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Did you make a resolution to eat healthier this year? Here’s a few tips to help you turn those resolutions into lifelong healthy habits:


¿Se fijó el propósito de comer más saludable este año? A continuación se encuentran algunos consejos para ayudarle a convertir esos propósitos en hábitos saludables para toda la vida.




1. Choose a specific habit to change. Instead of making a vague goal like “eat healthier” or “lose weight,” try making a small specific goal that you have control over. Examples:


  1. Drink 1 glass of water before eating lunch

  2. Only drink water with meals, no soda

  3. Limit the sugar in my morning coffee to 1 teaspoon instead of 2

  4. Only buy unsweetened cereals for breakfast

  5. Stop buying packaged cookies

1. Escoja un hábito específico para cambiar. En lugar de fijar una meta indefinida como “comer más saludable” o “bajar de peso”, trate de fijar metas pequeñas y específicas sobre las cuales usted tenga control. Ejemplos:


  1. Tomar un vaso de agua antes de almorzar.

  2. Tomar sólo agua en lugar de refresco (soda) con las comidas.

  3. Limitar el azúcar en el café en la mañana a una cucharadita en lugar de dos.

  4. Comprar solamente cereal sin azúcar para el desayuno.

  5. Dejar de comprar galletas en paquetes.



2. Add in a daily habit instead of taking something away. It is important to limit unhealthy foods, but it is equally important to drink water and eat healthy foods. Examples of how to add in healthy habits:


  1. Drink 8 oz of water at the start of every day, before eating

  2. Eat a piece of fruit for a snack every day (could be fresh, canned or frozen)

  3. Eat 1 vegetable at dinner every day

2. Incorpore un hábito diario en lugar de quitar algo. Es importante limitar el consumo de alimentos que no son saludables, pero es igualmente importante tomar agua y comer alimentos saludables. Ejemplos de cómo incorporar hábitos saludables:


  1. Tomar 8 onzas de agua al comienzo de cada día, antes de comer.

  2. Comer una fruta para la merienda cada día (puede ser fresca, enlatada o congelada).

  3. Comer un vegetal para la cena cada día.



3. Switch out a healthier option for foods you are already eating. Examples:

  1. Use whole grain pasta instead of white pasta

  2. Buy low fat milk instead of whole milk

  3. Choose 100% whole wheat bread instead of white bread

  4. Choose lean ground beef instead of 80% fat beef

  5. Choose plain yogurt instead of sweetened yogurt

3. Sustituya los alimentos que ya está comiendo por opciones más saludables. Ejemplos:

1. Usar pasta integral en lugar de pasta blanca.

2. Comprar leche baja en grasa en lugar de leche entera.

3. Escoger pan 100% integral en lugar de pan blanco.

4. Escoger carne de res molida magra en lugar de carne de res con 80% de grasa.

5. Escoger yogur natural en lugar de yogur endulzado.



4. Tack a new goal onto something you already do. It’s easy to remember your goal if you add it to a routine you are already doing. Here are some examples:

  1. Pack a vegetable every day with lunch

  2. Have a piece of fruit every day with my cereal

  3. Drink a glass of water every day with my afternoon snack

4. Agregue una nueva meta a algo que ya está haciendo. Es fácil recordar su meta si la agrega a una rutina que ya tiene. Aquí hay algunos ejemplos:


a. Empacar un vegetal todos los días con el almuerzo.

b. Comer una fruta todos los días con mi cereal.

c. Tomar un vaso de agua todos los días con mi merienda en la tarde.


Losing weight and eating healthy are big goals consisting of hundreds of small choices. Find 1 or 2 small, attainable goals and stick to them! Once you’ve made your goals into a habit (at least 6 weeks), add on a new goal. By keeping goals SPECIFIC, SMALL AND ATTAINABLE, you are setting yourself up for success. If you want some help making and keeping healthy eating goals, ask your family advocate for a referral to the Dietitian or sign up for the “Cultivating Resilience” classes.


Bajar de peso y comer saludable son metas grandes que consisten en cientos de pequeñas elecciones. ¡Busque una o dos metas pequeñas, alcanzables y aférrese a ellas! Una vez que sus metas se hayan convertido en un hábito (por lo menos 6 semanas), agregue una nueva meta. Al mantener metas ESPECÍFICAS, PEQUEÑAS Y ALCANZABLES entonces se estará preparando para tener éxito. Si desea ayuda para fijar y mantener metas para comer saludable, pídale a su Defensor de la Familia una remisión a la dietista o inscríbase en las clases de “Cómo cultivar la resiliencia”.


I have a big garden. One my very favorite foods to grow and to eat is honeydew melon. To me, a garden grown honeydew melon is like gold - I savor every last bite. I cut one up this week and put it in front of my son. He said "I don't like that yuckydew melon." I said, "okay, more for me!" Then I went about eating my meal and left the honeydew melon slices in front of him.


Next thing I knew, this was happening:





He ended up eating rest of the melon!


The point of this story is this: don't pressure your child to eat. Pressure makes kids eat worse, not better. I often use the line "great! more for me!" when my child doesn't want to eat a food. Then I enjoy my own meal and continue to talk with everyone at the table. This takes the pressure off my child and lets them learn to like a food on their own time. I try to give them some "privacy" to try the new food - meaning I sit with them and talk with them, but don't look at them for a few minutes so they can sneak up on the food without any pressure from me.


Your job as a parent is to offer your child healthy food.

A child's job is to choose whether to eat the food or not.


Do a good job with your part, then let your child do a good job with eating. For more information on how to help your picky eater, visit the picky eating page of this website, or the Ellyn Satter Website at: https://www.ellynsatterinstitute.org/



Also, to keep up with tradition, here's what we are eating this week:


M: Turkey and lentil lettuce wraps with cabbage ramen slaw, canned pineapple

T: chili with baked potatoes, fresh cut melon on the side

W: tortellini soup with sausage and veggies, bread and pears

Th: pasta with pesto, green salad, fruit smoothie

F: easy enchiladas, canned corn, canned fruit

S: homemade pizza, green salad, fruit smoothies


This week is very busy for me, which means I don't want to take too much time cooking dinner. Even though I won't have much time to cook, I still make cooking and eating dinner a priority. Eating balanced meals together as a family is THE MOST IMPORTANT thing you can do to teach kids healthy eating habits.



Here's what I'm cooking this week:


MONDAY: breakfast for dinner. Oatmeal pancakes, crust less quiche, fresh grapes. I will use swiss-chard from my garden instead of spinach.


TUESDAY: Peanut noodles with cabbage ramen slaw and frozen mangoes.


WEDNESDAY: Spaghetti squash with red sauce and cheese. Garlic bread and green salad with fresh tomatoes on the side.


THURSDAY: Chicken noodle soup, cheese sandwiches and honeydew melon. If chicken is expensive I will use tofu instead of chicken (just cut it into cubes and drop it in).


FRIDAY: We are going camping, so we will be eating hot dogs, pasta salad and cut apples.


SATURDAY: We will be driving home from camping and will probably eat pizza on the road.

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