Family's Diet

Question: I've added Ground Turkey into my family's diet. What are a few good recipes?

Answer: Anything in which you usually use ground beef, you can substitute ground turkey or ground chicken. I make tacos, Sloppy Joes, burgers, meatloaf, meatballs, spaghetti sauce...all with ground turkey.

Question: Healthy balanced diet for my family? I am trying to improve my family's diet in order to maintain our weights at healthy levels. Specifically, what portion of our diet should be meat/poultry/fish, what portion should be vegetables, what portion should be carbohydrates, what portion should be fats, etc.? Are there certain combinations of foods that are especially healthy--or that should especially be avoided?

Answer: generally, try for 40/40/20, which is 40% protein, 40% carbs, and 20% fat. The carbs should be low glycemic (complex carbs - like apples, whole grians, veggies) instead of high glycemin (simple sugar - like sweet drinks with fructose)

Question: Both my mother and father suffer from High Blood Pressure problems. What would suggest for my family's diet? We are 6 in my house plus the maid and her son, all with similar tastes but different salt levels :-) The maid cooks great also!!!

Answer: The maid should not add any salt to the food she is cooking for everyone. If everyone has different salt tastes, each person can add salt to their own plate of food. Of course those who are trying to lower their blood pressure or avoid getting high blood pressure should watch their salt intake. Try an internet search for the DASH diet (Dietary approaches to Stop Hypertension). People with hypertension (high blood pressure) or prehypertension may be told by their physicians to adopt the DASH diet. The DASH diet eating plan has been proven to lower blood pressure in studies sponsored by the National Institutes of Health (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension). The DASH diet involves eating more fruits and vegetables, and low-fat or non-fat dairy. DASH is recommended by: The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (one of the National Institutes of Health, of the US Department of Health and Human Services) The American Heart Association The 2005 Dietary Guidelines for Americans US guidelines for treatment of high blood pressure and, the DASH diet formed the basis for the new USDA MyPyramid, The DASH eating plan has been proven to lower blood pressure in just 14 days. Best response came in people whose blood pressure was only moderately high, including those with prehypertension. For people with more severe hypertension, who may not be able to eliminate medication, the DASH diet can help improve response to medication, and lower blood pressure. The DASH diet lowers cholesterol, and with weight loss and exercise can reduce insulin resistance. Heard about the new DASH diet research that shows that limiting starchy foods may help lower blood pressure further? Although this book was published before the new findings were released, the menu plans are based on those principles. Keeping the starches under control with DASH enhances its ability to lower blood pressure, and makes weight loss easier. Specifically the DASH diet plan includes: Type of food Number of servings for 1600 - 3100 Calorie diets Servings on a 2000 Calorie diet Grains and grain products (include at least 3 whole grain foods each day) 6 - 12 7 - 8 Fruits 4 - 6 4 - 5 Vegetables 4 - 6 4 - 5 Low fat or non fat dairy foods 2 - 4 2 - 3 Lean meats, fish, poultry 1.5 - 2.5 2 or less Nuts, seeds, and legumes 3 - 6 per week 4 - 5 per week Fats and sweets 2 - 4 limited Even though most people know that this seems like a very healthy way of eating, they initially may find it hard to implement and sustain. The average American gets 2 - 3 servings of fruits and vegetables combined each day, so following the DASH diet can involve making a concerted effort.

Question: Compare my family's diet with yours? My friend commented yesterday on how thin my family is. I am a wife and the mother of two sons with a baby girl on the way. My husband is 130 and 6'0, i myself am 100 and 5'6, my two sons are 8 and 10, and they weight 40 and 60 pounds respectively. Each day we keep very stringent guidelines of what we consume, when we consume it, how we feel when we consume it, and even when we defecate it. Apparently this is not normal? It's a good writing exercise for the boys and we like to stay healthy. My husband eats 1500 calories a day, I eat 1000, and the boys eat 800 and 1000 (we add another 100 calories to their diets at each birthday). We do not allow grains, meats, or dairy products in our home. This keeps the kids in tip top shape and the environment isnt harmed either. The kids know they CAN eat whatever they want when they're at their friends' homes, but they choose to keep our guidelines. How does your family's diet compared to ours? What can you do to improve and be more like us?

Answer: Wow, that sounds really unhealthy. It's ok for you and your husband to eat what you want, but children need more nutrients than you are giving them. Human beings by nature are omnivores. What this means is that we are supposed to eat MEAT! Feed it to your kids before it is too late! DS

Question: How bad is my family's diet.....? Our food choices aren't varied at all. This is what we eat MOST of the time. We only eat breakfast on Sunday (grits, sausage, eggs). For dinner we have rice almost every night (white, yellow), some kind of baked meat (dark chicken, pork chops, or ground beef patties), and CANNED vegetables (usually corn, sweet peas, string beans). And once a week we'll eat spaghetti. Can anyone tell me how bad this diet is on a scale of 1-10 and maybe little ways to tweak it? We have VERY little money, so we can't really go organic. All advice is welcome.

Answer: Tips well, try gettin fresh vegetables not Canned, rice try to get whole grain brown rice is healthier than yellow or white, you should try to get in breakfast everyday no excuse is the most important meal of the day cause is starts up your metabolism. hope this helps good luck

Question: Family Diet Tips For Weight Loss In 11 Year Old? Our 11 year old daughter (according to an BMI calculator) Is 20lbs overweight. I know you can't put a child on a diet, But we got a pool and a double stroller so we can all spend more time outside for exercise. The pool for Summer, and the stroller so we can take all 4 kids out. So other than that, what can we do to our family's diet to help her out without making her feel like she's fat and shouldn't eat? I figure if we ALL go into a new eating habit together she'll feel more encouraged. But I can't put the whole family on a real diet considering 2 of them are toddlers. One of my toddlers is taking after me, and is really hard for him to gain weight. What kind of foods can we eat that are good for her losing weight, but that we can add butter and all that to for our underweight toddler?

Answer: buy her a bike or teach her to skate

Question: what is a good way to add more fruits and veggies into my family's diet? I grew up in a home with little fruits and veggies but have chosen to live with my mom again because it is cheaper. I only know a few basic fruits and veggies but want to start eating much healthier. I was thinking of having something like vegan Monday to help bring in more veggies. yeah like vegan. My family is very into meat and I don't think there would be harm in digesting only plant matter for a day. All of us drink soy milk most of the time so thats already settled.

Answer: Instead of having "Vegan Mondays" and cramming all your fruits and veges in one day, spread it out throughout the week. You could: - Have a piece of fresh fruit with breakfast - Eat a piece of fresh fruit as an afternoon snack - Cut up some carrot/cucumber/celery sticks and eat them as an afternoon snack - Have some salad with lunch/dinner - Steam some vege's and eat them with dinner - Make vegetable stir-fries - Puree vegetables and add them to spaghetti sauce (if you're planning on having spaghetti) - Drink fruit/vege juice Just remember, try getting atleast 2-3 portions of fruit a day, and 5-6- portions of vegetables a day:)

Question: How can you protect your family's heart even with a regular Indian diet?

Answer: I usually manage for cholestrol free food management.I adopt good type and quality of edible cooking oil.I manage proper dietary concern for one each in my family in order to meet their needs and calorific demands.My kitchen is always clean, maintained and furnished with all routineneeds for dietry and the best nutritional supply to needy.

Question: do you think that your families should change their diet? are your families eating bad but cant do anything about it? do you think yours or your families's diets need to change? tell me your story cause im worried about our diet in america we have to remember that the world is big around us and just cuz your community is healthy does NOT mean the whole country is healthy. i watch tv and around our city and kids are just killing themselves! kids are dying before their parents do and your suffering your own body even when you cant feel it

Answer: Well my family diet is a little bit more on the healthy side. Every morning my mom makes me eat a piece of fruit. And she always packs me something healthy in my lunch. For dinner we either have a vegetable or a salad. But maybe we have dessert every other night. But what I think is a big health issue is school lunches. We mostly have greasy unhealthy food at our school. I think that it costs much more to do healthy food than to have it unhealthy. Also just in the food industry it is much more easier to use such thing as artificial flavoring not rael fruit juice. Also saturated fat is a BIG problem. Fast food places such as McDonalds are very unhealthy. And it is very cheap so more people are going to eat there than at a mediocre place where you can get a sandwhich for 5.00. Overall I think America is the most obesed country in thr world. I f you go out of this country you will see with every meal a salad and some type of vegetable. Well that wraps it up but if we do not do anything about things are going to go very wrong.

Question: What are some kid-friendly foods that have no artificial flavors and colors? I would like to experiment with removing artificial flavors and colors from my family's diet. I don't know where to begin. Anyone have suggestions of foods, or even books or websites to start with?

Answer: Just go for veggies a fruit. Buy carrot sticks, cut up celery. Cut apples into slices, easy for the kids to eat. You could also buy some regular granola. If you have a whole foods store find granola bars without all the extra's Best thing you can do to avoid artificial flavors and colors is eat real foods, veggies, fruit.

Question: Can I substitute wheat flour for white flour in baking? And if so do I have to use more or less of other ingredients in recipes? I am trying to cut out white flour in my family's diet.

Answer: It depends - hard whole wheat flour has a high gluten content so is what should be used for bread-baking. The soft wheat flour is lower in gluten (and protein) - this one can be used in pastries, quick breads, cakes, etc. but, it will change your receipe consistency somewhat so suggest you use half white and half wheat in case someone doesn't like it! All other ingredients stay the same with the 50% each but, when using all wheat, you may need a fraction more liquid as brown flour absorbs more. Should have given you the link - sorry ... go to King Arthur Flour - they have a white whole wheat flour which I've used as a substitute for all-purpose flour - it's much higher in nutrients than the all-purpose. King Arthur makes the best flour in the country and is what professional chefs prefer to use. They are in Yankee-land and will answer any, further, questions you may have.

Question: are there any good websites on which i can find healthy food? That tastes good? I am looking to improve the family's diet, and we are tired of eating the same old slop!

Answer: http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/lf_health

Question: What's the best dietary choices after kidney stones? I don't want to get these again. EXTREMELY painful! Anyone else had them? I go to urologist Monday, but need some advice on what to get at the grocery store. I am 37 year old female and I think instant coffee and vitamins might have contributed. I also don't drink enough water..I need to change my family's diet so the kids don't get them, too! Help!

Answer: Lots and lots of water. I have one too. But stay away from salt , and to much dairy , I think that is one cause. But I would just look it up. I'm glad you are better.

Question: Where's the best store to get fruits and vegetables from and the least expense? I'm trying to add more fruit and veggies to our family's diet. In Northern California, Bay Area, near Sunnyvale.

Answer: See if there are any local farms that deliver. We have a few in our area. I signed us up for a weekly delivery. The food is organic, fresh and about avg 30cents less than our local market. Plus we are supporting local small farms. Organic veggies have more nutrients than non-organic, study: http://www.chiro.org/nutrition/FULL/Nutritional_Quality_of_Organic_Versus_Conventional_Fruits.html Support your local farms: http://www.eatlocalchallenge.com/

Question: Would like your best tried and true recipes for white rice? Am incorporating rice into my family's diet. They do not care for brown. Please help and thank you in advance.

Answer: Angelzwi, I use the standard long grain rice for this, for Risotto I use another rice. All I do is for this recipe I rinse the rice first then in a pot with chicken stock I allow it to come to the boil and cook, but be careful, should be still firm to the taste and not cooked through as there is still another little process. I have a fry pan with 1/2 tablespoon of unsalted. 1/4 tablespoon EVOO. crushed garlic ( I use about 3 to 4 cloves up to you how much you want) 2 green onions finely chopped, don't use too much of the green stalk. 1 red bell pepper diced. 1 stick of celery finely chopped. about 4 portabellow or your choice mushrooms sliced. I also finely chop a hot chili, but if you have children use a few chili flakes or drop it altogether, your choice again. Method: Once your about ready to drain your rice, you should have these in the pan to saute three or four minutes for the vegetables to start to soften, then I add the rice and stir all the ingredingredients. Here I add about 1 teaspoon of soy, bit at the time, as the rice was cooked in a stock which is seasoned, so I take the time to taste. If it needs anything add a little, but not to much. I serve this with steamed shallot (green onion), ginger and soy. Chris

Question: can i use ground oatmeal in place of flour? I'm wondering if I can substitute ground oatmeal in place of flour, in baking recipes. I'd like a healthier alternative to my family's diet and do not want to use wheat flour.

Answer: Your result will be a little different with oat flour. You may need to experiment a little. And it won't work for yeast-raised product since it has no gluten. Have you tried whole white wheat flour? whole wheat nutrition with a lighter flavor and finer texture than regular whole wheat.