My daughter is very thin and she will still ask me, "Mom, am I fat?" I get so upset when she asks me this question because the fact is she is very thin. However, what I see and what she sees may be two different things.
She won't wear shorts in the summer anymore and that scares me. I told her that the girls in Hollywood and the ones in magazines are pictures that have been touched up. Even if they do look perfect, these pictures have been retouched or airbrushed to make them look perfect.
I was lucky to have my husband be the Editor-in-Chief of a local sports magazine, and they happened to do a swimsuit issue very similar to Sports Illustrated. Not only was I lucky enough to see the process so was my daughter.
Yes, these women are beautiful, but they do have imperfections just like the rest of us. It is amazing how much re-touching can be done to these photos. Plus, they have professionals doing their hair and make up.
I think it is important as a parent to make our children feel beautiful. Our country is so hung up on weight and beauty, but beauty goes much deeper than the physical appearance.
How you treat others should be more important. We should emphasize this to our children.
Of course, Hollywood doesn't do much to help. These actresses are so skinny they all look anorexic. No one ever seems skinny enough. That just sends the wrong message to our children. How can you be happy if you're hungry all the time?
Now I'm not saying eat whatever you want whenever you want. However, I believe eveything in moderation is fine. Especially for growing and developing bodies. Unless a doctor tells you otherwise.
This is another reason I cook with the freshest ingredients I can. I always try to have a balanced meal on the table. A meat, vegetable, and potato or rice will usually fill everyone up. Balanced meals are meals you can feel good about serving your family.
As a person of Italian descent, pasta has always been a must at the dinner table several times a week. Now I know pasta can be very fattening; however, today we have other pasta alternatives.
Most grocery stores carry whole wheat pasta, which is very good for you. Also there are light sauces with vegetables that you can use instead of a heavy or cream-based sauce.
My grandparents lived to a ripe old age and ate more pasta than anything else. They were all healthy and happy because they weren't hungry all the time.
Here is a a Tomato Primavera you can feel good about feeding your family. Notice all the fresh ingredients. What does Primavera mean in Italian? "Springtime." We could all use a little springtime in November!
TOMATO PRIMAVERA
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 large garlic clove, finely chopped
1 14 1/2-ounce can whole tomatoes
1 small ear corn, kernels shucked and par-boiled for 1 minute
1 small zucchini, cut into 1/4-inch cubes
2 ounces extra-small button mushrooms, halved
1 teaspoon double-conentrate tomato paste
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano or fresh oregano to taste
1/2 teaspoon dried basil or 10 leaves of fresh basil
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
In a skillet or saucepan, heat the oil over moderate heat. Add the onion and garlic; saute until tender, 2 or 3 minutes. (Make sure to not burn the garlic because it will turn very bitter.)
Add tomatoes, breaking them up with your hands. Stir in remaining ingredients. Raise the heat slightly and simmer the sauce until thick, about 10 minutes. Toss with cooked pasta. Serves 4-6
Olive oil is great to use all the time because it won't clog the arteries. Also, there's a small amount of sugar in this recipe, but you need to balance the acid of the tomatoes. With all the ingredients, a 1/2 teaspoon of sugar really isn't much. Also, don't forget whole wheat pastas! They are very tasty, not to mention good for you.
As parents the best thing we can do is serve healthy and balanced meals to our family. This should include pastas.
When you eat healthy you are happy and alert. This makes you feel good about yourself.
So try serving fresh ingredients and I'm sure you will be amazed how much weight we all don't gain. Three well-balanced meals a day is a way to stay healthy.
Let's make sure our children feel beautiful and one way to do that is give them healthy food choices, which believe it or not should include pasta with fresh ingredients.
We should all try to focus more on health than body image. However, that's easier said than done, but healthy foods will get you to a ripe old age. A skinny, unhealthy, malnourished body will only lead to a tired and sick body.
Look at all these people in Hollywood who die at such young ages. Unfortunately, many young girls look up to these types of people. As parents I'm not sure what we can do about that, but we can offer our children healthy food choices.
Fresh foods and ingredients are one way to maintain a healthy weight. If you're healthy you can't help but be happy!
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