Hello! I have a couple of...

Question
Hello! I have a couple of questions. My family and I have recently started following the DASH diet. We don't like most of the fish that are recommended as most healthy. I was just curious if eating any type of fish several times a week will still help prevent heart disease.

My other questions is about my two boys(2.5 and 4 years)who eat a very healthy diet, but could both stand to gain more weight. At one point, our pediatrician suggested that we consider adding instant breakfast to my younger son's milk once or twice a day. (Because he eats a lot and it's a very healthy diet, the dr. mentioned only as an idea, not actually something that we had to do.) My four year old had moved up on the weight chart at his 4-year check-up, but recently has lost weight. I've put him back on whole milk, but I am looking for other healthy suggestions to help both boys gain some weight. They are both excellent eaters. Both eat a wide variety of foods - meat, cheese, yogurt, fruits, vegetables, whole grains, sliced almonds and chopped nuts.... They love all fruit (oldest would actually choose over sweets) and many vegetables (my youngest tends to eat all his vegetables before eating anything else on his plate). My husband is fairly thin, so I believe my sons will tend to be thin, but I'm concerned about the weight loss in my older boy.

Thanks for your help.

Michelle

Answer
Michelle,

Almost any fish is going to be better for you than other types of meat.  Fish are especially healthy because they contain Omega-3 unsaturated fat.  The "most healthy" fish are the ones that contain the most Omega-3.  Perhaps you could try preparing these fish in different ways and see if you and your family like them better.  Maybe a different marinade or topping.  DO NOT fry your fish!

As for healthy weight gain in children, that's not an area I would consider myself an expert in.  I have a 2 1/2 year old boy and a 1 year old boy and the older one tends to be on the lighter side also.  I've often wondered if these scales are from old data or new data.  I would not want my kid to be at 90% for weight compared to kids today - too many kids and teens are overweight.  As long as our doctor says, "He's healthy" and he eats well and is active, I'm not too worried.  He has his whole life to gain weight.  I would go with whatever recommendations your pediatrician gives.

Best wishes.

Todd

P.S.  Have you tried Epicurious.com? (http://www.epicurious.com/)  It's a great website for finding new recipes.  Look up "salmon" and you'll get dozens of recipes to choose from - it's great!

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