It’s a bit scary every time we read a paper there are more frightening stats about how many of us aren’t making good food choices and the consequences of that.  Claire’s latest blog shares a couple of excellent tools to encourage kids to remember ‘what you eat is your choice’. The first is to hold an image in their mind and the second is  the classic little trick of 20/20  -  which is good for all of us!!!

A word from Claire….

I am a dreamer so it sort of follows that I dream, or visualize, about food too.

When I think about my meals I sort if hold an image in my mind about what to eat.    I ‘see’ my plate as being half fruit and vegetables or salad,  quarter protein (meat, fish, eggs or poultry ) and quarter carbohydrates or grains (rice, pasta or breads – here’s the good part  - I love potatoes and depending on who you listen to they can fit in two categories – veg or carbs!?)

When I put this image in mind I find it easy to help me choose how much of what to eat… it’s kind of fun trying to ‘untangle’ foods like fried rice too. It’s easy to fix if your plate gets distorted – sometimes the quarters look more like thirds –  ’cos lets face it, it is usually the fruit and veg half that gets the nudge – just eat a carrot, tomato, orange, apple or a handful of grapes and your picture gets ‘right’. (According to the health guys, about 2/3′s of us don’t get the half bit right – so that is why they are always going on about it!?!)

The other day I learnt another cool trick – it’s 20/20. As you are taking your food stop and and consciously take 20% more fruit and vegetables and 20% less of everything else. I gotta say 20%  more and 20% less isn’t hard at all – doesn’t make much difference to your meal but does to your skin and jean size!

So there you go - see a picture of a plate and play 20/20 – both easy…

No matter what country you live in,  there is unilateral agreement that kids need to eat more fruit and vegetables – whether your local message is mix it up, 5 to 10 a day,  go for 2 & 5, more matters or 5+ A Day - whatever it is, these two little tricks that Claire shares will help your kids reach the goals…

If you want to see more of Claire’s Blogs – nutrition and cooking tips in ‘teen-speak’ – written by a teen in a tone they relate too… check out her blog.

This week has been amazing as the media have encouraged kids to learn to cook…

As a finalist in the NZ Post Children’s Book Awards there has been a fair bit of media interest… the highlight has been her interview on Breakfast TV and her chat with Coran Dan  - follow the link and you will see her explain why she wrote the book. The interview focussed on her age (or lack of it!) and that a cookbook had never made it this far in the awards before – she also has a major grovel to get votes in the Children’s Choice award which is really funny! from my perspective I think the potential impact on teens and parents if a nutrition book could win is so huge – so if you haven’t already – please vote!!

The other exciting thing this week is her debut on the the Smalls Blacks in Kak’s Kitchen. This is now a regular event every Sunday morning at 7.30am for the next 25 weeks (and average about  10 times on Sky Sports and the Rugby Chanel) – it is pitched at younger children and the intent is definitely to encourage kids to have a go at cooking. I will load these to YouTubes but in the meantime just follow the TVNZ link and she is in Chapter one.

A study just released on US teens is scary, alarming and galvanizes my thoughts and intent about teaching kids to cook!

The problem seems to be pretty much the same worldwide -  the trend to reliance on fast foods and kids not being able, or motivated, to fix a meal shows no sign of abating.

For some sobering reading check this out – but don’t get too depressed – there are some simple things you can do to counter this influence and encourage your kids to get some food skills  … and  you are in the right place to find them!

US adolescents get a fifth of their calories from fast food, study finds.

A study of the 12 largest fast food chains in the United States has criticised the energy, sugar, fat, and sodium content in the foods they market to children. Its authors hope that a combination of public outrage and the threat of new laws and enforcement of existing laws on truth in advertising may bring about the changes they seek.

The report, by the Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity at Yale University, was presented on 8 November at the 138th annual meeting of the American Public Health Association in Denver.

It found that every day a third of US children and teenagers eat fast food; it is the source of 16-17% of the energy intake of adolescents.

for the rest of the report

I am often asked when is the right time to start cooking with children and my response is simple. Now.  It’s like the old saying “ When is the best time to plant a tree ? thirty years ago, When is the second best time? Now!” Similarly it’s ideal to start an interest in food and being in the kitchen when they’re really young – but if you haven’t done that, and indeed many of us haven’t, now is certainly the second best time.

From my perspective, as a parent I want to give my kids as many advantages in life as I can. I want my kids to be able to cook because success in any skill builds self esteem and cooking is absolutely no exception. I believe that imparting food skills also fosters personal responsibility so I feel confident that they will be better equipped to look after themselves.

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I have found a great article written by Otago University nutrition student Jessica Meads, who shares her tips on getting teenagers into healthy eating habits. Jessica identifies four barriers – time, lack of interest, food phases and outside influencers, and gives solutions from her perspective on each of the barriers.

Her solution for lack of interest is certainly involvement in family cooking and echoes the philosophy of It’s my Turn to Cook. Jessica states “This will not only allow them to learn how to fend for themselves, it will also increase their awareness of what actually makes up their favourite meals” She goes on to say, “Encourage them to choose what they would like to cook each week, getting them to write down what ingredients they need. Through this you could encourage healthier meals to be tried or simply how a favourite meal could be made healthier. For example, asking them to make a salad to accompany the meal too or add extra veggies to a pasta dish. Hopefully their interest might be sparked and you never know – the next Jamie Oliver could be discovered!”

To read the whole article go to   http://www.healthyfood.co.nz/articles/2010/february/top-tips-to-transform-your-teen