LilSugar

Interview with Kate Gosselin: Feeding a Family of 10

LilSugar — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 07:00:00 PDT

Parents watch TLC's Jon and Kate Plus 8 in shock and awe. Moms and dads are awed by the way the young couple, Jon and Kate, are raising two sets of multiples and shocked by the fact that all the children - Cara, Mady, Alexis, Hannah, Leah, Aaden, Collin, and Joel - eat! The twins' and sextuplets' diets don't consist of just peanut butter and jelly and buttered pasta; they entertain their pint-sized palates with everything from traditional Korean food to cracked crab and fresh vegetables.

lilsugar recently had the opportunity to ask queen of the Gosselin kitchen, Kate, a few questions about feeding her family of ten, the importance of an organic diet, and her recent partnership with the Grains Foods Foundation to promote brown bag lunches. To see her tips and what she had to say,

read more. lilsugar: Why did you decide to team up with the Grains Foods Foundation? KG: These days, everyone is looking for ways to cut costs while still managing to eat healthy. With a family of 10, we’re certainly no different. We’ve been brown bagging for years and I’m working with the Grain Foods Foundation to show other families how packing lunches can be an easy and fun way to save money and eat healthy. There’s even a calculator on their website - grainpower.org - that shows how much money and calories you can save when you pack a lunch instead of eating out. It’s amazing! lilsugar: Does or did incorporating grains into the Gosselin family diet bring down the food bill? KG: Definitely. Grains like bread, crackers, pretzels, and granola bars have always been a part of our family diet because they are affordable, delicious and nutritious. We go through a loaf of bread at every meal so I usually buy a whole flat of bread at one time! lilsugar: How important do you think it is to raise children on an organic diet? KG: More than anything, I think it’s important to raise children on a healthy diet. As I’m sure you’ve seen on the show, I try to find fruits and vegetables from local farm stands but when that isn’t possible, there are always great and healthy options available at the supermarket. lilsugar: As someone who fed a family of 10 on a budget, what tips would you offer other mothers to cut costs? KG: Pay attention to the things that are on sale, clip coupons and, above all, avoid buying things that you don't need. Being organized and planning ahead is one of the best ways to stick to a budget. I know it’s not always easy for families to plan ahead but making sandwiches and packing lunches is a relatively simple way to save money and eat healthy. Nutrition has always been important to me personally as a woman, a nurse and especially as a mom. lilsugar: On Jon and Kate Plus 8, your children seem to eat all of the healthy things you prepare. How have you managed to raise eight adventurous eaters? KG: I have always prepared healthy meals without other options. I firmly believe that if they are hungry, they will eat what is in front of them. I also do not "over-snack" them. That said, if they do have a snack, it's usually something with grains (pretzels, wheat crackers, etc). lilsugar: What are your family's favorite meals? Are there any foods your children do not like? KG: We have a lot of favorites and I believe in exposing kids to a variety of foods from a very young age to avoid those childhood ruts (eating and wanting to eat the same four things for every meal). lilsugar: You are often filmed packing cereal bags, lunches and picnics prior to outings on your show, do you do that for convenience or to save money? KG: Both. Packing lunches and snacks ahead of time saves us money and help me make sure my family eats healthy no matter where we are. It ensures I’ll have something nutritious on hand when we’re away from home. lilsugar: Do you have advice for moms on how to pack lunches that children will actually eat? KG: Try to make their lunches fun. Include a note in their lunch bag or scribble words of inspiration on a napkin. And if you want to get really creative, use cookie cutters to transform your child’s sandwich into a work of art – or even into their initials. These little surprises are sure to bring a smile to their face. Another thing I do is aim for variety. For instance, I’ll make them checkerboard sandwiches where I mix up the bread - using one slice of light colored bread and one slice of a darker bread, I simply cut the sandwiches into quarters and flip two of the quarters over to make a checkerboard. This is a great way to start introducing kids to whole grain bread. Kids love fun-looking food, even if it’s good for them! lilsugar: You are extraordinarily organized. Do you have favorite products to pack food in a certain type of cereal bag, lunch box or drink container, etc.? KG: I love cute reusable lunch bags and am a huge fan of color coding. With a family of 10, everyone having their own special color makes things much easier! Plus, it fosters a sense of ownership in the kids, which makes it less likely they’ll leave it behind or swap it with another child’s lunch! lilsugar: You make cool, interactive snacks from edible play-dough to the pudding paint, do you have others? KG: Those are the latest ones. Anything that is able to be eaten as well as fun (and healthy!) thrills my kids! lilsugar: What is your family's favorite edible splurge, for example, ice cream for dinner? KG: Well, ice cream for dinner is great but sometimes we will also have breakfast for dinner (French toast is always a big hit). Think variety with nutrition and it will keep everyone interested! Check back on lilsugar each morning this week for some of Kate's delilicious kid-friendly sandwich recipes!

4 Surprising Things You Don't Know about Calories

Prevention — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 04:12:55 PST

We are excited to share one of our fave stories from Prevention here on FitSugar!

Only 12 percent of Americans can estimate the calories they eat in a day! Find out why we're so clueless and get easy ways to stop calorie confusion.
By Mara Betsch, Prevention

You know what calories are, and you probably know that if you eat too many, you’ll gain weight. But do you know how many are in your favorite deli sandwich? Or how many calories you should really eat each day? Most Americans don’t. Only 12% can accurately estimate the number of calories they should consume in a day someone their age, height, weight, and physical activity, according to a 2010 survey by the International Food Information Council Foundation. So what is it about calories that keeps us baffled? Here are 8 reasons you’re confused about calories and the simple steps that will help you do the math.

8 Healthy Foods That Help Fight Disease

1. Portions Sizes Are Out of Control
You’ve all heard about the rapidly expanding serving sizes of restaurant and fast food portions, but just how bad are they? Portions sizes in restaurants may contain double or triple the calories of home-cooked meals, and studies show eating out is associated with a higher BMI. Unfortunately, those portions affect our waistlines. When there’s more food on the plate, people eat more-up to 30% more, according to an analysis of several studies.

Stop the confusion: Use this cheat sheet of portion sizes. We know it’s hard to look at your plate as decks of cards, tennis balls, and all the other, so start by measuring out your food servings at home and take a good look at what a half-cup of pasta looks like. Until the serving sizes are engrained in your brain, when dining out, aim to eat half of your meal, saving the leftovers for lunch the next day.

Comfort Food That’s Actually Good for You

2. Serving Sizes Are Deceiving
"There really aren’t standard serving sizes for packaged foods, which makes them confusing," explains Elisa Zied, RD, author Nutrition at Your Fingertips. She gives the example of cereal. A standard serving size of breakfast cereal is approximately 50 g, but depending on the cereal, that could mean a cup and a half of flakes or half a cup of heartier granola. Depending on the type of cereal you’re eating, just eyeing how much you put in the bowl, like most people do, can lead to inaccurate calorie counts.

Not only that, but larger-than-life snack foods may seem like single servings even though they often contain two to three servings per packet. Buy a 16-ounce bottled Coca-Cola, and the nutrition label reads 100 calories . . . for one of the two servings in the bottle. Drink the whole thing, as many people do, and you’re really getting 200 calories. Eat the whole bag of Austin Zoo Animal Crackers, commonly found in office vending machines, and you’re getting 230 calories, nearly two servings, instead of just one.

Keep reading to learn even more about calories!

Which Foods Burn the Most Fat?

Health — Fri, 28 Oct 2011 04:15:15 PDT

We are pumped to share one of our favorite stories from Health.com here on our site.

By Julia Savacool

You may have tried a diet or two in hopes of dropping pounds. But a new Harvard study has uncovered a no-diet way to shed: adding certain foods to your day while nixing others can slim you.

Researchers analyzed eating habits and gains and losses over several years. Based on their findings, we mapped out a sample day that'll lead to weight loss.

Health.com: 7 Foods That Fight Fat

Keep up this eating style, and you'll ditch up to 5 pounds in a year.

7:00 a.m.

Skip it
Rise 'n' shine. Forgo your usual O.J. and scone.
You'll lose: .28 pounds a year. The combo of juice and a giant scone each day would pack it on.

7:05 a.m.

Eat it
At the cafe bag up a yogurt parfait for breakfast.
You'll lose: .41 pounds a year. Every additional daily serving of whole grains can peel off .09 pounds over a year. A serving of fruit helps you shed another .12 pounds; a daily dose of yogurt leads to a .2-pound loss.

Health.com: The 50 Fattiest Foods in the States

10:30 a.m.

Eat it
Hungry again? Nibble on a bowl of blueberries.
You'll lose: .24 pounds a year. Two extra servings of fruit daily means another .24 pounds lost this year.

11:00 a.m.

Skip it
Step away from the supersize soda. Swap for a diet one.
You'll lose: 1 pound a year. For every regular serving of sugary drink you down daily, you could gain .25 pounds.

Learn what to eat and what to skip for rest of your day, when you read more.

3 Ways Breakfast Can Help You Lose Weight

Jenny Sugar — Mon, 10 Oct 2011 02:21:09 PDT

Some people think skipping breakfast is a great weight-loss tactic. The logic being that they're cutting calories out of their daily intake; unfortunately, it doesn't work out that way. Most people will make up for the calories later on in the day. Eating a meal in the morning can actually help you reach your weight-loss goal, and here are three reasons why.

Breakfast jump-starts your metabolism: If you skip the first meal of the day, your metabolism actually slows down to conserve energy. Studies show that those who eat breakfast regularly lose weight, keep it off, and are less likely to be overweight. Breakfast eaters also more likely to exercise regularly. So be sure you eat breakfast, and enjoy it within an hour after waking up.

Keep reading to hear the other two reasons eating breakfast helps you lose weight.

9 Easy Ways to Clean Up Your Diet

Prevention — Mon, 18 Jul 2011 12:42:25 PDT

We are excited to share one of our fave stories from Prevention here on FitSugar!

Rules to help you eat less junk and slim down naturally
By Joe Kita, Prevention

Back to the Basics
Base your diet on Mother Nature's finest foods and the weight will come off

Food used to be simple. You ate what you grew on the land or you bought from nearby farmers. Processed food was nothing more than canned, frozen, or cured. Today, food is much more complicated - and we're both better and worse off for it. We can eat a greater variety of healthy foods than our ancestors did (think fresh berries in Winter), but we also can eat a lot more highly processed, chemical-laden ones. And that fare seems to be winning the day, if our epidemics of obesity and diabetes are any indication.

But an increasing trend toward clean eating - with its emphasis on whole, fresh, traditional fare - could mark a turning point in our sometimes dysfunctional relationship with food and help us achieve good health, culinary satisfaction, and optimal fitness.

To help you clean up your own diet and reap the benefits (weight loss and possible decreased risk of diabetes, heart disease, and cancer), we created these nine rules. Start taking baby steps to adjust your diet, and you'll be eating clean in no time!

7 Healthy-eating mistakes you could be making.

Toss a few heavily processed staples
Instead of overhauling your pantry all at once, start by eliminating corn oil and soda - both highly processed, says Nina Planck, author of Real Food: What to Eat and Why. "That alone," she says, "is a huge first step." Another easy step is replacing refined breads and pastas made from white flour with ones made from whole grains.

Focus on favorite foods
To keep it simple, assess what part of your diet supplies the most calories, suggests Mary Ellen Camire, PhD, a professor of food science and nutrition at the University of Maine. If you're an omnivore, buy meat that comes from grass-fed cattle and eggs from pasture-raised chickens, but stick to conventional produce instead of organic. If you're a vegetarian, buying organic produce makes more sense.

There's more so keep reading.

5 Diet and Fitness Myths That Pack on Pounds

Prevention — Mon, 11 Jul 2011 03:06:50 PDT

We are excited to share one of our fave stories from Prevention here on FitSugar!

Don't let one of these rumors prevent you from reaching your weight loss goals.
By Diana Kelly, Prevention

Sorry, Journey, but it's finally time to stop believing . . . In weight loss myths at least. Believing popular misconceptions can keep you from taking the right course of action to reach your goals, says Julia Valentour, MS, program coordinator and media spokesperson for the American Council on Exercise. Blaming a plateau (or a gain) on any of these half-truths will keep you stuck in your rut and derail your motivation. Here, five of the most pervasive diet-related rumors and the real scoop on how to hit your goal weight for good.

1. "I exercise every day, so I can eat whatever I want."

The sad truth: Even if you work out religiously, going to yoga several times a week and sweating it out in Spinning, it's not a license to eat as much as you want and still expect to lose weight. This may seem obvious, but the desire to reward a workout well done is natural; after all, you endured those endless vinyasas - you deserve an extra slice of pizza (or three), right? Not if you're trying to lose weight.

"You can outeat your workout," says Valentour. Even though you burn calories and fat when you exercise, it's often not as much as you think - or what the readout on the treadmill tells you. Use Prevention's Daily Calorie Calculator tool to see how many calories you should eat each day.

Valentour recommends eating 250 fewer calories per day and aiming to burn an extra 250 calories a day; that creates enough of a calorie deficit to achieve an average weight loss of a pound a week.

6 Lamest excuses for not losing weight

2. "It's harder for women to lose weight than for men."

OK, this one has some basis. Biologically, men are built with more lean muscle mass (the compact, tight muscles that keep metabolism humming) than women are - meaning his metabolism is working at a 5 to 10 percent higher rate (even if he's the same height and weight as you) when you're lying on the couch together. Annoying, isn't it?

Another biological challenge women face is that we generally have more body fat than men do, and our bodies are more inclined to store it. On top of that, women lose about 1/2 pound of calorie-burning muscle mass a year during peri-menopause and sometimes a pound a year during menopause. With the deck stacked against you, why bother trying to fit back in your skinny jeans?

You can do something about these problems, but it's going to take some work - and sweat. Add strength training to your fitness routine at least twice a week to shed fat and build lean muscle mass that will fire up your resting metabolism.

Get more tips on how to lose weight like a guy

Prevention clears up three more myths after the break.

DrSugar Answers: How Can You Protect Your Heart Health?

DrSugar — Tue, 05 Apr 2011 11:08:29 PDT

DrSugar is in the house! This week she's answering questions about cardiovascular health for women.

Dear DrSugar,
I hear stats about heart health all the time, but don't know what I should be doing to stay on the right track. What should women in their 20s and 30s do to protect their hearts? Thanks!
- Hoping to stay heart-healthy

Heart disease has historically been viewed as a man's disease, and thus, prevention and awareness of heart disease in women was not always at the forefront. However, heart disease prevention in women is extremely important since cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death in women (and men) in the United States. Let's review the precautionary advice.

Foggy Brain Quick Fixes

Heather Dale — Tue, 22 Mar 2011 09:40:13 PDT

Do you ever get the feeling that your brain has a thick layer of fog surrounding it? You feel extra tired and unable to focus? I refer to this sensation as "foggy brain" because it feels like something is interfering with my mental clarity.

Possible main culprits for that fogged over feeling include lack of sleep, eating fried foods, drinking too much caffeine and soda, stress, and a possible food intolerance or allergy. The good news? There are some quick fixes to make your brain feel better so you can get back to work . . . and play!

Alter Your Diet - March is National Nutrition Month so try to be extra mindful of what you're putting into your body. Steer clear of processed and sugar-filled foods and eat lots of brightly colored fruits and veggies. Eating nutrient-rich food is important because as soon we eat, our bodies need to break down the food so that these nutrients can be absorbed by our blood and used to refuel our body (and brain!) to function optimally. If you consume sweets, your blood sugar level will spike and the drop, causing fatigue and moodiness. When it comes to carbs, it's best to stick with whole grains since your body slowly utilizes them as a source of energy, while keeping your blood sugar levels stable.

Find out what else you can do to make your brain feel better.

DrSugar Answers: Losing Weight With PCOS?

DrSugar — Tue, 04 May 2010 08:00:51 PDT

DrSugar is in the house! And she's answering your health-related questions.

Dear DrSugar,
I would love for you to discuss PCOS and weight loss. I am having such a hard time breaking a plateau despite counting calories and exercising daily. Any advice?
- Sick of the Plateau

This is a great topic to discuss, as polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) is the most common hormonal disorder among women of reproductive age and the most common cause of female infertility. Between one in 10 and one in 20 women of childbearing age has PCOS.

To learn more about PCOS and weight gain associated with it, continue reading.

DrSugar Answers: Too Much Fruit Sugar?

DrSugar — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 10:00:00 PST

DrSugar is in the house and he's answering your health questions.

Hi DrSugar,
I have a question that I'm hoping you could address in a post. I've read a couple comments that fruit should be limited or avoided due to its high sugar content. I realize that "everything in moderation" is the key to good health, but I regard fruit and vegetables as the staples of nutrition and assumed that you couldn't really eat "too many" of them. I'm a health-conscious vegetarian and (along with veg protein and whole grains) my diet is mainly based upon multiple servings of fruits and vegetables. I usually eat the equivalent of several cups of various fruits each day. I do, however, avoid refined sugar. Should I be worried that I'm eating too much fruit? Are there any issues associated with consuming too much fruit sugar? Thank you.
- Fearsome of Fruit Sugar

If you're curious about this issue too, then see what DrSugar has to say on the matter when you

read more. First off, great question. With everything we read about carbs, refined sugars, glycemic index, etc, it is easy to get confused when it comes to fruit because most fruits are rich in sugar. Sugar from fruit is called fructose. It is a simple sugar that is metabolized quickly and easily by the body. Moderate fruit intake is certainly recommended as part of a healthy, well rounded diet. Simple sugars, like fructose, are not a problem for people who are active and healthy. The only caveat would be if you have been diagnosed with diabetes or prediabetes. In this case, some fruit intake is good, but excessive intake could lead to high blood sugar. OK, two caveats - fruit juice is often made from concentrate with added refined sugar, so excess fruit juice can be a bad thing. A healthy dose of fruit in the diet is beneficial for a number of reasons. Most fruit offer a substantial amount of fiber which has been shown to decrease the risk of certain diseases such as heart disease and diabetes. Check out a previous Fitsugar post that gives the fiber content of various fruit. Fruit are also a good source of vitamins and minerals. I would recommend eating a serving of fruit with every meal and up to 3 servings per day in the form of a snack. An average healthy person would have to consume A LOT of fruit for it to get to the point of being unhealthy. A well rounded diet with plenty of fruit, vegetables and protein is the best bet for overall health. Good luck, go forth, and don’t fear the fruit sugar! Have a question for DrSugar? Send it by private messaging me here, and I will forward it to the good doctor. DrSugar's posts are for informational purposes only and should not be considered medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment recommendations. Click here for more details.