Dairy Council of California

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Healthy Back-to-School Lunch Ideas

Children who eat nutritious foods do better in school, but coming up with healthy back-to-school lunch ideas that children will actually eat can be a challenge for many parents.

A healthy school lunch combines nutrient-rich foods from several food groups to supply protein, fat and carbohydrates to sustain energy and concentration for several hours. The composition of the meal makes a difference in how long it will sustain a child throughout the day. The key is to balance nutrition with the child’s personal taste by getting him/her involved in the back-to-school lunch preparation process to reduce food waste.

A balanced meal consisting of carbohydrate, protein and fat gives children energy and prevents a drop in blood sugar for several hours. In general, a meal including a variety of foods from several food groups will provide the most benefits to a child, educationally, nutritionally and physically. A balanced meal that keeps a child energized throughout the day can be a quick and easy meal -- at home, at school or on the go.

Foods like fruit, bread, crackers and juice provide carbohydrates, while milk, cheese, yogurt, lean meat and beans provide protein to balance kids’ meals. Fat is found in nuts, peanut butter, meat and some dairy foods. Providing children a balance and variety of these foods will ensure they are well-nourished and energized for learning.

Parents are open to ideas from teachers regarding healthy eating. Feel free to print out and share with parents this tip sheet, Tips for a Healthy Lunchbox. It offers ideas for healthy foods to include in kids’ lunches.

More information is available on Meals Matter, a free meal-planning and nutrition website.

2009 School Wellness Conference

The California School Boards Association, the California Department of Education and the California Department of Public Health will bring together a diverse group of school community leaders who play a role in creating sustainable healthy school environments. The 2009 School Wellness Conference will build on the inaugural conference that focused on best practices and resources; statewide success stories and model program workshops; improved access to healthy foods and physical activity opportunities; sample district policies that promote health on school campuses; and strategies to help schools succeed in implementing and evaluating their local school wellness policies.

The 2009 School Wellness Conference will:

Address critical health issues and their link to student academic achievement;

Focus on school governance and leadership.

Bring together school and community leaders to share collaborative and coordinated school health approaches; and

Address health disparities and support a cultural shift toward healthier students.

The conference registration fee is $275.  On September 19, the conference registration rate will increase to $350.  For more information or to register for the conference, go to http://swc.csba.org/.

School Wellness Conference Pre-Conference
Join us on October 5 for the pre-conference event, Finding common ground: Collaborating to prevent childhood obesity which will explore the foundations of collaboration among schools, cities and others.  Specifically, it will address strategies for collaboration around nutrition, physical activity, joint-use of indoor and outdoor recreational facilities, as well as safe routes to school with four interactive sessions and group discussions that speak to overcoming key barriers to collaboration.  Attendees will be given resources and materials, such as toolkits and resource guides, as well as sample guiding principles for collaboration, joint-use agreements, school board policies and a checklist for starting a collaborative. 

The pre-conference session will be offered at no charge on a first come basis to those who register for the conference. To register for the School Wellness Conference and pre-conference, visit http://swc.csba.org. 

Teens, Young Adults Reduce Milk Consumption

New research conducted at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis found a majority of the 1,500 teenage and young-adult study participants reduced their calcium intake in high school and the years immediately following high school. The researchers found that more than half of the males and more than two-thirds of the females consumed less than the daily recommended level of calcium. The study findings are published in the July issue of the Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior.

Human bone mass peaks when a person is in his or her early 30s.  Consuming sufficient amounts of calcium, protein and vitamin D—all found in dairy products—during the teen and young-adult years is considered key to lowering the risk of osteoporosis and other health issues later in life. For children aged 9 – 18, the recommended daily intake of calcium is 1,300 mg and 1,000 mg a day is recommended for young adults.

The authors noted that those who consumed higher amounts of dietary calcium during these critical years more often had increased availability of milk at mealtime, a healthy attitude and approach toward weight, health and nutrition and a taste for milk. Excessive television watching and lactose intolerance were associated with lower calcium levels.

"The findings of this study indicate that future interventions designed to promote improvements in calcium intake should encourage the families of adolescents to serve milk at meals," the team concluded in their report. The authors also suggested that specific efforts should target concerns particular to each sex.

Larsen, et al. Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior
Volume 41, Issue 4, July-August 2009, Pages 254-260

Healthy Eating on a Budget

Meal planning can be very beneficial for your health because it allows you to incorporate nutritious foods into your meals throughout the week. Eating nutrient-rich foods is a lot easier when planning in advance and making meals at home.

Meal planning also helps you stick to your food budget because when you have a plan for your meals you eliminate random purchases while you are shopping. You also save gas by making one trip to the store instead of multiple trips each week.

10 meal planning tips that can help you save money:

1. Pack your lunch. Preparing a lunch at home rather than eating fast food is a great way to save money – and it’s generally healthier! Keep it green by using reusable containers.
   
2. Eat at home more often. Meals prepared at home are usually more nutritious and less expensive than restaurant meals. Our meal planner will get you started.
   
3. Eat breakfast at home – it’s healthy and cheap! And, eating breakfast helps with weight loss.
   
4. Use food you already have on hand. Taking an inventory of the food in your cupboards, refrigerator and freezer is the best way to start your weekly meal planning. You’ve already paid for the food; build your meals around these ingredients!
   
5. Buy fresh produce in season—when it’s cheaper. You’ll pay more for food purchased off-season so choose recipes that use seasonal ingredients.
   
6. Make better use of the food you purchase and reduce spoilage by planning your meals for the week. Food that goes uneaten in your refrigerator is a waste of money. Read food storage tips.
   
7. Make all of your purchases in one trip to the store. Creating your weekly shopping list reduces your trips to the grocery store, which saves time, gas and money.
   
8. Build meals around sale items featured at your grocery store. Search our recipe database by ingredient to take advantage of what’s on sale.
   
9. Clip coupons only for foods you buy on a regular basis. Coupons won’t save you money if you buy things that you wouldn’t normally purchase.
   
10. Stock up on your cooking staples when they go on sale. That way you will have healthy food on hand for those nights when you don’t know what to cook.

Child’s Play: The Foundation of Good Health 2008 Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans

Encouraging regular physical activity among elementary school children is a goal worthy of every educator. Regular physical activity in children promotes health and fitness. Physically active youth have higher levels of cardiovascular fitness and stronger muscles than their inactive peers. They usually have less body fat, their bones are stronger and they may have reduced symptoms of anxiety and depression. Helping children achieve success in whatever physical activities they choose can boost self-esteem and competency which in turn can encourage them to further expand their activity choices.

Active youth also have a better chance of a healthy adulthood. Although young children typically don’t have chronic diseases, such as heart disease, type 2 diabetes, or osteoporosis, risk factors for these diseases can begin to develop early in life. With regular physical activity, it is less likely that these risk factors will develop and more likely that children will remain healthy as adults.

The Federal Government has issued its first-ever Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans. These guidelines describe the types and amounts of physical activity that promote health. Children and adolescents should do 60 minutes (1 hour) or more of physical activity each day. Activities should be developmentally appropriate, based on the age of the child. The 60 minutes should be comprised of three essential activities: aerobic, muscle building and bone strengthening.

• Aerobic activities—those activities in which children rhythmically move their large muscles—should make up most of your child’s 60 or more minutes of physical activity each day. The activity does not need to come in a 60-minute block; it can be in 10- to 15-minute activity bursts throughout the day. Daily activities can include either moderate-intensity aerobic activity, such as brisk walking, dancing or bicycling or vigorous-intensity activity, such as running or swimming. Vigorous-intensity aerobic activity should be included at least 3 days per week.
• Muscle-strengthening activities, such as tug-of-war, playing on a jungle gym or push-ups, should be included at least 3 days per week as part of the 60 or more minutes. As children get older, they may start structured weight training programs, for instance with an organized sports team.
• Bone-strengthening activities, such as jumping rope or running, should be included at least 3 days per week as part of the 60 or more minutes. Bone-strengthening activities remain especially important for children and young adolescents because the greatest gains in bone mass occur during the years just before and during puberty. The majority of peak bone mass is obtained by the end of adolescence.

What is moderate- or vigorous-intensity activity?

On a scale of 0 to 10, where sitting is a 0 and the highest level of activity is a 10, moderate-intensity activity is a 5 or 6. When doing moderate - intensity activity, the heart will beat faster than normal and breathing is somewhat harder than normal. Vigorous-intensity activity is a level 7 or 8. When doing vigorous-intensity activity, the heart beats much faster than normal and breathing is much harder than normal.

Download this new handout, Child’s Play: The Foundation for Good Health to learn more about what schools can do to promote physical activity.

Healthy Meal Planning

How often do you come home from a hectic day at work and struggle to determine what to do for dinner? More than likely you are all too familiar with this feeling.

One of the best ways to avoid racking your brain every evening to come up with an answer is through meal planning. By planning a few meals for the upcoming week, you will alleviate this unnecessary stress and have more time to spend with your family.

Family meals are especially important when you have children. Research has also shown that children and teens that eat regular meals with their families are nearly 5 times less likely to use drugs or smoke than those who do not eat family meals on a regular basis. Dinner is often the best time to have meals together as this is when everyone is winding down from a busy day. This can also be a time to learn about your children, how their day has been, and simply reconnect with one another

Meal planning can be very beneficial for your health. It allows you to have more control over portion sizes and helps to avoid spur-of-the-moment purchasing of fast food as a last resort. Ensuring that you and your family are eating nutrient-rich foods is a lot easier when planning in advance and making meals at home. When you can eliminate last minute trips to the store, you’ll have more time to prepare meals and side dishes full of functional foods, which are excellent for you and your family’s health.

Meal planning can also help you save money. When you have a plan of what you will need to purchase for the week ahead, you will be able to reduce the number of random purchases you make while you’re shopping and you’ll save gas by making one trip to the store instead of multiple trips each week.

Part of meal planning is having an idea of what ingredients you will need in the coming week, and creating a shopping list containing those ingredients. When you arrive at the store you’ll know exactly what you need, so that you can avoid the uncertainty of what to purchase, which can often lead to impulse spending.

Making the commitment to a meal planning routine is just the first step. The next question is where to find the meals that you will make. We offer hundreds of recipes and meal ideas for you to browse, so that you can find the perfect recipes for you and your family. Once you have found the recipes that you want to try, be sure to make use of our shopping list and meal planner to get you started on the right track.

MYFITNESS PLANNER REALLY MOVES YOU

Dairy Council of California’s Free Online Tool Increases Physical Activity

SACRAMENTO, CALIF.—Jan. 13/EurekAlert!/New research suggests that a healthier, more physically active lifestyle is just a few clicks away with Dairy Council of California’s MyFitness Planner.

Regular physical activity can reduce the risk of chronic diseases like type 2 diabetes, heart disease and cancer, yet less than half of all American women (47.7 percent) engage in at least 30 minutes of moderate-intensity or greater physical activity on most days of the week. To help, Dairy Council of California developed MyFitness Planner, formerly called the Women’s Fitness Planner.

A randomized control trial of 150 healthy adult women showed that MyFitness Planner’s individually tailored Internet-plus-email physical activity intervention resulted in 37 minutes of increased walking and 48 minutes of increased total moderate-to-vigorous physical activity each week compared to a control group. Study results were published in the December issue of Preventive Medicine.

A study led by Genevieve Fridlund Dunton, Ph.D., M.P.H., a Cancer Prevention Fellow at the National Cancer Institute, indicated that Dairy Council of California’s online tool can positively impact women’s physical activity levels. Results further showed that participants who clicked more links in the update emails trended toward greater activity by 10–20 minutes per week, regardless of socio-economic or education status.

MyFitness Planner produces individualized physical activity feedback based on an online assessment. Participants receive weekly follow-up email newsletters to support the information on the website and encourage further learning. Full study results are available at http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ypmed.2008.10.004.

"MyFitness Planner gets women moving by providing motivation and ongoing support to help them overcome many of the barriers to physical activity that they face," said Trina Robertson, M.S., R.D., Project Manager with Dairy Council of California and study co-author. "Online programs like MyFitness Planner provide additional tools for health professionals to use in counseling their clients."

To increase your physical activity level, access MyFitness Planner in the Tools section of the Dairy Council of California or Meals Matter websites at http://www.dairycouncilofca.org/Tools/MyFitnessPlanner/Default.aspx or http://www.mealsmatter.org/EatingForHealth/Tools/MFP/. Take the quick assessment questionnaire, view your personal activity graph and start improving your activity level. Be sure to read and explore weekly emails for further benefit.

Through various nutrition education programs, Dairy Council of California promotes healthy choices from all the food groups and regular physical activity as the foundation for optimal health. Healthy Eating Made Easier®.

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Take the Nutrition and Fitness Challenge!

The Meals Matter Nutrition and Fitness Challenge is a three-week self-directed program that will help you achieve your nutrition and fitness goals faster.

How the Nutrition and Fitness Challenge Works

Each week of the Nutrition and Fitness Challenge you will receive email communications and have access to Meals Matter tools that guide you through the steps that will help you achieve your personal goals.

The Meals Matter tools, Nutrition and Fitness Challenge blog, daily activity messages and social networks will work together to support your efforts and inform the choices you make each day.

You can also sign up for a daily reminder using our Challenge Feed that will deliver daily activity messages to your news reader starting January 6, 2009.

Weekly Topics

Week 1: Focus on Nutrition

Begins January 6, 2009

Find out which foods are important to your health and then set your goals for achieving good health with a balanced diet.

Week 2: Fitting in Fitness

Begins January 13, 2009

Learn ways to overcome barriers to physical activity and set goals to reach your recommended level of activity.

Week 3: Maintain a Healthy Lifestyle

Begins January 20, 2009

Use our meal planning tools to feel your best and meet your healthy weight goals faster.

Social Networks

The Nutrition and Fitness Challenge begins January 6, 2009, but you don’t have to wait until then to start making healthy choices. We’ve established social networking pages to help you connect with friends, family and other participants for social support before, during and after the three-week Challenge. Come see us on Facebook, LinkedIn, LiveJournal or Twitter today!

Reward Yourself

You can start the Nutrition and Fitness Challenge at any time until January 13, 2009, but make sure you participate in each step of the Challenge. This will help you get the most out of the Challenge and make you eligible for the $100 reward.

Sign up today!

Holiday Eating

How to Avoid Holiday Weight Gain

Just thinking about traditional holiday meals can put the appetite in high gear, before even lifting a fork to taste that first savory bite. And then it begins: about six weeks of feasting at holiday parties—along with what seems like the inevitable holiday weight gain.

The temptation to overeat is lurking at every table. By New Year’s Day, many of us are avoiding the scales, wearing elastic-waist pants and thinking about joining a health club to undo the damage to our waistlines.

How much holiday weight gain

Holiday weight gain is a very significant problem. According to the National Institutes of Health the average American gains about a pound during the six-week winter holiday period. Another study of 200 people, reported in the March 2000 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine, found the following:

• Holiday weight gained during the six-week period between Thanksgiving and New Year's Day accounted for most of a person’s total weight gain over a year’s time.
• The more overweight the study subjects were at the beginning of the holiday season, the more likely they were to gain at least five pounds or more over the holidays.

The relatively small holiday weight gain of just a pound or so, when added together year after a year, can contribute significantly to the substantial total weight gain that occurs during adulthood. Since more than half of all Americans are considered overweight, holiday weight gain is something to be taken seriously.

Focus on Maintaining Your Weight

The holidays are no time to diet or try to lose weight. You will likely feel frustrated and deprived when you force yourself to say “no,” or guilty when you decide to indulge. Rather than trying to lose weight, try to prevent holiday weight gain.

8 Tips to Avoid Holiday Weight Gain

1. Never go to a party ravenous because you’re more likely to overeat. Skipping a meal to “save room” for later isn’t a good idea. You're better off eating light meals at your usual times to maintain your normal appetite.
2. Choose a few of your favorites hors d’ouevres, in sensible amounts, rather than a pile of everything offered.
3. Go light on dips, chips and sauces and concentrate on fresh veggies, fruit, cheese cubes and lean meats. Dips and sauces can be deceptively high in calories and fat.
4. Take small meal portions from the buffet table.
5. Put together a plate of food and sit down and eat, rather than walking around the buffet table several times or sampling from passing trays.
6. Eat slowly. You’ll likely find you’re full and don’t really want seconds.
7. Go easy on the holiday cookies and cakes. Have one special dessert or split one with a friend.
8. Avoid drinking too much alcohol and other high calorie drinks. Alcohol can increase your appetite and lower your resolve to resist overeating.

If you overeat at a party or holiday dinner, don’t despair. Overeating on one eating occasion won’t cause you to gain weight. It’s your day-to-day eating habits that have the biggest impact on your weight. So, put the overindulgent meal behind you and focus on healthy eating for the days to follow.

Stay Active and Avoid Holiday Weight Gain

Physical activity is one of the best gifts you can give yourself and your family during the holiday season. Fitness experts recommend at least 30-60 minutes a day. During the busy holiday season, sneak in exercise by:

• Taking a family walk before or after your holiday meal.
• Picking up your walking pace while shopping at the mall.
• Parking at one end of the mall and walking to the other end and back.
• Using the stairs instead of the escalator.
• Scheduling a walking date with a friend.

All of these small steps toward maintaining your weight during the holidays can add up to big steps toward your lifelong good health. Happy Holidays!