Nutrition for Our Eyes

When we think of nutrition for our bodies, most of us don’t consider our eyes. But our eye’s are organs to and also need a variety of nutrients to remain healthy. What exactly can go wrong with our eyes? The first thing that comes to mind is requiring glasses. Another biggy is blindness. There are a number of other diseases and conditions that can also occur. Some common conditions that afflict the eye are:

Weird Ways to get Kids to Eat Vegies

I have tried so many things over the years. From mashing cauliflower into potato to hiding minuscule sized pieces of vegies amongst mince and pasta. But the thing that has worked best for me in recent times is “naming” the weird coloured piles of goop spooned onto their plates.

My most recent creation is “alien creation goo” from none other than Ben 10. It’s at least 5 vegies, usually potato, pumpkin, broccoli, cauliflower, spinach and carrot mashed with a bar mix until its soft “condensed milk” consistency. It’s a green coloured mess, but the kids eat it with very few complaints.

Another triumph is Giant’s Snot – no description needed I’m sure. We also have Worm Guts and Monster Poo which is a more yellow/orange colour. For me, just their name’s makes me feel ill, but these names seem to work quite the opposite for the boys. It’s strange to see them excited about eating Worm Guts. Now I don’t have any little girls but I imagine that names like “butterflies, fairy’s and sunshine” might work well. I’m keen to hear your thoughts or results on that one. Please feel free to leave a comment or two.

I know, I know.....I can hear you saying “but they are used to eating all their vegies combined, they’re not getting to know the individual flavours and textures”. Yes you’re right. However my boys are so picky that I’m just glad to be getting food into their bellies. And the fact that it is healthy has me doing cartwheels. I hope that in years to come that they will become curious and start eating their vegies steamed in whole pieces. If not..........I’ll still be happy to come up with weird names as long as they get healthy and nutritious food into their growing bodies.

Cardiovascular Disease is largely a LIFESTYLE disease!

Did you know that Cardiovascular disease is a leading cause of death in the developed world. It is largely a lifestyle disease, and simple changes in diet and exercise can considerably lower the risk.  One such simple change is an increase in the consumption ofn-3 (omega-3) polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) (1). The authors of a 2009 article estimated that between 72,000 and 96,000 premature deaths could be prevented annually in the U.S. alone by optimizing n-3 fatty acid levels (2).