Why you should cook with your children
I was listening to the radio this morning and heard about a website called www.mydaddycooks.com. It is a very new site, but has gained a lot of popularity in its short life.
It is, in the simplest sense, a series of videos showing how you can make home cooked, healthy meals with your children.
The site’s founder, Nick, features in all of the videos with his 2 year old son, Archie. I watched one of the recent videos, and it was absolutely adorable.
Nick did a short interview on the radio and his story was really interesting. He said that 2009 was a tough year financially for he and his family (I know he is not alone in that regard!) But, instead of letting the pressures get to him, he decided to do something great for Archie. I don’t remember his exact words, but he said something along the lines of “My wife and I reevaluated what was most important in our lives and decided that having happy parents was the most important thing for Archie.”
I thought that was a great comment – and amazing that he and his wife came to that conclusion when in reality many people can’t get past the financial/work/relationship stresses that we all deal with on a daily basis. I’m not saying it’s easy to deal with all of those things. But, what is most important for your loved ones?
Nick also said that he felt that Archie was learning to have a very healthy relationship with food (real food!), which is also an extremely important thing. I’ve heard that 1 in 5 UK children are now already overweight when they start school. Woah! That is astounding.
Mydaddycooks.com looks like a great example of doing something positive for your family. Why not do that yourself? It is fun, inexpensive, and healthy!
To your health,
Kimberly
How to Beat Afternoon Fatigue
The Afternoon Slump
Whether you work in an office, from home, at a construction site, out there on the roads everyday, or anywhere else, I think most of you will have experienced the afternoon slump. This is something that seems to kick in somewhere between 2 and 4 in the afternoon, or if you have an early lunch, maybe sooner. It makes you feel like curling up and going to sleep.
I can remember times when I literally couldn’t keep my eyes open in front of my computer. It was the worst feeling and it was horrible thinking that someone might see me with my eyes closed, even if just for a second!
And since a midday kip normally isn’t possible, due to work commitments, location (I certainly don’t have a nap room at my office!), or any other reason, what do we end up doing?
This slump usually makes us reach for something to bring us back to life. Some form of caffeine. Maybe chocolate. Maybe even just some fresh air or an ice cold glass of water.
How to Avoid It
Whatever it is that helps you get through this afternoon fatigue, you don’t have to deal with this feeling ever again. What is it that has rid me of the PM slump and can help you do the same?
Nutrition.
What you eat (especially at lunch time) can help you avoid the afternoon tiredness. Once I started cutting out high carb lunches, and/or sugary things right after my lunches, I noticed a huge change in my energy levels.
What exactly did I do? I substituted bread heavy sandwiches (i.e. baguettes, baps, rolls) with whole grain sliced bread sandwiches. Or I substituted any type of sandwich with a salad. I also made sure I was getting wholesome vegetables in my meal. Just to clarify, this doesn’t include iceberg lettuce and a couple of slices of cucumber. I’m talking about hearty vegetables, like spinach, rocket, or other nutrient packed leafy greens. Broccoli, green beans, carrots, brussel sprouts, cauliflower, zucchini, and sweet potato are good options (and there are plenty of others.) You can steam some of these to have as a side dish with your salad/sandwich, or you can just have them raw, either on your salad or on the side.
One other thing I did was to make sure I was getting some healthy fats. This includes putting some good quality olive oil on my salad, having some avocado, or adding seeds/nuts to my meal. These all provide the “good” fats to your meal and help you stay full for longer.
Finally, I made sure to have some lean protein. If you’re a meat eater, this can be turkey, chicken, or fish. If you’re a vegetarian, this can be low-fat cheeses or tofu. Just like fats, protein also helps you stay full longer.
Sweet Tooth
Now, regarding what I said about not having sweets, candy, cookies, etc right after eating, here is what I found. If I really needed to have something sugary, I waited until a couple of hours after I had my lunch before I indulged. By doing this, I was giving my lunch a chance to digest a bit and my blood sugar levels a chance to stabilize before feeding sugar into my body.
Now, I have to just say a quick piece here about sweets. If you’re trying to follow a healthy eating plan to lose weight, just be a healthy person, or for any other reason, sugary things should not be a big part of your daily diet. This includes sugary drinks…even fruit juice.
Blood Sugar Levels
Why does eating high carb (especially low quality carb) and sugary things make you tired? The short answer to this is that these things all hit the blood stream really quickly and heavily, causing the blood sugar levels to increase rapidly. This makes the body give out insulin to help control the blood sugar levels. Because the blood sugar levels were sent so high, the amount of insulin given out is more than what is necessary to control it, and therefore, it brings the blood sugar levels down to an even lower level than they were at before you ate anything.
Where does that leave you? Tired. And probably wanting more food and/or caffeine to compensate for that.
This is not a healthy cycle to put your body through on a daily basis.
In Summary
The things I’ve talked about in this article should actually apply to all of your meals. If you follow these principles, you will have more energy, feel happier, be healthier, and lose weight. Even if you’re happy with your current weight, if you’re not eating like this now and you change your habits to follow these principles, you’ll probably lose a few pounds.
To your health,
Kimberly
What is your New Year’s Resolution?
We are well into the first week of 2010. On my first day back at work I heard so many people (mostly women) talking about “being good” in the new year. They were referring to their eating habits, in case it wasn’t obvious 
I have to admit after my overly indulgent Christmas celebrations, I feel the same. I think it is natural though, simply because you probably have been going to more social activities, getting less sleep, possibly stressing about buying presents or about travel plans, etc. All of these things invite more lenient or excessive eating habits and more drinking.
I am not saying there is anything wrong with this – it is a really fun time of year for many people. I certainly enjoyed it! But, it can leave you feeling sluggish and unmotivated.
So, what is your New Year’s Resolution? If it has to do with diet, nutrition, fitness, or just general health, you are certainly not alone.
I have made a commitment to get back into a more regular fitness program…despite the freezing weather. I did a 10k back in October and then haven’t done much since then. I mean I’ve done a bit of running, a few weight sessions, and had some gym time, but nothing very consistent. Now is the time to get back into it.
If your resolution is not fitness or health related, that’s fine too. There are lots of things that are good to commit to in the new year. Whatever it is, stick with it! Don’t be a statistic – one of the people who keeps their resolution for 2 or 3 weeks and then gives up.
And I would love to hear your resolutions if you’re willing to share!
To your health,
Kimberly