Quiz
1. You usually have the following foods on the table at breakfast:
2. Your favorite cooking methods are:
3. When you fry or sauté foods, you use:
4. The dairy products your family consume the most include:
5. The soups your family love the best are:
6. When you cook on the grill, you usually are having:
7. You like your grilled foods:
8. Your kids will eat these vegetables:
9. On salads, you usually have:
10. The beverage you usually serve at meals is:
11. Your desserts are usually:
12. For snacks, you always keep the following on hand:
1. You usually have the following foods on the table at breakfast:
We don't eat breakfast.
2. Your favorite cooking methods are:
Frying or sautéing.
3. When you fry or sauté foods, you use:
Margarine or Crisco.
4. The dairy products your family consume the most include:
Every dairy product we eat is whole or full-fat—just as nature intended!
5. The soups your family love the best are:
Homemade broth-based soups—chicken, onion, miso.
6. When you cook on the grill, you usually are having:
The Great All-American meal—hamburgers, hot dogs, and chicken wings.
7. You like your grilled foods:
Thoroughly cooked—I want everything to be well-done.
8. Your kids will eat these vegetables:
They eat all the vegetables I put on their plates, because I use lots of herbs, spices, and sneaky tricks!
9. On salads, you usually have:
Just a little vinaigrette, made with extra virgin olive oil.
10. The beverage you usually serve at meals is:
Milk for the kids, water for the parents.
11. Your desserts are usually:
Fresh fruit, especially berries in season.
12. For snacks, you always keep the following on hand:
Potato chips, cookies, and candy.
Your meals would make a nutritionist smile. You are giving your family an advantage in healthy development when you limit unhealthy fats and make sure they eat plenty of fruit and vegetables. You should also limit their access to junk and sugary foods and soda, and use healthy cooking methods. Plus, every day should start with breakfast. Just be sure to let the kids have that hot fudge sundae every once in a while!
They don't get an A+ or an F, but your meals could be improved in the health department. Watch your family's consumption of sugar and cut back on fats—particularly the saturated fat found in dairy and meat products. Use healthier cooking methods whenever you can, and marinate foods before putting them on the grill (a low-fat, acidic marinade has been found to reduce the unhealthy compounds in grilled foods). Try to get your family to eat more fruits and vegetables, and choose healthier dressings, desserts, and beverages. Small changes translate into big benefits!
Once those unhealthy food habits become established, it's hard to get the family back on track. Start with small changes, to ease the transition. Go from full-fat dairy products to low-fat—you might get everyone to try nonfat dairy products later on. Cut back on frying and sautéing, and use low-fat dressings on salads. Serve less processed meat. Add an extra vegetable at each meal, or sneak cooked vegetables into recipes such as meatloaf. If your family wants dessert every night, make it fresh fruit a couple of times each week. Put limits on soda, candy, and high-fat or sugary snacks. Gradual changes can mean greater health for the whole family.