posted by Trish, our very own Catholic mom and nutritionist
Nutrition Tips for Fall
I wanted to share with you a menu plan that I thought was wonderful and organized. I visited a friend who wanted some help with nutrition for her family. Little did I realize she was going to help me way more than I think I could help her and her family. This mother has developed 4 sets of meal plans for breakfast, lunch and dinner. They are seasonal meal cards. She has laminated large ,color index cards for each day of the week and each meal that has the menu and recipe on each card. There are 3 sets (breakfast, lunch and dinner) and each set is held together with a large ring so they can be hung up in the kitchen in an easy place to find and reach. So now when the kids say what is for breakfast, lunch, or dinner, she tells them to go get the set of meal cards. What a great way to avoid the “I don’t want that or I don’t like that” trap on both sides. But I found this post about a company that will send healthy proportioned meals to your house. I decided to give it a go since I was having a hard time preparing healthy food after work. Also, since the recipe is on the meal card the older children can make the meals. This mom home schools her children and I think it is so great they are learning to cook at such an early age.
On another topic: I often get the question of how much water we should drink in a day. Most people think they have to drink 8 (8 ounce)glasses a day. Nope. Fluid intake is really driven by thirst. In 2002 Dartmouth Medical Center reviewed more than 30 years of nutrition studies and found that the average daily water intake was closer to 4(8 ounce) glasses a day. The only exception to the thirst rule is elderly who often lose that sensation or some children with special health care needs who have no thirst registration or a medical condition that requires more than 32 ounces fluid a day.
Enjoy this beautiful fall!
Trish