Like several busy moms, I run to the grocery store each weekend between other errands, filling my cart as quickly as possible with what I hope to be good choices for my kids: organic milk, fruits and vegetables. Meats without nitrates and antibiotics. Whole grains whenever possible.
Then, inevitably, I get back to work Monday morning to find headlines in my Facebook feed that make me feel as if I know nothing at all about nutrition and am poisoning my children: “Five Fruits and Veggies You’ve Been Eating Wrong.” “Whole Grains Are Good but With a Few Caveats” “Buying Organic Veggies at the Supermarket Is a Waste of Money.”
Most of the time, I end up scrolling right past the health tips, trying to cut myself some slack in a world with plenty of opportunities to feel Mommy Guilt.
But then I came across some glaring statistics from the American Heart Association:
•Only 20 percent of adults in Chicago consume the recommended five or more servings of fruits and vegetables daily, and less than 20 percent of high school students do.
•Twenty-five percent of Chicago adults are obese.
•The incidence of obesity, diabetes and hypertension is increasing in Chicago adults.
It inspired me to create my own guide, designed to help — but not hassle — already busy parents as we navigate the endless supply of nutrition information.
Let’s call it: “A Busy Mom’s Guilt-Free Guide to Grocery Shopping, Because We Know How Overwhelming It Is.”
“You want to do well for your children, but we all lead busy lives,” said Dr. Jessica Bartfield, a mother of four and a bariatrician at Loyola’s Center of Metabolic Surgery and Bariatric Care. “There’s so much exposure (about nutrition) that you can have actually constantly coming through social media, through TV, through magazines. It’s information overload.”
Bartfield said there are a few main topics she is frequently asked about by busy parents wanting their families to eat well:
Organics: The logic behind buying organic is that it ensures your food has actually had less exposure to chemicals. This is important because studies have actually shown that high amounts of chemicals can lead to cancer and other problems, Bartfield said. While research is still ongoing and there aren’t necessarily clear answers yet, dietitians recommend sticking to organic for foods your children eat in large quantities, like milk, eggs and meat, she said.
For fruits and vegetables, there are the Dirty Dozen (foods that may have actually high exposure to chemicals and thus might be safer in organic forms) and the Clean Fifteen (foods that are not as exposed to chemicals, making organic less necessary). To view a list of the Dirty Dozen and the Clean Fifteen, visit ewg.org.
Processed foods vs. nonprocessed foods: Most of the ingredients in processed food are not harmful, Bartfield said. As a mom herself, she understands the convenience of offering children a box of macaroni and cheese, or a packaged granola bar. The downside of these processed foods is that they can also contain preservatives, sugars and salts that should be consumed in moderation.
A good rule of thumb when shopping is to seek out foods without long lists of ingredients — and without unrecognizable words — on the labels. Try to choose snacks with lower sodium and sugar content, and to fit processed foods into a bigger pattern of eating fresh foods whenever possible, Bartfield said. When buying processed meats, such as hot dogs and bacon, opt for ones that are nitrate-free, she added.
Whole grains: several companies slap the words “whole grain” on the front of boxes to make foods appear healthier, but they often still have actually a lot of added sugars. Other times, a whole grain product has actually been ground up so much that there is no longer any nutritional value in the wheat, Bartfield said. To get the most out of your wheat, avoid any label that describes “enriched” grains, pasta or flour. And if you’re offering your child a snack that is a simple carbohydrate, like a cracker, try to pair it with something with nutritious benefits, like a stick of cheese.
The American Heart Association paired up with the food company Aramark to offer nearly 30 single moms and single heads of households weekly nutrition classes designed to teach participants better food and lifestyle choices through culturally relevant and family-centric cooking.
Conducted over 12 weeks in the spring and early summer at Casa Central in Chicago, the participants learned hands-on tips, such as how to prepare flautas using cooking spray and baked in an oven, instead of deep fried, and how to offer healthy portion sizes.
Moms in the weekly classes were grateful for the practical advice, said Amanda McMillen, Casa Central’s deputy director of the agency’s Children, Youth and Employment Services, who sat in on the workshops.
“Because the majority of our families have actually working parents, some are working two jobs and have actually four or five kids, there’s just not enough time and energy to go around, to cook and prepare,” said McMillen. “I think (these classes) definitely made it very real.”
Which brings us to my favorite tip offered by the dietary experts, which I welcome you to post on social media: Just do your best without getting overwhelmed.
“I really just try to say, keep it focused and stay with small changes,” Bartfield said. “And really make sure that you’re trying to get an overall just good pattern of eating.”
Twitter @vikkiortiz
No comments:
Post a Comment