We have been getting this new snack from Gerber for the last couple of weeks. Much like the Fruit Twists, it has been a great hit with my son who enjoys it on the way back from daycare.

Here is what we like about this product -

1. Contains real fruits and made with yogurt
2. Tastes good
3. Only 80 calories per twist
4. No saturated fat or trans fat
5. No cholesterol
6. Added vitamins and minerals

Here is what we don’t like about this product -

1. No fiber although a label on the front shows made with whole grains
2. Added sugar, also contains sodium
3. It is not organic
4. High cost – a pack of 6 twists costs over 3 dollars

Overall, I think not a bad alternative if you are on-the-go and need to offer a snack. But I would not rely on it to skip real fruits!

Disclaimer – I have not received any sponsorship or free samples of product from Gerber for writing this review. For complete nutritional information and other products, visit Gerber’s website.

©2010 Littlestomaks.com

Last week I wrote about the mystery of enriched flour, which on the surface appears healthy but in reality not as good as whole grain. In response, a reader wondered:

What about rice? Why is white rice called not so healthy compared to brown rice…is it because the first one is polished and the latter one is not?

We don’t normally eat brown rice because we prefer basmati rice. In fact, we eat it almost every day at dinner. It tastes great and has a low glycemic index. So, I decided to research this question to confirm if brown rice is nutritionally superior to white rice.

The short answer is YES!

Just like the process of milling wheat removes the bran and the nutrient-rich germ to leave behind carbohydrate-rich endosperm, milling rice does the same to produce white rice. During my research, I found a great website called the Cereal Knowledge Bank from the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), which is a Philippines-based non-profit agricultural research organization. Here is a link to a great summary of modern rice milling.

After pre-cleaning the rice paddy, the husk is removed. What you get at this stage is brown rice; this is the whole grain. Which means that it contains the bran, the endosperm and the germ. Polishing removes the bran layer from the brown rice. The amount of bran removed is called the milling degree and it is usually in the range of 8 – 12%. The higher the degree of milling, the higher is the amount of vitamin and oil-rich layers removed. Finally, whole kernels are separated from large and small broken kernels and polished further to add luster.

Here is a comparison of nutrients in brown rice and white rice on a 100g cooked basis. White rice is of un-enriched variety. Source: USDA Nutrient Database.

Red is “bad”, yellow is “about the same” and green is “better” compared to brown rice.

Overall, white rice contains a much lower amount of dietary fiber, proteins, vitamins and minerals.

Brown rice is definitely better from a nutritional value point of view. The problem is that the oils from the bran layer can oxidize and turn the rice rancid in as few as 6 months. Brown rice therefore comes with an expiration date! Also, it takes longer to cook, the taste is chewy and it does not come out as fluffy as white rice.

Does it mean you should stop eating white rice and switch completely to brown rice? Definitely not! If you are eating  a lot of high glycemic index white rice (jasmine rice for example), it will be better to consider switching to brown rice at least a few times. And if you simply can’t give up white rice, try white basmati rice!

Photo source: Photoxpress
©2009 Littletomaks.com

Ask The Expert is a weekly column on Littlestomaks.com. The idea is to have a reader-submitted question answered by a nutrition expert or a pediatrician. Feel free to submit your question in the comments section below.

This week, Registered Dietitian Elizabeth Rahavi offers some tips on how to ensure a balanced nutrition for your child through a mix of right foods such as meats, vegetables, fruits and nuts.

Question: Is eating too much meat harmful to our young children, not our baby for obvious reasons, but our 4 and 7 year olds? We do eat a lot of meat in our home, as well as lots of veggies and fruits, but I often wonder if there is such a thing with young kids as too much. What is the happy medium there?

Answer:

That’s a really good question and one that many parents of 4-7-year-old children may ask, especially when kids sometimes seem to want either all protein or no protein on their plates.

It sounds as though your family has a well balanced diet, but when thinking about whether our children are getting enough of the right kinds of food; it’s always a good idea to check with the experts just to be sure we’re on the right track.

First of all, it’s important that youngsters include animal protein (meat, chicken, fish, etc.), plant protein (grains, beans, soy, and nuts), carbohydrates (cereals, vegetables, and fruit) and some healthful unsaturated fat in their diet.  Most youngsters need about 1200 to 1600 calories per day depending on their age, size, gender, and the amount of physical activity they get in a day. With regard to how much protein a child should be eating, the Institute of Medicine advises that for boys and girl’s ages 4 to 18, 10 to 30 percent of their daily calories should come from protein.

The key to healthy eating is really about balance. Many children aren’t getting enough of certain nutrients like calcium, potassium, magnesium, vitamin E and fiber. Often times when a diet is too heavy in one food group, such as meat, it can be lacking in others. MyPyramid for adults and kids alike describe a healthy diet that provides a balanced approach for getting all of the important nutrients that children need.

To find more information specific to your child’s diet, you may want to go to these Web sites with information just for kids:

Teach kids about how to fuel their body with and have fun with physical activity through MyPyramid for kids:

The Kidnetic.com Web site also helps parents start conversations about healthy eating with their kids:

Make meal planning fun for kids with this kid-friendly chart for tracking their meat, vegetable, dairy and other food groups.

©2009 Littlestomaks.com. All Rights Reserved

Disclaimer – Information provided in Ask The Expert column on Littlestomaks.com is intended to give you general guidance on a question related to toddler nutrition. It is not meant to be treated as medical advice. You are welcome to contact this expert for a detailed consultation on your specific situation to determine what actions, if any, you should take regarding nutrition and health of your toddlers. We do not recommend you to take any action based solely on the information presented in this column. Experts have agreed to provide their professional opinion on toddler nutrition related questions on a voluntary basis and no compensation is offered to them by Littlestomaks.com.

Although these whole grain puffs are beginner snacks meant for babies recently introduced to solid foods, our twins still love to munch on them! The only difference is now they can eat a whole lot more than the suggested one serving in the 6-serving box. They come in several flavors – we have tried the peach and strawberry flavors so far.

Here is what we like about this product -

1. Only 25 calories per serving, none from fat (although I think good fat is important for small children)
2. No trans fats, no saturated fats, no cholesterol, no sodium
3. Only 1 g of sugar per serving
4. Good minerals and vitamins – iron, zinc, potassium, calcium, vitamin E
5. Whole grains, real fruit purees and extracts, no HFCS

Here is what we don’t like about this product -

1. It is not organic
2. No dietary fiber
3. The small puffs are a mess to clean up afterward
4. It is still processed food – better to switch to fruits and other healthful snacks which will actually make your children feel full.

Overall, not a bad alternative to many other packaged foods and snacks on the market.

Disclaimer – I have not received any sponsorship or free samples of product from Gerber for writing this review. For complete nutritional information and other products, visit Gerber’s website.

©2009 Littlestomaks.com

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This is a very simple recipe for enjoying the coconut meat (interior white part of a mature coconut) in a variety of desserts, salads and cereals.

Source: Wikipedia

Ingredients

1 mature coconut, husk removed

Method

Break open the shell and remove the coconut meat. Here is an excellent post from Kidappeal with tips on how to remove the soft white portion from inside the shell. It can be tricky, but if done right it is very easy. It is also a fun project to do with kids!

Using a box grater, grate the coconut meat pieces into small flakes. Add to a small non-stick saucepan and roast over very low heat until the edges are light brown.

Be careful not to overcook else the flakes will dry out and lose their taste. Here is another picture showing how it looks when done.

Store in an air-tight plastic container. You can use them in cereals, pudding, salads or just enjoy munching on them as a snack. Roasted flakes have a slight sweet taste and a pleasant smell.

Coconut meat is rich in protein, dietary fiber and minerals such as iron, phosphorus and zinc. However a high proportion of its fat is saturated. Therefore, enjoy it in moderation!

©2009 Littlestomaks.com

Are you considering a multivitamin supplement for your child?

My first advice would be to think twice and take a good look at the overall diet and eating patterns of your child. Generally speaking, a balanced diet which includes plenty of fruits and vegetables is enough to give your child a healthy dose of essential vitamins and minerals. Still, as I wrote in my post 5 reasons to consider a multivitamin supplement, it may be worthwhile to consider a daily multivitamin supplement in some cases. Of course, you should first consult with your Pediatrician to confirm if this is a good idea and get a recommendation from them.

So how do you select a good multivitamin supplement?

To answer this question, I decided to visit my local Walgreens store. Although, it was not a surprise to find many different brands of vitamins for children, it was quite hard to figure out how they compared to each other in terms of essential vitamins and minerals. The packaging was very appealing with some of childrens’ favorite cartoon characters such as Disney’s Princess, Dora the Explorer, Flintstones and Thomas and Friends! I am sure it is quite tempting to simply pick a bottle that shows your child’s favorite character, but unless you really look at the nutrition information label at the back and compare the amounts of each vitamin and mineral to the daily recommended amount, you may not get a good value for your money! That is why I decided to prepare an easy color-coded chart for this post that you can use to select a good quality multivitamin.

Here are some of the major brands of multivitamins

• Centrum Kids – Dora the Explorer
• Disney Princess Gummies
• Thomas and Friends Gummies
• Flintstones Gummies
• Flintstones Plus Immunity Support
• Flintstones Complete

$6.99 for 60 tablets	$6.99 for 60 gummies
$6.99 for 60 gummies	$16.99 for 15 gummies
$7.49 for 60 tablets	$7.49 for 60 tablets

Here is a comparison chart for these multivitamins

This chart compares these major brands of multivitamins against the Recommended Daily Intakes (RDI’s) for different vitamins and minerals. “Red” means the amount is less than 10% of the RDI, “Yellow” means the amount is between 10 – 90%, and “Green” means the amount is 90% or more.I should add that this color coding is quite arbitrary and based on my personal assessment of what I would look for in a multivitamin.

The more “Green” and “Yellow” boxes a vitamin has, the better it is in terms of the total amount of vitamins and minerals. In particular, I would pay more attention to Vitamin C, D, different Vitamins B, Calcium, Iron and Zinc. Based on this comparison, Centrum Kids and Flintstones Complete provide nearly a complete mix of vitamins and minerals.

Which multivitamin supplement are you using? Please share in your comments below.

4 toddler servings, 2 adult servings

Ingredients

1. 3 medium-sized fresh leek stems
2. 5 – 6 baby carrots, cut in bite size pieces
3. 1/2 cup Basmati rice
4. 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
5. 2 cups warm water
6. 1 tsp sugar (optional)
7. 1 tbsp tomato paste
8. Salt and pepper to taste

Method

Thoroughly wash leek stems to remove any soil residue around the leaf sheaths. Finely chop most of the white onion base and the green leaf sheaths into round slices 5 – 10 mm thick. Make sure the leeks are fresh so that the onion base is tender and edible. Add olive oil to a shallow saucepan on medium heat. Add the chopped leek slices and tomato paste and saute lightly for around 5 minutes. Add rice and carrots and mix gently since leek slices have a tendency to split apart due to the layered structure. Add warm water, sugar, salt and pepper. Reduce the heat to low and cook covered for about 30 minutes or until water is absorbed and rice is cooked.

About Leeks

Wikimedia Commons

The vegetable leek belongs to the same family as onion and garlic. They resemble a large scallion having a very small white onion-like bulb and a long white cylindrical stem of  made up of layers that flows into green, tightly wrapped, flat leaves. They can be boiled, fried or eaten raw in a salad. They are rich in manganese, vitamin C, iron, folate and vitamin B₆ . A high intake of Allium vegetables like leeks has been shown to reduce total cholesterol and LDL, or “bad” cholesterol levels, while at the same time raising HDL, or “good” cholesterol levels (source: WHFoods).