A selection of handouts created for Westside Childrens Center families

Eating Tips for Busy Parents

Juggling all of lifes responsibilities can be difficult, and often the person who gets neglected is you. In
order to care for your family, its important to make sure you are getting enough of the right kinds of
foods to help keep up energy, brain function, and overall health. If youre a parent on-the-go, here are
some ideas on how you can fit healthy eating into your busy schedule.
#1. Breakfast is Important
Even though mornings can be hectic, its important to make sure youre starting your day off with
some good, healthy foods. Even something as simple and easy as a piece of fruit or toast can help get
your brain and body ready for the day. Here are some ideas for a quick breakfast:

Bagels, toast, or English muffins with peanut butter (or another nut butter), this makes for a hearty
and delicious breakfast. Dont like peanut butter? Try spreading avocado instead. Look for whole grain
flour listed first on the ingredient list to really fill you up.
Cereal or oatmeal Sometimes these can be full of sugar, which makes you tired later in the day. Try to
find cereals with at least 3g of fiber per serving and no more than 7 g of sugar.
Fresh fruit
Yogurt - try buying plain non-fat yogurt and adding your own fruit and honey. If you prefer flavored
yogurt, try to find ones that have less than 30g of sugar
Smoothies - For a time saver, make it the night before and kept in the refrigerator. Try adding some
oats or sliced almonds when you make your smoothie to help you feel fuller longer

#2. Plan Ahead for Lunch

Busy days mean that lunch often times has to happen on-the-fly. Planning ahead means that when you get a
moment to eat you dont have to worry about finding a place to buy lunch or whether or not that lunch will be
healthy. Here are some ideas for making lunch your easiest meal of the day.

Making dinner? Make extra if you can, make a little more of whatever you had for dinner and then
store it in a container to take with you the next day. Just make sure you keep it refrigerated or packed
in a cooler until youre ready to eat it. And dont forget a fork!
Sandwiches these can usually be assembled the night before and kept in the fridge until morning.
Dont have lunch meats or peanut butter and jelly? Try using tortillas and making wraps or burritos out
of leftovers.

#3. Healthy Snacking

Even if you manage to eat breakfast and lunch, its likely that youll still get hungry throughout the day. Having
healthy snacks on hand can help quickly quench those food cravings and keep you from grabbing for the chips
or cookies

Fruit dried or fresh, fruit makes for a great healthy snack. Try sliced apples with peanut butter.
Hummus with crackers or veggies
Veggies with low-fat ranch or vegetable dip
Trail Mix nuts and dried fruit make for a great snack. You can make your own using any nuts you have
on hand and raisins or other dried fruit. If you want, add whole-grain Cheerios or Chex.

A selection of handouts created for Westside Childrens Center families

Recipes to Help Prevent Iron Deficiency Anemia

Iron Deficiency Anemia is an avoidable and treatable problem that can impact how your child develops
physically, socially, and mentally. Making sure that your family is eating lots of Iron-rich foods combined with
Vitamin C is a great way to prevent anemia and keep your child strong and healthy!
Vitamin C can increase how much iron your body can absorb by as much as 2 to 3 times! But be careful you dont
combine your iron foods with Calcium-rich foods (such as dairy) which block the iron from being absorbed in your body.

Lemony Kale Chips

Avocado Hummus
cup fresh lemon juice
3 tbs water
2 tbs tahini paste
tsp ground cumin
tsp salt (to taste)
1 can low-sodium garbanzo beans (rinsed & drained)
2 ripe avocados
In a blender or food processor, combine first 6
ingredients (through garbanzo beans). Blend until
smooth. Add avocado. Blend to combine.
Other Ideas:
Use as a spread instead of mayo on sandwiches
Add chopped tomato or red pepper to hummus
Use roasted red pepper instead of avocado
Add beans to guacamole.

Combine
Foods High in Iron
Beans
Chicken
Guava
Spinach
Beef (lean is best)
Liver
Kale
Clams, mussels, and oysters
Nuts
Raisins
Brown rice
lentils
Cereals enriched with iron
Quinoa

1 bunch kale
1 tbs olive oil
tsp salt
tsp fresh ground pepper
tsp fresh lemon juice
Preheat oven to 250. Rinse kale and tear leaves
away from stems into pieces. Toss all ingredients in a
large bowl until kale is coated in oil. Lay kale on a
baking sheet and bake for 25-30 minutes, tossing
gently halfway through.
Other Ideas:
Sprinkle the crunchy crumbs over soup or a salad
Add a pinch of cayenne for a spicy twist
Use broccoli instead of kale and eat with iron foods

With
Foods High in Vitamin C
Bell peppers
Guava
Oranges (and orange juice)
Broccoli
Brussel sprouts
Papaya
Strawberries
Kale
Pineapple
Chilis
Kiwi
Mango
Cantaloupe
tomatoes

But not
Foods High in Calcium
Milk
Formula
Almond Milk
Tofu
Yogurt
Cheese
Sesame Seeds
Beet greens
Tempeh
Turnip greens
Sardines
*Eating foods high in Calcium when you
are not eating iron foods is important to
keep bones and bodies healthy!

Christine Benson, CSLUA Student of Nutrition and Dietetics, June 27, 2014

A selection of handouts created for Westside Childrens Center families

Recetas para Ayudar a Prevenir la Anemia Ferropnica

La Anemia Ferropenica es un problema evitable y tratable que puede afectar a cmo su nio desarrolla
fsicamente, socialmente y mentalmente. Asegurar que su nio est comiendo porciones de alimentos con
hierro combinado con Vitamina C es una gran manera de prevenir la anemia y mantener a su nio sano y
fuerte!
La Vitamina C puede aumentar cunto hierro tu cuerpo puede absorber por tanto como 2 a 3 veces! Pero ten
cuidado de que no combinar tus alimentos en hierro con alimentos ricos en calcio (por ejemplo, productos lcteos) que
bloquean el hierro sea absorbido en el cuerpo.

Hummus con Aguacate

taza de jugo de limn fresco
3 cucharadas de agua
2 cucharadas de pasta de tahini
cucharadita de comino molido
cucharadita de sal
1 lata de los frijoles del garbanzo
2 aguacate maduro

Col Rizada Crujiente con Limn

1 ramo de col rizado
1 cucharada de aceite de oliva
cucharadita de sal
cucharadita de pimienta negra
cucharadita de jugo de limn

En un licuadora o un robot de cocina, combina los

primeros 6 ingredientes (por los frijoles de
garbanzo). Mezcla hasta que quede liso. Aadir
aguacate. Mezcla a combinar.

Precalienta el horno a 250. Enjuague la col rizada y

rasga hojas lejos de tallos en piezas. Mezcla todo los
ingredients en un recipiente grande hasta la col
rizada es cubierto de aceite de oliva. Poner en una
placa de horno y cocer al horno a 20-25 minutos,
lanza a media.

Otros Ideas:
Uso como condimento en lugar de mayonesa
Aadir menestra de tomate o pimiento rojo
Usar pimiento rojo asado en lugar de aguacate
Aadir frijoles a guacamole

Otros Ideas:
Espolvoree trozos crocantes sobre sopa o ensalada.
Aadir una pizza de cayena para hacer picante.
Uso de brcoli en lugar de kale y comer con
alimentos

Combinar
Comidas con Heirro
Los frijoles
El pollo
Las guayabas
Las espinacas
La carne de res (bajo en grasa)
El hgado
Col Rizada
Los mariscos
Las nueces
Las uvas pasas
El arroz integrals
La lenteja
Los cereals con heirro
Quinoa
`

Con
Comidas con Vitamina C
Los pimientos
Las guayabas
Las naranjas (y jugo de la naranja)
El brcoli
Los coles de Bruselas
Las papayas
Las fresas
Col rizada
Las pinas
Los chilis
Los kiwis
Los mangos
Los melnes
Los tomates

Pero no
Comidas con Calcio
La leche
La formula de bebe
La leche de almendra
El Tofu
El Yogurt
Queso
semillas de sesame
hojas de la remolacha
El Tempeh
Verdes del nabo
Las sardinas
*Comer alimentos ricos en calcio
cuando no est comiendo alimentos con
hierro es importante para mantener
sanos los huesos y rganos!

Christine Benson, Estudiante de CSULA Nutricin and Dietetics, 27 junio 2014

A selection of handouts created for Westside Childrens Center families

ITS TIME TO TRANSITION

Tips and advice for weaning your child from the bottle.
Why Transition?

The Good-Bye Bottle Party

The bottle is an important feeding tool for a

baby, but once your child is old enough to
drink from a cup it is important to transition
your child so that they are no longer
drinking from a bottle. Continued bottle use
in older children leads to cavities, causes
ear infections, and contributes to the
likelihood that your child will be overweight.
At the Westside Childrens Center, your
childs teachers will be transitioning your
children from the bottle to the cup. In order
for them to be successful its important that
parents are transitioning their child at home
at the same time. Otherwise, the child can
become confused and irritated, and the
transition may not be successful. In this
handout, we have provided some helpful
tips to help your child let go of the bottle.
Feel free to ask the teachers questions and
let them know how your child is doing with
their transition.

This is for a child who is a little older when

they transition. Parents can tell the child that
now that they are a big girl or boy its time to
say good-bye to the bottle. Parents set a
date on the calendar when the child will no
longer use the bottle and as the date
approaches, parents and children mark off
the days together. This includes the child in
the transition process and gives the child
time to adjust to the idea of not using a
bottle anymore. When the day comes,
throw a party celebrating how grown up the
child has become and at the end of the
party, have the child throw the bottle away.
Sometimes it helps to give a bottlereplacement gift that the child can pull out
when they miss the bottle. This can be a
doll or a toy, or even a little baby bottle to
feed their dolls since they are the big
girls/boys now and not the babies.

The No-Cry Method

This is perhaps one of the easiest and
smoothest ways to help your child transition
from using the bottle. With the no-cry
method, parents slowly water down the
contents of the bottle so that eventually the
child is drinking only water from the bottle
and all the fun beverages such as juice
and milk are served only from a cup. When
the child asks for a drink, you can offer your
child water in the bottle or milk or juice in a
cup and let them choose which drink they
want to have. Children will start to favor the
cup and eventually wont ask for the bottle
anymore.

Its Important to Remember

Whether from a bottle or a cup, its
recommended that from age 1 to 2 children
drink whole milk so that they get enough
nutrients for healthy growth. Once they turn
2, doctors recommend switching to 2% milk
or lower since the children are now getting
enough calories from other foods.
When giving juice to a child, make sure they
are drinking only 100% juice. Doctors
recommend juice and milk no more than 3
times per day. Also, its a good idea to
always water down your childs juice since
even 100% juices have high amounts of
sugar.

A selection of handouts created for Westside Childrens Center families