Kids Eat Right Month – Get Moving

On this last week of August and the last subject to discuss about the Kids Eat Right Program is “Get Moving with Exercise”.  Too often I have heard from parents that their child does not like to play outside and they rather watch television or play on the computer.  The most important thing that a parent must do is to encourage their child to get up and start moving.  Lack of exercise is one of the main causes of childhood obesity and chronic diseases.  Having the whole family (that means you too Moms and Dads) exercising together will make a tremendous difference with family and future generation in living a healthy life.

Support Your Kids’ Exercise Activities:

Start being a role model for your kids by present physical activity as an important time to take care of your body and health, rather than a chore. Work out with your children by finding activities you enjoy and be active for at least 30 minutes five days a week. Remember, that adults need at least 30 minutes of physical activity a day, and children need 60 minutes. Make sure you ask your child which exercise activities they would like to do.   Also, praise, reward and encourage your kids’ physical activity with activity related equipment, games or outings.

Some exercises activity ideas are:

Go to the nearest park, swing set or jungle gym after school.

Start jumping rope with your kids or organize a neighborhood jump rope group.

When bad weather strikes, play active indoor games such a DVD and VHS exercise or dance videos and/or exercise or dance video games.

Organize your family room or living room for more exercise activity. Try kid’s yoga or dancing to music after dinner time.

Make sure you have time during the weekend for half a day of family activity each weekend, such as a family walk, bike ride, shoot hops, jump rope or tennis match.

Encourage your kids to participate in active chores such as light housework, raking leaves, sweeping the walks or cleaning the garage. Make sure you make those the chores fun to do by turning on the radio in the garage and do the chores with them.

Limit the extracurricular time your kids spend in front of a computer or TV to less than two hours daily.

Keep the television in the living room and not in  your kids’ bedrooms. This will help decrease how much television that they would watch and it also help to control what they watch.

I hope you enjoyed this first annual Kids Eat Right Month.  If you feel that you received great information this month about the Kids Eat Right program you can always read other exciting postings by clicking this link below –  www.eatright.org/kids/

So start your kids to eat and live healthy today!

 

The Atlanta Home Show

What a beautiful day to spend time at the Cobb Galleria Centre for the 36th Annual Spring Atlanta Home Show.  This is the largest home show that showcases over 350 exhibitors with the very latest home and gardening improvement products, and services.  This is the place where you can drop in on a cooking demonstration, walk through an indoor landscaped garden or talk to a kitchen designer about your particular needs.

I had a chance to meet Ahmed Hassan who is a celebrity landscaper and original host of DIY Network’s Yard Crashers.  I was so excited to meet with him (including my husband) and to learn what was going on with him since he had left Yard Crashers.  Alot of people do not know his story of how he has got to where he is now .  Ahmed was a trouble teen and had to make a dramatic change in his life to get himself out of the streets. He did this by becoming a landscaper and love it so much that he has been doing this for over 15 years.  During that time, he was pick up but the HGTV and DIY Networks for his high energy personality, motivational spirit and his love of people and beautiful outdoor spaces.

Since becoming a Landscape Professional Celebrity he has been working with the California Federal of Corrections to help teens to find what opportunities that are out there for them in the areas of Landscaping and Gardening.

Since leaving the show he has his own business and no longer doing the landscaping but he is doing a variety of projects in the Environmental Green Living and Landscaping Consulting.  For more information check out his website – http://www.ahmedhassan.tv/ and  become apart of his facebook page:   www.facebook.com/pages/Ahmed-Hassan-Celebrity-Landscaper

I truly enjoyed hearing Ahmed Hassan speak and please check out his calendar of events to meet him on his website.  There were so many more things that I did at the Atlanta Home Show. Check out and see what I saw by clicking here:

Healthy Numbers to Live By

Alot of times I hear from people that they can not afford or have the time in having a healthy lifestyle.  Each day anyone of us can take just a few small steps each day to lead a life.  Here are 6 steps to get started:

1. Eating 5 fruits and vegetables – rich  in vitamins, minerals and fiber.  Eating plenty each day can reduce your risk of cancer, heart disease and stroke.
2. Make a effort to increase your water intake .  Drink plenty of water each day to keep you healthy and hydrated.  Water regulates body temperature, carries nutrients, removes wastes, and cushions joints, organs and tissues.
3. Have three good laughs every day!  Laughing promotes the release of endorphins in your brain, helping you feel better and have a positive attitude.
4. Spend 2 hours of less each day in front of the television or on a computer.
5. Have 1 hour of physical exercise today!  Move your body with physical activity 1 hour each day – walk, bike, swim, dance, run…  Pick activities that you like and that fit into your life.
6. Last but not least make sure you get your 8 hours of sleep per day!  Re-energize  your body with 8 or more hours sleep.

Start living healthy today.  For further information on healthy living check out our website:  www.livinghealthy1.org

2012 Food Day Celebration

This passed October 24th , 2012 was Food Day which is a nationwide celebration and a movement for healthy, affordable, and sustainable food.   I was able to teach  a family healthy mealtime eating class for a local Food Pantry for Food Day which was truly a enjoyable event.

Food Day, was created by Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI), is powered by a diverse coalition of food movement leaders, organizations, and people from all walks of life.  This event takes place annually on October 24  and it’s purpose to address issues as varied as health and nutrition, hunger, agricultural policy, animal welfare, and farm worker justice. The CSPI ultimate goal of Food Day is to strengthen and unify the food movement in order to improve our nation’s food policies. Over Thousands of Americans came together for over 3,200 events this year alone.

In honor of food day there is a wonderful and very educational online movie documentary called ” The Future of Food ” which expires on Tuesday, November 6th, 2012 so check out this site very quickly this weekend.    Here is the link for it:  http://vimeo.com/52123154    Also here is  information about the online movie documentary below:

 The Future of Food has been a key tool in the American and international anti-GMO grassroots activist movements and played widely in the environmental and activist circuits since its release in 2004. The film is widely acknowledged for its role in educating voters and the subsequent success of passing Measure H in Mendocino County, California, one of the first local initiatives in the country to ban the planting of GMO crops. Indicative of its popularity, the Future of Food showed to a sold out audience of 1,500 at the Castro Theater in San Francisco in 2004, a benefit for Slow Food, where it was introduced by Alice Waters.

Also for those who live in Georgia and can get access of Georgia Public Broadcasting (GPB/PBS) there is a excellent reality television show series called “The Weigh We Were” .  If you do not have access to Georgia Public Broadcasting (GPB/PBS), you can access the show online on the website which is: http://theweighwewere.com/category/tv-show  and the first show will be posted on Tuesday October 30th at 9:35PM Eastern.  Here is further information about this wonderful show.

This show offers a refreshing and successful approach for highlighting ‘real world’ weight loss strategies.  Coupling an upbeat, positive narrative, and more than 30 weight loss success stories from an wide spectrum of Georgia residents (who lost a combined 3,472 pounds – on their own) the program successfully explores multiple, and realistic approaches to weight loss – surprisingly simple approaches, which are both accessible and repeatable by the average viewer.

So this weekend learn more about nutrition and wellness by checking out these websites and next year plan to participate Food Day!

Let me know your comments and opinions about The Future of Food  movie and “The Weigh We Were”  television show!  Enjoy!!

Rd 411 and GPB’s Pledge Drive

On this Tuesday, March 20th, 2012 is a chance for everyone across the country to have a chance to speak with a Registered Dietitian live on Georgia Public Broadcast! The event is called “Dial A Dietitian” on March 20th, 6-9PM. The number to call in is toll free number – 1-855-Diet411.  There are going to be Registered Dietitian’s that specialized in the areas of diabetes, sports, community health, family meal planning, cardiovascular risk reduction, cancer management, renal specialists and many more.  Anyone across the country can call in and the first 50 callers will be able to download the document “The Top 10 Secrets to Revitalize Your Health in 2012!” written by the Georgia Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics National Nutritional Month Committee.  So call this Tuesday for RD 411 “Dial A Dietitian” 1-855-Diet411.

In order for the Georgia Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (GAND) to do this on Georgia Public Broadcasting (GPB) station we had to participate in a pledge drive.  Early last week I was able to volunteer on the GPB’s phone system and boy it was exciting and fun.  The GAND Registered Dietitian had a chance to fundraising for GPB Pledge month and for Diet 411 broadcast.  This event that we had special guests stars that came to help.  Dr. Joel Fuhrman from the live television presentation “3 Steps to Incredible Health”.  Great informative steps on how to take charge of your health!  Cindy Wilson for the sensational music group B52.  She was there to promote the B52 live concert called the ” The Wild Crowd – Live in Athens, Georgia”.    What a great concert it was!  So next time try to volunteer the phone system for the Public Broadcasting Television Stations.  You will have fun, be on TV and do fundraising for a great cause.  Check out the pictures for the GPB’S Pledge Drive evening click here.