Racha Zeidan's Blog
September 19, 2013
Catering to Kids
Blog Post Guests:
- Anna MacKenzie, mother of 2, Scotland
- Laura Talhaoui, mother of 3, Abu Dhabi
- Lara Bou Nehme, mother of 2, Abu Dhabi
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1. What are some of the most unique aspects and main concerns (i.e. health, fun, taste, familiarity of foods) of catering to children? How are the meals concerns different or similar to adults?
Catering to children ought to involve all types of food that is healthy, especially fruits and vegetables, where meals are balanced containing at least 3 food groups.
Though some kids have a natural inclination toward eating and enjoying fruits and vegetables, others can be difficult, and it is sometimes a learned behavior from other kids or adults, or simply a fear of the unknown and security with the familiar.
Decorating the plates with vegetables that are not overcooked and still have their color, shape and crunch can attract kids to try new things. While keeping things simple, clean and clear without adding too many acquired tastes such as spices. It helps to get them to choose ingredients with you at the market, involving them in shopping makes them feel more obliged to eat the meal afterwards.
As opposed to adults, they require meals that are not so simple. A healthy meal has to be tasty to satisfy the palette so that adults feel full and stop eating at the right moment. Taste does not necessarily come from butter; it can be from creative additions such as lemon, herbs, jam, honey or more.
2. What are some of the biggest challenges of providing lunches for children? How can operators best deal with those challenges?
Some of the biggest challenges of providing lunches for children are that the food has to be balanced for good nutrition but easy for them to eat, and contain enough liquid to keep them hydrated. By instinct, children love to eat healthy and nutritious food. It is when they are introduced to junk food that they start leaning toward it, and tend to choose it when both options are available. A healthy balance of both is key, where their intake is 70% healthy and 30% other.
3. Talk a bit about the importance of non-food aspects of catering to children. (i.e. toys, games, fun)
Toys can be a distraction during a meal. Kids should not be involved in two separate activities at once. They need to focus on playing or eating, and should not mix both. If there is a play area, they ought to play and eat later, not the opposite, because some games can make them dizzy if they are on a full stomach.
4. What are some easy ways to make kids lunches healthy, fun to eat and inexpensive?
To make meals and salads less boring by using small fruits and vegetables for example cherry tomatoes instead of large cut up tomatoes, or small bananas, they love that. Another fun way is to cut sandwiches with a shape cutter.
5. How do issues such as organic, local foods, food safety and allergy awareness tie in with catering to children?
Since the world is now catering GM foods everywhere in order to attempt and feed 7 billion people, kids are better off getting use to it early on, besides, they taste exactly like organic food, so it is not a huge deal. Local and organic food is best when available and affordable.
Kids with allergies need to know about them so that they can inform their supervisors and to always mention it at any meal.
Food safety is a major importance while catering to children, experienced and knowledgeable people should be the ones storing, preparing and serving food.
________________________________________________
Dear Guests, thank you for participating and Dear Readers, thank you for reading!
Best Wishes,
Racha Zeidan
Author of Great Body No Diet
- Anna MacKenzie, mother of 2, Scotland
- Laura Talhaoui, mother of 3, Abu Dhabi
- Lara Bou Nehme, mother of 2, Abu Dhabi
____________________________________________________
1. What are some of the most unique aspects and main concerns (i.e. health, fun, taste, familiarity of foods) of catering to children? How are the meals concerns different or similar to adults?
Catering to children ought to involve all types of food that is healthy, especially fruits and vegetables, where meals are balanced containing at least 3 food groups.
Though some kids have a natural inclination toward eating and enjoying fruits and vegetables, others can be difficult, and it is sometimes a learned behavior from other kids or adults, or simply a fear of the unknown and security with the familiar.
Decorating the plates with vegetables that are not overcooked and still have their color, shape and crunch can attract kids to try new things. While keeping things simple, clean and clear without adding too many acquired tastes such as spices. It helps to get them to choose ingredients with you at the market, involving them in shopping makes them feel more obliged to eat the meal afterwards.
As opposed to adults, they require meals that are not so simple. A healthy meal has to be tasty to satisfy the palette so that adults feel full and stop eating at the right moment. Taste does not necessarily come from butter; it can be from creative additions such as lemon, herbs, jam, honey or more.
2. What are some of the biggest challenges of providing lunches for children? How can operators best deal with those challenges?
Some of the biggest challenges of providing lunches for children are that the food has to be balanced for good nutrition but easy for them to eat, and contain enough liquid to keep them hydrated. By instinct, children love to eat healthy and nutritious food. It is when they are introduced to junk food that they start leaning toward it, and tend to choose it when both options are available. A healthy balance of both is key, where their intake is 70% healthy and 30% other.
3. Talk a bit about the importance of non-food aspects of catering to children. (i.e. toys, games, fun)
Toys can be a distraction during a meal. Kids should not be involved in two separate activities at once. They need to focus on playing or eating, and should not mix both. If there is a play area, they ought to play and eat later, not the opposite, because some games can make them dizzy if they are on a full stomach.
4. What are some easy ways to make kids lunches healthy, fun to eat and inexpensive?
To make meals and salads less boring by using small fruits and vegetables for example cherry tomatoes instead of large cut up tomatoes, or small bananas, they love that. Another fun way is to cut sandwiches with a shape cutter.
5. How do issues such as organic, local foods, food safety and allergy awareness tie in with catering to children?
Since the world is now catering GM foods everywhere in order to attempt and feed 7 billion people, kids are better off getting use to it early on, besides, they taste exactly like organic food, so it is not a huge deal. Local and organic food is best when available and affordable.
Kids with allergies need to know about them so that they can inform their supervisors and to always mention it at any meal.
Food safety is a major importance while catering to children, experienced and knowledgeable people should be the ones storing, preparing and serving food.
________________________________________________
Dear Guests, thank you for participating and Dear Readers, thank you for reading!
Best Wishes,
Racha Zeidan
Author of Great Body No Diet
July 18, 2013
Tips for pregnant women and new mothers
Featuring Dr. Abi Aad, OB/GYN, and Racha Zeidan, author of Great Body No Diet.
1. Keep working out even while pregnant so that you do not have to lose a big chunk at the end. Also, your delivery will be smooth, your baby healthy, and your morale will remain good throughout the 9 months.
2. Take necessary precautions while exercising pregnant: Do Not lift heavy weights, Do Not do steep hiking where you may slip, Do Not exaggerate and do an intense workout be moderate (stretching, yoga for pregnant women, walking and swimming are good), Stretch your abdomen muscles regularly so that they expand easily with the belly growth, Do lots of deep slow breathing to get ready for delivery day, Drink lots of water slowly.
3. Wait 40 days after delivery before beginning your workouts again. If you had a cesarean, wait 2 months, or until you have healed and feel better. Start gentle workouts.
4. If you had a “diastasis recti”, a separation of abdominal muscles, ask your doctor or search the Internet for specific exercises that may heal this situation, such as pelvic floor exercises. Not all stomach exercises will help; some might make it worse, such as crunches. It may take at least a year to fix it, be determined and persistent, and take it easy. If your baby had this muscles separation, a simple operation would correct it.
5. As a new mother maintain this diet: 70% healthy and 30% other. Eat from all food groups to create rich milk for your baby.
6. Take your baby for a daily walk to help you in losing baby fat. New fat usually melts faster. Burn more than you eat should be the main formula in your mind.
7. Get satisfied from taste when you eat so that you can eat less. Quantity does not satisfy you. Taste does not necessarily come from butter; it can come from a bit of chili, or a squeeze of lemon, and so on. Get back to your usual normal size portions; if you find that you cannot stop eating big portions, switch to being vegetarian for a year.
Rest assured that no matter how big your belly got, its elastic muscles and skin will help to shrink it back to normal size, and the fat sitting around your waist will be used up for energy in your new life. The positive thought is that your muscles got stronger as a result of carrying a baby inside you for around 9 months. After giving birth, follow the Great Body No Diet book to live worry-free. This will help you get started:
• Decide that you will lose the new weight and commit to your decision.
• Depending on how much you gained, give yourself 6 months to 2 years to get your body back, and to give time for the skin to adjust.
• Do moderate exercise twice a week for 1 hour, for life.
• Start off and conclude your workouts with 10 minutes of full body stretching.
• Do the exercise that shrinks your waist featured in the book on page 89.
• Drink room temperature water before meals, not directly after meals because it can increase the volume of food in your belly. Wait at least 1 hour after your meal to drink lots of water, until the next meal.
• Avoid the obvious: deep-fried foods, binging, overeating and instead, after you finish eating a meal, take up to 5 extra bites beyond your fullness, that way you will not think of food for a long while.
• Keep long hours between meals, between 5 to 8 hours depending on what you ate, in other words, eat when hungry, and let food pass through before you refill.
• Take it easy on yourself; you have just been through a lot. Good luck!
Great Body No Diet: Practical Solutions for Reaching Your Ideal Weight and Maintaining It for LifeRacha Zeidan
1. Keep working out even while pregnant so that you do not have to lose a big chunk at the end. Also, your delivery will be smooth, your baby healthy, and your morale will remain good throughout the 9 months.
2. Take necessary precautions while exercising pregnant: Do Not lift heavy weights, Do Not do steep hiking where you may slip, Do Not exaggerate and do an intense workout be moderate (stretching, yoga for pregnant women, walking and swimming are good), Stretch your abdomen muscles regularly so that they expand easily with the belly growth, Do lots of deep slow breathing to get ready for delivery day, Drink lots of water slowly.
3. Wait 40 days after delivery before beginning your workouts again. If you had a cesarean, wait 2 months, or until you have healed and feel better. Start gentle workouts.
4. If you had a “diastasis recti”, a separation of abdominal muscles, ask your doctor or search the Internet for specific exercises that may heal this situation, such as pelvic floor exercises. Not all stomach exercises will help; some might make it worse, such as crunches. It may take at least a year to fix it, be determined and persistent, and take it easy. If your baby had this muscles separation, a simple operation would correct it.
5. As a new mother maintain this diet: 70% healthy and 30% other. Eat from all food groups to create rich milk for your baby.
6. Take your baby for a daily walk to help you in losing baby fat. New fat usually melts faster. Burn more than you eat should be the main formula in your mind.
7. Get satisfied from taste when you eat so that you can eat less. Quantity does not satisfy you. Taste does not necessarily come from butter; it can come from a bit of chili, or a squeeze of lemon, and so on. Get back to your usual normal size portions; if you find that you cannot stop eating big portions, switch to being vegetarian for a year.
Rest assured that no matter how big your belly got, its elastic muscles and skin will help to shrink it back to normal size, and the fat sitting around your waist will be used up for energy in your new life. The positive thought is that your muscles got stronger as a result of carrying a baby inside you for around 9 months. After giving birth, follow the Great Body No Diet book to live worry-free. This will help you get started:
• Decide that you will lose the new weight and commit to your decision.
• Depending on how much you gained, give yourself 6 months to 2 years to get your body back, and to give time for the skin to adjust.
• Do moderate exercise twice a week for 1 hour, for life.
• Start off and conclude your workouts with 10 minutes of full body stretching.
• Do the exercise that shrinks your waist featured in the book on page 89.
• Drink room temperature water before meals, not directly after meals because it can increase the volume of food in your belly. Wait at least 1 hour after your meal to drink lots of water, until the next meal.
• Avoid the obvious: deep-fried foods, binging, overeating and instead, after you finish eating a meal, take up to 5 extra bites beyond your fullness, that way you will not think of food for a long while.
• Keep long hours between meals, between 5 to 8 hours depending on what you ate, in other words, eat when hungry, and let food pass through before you refill.
• Take it easy on yourself; you have just been through a lot. Good luck!
Great Body No Diet: Practical Solutions for Reaching Your Ideal Weight and Maintaining It for LifeRacha Zeidan
