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A Taste of the Good Stuff
By Christina Quick | May 14, 2008
“Can I go play now?”
“Not until you eat three more bites of your carrots.”
When I was growing up, that conversation frequently played out in our family’s dining room. Now I’m the one trying to get my family to eat healthier.
I’m not alone. According to a study recently commissioned by Produce for Kids, only 18 percent of children eat at least three servings a day of fresh fruits and vegetables. Other research has shown few kids consume the five daily servings of fruits and veggies recommended by the USDA.
While we parents try to emphasize nutrition around the dinner table, our best efforts are often sabotaged around the television. A study published last month in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association reveals more than 90 percent of food ads aired during Saturday morning children’s TV programs are for food loaded with sugar, fat, sodium and trans fats.
“We found wide discrepancies between what health experts recommend children eat and what marketing promotes as desirable to eat,” one of the study’s authors said in the report.
If all that media exposure is having a negative impact on children’s eating habits, perhaps it’s time to expose them to something entirely different. Last weekend my husband and I picked up three fruit trees and some berry bushes to plant in the backyard. We’re also cultivating asparagus, tomatoes, squash and peppers. And we recently planted a pot of herbs to keep in the kitchen window.
Not only is garden-fresh, organic produce healthier, it also tastes better. Best of all, young children who are offered homegrown fruits and veggies are more than twice as likely to eat five servings a day, according to a study by Saint Louis University’s Obesity Prevention Center.
One of the researchers said gardening creates “a positive food environment.” I like to think that as kids witness the growth of a garden or fruit tree and help with its maintenance it’s kind of like they’re seeing an advertisement for God’s food.
Topics: Health |
