Luckily people like me love to navigate all the food terminology that gets thrown around these days and share simple, healthy tricks. And this time of year is no exception! Whether you’re a parent or sitter, check out these tips about food labels, cooking and baking for a happy, healthy fall.

Halloween Candy Labels:
With trick-or-treating around the corner, it’s good to watch out for what’s in your child’s candy sack. The number one rule is to avoid high fructose corn syrup and corn syrup. Yup, this excludes most of the traditional brands. If you’d like to give out a healthier option, consider the brand UNREAL candy; it’s gluten-free with no GMO’s, artificial flavors or preservatives http://getunreal.com

Healthy and cute snacks

Cozy Snack Recipes:
Classic munching favorites are potato chips and fries. Two fantastic alternatives are kale and sweet potatoes; they taste great and are more nutrient dense than your plain old spud. Use sea salt rather than table salt to get more trace minerals and less blood pressure stress. Tip: leave the skin on to save time.

Crispy Kale Chips
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/melissa-darabian/crispy-kale-chips-recipe/index.html

Sweet Potato Fries
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/paula-deen/baked-sweet-potato-fries-recipe/index.html

Seasonal Gluten-Free Squash Sides:
Try these recipes instead of processed mac’n’cheese or spaghetti noodles.  The delicata squash skin can be left on and eaten.  With spaghetti squash: scoop, pour on sauce and serve.

Parmesan-crusted Delicata Squash
http://projects.washingtonpost.com/recipes/2011/12/21/parmesan-crusted-delicata-squash/

Spaghetti Squash
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/rachael-ray/cheese-and-pepper-cacio-e-pepe-spaghetti-squash-recipe/index.html

Baking Substitutes:
I recommend cutting out refined, processed sugars (white or brown) and unhealthy fats (shortening and canola oil). Fruit, like bananas, applesauce and avocado, can be used for all of the above, as well as for egg and dairy allergies.  The finished product will usually be softer and sweeter. Try just one substitute per recipe until you get comfortable!

Brown Sugar: natural applesauce (no sugar added) in 1:1 ratio

Canola Oil: coconut oil in 1:1 ratio

Shortening: ¾ cup coconut oil for 1 cup shortening

Butter: coconut oil or avocado in 1:1 ratio (avo will tint green, but the flavor cooks out)

Egg: ¼ cup mashed avocado or banana for 1 egg 

-Rebecca Kittle recently graduated from the Institute of Integrative Nutrition as a certified health coach. She is interested in educating people about clean eating, recognizing chemicals in processed and packaged foods, special dietary restrictions, and increasing your digestive health. 

I am so stressed about this flu epidemic. I have young preschool and toddler aged kids. They often get their hands into everything. How can I keep them and myself safe? And what should I tell our sitter about keeping them healthy?

Best,

Sneezes and Cough

Dear Sneezes and Cough,

I would like to applaud you on keeping the ones you love healthy this cold and flu season including yourself. Although, I am not a doctor, I have gotten plenty of colds from children of all ages in the last few years and would like to share with you the wisdom I know now that I wish others had shared with me then, including this list of tips for staying healthy.

Public Spaces

I have one golden rule for dealing with public spaces, especially in flu season: wash your hands.

Have a conversation with your sitter about hand washing rules in your household so that everyone is on the same page. A good trick for hand washing is the “Happy Birthday” rule. Sing the “Happy Birthday” while washing your hands and don’t stop until the song does! This “rule” makes washing hands fun and ensures that your lil’ one is scrubbing for a long time.

Practice, Practice, Practice!

You and other caregivers must model for children the proper way to keep flu germs at bay. Make sure to always sneeze or cough into your sleeve NEVER your hand, and wash your hands after sneezing, coughing, or blowing your nose. As we all know, most lil’ darlings don’t like to wash their hands, so try to make it fun! I love to sing the “ABC’s” while we wash hands. I’ve even sung this silly song a time or two:

“Using Your Hands”

Look at the bottom

Look at the top

If they’re not clean we’ll have to stop

Go to the sink and wash them again

And when they are clean we may began

author unknown 

Be Prepared! 

And last but not least, a good tip for keeping the flu at bay is to be prepared. Get your flu shot, and verify that your sitters have gotten shots too. Be prepared on the go! When you’re out and about it’s good to keep tissues, hand sanitizer, and wipes handy.

Now that you are armed and ready, have tons of fun with the ones you care for!

Happy Childcare,

Renee Eva Pena

• Sitters, if you are too sick to work with kids, please let Lindsay know! It is cold & flu season so there are a lot of sick sitters, parents & kids. Just give us a heads up of your condition so we can accommodate everyone as quickly and easily as possible. Parents, are you sick and need a sitter? Please let Lindsay know! We can find a sitter to take the kids to school, after-school activities, cook dinner, etc. while you rest and recover!
• Getting your flu & pertussis shots is important, especially when working or living with kids! Pertussis shots are even more important for sitters working with newborns and infants. Simply contact local pharmacies and ask if they have certain shots available. You can also ask for price information with regard to which shots are covered by health insurance, no insurance, etc.

Be sure to wash your lil’ darlings’ hands after playing in public places to lower the risk of getting sick

• Practice good hygiene. ALWAYS wash your hands!  Sitters, As soon as you get into a family’s home, you should wash your hands. The subway & cabs can be gross and are full of germs. Stress the importance of covering your mouth to the kids you look after, and show them how to do it (into your sleeve- NOT your hands!). Never underestimate the power of praise- shower the kids with admiration and “thank-you’s” every time they follow your instructions and cover their mouths. Have a non-toxic hand sanitizer on-hand (spray, gel etc.) for both you and the kids- not only for use with lots of sneezing and coughing, but for general use because we all know kiddies can be stubborn about washing their hands!

It’s important to get lots of sleep to keep your immune system strong

• Take care of yourself! Allot time for plenty of rest and make sure you take your vitamins and get vital nutrients. Your body needs the good stuff for your immune system to stay strong and fight!  Take some Emergen-C or Airbourne if you feel yourself coming down with something, and always drink plenty of fluids.
• Sitters, especially during flu season, remember NEVER to give medicine to a child without being specifically instructed to do so by the parents. A child can insist they are allowed or supposed to receive medicine- but that’s not enough. Your number one priority is the child’s safety so be sure to contact parents before getting involved with administering the children’s medicine. It never hurts to ask the parents upon arrival if the children are sick and if they have any particular instructions regarding their care.
• Another thing to be aware of during winter weather is road safety! When hailing for a cab, beware of ice, puddles, bikers, and anything else that could be hazardous to you and the children. ALWAYS buckle the kids up- ask the driver not to drive until everybody is buckled. Kids will be wearing lots of warm accessories like gloves, hates, scarves, etc- so try and keep track of everything when you’re moving from place to place.

Flu season is a tough time of year, but we hope these tips will help keep families and sitters as healthy as possible and hopefully remain flu and cold free!

-Photo credit: Caroline Jackson Photography