Halloween - Don't worry so much about letting kids go crazy on the candy

This year, Curious Boy will be almost 3 at Hallowwen.  This means that he understands about going out trick-or-treating and he understands about candy. The common advice to parents is to mete out candy over an extended period of time, but some pediatric dentists have different advice for parents.

“The frequency of eating candy, and other refined carbohydrates, and
their stickiness, are big factors in creating the risk of caries
(cavities),” he said.

Eating carbohydrates can change the pH balance of the mouth, making
it more acidic, which can increase the risk of cavities. Each time
candy is eaten, the acid environment in the mouth can take up to an
hour to dissipate.

“Parents can let kids eat a bunch [of candy] now and a bunch later. But
don’t let them have one piece now, then an hour later let them have
another piece,” he said, adding that candy can also be dispensed as a
dessert or snack.

Read More (ScienceDaily)

Healthy Diet for Humanity

This TED talk by NY Times food critic is fun and thought provoking. How do you and your family eat?

If you grow it, they will eat

I've been wanting to start a vegetable garden for some time now, and have put it off only because of time.  The environmental and economic arguments for growing your own food are very strong, but now it seems that there is a reason even closer to home.



A recent study has shown that kids (in rural areas at least) eat more produce if it is homegrown.

It was a simple, clear finding," said Debra Haire-Joshu, Ph.D., director of Saint Louis University's Obesity Prevention Center and a study author. "Whether a food is homegrown makes a difference. Garden produce creates what we call a 'positive food environment.'"



When children are involved with growing and cooking food, it improves their diet," Haire-Joshu said. "Students at schools with gardens learn about math and science and they also eat more fruits and vegetables. Kids eat healthier and they know more about eating healthy. It's a winning and low-cost strategy to improve the nutrition of our children at a time when the pediatric obesity is an epidemic problem.



Read More

Even if you live in an urban area, you can find coop gardens, although the waiting list might be long.  If you've got a lawn (even a little one) here are some sites that will help you get started.



Urban Gardening Ideas



Urban Vegetable Gardening



Children and Urban AgricultureHow to grow Vegetables, Vegetable Gardening



Fruit and Vegetable Gardening - UBC Botanical Garden Forums



Go ahead, get dirty!



Children Eat More Fruits And Vegetables If They Are Homegrown

via ::ScienceDaily



Technorati Tags: gardening

To freeze or not to freeze....

Freezing stuff and kids seem to go hand in hand. Left-overs, home made baby food, breast milk, teething toys, infants. Whatever. But not really. Some stuff (like infants) should never be frozen. The good people at the National Center for Home Food Preservation have come to our aid with a great list of what (not) to freeze.



How do I freeze? National Center for Food Preservation via Lifehacker





Technorati Tags: lifehacker, food, freezing