Clever Currents

Cutting Calories: If you don’t change the portion size, your child won’t eat more

Many people believe that if they give their children food that is less heavy in calories, they will snack more later, and so eventually take in those calories regardless. A study by the Obesity Society reported that is not true. For one week, a group of kids was given breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks, and the next week, they received the same menu and portions, with lower calorie substitutes for milk, fruit and pasta sauces. As long as the volume of food stayed the same, the children were no more likely to snack during the week of eating fewer calories than during the high calorie week.

The Blue Lake take on it:
We are reminded of the old phrase used to describe “hearty” food: It really sticks to the ribs. Well, it seems it really just sticks to the stomach! If your child has any issues with weight, you would be doing him or her a big favor by trying some of the substitutions that worked in this study. And don’t do it secretly – kids are capable of learning with you about what works to keep weight off.

Easy Organic – Five Simple Strategies

Taking your family down the organic highway can be time consuming – and expensive. Wouldn’t it be nice to apply the 80/20 rule here? It turns out you can. If you buy organic options of just the five items below, you will have gotten the most benefit with the least effort.
1. Milk
2. Potatoes
3. Peanut butter
4. Ketchup
5. Apples
Why? These are the most common kid foods in which the organic version is significantly less toxic than the non-organic option. Many foods, including broccoli, onions, and foods with peels like avocados, bananas and oranges, come to market with much less pesticide residue even when they are not grown organically.

The Blue Lake take on it:
We love this type of thinking. You don’t have time to keep up on every bulletin or develop a 10-page plan for strategic grocery shopping. Thank you, Dr. Alan Greene, the author of Raising Baby Green, for this simple guideline. If you want to read more on this topic, and see some interesting parent responses, visit Tara Parker-Pope’s blog in the New York Times Health section.