How to Fight Overweight And Help Teens Lose Weight

Fighting overweight in teenagers can sometimes be difficult. Usually, children in their teens especially between the ages of 16-19 have some measure of liberty from their parents, and so can go to anywhere they feel like with friends and other acquaintances. Most times they like to visit fast food restaurants when they are hungry and go to exciting spots for fun. The temptations of fast food delicacies can be overwhelming for hungry teenagers.

One of the major implications of constantly patronizing fast food restaurants can be seen in the weight of teens that constantly visit these restaurants. There is no denying it, obesity and overweight are becoming problems of great concern to both parents and governments alike. Health professionals in the US believe that by the year 2030 1 in every 4 teenagers in the US will either be obese or overweight. Solution to teens overweight does not only lie on parents but also the teenagers have major roles to play.

We all know that teens can sometime be rebellious and outright stubborn to parents. A teenage child may resent the parents controlling guide lines and feel that he or she is unfairly treated or marginalized because of being overweight, this can be more frustrating especially for busy parents who do not have the time to monitor their teens. One way to discourage your teen from patronizing fast foods, is to always have an alternative healthy food at home. The best alternative in this case should be delicious and tasty home prepared foods. Besides, a completely new family lifestyle and eating habit have to be introduced, if the family has not been having breakfasts and dinners at home, this has to change. Continue reading “How to Fight Overweight And Help Teens Lose Weight”

How To Make Colored French Fries

Everyone loves French fries. However, it is the kids, who are thrilled to eat French fries all day long. However, the fries that are available in fast food outlets are not very healthy, as they contain a lot of unsaturated fat and sodium. So, it is best to make fries as home. However, then you may face another problem with your kids complaining that these fries are not as delicious as the ones available at the local fast food outlet. You can get your kids to eat the healthy fries by being a little creative.

Making colored French fries is not that difficult, as most people have all the necessary ingredients at home. Also, this dish is great for a kid’s party when all kids want to do is gorge themselves on junk food.

Wash six russet potatoes and dry them well using kitchen towel. Peel the potatoes and then cut them into 1/2-inch sticks. This width ensures that the fries cook faster.

Squeeze fresh lemons to get about half a cup of fresh lemon juice. Add the food coloring of your choice into the lemon juice. About 2 tablespoons of the coloring should suffice. Mix the lemon juice well to ensure that the coloring dissolves completely. Continue reading “How To Make Colored French Fries”

Orthorexia – Are You Obsessed With Healthy Eating?

Body Trust

A few months ago I took an online course at Be Nourished, about Body Trust. It hugely impacted my thinking about my body, weight, diet, exercise. I had put on quite a bit of weight in my early 40s and no matter what I did, nothing would budge it. But in the process I learned a lot about nutrition and exercise.

I had a lot of shame about my weight and the way I looked, and it really impacted my ability to be in the world and being seen. My thoughts in the day were taken up with exercise, and walking as many steps as I could. I had a fitbit and the fit bit scales, and I was constantly thinking about food, exercise and how to reduce my weight. I hated looking in the mirror, and I felt as if I wasn’t doing enough to get my weight down.

I was diagnosed with hyperthyroidism in 2016, and I had to go for 6 week blood tests for my thyroid and liver. Two of the tests for my liver showed my enzymes were elevated. Continue reading “Orthorexia – Are You Obsessed With Healthy Eating?”

Quick and Easy School Snacks to Pack For Your Kids:

Kids who participate in the whole process of planning, shopping ( if any) and preparing their lunchboxes to develop the ability to choose and enjoy healthy food.
Me and Little Ms.K usually plan our week together. This academic year, we decided to plan the menu for the lunch box as well. So, here are some of the easy school snacks to pack for kids where you can involve kids as well. Note: I have tried to avoid biscuits and cheese here because it doesn’t suit Little Ms.K, you can add your preferences.
Chapati Rolls
These are simple ones, you just have to make chapati and roll it with a filling of your choice. When we want it to be on the heavier side our filling has paneer in it otherwise there is Jam ( Homemade) or Ghee and Sugar.

• Coin Dosa
Coin Dosa is my go-to option for a no-fuss snack. All you need to have is the dosa batter. These are coin shaped dosas which can have a topping of cheese. Continue reading “Quick and Easy School Snacks to Pack For Your Kids:”

Restaurant Back Door Security – Protecting People and Profits

They watched from the shadows as the employee propped open the back door to take his nightly run to the trash corral. He did not deviate from the routine the last two nights. It was 1:35 AM, right on schedule. As the young man returned with his empty cart, they pulled the ski masks down over their chin and jumped out with guns drawn. They pushed the employee into the restaurant. Upon entering the office area, the two robbers sprung into frenzied action. One robber grabbed the manager, pointed his gun at her, and screamed for her to open the safe, while the other forced the other closing employees to lie down on the cold tile floor of the kitchen. The employees’ lives are changed forever as they experience the terror of peering at the edge of life – and death.

Unfortunately, this scene plays out somewhere each night in the world of fast food. A world serving the public, late at night with predators lurking, waiting and plotting to take advantage of every opportunity to forcibly rob others hard earned cash. Crime prevention solutions cost virtually nothing other than implementing changes in policy, routines and discipline. Continue reading “Restaurant Back Door Security – Protecting People and Profits”

Obesity & Weight Management is a Social Issue

Much has been written about obesity and globesity. Obesity is perhaps the biggest drain on any nations economic resources with a mind-boggling costs to which researchers are yet to put a final figure. But the estimates run into trillions of dollars across the world.

Governments across the world is mired in deep bureaucratic mechanisms to do anything more than put out food guidelines. Even this does not reach the intended public.

The issue needs to be tackled massively by the society that has spawned the problem in the first place.

So what are the social alternatives?

Dissemination of Information

Continue reading “Obesity & Weight Management is a Social Issue”

Fast Food in Kenya

After a long day in class I decided to take a walk in town sampling fast food joints so that I can get some snack. Walking through most of the fast food restaurant I realized they all serve the same food items but at different rates. These food items include pizza.

Pizza is a pastry case that is flat and then it is topped up with either beef, chicken, vegetables or cheese. The topping depends entirely on you, best pizza places in town include steers in Nairobi and gallitos. when you are in Mombasa and you feel like pizza I highly recommend ilcovo restaurant situated along the north coast.

In Mombasa we have a local pizza known as Mombasa pizza. This pizza is normally shallow fried.

A very popular fast food in Kenya is chips and chicken. Chips are made out of peeled potatoes that are cut into strips then deep fried in fat. The chicken is always grilled and when you top up with the tomato ketchup the lunch is so very ready. Chips can also be served with sausages. Continue reading “Fast Food in Kenya”

The Values of Ground Provision Compared to Fast Food

Ground provisions are foods that are natural and easily digested by the stomach. Some of these foods are yams, sweet potatoes, eddoes, cassava, carrots and beets. Foods of this nature are great for the body and those people that consume these foods tend to live a long life.

Foods like this can be cooked in soups which in turn can give it a lot of body making soups fulfilling and enjoyable. The amount you use depend on how rich you want the soup. Ground provision like sweet potato and cassava taste great when stewed and are definitely healthy. No frying is necessary with these foods so nutrition is at its highest. If you wanted to do a stir fry it would just require you to slice some of those mentioned foods very thin. Please note that sweet potato and carrots are the candidates for stir fry. You can even bake potatoes which can be tasty. Continue reading “The Values of Ground Provision Compared to Fast Food”

Is the Egg a Considered Healthy Food? Find Out the Truth!

A few years ago eggs were thought to be the culprit in producing artery clogging cholesterol in the blood (all of the cholesterol is in the yolk of the egg). But in recent years, the School of Public Health at Harvard University had traced over 100,000 nurses for about 10 to 12 years and could not find any difference in the risk of heart disease for anyone eating 1 egg a week or anyone eating more than 1 egg a day.

Recent studies have shown that eating 2 eggs may actually improve your lipid profile. (cholesterol is also known as lipid, the fatty substance that is produced by the liver and also found in highly saturated fatty foods) Also, regular consumption may help to prevent clotting of the blood, heart attacks and even strokes. In another study, women who ate 6 eggs per week lowered their risk of breast cancer by 44%.

The egg is a healthy food because of the nutrients that it contains. 1 large egg is about 70 calories – which is about 10% of the recommended iron, minerals, protein, and B vitamins including folic acid which is recommended for pregnant women. Just one egg contains all the nine essential amino acids and about 6 grams of the high-quality proteins. They are also a very important source of carotenoids-lutein and zeaxanthin (for eye health). Continue reading “Is the Egg a Considered Healthy Food? Find Out the Truth!”

Childhood Obesity – It May Be Caused By School Lunches

While there are a few model school lunch programs that show how tasty school food can be they aren’t the norm. In fact, if you talk to kids attending the neighborhood school you might find out that either a) the school isn’t following suggestions about healthy food or b) the food is inedible. Here are a few things to think about.

1) Cost of Quality: If you’ve been to the market recently you may have noted how expensive fresh meat and produce is. If paying $25 for a beef roast for your family is hard on the budget try buying quality meat for a school.

When our children were young we were told they had switched to healthy food. Sorry, when the lettuce in the salad bar is rusty and the other vegetables are hard to differentiate it doesn’t qualify to me as being healthy. Neither is the cheese pizza with a tablespoon of grease in the middle. Been there, ate that. Continue reading “Childhood Obesity – It May Be Caused By School Lunches”