Why I Decided to ‘Just Cook!’

A few weeks ago, I enrolled in a 6-week online course taught by Maya Adam. The title of the class, Child Nutrition, says it all: Our lectures are all about what is healthy for our kids (and ourselves) and what isn’t.

I knew I had to learn more about healthy eating because there are a lot of diabetics in my, and A’s, family. I don’t want to put myself, A and the minis at risk of this illness so I started to self-study on ways we can prevent it.

Maya Adam’s class has been extremely helpful so far. We are on Week 3, but I’ve learned so much already!

Just cookOn our first week, Maya Adam pointed out an issue that should be a huge concern for all parents. Our kids are exposed, more than ever, to processed food nowadays. Processed food is on TV wherein sophisticated marketing methods are used to lure people to make the purchase; processed food is served in school cafeterias; hundreds of processed food are in groceries. Processed food is basically everywhere.

So, as parents, what can we do to protect our children from consuming food that can kill them? Just cook!

Homecooked meals using home-grown ingredients or ones bought from farmers’ markets are way healthier than store-bought processed food because these food items are grown naturally. Also, when we cook, we can control what goes into the food we serve as well as the serving size.

TIP: Use smaller plates and smaller cups when serving food and fruit juices to your children.

Cook what, you ask? I had the same question, don’t worry. Here’s a guide from USDA that you can follow when preparing meals:

USDA MyPlate

It’s funny because before joining Maya Adam’s class, I had no idea that we no longer use the food pyramid. Haha! This is the new food guideline, which is called MyPlate. Of course, do not forget to drink lots of water and to be active. You can check out XHIT Daily’s YouTube Channel for exercise routines you can do at home. I recently discovered this and loving their workout videos! Dancing with my kids along Hi5 tunes works great, too. 😉

Did you know that children should eat 3-5 servings of fruits and vegetables every day?

Fruits and vegetables are very good for our kids because these are low in calories, contain fiber and are rich in vitamins. One small cup or bowl can pass as one serving.

Does “3-5 servings a day” sound a lot to get your child to consume? What I do is I add veggies to each meal that I serve to my family and prepare fruit snacks/drinks in between the meals. It doesn’t have to be a fancy ala-Master Chef salad. The minis love simple buttered carrots and vegetable stir fry.

I’ve also started substituting food we always eat with healthier options. For instance: instead of white rice, I serve brown rice; instead of white bread, I serve wheat bread; and instead of packed sauces and soup, I now make my own from scratch. It’s more work — but a mom’s got to do what she has to do to keep her family healthy, right?

Ok~ I know cooking three meals a day from scratch seems like a lot of work. Let me assure you that it isn’t. The key is to stock up on food items and ingredients that are easy to create healthy meals with. Here are six must-have ingredients in every kitchen:

✓ Olive Oil
✓ Salt
✓ Sugar
✓ Lemons
✓ Onions
✓ Garlic

 

Pair these six ingredients with food you usually cook and you’ll rock homecooked meals! I’ve been doing it for two weeks and I don’t find it a hassle at all. 🙂

Keep your family healthy. Take out your pans and just cook!

Kimberley Reyes

Kimberley Reyes is an Online Business Manager for entrepreneurs who are ready to get off the hamster wheel and step into their CEO shoes. On top of helping her clients get organized and scale their businesses, she is also happily busy raising her five kids with her firefighter husband.

This Post Has 9 Comments

  1. Camille Aguila

    Wow. Sobrang informative nito. thanks. I’ll keep this in mind lalot pag nagkasarili kaming house. I wanna cook healthier meals too. Hopefully the kids will eat them.

    1. Kim Reyes

      They will! Sabi nga sa class, we have to start them young and we have to show the kids that we enjoy eating healthy. 🙂 I’ll share kid-approved recipes I learned from the class soon!

  2. Patty

    Yay for home cooks! I grew up in a house where my mom prepared freshly cooked meals practically every day. I’m so glad for this because it makes me want to do the same for my own family. It really does make a difference! 🙂

  3. Mitz Leviste

    Thank you for the tips! I agree on the six must-have ingredients 🙂

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