The changes you’re making with our 12 Healthy Habits program are not just good for you – they’re good for your family.  Parents are powerful role models, and the new healthier habits you’re adopting are helping to instill these habits in your kids. But there are a few things you can learn from your kids, too.

Maryann Tomovich Jacobsen, a registered dietitian and nutrition blogger at Raise Healthy Eaters, is blogging about the 12HH and she offers this advice to help us tap into our inner child.  Here are 5 healthy habits that children can teach us -- if we let them:

1. Live an active life: Increasing our daily physical activity is so important. We need to do less sitting -- and be more active naturally.

How many times do you hear parents telling their children to sit down and sit still.  My two children, 2 and 4, skip, run and move everywhere we go.  Moving their bodies is a fun activity that is as natural as breathing.

Kid tip! Get up from your desk and walk around, take short walks at break time and keep moving throughout the day.  And if you can giggle while you're doing it, that's even better.

2. Listen to your tummy: I constantly hear parents insisting their young children take a few more bites of food.  In fact, 85% of parents say that they try to get their child to eat more at mealtime, according to a 2007 study published in Appetite.

No, no, no!  Kids are natural regulators of food intake.  They eat when hungry and stop when full with eating habits that seem erratic to us adults.  We need to protect this inborn ability in kids -- and, instead, ask ourselves if we are still hungry or have had enough.

Kid Tip! Feed yourself several times throughout the day (3 meals and 2 snacks) and listen to your tummy.  It'll let you know if you are done or even want to eat in the first place.

3. Enjoy every bite:  Ever watch a young child eat something that they love?  There's not an ounce of guilt -- just pure enjoyment. 

There's quite a bit of research that shows that guilt associated with eating -- thinking of food as good or bad -- causes people to eat more.

Kid Tip! Whatever you are eating, enjoy each bite and notice when you are satisfied.  Sitting at the kitchen table helps you focus on the food and eat more mindfully.

4. Fun takes precedence over food. Go to a party with kids present and your are bound to find parents chasing little ones around with a plate of food. 

I love that kids are too excited by festive surroundings to eat.  Adults can do the same thing by creating an exciting life. 

Kid Tip! Got a lifelong dream?  Start a project, take a class or simply pursue a forgotten passion and let food take second stage.

5. Become a picky eater: The other day my 4 year old, who loves sweets as much as the next kid, brought me a cupcake after taking one bite.  She said it wasn't that good.

While picky eating isn't always fun for parents, it's beneficial when kids are choosy about the not-so-healthy foods -- especially sweets.  

Kid Tip!  When it comes to foods without much nutritional value, be ultra picky.  Fit in (and enjoy) your absolute favorites and leave out the rest.

No doubt, kids have a lot to learn about healthy eating. But we forget that some of the most basic healthy habits are innate -- and little ones are great reminders of that.

So tell me, what healthy habits have you learned from your kids?

By: Amy Miknis

I grew up on a farm. A cattle farm. In fact, at this moment, my parents have about 20 cattle roaming around the pasture behind the house I grew up in. (They belong to a farmer down the road, and my dad boards them every summer. Dad gets his pasture grass eaten and kept manageable without having to mow, and the farmer gets great grass-fed beef.) So, going meatless one meal a week was only something we ever really did during Lent. My dad is a real meat and potatoes guy, and that's how his family ate, too. Getting "enough protein" to me was always some sort of meat, but that has definitely changed.

My husband and I have been enjoying working more vegetables, beans, and whole grains into our meals. We still feel full and satisfied even without the previously obligatory meat on the plate. We are definitely throwing beans into many more dishes and trying new recipes. I'm a teacher, so over the summer I have more time to spend on each evening's meal—rather than needing to throw together something quick when we both get home from long days at work. It's been great fun to take time and experiment with new recipes and ingredients.

I started making my own hummus to use for snacks, something we had previously only bought at the store. I love being able to make my own versions, playing around with different spices and add-ins. We either dip in our CSA veggies or I bake up some pita chips using whole grain pitas for a satisfying snack. Cheese sticks and almonds (I'm partial to the cinnamon roasted kind) are also delicious ways to make sure you get enough protein during the day.

Some of our favorite dishes have been when we've really been able to use a lot of our CSA veggies. Grilled vegetable lasagna, complete with homemade ricotta—I told you I love trying new things over the summer!—was a knock-out dish! It would also be easy to prep on a weekend for easy-to-reheat meatless lunches all week. We've also found that canned beans can be tossed in to nearly anything as a quick way to add in protein and round out a meal—salads, pasta, rice dishes, even pizza, the list goes on and on.

Beans also work well with many different ethnic foods, which we like to try cooking for ourselves at home. I've made some Indian spiced chickpeas, which were great with a saffron rice and naan. One of Zach's favorites was a black bean burger we made. I served it along with oven fries using some of the many potatoes we get from our CSA each week. He hasn't yet gone in to check his cholesterol, but his yearly appointment is in September, and I expect his numbers to drop!

See More: Cooking Light's full collection of Healthy Vegetarian Recipes

Each month Cooking Light magazine features tips, tricks, real-life stories and scrumptious recipes to help implement a different healthy habit.  But I hope you're not stopping there.  The 12 Healthy Habits project is multi-platform (and eventually it will be a book).  So join the conversation here on The Twelve or on Facebook --  find out how other people are successfully making changes or tell us what's working for you.

Social media can be a powerful tool to help you adopt healthier habits.  In fact, social networking sites and smartphones have transformed the health communications landscape over the last few years, according to the Pew Internet and American Life Project.  People are going online and listening to each other and learning from one another—a phenomenon dubbed "peer-to-peer healthcare."  Pew Internet research shows that 80% of Americans go online for health information—and people are even more motivated to consume and share information online if they're living with a chronic condition, such as high blood pressure, diabetes or heart problems.  

There are loads of ways social media can help with your healthy habits:

• -Gain support and inspiration. Healthy living can be a shared experience and online communities can be a powerful motivator.  No matter where you live, you can jump online to connect with others who want to make similar changes or have the same challenges as you.  Let us know how you've been doing with 12HH and share your successes with others. 

• -Stick to goals.  Joining forces with other people can help you be more accountable.  If you want to make changes, share it with your friends on Facebook.  Tweet about it (tag it #healthyhabits). Or blog about your journey. They're all great ways to get feedback, support and encouragement.

• -Track your progress. You'll find so many different tools that can help you monitor your daily successes—including social networking sites and iPhone apps to calculate your calories, evaluate the quality of your food choices or track your activity.  Self-monitoring has been shown to make a huge difference. When you see yourself making changes, enjoying small victories, it motivates you to do more.

So let us know how you've been doing with the 12HH.  Did you find a meatless meal that you really loved? What has helped you eat more whole grains?  Did you create a new breakfast routine? How did you find a way to be more active?  Share your success.  Give us your secrets.  It will reinforce your progress and inspire someone else.  

Your story might even be in the book. 

(image courtesy of panuarzc on flickr) 

When I first embarked on June's Healthy Habit, I read over the strength training tips in the issue. My challenge, is nearly word-for-word Jeff Vincent's challenge (The Cardio-Happy Traveler). Although I don't travel nearly as often as he does, I, too, treat strength training in an unstructured way, doing exercises, using machines, and counting reps randomly whenever I had energy left over after doing 30 minutes of cardio.

One of the tips given to Jeff was creating an exercise log. Although I haven't noted in detail my strength training exercises each time I hit the gym, I have written down a couple exercise circuits I can do, along with a recommended number of reps on my iPhone. After a bit of cardio, I can turn on my phone and refresh my memory. Because of this, I've seen a difference in the frequency and quality of my strength training. I'm not just spending 10 minutes on the leg press, 2 minutes on bicep curls, a few overhead presses here and there.

I've been better at incorporating strength training into my workouts now that I have a plan I can stick to and never have to second guess my time spent off the treadmill or bike. 

Tell us: Has anyone else used any of the tips and found that they've helped in strength workouts?

We've been so inspired by the contributions and stories of Cooking Light readers, friends, fans, and Tweeters that we've decided to write a book of shared wisdom and insights about 12 Healthy Habits. We've signed on Janet Helm—noted nutrition blogger, columnist, RD—to help put this book together. But we'd love to have you take part and share your dietary, exercise, and meal-planning challenges and solutions.

Sign up to be a 12HH contributor and take part in this exciting project.  Let us know if you've been inspired to adopt our healthy habits and tell us how you've been successful at making changes.  What's worked for you?  How were you able to overcome challenges and achieve your goal? Email Janet at HealthyHabits.JanetHelm@gmail.com and tell her your story. Or “Like” us on Facebook.com/CookingLight and share your HH tales there. No pay, only glory is all we can offer. We're sure that the collective wisdom of the Cooking Light crowd will yield an important book as we make 12HH a bigger, better program—and we need your help!

When I told my husband I was going to the Home & Garden show last weekend with a friend, he burst out laughing. I said, “What’s so funny about that?” He replied, “Garden? I can count on one hand the number of times in 20 years of marriage you’ve gotten dirt under those pretty manicured fingernails.” 

I grew up in the city and lived in apartments or condos after college, so the only experience I had with living plants was watering a philodendron weekly. He grew up helping his grandmother and mother on the farm, planting and harvesting vegetables. So when we moved into our house, we hired a landscaper to design a plot for a small herb garden near the back porch. The whole notion of gardening now seemed manageable and something I could do.   

My husband was patient when I over fertilized and killed a few plants or under watered when we went a week without rain. But over the weeks as I nurtured the garden, it was rewarding to use what I’d grown in my cooking. My little garden inspires me to go through my cookbooks and magazines looking for new recipes. 

February's Healthy Habits challenge “Get Moving” was one I thought I could just say, “Been there, done that, got the tee shirt.” As a seasoned marathoner, I get plenty of aerobic conditioning with running. But after 8 months of training for a two marathons this season, I needed to switch things up and incorporate more low-impact workouts to save my knees and get out of a running rut.

That meant switching out some run days with swimming and cycling. Swimming stretches your body out and is a great core exercise and upper body workout. Adding a spin class once or twice a week builds leg strength. 

That takes care of cardio, but what about the other components of fitness: strength and flexibility? My weekly, hour-long personal trainer session is a total body workout. But time and money-wise, I can’t afford to do it more than once a week. So I looked at the class schedule at my local YMCA to find more “free” options to add variety to my fitness plan. I was excited to see yoga, Pilates, and the hottest thing now, boot camp-style classes. And many have beginner sessions to introduce you to the workout. You’re never too old to try something new because you can modify the intensity.

This challenge has been very eye-opening for me. I actually have more options to incorporate additional fruits and veggies in my day than I originally thought. It just took being accountable to make me think of ways to do it.

I am buying more fresh produce, but also a lot of frozen produce, too. Every Monday, my lunch break consists of going to the grocery store to pick up two bags of salad, grape tomatoes, croutons, and shredded cheese to last for at least 4 days of lunch at my desk. (I save the 5th day for my favorite Subway sandwich! It’s funny how it’s a bit of a treat now!) I also get a bag of almonds and 4-5 apples, which are easy to eat at my desk and stay fresh for a while. Now instead of hitting the chocolate basket for a snack, I reach for an apple or almonds (see more ideas for healthy office snacks). They are great and hit the spot, unlike chocolate which always leaves me wanting more!

When I prep for family dinners now, I have the freezer stocked with bags of steamed fresh veggies that take 5 minutes to cook. It’s GREAT! It may cost a tad more than fresh produce, but I have no worries about it going bad, and I can stock up. Also, the Sunday paper tends to have coupons for them almost every week.

One last thing to share that my family and I love – mixing together a bag of green grapes, pint of blueberries, and a container of cut up strawberries. It does take a little time to wash the fruit and cut the strawberries, but it’s a “snack” that lasts a few days. The kids love it, too, as it ties us over between school/work and dinner time.

*Check out Kristi's profile and see 12 more ways to eat more fruits and vegetables

I am a moderate exerciser, but like many folks, I could always be better. Over the past few months, in the midst of my usual holiday/cold weather slump, I’ve been receiving information and inspiration from an unlikely place—Facebook.

More specifically, I’ve been getting help from a Facebook friend. I’m lucky enough to have a friend, Cary Edwards, who is a former personal trainer and amateur body builder. In addition to being easy on the eyes, Cary is, obviously, passionate about fitness, and he is eager to share his knowledge and experience with his friends.

If any of you are as addicted to Facebook as I am, you probably remember that a few months ago, some people were playing a Q&A game: Someone would e-mail you a question that you were supposed to answer in your status bar. Cary offered to answer fitness and nutrition questions on his page, and he was quickly inundated with queries. After answering several questions, he decided to create a Facebook group where he and his friends could post articles, mention local fitness events, and ask questions to our hearts’ content.

I’m setting sail on Saturday for the Caribbean and I’m concerned.  I’m concerned that I will adopt the unhealthy habits of my former self.  I’m only 8 weeks into Cooking Light’s 12 step...err healthy habits program and know that I’m a french fry away from falling off the wagon.  Compounding matters is the fact that I’ve never been on a cruise but have been told it's eating and drinking galore, which are two things I excel at.  So, I submit to anyone who has been on a cruise, to share some tips/advice on how I can stay the course and not deviate towards Temptation Island.