These are tough times. It’s tough to stay calm when you lose your job. It’s tough to stay focused when you are worried about money. It’s tough to stay present for your children when you are stressed. And, it’s tough to stay healthy when fast food beckons.

Everything in our culture tells us fast food is easier, that it can fit more easily in a busy parenting day. At the YMCA, we believe there are ways to stay healthy and fit – and save money in this economic climate.

One of our biggest challenges is how busy we all are and it may feel like it takes too much work to feed your family healthy meals. According to Molly Rapozo, a registered dietician with the West Seattle and Fauntleroy YMCA, there are easy steps you can take to eat healthy in this economy.

“Make a big pot of something on a Sunday like soup or chili. Then reheat it during the week or turn your rotisserie chicken into enchiladas the next day. Be creative in re-using what you have,” she says.

Rapozo points out that this is a good time to get kids involved. Lots of kids love “lunchables,” those prepackaged cracker and cheese but parents often don’t think about how much they cost or how unhealthy they are. A good option, according to Rapozo, is to make your lunchables with whole grain crackers, slices of cheese or meat, veggie sticks and fresh or dried fruit.

She says lots of kids love smoothies, and it is easy to get them interested in making fresh smoothies at home.

“Families have this idea that eating healthy is just something else we need to do,” she says, “but it doesn’t have to be that way. Instead, think about it as a fun family project.”

Families also can use these challenging times to refocus on “slow parenting”, a trend across the country to get back to basics as families. Turn off the television. Play board games together. Take walks. A slowing economy presents the chance for families to spend more time together.

To help you with healthy activities, the YMCA offers classes that focus on kids’ health. The West Seattle and Fauntleroy YMCA, for example, has a Strong Kids class that allows parents and kids to exercise together and cook healthy meals.

There are also teen cooking classes available through Seattle Parks at the High Point Community Center, South Park Community Center, and the Southwest Teen Life Center. Those centers offer an array of fitness and exercise classes, as does the YMCA. Classes focus both on kids and teens, and on families. One popular exercise lately is Zumba, which features rhythm and dance. The classes are very popular here in West Seattle and many families are taking them together.

In the end, a sluggish economy can be what we, as families, make of it. We can use it as a time to refocus on what is important. We can use it as a time to teach our kids about living within our means, leading healthy lives and slowing down. We can help our neighbors and friends in need. We can focus on solutions that will help us come out of this time and into a better one. And, we can use this as a time to get our children to step up and help more – saving money for the family, helping with chores, learning to cook, and much more.

In short, we at the YMCA would like to think that if we focus more on what this recession gives us – rather than what it takes from us – we can find a way to help our families stay healthy, strong, and happy.

Mary Sanderson is the Family Programs Coordinator for the West Seattle and Fauntleroy YMCA. The Y offers nutrition classes, fitness programs and more for families.