As we discuss how to improve your tween’s nutritional value, take a recipe from OHealthy for a terrific vegetarian pizzia.

All Red and Ready-to-Go Pizza

Ingredients

• 1 whole-wheat flat bread (pita without the pocket, about 8 inches in diameter)
• 2 tablespoons roasted red pepper (packed in water)
• 2 tablespoons thinly sliced red onion
• 2 tablespoons flavored tomato paste (pesto, roasted garlic, or Italian seasoning)
• 1/4 cup finely shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
• 1 tablespoon chopped sun-dried tomato
• Sprinkle of crushed dried red pepper, basil, garlic, or other seasoning, to taste

Directions

Spread the flat bread with the toppings and place the bread on a toaster oven tray. Use the “top brown” setting. The pizza is ready when the cheese bubbles, in three to five minutes.

Serves one

The serving contains about 367 calories, 16 g protein, 13 g fat, 15 mg cholesterol, 44 g carbohydrates, 2 g fiber, and 905 mg sodium.

Click here for more OHealthy recipes.

You know the drill: the kids want to come home, watch television, play Wii, get onto Webkinz.  Then the argument ensues.  Mom says no, you watch too much television, play with your toys and go outside.  Kid then attempts to argue and gets upset and feels like the world is coming to an end because the electronics have been unplugged. 

Well, mom is right on this one.  The American Academy of Pediatrics suggests that:

“… kids under 2-years old should not watch any TV; those older than 2 should not watch more than 1 to 2 hours a day of quality programming.”

Moreover, the effects of too much television can be detrimental to a tween’s health.  Some of the adverse consequences include a higher chance for obesity, learning aggressive behavior, becoming fearful because they’ve seen something scary, or even learning inappropriate behaviors from television characters. 

In addition, if you think about it, you’ve spent thousands of dollars on the toys in their room.  They will sleep better at night (at least mine do), if they get out and get some fresh air, and they’re usually in a better mood after they’ve gotten to blow off some steam with a little physical activity.  The biggest thing that I notice is that you can forget about them focusing on anything when the television is on.  I’ve personally been limiting the girls to an hour a night.  If we don’t get home until 5:30, we still have to do homework, get dinner, have a shower, pack our stuff for the next day, clean up, etc etc.  This doesn’t leave a whole lot of time for watching television.  To read the full article, click here.

How much TV do you let your kids watch?  How do you limit electronic time without a battle?  Please share your opinions, thoughts, and personal experience because we’d love to hear from you.