Is your family an on the go family like mine? We’re on the move every day, whether it’s to gymnastics, Kung Fu, or baseball, we always have somewhere to go! While a full schedule of activities can be fun, it may also detract from making healthier choices and developing healthy habits that will stick with our children as they grow into teens and adults. Small changes to our behaviors can lead to healthier habits for busy families.
1| Keep Moving. You’ve signed your children up for several activities to ensure they’re getting enough exercise, but what are you doing while they’re in class? Instead of sitting on the sidelines or in your car, take a walk. You can still watch your children playing soccer while walking the perimeter of the field. Worried that you’ll miss out on socializing with other parents? Invite the other parents to join you, they’ll welcome the extra exercise time! Be sure to keep a pair of sneakers in your car so you’re ready to go!
2| Make Healthier Food Choices I can’t always prepare meals at home for family, so it’s important to me that I’m making healthy food choices away from home. Recently, I had an opportunity to visit a local McDonald’s restaurant and learn about their food quality and commitment to fresh, real food options made with ingredients you would find in your own kitchen.
At McDonald’s, they’re listening to their guests and are focusing on offering delicious food choices you can feel good about serving to your family. Did you know McDonald’s cracks fresh USDA Grade A eggs into an ‘egg ring’ which form the iconic round shape for the Egg McMuffin?
Clearly, I need some retraining when it comes to egg cracking!
It takes talent to crack an egg while wearing two pairs of plastic gloves! The employees wear two pairs of gloves to crack the eggs to prevent cross-introduction of the raw egg onto other foods. Once you crack the egg successfully, you remove the blue gloves and are wearing a clean pair of gloves perfect for safe food handling to assemble the Egg McMuffin sandwich.
The fish used in their Filet-o-Fish sandwiches is Alaskan Cod. The fish is processed on the ship and flash frozen for freshness. Why is it cut into rectangles? Cutting the fish into rectangles reduces waste and ensure they’re able to use all of the filets!
Helping to ensure consistency with their french fries, McDonald’s asks their potato suppliers to peel, cut and blanch the potatoes. They then dry, partially fry and flash freeze the fries for restaurants. Once in restaurant kitchens, the fries are cooked in a Canola blend oil so that they are served crispy and hot.
For more than 55 years, McDonald’s has evolved its menu to meet the changing needs of its valued customers. McDonald’s is committed to giving you more delicious choices to feel good about now and in the months and years to come, with the overarching goal of making sure the food you and your family love is something you can feel good about.
3| Drink More Water This is something I cannot stress enough. I’ve mentioned before that you should aim to drink between half an ounce and an ounce of water for each pound that you weigh, every day. If you’re very active, you need to drink more to stay hydrated. For example, if you weigh 150 pounds, you need to drink at least 75 ounces of water. I take a water bottle everywhere I go, friends are more than happy to let me refill at their house if I need to!
4| Be Active Together Get outside and do something together. Walk in a local park, play a game of tag in your yard, or try geocaching! Whatever you do, get outside and keep moving with your kids!
5| Get More Sleep Keep a consistent night-time routine for your children and yourself. Adults need between 7-8 hours of sleep each night. And, there is no way to make up lost hours. If you need to get up early in the morning to work or exercise, that means no late night TV! Your health is more important than binge watching House of Cards!
