If you are walking up a very tall building don’t do it all at once. Set goals for yourself. Try for 10 flights the first week and move up from there.
Family Time
As the fall approaches and school starts schedules begin to get jammed packed this time of year, set aside five minutes to start a family gratitude journal/book. Any notebook or a few sheets of paper can serve as a place to remind each other you are grateful for one another. Before going to bed at night or in the morning, write down one thing you are grateful for about your family. Even if we have different schedules, the next person that goes to the journal/book can read the other entries. Once a week schedule time with a family member and share the journal with each other and talk about all the entries.
Kids Corner
Create a collage as a reminder for everyone in the home to add color to each meal and eat a variety of foods each day. Gather up old magazines and newspapers and search for bright pictures of fruits, vegetables, healthy preparation of proteins and whole grains. Work with an adult to cut out the images and glue them on to a piece of paper. Cover the paper with as many options as you can find. Hint: check out store ads and coupons for additional food options. Share your final product with the family, and display proudly in the kitchen to remind each other about healthy choices and variety.
Ask the Food Dude – Nutritionist
Our home enjoys the sugared sweetened cereals for breakfast, how can we break this habit as a family?
As a family talk about cereals that are higher in fiber, have at least 4-5 grams per serving and make a scavenger hunt out if at the next grocery store visit. See how many cereals meet this fiber amount and of them are there a few cereals the family would be interested in trying. Another idea is take your family favorites and mix half with a non-sugar sweetened cereal; this will cut your sugar intake in half for that meal. Many times cereal is eaten throughout the day, outside of the typical breakfast time, which may be another reason to seek a higher fiber and lower added sugar option for the family.
Fun with Fruits and Vegetables
School and cucumbers are both cool this time of year. Cucumbers are either grown to be pickled or eaten fresh. Gherkins are a variety that is picked to be pickled; now that is a riddle. Cucumbers are a great source of water and fiber, along with providing vitamin C, potassium, vitamin A and folate. Several other nutrients can be found in a cucumber, but most of them are in the peel. Remember dark and bright in color is a great family choices for fruits and vegetables. Look for cucumbers that were not waxed for shipping purposes so you can enjoy the peel and benefit from all the nutrients. They should be stored in the fridge, which may provide a nice cool treat after school. Serve in slices or sticks and dip in hummus or low-fat ranch dressing. Add diced cucumbers to your tuna fish or chicken salads or slices on your sandwiches.
Meal Ideas
Cool and Quick Cucumber Soup; purée cucumbers, tomatoes, green peppers and onions, add salt and pepper to taste.
Prepare brown rice as indicated on the box (skip the butter and salt). Combine a jar of no-sugar added salsa (select a chunky vegetable kind), and a can of black beans (rinsed). Add a few additional cans of beans (rinse first), kidney, northern beans if available. Top off rice with the salsa and bean mixture, and for a little crunch toss on a few sunflower seeds.
Ask the Play Ground Guru
Back to school and busy schedules, how can we find family time to play outside?
Have a family huddle and talk about activities that can be done together in 10 minutes or less outside. After a list is made think of how your family can prepare for the activities if the weather is not cooperating. For example if it is raining, have the whole family go outside and play in the rain for 10 minutes and enjoy the clean-up process.
