Hi Everyone! It’s almost Valentine’s Day and we’ve posted an easy recipe from Family Circle magazine for Fruity Chocolate Clusters in case you want to make treats for someone special. Made in the microwave with fewer than 75 calories per cluster, what’s not to love?

But first, my girlfriends with children (regardless of their ages) are always time-starved. Guess whose healthy eating habits often get ignored? Moms!

Joining me on the podcast this week is a time-starved Mom…. Margit Ragland, Health Director at Family Circle magazine. Many moms worry about their children’s eating habits while letting their own slide.  Busy moms…try these smart-eating tips:

Healthy Kid Habit for Mom: Drinking milk

Calcium is crucial for maintaining a strong skeleton as you age and preventing potentially debilitating fractures. Until age 50, you need 1,000 mg per day, which in real food is about three servings of milk, yogurt, or cheese. Then your recommended intake jumps by nearly another serving.

There is also a tie to dairy consumption and fat loss. Research conducted by Zemel at The University of Tennessee indicated that consuming calcium-rich foods as part of a healthy weight loss diet actually increased the loss of that dreaded belly fat or muffin top (the mid-section fat that is tied to increased risk of heart disease.)

Add milk to smoothies, use it in pudding, or drink it warm with a little hot chocolate mix or vanilla flavoring. Use cheese in omelets, on sandwiches or with whole grain crackers for a power snack.

Healthy Kid Habit for Mom: Eating Vegetables

A recent Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) report on trends in fruit and vegetable consumption stated that only 26.3% of adults ate vegetables three or more times a day. Besides being loaded with vitamins and minerals, the American Institute for Cancer Research suggests that the minerals, vitamins and phytochemicals in plant foods could interact in ways that boost their individual anti-cancer effects.

I admit it…I struggle to eat enough vegetables. Do you? So I add them to a variety of dishes. For example, we make pizza on the weekends and it’s loaded with veggies; I add them to omelets and to scrambled eggs, dip them in hummus for a snack or slice peppers and cucumbers to go on top of a sandwich. Last week I made split pea and barley soup and added chopped spinach, carrots and onion.

To hear more smart eating tips for time-starved Moms…listen to this week’s podcast below.

Listen to this week’s podcast