New program educates parents on fun, healthy mealtime ideas

Sep 15 2009

How did the simple act of eating become so difficult? Between basic nutrition, the obesity epidemic, allergies, food recalls, and chemical contaminants, feeding children a healthy diet has never been so complicated. Eat Healthy, a new program from Healthy Child Healthy World, makes it easy. Need a recipe for a kid-friendly dinner or want to make your own baby food? Looking for quick tips on safer, healthier foods for children? Concerned about chemicals in cans and plastic containers? Look to Eat Healthy for simple solutions to address our complex world of food at www.healthychild.org/eathealthy.

Healthy Child Healthy World is a non-profit organization inspiring parents to make simple everyday choices and responsible lifestyle improvements to create healthy environments where children and families can flourish. "A lot of parents have told us that they want their family to eat healthier but just don't have the information or time to research how to make better choices," said Christopher Gavigan, CEO and Executive Director. "With Eat Healthy, we've done the work for them by providing a resource that parents can trust. It's a community of experts and real parents sharing recipes and tips for creating menus that promote health and protect the planet, as well as making mealtime fun and affordable."

With tips and ideas from experts like Myra Goodman, cookbook author and co-founder of Earthbound Farm, the world's largest grower of organic produce, and Raising Baby Green author Dr. Alan Greene, and recipes from celebrity moms such as Gwyneth Paltrow, Meryl Streep and the "Renegade Lunch Lady" chef Ann Cooper, Eat Healthy is a comprehensive, easy-to-read online guide. It's filled with easy, delicious (yet kid-friendly) recipes; articles offering solutions to some of today's most worrisome food issues; cooking and nutrition videos; and even downloadable pocket shopping guides like "Healthy School Lunch" and "Healthy Formula & Food," so you can always keep the wisdom of Eat Healthy with you.

Other Eat Healthy resources include:

• Tips to take to the grocery store, including the most and least pesticide-laden fruits and vegetables and the best healthy, kid-approved snacks
• Eight simple steps for making healthier, greener food choices for your family's diet
• Recipes for eating right on a budget
• A checklist of safe fish for children, teens and women of child-bearing age
• How to limit your child's intake of food additives

"Eat Healthy was created to help parents make nourishing food fast, frugal, fun and eco-friendly, but also to be a community," said Gavigan. "We want to encourage parents and caregivers to submit their recipes and tips. Your child's favorite snack could be the answer for another mom in search of fun, healthy mealtime ideas."