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Ellen and Carolina share recipes to keep you and your children strong during and after physical activity. Muscle recovery is essential in the world of pro athletes. And, it's big business in the gym community. Refueling before and after your workout should be a natural habit if you engage in physical activities, be it jogging, playing tennis or biking.  It may not seem as important, but getting the right pre- and post-workout nutrition is a must for active kids. Whether your children are playing soccer or dancing, their growing muscles require muscle recovery recipes.  The hosts of the Family Food Kitchen have some great ideas to get you started... of course, they are delicious and nutritious.

Ever stop and wonder what all the hype is about when it comes to superfoods and what makes them so "super"? What exactly are superfoods? Are they uncommon and unique with super powers, much like your kids' favorite superheroes? Even more importantly... will your kids eat them? Thank heaven superfoods are simply ones that are nutrient-packed with the power to ensure the health of young bodies.  The hosts of the Family Food Kitchen reveal each of their top five superfood choices they know at least 70 percent of kids will like.  As a result, you will end up with at least five crowd-pleasing superfoods to feed your family on a regular basis. As you know, the hosts are all about healthy foods that taste good too. Ellen and Carolina's Top Picks: Onions, Garlic & Mushrooms Eggs & Salmon Beans Berries Spinach, Kale & Broccoli  

One in 13 children is taking prescription drugs for emotional and/or behavioral reasons. Isn't it time we start thinking of alternatives to these meds? One in 13 children is taking prescription drugs for emotional and/or behavioral reasons.  These psychotropic drugs are even prescribed to toddlers as young as 18 months. Sadly, welfare and foster children are major recipients. But, that’s not all. Kids are also prescribed antibiotics twice as often as needed. There are serious short- and long-term side effects to these prescriptions.  In this segment, Dr. Hyla Cass explains how to get your kids off meds so they can live normal, healthy lives. Since the odds are at least one child in your extended family is on prescription drugs, you don’t want to miss this timely and important information.

Traveling always brings with it stopping for travel food. Learn how convenience stores have made the food news. Road trips are meant to be fun for families. Don’t you look forward to being together with loved ones as you head to your event or vacation destination?  Kids especially look forward to running in and picking out their favorite travel food at those convenience stores attached to gas stations. Until recently, the selection has primarily been limited to walls of soda and shelves of chips and candy. The good news is that fresh food is creeping into convenience store selections. The more you buy healthier foods while traveling, the more those establishments will start to offer an even wider selection. Let’s band together so we all have better food and drink choices when traveling.

“Let food by thy medicine and medicine be thy food.” Learn why this quote has lived on for so many years. “Let food by thy medicine and medicine be thy food.” This famous quote is from Hippocrates, who lived from 460 BC to 370 BC; a very long, productive life. And, he did this without any help from pharmaceutical companies.   Hippocrates clearly knew how to use food to live beyond today’s life expectancy. You too can learn which foos can be medicinal from guest Kathleen Barnes, author of Food Is Medicine: 101 Prescriptions from the Garden. This is medicine you will want to take; nutritious, fresh and delicious. Come on into the Family Food Kitchen… for the health of your family.

Get delicious and nutritious olive oil recipes in the Family Food Kitchen.  Olive oil reigns as THE good fat to use when cooking. After all, it provides that rich mouth-feel we all enjoy. Guest, Eryn Balch, of the North American Olive Oil Association, joins the Family Food Kitchen hosts to share her full-proof olive oil cooking tips, as well as some nutritious mouth-watering recipes you can use for breakfast, lunch and dinner.  Whether cooking for your family or friends, Eryn’s guidelines for cooking with olive oil will take your meals up a healthy delicious notch.

Olive Oil... there is much to learn about this life-giving fat. Tune in to get to know your olive oils. The Italians are not the only ones who love olive oil. It’s the top pick of the hosts of the Family Food Kitchen for making salad dressings, sautéing, roasting, as a bread dipper… there are so many culinary uses for it. The question is, do you only love extra virgin or do you have other favorites? Should it be a golden color or a have hints of green? Even olive oil has been embroiled in controversy; it’s been reported that not all extra virgin oil is pure. Eryn Balch (North American Olive Oil Association) joins the show to elevate our love affair with olive oil.

It's the muscle that works involuntarily 24/7 to keep you alive. Take care of your heart with the right heart-healthy foods.Your heart contracts about 100,000 times a day. In 60 seconds, it pumps blood to every part of your body; and propels it through approximately 60,000 miles of arteries and veins.  It's a muscle that works involuntarily 24/7 to keep you alive. Stop and think about it: have you ever given your heart instructions to function? Clearly, your heart plays a central role in your amazing anatomy. But, just like other systems in your body, your heart needs food. Healthy food means a healthy heart. Which are the best foods you need to eat to keep yours beating strong? Dr. Jonny Bowden, PhD, CNS, and author 14 books, including The 150 Healthiest Foods on Earth, has the answer. Come on into the Family Food Kitchen for some heart nutrition… for the health of you and your family members.

Need some tips for almost zero prep time in the kitchen? Tune in. Busy parents dream of homemade meals that take zero amount of time to prepare and serve. Actually, zero-prep meals can limit you to ones filled with fresh raw fruit, vegetables, nuts and seeds... all foods you need to eat. However, by adding just a few minutes of your time, you can use the Family Food Kitchen's  “almost zero-time meal” tips to quickly pull together some more complete nutritious and delicious meals for your family. Working families, the hosts of the Family Food Kitchen have got you covered.

Until recently, cholesterol has been the bad guy; the thing that caused heart disease. Find out what has changed. In terms of cholesterol, we'd been told by doctors: “don’t eat it.” This is what doctors (and just about everyone else) have said for years. One person who stood strongly against the false heart health tsunami was Dr. Jonny Bowden. To explain his position, he wrote the controversial best seller, The Great Cholesterol Myth: Why Lowering Your Cholesterol Won’t Prevent Heart Disease and the Statin-Free Plan that Will. At last, science has sorted through the years of misinformation and agrees with Dr. Jonny. Tune in for this fascinating heart health reveal.

Step into The Family Food Kitchen for some delicious and nutritious omega-rich recipes. Omega fatty acids, omega-3s, omega-6s, good fats, essential fatty acids, even omega-9s... these all are still active nutrition buzz words.  That’s because the mind and body of every living person, of any age, requires them to function. To make it easier for you to feed your family these vital fats on a daily basis, the hosts of The Family Food Kitchen have tagged some great omega-rich recipes; ones they know even your kids will like.

There's a tipping point when caffeine starts to have too much of an effect on your body. What is your tipping point? When is enough caffeine enough and when is too much?  What is your caffeine tipping point? That is, what is the amount that takes you over the edge and into unwelcomed consequences?  In this segment, hosts of The Family Food Kitchen, Ellen Briggs and Carolina Jantac, share information on caffeine, including whether the source of the caffeine matters and how to know you've had to much.  Come on into The Family Food Kitchen for answers so you can enjoy just the right amount of your favorite caffeinated drinks and foods.

Vegetables for breakfast? Find out how to incorporate this valuable food source into your first meal of the day. Veggies for breakfast may sound unappealing, but when you consider that the recommended daily amount of vegetables a day is 5-7 servings, getting your greens early on is a must. You may ask, “How do I serve my kids vegetables for breakfast when it's hard enough to get them to eat them for lunch and dinner?” Guest, Maggie Jones Patton, co-founder of Bitsy’s Brainfood, has a list of great ideas on how to serve veggies to your family in eggs, smoothies, and even cereal. Join the Family Food Kitchen to start your kids on the right foot every morning with a nice helping of vegetables.

How can your children get nutrition smart? The "nutrition detectives" help them learn the truth about food. Nutrition Detectives have infiltrated schools. The result? Kids ages 5-14 are now nutrition smart... they're no longer clueless but are clued-in. Thousands of schools around the world have been, and continue to be, exposed to this nutrition education program. Catherine Katz, PhD, founded this program with her husband, world renowned nutrition expert, Dr. David Katz. There is a sad family story behind its beginning. In response to one of their daughter’s no good, very bad school lunch day, they were motivated to roll up their sleeves to turn kids into "nutrition detectives." Catherine joins the Family Food Kitchen to share what makes this program so engaging, instructive and a ton of fun.  

Grocery shopping for the healthiest choices doesn't have to be as difficult as it seems. Tune in for a new, easy system. It’s so hard to know which canned tomatoes are the best or contain the highest nutrition value. You can stand in the aisle and read labels until you're cross-eyed, or you could use the NuVal Nutrition Scoring System. This system is so easy; you can quickly grab-and-go with the best choice. Catherine Katz, PhD, is an author, producer and chef for a family seven. She explains how the NuVal Nutrition Scoring System can take the guess work out of grocery shopping. Her husband, Dr. David Katz, along with a team of leading nutrition, public health, and medical experts created the ONQI algorithm which enabled them to scientifically asses the ingredient contents of food. Now you can also use it to shop with nutrient confidence for a better bag of groceries.

Smoothies are trending in the nutrition world, which means there are a ton of different options and recipes. These days, smoothies are as commonly consumed as cereal and trail mixes.  But, with so many recipes, how do you choose? The hosts of the Family Food Kitchen have their favorites. They perform as great energy and mind/focus boosters that are not only needed in the morning after a night of fasting, but also during that 3 or 4 o’clock afternoon slump.  Fast, easy and fresh are the foundations of Ellen and Carolina's recipes. Find out how these recipes satisfy this requisite with super delicious, super nutritious ingredients.  

Sugar can be found in almost every household. Find out why the sugar industry may not be seeing the same success in the future. It’s time to shed some light on the sugar industry as a whole. As Ellen Briggs and Carolina Jantac, MS, RD, LD, point out, the sad reality is that food recommendations are not always written by medical experts or backed by scientific evidence. The general population may have a difficult time figuring out what’s real and what’s not, especially when there is so much money coming in from lobbying companies that get involved in food policies. The Impact of Sugar on Cavities When the dental industry was trying to raise cavity awareness and wanted to reduce the number of cavities, they originally wanted to say, “eating sugar can cause cavities.” Of course, the sugar industry got involved and participated in numerous debates and conversations. Once the smoke cleared, the dental industry came back and said it was actually lack of fluoride that caused cavities, resulting in fluoride being added to water supplies. An article by Dr. Joseph Mercola says, “Blaming cavities on a lack of fluoride is like blaming obesity on lack of exercise.” What Dr. Mercola is trying to explain is that while fluoride may be a piece of the cavity puzzle, it’s just a small part; sugar is actually the biggest issue. Ultimately, the sugar industry was able to successfully shift focus away from sugar, switch gears and change the recommendations, and essentially sweep the whole debate under the rug. Jantac turns to a friend’s personal experience to show how difficult it can be to truly escape sugar. A mother with three young children had their best interest in mind, so she gave them “100 percent natural, 100 percent vitamin C” fruit gummy snacks that seemed like a better alternative to the name-brand candies. Unfortunately, even the “natural” fruit gummies are still made out of sugar. Young children’s teeth are still forming, and the gelatin-like snacks can be very sticky. If a child’s mouth mobility or tongue strength is not at full capacity yet, the sugar can remain on the teeth for extended periods of time, eating away at the enamel. It’s these initial cavities that can form the beginning of an unhealthy mouth. Health Starts in the Mouth “An unhealthy mouth means unhealthy body,” explains Jantac. After all, the mouth is the first organ involved in digestion. It’s where enzymes start digesting food and extracting vitamins, mine

There is a new idea out there brought to us by nutritional experts; it's called "good fat." Find out how fat can be extremely beneficial for you. Good fat is not only delicious and satisfying, it is a required source of nourishment for your whole body, especially your brain. Contrary to previous belief, going fat-free is not healthy. In this segment, Dr. Julia Nordgren explains this important truth to you. Dr. Julia also shares why avocados are the "great good fat" to be enjoyed often. You see, Dr. Nordgren is a medical doctor and a chef... what a magical combination for a wealth of healthy eating tips and recipes. 

If your kids don't eat enough veggies, no matter the extent of your attempts, supplements may be the answer. American kids are simply not eating nearly as many vegetables as they need, and the statistics are alarming. According to the USDA, at least 95 percent of children between the ages of four and 18 are not eating the recommended daily amount of vegetables. Kids’ bodies grow extremely fast, and the lack of nutrients from not having enough vegetables can take a serious toll on their young bodies. Vegetable Consumption Declines with Age Dr. Rachel Mitchell, who is known as “Dr. Rach,” was shocked when she initially heard these numbers. When broken down into individual age groups, the statistics get even gloomier. Around 10 percent of kids between one and three years old are meeting the recommended daily intake levels for vegetables, while kids between four and eight see that number drop to less than five percent. Even worse, a mere one percent of children aged nine to 13 ate enough vegetables, and kids over 14 accounted for less than one percent. Even though their bodies are growing at such a rapid rate, they are eating fewer and fewer vegetables as they age. There is a major repercussion to the dwindling number of vegetable-eating kids. According to Dr. Rach, around 31 percent of kids in the United States are either overweight or obese. Additionally, reports constantly show that quality of life in America can be suboptimal, with obesity having adverse effects like diabetes, hypertension, cardiovascular disease, and osteoporosis. As Dr. Rach says, “You can’t not feed the body what it needs and expect it to still be healthy.” Hailing from Australia but now residing in Utah, Dr. Rach brings a different view with her. Almost 25 percent of Australian children are overweight or obese, which is lower than the U.S. but still on the high end. Produce sections tend to be 3-4 times larger than those found in American supermarkets, and many foods, including breads and cookies, are less sugary. Veggie Replacements So, if American kids aren’t eating vegetables, what are they eating instead? Not surprisingly, fruits and vegetables have been replaced with sugar and fat. Nearly 100 percent of children up to eight years old exceeded the recommended fat and sugar levels for their ages. If that’s not enough, a recent report found the top foods American children are eating: in first place comes burgers, sandwiches and tacos, followed by desserts and sweet sn

Take this nutrition quiz designed for both children and parents alike, and see how well you do. Get ready for an easy and yet revealing nutrition quiz. While it's focused on children’s eating habits, parents can benefit from it too. Guest, Dr. Rachel Mitchell (or simply, "Dr. Rach"), mother of four, created this quiz to make it simple for you to see the truth about your family’s weekly breakfast, lunch, snacks, and dinner food choices. She is in the Family Food Kitchen to help you make subtle but significant adjustments to both what you serve to your family and how you care for yourself. After all, parents, you are the most important role models for kids.  Tune in for some nutrition quiz fun.