I recently found out about the epidemic of overweight and obesity among children and adolescents in Kern county. Department of public health reported that 44% of school age children are overweight and 1 in 4 children are overweight before they reach 5 years of age. Our generation is the first generation that our life expectancy is shorter than the one before us.
I am not a nutritionist nor am I a doctor. But I cannot help but wonder what we eat and what we feed our children have much to do with this health problem.
Growing up in Japan, my parents rarely kept cookies and chips at home. I remember sodas were truly a "treat" for special occasion such as birthdays. We ate family dinner every single day and every meal had some vegetables with it. My parents took us out to eat maybe once a month and going to a fast food restaurant was very rare. As I grew up, how we eat also has changed in Japan. With the change, came more health issues such as cancers, diabetes and allergies. One thing that has not and will not change in my parents' house is that we have family dinner every day. If I am to visit them in Japan, I (along with whoever comes with me) am expected to be at the table at dinner time.
Now that I have a family, and I am the primary cook for the family, I became more conscious about food for my family, especially for my 2 & 1/2 years old daughter. Even though we are not too strict with Ely's diet, we make sure she has ample amount of fruits and veggies every day. When she was a baby, I made baby food from veggies and fruits from local farmer's markets, and because they were so fresh and delicious, there was no need for me to "cover" the taste of veggies with sugar or anything else. We also make sure we have family dinner every day.
That is why I truly thank all the farmers and vendors at our local farmers market to provide us with such variety of fresh produce. I started going to farmers market regularly when I lived in Chicago 7 years ago. When my husband and I moved to Orange County 5 years ago, we continues going to many local markets and gradually reduced the amount of produce we buy at grocery stores. Since we moved to Kern County in October of last year, we are slowly but surely getting to know our farmers here.
For our family, it is priceless to be able to picture the faces of people who care about what nourishes our body and mind. My hope is for our children to know what is in our tomato sauce and that food comes from plants, trees, and animals, and not from boxes or jars, and not from shelves at the grocery stores. And of course for our children to be healthy and to have a long life.
Salmon with mini tomatoes, green onion, and lemon with herbs of Provence, salt and pepper. Grill it on the grill, or in the oven.
These white nectarines are amazing. Ely brings it to me and asks me, "mom, can you wash it?" and bites into it and tells me, "it is juicy!".
On Sundays, I make family breakfast. With these, I made rosemary home fried potatoes, with feta cheese and basil omelet.
The vendor told me that it takes three types of hens to make this beautiful and colorful tray of eggs.
I am not a nutritionist nor am I a doctor. But I cannot help but wonder what we eat and what we feed our children have much to do with this health problem.
Growing up in Japan, my parents rarely kept cookies and chips at home. I remember sodas were truly a "treat" for special occasion such as birthdays. We ate family dinner every single day and every meal had some vegetables with it. My parents took us out to eat maybe once a month and going to a fast food restaurant was very rare. As I grew up, how we eat also has changed in Japan. With the change, came more health issues such as cancers, diabetes and allergies. One thing that has not and will not change in my parents' house is that we have family dinner every day. If I am to visit them in Japan, I (along with whoever comes with me) am expected to be at the table at dinner time.
Now that I have a family, and I am the primary cook for the family, I became more conscious about food for my family, especially for my 2 & 1/2 years old daughter. Even though we are not too strict with Ely's diet, we make sure she has ample amount of fruits and veggies every day. When she was a baby, I made baby food from veggies and fruits from local farmer's markets, and because they were so fresh and delicious, there was no need for me to "cover" the taste of veggies with sugar or anything else. We also make sure we have family dinner every day.
That is why I truly thank all the farmers and vendors at our local farmers market to provide us with such variety of fresh produce. I started going to farmers market regularly when I lived in Chicago 7 years ago. When my husband and I moved to Orange County 5 years ago, we continues going to many local markets and gradually reduced the amount of produce we buy at grocery stores. Since we moved to Kern County in October of last year, we are slowly but surely getting to know our farmers here.
For our family, it is priceless to be able to picture the faces of people who care about what nourishes our body and mind. My hope is for our children to know what is in our tomato sauce and that food comes from plants, trees, and animals, and not from boxes or jars, and not from shelves at the grocery stores. And of course for our children to be healthy and to have a long life.
Salmon with mini tomatoes, green onion, and lemon with herbs of Provence, salt and pepper. Grill it on the grill, or in the oven. These white nectarines are amazing. Ely brings it to me and asks me, "mom, can you wash it?" and bites into it and tells me, "it is juicy!". On Sundays, I make family breakfast. With these, I made rosemary home fried potatoes, with feta cheese and basil omelet.The vendor told me that it takes three types of hens to make this beautiful and colorful tray of eggs. 
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