We’re hosting an online conversation this week with Anita Vincent, a registered dietitian with The West Clinic and Memphis Heart Clinic. She also helps restaurants create heart-healthy menu options, as the registered dietician for Heart Builders Dining Out, a Healthy Memphis Common Table program.
Vincent will answer questions about food choices when dining at home, restaurants, schools, churches and work.
Got a question? Ask it here.
March 10th, 2008 at 4:10 pm
What do you feed a husband that only likes sweets?
March 10th, 2008 at 4:43 pm
I have been reading alot about you working with restaurant, I own a restaurant and would love for you to go over our menu. How do we go about that?
March 11th, 2008 at 9:34 am
Preparing healthy meals that everyone in the family enjoys can be a source of great satisfaction to the cook of the house. If one of those family members is a picky eater (of any age), meal time can become a challenge. Most picky eaters, while not eating a huge variety of foods, do like at least a couple foods from each food group. I’d suggest preparing healthful, balanced meals the entire family can enjoy while including at least one food you know the “picky eater” likes. As an adult, your picky eater has the responsibility and the priviledge of choosing what he eats. Good food is only one part of a healthy mealtime. The very act of eating and being together as a family is another. Continue to offer healthful foods at your meals. The rest is up to him!
March 11th, 2008 at 9:45 am
Heart Builders is a program that helps restaurants evaluate their current menu for heart healthy items as well as helping develop new menu offerings that are heart healthy (and delicious!). If you would like the Heart Builders Dining Out program to help you create a heart healthy menu, contact Candace Slattery at Memphis Heart Clinic 333-1934.
March 11th, 2008 at 2:06 pm
Thank you!
March 14th, 2008 at 2:38 pm
I have a 12-year-old son who is growing like a weed, and he is very athletic. His body build is on the lanky side, though, and his coaches have said to feed him extra meals in order to help him gain weight. Right now he’s about 5′4″ weighing about 110 lbs. Any suggestions here?
March 20th, 2008 at 2:46 pm
To Ruth - Two words come to mind - Quantity AND Quality. Your son will naturally want and need to eat more to maintain his stamina and support his activity level and rapid physical growth. Eating extra meals is one way to take in more calories. I like that his coaches recommended extra “meals” vs. “snacks”. Even though it is just a matter of semantics, people often make less healthful choices when the word snack is used. Do continue to offer healthful foods as your son is developing eating habits and food preferences along with extra height and muscle. In planning any meal, you want some protein,fat and carbohydrate. (Don’t go overboard on the protein -extra protein does not make bigger or more muscles sooner.) Homemade trail mixes combining nuts of all types, seeds, and unsweetened dried fruit are very high in healthy calories and can be a supplement to his extra meals, plus it’s a portable snack. Homemade smoothies are practically a meal in themselves. Made with milk or any type vanilla yogurt, juice and fruit (try frozen fruits) they are delicious and can be as varied as you’d like. Sandwiches, healthful pizzas, pasta with cheese, not-too-sweet cereal and milk, leftovers -all provide a basis for quick, tasty meals at home. Adding some fruit, nuts and something to drink -juice,milk or water -makes for a complete meal. I think it’s fine to use some of the healthier processed foods like Lean Cuisine pizzas, Kashi bars, etc. to provide variety and ease of preparation. Try to avoid offering too many fried snack foods like chips or prepackaged sweets like snack cakes. A growing pre-teen can handle the calories but you don’t want to make a habit of it. Remember: Quantity AND Quality.
April 2nd, 2008 at 11:28 am
Thank you Peggy. Diet, Meal Planning, and Portion control issues seem to make up the majority of our emails and phone inquiries world-wide. It is still amazing to me that folks in the U.S. are in the same boat as many folks in Iraq, China, Australia, and many others are asking the very same questions. The U.S. is however, the undisputed “heavyweight” contender in pure “weight loss” needs analysis. Much attributed to our lifestyle, fast-food, and “quick fix” mentality. We specifically concentrate on “portion control” as we feel it is the only effective, manageable, and time tested “tool” for better eating practices. Diets don’t work…changing your behavior in a positive and manageable way – does! For more information on poertion control and techniques for better eating please visit our website (http://www.simplefit.net).