Saturday, May 17, 2014

Dr + Chef: Getting Kids on Track to Healthy Eating

Recently, my friend Gabriela and I spoke about the poor diet parents are giving their children. Snacks are either super sugary or very high in sodium with little nutritional value. So, we decided to do something about it!

Gabriela is a medical doctor specializing in nutrition, and I am a chef. So, we created a Facebook page called Dr + Chef with the intention of presenting ingredients with high nutritional and medicinal values and sharing delicious recipes using those ingredients.



As parents, I believe an invaluable lesson we must teach our children is to eat well; to eat real, healthy, nutritious food. This is a powerful tool parents can give their children to help them prevent certain illnesses and to lead healthy lives.


Our Facebook page offers tips on how to eat a healthy diet, and offers delicious ways to cook nutritious ingredients. So far, we've shared recipes for multigrain flax seed pancakes with red berry maple syrup sauce, which is good for your heart. We've also talked about the benefits of quinoa as a high-protein alternative. And, we've given a step-by-step guide to a doable one-day detox.


Follow us on Facebook for access to delicious recipes and nutritional information all-in-one. 

Here is a sample of the kind of information you'll find on our page:

HOW TO REPLACE REFINED FLOUR AT BREAKFAST

In order to create white flour, cereals go through a milling and refining process that leaves only endosperm, or carbohydrates, which have very poor nutritional value.

Refined (or white) flour is very easily digested, and is practically all starch. It allows the body to transform this starch into glucose, thus increasing the risk of cardiovascular disease, high cholesterol, diabetes, weight gain, and obesity.

Dr + Chef suggest that instead of consuming sugary cereals made of refined flour at breakfast, these can be replaced with a healthy and nutritious oatmeal, for example. Oatmeal is an excellent source of complex B vitamins, vitamin A, vitamin E, and vitamin D. It contains up to 25% protein, calcium (which helps decrease the changes of osteoporosis), iron (which is indispensable for transporting oxygen to cellular tissue), and zinc, which is fundamental for creating insulin.

Eating something healthy does not mean sacrificing good taste. There are delicious alternatives to sugary kids breakfast cereals. Get your children on the right track to eating well and do them a favor by eliminating sugary breakfast cereals that do not offer any nutritional value.

Oatmeal with almond milk, cinnamon and honey recipe
1 1/2 cups oatmeal (we recommend Quaker Oats or Coach's Oats)
3 cups almond milk
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
2 tbsp honey

In a sauce pan, bring almond milk to medium heat, and add oatmeal. Stir constantly until oats are softened and the milk's consistency becomes thicker. Add cinnamon and honey, and stir until desired consistency.

Top with fruit of choice, such as strawberries, bananas, blueberries, or raspberries and serve.

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