TALES FROM THE
daRI^® FARM

As a mother, and a grandmother, my greatest joys have been raising my two sons and spending quality time with our grandchildren, and many of these cherished occasions are often centered around food. Not only does it bring the group together, but food is an essential component of growth and development as well as cognitive performance. As a registered and licensed dietitian nutritionist, a Master of Public Health, and a board-certified specialist in sports dietetics working with the NFL, MLB, and NHL, I take special interest in the foods we put into our bodies and how they provide the essential nutrients needed to #nourishtoflourish at our best.

When it comes to our children, our goal to make sure that we help them thrive and strive through nourishment and here are some tips on ways to be successful:

1. 1. Introduce your kids to a wide variety of foods. Exposing them to different fruits, vegetables, protein foods, and grains can help them to develop taste and appreciation for various nutrients. And of note, even if you don’t like a food, that should not be a reason to not serve them to your children.

1. 2. Be a role model. Eat what your kids eat. Sit and have meals with them. Device free, making mealtime a fun time. Research from the Food Marketing Institute www.fmi.org points out the benefits of Family Meals.

1. 3. Get your kids in the kitchen. Hands on, hands in. Children who participate in even basic kitchen chores such as washing produce, setting the table, or perhaps stirring a pot of soup or pouring a glass of milk have better appreciation for the food being prepared and better appetite control since food preparation. 

1. 4. Serve kid friendly portions. Kids are not little adults, and their serving sizes should not be the same as adults. You may want to consider smaller bowls, glasses, plates, and utensils. This helps to minimize food waste and helps children to learn what is an appropriate amount of food for them to consume daily.

1. 5. Designate non-eating zones in your home. Don’t want crumbs in the keyboard, or empty food wrappers in the bedroom? By identifying clear eating zones such as the kitchen or dining room table you can be sure that you know when the kids are eating as well as what they are eating while also being present and purposeful. 

While these tips can be helpful for your kids and grandkids, they can be helpful for you too. The family that eats together stays healthy together. 

Leslie Bonci, MPH, RDN, CSSD, LDN, is the Dietary & Nutrition Strategic Advisor at Dari^® and MOO’V™ milk. With over two decades of experience, she is an expert in nutrition with many of Leslie’s blog posts center around active eating and fueling for sport. She is the Head Nutritionist for the Kansas City Chiefs and has been a consulting sports dietitian in the NFL, MLB, and NHL, and worked with Olympic athletes. Bonci has co-authored three books with an active eating focus, is a blogger for US News Eat + Run, and is a sought-after expert for television, radio, print and online media, Bonci speaks regularly on topics including “sciensationalism,” “fuels of engagement” and “communication with conviction” to help influencers and consumers debunk the junk and separate fact from fallacy.

Being well hydrated is critically important to excel at learning and at play. Hydration NEVER takes a vacation. So, make sure your children #Thinktheirdrink.

Why does consuming enough fluid matter? One word…hydration. It is important for digestion, regulating body temperature, transporting nutrients to the cells, cognitive function, and sports performance. Not being well hydrated can result in kids being slower, weaker, and tiring earlier in activity as well as increasing the risk of injury. Plus, kids are more susceptible to being sub-hydrated. As parents, we need to ensure that our kids drink often and enough every day.

What counts as a fluid?

I am using the word fluid because there are lots of ways to hydrate. We could choose to drink:

• Water – regular or carbonated
• Milk such as MOO’V™
• Juice
• Lemonade
• Sports drinks (when appropriate)

We can also choose water-containing foods such as:

• Fruits – such as melon, berries, citrus fruits
• Veggies – such as celery, peppers, salsa
• Popsicles or frozen fruit bars
• Gelatin
• Soups

So how do you know if your kids are well hydrated?

Urine should be a larger quantity and lighter in color.

Are there signs that your child(ren) need(s) more fluid?

They may need to drink more if they complain of the following, 

• Noticeable Thirst, Muscle cramps, Weakness  
• Headache, Nausea, Fatigue
• Burning in Stomach, Dry mouth, Dizziness/lightheadedness
• Tiring Earlier in Exercise

How do we help our kids make good hydration a habit?

BASELINE NEEDS:

SO WHAT FLUIDS ARE BEST?

I love recommending MOO’V™, as milk is not only a fluid and really a food in a glass. It’s one stop shopping for nutrition. If you select juice, pick those that are 100% fruit juice. No need to buy fancy water, tap water is fine. I am not a fan of sugar sweetened beverages for kids but a flavored milk or 100% juice provide the sweetness kids crave without the excess sugar they don’t need.

#scorewithyourpourtodomore

Leslie Bonci, MPH, RDN, CSSD, LDN, is the Dietary & Nutrition Strategic Advisor at Dari^® and MOO’V™ milk. With over two decades of experience, she is an expert in nutrition with many of Leslie’s blog posts center around active eating and fueling for sport. She is the Head Nutritionist for the Kansas City Chiefs and has been a consulting sports dietitian in the NFL, MLB, and NHL, and worked with Olympic athletes. Bonci has co-authored three books with an active eating focus, is a blogger for US News Eat + Run, and is a sought-after expert for television, radio, print and online media, Bonci speaks regularly on topics including “sciensationalism,” “fuels of engagement” and “communication with conviction” to help influencers and consumers debunk the junk and separate fact from fallacy.

When thinking about healthier eating, we don’t typically think of sweets. Sugar has gotten such a bad reputation, but it is important to set the record straight about what and how much sugar is okay to have in our glass, bowl, or plate.

First, let’s distinguish between natural sugars and added sugars. Natural sugars are those that naturally occur in foods. Fruits and vegetables contain sugar in the form of fructose, glucose, and sucrose. Dairy foods such as milk contain lactose, and grains contain maltose. When you think about all these foods, they are very high in nutritional value and health benefits…and contain natural sugars.

The type of sugar we are most concerned about are the sugars that get added to foods and beverages during processing and packaging. You can tell if they have been added by looking at the ingredient label for brown sugar, corn sweetener, corn syrup or high fructose corn syrup, honey, dextrose, malt sugar, invert sugar, molasses, or raw sugar. Too much added sugar may create health concerns such as increased risk for dental cavities, increased weight, elevated cholesterol and triglyceride levels and lower HDL (good cholesterol), and an increased risk for the development of type 2 diabetes.

HOW MUCH SUGAR IS TOO MUCH?

It is recommended that added sugars are limited to about 25 grams of 6 teaspoons of sugar a day for children. That means you want to look at the nutrition facts panel to see the amount of added sugar per serving as well as the ingredients list that will show you sources of sugar in the product. 

HOW CAN YOU DECREASE THE SUGAR IN THE DRINKS AND FOODS YOUR KIDS CHOOSE?

• Look for foods and beverages with no added sugars…Like MOO’V™ Real Milk. It delivers a deliciously sweet taste with no added sugar. The sugar in MOO’V™ is 7g of natural sugar per 14 fluid ounces.
• Use smaller glasses for juice.
• Serve more fruit as snacks instead of cookies.
• When baking, try to reduce the amount of sugar in recipes.
• Bake smaller-sized cookies, cut brownies into smaller squares, or use mini muffin tins and mini cupcakes instead of large ones. 
• Scoop Ice cream in a kiddie cup or cone for portion-perfect size.
• Limit the amount of syrup, honey, jelly being used.
• Play up the other senses – sour, salty, bitter and umami.

BOTTOM LINE

There is no reason to give up sugar altogether but try to stick to the natural sugars  to help your kids health be its best. 

Leslie Bonci, MPH, RDN, CSSD, LDN, is the Dietary & Nutrition Strategic Advisor at Dari^® and MOO’V™ milk. With over two decades of experience, she is an expert in nutrition with many of Leslie’s blog posts center around active eating and fueling for sport. She is the Head Nutritionist for the Kansas City Chiefs and has been a consulting sports dietitian in the NFL, MLB, and NHL, and worked with Olympic athletes. Bonci has co-authored three books with an active eating focus, is a blogger for US News Eat + Run, and is a sought-after expert for television, radio, print and online media, Bonci speaks regularly on topics including “sciensationalism,” “fuels of engagement” and “communication with conviction” to help influencers and consumers debunk the junk and separate fact from fallacy.