Healthy Smoothies For Kids - What's Healthy About Them?

By Gaz Stevens

I am pretty sure as a child we all remember our parents telling us to eat our fruit and vegetables, and now we want to pass that onto our kids, as living a healthy lifestyle becomes more and more important.

You know they should be eating well for the sake of their health, but as far as most kids go, they couldn't give a fig..it's just not important to them. The good news is you can get your kids to eat a healthier variety of fruit and vegetables by making a healthy smoothie for kids that not only tastes great, but looks great too. All you need to do is spend a few minutes each day coming up with some fruit smoothie recipes for kids to enjoy, and they will never know.

What is a Smoothie Anyway?

Essentially a smoothie is a blend of any fruit or vegetable, mixed with yogurt (I find Greek yogurt the best as, it gives a thicker creamier texture) and milk, plus either ice cream or ice. If you want this to work, then I suggest you use fruit to make a nice healthy smoothie for kids. The added extra of using fruit is that it already has natural sweeteners, and a taste we all love. My favourite tends to be strawberries or raspberries, but pretty much anything will work. You can even use frozen fruit to make your healthy smoothies for kids, as long as they are getting their 5 a day, right!

This will usually result in an attractive looking meal with a variety of bright colours (depending on the fruit that you choose). Do not be afraid to experiment with different ingredients, and let your kids help, they are more likely to eat something that they made themselves.

What do you need to make fruit smoothie recipes for kids?

To make a smoothie you will need the following:

• A good quality smoothie maker or blender (the cheaper ones tend not to liquidize your fruit very well, this can leave unpleasant lumps or slices in the smoothie, making it more of a lumpy.
• Fruit juice, orange usually works well, but you can use just about anything. I particularly enjoy using pineapple juice when inventing new fruit smoothie recipes for kids, as they like the sweetness of it.
• Greek yogurt, I say Greek because it is thicker and creamier, but feel free to use any regular type you may have in the fridge also.
• Either a few cubes of ice, or a large spoonful of ice cream if you are feeling a bit naughty.

Now, just chuck it all in the smoothie maker and blitz until smooth and creamy, and there you have it, some lovely healthy smoothies for kids and grownups alike.

So, go nuts and try a few fruit smoothie recipes for kids and see what they like. How cool is that, your kids will literally drink themselves healthy.

My kids love fruit smoothies and I am sure yours will too. For more information about healthy smoothies for kids and the health benefits of smoothies click here

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Avoid Salty Foods By Using Spices and Reading Labels

By Linda Murdock

The best way to avoid excessive salt, sugar and fat is to read labels. The best way to avoid reading that fine print is to eat produce. That's right. The time that you have been taking to read all those labels is better spent preparing a meal with lots of fresh produce that have no labels. Now it becomes a choice between whether you should buy organic or not. Sometimes, as with my budget, you cannot afford to go organic. Or can you?

Maybe it is time to think about gardening. Those green leafy vegetables are pretty easy to grow. Sweet peas, broccoli, cauliflower, and many lettuces can handle the cooler climates of spring. Planting near shade reduces the amount of hot sun as temperatures increase. It is a great feeling to pick your own salad all summer long.

Just because the food processing industry and restaurants do not want to spend the money to flavor foods with nutritional spices and herbs, doesn't mean that you can't do it yourself. I stopped buying flavored canned beans, when I remembered I used to spice the plain ones myself. A little mustard, some cumin, paprika or Liquid Smoke and I am satisfied that I have prepared them the way I like, avoided additives and, as a bonus, saved a bit of money. Plain tomato sauce can be spiced the way you want, and it's usually cheaper than the spaghetti sauces in a jar.

If you are retired, that means that you should have more time to avoid salt and eat healthier. So there is no excuse not to try gardening or buying more fresh fruits and vegetables. Gardening is good exercise. Start small and see if you feel the wonder of little sprouts and green leaves peaking out of the ground.

Part of the problem is that we all eat out too much and don't know what we are eating. You can look up most chain restaurants online and see how much salt, sugar and fat are in their menu choices. According to the Center for Disease Control these ten foods are responsible for almost half of the sodium/salt that we consume. They are breads and rolls, cold cuts, cured or processed meats, pizza, fresh poultry, soups, cheese, spaghetti and other pasta dishes, meatloaf and meat dishes and, finally, snacks like potato chips and pretzels.

It looks like what most of us consider for lunch or take-out food is not so good for us. Perhaps it is time to reconsider the salad. Pizza has lots of cheese and meats, which have lots of salt. Remember how thirsty you are after a pizza?

Canned soups are notoriously salty. Many have MSG or mono-SODIUM glutamate. Because of my husband's allergies, we gave up on canned soup ages ago. Avoiding sandwiches with salty bread, cheese and processed meats doesn't leave you with a lot of lunch choices other than salads or leftovers from last night's dinner. Making a large bean stew in a crockpot is great for lunches and filling, too.

Don't be confused by the math. Most people need about 2400 mg or 2.4 grams of salt each day, 1500 mg or 1.5 grams for the older crowd. One slice of bread can contain your daily allotment, so read those labels carefully. If you wrap two slices of bread around some processed meat and add cheese, no wonder your blood pressure is high. It doesn't matter if you never add salt when cooking at home. If you eat just one fast food sandwich a day, you have probably exceeded the salt you should have.

Ok, I understand how easy take-out food is, but try to lessen the damage by skipping the chips with the sandwich. (Even better, eat the chips and skip the sandwich or split the sandwich with a friend.) Make 1-2 days a week your salad days. Bring a sweet potato to work and microwave it for lunch. Spice it with ginger or cinnamon. You'll love the variety and you may even loose a few pounds.

Like aging, eating healthy is not for sissies or for the faint of heart. But by reading labels, buying more produce, spicing your foods and getting reacquainted with salads, you are taking the positive steps needed to strengthen that faint and precious heart.

Copyright 2012 by Linda K Murdock. Linda Murdock is the best-selling author of A Busy Cook's Guide to Spices, How to Introduce New Flavors to Everyday Meals. Unlike most spice books, you can turn to a food, whether meat, vegetable or starch, and find a list of spices that go well with that food. Recipes are included. To learn more or to sign up for more cooking tips go to http://bellwetherbooks.com

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Panettone - Taste the Italian Flavor

By Ferguson Rose

Planning a get-together? Want to plan something different for your guests? Plan something special this one. Why not try something traditional which would add a touch of tradition and brilliance to the seasonable celebrations. If you are seeking a blend of the best tradition in the world, then there would be nothing better than adding panettone to your celebrations this time around.

In fact panettone is common during several special events and celebration like the Christmas. Panettone is popular in all over Italy and is commonly prepared during the Italian Christmas celebrations. It is a popular sweet which comes from Milan and offers you a refined taste of the Italian tradition and custom. Apart from the traditional flavor, you can also find other flavors of this sweet to pick your chosen flavor. For instance, Panettone is available in chocolate flavor without the usual candied fruits.

Panettone is usually served in vertical slices and can be enjoyed with sweet wines, hot cocoa, sweet liquors like the amaretto. The Italian Panettone offers a distinct taste which adds to the attraction of any celebration, whether a Christmas event or a birthday party. If any major event or celebration is round the corner, then you would definitely look for the best gifts for your loved ones. Get hold of an exclusive Italian sweet hamper that includes some traditional sweets.

When you consider the best of traditional Italian sweets then you are bound to go for Italian panettone and toroni. These are highly popular not only in Italy but all over the world during the festive season like Christmas. Made up with special care, you have more reasons to add some of best favored Italian specialties into your gift hampers. Be rest assured that you would definitely make the person happy who would be receiving the hamper.

If you are based in the US or in the UK and seeking exquisite quality Italian panettone or Italian sweets, then your best option would be to search the various online Italian websites that specialize in serving diverse delicacies. Expect to get a stock of the most distinct and exquisite quality Italian hampers from the most experienced dealers available for customer base in different parts of the world.

The holiday panettone is also a popular choice. Your best option would be the dealer that specializes in sourcing ingredients directly from Italy and also enjoys a credible delivery schedule. You can be on track to get the most distinctive and exclusive Italian hamper for the season. Like most other traditional Italian sweet products, holiday panettone is popular and can be considered among the most exclusive gifts for one to pick for the dear and near ones no matter what might be the occasion.

The world famous Italian sweet bread known as Panettone is a delicacy which is equally soothing to the eye as it is o the mouth. Gourmetitalian is committed to provide you the world's best and appetizing holiday panettone, Italian panettone online.

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