Program teaches parents new shopping strategies to encourage healthy eating at home

• Grocery shopping is not such a mundane chore for Patty Brown now that her son willingly tosses new --- and healthy --- products into the cart.
• Calvin Brown, 8, recently asked for a box of Kashi Heart to Heart cereal even though it's not loaded with sugar.
• If there's one thing Calvin and other Royal Oak students in the Children's Health Initiative Program (CHIP) have learned about cereal and other food it is: Try it, you'll like it.
• Designed by Dr. Paul Ehrmann of Royal Oak, CHIP exposes children to delicious yet nutritious foods every week and their parents to tips on healthy eating and combating childhood obesity.
• Melissa Knudson, a dietician who specializes in adolescent nutrition, feels for parents like Brown, who crave variety in the kitchen but often meet resistance when they try to introduce picky young eaters to different foods.
• "The cereal aisle is the best aisle and the worst aisle," Knudson said during a shopping field trip with CHIP participants.
• Parents hungry for information about the best foods to buy got guided tours of Hollywood and Holiday markets in Royal Oak, while their children taste tested snacks they had never tried before.
• Standing by a tempting deal of 10 boxes of Pop Tarts for $7 at Hollywood Market, Knudson told parents to opt for cereals made of whole grain --- the healthiest carbohydrate --- and high in fiber to regulate the appetite.
• Mixing a bag of unsalted nuts with the salted variety keeps taste buds happy and lowers sodium intake.
• Knudson also suggests anyone fending off hunger pangs eat five or six nuts about 45 minutes before dinner.
• Montie-Gingerella said she was surprised how many dairy products are loaded with these forms of sugar.