“Just tell me what to feed my family, please!" I still feel like that some days, despite being on this REAL food journey for over 10 years.  So, when moms ask us to post our weekly menus so they can just follow them, I totally understand.  (Just sign-up for our blog and you'll get a peek at what we feed our children.)  The bottom line is that we have great meals and snacks some days and other days we're in a rut (maybe you feel the same?). 

What helps us pull food together (whether it's a new recipe or an old favorite) is having a 'recipe' checklist for every meal and snack. This checklist helps us serve-up balance - and keeps our children healthy and happy. See for yourself - use this 'recipe' checklist to plan (or scramble to put together) meals and snacks for your family.

Recipe for a Healthy Meal or Snack

One:  Powerful Proteins!  Kids need Powerful Proteins with each meal and snack.  These include high-quality meat, poultry, dairy, eggs, and fish.  Some plant proteins fit in here too, like quinoa and amaranth.  Protein breaks down into amino acids, which have lots of jobs in the body, especially for a growing child.  Dr. Sue does a great job explaining how amino acids work in the body and why it is important to include Powerful Protein each time your child eats.  For practical purposes, when you include Powerful Proteins with each meal and snack your child will be more satiated and will have more stable bloodsugar than when she has carbohydrates alone, especially processed grains. (Hint: fishies, bunnies, crackers, etc.) That means better focus, better moods and better behavior at home and at school.  HERE are some examples of Powerful Proteins.

Two:  Colorful Carbs!  Kids are eating lots of colorful foods these days, but unfortunately most of those glow-in-the-dark colors are from artificial colors. When we talk about Colorful Carbs, we're talking REAL colors from fruits, vegetables, herbs, legumes and whole grains.  Those natural colors represent all the disease fighting phytonutrients that your child needs everyday.  Colorful Carbs also provide your child with the fiber needed to maintain a healthy digestive system, which is the foundation of great health. HERE are some examples of Colorful Carbs.

Three:  Friendly Fats!  Friendly Fats are abundant in organic full-fat dairy, nuts, seeds, coconut oil, olive oil, and avocados.  Unfriendly fats are the partially hydrogenated oils (transfats) and the vegetable oils that are in so many fake foods. These are the fats to avoid.  Most REAL foods contain Friendly Fats - the fats that help assimilate fat soluble vitamins and provide cells structure and fluidity.  Friendly fats include some saturated fats and unsaturated fats, including omega-3 and omega-9 fats.  We need some omega-6 fat, but most children get way too much of this fat through vegetable oils.  HERE are some examples of Friendly Fats.  

So, whenever you are creating a snack or meal for your child, or any children, keep this checklist in mind:

Teach your child this checklist too and she can learn to make connections between food and mood, health, behavior and success.