单亲父母和在职父母的心脏健康

家长:你如何制定一个健康的饮食计划?

一次又一次, parents — especially those who are single or working — say time is their enemy when it comes to preparing healthy meals.

But you can limit frozen pizza and other processed foods — which can result in escalating obesity and chronic disease rates — with tips that are good for your heart and your wallet. Healthy eating 从健康的食物选择开始. And you don’t have to be a chef to create nutritious, heart-healthy meals your family will love.

关键是沙巴足球体育平台管理. Difficult? Sometimes. 但并非不可能.

从计划开始

The best time to make a meal plan isn’t when you’re hungry and need to eat right away. 列一个清单，检查两次.

Invest a couple of hours on the weekend to save anxiety as well as time on extra trips to the grocery store. Make large batches and freeze leftovers in individual portions for healthy, homemade, 微波餐.  

让你的孩子进入厨房

Holly DuBois, who lives in San Antonio, Texas, gets her kids in the kitchen every chance she gets.

Her two little ones hang out on a step stool in the kitchen while she cooks and gives them small jobs. “I’ll give them plastic knives and they’ll cut stuff or get things from the pantry,” she said.

DuBois and her husband, Josh, both work in the health care profession. With a family history of obesity, they make sure their kids eat a healthy, balanced diet. 但他们不禁止吃东西.

“对我个人来说，做饭是一种乐趣, 我开始喜欢的减压活动,” DuBois said. “I want them to share in it and enjoy it so it’s not a burden.”

Summertime means organic produce from a community-supported agriculture co-op once a week — everything from cauliflower to eggplant to rhubarb. “The rule is that if it’s in the bag, they have to try it.”

Bresha理查森, 一个忙碌的达拉斯妈妈和一个幼儿园的孩子, 兼顾单亲家庭, work, volunteering for the PTA and her son’s extracurricular activities. 但她仍然把健康饮食放在首位.

“I want my son to learn how bad choices can impact his body, 不仅是现在，未来也是如此,” she said. “I try extremely hard to communicate with him about every meal he has and why a particular food may not be a good choice.”

他们每周有一天晚上一起做蛋玉米饼. “He cracks and whisks the eggs and I slice and sauté the red pepper and warm whole-wheat or white corn tortillas,” she said. “I make it a point not to add seasonings like salt so he can taste the food for what it is.”

She also gets a head start over the weekend by getting healthy stuff ready for the hectic work week. “If I wash and cut our fruits and veggies and pre-package them, they most definitely get eaten.” 

I’m on a budget. What can I do?

健康饮食并不一定要很贵. Rice, beans, potatoes, bananas and eggs can be budget-friendly staples. You can also 通过计划来扩大你的杂货预算 每周少吃几顿肉.

Make cooking a hobby and learn to cook from scratch when it’s reasonable. 举个例子，燕麦片既便宜又健康. You pay a premium to have it portioned into single serving packets with flavor added when it’s simple to prepare from scratch. And many times those pre-packaged, flavored varieties contain added sugar. But when making it from scratch, you have more control over the amount of sweetener that’s added.

买应季的新鲜农产品. Eat lots of citrus and apples in the winter and strawberries in the summer. 如果不是应季，买冷冻的. And if you’re interested in going organic, consider using the “肮脏的一打”和“干净的十五打”(链接在新窗口中打开) lists by the Environmental Working Group to prioritize your purchases and save money.

我的孩子一个人在家. 我怎样才能帮助她吃得健康?

If you plan, it’s pretty easy to help your child make good choices without any difficulty or dangerous prep work. 以下是一些建议:

• Peanut butter and jelly with no sugar added on whole-wheat bread
• 烤鱼三明治(保留菠菜和西红柿, 提前切片, 方便添加风味和营养.)
• 火鸡三明治(别忘了你最喜欢的蔬菜.)
• 全麦饼干和鹰嘴豆泥
• Fresh fruit
• Healthy leftovers (Microwave them for a quick, easy meal.)

避免垃圾食品的最好方法? Don’t stock it in the house because it’s too easy to reach for it first.

试试以下四种简单的工作日晚餐:

• Salad night: 做一碗健康的绿色蔬菜. Toss in chicken, unsalted nuts or seeds for a little protein. Use a wide variety of fresh veggies and dark green lettuce. 不要吃冰山，因为它的营养含量很低.
• Taco night: Pile on the veggies, try low-fat, low sodium cheese and use whole-wheat or corn tortillas. You can even mix together a little Greek yogurt and lemon juice to make a healthy “sour cream.”
• 自制烤披萨: 做一个没有奶酪的披萨, add some cooked diced chicken and load the veggies onto a thin, 全麦地壳.
• 简易素食辣椒: 在烤土豆上做.

As a parent, it’s important to help your children develop healthy eating habits. 所以，为了他们和你的心脏健康，试试这些建议吧.