fat plain yoghurt

Method

1. Pierce the potatoes several times.

2. To cook the potatoes in a microwave oven, place them on a microwave ovenproof dish. Cook on high until tender (15–20 minutes). Or to cook the potatoes in a conventional oven, place on an oven tray and bake at 180°C until tender (about 1 hour).

3. Cut the potatoes in half. Scoop out the flesh from the centre, leaving a 1 cm shell.

4. Place the potato flesh in a bowl and mash with the potato masher or fork.

5. Add the filling ingredients and mix to combine.

6. Spoon the filling into the potato shells.

7. To finish cooking the potatoes in a microwave oven, put them back on the microwave ovenproof dish. Cook on high for 5–10 minutes. Or to finish cooking the potatoes in a conventional oven, put them back on the baking tray and bake at 180°C until heated through and golden brown (about 15 minutes).

 

Kid-Friendly Recipes!!!!

These kid-friendly recipes are packed with nutritious fresh ingredients that won’t take precious hours to prepare. There are great dishes to choose from, so whether you’re cooking a meal for the family – or entertaining good friends – you’ll enjoy making and sharing these beautiful recipes.

 

Coco Banana Bites

Ingredients

1 orange
2 medium sized bananas

1/2 cup dessicated coconut

Utensils

Lemon squeezer
Chopping board and knife
Greaseproof paper (optional)
Small bowl

Method

1. Squeeze the juice from the orange. Pour into a small bowl.

2. Peel the bananas. Cut off the ends.

3. Cut bananas into bite size pieces.

4. Spread coconut onto a sheet of grease proof paper or onto a cutting board.

5. Using a skewer or a fork, dip banana pieces into the orange juice.

6. Roll banana in coconut.

7. Eat immediately, or keep in the fridge until chilled.

Healthy eating is a habit!!!

Recommendations and Guidelines

Healthy eating is a habit. Like all habits, it can take some time and effort to get started but, once set, it can last a lifetime. One of the best things we can do for our children is to help and encourage them to make healthy eating choices at home, at school and when they’re out and about.

What is healthy eating?

The Dietary Guidelines for Children and Adolescents for sound nutrition.

The guidelines recommend that children and young people eat plenty of ‘plant’ foods, such as vegetables, legumes, fruits and grains (preferably whole grain).

They also recommend eating lean animal foods and reduced fat dairy products, drinking plenty of water, limiting the intake of fat (especially saturated fat), choosing low salt foods and consuming only moderate amounts of sugary products.

The key point it makes is the importance of eating a variety of foods, in the right proportions, from each of the food groups:

• bread and cereals, including rice, pasta and noodles and other grain products
• vegetables and legumes
• fruit
• milk, yoghurt and cheese
• meat and meat alternatives, such as fish, poultry, eggs, nuts and legumes

About two-thirds of the food we eat should come from the first two groups: breads and cereals and vegetables and legumes.. It pays to learn about each of these food groups so you can decide what’s best for your child. The minimum number of recommended daily serves from each food group is set out in the table below.

Recommended Serves per Day

Age	Bread & cereals	Vegies & legumes	Fruit	Milk, yoghurt & cheese	Meat & alternatives
4-7	3	2	1	2	1/2
8-11	4	3	1	2	1
12-18	4	4	3	3	1

 

Examples of what a serve means for each food group:

• 1 serve bread or cereal = 2 slices bread, 1 cup of rice, pasta, noodles or porridge, 1 1/3 cup breakfast cereal
• 1 serve vegies and legumes = ½ cup cooked vegies, 1 medium potato, 1 cup salad or ½ cup cooked legumes (beans, peas or lentils)
• 1 serve fruit = 1 medium or 2 small pieces, 1 cup canned, 1 ½ tablespoon dried
• 1 serve milk, yoghurt and cheese = 1 cup (250ml) milk or custard, 1 small tub (200g) yoghurt, 2 slices (40g) cheese
• 1 serve meat or alternatives = 65 -100g cooked meat or chicken, 80-120g cooked fish fillet, 2 small eggs, ½ cup cooked legumes (beans, peas or lentils)

‘Extra’ (sometimes) foods

‘Extra’ foods include biscuits, cakes, desserts, pastries, soft drinks other fatty, sugary and salty snack foods, such as crisps, pies, pasties, sausage rolls and other takeaways, lollies and chocolates. These foods have low nutritional value and are high in energy (kilojoules). These foods should be eaten only sometimes, in small amounts or not at all.

In Your Backyard!!!

Children love to play and the backyard, courtyard or local park are great places to learn, explore, make up games and have fun. Backyard games can be inventive and encourage sustained concentration and application by kids.
Backyard games don’t have to be complicated or expensive – a bit of chalk, a ball or a skipping rope can all get a game underway.  Playing in the backyard also allows children to be noisy and messy, physically challenge themselves and move in ways that aren’t possible indoors.
Encouraging your kids to play is an important way you can support their health, coordination, self confidence and happiness.

2

Try these popular games

• Hide and seek
• Skipping
• Hopscotch
• Throwing and catching games, like piggy in the middle or knocking down a target
• Chasing games, like tag and stuck in the mud
• Racquet games against a wall
• French cricket or backyard cricket
• Running and jumping

Tips for backyard games

• Check your backyard, courtyard or park and remove or block off unsafe areas
• Let your children explore and make up their own activities and rules – try not to interfere
• It’s more fun if your child has a friend or two (or you) to play with
• Focus on what your child can do, not what they can’t
• Make active play fun and positive
• Be patient and provide plenty of time for your children to practise movements
• Be active with your children – have fun and be a role model

Staying safe

• Slip, Slop Slap, Seek, Slide – make sure your child wears sunscreen, sun glasses, clothing and a hat to protect him/her from the sun.  Play in the shade when you can
• Being active means children will need extra fluids, especially if it’s hot and humid. Make sure they have regular drinks of water while they’re playing.

Five simple ways for a healthy lifestyle

There are five simple ways for a healthy lifestyle :

1. Get active each day

• Regular physical activity is important for the healthy growth, development and well-being of children and young people.
• Should get at least 60 minutes of physical activity every day, including vigorous activities that make everyone ‘huff and puff’.
• Parents should be good role models and have a positive attitude to being active.

2. Choose water as a drink

Water is the best way to quench your thirst – and it doesn’t come with the added sugar found in fruit juices, soft drinks and other sweetened drinks.

• Reduced fat milk for children over two is a nutritious drink and a great source of calcium.
• Give kids whole fruit to eat, rather than offering fruit juices that have a lot of sugar.

3. Eat more fruit and vegetables

• Eating fruit and vegetables every day helps children grow and develop, boosts their vitality and can reduce the risk of many chronic diseases.
• Aim to eat two serves of fruit and five serves of vegetables every day.
• Have fresh fruit available as a convenient snack and try to include fruit and vegies in every meal.

4. Switch off the screen and get active

• Sedentary or ‘still’ time spent watching TV, surfing online or playing computer games is linked to kids becoming overweight or obese.
• Children and young people should spend no more than two hours a day on ‘small screen’ entertainment.
• Plan a range of active indoor and outdoor games or activities for your children, as alternatives to watching TV or playing on the computer.

5. Eat fewer snacks and select healthier alternatives

• Healthy snacks help children and young people meet their daily nutritional needs.
• Snacks based on fruit and vegetables, reduced fat dairy products and whole grains are the healthiest choices.
• Avoid snacks that are high in sugar or saturated fats – such as chips, cakes and chocolate – which can cause children to put on excess weight.

How to live a healthy life and look after yourself!!!

Be active…

Sitting in front of the TV or playing computer games while stuffing your face with chips and chocolate is not the path to a healthy life. You need to find a way to be active that suits you. So what do you like? Do you enjoy walking, running, dancing, surfing, bike riding, playing a team sport or swimming? Being active doesn’t have to mean ‘no pain – no gain’; it just means that you have to get out there and get moving. So try doing something every day.

Before you start moaning and groaning about daily exercise stop and think about the benefits. Being active will improve your strength, flexibility and mobility. You’ll sleep better, feel better and have more energy. And if that doesn’t convince you then think about all the time you can spend with your friends discovering heaps of cool new stuff to do – like rock climbing or horse riding.

Your body, your temple…

You have heard it all before, but you are what you eat. So you need to take care of your body and think about what you shove in your gob. This doesn’t mean you have to give up favourite foods. Food gives you the vitamins, minerals and energy for everyday life. You need to eat a variety of healthy foods, and eat an adequate amount of each, to keep you fuelled up each day. If you do, you’re more likely to feel good and look your great. It only takes small changes in the way you eat, and balance healthy eating with being active.

Sleep well

You need sleep. It’s really important in your teen years, because this is when your body does most of it’s growing. You need deep, uninterrupted sleep.

Express yourself 

It’s good to express how you are feeling. Talk it out. Keeping things bottled up takes lot of energy and it’s not healthy to hold onto tension. If you have difficulty expressing yourself to others, then there are other ways to find the release you need. You could write about how you feel in a diary or journal. Or you could write a poem or story. If writing’s not your thing, then you could express yourself through drawing, painting or any other visual medium. Remember it’s not a contest, you don’t have to show what you create to anyone.

If you don’t think you have a creative bone in your body, that’s OK. There are other ways that you can let loose. You may choose to express yourself by cranking up the stereo and singing along to your favourite songs. While you’re there why not try dancing too. Wave your arms in the air and invent your own silly dance. Bet you can’t do it without laughing at yourself. And laughing is incredibly healthy.

Did you know you had a Body mass index???

Body mass index is a calculation that uses your height and weight to estimate how much body fat you have. Too much body fat is a problem because it can lead to illnesses and other health problems.

BMI, although not a perfect method for judging someone’s weight, is often a good way to check on how a kid is growing.

The best way to determine your BMI is to have your doctor do it for you. That way, you’ll know the number is accurate and your doctor can discuss the result with you and your mom or dad.

Four Categories

Once you know your BMI, you’ll learn that you are in one of four categories:

1. Underweight: less than the 5^th percentile
2. Healthy weight: greater than or equal to 5^th but less than 85^thpercentiles (in other words: 5^th to 84^th percentile)
3. Overweight: greater than or equal to 85^th but less than 95^thpercentiles (85^th to 94^th percentile)
4. Obese: greater than or equal to the 95^th percentile

A kid whose BMI is at the 50^th percentile is close to average compared with the kids of the same age and gender who were measured to make the chart. A kid at the 85^th to 94^th percentiles is considered overweight. And a kid who measures at or above the 95^th percentile is considered obese, a term doctors use that means very overweight.

How BMI Can Change

It’s important to remember that BMI is interpreted differently for adults. There are separate charts for men and women, but they don’t use percentiles at all — just number ranges that are considered underweight, normal weight, overweight, or obese (which means very overweight). That’s because adults have stopped growing and their age is no longer a major consideration when it comes to weight.

Kids, on the other hand, are growing. And it’s common for kids to gain weight during certain times in childhood, such as puberty. The charts take growth into account.

The following example shows that in action: Here’s a look at a boy as he grows yet stays in the 50^th percentile for BMI, which means he’s average. Notice that his BMI goes up and down, but he continues to stay at the same percentile.

Age	BMI	Percentile
2 years	16.5	50th
4 years	15.8	50th
8 years	16.0	50th
12 years	17.5	50th

Where BMI Can Fall Short

BMI is not the whole story when it comes to someone’s weight. A more muscular kid might have a higher weight and BMI but not have too much body fat. A smaller kid could have an ideal BMI, but might have less muscle and too much body fat.

Also, it’s very common for kids to gain weight quickly — and see the BMI go up — during puberty. Because of these and other considerations, it’s a good idea to talk to your doctor if you have questions about whether you are at your ideal weight.

If your doctor tells you your BMI is high, don’t let it get you down. Instead, talk to your doctor about what you should do to lower your BMI. Unlike adults, kids don’t usually need to diet. But by eating healthier and getting more exercise, a kid can improve his or her BMI.

Controlling a weight problem while you’re still a kid can help you avoid becoming an overweight adult and developing health problems like diabetes and heart disease. With a little effort, your BMI will be JWIOTB — just where it ought to be!

Growth Charts!!!

About Growth Charts

Look at any class picture, and you’ll see kids of the same age in all shapes and sizes. Some kids look tiny next to their peers, while others literally stand head and shoulders above their classmates.

As easy as it is to make these comparisons and to draw conclusions about what you see, the reality is that kids grow at their own pace. Big, small, tall, short — there is a wide range of healthy shapes and sizes among children.

Genetics, gender, nutrition, physical activity, health problems, environment, hormones, and lifestyle factors like nutrition and physical activity all influence a child’s height and weight. And many of these factors can vary widely from family to family.

So how does a doctor figure out whether a child’s height and weight measurements are “normal”? Whether he or she is developing on track? Whether any health problems are affecting growth?

A doctor uses growth charts to help answer those questions. Here are some facts about growth charts and what they say about a child’s health.

Why Do Doctors Use Growth Charts?

Growth charts are a standard part of any checkup, and they show health care providers how kids are growing compared with other kids of the same age and gender. They also allow doctors and nurses to see the pattern of kids’ height and weight gain over time, and whether they’re developing proportionately.

Let’s say a child was growing along the same pattern until he was 2 years old, then suddenly started growing at a much slower rate than other kids. That might indicate a health problem. Doctors could see that by looking at a growth chart.

If a Growth Chart Shows a Different Pattern, Is There a Problem?

Not necessarily. The doctor will interpret the growth charts in the context of the child’s overall well-being, environment, and genetic background. Is the child meeting other developmental milestones? Are there other signs that a child is not healthy? How tall or heavy are the child’s parents and siblings?  These are all factors that the doctor will use to help understand the numbers on the growth chart.

Are All Kids Measured on One Growth Chart?

No. Girls and boys are measured on different growth charts because they grow in different patterns and at different rates.

And one set of charts is used for babies, from birth to 36 months. Another set of charts is used for kids ages 2 to 20 years old.

What Measurements Are Put on Growth Charts?

Up until the time babies are 36 months old, doctors measure weight, length, and head circumference.

With older kids, doctors measure weight, height, and body mass index (BMI). It’s important to look at and compare weight and height measurements to get a full picture of a child’s growth.

 

What is being healthy?

Good health – for your children – is all about striking the right balance between healthy eating and regular physical activity.

It starts from understanding the benefits of being healthy, knowing what a healthy weight  is and learning more about healthy eating and physical activity for kids.

The good news…

Having a healthy lifestyle, eating well and being physically active helps children to:

• build strong bones
• grow and develop healthily
• improve their concentration at school
• maintain a healthy weight
• be alert and active

Being unhealthy can lead to problems in later life…

How to Stay Healthy

Steps
1.Maintain healthy eating habits. Avoid fad diets like the plague; to get all the nutrition the human body needs, eat carbs, protein, and fat (yes, even fat!) at every meal. By doing so, you’ll have a healthy heart, healthy brain, and a fully functional immune system. Eating highly varied foods will also help insure you get all the vitamins, minerals, oils, and enzymes your body craves.
•  To lose weight, you must burn more calories than you consume. That’s all there is to it. With the exception of sweets,      eliminating one area of the food pyramid from your diet won’t replace the need to simply consume fewer calories.

• Avoid skipping meals, which is hard on the body. Some people even recommend eating up to 6 mini meals a day instead of 3 large ones, which can sustain energy and steady blood-sugar levels; however, many people end up turning their “mini meals” into junk food sessions and end up consuming not just more calories, but emptier ones. Be honest with yourself before making this choice.
• If you want to work on portion control, eat low energy-density foods (i.e. more substance, fewer calories). Fruits and vegetables, for example, are packed with not only vitamins and minerals, but also water and fiber, making them take longer to digest and keeping you full longer.
• Drink more water. This helps flush metabolic wastes to keep your metabolism in top shape. Water can also help you feel fuller, so drink at least a half-gallon (2 liters) of water every day (or more if you are active or live in a hot climate).

2. Sleep well every night. Adults should get 7 to 9 hours daily, whereas school-aged children should get 10 to 11. One of the absolute most important ways of improving the quality of your sleep is to do it in complete darkness, as even small amounts of light interfere with the chemicals that tell your body to rest. If you can’t eliminate the light in your room, wear an eye mask. Another one of the best ways to improve your sleep is to exercise.

3. Stick to an exercise regimen. If you don’t want to pay for a gym membership, try strength-training at home. The muscle you develop will help increase your metabolism: the bodies of muscular people burn more calories even while they’re at rest. To keep your heart in shape, do cardio. One particularly effective way to improve your cardiovascular health is to do interval training, which means alternating between low- and high-intensity activity. This has been shown to be a quick and extremely effective way to improve heart health and endurance. (Anyone over the age of 60 or who has heart disease, high blood pressure, or arthritis should consult a doctor before attempting interval training.)

4. Pursue your passions. No, not everyone can make a living playing sold-out concerts, traveling around the world trying new foods, or churning out bestselling fantasy novels, but that doesn’t mean you should give up on your dreams. Set some time aside to practice an instrument, do art, take photos, build models, weld, bake gourmet cakes, or whatever else enriches your free time. If you want to learn something new, take an evening or weekend class. If you can’t think of anything interesting off the top of your head, take the time to find a hobby.

5. Improve your psychological health. Prioritize developing meaningful relationships above simply being social. Practice self-disclosure, which means sharing things that are unique to you (your thoughts, fears, favorite movies and music, pet peeves, etc.) with those you trust. This has been shown to be of immense importance to not only forging deeper interpersonal connections, but also feeling validated emotionally.

6. Keep your mind limber. Read more, solve puzzles, play games of strategy, learn to play an instrument, improve your memory, and never stop learning, even if you feel like you’re “past your prime.” In addition to the fact that staying mentally active is emotionally rewarding, studies have shown that there is a correlation between mentally-challenging activities and a decreased risk of Alzheimer’s.

7. Be hygienic. Wash your hands thoroughly after coming into contact with a sick person, using the bathroom, or anything else that could make you sick. (If you’re not sure what “thoroughly” entails, sing Happy Birthday to You in your head as you scrub.) In addition to flossing regularly, brush your teeth and tongue at least twice daily to limit plaque and harmful bacteria.