Monday, 22 March 2010
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The "Kids Foods" That Aren't Just For Kids!
Some kids foods need to be avoided! Kids shouldn't even have them! What is a "kids food"? It's usually any high-sugar processed food with silly cartoon characters and colorful packaging that used to attract children. And as soon as kids take one bite into these high-sugar treats, they are addicted! Examples: Lucky Charms, Pop Tarts, etc.
People develop food preferences and likings at a very young age, so it's important to introduce healthy foods like fruits and vegetable snacks to children. There are some foods that can be enjoyed by both kids and their parents. Here are three kids foods that can still be enjoyed at any age! (Just ignore the smiling bear or rabbit on the package. Feel free to play the games!)
Cheese Strings
Is all cheese bad for you? No way. A lot of people have a misconception that the only reason cheese strings are so "stringy" is because it has been processed so much that it's not even real cheese anymore. Not the case! Cheese strings are made out of partly skimmed milk. This makes cheese strings very low in fat. They are high in protein and calcium and the biggest reason why I like them? Stringing the cheese makes me eat it slower and enjoy it more. I'll be less likely to go back to the refridgerator 2 minutes later!
Minigo
It looks like yogurt cups, but Minigo actually has a different texture because it is actually fresh cheese with fruit. They are a little bit too "kid-size" for my liking, but for such a small amount, Minigo is packed with calcium and vitamin D. Vitamin D helps your body to absorb calcium into the body.
Yogurt Tubes
The one thing I find difficult with individual yogurt cups is that it's more troublesome to bring to school. Why? Because I have to bring a spoon. I can either hurt the environment by using plastic spoons or I can walk around with a dirty metal spoon in my backpack for the rest of the day! That's why yogurt tubes are more convenient. Still wasting plastic, by at least by-passing the spoon!
Notice a theme here? All of these products are high in calcium. It is absolutely essential for children and teenagers to build strong bones before reaching adulthood. But even once you're an adult, calcium is still very important! Your blood needs to have stable calcium levels. If it does not have enough calcium, it will just take calcium from your bones. Eventually, your bones become very fragile and can be easily broken by a fall or trip.
Lactose intolerant? Yogurt contains live bacteria cultures that help digest lactose. Those with severe lactose intolerance can usually tolerate yogurt! And cheese strings are made out of either mozzarella or cheddar cheese, which typically contain low lactose content.
What about sugar? Yogurts generally have higher sugar levels to counteract its natural sourness. Chocolate milk is high in sugar too! Healthcare professionals have different opinions on this. I believe it is more important to build strong bones. If matched with a healthy diet and other healthy choices throughout the day, yogurt and chocolate milk can fit in very nicely into your daily life.
I wish my parents bought cheese strings for me when I was younger. I guess I grew up more Chinese than I thought!
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Comments (14)
I have always loved "string cheese" which is actually the kid-friendly way to say Mozzarella cheese.
Mmmm. Cheese strings!
hello fellow future dietician, you're right! making nutritious food constantly available and accessible in the right portion sizes (ex apple wedges, baby carrot sticks) encourages kids to eat healthy and your examples of snacks (string cheese, yogurt cups) are excellent examples! great blog!
Yummy =).
I've always preferred using cheese string and cutting them up in little pieces to melt in my morning breakfast omelette rather than regular singles cheese lol
Good luck on becoming a registered dietitian (:
I love String Cheese :)
I think, in fact, it was String Cheese that turned me on to getting into cheese in general, when I was a kid. Soon I started trying different kinds of cheese and experimenting with cooking with cheese. Today, I keep between 10 to 15 different kinds of cheeses around at a time, including String Cheese.
OMG love cheestrings and minigo!! =)
They also now make a version of gogurt that is free of high fructose corn syrup, so I'm very excited about that. I have never heard of minigo... is it sold here in the US? I've never seen any (unless I've just been looking in the wrong place). String cheese is good, but it's kind of pricey. I'm more apt to buy the bars of cheese and cut it into cubes. Maybe not as much fun, but cheaper. :D
@Morningstarrising - I can find Minigo in the yogurt section in the grocery stores in Canada. It's kind of off to the side with the other yogurt-like products (eg. yogurt drinks, probiotic drinks, etc). It's by Yoplait company!
I also came across a website that teaches you how to make your own cheese string. Check it out. But it seems kind of troublesome!
@arenadi - Wow it sounds like cheese strings really intrigued and started your great interest in cooking!!
@Yakee - Hey hun. Thanks for the message! Are you a nutrition student as well? You sound like you know your stuff :)
hey what happened to doing the series on skin?? from the picture i've seen of you, i think you're chinese (or maybe you said it somewhere). As an Asian living in the states, i feel all the skincare products are designed for white people, and seem to be harsh on Asian skin or something. That's just the way I feel, but can't be too sure.
can you write something about if there are major differences in skin of Asians and whites? or men and women? how to keep pores clean of white and blackheads -_-; there are a lot of stuff out there, but i always feel like they're mostly for white people. In any case, I like the way you write better than most things I read.
If you could do it, that'd be sweet. ^_^
passby^^
@jai_ko - I don't think I ever planned a skin series! haha that's an interesting idea though! I really don't know anything about skin though. Somebody who studied dermatology in school might know something! I always watch Michelle Phan on youtube though. But I heard of really bad reviews about her iQQU products. When she was writing her Xanga blog though, she had tons of natural home remedies that used natural food products like honey, coffee grinds, avocadoes, tomatoes, sugar, oatmeal, etc. I've tried all her home remedy stuff (except for the aspirin mask and rice toner) and I like them all except they can get a little messy and feel weird haha. Especially honey is incredibly sticky.
I think the only thing I could write about in regards to obtaining nicer skin would be what foods to *eat*! There's already a lot of commonly known tips out there like drinking lots of water to hydrate and cleanse your system. Other common tips are healthy fats and vitamins A and C.
Oh you're right, I am Chinese by the way ^^ But you know what i thought of? Chinese people say there are certain foods that make your skin beautiful. I have no idea if this is true or not. Something like bitter melon, which I hate. I'm not sure if bitter melon really does make your skin prettier, or if parents just made up this lie to make their kids eat that gross vegetable!
As for my own skincare regime, I'm always changing products because I just like to try new things. It takes me forever to use up a whole bottle and then I kind of get bored and would rather try something new. My skin is pretty tolerable to all products. I usually only get big stress zits every few months, but I have similar problems as you with large pores, white heads, blackheads, etc. If you have any tips or personal experience you could share with me, I'd love that! I personally think that drugstore products are just as good as the expensive department store products, but I still use both. Others have different opinions and only go for the $$$ products.
I'm totally going to ask around and research this bitter melon thing! Thanks for the great idea :)