The problem with snacking

Like most mothers I have an arsenal of snacks in my pantry. Everything from treats like pixie sticks to healthy snacks like dried fruit and water crackers; little thought is given into how much my kiddies actually consume, and until recently I didn't realize just how much our snacks impact our health. A few days ago I read an article about the health risks of snacking. It stated "the current average of three snacks a day is two too many in a nation where 17 percent of kids are obese." [read here] I was shocked, although my kids are skinny little people, i'm not and more times than non i'm right there snacking away with them. This got me thinking, How many calories do we really consume daily just on snacks? And are we really teaching our children the right kind of eating habits by add even one snack to their diet?

In my family we have 2 to 3 snacks per day.
generally my children have a snack 2 hours after breakfast, an hour before lunch, and about 3 hours before dinner, so it breaks down to something like breakfast is at 7:30, lunch is always at 1:00pm (that's just we I like it), dinner is at 7pm. So you can kind of get an idea about how my kids snack.

Yesterday I really paid attention to what I was giving my children, and realized something startling: My kids consumed 1089.23 Calories a day (each) in snacking alone. And they didn't even have juice, soda, or candy with those snacks. In fact most people would agree that my snacks were generally healthy. So lets take a look at what my kiddies had...

Snack #1 : 1 cup of dry cereal Cinnamon Chex and 1 Tangerine

Snack #2: Gold Fish Crackers and 1 banana

Snack #3 4 Saltine Crackers, 5 cubes of Chedder Cheese, and 1 Tangerine.

They also had 1 OreoCookie each as a treat at one point in the day.

From the simple looks of it, most people would look at my children and say, why are you even concerned they are skinny little emaciated looking super active boys, but the truth is i'm always snacking along with them, and I'm consuming just as much as they are only my metabolism doesn't have ADHD like theirs does. Also, my kids might be super active little boys now but I worry that what I might have learned about giving kids snacks and even so-called healthy snacks is actually condemning them to a unhealthy lifestyle later on.

Leo and our goddaughter Kayla enjoying a snack of canned peaches and crackers

Polenta Vs. Nachos

One of our families favorite super fattening comfort foods is Nachos. We don't just like cheese and chips, we have to have it all, and I mean all. Cheese, sour cream, chicken (or other type of meat), avocado, salsa, rice, beans, you name it we like it on our nachos....yummmmm...
This got me thinking about healthy alternatives to nachos, and after a few ideas I came up with something 1/3 of the calories and with 3 servings of vegetables...

Chicken and Vegetable Polenta!

• Fresh diced tomatoes(1 cup)
• green chili (1 small can)
  
• Frozen corn (2 cups)
• fresh diced celery (1 cup)
• Fresh diced peppers (2 cups and any kind)
  
• Skinless Chicken boiled and cubed (3 cups)
  
• Red, pinto or black beans (1 can)
• Red Pepper (to taste)
• 2 teaspoons garlic powder
• 1/2 tablespoon Cumin,
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1 pinch ground cloves
  
• Cornmeal 1-3/4 cup
• 1/2 teaspoon real unsalted butter
  
• Chredded Cheddar Cheese 1oz
• Shredded pepper jack 1 oz

Step 1. Prepare the polenta, it's pretty easy, Bring 6 cups of water to a boil in a heavy large saucepan. Add 2 teaspoons of salt. Gradually whisk in the cornmeal. Reduce the heat to low and cook until the mixture thickens and the cornmeal is tender, stirring often, about 15 minutes. Turn off the heat. Add the butter, and stir until melted.

Step 2. In a pan mix corn, tomatoes, beans, chilies, celery, pepers, and chicken(remember the chicken should be skinless, boiled, and cubed/sliced) after the mixture has simmered for about 8-10mins on medium/ low heat, add all of the remaining seasoning.

Step 3. In a deep oven safe pot or casserole dish add the vegetable, chicken and bean mix. Then place the polenta on top. Top the polenta with the shredded cheeses and let it back on 350F for 8 mins or the cheese is melted

I served mine with my homemade corn tortillas and a small spoonful of my mock sour cream (plain yogurt with a little lime juice and a pinch of salt.)

POLENTA VS. NACHOS
BREAKDOWN

TIE:
My family loved the polenta though Nachos still hold a special place in our hearts but it's defiantly a new family favorite, and it's defiantly healthier.

I'm Just Another Obeasty American

Like many Americans i'm over weight, I don't eat enough veggies, I don't drink enough water, and I don't get off my fat ass enough, okay I admit it, i'm fat. Sadly, I'm not alone, according to the CDC 67% of adults age 20 years and over are overweight or obese. (SIXTY SEVEN?) it's good to know I'm not alone but it's also kind of sad but it's not surprising, the biggest reason people like myself eat is because it makes us feel comfortable. We're talking thousands of years nature telling us to eat now or die! of coarse we eat for comfort, it's natural. But these days it's dangerous, we have so much food at our disposal that we over eat, we pack on the pounds and we die from stuffing our gut with saturated goodness! The worse part is we're not even honest about it, it's like we are embarrassed by our natural drive to feed our comfort level.

In April of 2008 I went to Las Vegas for my birthday, I was 5 months pregnant at the time so I did alot of eating! The first stop on our tour of sin city was the buffet at The Excalibur, When I first saw the dinning room and all of the food I truned to Chris and said "OMG there is more food here than in all of North Korea!" as cold as that sounds It might actually be true. That morning for breakfast I had 3 poached eggs, 1 bowl of fruit, 3 slices of French toast (with syrup and butter), 4 strips of bacon, 2 links of sausage, and a biscuit. It was enough for 3 or 4 people and I ate it myself just me! Oh and Chris he ate even more! This is the world we live in, This is a perfect example of the American lifestyle. You don't have to go to Sin City to eat yourself silly, there are "hometown" buffets in every neighborhood.

I'm not the only one in my family that over eats for comfort, my kids (though they are not overweight) do it too! In fact I teach them to over eat, for example on their birthdays I make them cakes, I make them what ever they want to eat for dinner, I give them extra candy and snacks, and I do it all in the name of love.

Now, i'm not saying we shouldn't treat our children, or give them our homemade apple pies (or peach cobbler in my case) but what if we were more honest about it, what if we were more honest with our selves? Do you think honesty would make a difference? I do.