Papas & Mamas KNI Parents' Association Newsletter No. 39 December 2010
1: Facts about Dieting By Kumiko Anicich2: Cartoon by Tashi Ohnsman
3: Information Corner - Things to do with kids
4: What's Cooking? (Recipes provided by Kazue Adachi)
5: Editor's Note
Facts about Dieting By Kumiko Anicich
Two thirds of Americans are overweight and 1/3 is obese. Obesity among the children is also epidemic and First Lady Michelle Obama started the initiative “Let’s Move!” (www.letsmove.gov) Obesity is costing a lot of money to each of us tax payers and consumers as obese Americans having health issues and using government-assisted health insurance like Medicare, airlines having to charge more for fuel cost because they need more fuel to fly as we get heavier, and so on. Why is Americans getting heavier? It’s because of today’s sedentary life style, bigger meal portions, and junk food, right? Then, if we move more and eat less, shouldn’t we get lighter and slimmer? As you know, there are so many kinds of diets and weight loss programs. But, diets, which is cutting calorie down and making meal portions smaller, don’t work. As New Year comes, a lot of people set “Lose weight” as New Year resolution, but this focus on weight alone is the first mistake because it’s the fat we want to lose.
First thing we need to understand is that muscle dictates metabolism. People who stay active and perform some kind of exercise regularly have higher muscle-to-fat ratio. Having more muscle burns calories and fat, even when you are asleep. That’s why people wanting to lose weight (in reality, fat) have to do some kind of strength training (weight lifting) exercise, in addition to fat burning exercise like aerobics and running. Caution here is that muscle weighs twice as much as fat, so you don’t get the accurate picture when you use weight as guide in your weight loss effort, which actually should be fat loss effort. Furthermore, typical “diet” causes muscle loss, and thus lowers metabolism. That the last thing you want when you are trying to lose weight.
Then, the food. The reason having smaller portion meals doesn’t make us thinner is that blood sugar plays a big role in how body uses food as energy, not to mention that people can’t keep eating a smaller portion for a long time because it leaves them feeling deprived and hungry. What kind of food you eat makes difference and this is where glycemic index comes in. When we eat, food raises blood sugar levels in our body. The problem is that today’s meals of high glycemic food are almost like eating sugar and spike blood sugar very quickly. Body, then, releases insulin to escort that sugar to muscle where energy is needed. When this blood sugar spike and insulin secretion happens quickly together, body switches to a fat storage mode, however. When body can’t use up all the blood sugar available, it is stored as fat. Problem with today’s American way of eating is that they do this all day long, and blood sugar goes up and down, releasing insulin every time it goes up. Pretty soon, body stops reacting to insulin and everything you eat gets stored as fat. How can we avoid this blood sugar spikes, then? By eating low glycemic index (GI) food, which keeps blood sugar level steady.
Unfortunately, people who Yo-Yo dieted all their life need more than exercise and low GI eating to boost their metabolism and stop food getting stored as fat. In addition, stress often prevents people from losing fat, and we all know we are under a lot of stress these days. There are scientifically-proven herbs and supplements to boost metabolism and counteract the effect of stress. Fortunately for overweight children, they haven’t Yo-Yo dieted yet, so increasing exercise and switching to low GI food often allow them to lose fat. We, the parents, need to keep our kids active more than ever.
If you are interested in learning more or planning to have “lose weight” as your New Year resolution, e-mail me at antiage2000@yahoo.com. (I’m also pondering an idea about offering a weight management/healthy eating class for family at KNI. If you want me to offer the class, drop me a line, too!) Stay active and choose low GI food for a healthier life style for the whole family!
Cartoon by Tashi Ohnsman
The Four-year OldInformation Corner - Things to do with kids
Staying in town during the holiday break?
At the Pershing Square in downtown, you can enjoy outdoor ice skating until January 17. For details, visit
Pershing Square . Only a few blocks away is the shortest railway in the world,
Angels Flight . It has been closed but reopened this spring. Take a ride for fun. Kids will love it!
Kimura-san (Momo), the newest newspaper committee member, has great suggestions for kid-friendly restaurants in the downtown area.
Bottega Louie
700 S Grand Ave Los Angeles, CA 90017213-802-1470 Bottega Louie
High chairs available; No changing table.
This bright and spacious restaurant has a great selection of appetizer-type dishes. The menu changes throughout the day but whenever you go, it always has something your little one could eat. At the entrance, there is a deli and a bakery with great pastries. Great for takeout.
BCD Tofu House （Korea Town）
3575 Wilshire Blvd Los Angeles, CA 90010213-382-6677 BCD Tofu House
High chairs available; Changing table in Ladies room.
I recommend this Sundubu (Korean food) restaurant especially for cold days. They have curry flavored Sundubu or with ham or sausage unlike others. If you pick non-spicy, the kids can eat it, too. Other locations include downtown and Rowland Heights (closest from KNI).
What's Cooking? (Recipes provided by Kazue Adachi)
Having a get-together to celebrate the coming year? A long time supporter and current KNI Parents’ Association Secretary and Webmaster, Ms. Adachi (Saturday class), shares her party recipes:Easy Pickles
You can’t stop munching on these things.Ingredients
Veggies such as onion, carrots, celery, cauliflower, etc.
Water
White wine vinegar (or combine white wine with vinegar)
Black peppercorn 1 tsp
Good quality salt
Cut veggies into sticks.
Start boiling water, adding the salt (make the water salty to taste) and pepper then pour vinegar generously.
Boil the veggies (lightest in color first) to your favorite texture and drain (take them out of the water when they are still hard as they get softer with the retaining heat).
Refrigerate.
Fried Chicken
This can be prepared a day before.Ingredients
Four Chicken thigh or breast chunks preferably with skin
Oil for deep frying.
A (Sauce)
Soy sauce 8 Tbsp, Sake 4 Tbsp, Mirin 4 Tbsp (or 2:1:1 respectively)
B (optional)
Vinegar, sugar, chili pepper, Chinese chili bean sauce (Toban Djan), crushed garlic or ginger
Slice partially the thick part of the meat and wipe with paper towel to remove excess moisture.
Heat the sauce mixture (A), add B if desired and set aside.
Heat a deep frying pan and pour oil (enough to cover the meat).
When the oil is heated (don’t overheat as it will splatter), fry the meat, turning a few times until it cooks thoroughly.
Put the fried meat in a tray, pour the sauce mix over (a Ziploc bag can be used) and let stand for an hour.
If to be eaten the next day, refrigerate after taking the meat out of the sauce.
Slice the meat and serve. For a great party platter, garnish with fresh vegetables.
A scene from one summer
I was killing a little time in a park before picking up my son. Near where I was sitting were two boys playing (both looked kindergarten/preschool age, about two years apart). At the beginning, they seemed to be getting along but the younger one abruptly took a toy the older one was playing with. The older one started crying and walking toward his mother for consolation. At that moment, the mother of the younger one waited for a moment to see what he would do. As there was no sign of his apologizing to the older one, the mother gently said to him, “What do you have to say?” The boy must have known in his own way that he had done something wrong but remained adamantly silent. If I were the mother, I’d have raised my voice and coerced him to say sorry. Then, the older one showed his reluctance to play with that boy. Seeing that, the boy thought what he did was not nice and apologized. The mother never had to use the word “sorry,” – the boy figured out on his own the consequences of his action and tried to make amends. I was really impressed with the mother’s patience to have her son reach this learning moment. It was my learning moment, too.Editor's Note
It has already been ten years since the Y2K frenzy. I would like to thank the contributors especially Ohnsman-san (the cartoon) and Anicich-san even though their children have moved on. I welcome your comments, articles and information. Please email me at nami.hayashi3@gmail.com. The next Papas & Mamas will come out next June before the summer break. Happy New Year!Backnumber
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