We all know it’s important for our nutrition to eat healthy meals and snacks because 1) it grows strong kids and 2) it teaches our kids how to eat when they cook on their own (not soon enough, right?!)
Dr. Cannizzaro imparted many words of wisdom over the years regarding what to eat (he even co-authored a book about it) and we’ve collected as many “golden nuggets” as we could write down. There are more than a few. So, without further ado, read just a few of Dr. C’s Nutrition Nuggets!
Dr. C’s Nutrition Nugget #1: Pay more, eat less.
Sometimes, good food costs more, but if you’re smart about what you pay more for, and keep portion sizes under control, you don’t have to spend a fortune on food. Make sure to keep tabs on the Environmental Working Group’s “Dirty Dozen” which details which fruits and vegetables should be bought organic, to avoid toxic pesticide and fertilizer residues.
Dr. C’s Nutrition Nugget #2: Do all your eating at a table.
Eating in the car, at your desk or in front of the TV makes you less healthy in more than one way. 1) You tend to over-eat if you eat unconsciously. Instead, savor every bite. 2) If you’re eating in a car or at your desk, it’s likely you’re stressed and distracted. You won’t chew your food well and this can lead to gastrointestinal distress and under absorption of the nutrients in your food! 3) You miss an opportunity for family time and togetherness. A shared meal feeds both the body and the soul.
Dr. C’s Nutrition Nugget #3: Eat your colors.
Colorful vegetables are an important source of antioxidants and phytonutrients, which protect your body from free-radical damage and the resulting inflammation, which can lead to myriad diseases. You provide a rainbow of phytonutrients when you feed your family an assortment of colors. Color is nature’s appetite stimulator. Bright and artfully-arranged food might just persuade the kids to eat their vegetables! Like the old saying states, “We eat with our eyes first.”
