• Recipe of the Month - Ham Rolls with Raisins (Rollitos de jamon con pasas)
• Valerie Waters' Fitness Tip of the Month - Click here
• Enter the Back to School Sweepstakes - Click here

Let's Talk Wise Choices for Healthy Living - Carbohydrates

Before you embark on your journey, choose your snack wisely.  


Consider Carbohydrates Carefully
Carbohydrates supply the body with energy, not only for running and playing, but for building and rebuilding tissue and many of the other processes that take place in the body including digestion, itself. They are found in breads, pastas, fruits, vegetables, grains and, even in milk. At least 55 to 65 percent of the calories in the food we eat each day should be from carbohydrates. Because it takes energy to grow, children may require even more carbohydrates than most adults.

Excess carbohydrates are stored as glycogen in the liver and muscles. If the body needs a quick burst of energy, when you run to catch a bus or chase a fly ball, glycogen can be quickly converted to energy. Any excess carbohydrates that cannot be stored as glycogen are turned into fat. Fats may also be converted to energy but the body's energy need must be much more prolonged, like an all day hike or a heavy workout at the gym or dancing the night away.

Carbohydrates come in two types, simple and complex. The simple ones are those sugars that you find in fruits and milk with names like fructose, glucose and lactose. They are great sources of quick energy. Fiber and starches are the complex carbohydrates and are found in abundance in vegetables, breads, rice, whole grains and legumes. It takes longer to break these down and make them available as energy so they are the ones that get you through the day from breakfast to lunch to dinner and in between.

MyPyramid.gov by the US Department of Agriculture reminds us that "food and physical activity choices each day affect your health -- how you feel today, tomorrow and in the future" and it goes on to provide these helpful tips:

• Make half your grains whole grains
• Vary your veggies
• Focus on fruits
• Get your calcium rich foods
• Go lean with protein
• Find your balance between food and physical activity

Specifically for carbohydrates, we are reminded by the 2005 Dietary Guidelines for Americans to:

• Choose fiber-rich fruits, vegetables and whole grains often.
• Choose and prepare foods and beverages with little added sugars or caloric sweeteners.
• Reduce the incidence of dental caries by practicing good oral hygiene.

Back To School - Getting It Together

1. Break up the bottlenecks: Everybody can't use the bathroom at the same time. A family with two may even need to stagger wake-up times so that Mom can help everybody who needs it. Extra mirrors in the kids' rooms help, too.
2. Know who does what, when: Post a list of the 5 things each family member must do each morning so you don't have to keep reminding them. Turn off the TV and help them postpone unnecessary chores until after school or work.
3. Corral essentials: A row of hangers for everybody's backpack or tote bags near the door and making sure these are filled the night before, saves time and chaos in the morning. Bags can be color-coded depending on the different activities scheduled for the next day.
4. Skip steps: Keep the items you use for making lunches like lunchmeats, condiments and other sandwich fixings in a caddy in the fridge so it is easy to find. Even better, pack lunches the night before and keep in insulated lunch boxes with ice packs. Better yet, sign them up for school lunches.
5. Remember that a snack pack of California Raisins goes into a backpack or pocket for quick snacking throughout the day!

Valerie Waters has this tip for busy working moms, too.

Creamy Raisin Oatmeal, or Bumps-on-A-Bagel get their day started right. Power-Lunch Pasta, Tempting Tuna Pita Pockets, and Beef and California Raisin Picadillo are good ways to fill that empty place at lunch time.

For a quick snack after school, California Gold Bars, Choco-Raisin Nuggets and Raisin and Chocolate Filled Cookies are winners every time. Dinner might include Fruit Salsa Salad or Pear Waldorf Salad.

National School Lunch Week - October 15 - 19

Holidays and Celebrations - Columbus Day, October 8

About the end of October we will be entering the annual holiday season with Halloween, then Thanksgiving, and Christmas and New Year close behind. Now that Summer has come and gone and Fall is here, it seems as if there really is time to catch your breath between Labor Day and Columbus Day and then sort of coast into those end of the year holidays. Columbus Day, however, is a most important day for many -- not just Italians! Latin Americans observe Día de la Raza, the Bahamas call it Discovery Day, Costa Rica observes Día de las Culturas, and Canada gets off to a great start by observing Thanksgiving that day.