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Wednesday, March 18, 2015 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon
Getting your kids to eat well
By Jim cornelius
News Editor
The dinner table can turn
into a battleground when
you’re trying to get your
kids to eat well. Nobody
wants to be that parent bat-
tling a picky eater. In addi-
tion to being unpleasant,
fighting over food can be
counterproductive.
“That was something I
did not want to do,” says
Angeline Rhett, of Angeline’s
Bakery and Café. “I did not
want my kids to hate healthy
eating. I just didn’t do the
battles.”
But Rhett understands
better than most the impor-
tance of healthy eating. It’s
her business and her calling.
So what do you do?
Angeline sneaks the good
stuff in — making the kid-
favored mac-and-cheese a
somewhat healthier profile.
“Yeah, it does have cheese
and butter and milk, but I do
put in processed carrots and
nutritional yeast,” she says.
“I sneak it in there.”
She also notes that some-
times a kid’s problem isn’t
with the flavor of the food as
much as it is the texture.
Jess Draper has had good
success in building good eat-
ing habits with her children.
“Involve the kids,” she
suggests. “Let them help
choose the fresh or frozen
produce at the store. Have
them join you in an Internet
search about the food to find
out how it can benefit you,
and healthful ways to prepare
it. Or let the children peruse
a colorful cookbook themed
on vegetables, or raw recipes,
or whatever healthy diet per-
suasion your family favors.
Cookbooks can be checked
out from the library.”
Small tricks can entice a
child.
“Serving something in a
different way, frozen blue-
berries instead of fresh for
example, can make all the
difference in kids wanting to
try something,” Draper says.
Getting kids interested in
where food comes from can
help, too.
“Grow sprouts in your
kitchen,” Draper says. “With
a few simple supplies your
children can watch seeds
turn into healthy edibles in
a couple days. Find instruc-
tions online at www.urban
earthworm.org/2014/04/28/
grow-sprouts-jar.
“Help your child plant a
garden, as simple as a flower
pot on the porch with easy-
to-grow peas. Their invest-
ment in nurturing the plants
that produce their food will
likely make the eating all the
more enjoyable for them.”
Kids are different — even
when they’ve been raised
exactly the same. Rhett notes
that one of her children is “an
omnivore.” The other under-
stands the value of healthy
eating, but…
“He knows the drill, but
he wants pancakes for break-
fast, he wants peanut but-
ter and jam on bread and he
wants meat and cheese for
dinner,” she says.
I think that sugar is …
I really think it’s just the
devil. Halloween just
stresses me out.
— angeline rhett
If there’s one thing Rhett
tries to take a hard line on,
it’s sugar intake.
“I think that sugar is …
I really think it’s just the
photo by Jess Draper
your kids just might think homegrown peas are more fun to eat!
devil,” she says. “Halloween
just stresses me out.”
You can avoid having sug-
ary snacks around the house
and provide healthy, flavor-
ful alternatives. Eventually,
your child is going to want
to eat something — and if
what’s on hand beats a mas-
sive sugar surge, that’s all to
the good.
Substituting healthier
ingredients is one way of
“getting there” with kids. But
sometimes you just have to
back off a bit and hope that
simply modeling good eating
habits will eventually catch
on.
“He knows my platform,”
Angeline says. “You can put
it out there — this is where
I’m coming from. None of us
can hit it all the time.”
Rhett reported a sign
that the message is getting
through. Her strong-willed
eater knows that healthy
eating in the morning can
boost performance — and he
recently asked his mom for a
green smoothie to fortify him
for competition in Battle of
the Books at school.
HEALTHY & DELICIOUS! Angeline’s Bakery
SOMETHING FOR EVERY DIETARY NEED!
GLUTEN-FREE | DAIRY-FREE | VEGAN | RAW
• Creative selection of lunch entrées and soups
• Fresh handcrafted baked goods daily
• Organic fresh fruit & vegetable juices
• Green smoothies e s
121 W. Main Ave.
541-549-9122
k
www.AngelinesBakery.com
Eating well is easy at Angeline’s Bakery. With
the availability of all kinds of delicious alternative
ingredients, you can eat delicious meals and des-
serts with a clear conscience — and no sacrifice in
flavor.
Try a plate of gluten-free/dairy-free lasagna —
or how about some delectable cheesecake — that’s
actually healthy.
Healthful substitute ingredients make these
dishes taste like their naughty cousins, says
Angeline Rhett, who works hard to stay abreast of
all the wonderful alternatives that are now available
to people who either have dietary restrictions or
simply want to lead a more healthful life.
“Eating healthy is really an opportunity to be
creative,” she says.
Folks are continually surprised how tasty a
healthful alternative can be. So if you want yummy
without feeling bad afterward, come to Angeline’s
and explore a menu that will satisfy your cravings
— and leave you feeling good all over.
Step & Spine
At Step & Spine Physical Therapy their primary
concern is eliminating the pain that keeps you from
doing the things you love to do. Through examina-
tion, evaluation, diagnosis, and physical interven-
tion, carried out by caring and professional physi-
cal therapists, they are focused on improving your
quality of life while providing you with the educa-
tion and exercise you need to excel physically.
As their name suggests, Step & Spine is expert
in addressing issues that start with the spine and
with body mechanics.
“When your foot hits the ground, everything
changes,” notes physical therapist Barrett Ford.
It’s not just the injured who benefit from Step
& Spine. Anybody with aches and pains — head-
aches, vertigo, shoulder pain or impingement
— can benefit from an evaluation from Step &
Spine. Often what is causing your pain starts some-
where besides the sore spot. Step & Spine can iden-
tify what’s really going on and get you back to doing
what you love.