Holiday Weight Myths to Avoid

Three holiday weight myths you want to avoid!

1) I am not going to worry about my weight until the New year

MYTH BUSTED: There are 3500 calories in a pound of fat. By consuming just 2 extra cookies and handful of chocolates a day at 500 calories a pop, you could gain 1 pound in just 7 days. Add that on top of cutting out your exercise due to your busy shopping schedule and you could easily gain an extra 3-5 pounds in just a few short weeks. Taking it off is much harder than putting it on so don’t even get caught up in this mind set. Avoid the extreme thinking and stick with moderation.

2) I am NOT going to eat on the days I have parties so I can save my calories for the event.

MYTH BUSTED: This will only put your body in a fat storing mode. Your body will burn less calories due to not being properly fueled during the day and then at night your body will not know what to do with all of the extra calories other than store them as fat. Turn your body into a fat burning not storing machine by eating small frequent meals and snacks during the day leading up to your big party. This will help tremendously as you will end up eating less, as well as make it easier to choose healthier food choices too. Tip: While at the party grab a plate and select your food choices. Instead of grazing from the table graze off of your plate and once the food is gone you are done

3) But I have to bake all of this food!

MYTH BUSTED: Take advantage of this time to finally get creative. By swapping out just a few simple items you can save BIG on calories without sacrificing the taste Example: When baking a quiche: substitute eggs with egg whites and regular cheese with part skim half and half creamer with fat free creamer or even skim milk and before you know it you have reduced your quiche down to half the amount of calories. Just 410 calories to 225 per slice. If you are ever stumped on how to swap out an ingredient just Google it. The items listed above are typically pretty safe bets. You don’t have to get to crazy with changes just baby steps. But this will save you Big in the calorie bank

Holiday Survival

Anyone who has been on a diet has experienced the frustration of trying to maintain a weight-loss program during the holidays. Because food is the focus of many holiday celebrations, it can be a real challenge to a dieter’s willpower.

There is a way to approach holiday eating without sabotaging a weight-loss program. First, plan plenty of activities for which food is not the primary focus. And, when food is an important part of the celebration, it helps to:
-Change some traditional holiday habits
-Get help from family and friends
-Reduce the holiday stress that often leads to compulsive eating

Changing some habits can keep a diet going without having to give up holiday treats altogether. For example, a person can make a list of favorite holiday food and then pick out two or three of your favorites to enjoy this year, and say good-bye to those dishes that are higher in fat and sugar. By eliminating some of the holiday dishes, you will have already eliminated some of the excess calories.

Another technique is to eat holiday treats in smaller quantities, such as baking a small-size cake that the family will finish at one sitting with no tempting leftovers. Divide your plate in thirds. One third is for the lean proteins, one third is for the veggies. The remaining third is for the starches.

Lastly, try to use low-calorie, low-fat substitutions for rich ingredients like sugar, butter or cream, for those holiday dishes that you just can’t eliminate.

Whatever changes you decide to make, it’s important to ask family members and friends to respect these choices and to refrain from tempting the dieter with other holiday goodies.

Sometimes the stress of the holidays causes people to eat more than usual. If that’s the case, it helps to seek out friends and family for support and to engage in activities that produce feelings of contentment or happiness.

There are 87, 840 minutes in the months of November and December combined. Surely you can find 30 minutes a day to fit in your exercise. For instance, rake leaves for 30 minutes. Raking leaves is a great way to burn those extra calories. If you have children involve them in this activity. You can rake piles and let them jump in them. What Fun! Enjoy your time and family while burning calories.

For additional tips on reducing calories and fat during the holidays, or if you have specific medical concerns about your meal plan, consult your health educator provider for advice on maintaining a safe weight-loss program during the holiday season.

How it all adds up

Drinks
1 mixed drink 250 calories
1 glass of wine 120 calories
1 glass of cider 120 calories
1 cup of eggnog 345 calories

Snacks
1 celery stalk with cream cheese 45 calories
1 cracker with cheese 70 calories
1 cup mixed raw veggies 25 calories
½ cup mixed raw nuts 440 calories
½ cup fresh fruit 60 calories
1 ounce regular potato chips 150 calories
1 Tablespoon of dip 75 calories

Salads
3 cups of salad with diet dressing 100 calories
1 Tablespoon Ranch dressing 75 calories
½ cup Jello mold 120 calories
½ cup Waldorf salad 110 calories

Main Course
6 ounces of ham 360 calories
6 ounces of turkey – white and dark 340 calories
6 ounces of Prime Rib 330 calories
6 ounces of turkey – white meat only 240 calories

Side Dishes
½ cup of stuffing 180 calories
½ cup of cranberry sauce 190 calories
½ cup of mashed potatoes 150 calories
½ cup gravy 150 calories
½ medium baked potato 80 calories
½ cup green bean casserole 225 calories
½ cup candied sweet potatoes 150 calories
½ cup steamed green beans 25 calories
1 dinner roll 110 calories
1 pat butter 45 calories
1 teaspoon sour cream 45 calories

Desserts
2 small chocolate chip cookies 150 calories
1 slice apple pie 410 calories
1 slice pecan pie 480 calories
1 slice pumpkin pie 180 calories
½ whipped cream 75 calories
½ cup vanilla ice cream 145 calories

Heart Felt Health with Charlotte Junior Tennis

“Heart Felt Health” – Nutrition/Cooking Class for Kids and Teens (7-14 yrs. old): a fun, hands-on cooking class that teaches kids about nutrition. Kids will work in groups to create colorful displays and will participate in fun cooking contests. We will also give participants special “recipes” to inspire them to live a “heart felt” life. Total Nutrition Technology (TNT) founder, Angela Gallo, will be available to provide nutritional information to participants and parents.

5 sessions for $60. Space Limited. For more information, visit our website at http://www.kidsheartfelthealth.com/ or to sign up, please contact us at info@kidsheartfelthealth.com. All classes will be held at Firethorne Country Club on Sundays, from 2:00 p.m.-3:30 p.m., on the following dates:

Session #1 (Nov. 14): Yes, Pizzas can be healthy!
Session #2 (Nov. 21): “The Sweet Life”
Session #3 (Nov. 28): Calcium Can Be Cool
Session #4 (Dec. 12): Rise & Shine with a Healthy Breakfast
Session #5 (Dec. 19): Get an “A” on Your Lunch Box: Foods that Make You Smarter

To learn more about Heart Felt Health Sessions email information@tntgetfit.com

Fall is Here...Do You Have the Willpower to Get Through It?!

Fall has now officially started, which is a beautiful, wonderful thing. But then again, it isn’t so beautiful and wonderful when you eat all the fun goodies you come across and indulge in every baked good and dessert that all your friends & co-workers make for you. Every holiday season you tell yourself that it is going to be different and you have the willpower to pass on all the tempting sweets and choose something healthier, but in the end, we give in, leading to a weight gain of a few pounds. Don’t feel so bad it’s only human nature! It doesn’t have to be this way and you can still be able to enjoy the fun festivities of this holiday season minus those extra pounds.

There are many ways you can make this season healthier. When you have a company party instead of bringing unhealthy items like chips, dips or dessert, bring a veggie platter or hummus dip. Also, steer clear of the dessert table so you don’t tempt yourself. Eliminating as many of your temptations as possible is the best way to go so you don’t give in towards the end of the night. When you receive goodies from your co-workers, instead of eating the whole plate of cookies, save ONE for yourself and then give the rest away to family or friends. Also, don’t bake any sweets at your house for other people. If you’re anything like me, I always have to taste everything one time, which then leads to tasting two or three times. By the end of baking those cookies, I’ve eaten a couple spoonfuls of dough and 4 or 5 cookies right out of the oven. Watch out for those hidden BLT’s, little Bits, Licks and Tastes! They start to add up!!

When Thanksgiving and Christmas roll around, volunteer to make the desserts so that you pick what you want to make and it can be healthy. Or if there is a dessert tradition in your household, you can at least make it healthier. Some good healthy desserts could be stewed cinnamon apples with low fat vanilla yogurt/ice cream or a cake made with egg whites and applesauce instead of a whole egg and oil.

There are little things that you can do to make a big difference this holiday season. So given yourself the gift of nothing this season and keep off those unwanted pounds. Just have perseverance and don’t stray from those healthy habits. To get more information on how to create healthy & fun recipes for this Fall contact TNT at 1-704-549-9550 or visit us at www.tntgetfit.com!

How to Look Great and Feel Fabulous

Join TNT President and Founder Angela Gallo-Wilkinson at Providence Country Club October 20th and learn how to Maximize Your Metabolism and achieve your Optimal Weight!

For more information email information@tntgetfit.com

Football Season is here!

Every year when September rolls around, it only means one thing...Football Season! If you are an American then you love football and you also love the tailgating that comes along with it. Even though tailgating is the highlight of game day, it doesn’t mean that you should eat or drink whatever is in front of you. Many people experience weight gain during football season because of that very reason. This year instead of eating fried chicken wings, pizza, creamy dips and chips, chicken tenders, and drinking all the beer full of calories, try doing something healthy. Try a little variety of Eat This NOT That. Instead of getting fried chicken wings, try Boneless Buffalo Wings (eatingwell.com) that are baked and dredged in whole-wheat flour. You could also pan-fry these in a little extra virgin olive oil and receive the benefits from the oil as well. Same goes for the chicken tenders, try baking instead of frying. For pizzas, instead of going to the local pizza joint, try assembling them the night before and popping them in the oven the day of the game and use veggies and low fat meats as a healthier option. When it comes to dips, there is no better thing than fried Ruffle potato chips with French Onion dip, but both of these are full of fat and calories. Instead, for chips, try baked chips, when paired with dip you can’t even tell they aren’t fried. For the dips, try low-fat/fat-free sour cream or cream cheese when using creamy dips and for the cheese, try using the 2% cheese instead of the full fat cheese. Finally, when it comes to beer, try drinking low-carb beers like Michelob Ultra, Michelob Amber, Amstel Light, and Bud Light or Bud Light Lime. All of these beers contain 110 calories or less and have 4 carbs or fewer. So when preparing this years tailgate, consider making your options healthy by using these tips. If you have any questions on tailgating foods and how to make a dish healthier contact TNT at 1-704-549-9550 or visit us at http://www.tntgetfit.com/!

What you don't know about antioxidants!

Antioxidants are coming about to the public eye and people are talking. I bet most of you are wondering exactly what antioxidants are, where they are found, and what they do for your body and your mind. There are many fruits and vegetables that are full of antioxidants that people don’t know about. Some of the most common foods that people relate antioxidants to are blueberries (berries in general), pomegranates, and green tea. Aside those, people don’t know much about them. Antioxidants, on a chemistry level, are a substance that helps with the prevention of oxidation from occurring in the body and the destructive effects that oxidation can cause. On a health level, antioxidants help slow down oxidation and have an impact on our health in a good way that will benefit us in the long run.

Now, I bet you are wondering exactly where to find these antioxidants. First, most all the fruits and vegetables that you eat are full of antioxidants, but you just don’t know it. You’ll be amazed by all of the foods that contain antioxidants. Here is a list of just a few fruits and vegetables that you may not have thought of that contain antioxidants.
· berries
· broccoli
· tomatoes
· red grapes
· garlic
· spinach
· tea
· carrots
· soy
· whole grain
· pomegranates
· potatoes
· apples
· beans
· artichokes
· prunes
· plums
· cherries
· pecans

Now that you know of some fruits and vegetables try and incorporate these into your daily diet. You’ll know that you’re getting your daily dose of antioxidants. If you have any more questions about antioxidants please contact TNT at 1-704-549-9550 or visit us at http://www.tntgetfit.com/!

Do you know your risk for Diabetes?

Diabetes is one of the most prevalent diseases that is diagnosed in most Americans today. In 2007, 186,300 children under the age of 20 were diagnosed with diabetes and 23.5 million people over the age of 20 were diagnosed with diabetes. These numbers continue to rise in the year of 2010 and there is something we should all be able to do about it. One of the most common causes of diabetes is the lack of exercise, but many other factors matter too. Like what you eat, and how you live your everyday life. Some factors that we can’t control, like family history, are hard to deal with, but other factors such as what we put in our bodies we can control and that is a wonderful place to start. Below you will find a list of 20 foods that are wonderful for your body and will help you decrease your risk of diabetes in the future. You will also find a list of foods that aren’t good for your body and should be avoided. These foods have been proven to increase your risk of diabetes in the future.

Top 20 foods to lower your risk of diabetes and if diagnosed, how to control it
1. Asparagus
2. Blueberries
3. Red Grapefruit
4. Beans
5. Broccoli
6. Carrots
7. Fish
8. Flaxseed
9. Cranberries
10. Apples
11. Melons
12. Nuts
13. Oatmeal
14. Red Onions
15. Raspberries
16. Spinach
17. Soy
18. Tea
19. Tomatoes
20. Yogurt

Top 16 foods that will increase your risk of diabetes or if diagnosed, foods that will make your disease hard to control
1. Restaurant French Fries
2. Burgers
3. Fried Sandwiches
4. Fried Chicken
5. Store-bought cookies
6. Purchased Doughnuts and Baked goods
7. Cakes and Pies
8. Frozen Meals
9. Deli Meats
10. Regular Soft Drinks
11. Flavored Water
12. Purchased Smoothies
13. Purchased Fruit Drinks
14. Milkshakes
15. Frozen Pizza
16. Restaurant Pizza

If you have any more questions about how to reduce your risk of diabetes or how to control your diagnosed diabetes, please feel free to contact TNT at 1-704-549-9550 or visit us at http://www.tntgetfit.com/!

Statistic source: http://www.diabetes.org/diabetes-basics/diabetes-statistics/

Is Your Health Food Overrated?

When you are walking through the grocery store do you ever wonder if you know all the facts about the particular food item you are buying? Whether it is healthy or not? It is so easy to mistakenly identify healthy foods because so many out there are overrated and not what they are cracked up to be. On the flip side there are those health foods that you might not think to highly of or don’t have the benefits you want, but in actuality they have all the benefits and are great for your health! TNT has developed a list of foods that we believe are Overrated and a list that we believe are Underrated!

Overrated!
Energy Bars
Protein Powder
Fruit Juice
Red Meat
Sports Drinks
Natural Sweeteners
Granola
Smoothies
Vegetable Juice
Pita Chips

Underrated!
Sunflower Seeds
Garbanzo Beans (Chick Peas)
Unsweetened Yogurts
Watermelon
Leafy Greens
Peppers
Oats
Potatoes
Tomatoes
Eggs

If you are interested in knowing more about these overrated and underrated foods and how you can use both to your benefit contact TNT at 1-704-549-9550 or visit us at http://www.tntgetfit.com/.

Portion Distortion, The final week of Girl Talk

We are now into the final week of “Girl Talk” Fitness camp. The final day of the camp was understanding portion distortion and peoples perception of a portion size as compared to what a true portion size looks like! Have you ever gone to a fast-food Japanese restaurant and eaten the whole box of food and then wondered, “wow, what kind of portion size was that?” Well, here is the breakdown, half of the box contained rice, and in the other half, 2/3 of the box contained protein, and the other 1/3 contained the carrots. The carrots are the healthiest things in the box, but yet are seen in the least amount. Here are some comparisons to use when you don’t have measuring cups, are eating out or at a social event!
- 1 cup = baseball or a female closed fist
- ½ cup = light bulb
- 1 tablespoon = poker chip or half a golf ball or your thumb top
- 1 oz = 1 dice
- 3 oz meat = deck of cards or palm of hand
- 1 oz lunch meat, 1 pancake = compact disc
- 1 medium size fruit = baseball

The TNT Health Educators had the girls pour a bowl of cereal that they would have consumed in the morning. We then compared what they were eating with that of a real serving size of cereal. This will often times shock most people! So next time you are eating cereal, measure it out because I bet you’ll be surprised by the actual serving size you are consuming. If you have any questions about portion distortion and for more comparisons for portion control contact TNT at 1-704-549-9550 or visit us at http://www.tntgetfit.com/!

How important is stretching?!?

If you’ve been following along these past couple of weeks, you know that today’s blog is the overview for the 4th day during the “Girl Talk” camp! This day was focused on the importance of stretching and exercising at home with simple, but effective exercises.

Just because you see people working out in the gym doesn’t always mean they know what they are doing? They might not know the importance of stretching or the correct way to do exercises. If you don’t stretch, then you can pull a muscle or a group of muscles, which can put you off your feet for one or more days. Stretching helps warm your muscles before you start lifting or engaging them in activities that would take more energy than everyday movements.

Once the importance of stretching was covered with the girls, we went over a few exercises you can do at home and emphasized which muscle groups they worked. Since, showing you these exercises is not really possible, here is a descriptive way to tell you what muscle groups they work. These are all simple exercises that help with toning up your body. Do each of these exercises 3 times each, with 12 reps each time.

Chair Dips – This works your triceps and shoulders.

Bicep Curls (with canned food or water bottles) – This will work your biceps and forearms.

Push-ups – This classic exercise works your chest, back, abs and triceps.

Lunges – These works your glutes, quadriceps, hamstrings and hip flexors.

Wall-sits – This exercise works your glutes, abs, quadriceps, and hamstrings.

Crunches – These work your abdominals.

Now that you know the importance of stretching and some exercises you can do at home you can now try them out. To add some cardio to your toning workout you can do jumping jacks, jump rope, and jogging in place for a minute each repeating them 3 times. These are all simple exercises that are very effective and can do wonders for you if you can’t make it to the gym.

For more information on stretching and exercising, contact TNT at 1-704-549-9550 or visit us at http://www.tntgetfit.com/!

Mindless and Mindful Eating

Hello Bloggers! As promised, here is the overview of the information from day three of the “Girl Talk” camp. TNT taught the young ladies about mindful eating & mindless eating, along with some fun snack recipes to make.

For mindful eating, each person should be aware of two very important things: their hunger and their fullness. Mindful eating is being conscious of what you are consuming and putting into your body. It is important to eat when you are actually hungry and quit when you are full. Most people sit in front of a television and just eat from the bag or box and often times are not even paying attention to their body telling them, “Stop, I’m Full!!!” and in turn continue to eat, which obviously is considered to be Mindless Eating.

Next, the TNT Health Educators went over Mindful/Mindless eating with the girls, each girl had the opportunity to make healthy snacks from simple recipes. Two of the favorites were; trail mix and “Ants on a Log”.

Here are the recipes for you to make!
Trail Mix: Mix wheat chex mix, rice/corn chex mix, pretzels, raisins, cranberries, cheerios and animal crackers. You can also add almonds or peanuts to the mix if you desire.

Ants on a Log: Take a portion of celery and fill the center with peanut butter, cream cheese, or hummus and place raisins or cranberries on top (Like little ants) and Enjoy!

For more information on Mindful and Mindless eating and questions about these or any other recipes contact TNT at 1-704-549-9550 or visit us at www.tntgetfit.com

Girl Talk Week Two!

So as all you followers know, last week was the beginning of the camp “Girl Talk”, where TNT was partnered with American Heart Association. TNT promised that you would be getting a dose of what was presented at this camp, so as promised, here is a break down of the second day.

The girls learned about how to shop in the grocery store and the most important areas to be shopping in. These important areas are; Produce section, Fresh Meats, Dairy, and Breads (minus the bakery J). The things that should be avoided like; processed foods such as frozen meals like Stouffer’s, cake mixes and brownie mixes like Duncan Hines and Pillsbury, prepackaged meals like Hamburger Helper, and macaroni and cheese and ready to go lunches for kids like Lunchables. These foods have additives like high-fructose corn syrup and partially-hydrogenated oils which can do harm to the body. TNT also went over how to properly read nutrition labels and understand the ingredient list on packages that seem to be unavoidable to young kids. The key to understanding the grocery store is that everything you need to eat healthy is located on the outside border of the store. Most of the time starting with your fruits and vegetables, going through the bread, then the meats, then the dairys and ending at the checkout counter! All the necessities that you need are on the perimeter! This should definitely help with a quick trip to grocery store on your next visit.

If you’d like to have more information on learning how to read a nutrition label, understanding the list of ingredients or to go on a grocery store tour contact TNT at 1-704-549-9550 or visit us at tntgetfit.com.

Girl Talk Camp with the AHA

TNT is partnering with The American Heart Association and taking part in the “Girl Talk” Camp going on at Providence Day School. This is a week long event and each day, the girls, ages 11 to 18, take part in a Nutrition Class and will learn critical information for making healthy choices in life. Over the next 5 weeks, you’ll get to see what each day is like for these girls. We hope that you find this information helpful!

The first day, TNT spoke about the food pyramid and the importance of each food group. Here is an overview of what was discussed:

Calories in carbohydrates, fats, proteins, and for the adults, alcohol. In carbohydrates there are 4 calories/gram, fats have 9 calories/gram, protein has 4 calories/gram, and alcohol has 7 calories/gram. Next we discussed the pyramid and which vitamins and minerals are beneficial from each group and an estimated number of how much of each food item you should consume each day.
· Meat/Beans – (6 oz/day)
· Vegetables - Vitamins and Minerals (4 or more servings/day)
· Fruits – (3 or more servings/day)
· Fats/oils – (7 tsp/day at most)
· Grains/Breads - To give energy (8 oz/day – make at least ½ whole grain)
· Dairy/Milk - To make bones strong and Healthy (3 cups/day)

To get your personalized amount of nutrients you should be getting each day, visit mypyramid.gov and enter in your age, gender, weight, and how much physical activity you engage in each day. From there, you’ll learn how much Protein, Fruits, Veggies, Grains, and Dairy you should consume each day. I encourage all of you to visit mypyramid.gov and explore your own nutrition. You might be surprised by what you find.

For more information on creating your own personalized food pyramid visit
http://www.tntgetfit.com/
or
call 1-704-549-9550

What's in your cereal?

CEREAL BLOG
By: Jessica Finkelstein & Jennifer Gusmer
*Courtesy of Spark People

Every morning we wake up and for most people the first thing we think about is “What should I have for breakfast?” This is such an important question and if your answer is cereal, we have a great guide for you to get the most out of your cereal each morning.

We all know that the cereals found in the grocery store are loaded with sugars and additives, most of which we can’t even pronounce. The boxes have attractive claims on the front claiming “Now Whole Grain” or “Reduced Sugar”, but are they really? Did you look on the back of the box where the ingredient list is and actually see “whole grain” as the first ingredient or look at the nutrition label and see if the sugar is 5 grams or less? Here are some rules that you should follow when shopping for your morning meal.

1) Keep in mind the “Rule of Fives”. There should be no more than 5 grams of sugar per serving and at least 5 grams of fiber.
2) There should be at least 3 grams of protein per serving in your box of cereal.
3) Make sure to look at the ingredient list and read it. The first couple ingredients should be “whole wheat” or “wheat bran”. Just the word “wheat” is not good enough.
4) Read all of the ingredients, yes the entire list, and look for any type of hydrogenated oils, such as “partially hydrogenated soybean oil”. Keep an eye out for artificial dyes and colors.
5) Note to self, if there are ingredients with names that you can’t pronounce they are most likely chemical preservatives that shouldn’t be going in your body.

So next time you’re in the grocery store keep in mind these 5 rules when you go down the cereal aisle so you can purchase your next breakfast. Your body will appreciate it!

Super Mom Application

Fruits and vegetables provide some of the best nourishment of any foods, but they are often the most difficult food to get kids – and adults – to eat. I have two young kids and have recently hit the stage where my daughter Avery, now two, certainly has an opinion about what she eats. Her younger brother, Jake, is only six months old, but will soon have the opportunity to eat real food, too.

Here are a few of my tricks to ensure that my family consumes five servings of fruits and five servings of vegetables a day.

· I either use organic vegetable baby food or I’ll puree vegetables and add to all of my mixes such as muffins, pancakes, French toast, macaroni and cheese, meat loaf... you name it, I add vegetable puree. My husband does not like vegetables, so I have to be creative and this is one way to do it.

· I make a lot of smoothies for the family and add a special ingredient that my family never detects - fresh spinach. Spinach really has no taste and when mixed in a blender along with milk or yogurt, fresh fruit and even some peanut butter or flaxseed, my family gets a well balanced treat. A smoothie mix with spinach also makes for a great summer treat.

· While adding puree or baby food to meals is certainly beneficial and helps ensure your family gets the proper servings of fruits and vegetables, I also think it’s important to keep introducing actual fruits and vegetables to my kids. I’ve found that the way the food is displayed to be key. For instance, a plain apple slice or banana may not cut it for my daughter; she isn’t interested. But, when I add peanut butter to her apples, bananas or pears she thinks it’s a great treat. I also add melted cheese to carrots, broccoli, etc.

· I try and set a good example by eating a lot of fruits and vegetables in front of my daughter and letting her see how much I enjoy them. She watches me dip raw vegetables in a healthy low fat dip and she wants to try it, too. We’ve shared many fun vegetable eating sessions this way.

· I also add chopped vegetables to my homemade breads, omelets and other meals so she sees the vegetables, but they are blended in with other ingredients.

I’ve found great success using these methods. I think it’s important to start good healthy eating habits early on so that kids develop a likeness for fruits and vegetables. It’s also important to keep reintroducing the fruits and veggies that young kids reject and try new ways to serve it. Appetites and tastes can vary day to day, so just because kids turn it down one day doesn’t mean they’ll never eat it. Persistence, creativity and most important, commitment are important for providing healthy eating habits and meals for your family. It’s certainly not always easy, but the rewards are lifesaving.

Featured Partner: Rincon Recovery

Rincon Recovery Resources, LLC was established in 2006 as an Out Patient Counseling Center for Effingham County area residents in need of substance abuse and behavioral health services. We were able to make this dream a reality with the help of the Savannah chapter of Small Business Assistance Corporation. We are certified by the Georgia Department of Human Resources to provide a Level I Treatment Program for multiple DUI offenders.

Go Red For Women - Wear Red February 5th

Six years ago, the American Heart Association started a movement to empower women to take control of their health and lower their risks of heart disease - our leading cause of death! This movement is called Go Red For Women.

I have been a volunteer for the American Heart Association for many years and serve as an ambassador for this campaign. Tomorow is National Wear Red Day and I encourage both men AND women to wear red and show your support.

As women, we tend to pt other people first - our family, friends, neighbors and the list goes on. Our health is a priority!

I encourage you to ...

Take the Go Red Heart CheckUp:
It is not enough to be aware of the risk factors associated with heart disease. You must take action to prevent it. The Go Red Heart CheckUp is an online tool that provides a 10-year, personal heart disease risk assessment. Once completed, women take their results to their healthcare provider and develop a personal health plan that matches their individual needs.

Wear the Red Dress pin:
Millions of Americans have added the red dress pin to their wardrobe to support the women and heart disease movement. It's cute, makes a statement and its free when you join the movement!
Participate in National Wear Red Day - February 5, 2010:
The American Heart Association encourages women to wear red – whether it is a red dress, a red t-shirt, a red dress pin or red lipstick. Show the world you passionately support Go Red For Women, the movement to improve women’s heart health and save lives.

Get a copy of the "Love Your Heart" cookbook:
Go Red For Women is publishing a 5^th anniversary edition of heart-healthy recipes to help women live longer stronger lives. Get your copy here.

I look forward to seeing you all in red tomorrow! Thank you for joining me!

UCity Magazine: Living Lean

image via. UCity

"We let them know it's not going to happen overnight, we encourage them to set a goal and work toward it. Health is not idle. Every day you choose to do nothing, you're taking a step backward."

What a great way to start off the new year! UCity Magazine did an awesome article for us, check it out after the jump (Page 19!)

http://universitycitymagazine.com/0110/

Happy New Year!

Image via. @onwingedheels

"Let life happen to you. Believe me: Life is always in the right."

-Rainer Maria Rilke