If you resolved to help your family eat better in the coming year, Imperial Sugar Co. has a few tips to help. Their staff nutritionists, based in Sugar Land, offers these suggestions:

• Make cookies smaller.  If your children are accustomed to having 3 cookies for a snack, they can still have 3 cookies, but they will be getting fewer calories.
• Don't use artificial sweeteners in your baking.  Most sweeteners lose their sweet taste in the oven.  Stick to real sugar.
• Replace eggs with frozen egg substitute.  The substitute reduces calories and is better for your heart.
• Use calorie-reduced and low fat items whenever possible. In many cases, a calorie-reduced item also has less fat. Low-fat items also have fewer calories than the full-fat versions.
• Try recipes that use fruits to provide natural sweetness and an extra shot of fiber.

Imperial offers more healthy eating tips and plenty of recipes on their Web site.

Harris County Hospital District sends experts out into the community to improve our citizens access to preventive health education and screening services such as cholesterol testing, blood pressure screening, vision testing and child development tests. These programs promote early diagnosis and treatment of disease and educate families on health topics.

Depending on which health fair you attend, you may also find fire truck tours, safety demonstrations, kid events and plenty of give-aways, making it a fun (and healthy!) outing for the family.

February Friday, February 12, 2010
FSCU 75th Anniversary
First Service Credit Union
7025 Fry Rd
Houston, TX 77433
11 a.m.-2 p.m.
For more information, call Sophia Baimiagis at 832-688-1309.

Friday, February 12, 2010
Healthy Heart Community/Resource Health Fair
Vines Early Childhood/PKC
7220 Inwood Park Dr
Houston, TX 77088
9 a.m.-12:30 p.m.
For more information, call Cordia Anderson-Hopkins at 281-878-7950.

Wednesday, February 17, 2010
Health Fair
Kujawa EC/Pre-K
7111 Fallbrook Dr.
Houston, TX 77086
7:30 a.m.-10:30 a.m.
For more information, call Geraldine Quilin at 281-878-1514.

Friday, February 19, 2010
FSCU 75th Anniversary
First Service Credit Union
8980 Clearwood
Houston, TX 77075
11 a.m.-2 p.m.
For more information, call Sophia Baimiagis at 832-688-1309.

Saturday, February 20, 2010
Family Health and Fitness Fair
Martin Elementary School
11718 Hendon Ln
Houston, TX 77072
9 a.m.-noon
For more information, call Sherry White at 281-983-8363.

Saturday, February 27, 2010
5th Annual Special Education Parent Conference and Resource Fair
Morton Ranch High School
21000 Franz Road
Katy, TX 77449
8 a.m.-1:30 p.m.
For more information, call Michelle Naccarato at 713-466-6304.

To schedule these services at your event, visit the HCHD Web site.

Yesterday we heard from Dr. Peggy Smith, a Baylor College of Medicine expert on teen health, on local teens preference for newer technology when it comes to birth control. As we talked, Smith brought up an interesting point about teen pregnancy -- namely, that adults should rethink who they consider a teen.

"When we're talking about pregancy among youth, we really need to include 20-24 year olds, too," said Smith. "Recent studies have shown that the human brain really doesn't mature until age 25, so females getting pregnant before 25 can be considered as part of the 'teen' pregnancy rate."

This means, says Smith, that adults need to reconsider the attitude that youth are 'adult' at 18.

"Parents may want to think that their child is an adult at 18, but cognitively they're not," said Smith. "You still need to parent."

Smith is director of the seven Baylor Teen Health Clinics located throughout Houston.