Parent to Parent: Fun and Fit

WSVN -- Friends Leslie Kaplan and Kimberly Lieberbaum like to whip up healthy meals and snacks for their sons.

But that doesn't mean that the boys don't like to live a little.

Eric Lieberbaum: "I like fried chicken and french fries. I guess that's not really good for me."

Jared Kaplan: "Sometimes popcorn."

But their moms know a little about balancing healthy food with life's guilty pleasures, like brownies.

Leslie Kaplan: "Instead of the oil, I've replaced it with applesauce, and instead of whole eggs, we have egg whites, so I feel like, you know, they're eating something almost like a healthy muffin as opposed to a healthy dessert."

Kimberly says their house is a no junk food zone.

Kimberly Lieberbaum: "When other kids come over, and they're used to junk food, they're not happy when they're at our house."

Dr. Arthur Agatston, preventative cardiologist and author of the mega-hit book the South Beach Diet, wishes more parents were as smart and savvy as Kimberly and Leslie.

Dr. Agatston: "Our children today, while overfed, are literally undernourished. They're not getting enough fruits and vegetables and this has effects on behavior, on academics, on general health."

He says things have to change. That's why he's doing the Wine and Food Festival Fun and Fit as a family event at Parrot Jungle.

Joined by celebrity chefs like Rachel Ray, the event is all about "life after chicken nuggets," how kids can broaden their food choices and how both they and their parents can have fun together in the kitchen.

Dr. Agatston: "If we don't start with our kids and get them eating healthier, it doesn't matter what type of health care plan we use in the future, it's going to be overwhelmed by disease, that's how bad it is with kids eating primarily fast food."

Dr. Agatston says it just takes a little knowledge and some determination in the kitchen to get on the right track. On the menu at the Lieberbaum's: sheppard's pie, salmon burgers, and fresh fruit and salad.

Not exactly guilty pleasures but the boys are hungry and healthy and happy because they know desert is just around the corner.

FOR MORE INFORMATION:

Dr. Valerie Goode
www.drvaleriegoode.com

Fun & Fit as a Family
www.sobewineandfoodfest.com/2009/news.php