Hey sweet friends!
Many of you, like me, will send your sweet little muffins back to school in a few weeks after a “full” fun summer! For many of us, the summer is a time full of more ice cream, chips, and LOTS of summer treats! Some families tend to move and exercise much less in the summer! While rest is much needed, now is time to get our families back on track as school is about to start again!
We wanted to take the time to offer some advice on jump-starting the new school for your family! Teaching them about the importance of nutrition and exercise from a young age (at any age) will make a lasting impression on them as they grow up, and lead them on the right path to whole body heath!
Here are 5 ways you can begin to help your family choose health and see that fit is FUN! I hope you enjoy these tips, recipes, and our printable TransFit Kids "Fit is Fun food Journal"!
5 Ways to Get Your Body Back on Track!
1. Plan Ahead - Whether you're eating on-the-run or running out to eat, you can find healthy food for the kids (and yourself) if you make advance plans. Meal plan and prep for the week! Get your kids involved and let them plan to have some of their favorite recipes this week! Maybe let them try helping you make some of these dishes too! Find a few great kid-approved recipes below they will want to plan in every week!
2. Make time for breakfast - Give your family a good start with the most important meal of the day. Breakfast helps boost concentration in the boardroom or classroom, may aid in maintaining a healthy weight, and provides the energy needed for morning activities. Try a quick smoothie, healthy cereal, Kind bar or energy bites! Get ready the night before! Set out bowls, spoons, and cereal boxes. Or put out plates and forks, then whip up a few eggs first thing in the morning. If you're in a rush, take something with you! Toss pre-sliced fruit and cheese into a plastic container, top a toasted bagel with peanut butter, or blend up a fruit smoothie.
3. Keep Quick and/or Car-Friendly Snacks on hand - Pack healthy snacks for after school that kids can manage themselves, including shelf-stable foods and fresh foods (pack a cooler if you have the time). Kid-friendly, healthy foods can include:
Fresh, easy-to-eat produce like apples, bananas, grapes
Dried fruit such as cranberries, raisins, apricots, apples, and pineapple
Trail Mix with nuts, dried fruit, and whole grain cereal
Whole-grain crackers with peanut/almond/sun butter
Low-Sugar granola bars
Turkey and cheese roll ups
Single serving yogurt
Cheese sticks or wedges
Ready to eat veggies with hummus
4. Eat out smarter - Find restaurants that serve healthier options for kids by knowing where you're going before you get there. Focus on places with healthy options like locally-owned restaurants, spots with salad bars , and fresh seafood restaurants. Luckily, many places now offer healthy swaps in kids meals such as fruit in place of fries, water in place of soda, and grilled nuggets instead of fried.
5. Get the kids involved in your health journey - Your family is always watching you to see what you do. If they see you making healthy choices and doing it with excitement and joy, they will want to too! You- being a good role model for your children is the best teacher of whole body health.
**It may sound obvious, but kids need to be taught about eating right. It's not necessarily obvious why an apple is a better snack than a candy bar, so talk kindly with your kids about nutrition. Discuss subjects like why some foods are part of everyday healthy eating, and why other foods are a special treat.Teach kids where their food comes from with a visit to a local farm or farmer's market. Show them how to read and follow a recipe. Help your kids plant and tend a garden, then teach them to prepare the food they've grown. Show your children how to read nutrition labels, how to compare prepackaged foods in the supermarket, and how to shop. Us momma know it is not always easy to change your children's diet and win kids over to healthier foods. But it comes with a great bonus: once they're eating right, it's likely that you are, too! A few favorite recipes below and page on healthy lunches!
Strawberry Love Smoothie
1 cup almond milk
1⁄2 frozen banana
1 cup frozen strawberries
1 cup Greek yogurt or 1 serving vanilla protein powder 1 tbsp ground flax seed
**1 tsp maple syrup or stevia drops (optional)
1 cup crushed ice
(top fresh strawberries and unsweetened coconut flakes)
No Bake Energy Bites
1 cup oatmeal (I put this in the blender 1st)
1/2 cup peanut butter (or other favorite nut butter or sun butter)
1/3 cup honey
1 cup coconut flakes
1/2 cup ground flaxseed (GO FIBER!)
1⁄2 cup chocolate chips (optional) 1 tsp vanilla
Directions: Stir all ingredients together in a medium bowl until thoroughly mixed. Let chill in the refrigerator for half an hour. Once chilled, roll into balls of whatever size you would like. (Mine were about 1′′ in diameter.) Store in an airtight container and keep refrigerated for up to 1 week.
Get your kids excited about their health! Make it like a game! Print off this sheet and hang it up somewhere where your kids can plan out and track their meals, fruits, veggies, water and exercise! Sit down with them at the beginning of the week and get ready to have your best week yet! They will love getting to plan their week out and it will be a great habit to get them into early!!
Check out all of our family E-Books! Couch to Kids 5k, TransFit Girls Ebook, Healthy Families Ebook!
⭐️We are so excited about starting our fall schedule August 1st! 5:30am sessions will be back, we will have more TransFormer strength sessions daily and 10:30am every day will be small group personal training sessions. Send us your feedback we are here to serve you and help you transform!
Send pictures of your recipes, filled-out sheets and fun times to transfitathens@gmail.com we would love to see! If you post them tag us @transfitathens!! If you want the pdf version of this chart, email us and we will be glad to send you one! Have a wonderful, healthy week with your sweet kids this week!
Blessings,
Caroline & Team TransFit
