Podcast #59: Underweight Kids

by The Meal Makeover Moms on June 9th, 2009

Krispy PB & Chocolate Treats

Last week, Liz went on a field trip with Simon and his class to the Peabody Museum and Museum of Natural History at Harvard – very cool museums with dinosaur bones, Maya artifacts, a 1,642 pound amethyst geode, and a whole lot more. While eating lunch with a bunch of kids, one of Simon’s 10-year old friends announced, “I have to eat junk food because I’m too skinny.”

Wow, did Liz’s ears ever perk up.  While this 4th grade boy was definitely thin, by no means was he “underweight.”  There are two common misconceptions we often hear bantered about: (1) If you’re skinny, you must be “underweight,” and (2) Skinny kids should eat junk food in order to gain weight.

To set the record straight, we decided to devote this week’s Cooking with the Moms podcast to the issue of underweight kids.  We begin with the fact that being “underweight” is different from being thin or slender.  While some kids are naturally slight — and they maintain their weight by being physically active and eating a healthful diet – unless their BMI (body mass index) for age and gender is less than the 5th percentile, they are not technically underweight.  The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has a BMI calculator on their website, so if you’re concerned about your child’s weight (underweight, overweight, or obese) you can certainly check that out.

Underweight: Less than the 5th percentile
Healthy weight: 5th percentile to less than the 85th percentile
Overweight: 85th to less than the 95th percentile
Obese: Equal to or greater than the 95th percentile

For the few kids who really do need to gain weight (by the way, you should always talk to your doctor and dietitian first to identify any possible medical problem), we recommend they do it by eating a well-balanced, nutrient-rich diet … not a diet filled with ice cream frappes, gobs of butter, or bags of junk food.  During the show, we share tips for adding good-quality calories to a child’s diet, and we serve up two great recipes, perfect for any kid.  The first, Ham & Cheesy Breakfast Sandwich, is an easy one to whip up any morning of the week. The second is a new one we just created for Krispy PB & Chocolate Treats featuring multigrain Rice Krispies, peanut butter, ground flaxseed, and one of our favorite ingredients, chocolate.  This recipe does double duty as a snack or a dessert.

Ingredients for Krispy PB & Chocolate Treats

Krispy PB & Chocolate Treats
Makes 15 Servings

  • 3/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
  • 3/4 cup peanut butter
  • 3 tablespoons ground flaxseed
  • 4 cups Jumbo Multi-Grain Krispies

1. Coat a 7×11-inch baking pan with nonstick cooking spray and set aside.

2. Heat the chocolate chips and peanut butter in a large saucepan over low heat, stirring frequently, until the chips melt.  Remove from heat and stir in the ground flaxseed.

3. Add the cereal and stir until coated evenly with the peanut butter mixture.  Place in the prepared pan.  Flatten gently with the back of a spoon or spatula.  Cover and place in refrigerator until firm, about 2 hours.

Nutrition Information per Serving: 150 calories, 10g fat, (3g saturated, 0.3g omega-3), 105mg sodium, 15g carbohydrate, 2g fiber, 4g protein, 10% iron

If you are trying to help your child gain weight, feel free to share your tips and ideas on the blog.  And, if you get a chance to try our recipes, let us know what your family thinks of them.

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11 Comments | Filed Under Desserts, Eggs, Grains, Podcast, Snacks 

11 Responses to “Podcast #59: Underweight Kids”

  1. Pam on June 11th, 2009

    Thanks for the link, that puts most of my skinny kids at a healthy weight (thanks to your recipes) and my bird boned Owen at, as I suspected underweight. I’m pretty sure he runs a super high metabolism as his nickname from us is Tigger. If I skipped everywhere I went, I would possibly be underweight as well. But i drink coffee and blog. So we know where I stand! Thanks so much. the kids are on a Florida vacation right now with the grandparents, eating total junk and running off all of those calories, but when they get back, I’ll have to make those bars…they look divine!

  2. Laura Schaefer on June 13th, 2009

    Great recipe. I love that it is simple and has flaxseed. Thanks!

  3. Wendy on June 22nd, 2009

    I really liked that recipe. It was easy and good. I am also one to sneak flaxseed into most everything I can. I’ve been doing that since my now 7 year old son was starting on solids, but recently I have been hearing that flaxseed is estrogenic and not good for boys. Have you heard anything about that? He is such a picky eater, it seems like it was the only – what I thought was- nutritious thing I could get him to eat. Any thoughts??
    I really like your show – just found it on i-tunes and am listening to lots of back episodes. Learning a lot already. THANKS.

  4. Meal Makeover Moms on June 27th, 2009

    Thanks for the comments. Pam, let us know if your kids like the treats!

    Wendy: We’re glad you found our podcast!

    We use a couple of tablespoons of ground flaxseed in some of our recipes because of the high fiber and omega-3 fat content. Flax contains the plant form of omega-3 or alpha-linolenic acid and has many health benefits.

    You can check out the National Institutes of Health website for a summary of studies on flax:
    http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/druginfo/natural/patient-flaxseed.html

    The Flax Council of Canada has good information on the health attributes of flax on their website: http://www.flaxcouncil.ca

    If you are concerned about your son eating flax you should definitely talk to your pediatrician. We feel that it is safe for our kids in the amounts we use. If you don’t want to use it feel free to substitue wheat germ in any of our recipes that call for ground flaxseed.

    By the way, don’t forget to store your ground flaxseed in the freezer so it stays fresh longer.

  5. Lorraine Antosiewicz, MS, RD on June 28th, 2009

    Hi Janice and Liz-

    I made the Krispie Treats and brought them to a family Father’s Day gathering. Everyone liked them even though they were the healthiest dessert on the table…but I didn’t mention that fact…before or after.

    I think they tasted a lot like the Girl Scout Cookie – I believe its called Tagalong. Much healthier though. I even made mine with Natural Peanut Butter.

    Thanks for the recipe.

  6. Joanne King on June 28th, 2009

    These are the most delicious treats and so easy!!!! My whole family loved them. Thanks for such a great recipe…..

  7. Molly Phillips on June 29th, 2009

    These are the tastiest and easiest treat ever! They taste so decadent it’s hard to believe they are healthy. The kids couldn’t get enough.

  8. Cindy on July 6th, 2009

    These were a hit with the kids and adults!

    I bet it would work with carob instead of chocolate,too. Sometimes I just like the taste of carob!

    This cereal is a new favorite in our house!

  9. Becky Spicer on November 19th, 2009

    Loved this podcast! I found it while looking for inspiration for making treats/snacks for my underweight 11 year-old. He’s 70 lbs at 4′10″ putting him in the 3rd percentile BMI. But we’re up from the 2nd, so we are headed in the right direction.
    I totally modified your recipe since my son doesn’t like chocolate. And we don’t live in the US so our food selection is limited. But I kept the basic idea. I used something rice krispies-like, almond paste, dried apricots and sesame seeds. Came out a little messy but tasted great!

  10. Susan on December 2nd, 2009

    Dissappointed to see Skippy as the peanut butter of choice and a Kelloggs cereal with artificial flavors.

    Ingredients
    RICE FLOUR, SUGAR, WHOLE WHEAT FLOUR, YELLOW CORN MEAL, OAT FIBER, POLYDEXTROSE, SALT, HONEY, PALM OIL, NATURAL AND ARTIFICIAL FLAVOR, ASCORBIC ACID (VITAMIN C), ALPHA TOCOPHEROL ACETATE (VITAMIN E), NIACINAMIDE, REDUCED IRON, ZINC OXIDE, VITAMIN A PALMITATE, PYRIDOXINE HYDROCHLORIDE (VITAMIN B6), RIBOFLAVIN (VITAMIN B2), THIAMIN HYDROCHLORIDE (VITAMIN B1), BHT (PRESERVATIVE), FOLIC ACID, VITAMIN D, VITAMIN B12.

    http://shadowfit.com/articles/?p=367 – for the skippy creamy peanut butter that is in your photo.

  11. Meal Makeover Moms on December 3rd, 2009

    Hi Susan: Thanks for sharing your thoughts on peanut butter and cereal. As far as peanut butter goes, Liz tends to go with the all-natural Whole Foods brand. Janice’s kids, however, prefer the texture of Skippy. Given that peanut butter is a great source of protein and heart-healthy monounsaturated fats, Janice doesn’t worry too much about the sugar in Skippy (less than a teaspoon per serving). Plus, her kids are pretty active!

    Regarding the Multi-Grain Krispies cereal, we suspect the artificial flavor comes from something like vanilla extract though it’s hard to tell. As you may know, we choose all-natural products whenever we can. What concerns us more are the artificial colors found in many food products including some cereals (but not this one). We love the fact that the Krispies cereal called for in this recipe is a whole grain.

    We appreciate your taking the time to get in touch.

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