In a day of cheeseburgers and fries or pizza and bread sticks, a lot of our teens are not getting the good stuff they need to keep the body growing healthy. Even if mom is making good nutritious meals, at least one of the kids will be off somewhere else doing something and miss the good stuff. So it is really important to make sure you have good nutritious on the go snacks on hand.

I have learned to put a few baby carrots and grapes along with a few slices of chunk cheese into a sandwich bag and just keep them on hand in the fridge so that the kids can grab and go. Sometimes I will do peanut butter and banana or celery bags too. Just depends on the day or what everyone is having for dinner.

My daughter, Paige, is still bringing snacks to school once a month and she recently got a letter addressed to her sent in the snail mail. It said Paige thank you for the good food you treat us with each month. It was signed by her class mates.

Of course now and then Walmart is a lifesaver when she says, "Mommy snack day is tomorrow and it is 9 pm." So thank god for juices and snack crackers or seasonal tidbits.

Some of us who have children who are picky eaters need to supplement our child's meals with a daily vitamin. I prefer good old "Flintstones" but in today's world they have chewing gum vitamin balls or gummy worm vitamins. So explore and find one that fits your child's needs.

I've also be known to pop one with the kids when I'm having a stressful day. A little extra vitamin never hurts anyone.

Recently my husband and I put the house on a diet, all except Paige who is on a diet of see it and eat it, to gain weight. So there are a lot of veggies and fruits in our home as well as whole grain bread and turkey, chicken or tuna. No one goes hungry and everyone feels better.

It really has been a change of lifestyle from the homemade meat loaf, mashed potatoes, green beans and corn we usually have. Or pasta nights.

We have had a lot of fun keeping each other from cheating and my daughter April is having a blast watching her dad. He will occasionally cheat if I am taking a nap or shower. She immediately tells on him when I get back and he turns so red and looks so guilty. It cracks us all up.

My pet peeve is I bought a bag of cheetos right before we began this diet and I want to eat them so bad. I can only have 22 with my lunch and it adds 150 calories. I am used to picking up the bag and snacking till I hit the bottom of the bag. With out thinking that is more than a whole days total calories in one sitting.

So now when I look at that bag I see 1000 calories not my favorite snack. Yep, that's enough to turn it down. Especially when I love grapes and they are only 3 to 5 calories each. (giggle)

So check it out and aat healthy. If we are what we eat ... I used to be a big Cheeto.