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Tips to keep your family healthy and safe

When days get hectic it's hard to find time to prepare healthy meals or stay active as a family. Gerber Life puts quick, healthy recipes and workout routines for you and your family right at your fingertips. We also share tips for helping to keep your family safe, such as how to avoid everyday dangers. Because it's so important to take good care of your family, we hope that our tips for raising healthy families will give you the kind of practical information that can help you do just that.

  1. How to Stay Fit and Fabulous When You Have Kids and Oh So Little Time

    June 7, 2011

    The kids, the laundry, the job, the bills – when is there time to exercise? Fact is, if you don’t exercise, you won’t be able to take care of the kids, the laundry, etc… Here’s how you can do a squat here and some cardio there, when you seemingly don’t have even a minute to call your own.

    • Walk around the neighborhood. Bring your child along in a stroller or carry your child in a baby carrier or sling.

    • Jump rope or jump on your kid’s trampoline. It’s great cardio and great “together time.”

    • Dance. Gather the kids, put on their favorite music and shake those hips.

    • Do squats, lunges, calf raises and crunches. You can do one exercise while watching TV, another while brushing your teeth, and another before showering.

    • Take the stairs whenever you can. Ten minutes a day of this and your legs and glutes will thank you.

    Try to make it a habit to do something good for yourself – such as exercising. Even with little time on your hands, you can aim to fit it all in, so you can be fit and fabulous.

     

    “A mother is a person who seeing there are only four pieces of pie for five people, promptly announces she never did care for pie.”
    —Tenneva Jordan, author

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  2. Daily Recycle Habits Save Money and the Environment

    June 3, 2011

    Learning to adopt a daily recycle habit is easier than many other beneficial behaviors. Compared to quitting smoking, becoming a thoroughly positive person, or going back to college after years away from school, helping to create a healthy environment is a walk in the park.

    Establishing the Recycle Habit

    You may have heard that new habits can be formed in as little as 10 to 14 days. Everyday conservation and recycling can fit into this fast and easy time frame. These few tips will make it even easier and successful.

    Simple Recycling Suggestions

    • Get everyone involved. If you have a spouse and/or family, get them all involved, even small children. After a short period, everyone in your household will be consistent recyclers.
    • Locate a good area for recycle bins. While you needn’t prominently display your recycle bins, put them in a convenient place to promote the recycling habit and make it convenient to regularly (daily is good) deposit your goodies.
    • Learn to identify types of plastic (marked on bottom of containers). Many plastic products are recyclable, but some are not. Plastic containers come with their “code” number at or near the bottom. Learn which are recycling candidates and which are not. If possible, reuse those that cannot be recycled.
    • Do it daily. Like most habits, daily recycle activities must be practiced. Urge all family members to perform their particular recycling task daily. This keeps your home neat and hastens recycle habit development.
    • Recycle newspapers, magazines, and junk mail. These items can all be recycled, but keep them dry whenever possible. Newsprint and ink can degrade and “run” when wet. Even newspaper stock can break down when saturated. If possible, tie up these items with a piece of biodegradable string for easy handling.

    To further a healthy environment, opt out of receiving junk mail (opt-out.cdt.org), which reduces your paper recycle volume, saves trees, and requires less fuel to transport your donations to the dump or recycling collection station.

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  3. Yummy and Healthy Valentine’s Day Treats

    February 10, 2011

    When thinking of Valentine’s Day, we often think of a heart-shaped box containing sinfully delicious chocolate truffles, or chocolate filled with caramel, or other delectable. While it tastes good on the lips, it’s not good for the hips – even for children.

    According to the Center for Disease Control, currently 16 percent of children are obese. Studies show that early weight problems can lead to diabetes and heart disease, even in childhood.
    How do you show your children love this Valentine’s Day without pouring on the sugar?Consider these fast and healthy treats, many of which you can make with your children:

    • Pink Heart Shake. Blend raspberries, strawberries, mangos, spring water and ice, along with stevia or a drop of honey to sweeten. Serve the shake in individual portions in decorated paper cups, and embellish each portion with cocktail umbrellas for a special touch.
    • Fruit Kabobs with Yogurt Dip. Load red or pink plastic skewers with strawberries, cherries, watermelon and red seedless grapes. Use a tiny heart-shaped cookie cutter to  shape the watermelon, to add to the festive look. Low-fat vanilla yogurt works well as a dip, and strawberry yogurt makes a perfect a Valentine’s Day theme.
    • Chocolate Fondue with Fruit. Melt 1½ cups of semisweet chocolate chips in the microwave or in a double-boiler (use dark chocolate – it helps blood vessels relax, to lower blood pressure, and has heart-protective antioxidants). Add 3 tablespoons of sour cream and stir until smooth. Prepare fruity treats such as fresh strawberries, banana chunks, apple slices, orange slices, or fresh or canned pineapple. Using a fork, dip the fruit into warm chocolate and eat immediately, or dip and freeze for later (to freeze, place the fruit on wax paper on a cookie sheet).

    This Valentine’s Day, keep the sugar at bay by mixing it up with treats that will keep your
    children’s asking for more — and keep them “in the pink.”

    Source:

    1) http://www.education.com/magazine/article/Throw_Heart-Healthy_Valentines/
    2) http://evolvingwellness.com/posts/1024/healthy-valentines-treats-for-kids-straight-from-mother-earth-replacingchocolate-hearts-with-raspberry-love/
    3) http://www.neighborhood-kids.com/articles/2008/02/mostly-healthy-valentines-treats/

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