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w at er lo oc hr on ic le .c a W at er lo o C hr on ic le | T hu rs da y, S ep te m be r 6, 20 18 | 10 • Free Blood Glucose Monitor & Teaching • Free Blood Pressure Check • Compounding Friendly Professional Team... where your total health is our goal! hours Mon.-Fri. 9am-7pm • Sat. 9am-4pm 519-747-0320 373 Bridge St. Waterloo www.thpharmacy.com Family Owned & Operated with 30 Years Experience. - Hardwood - Engineered Hardwood - Laminate - Porcelain - Carpet - Tile & Stone - Resilient Many brands, styles & colours to choose from! WHEN QUALITY & SERVICE MATTERS CALL FOR A FREE ESTIMATE & VISIT OUR SHOWROOM TODAY! 2-500 Bingemans Centre Dr. (across from Bingemans Park) 519-570-0008 • ooring.com Mon. - Fri. 9:00am - 6:00pm, Sat. 10:00am - 4:00pm, Closed Sunday www ooring.com One of the best ways to instil a love of food and proper nutrition in kids is to let them participate in the meal-making process. While hectic lifestyles and childish antics can push parents into perform- ing the various tasks alone, Heidi Pola, a registered die- titian at the shiny new Zehrs Market on Pioneer Drive, says a game plan is most crucial. "Get them to actually help you write a grocery list and let them look at the flyer and have them cut things out that they want," she said. "That way, when they come to the store, you've got that list and that plan that you're not going to deviate from, and you have your meals planned for the entire week. "Here in the store, we have a lot of really fun ways you can engage your chil- dren with shopping, and what research tells us is that children who are in- volved in the meal plan- ning/shopping process are more likely to enjoy a vari- ety of foods, and that's real- ly important. We want our children to be food lovers, not picky eaters." Pola suggests allowing young children to try a new fruit or vegetable every time they come into the grocery store. "Each week, try expos- ing them to a new food," she emphasized. "It gets them really excited and open- minded to trying new things as well." One of the first things parents can do is take the 'Raise a Food Lover' pledge at Zehrs.ca. "There're a lot of chal- lenges and activities fami- lies can use to encourage their kids to be excited about nutrition and get in- volved in the kitchen," said Pola. A "cook together chal- lenge" encourages families to cook at least one meal to- gether per week. By post- ing a picture of it to social media by Sept. 12, partici- pants will receive 10,000 PC Optimum points ($10 value) and can be entered in a draw for other prizes. The website also offers safety tips and a tool kit that can be downloaded as a resource. "Even at the age of two, we can start involving kids with really simple tasks in the kitchen," Pola said. "I would suggest two- to three-year-olds can get in- volved with washing fruits and vegetables. It's also a really good opportunity for them to smell and identify things like herbs with (their caregivers)." As they get a bit older, kids enjoy measuring in- gredients and mixing, and can even do simple cutting with a supervisor. "By the time our kids are eight years old, they should be able to really pre- pare and assemble their own simple meals or lunch- es," said Pola. Through helping, kids develop better literacy and expand their math and sci- ence skills by counting and seeing how the ingredients come together. But making a meal doesn't have to feel like homework. Pola realizes that fun, simple options are para- mount for families in this day and age, especially when it comes to school lunches. She recommends incor- porating ready-made, healthy options like cherry tomatoes and sugar snap peas that require only a quick wash. Parents should also slice and dice fruits and veggies such as melons and celery in ad- vance so the edible pieces are ready and easily acces- sible for the entire week. Even though the ham sandwich in your child's lunch box might be well re- ceived, don't underesti- mate their appetite for picking, dipping and nib- bling, Pola added. Deconstructed lunches in a bento box can be fun, for example, by using tuna salad as a dip with crackers and avoiding the bread. There are plenty of sim- ple, healthy options, such as prepackaged cheeses, hardboiled eggs and yo- gurts, which require little to no preparation. Other preprepared op- tions such as veggie noo- dles can be bought in-store and added to dishes like pasta. "Sometimes when our kids aren't willing to ac- cept, say zucchini, if you try it in a different form it's always a good approach to take," Pola said. You can try outside-the- bun alternative like apple sandwiches, fruit and cheese skewers or banana roll-ups. Add crumbled cauli- flower to mashed potatoes. Put greens in smoothies. "If you use any kind of strong fruit like bananas pineapple or mango, it dis- guises the flavor of the veg- etables." While veggies often pose the biggest problem for most children, others have serious food allergies, which can be extremely difficult to navigate for par- ents. Even students with no food allergies are often forced to rearrange their diets in order to accommo- date those that do, and that's where a dietitian can come in, Pola says, adding that she can help people with a variety of dairy-free, egg-free alternatives. A free group workshop called Super Speedy Snacks will be offered on Sept. 20 from noon to 1 p.m. You need to register in ad- vance by calling 519-404- 2467 or emailing Heidi.Po- la@loblaw.ca. For more information on free group workshops or individualized sessions, visit Zehrs.ca. 'RAISE A FOOD LOVER' THIS SCHOOL YEAR Loblaw registered dietitian Heidi Pola is ready to share tips and ideas to help create fun, tasty, nutritious lunches this school year. She urges parents to get their kids involved with meal preparation at home and at the grocery store. Bill Jackson/Metroland BILL JACKSON bjackson@kitchenerpost.ca NEWS MAKING KIDS A PART OF MEAL PREPARATION IS THE FIRST INGREDIENT