Healthy Foods?

Back in the 1940s everyone, including my mother, knew the healthiest foods were "good red meat" and spinach because they were high in iron.

Now scientists say the iron in spinach doesn't absorb into humans very well and we've all been warned that red meet contains cholesterol that clogs arteries and causes heart attacks.

In the meantime we've been advised to eat certain foods and avoid others, but the advice has changed over the years. The seven basic food groups of proteins, carbohydrates, dairy, green vegetables, fruits, red and yellow vegetables and fats were changed to the food pyramid, which has also been modified.

The newest suggestion seems to be the Paleo Diet, which is supposed to be what cave men ate; lots of fruits, vegetables and meat, including the red kind, and no grains or dairy products at all.

And then there are all the diets that are supposed to help people loose weight.

It seems to me that except for special diets required for medical reasons, the best thing to do is follow the ancient advice from Aristotle, "moderation in all things."

Pickles

My name is Janet Ann Collins and I am a pickle addict. Yes, really. (Well, sort of.)

Because of my food allergies I couldn't eat pickles for years and about a year ago I was delighted to find some with no ingredients I'm allergic to. My husband and I eat them nearly every day in sandwiches for lunch and I chop the pickles to put in tuna and potato salad in the summer.

But that's not all.

I've discovered that many foods taste delicious when cooked in pickle juice. For quick, homemade meals I often pour pickle juice over fish or chicken parts and microwave them. That's an easy way for kids to prepare a main dish.

And celery, cut up and boiled in a mixture of pickle juice and water, makes a tasty vegetable that might appeal to some fussy eaters.

If kids like sweet pickles, a few of the tiny ones are a good green veggie to pack in a school lunch.

I hope some of these suggestions appeal to other people. Maybe there will be more pickle addicts as a result.

Where Does Food Come From?

After the Special Ed class where I had worked as a substitute teacher was over for the day I went to help the afternoon Kindergarten teacher. Her class was digging up the carrots they had planted earlier in the year and the children were thrilled and amazed to see what their seeds had produced. Even those who didn't like vegetables were eager to taste the carrots they had grown themselves.

I've also seen children eagerly devour food they helped to cook even if was something didn't normally like.

We all know childhood obesity is a problem, but eating healthier foods can help with that. In our American society where both parents (or the only parent) must work at jobs away from home fewer families eat food made from scratch. Heating up something from the freezer saves valuable time and fast foods are called that for a good reason.

But we don't have to eat quickly every day. Cooking together is a good way to have family together time and growing even a few edible plants in flower pots helps kids learn.

Of course hot stoves and sharp knives are dangerous for little children, but even if someone else must do the chopping or put things on and off of the burner kids can do a lot to help prepare meals. Doing that may encourage them to eat healthy foods and can also increase their confidence.

What to Eat

My mother used to insist we eat our "Good red meat" first because back in the 1940s everyone 'knew' that was the healthiest food. Of course now we know it's high in bad cholesterol and not good for us.

There used to be seven basic food groups that everyone was supposed to eat every day. Let's see if I can remember what they were. Protein foods, green vegetables, yellow, and orange vegetables, fruits, dairy foods (which included eggs,) and carbohydrate foods are all I can think of. That list was replaced by five basic foods and now there's a food pyramid. Who knows what basic food lists will be created in the future?

Of course there are lots of other ways some people think we should eat in order to be healthy including the Cave Man, vegetarian, and vegan diets.

So how should we feed our kids?

While we don't all agree on the best way to eat, we do know obesity is unhealthy and has caused lots of people to have serious health problems. Most people agree that a lot of fast food is unhealthy, but busy people often don't think they have time to cook from scratch.

My advice is to listen to Aristotle and have moderation in all things. Unless there's a medical reason to avoid certain foods, we should be sure our children get as varied a diet as possible and try not to overdo any one kind of food.