Happy Halloween on Saturday! Spider-Man (aka Corbin above) is super excited for today–trick or treating fun! We couldn’t get Super-Man (aka Carson to sit still long enough for a picture yet-he’s a busy 1 year old!).
Check out these tips below to help you and your kids have a safe and healthy holiday today! Full Reference: http://n411.consultant360.com/n411/toddler-kid-center-your-patients/articles/8-halloween-tips-trick-or-treat-night#main-content
1. “Have a plan to start the night: A group of hungry, dehydrated, excited goblins is a frightening picture for any parent! Make a plan for dinner and trick-or-treat start time, and ask for your children’s input. Agree on a nutritious dinner – perhaps with a Halloween theme, and plan it ahead of time with your children’s help. Let them know that you will eat early on Halloween night so that they will have all the energy needed for a successful Trick-or-Treat night. Make sure they drink enough fluid. Children can get overheated in Halloween costumes, especially when it is combined with running from house to house throughout your neighborhood.
2. Set limits in advance: Ask your children to help you decide on the route you will take, how many doors you will knock on, and what hour they will turn back into “pumpkins.” Having an end goal will help you avoid the “just one more” or “but we have not gone to…” meltdown that persists all the way home.
3. Agree on a candy consumption: limit Agree on how much candy your children can eat on Trick or Treat night and each day thereafter. You may want to make a similar confidential agreement with yourself. Note: “unlimited access” or “until the chocolate is gone” is not a good plan.
4. Provide healthy snacks: Keep healthy between-meal snacks in view and accessible. A bowl full of juicy red apples, bananas, or seasonal fruit is a better centerpiece than Skittles®, M&M’s®, and Tootsie Rolls®. Keep the candy out of sight. Assign a kids’ shelf in your refrigerator and fill it with low-fat yogurt, low-fat cheese cut in interesting shapes, and fresh-cut vegetables.
5. Teach and model moderation: Do not give candy more status than it deserves. In some instances, the more something is forbidden or overly restricted, the more desirable it becomes. Teach and model moderation. All foods can fit, if we are reasonable about the amount and frequency.
6. Do not attach emotions to candy: Try not to use candy to reward, bribe, punish, or convey love. By attaching emotions to certain foods, you may inadvertently set the stage for disordered eating in the future.
7. Begin some new family traditions: Try to take the focus of the holiday away from the candy. Make it a time to begin new family rituals, such as stuffing a scarecrow full of leaves for the front porch. Carve pumpkins and roast the seeds. Hold an annual scavenger hunt for fall items, such as acorns, pinecones, woolly caterpillars, animal tracks, and colorful leaves. Begin a new photo album that holds pictures of Halloween celebrations, past and present. After trick-or-treating, collect the extra candy and box it up to donate to military troops or participate in a Buyback program through a dentist’s office or local business.
8. Keep it safe: Above all, have a safe and fun Halloween. Your children are only small for a short while!”
We hope your day is filled with more tricks than treats! Enjoy! -Kelsey
It’s that time of year again. Not only are the aisles of Wal-Mart strewn with witch hats, zombie make-up and fairy wings, but of course there is the looming aisle of Halloween candy. It can be easy to over indulge on treats this time of year. Most of the candy passed out to trick-or-treaters comes in “fun size” or “mini” portions. However, looks can be deceiving; people often believe that since they are smaller in size, more can be consumed. Calories from Halloween candy can quickly add up. For example; 3 mini snickers bars pack 300 calories. To burn off that many calories you would have to walk at a brisk pace for 1.5 hours or run for 40 minutes. Fortunately the 31st of October doesn’t have to mean automatic weight gain. Try waiting until the day before to buy treats to pass out. You will be less likely to feel the need to nibble if you don’t buy it a month ahead of time. Keeping it out of sight, such as up in a closet you rarely use, can help you forget that it’s even in the house. The biggest challenge with Halloween candy is the leftovers. After the trick-or-treaters have come and gone we are often left with the reality that we stocked up for 400 doorbell ringers, and only got 15. Buying candy that you don’t like is an easy way to keep you from eating it both before and after the holiday and you can always donate it to get it out of your house. Below are some healthier options to pass out next week! Halloween the Healthy Way….treats/prizes to try:
Sugar-free gum
Boxes of raisins
Animal crackers
Pretzels
Trail mix
Fruit snacks
Lollipops
Non-Candy choices: stickers, small toys, erasers, etc.
Pictured above are my boys from last year: Buzz Lighyear & Woody from Toy Story. Be sure to check back to our blog on Halloween for this year’s costume! -Kelsey
Our sons Corbin and Carson are 6th generation farmers! We are proud to be raising them on the farm/ranch where they are learning first hand the values of hard work, dedication, and passion for the land and industry. They are lucky to learn from some of the best–their dad, uncle Grant, and Grandpa Phil. October 12th was National Farmers Day and it’s a perfect time to tip our hats to America’s farmers and recognize all of the hard work they put into getting delicious food to our tables!
Sooo, if you ate today, be sure to thank a farmer! Consumers want to know where their food comes from, yet know very little about how food gets from the farm to the dinner table; in fact, most consumers today are three generations removed from the farm. For example, one thing consumers are unaware of is that milk travels from the farm to grocery store in about 48 hours. In addition, some criticize farmers because they use GMO (genetically modified organisms) seeds and hormones in cattle to promote growth. Farmers understand the science behind these products and why they should be used: by using them, they can use less water, less pesticide and herbicide, and produce enough yield to feed the world! Without these scientific advancements, we would not be able to feed the starving world!
Farmers share the same values as consumers on many topics including those related to producing nutritious food, environmental stewardship and animal care. This is not a just a “job” for them, it is their life! Here are some pictures of our life on the farm this last year.
Getting ready to plant – Spring 2020Corbin helping hold tails while his dad artificially inseminates cows in the pasture. Carson loves checking out the cows–he’s quite good at responding with a “moooo” when you ask him what the cow says! 🙂 Corbin helping work pairs.
How we ended National Farmer’s Day yesterday–Corbin is on top right with Uncle Grant helping tarp the sorghum pile.
Carson can’t wait to help….but for now he’ll be their supervisor. 😉Blessed. Carson 1 years old, Corbin 5 years old.Best buds.
Here are few fun facts for you about agriculture in South Dakota include: •98% of farms in South Dakota are family owned and operated – in fact, over 2,500 South Dakota farms have been in the same family for more than 100 years. •The average size of a farm in South Dakota in 2016 was 1,397 acres. •The average age of a South Dakota farmer is 57 years. •There are 46,000 producers in South Dakota on 31,000 farms or ranches. •Each year, one South Dakota producer raises enough food to feed 155 people in the U.S. and abroad. •South Dakota’s agriculture industry has a $25.6 billion economic impact each year. With more than 19 million acres of cropland and 23 million acres of pastureland, our farmers and ranchers are one of our economy’s key drivers. •In addition to generating 20% of our state’s economic activity, production agriculture and its value added industries employ over 115,000 South Dakotans.
Here are some fun facts about dairy production: • Milk takes about 48 hours to get from farm to store. Thanks to hardworking dairy farmers for making our food fresh & local. •Between 1944 and 2007, milk production has quadrupled but emits 63% fewer greenhouse gasses, requires 90% less cropland and consumes 65% less water. •Cheers to the dairy farmers working hard to make the milk behind our pizza! •Take this 10-stop video tour to see how milk from real cows, on a Midwest farm, becomes dairy foods you love. Use your smartphone, tablet or computer for an insider’s view of dairy farm living: http://bit.ly/MidwestFarmTour •Delicious dairy comes from local farms – see for yourself: http://bit.ly/MidwestFarmTour
Producing the food that you put on your table, truly is a labor of love and hard work, so in celebration of National Farmers Day, I encourage you to thank our local farmers for helping put that delicious food on your table… and take extra appreciation of it! To all of you that work in acres, not hours. We thank you! -Kelsey Raml, MS, RD, LN
October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Many of us know of someone who has been affected by breast cancer as it is the most common cancer in women and more than 230,000 women are diagnosed with breast cancer every year in the United States as stated by the American Cancer Society. It is important to recognize some symptoms of breast cancer. The most common symptom is the presence of a painless lump in the breast area. Less common symptoms include swelling, tenderness, skin irritation, redness, or nipple abnormalities which may include ulceration or discharge. Factors that increase the risk of developing breast cancer include the onset of menstruation before age 12, menopause after the age of 55, not breastfeeding for at least one year, not having children, or having children after 30 years of age, and having a high body mass index. Increased body weight in postmenopausal women who are not taking hormones increases the risk for developing breast cancer. The more fat cells you have, the higher your levels of estrogen in the postmenopausal period, when your ovaries are no longer producing estrogen. Moreover, overweight women have higher insulin levels, and insulin may promote breast tumors.
Nutrition Tips for Cancer Prevention: Fruits, vegetables, and whole grains are great sources of antioxidants and phytochemicals. Antioxidants and phytochemicals play a role in cancer prevention. Carotenoids is a type of antioxidant that is found in red and yellow produce. Some examples of foods that contain carotenoids are carrots, pumpkin, winter squash, tomatoes, citrus fruits, and red sweet peppers. All dark green vegetables contain nutrients that protect against cancer. Good sources of dark green vegetables include spinach, asparagus, bell peppers, broccoli, brussels sprouts and kale. An additional benefit to eating a well balanced diet that includes a variety of fruits, vegetables, and whole grains is that it promotes a healthy weight. Maintaining a healthy weight will help you to decrease your risk of developing cancer. A helpful tip to remember is that the more colorful the fruit or vegetable, the more nutrients it contains; so pack your plate with colorful choices!
Did you know that September is Cholesterol Education Month? Cholesterol is a waxy, fat-like substance found in your body and many foods. Your body needs cholesterol to function normally and makes all that you need. However, too much cholesterol is not good for us and can build up in our arteries. After a while, these deposits narrow our arteries, putting us at risk for heart disease or a stroke. Regularly checking your cholesterol values during your doctor’s visits are important….and taking proper steps to make improvements if levels are off are key to wellness and improved health.
Nutritionally, there are ways for us to lower our cholesterol. By following a heart healthy diet we can reduce unhealthy blood cholesterol levels and lower our risk for heart disease.
Eat a balanced diet with whole grains, fruits and vegetables, and lean protein sources.
Consume foods rich in soluble fiber.
Achieve and maintain a healthy weight.
Participate in physical activity and exercise.
Choose heart-healthy unsaturated fats.
Limit saturated fats, trans fats, and cholesterol intake.
Limit refined carbohydrates especially sugar, sweets and sugar-sweetened beverages.
Limit alcoholic beverages and avoid tobacco products.
If you want to learn more and/or need individual help, be sure to contact me for more support!
