MINDFUL HEALTH, MINDFUL FUN, AND KALE FOR KIDS

WELLNESS WEDNESDAYS

  

"The choices we make matter."  -- Nancy Heinrich


How many times have you said, �I wish I knew this 20 years ago?�  or �Why did I ever start (fill in the bad habit)?�  When I was a kid growing up in Sacramento, California I ate lots of vegetables but I never ate asparagus, brussels sprouts, and kale.  Now, I love them and can�t get enough of them!

BRUSSELS SPROUTS!!!  

VEGETABLES AND FRUITS FOR JUICING at a recent GHK program! 

JAMMING SALMON CAKES FROM A
RECENT GHK KIDS IN THE KITCHEN PROGRAM!

Demonstration of MINDFUL FUN at a
recent GHK Kids in the Kitchen program at Gifford Youth Activity Center, Vero Beach, FL)
(yours truly in the background overseeing the fun!)

Mindful fun at a recent GHK event at
Boys and Girls Clubs of Indian River County, FL

 The choices we make every day matter.  What we learn impacts our decisions.  How much we know about a subject influences the choices we make.  Our mind is the most powerful tool in our health tool kit.  That�s what mindful health is all about.  Be mindful, be healthy!

The Growing Healthy Kids (GHK) movement specializes in mindful fun as the vehicle to arrive at our destination of mindful health.  Kids in the GHK education programs learn about foods firsthand that create health because they talk with the farmers, then they become the farmers, the chefs, and the nutritionists.  We love celebrating each child who makes the mindful health transformation from �I don�t eat that� to �Can I have seconds?�  and �Can I take some of that home to my parents?�  after attending a GHK Kids in the Kitchen program. 

Mindfulness is simply a direct, conscious choice to make a deliberate decision. Think of mindfulness as a strategy for bringing one�s complete attention to the present experience on a moment-to-moment basis.  It is a state of mind that creates prosperity.  I believe that to be healthy is to be prosperous.   By being mindful of what we choose to eat and drink, we make the choice to stay in balance.  Think about what you are eating and why you are eating.  I often ask clients to keep a journal of their emotions ("how were you feeling when you ate this meal/snack/binge food item") when they are seeking solutions for helping their children and themselves get to healthier weights.  They are given the assignment of recording what they eat for one week and also noting how they were feeling at each meal or snack.  What emerges is self-evident:  �I was worried about getting written up at work,� "I was bored,� or �I just had a fight with my boyfriend�. 

Overeating is not productive and does not result in prosperity.  Overindulging in desserts and refined sugars leads to inflammation within the body and weight gain.  Why is this important?  The body is not designed to carry around an extra 50 or 100 pounds.  If you need inspiration, check out CNN�s FitNation series of interviews with people who have made the effort to shed the weight and have gotten the results.  Your attitude can affect your decisions.  Think about what you want and think about why you want it. Then go write in down.  Be specific with the �why�.  Use what we call SMART goals:  Specific-Measureable-Achievable-Realistic-Time-Specific. 

Parents, this message is for you:  Use mindfulness and get yourself fit.  Be a better role model for your children.  The world does not need more overweight children or children with diabetes.  It also does not need parents who are overweight.  Be mindful of what you eat.  Eat with the intention of being healthy every day.  As we like to say in the Growing Healthy Kids movement, �eat rainbows�.  Engage in mindful fun, or as my friend, Ronnie Hewitt, former CEO of Boys and Girls Clubs of Indian River County, used to say, "Fun with a purpose!"  Twenty years from now your kids will thank you!  Heck, they just might be partial to asparagus, brussels sprouts and kale.

In gratitude,

Nancy Heinrich

Growing Healthy Kids, Inc. 

SUGAR - BY THE NUMBERS

WELLNESS WEDNESDAYS

�To improve health outcomes, we must get better at improving health literacy.� 

                                      --Nat Irvin II, DMA, M.A.

                                                                 Professor of Management

                                                                  University of Louisville, College of Business

Professor Irvin was making his final remarks at last month�s Health Equity Summit held at the Muhammad Ali Center in Louisville, Kentucky.  The meeting was about bridging the gaps in the health of residents of Louisville, but his message applies to every city in this country. 

Improving health literacy is central to the mission and education projects of the Growing Healthy Kids movement.  Which is why we had a very important date with 40 elementary age children recently to talk about ketchup.

Hold on there.  Did you say ketchup?  Yes, ketchup.  The kids went nuts when they walked into the art room at the Boys and Girls Club in Sebastian, Florida and saw a bottle of Hunt�s �No Preservatives� tomato ketchup on the front table.  I heard kids say, �I love that stuff!�  and �Can I have some?�  An American staple, right?  Ketchup is made from tomatoes, but what parents often don�t know, or take the time to notice, is that it also contains added sugars and added salt.  

Teaching kids about sugar at the Boys and Girls Club (see the bottle of ketchup?)

As the kids learned, a serving size for ketchup is 1 tablespoon.  Next time you use ketchup, measure out 1 tablespoon and see how little that really is.  Then ask yourself, "Will I have one serving or will I be having 3 or 4 or 5?"  When I occasionally use ketchup at home, like when I make oven-baked sweet potato fries, I have more than 1 tablespoon.   But I don�t eat it every day or every week.  All the kids who eat chicken McNuggets every day are getting lots of hidden, added calories from the added sugars in the ketchup they are piling on the McNuggets.  That�s where we are getting into trouble with extra calories and extra weight.

How do you teach kids, or parents for that matter, that sugar is what we call the �evil empire� ingredient?  A little bit is OK for most people but it is easy to eat too much of it.

Let�s look at sugar by the numbers.  15-4-0-0-0-0-75 

One teaspoon of the white stuff has 15 calories.  

One teaspoon has 4 grams of carbohydrates.  

One teaspoon has no protein.  

One teaspoon has no vitamins.  

One teaspoon has no minerals.  

One teaspoon has no nutritional value.  

One teaspoon of sugar contains calories but no nutritional value.  

There are more than 75 names for sugar.  

The fact is that eating too much sugar leads to obesity, depression, diabetes, acne, tooth decay, inflammation, and other health issues.

A 12-ounce can of soda has around 44 grams of sugar.  That equals 11 teaspoons of sugar.   That�s 165 calories with no nutritional value.  What Growing Healthy Kids is asking parents to do is to start looking at the sugar content of the foods you are buying for your kids (and you).  Choose foods with less sugar, not more.  Drink water, not soda.  

A special thank you to Ella Chabot, Art Director at the Sebastian Boys and Girls Club, and Jordan Adams, Branch Director, for inviting Growing Healthy Kids to teach the children you serve.

In gratitude,

Nancy Heinrich, MPH

Founder, Growing Healthy Kids

Contest Winners: THE ART OF HEALTHY EATING FOR GROWING HEALTHY KIDS

THANK YOU to Boys and Girls Clubs of Indian River County!  A special thank you to the clubs� art directors for playing with us and helping us teach kids who can now teach others.  Our poster contest has been a blast to do together!  Our collaborationis unleashing the youth voice to improve the health � and lives - of America�s children. 

THE WINNERS of �The Art of Healthy Eating for Growing Healthy Kids� Poster Contest are:

Indian River County, Florida winners:

• Giselle Zamarripa, age 8, Fellsmere
• Lizbeth Jimenez, age 8, Fellsmere
• Amy Kenney, age 8, Vero Beach
• Rian Butler, age 9, Sebastian
• Esmeralda Rosales, age 9, Fellsmere
• Clara Grace Martin, age 9, Vero Beach
• Tamia Bermudez, age 10, Vero Beach
• Alexis Ann Taylor, age 11, Vero Beach
• Hannah Truex, age 14, Sebastian

U.S. winner: 

• Pramuditha Sithumini Madigapola, age 7, Northridge, California

THESE KIDS created designs which contest judges Christine Thomas and Judy Nash (both artists and educators) deemed creative, fun, and inspirational with serious messages for adults.  The power of youth and their voices to teach adults that kids want, need, and crave access to healthy foods is the message these kids are teaching.  

NOW it is up to us to listen.

Artist Lizbeth Jimenez from Fellsmere Boys and Girls Club
shows her design.

Nancy Heinrich teaches a lesson about healthy foods at the
Fellsmere Boys and Girls Club.

Look at the response to Nancy's question about favorite vegetables
at the Vero Beach Boys and Girls Club

Winner Rian Butler at the Sebastian Boys and Girls Club

SINCE HAVING FUN WITH A PURPOSE is key to our success, I want to tell you how much fun it has been to play with Boys and Girls Clubs members and staff on �The Art of Healthy Eating for Growing Healthy Kids� poster contest.  

A VERY SPECIAL THANK YOU to Publix  (www.publix.com), The Fresh Market (www.TheFreshMarket.com), and Growing Healthy Kids for the prizes received by these inspiring kids.  

To your great health, 

Nancy Heinrich

Growing Healthy Kids - improving the health - and lives - of America's children, one child and one garden at a time.  To learn more about our education programs, go to www.growinghealthykids.me.

The Seed Lady Visits Doughboy's Donuts

I am always talking with people about healthy eating and healthy cooking.  As an epidemiologist, I study diseases and their root causes.  Obesity is a disease directly related to the excess consumption of sugar in its many forms.  Just yesterday, someone was telling me about a father they knew who bragged about his kid drinking 10 sodas every day.  I call that child abuse. Excess sugar consumption leads to inflammation in the body which leads to diseases such as diabetes and arthritis.  No child deserves those diseases. 

This morning, after a great morning walk and workout, I stopped by Doughboy's Donuts in Vero Beach, Florida to treat myself to one of their insanely delicious Red Velvet donuts.  (Yes, it is OK in my book to have an occasional donut.  It is not OK to eat them every day.) 

The woman at the counter looked at me and said, "Are you the Seed Lady?"  I answered, "Yes," although that was the first time someone had formally addressed me that way.  I then asked how she knew me. 

She then told me that last summer her son volunteered through Boys and Girls Clubs of Indian River County for one of our projects building a very large garden in north Indian River County.  She said he had really enjoyed the work and the project.  I thanked her for speaking to me and then invited her son to join us in an upcoming volunteer service leadership project.  I hope to hear from him, as that would just make this Seed Lady's day! 

In gratitude to ALL the kids who volunteer with Growing Healthy Kids,
Nancy Heinrich
Founder, Growing Healthy Kids
"Improving the health - and lives - of America's children, one child and one garden at a time"

PS - Shout-out to Doughboy's Donuts -- apparently I'm not the only one who loves your Red Velvet donuts becauses you were out of them this morning!  The blueberry donut, however, was almost as delicious! 

Tribute to a Hero

On August 7th, a 64-year old champion for children made his transition. This man was one of the first people I worked with when I first conceptualized the national partnerships I wanted for Growing Healthy Kids, a young organization dedicated to reversing childhood obesity. Inspired by an article in Kiwanis magazine, I made it my goal to meet the local head of Boys and Girls Clubs of Indian River County. It took a couple of calls to pin him down to a date when we could meet. We finally met at the old Vero Beach Boys and Girls Club in a dilapidated building on 27th Avenue, where children played right next to a dangerous roadway. The rooms in the rented building had terrible acoustics, especially when filled with energetic kids spending their transition from school to home while their parents worked 2 and 3 minimum wage jobs to make ends meet. He wore a button-down white shirt and dress pants.

A quiet man and a great listener, I gave him the proposal from the Growing Healthy Kids organization: volunteer at the two Boys and Girls Clubhouses on opposite ends of Indian River County once a week for the next nine months, build teaching gardens and conduct weekly healthy eating classes with vegetables we would grow. Teach the kids how to be leaders in eating healthy and being active. Take the kids on field trips to meet with chefs and visit local farmers. It took him about 5 minutes of listening and asking me why I wanted to do all this for him to say "yes" to the proposal.

We did all those things and more because it was always �Fun with a Purpose�. Our purpose? To reverse childhood obesity in Indian River County and beyond.

His only request was that the Growing Healthy Kids program, in creating a partnership with Boys and Girls Clubs of Indian River County, employ his philosophy, � Fun with a Purpose�. He agreed to let us build small raised bed gardens, where over the course of the next nine months, we created magic for kids, many of whom moved once every month or two because their parents were recently unemployed. Our weekly healthy cooking classes became a popular class with the kids screaming with excitement because it might have been the best-tasting food they'd had all week.

When I first learned of the Executive Director�s illness, I sensed it was serious. Several times I called so I could update him on our progress and plan for the next phase. Each time, I was told he was on an extended medical leave but I could meet with the program director. Then, earlier this year I was a speaker at the Quail Valley Rotary Club and learned that he was not only a Rotary member, but also slated to be the incoming president. The officer said this quiet man had called him to ask that someone else step into the incoming presidency role. I was saddened that this man�s life-threatening illness was robbing him not only his day-to-day work providing a solid, safe base for success for so many children in Indian River County but also his passion for being a community leader.

On August 7th we lost a hero who fought for the right of children to be treated with dignity, regardless of economic background. We lost a hero who knew the difference between right and wrong. We lost a hero who believed in leading by example.

Good-bye, Ronnie Hewett. You inspired me to create programs and lessons where �Fun with a Purpose� is the driving force. You are my hero. Thank you. On behalf of all the children whose lives the Growing Healthy Kids project has touched, thank you.

Rest in peace, Ronnie. You will be missed.

Nancy Heinrich
Founder, Growing Healthy Kids

The Recovery is Now Tour

Paradise Greetings,

When someone asks you how you are, what do you answer? "OK"? "Not bad"? "Could be better?"

I'd like you to meet someone who was so injured in a bad mountain bike accident that he died and had to be revived. I'd like you to meet a friend of mine who is showing people how to live. I'd like you to meet the man who taught me how to answer the question, "How are you?" His name is Jerry Christensen.

If you know someone who has had a Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI), please tell them about Jerry and what he is doing. Jerry started a nonprofit organization called Brain Shift Foundation after developing a process called The Recovery Method. Jerry is now biking across America to show people how to live on purpose, with purpose, especially people with TBIs and Post Traumatic Stress Disorders. His story is remarkable and inspiring. He is changing lives. Maybe he will change yours!

Last summer Jerry was here in Vero Beach and he stopped by the Sebastian Boys and Girls Club with me before we planted the first teaching gardens there last fall. You can see by looking at his hat why Jerry is known as "The Brain Guy"!

Next time you see me and ask me, "How are you?", guess what my answer will be? "I'm perfect!"

Here's the link to Jerry's site and his The Recovery is Now bike tour across America (coming soon to a city and state near you):
http://www.2010rint.org/

Growing Healthy Kids - improving the health - and lives - of America's children, one child and one garden at a time.

To your perfect health.
Nancy Heinrich
Founder, Growing Healthy Kids



PS - Thank you to Donna Anselmo, author of the brand new book, Marketing Demystified, for your brilliant ideas tonight to launch the next Growing Healthy Kids project!

We Need a Tractor!

Paradise Greetings,

If you are reading this and you live near Indian River County, Florida and you own a tractor you are no longer using, call me! Parcels of land are being donated to Growing Healthy Kids for us to use to grow food and give it away through our childhood obesity work. We now need a tractor to be able to get the land ready to plant in the next 2 months.

We have volunteers, we have land, we have plants and seeds, and we are preparing for the upcoming planting season. We need a tractor!

My cell number is 772 453 3413.

Growing Healthy Kids is improving the health - and lives - of America's kids, one child and one garden at a time.

To your perfect health!
Nancy Heinrich
Founder, Growing Healthy Kids

First Annual Growing Healthy Kids Recipe Contest

Paradise Greetings,

What is YOUR favorite vegetable?? In honor of vegetables and the #1 favorite kid food, macaroni and cheese, Growing Healthy Kids is having its first annual Recipe Contest. In partnership with Annie's Homegrown Foods, kids in the Boys and Girls Clubs of Indian River County and all kids in Indian River County have been invited to create a recipe using Annie's mac and cheese and at least one vegetable. Creativity is highly encouraged because to enjoy great food requires creativity. We are showing kids how to find the flavors they enjoy and then get them hooked on health! Two recipe contest winners will be selected - one boy and one girl. Both winners will one of the highly prized Growing Healthy Kids chef aprons (because they contain magical powers) plus movie passes and more.

Did I tell you that there is so much excitement with this project that kids actually have been storming the door when they see my car pull up into the parking lot? They are having so much fun and are just so excited about our weekly Growing Healthy Kids program. Why can't schools do the same thing instead of saying, "We're meeting the USDA standards". Blah, blah, blah.

Let's take kids' infectious energy and create transformational change so BIG that everyone will be storming down the doors to learn how to make delicious foods that make you strong, smart, and healthy. What a great visual image -- can you see it?? Kids all over America running to be early to their healthy cooking classes! YES, YES! The pictures I am sharing today are from two of my recent programs, one in Vero Beach where the kids were invited to help one of our local farmers sell vegetables to his regular customers and the other in Sebastian at the Boys and Girls Club.

Who do you know who could use magical powers for Growing Healthy Kids? Get them their own hooked-on-healthy Chef Apron (and support our work to halt and reverse childhood obesity). Go to www.HealthyDiabetesCoach.com/kids to put the magic into YOUR kids' kitchen!

To your perfect health,
Nancy Heinrich
Founder, Growing Healthy Kids

Growing Healthy Kids Promotes Recycling, Garden Art, and Healthy Snacks

Paradise Greetings,
Whirlwind trip to New York City over the Easter weekend to witness our amazing Vero Beach High School band kids play on stage at Carnegie Hall! WOW!! I'm so glad I was there! The sound quality at the Performing Arts Center will never be the same compared to the Isaac Stern Auditorium at Carnegie Hall. Our music program is such a gift to these children. We must protect all children's access to music programs such as the one at Vero Beach High School and its feeder schools. Thank you, Mr.Sammons and Mr. Howell, from a very grateful parent.

Another gift we, as a community, can give children is the knowledge, ability, and skills to eat healthy for a lifetime. One of today's pictures is from a recent "indoor picnic" Growing Healthy Kids had with one of the Boys and Girls Clubs of Indian River County: the menu was fresh fruit slices dipped in vanilla yogurt mixed with cinnamon. Did you know that up to 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon a day can help reduce blood sugar and bad (LDL) cholesterol according to USDA study?

The kids LOVED the "Fresh Fruit Dippers". I, however, did NOT love the concrete picnic floor!

Other picture: 2 very large palm containers saved from county landfill and brought to art volunteer at the Boys and Girls Club with request to have kids decorate for use as outdoor vegetable containers. The results BLEW ME AWAY! Way cool! What do YOU think---- let's recycle lots of these and start THE SALAD REVOLUTION.

Growing Healthy Kids - improving the health and lives of America's children - one garden and one child at a time. Let's start a revolution. A health revolution. THE SALAD REVOLUTION.

To your perfect health.

Nancy Heinrich
Founder, Growing Healthy Kids

Improving Children's Health with Fabulous Florida Fruit Shakes

Paradise greetings,
This is spring break week for kids in Indian River County. My son leaves tomorrow for New York City to make his Carnegie Hall debut with the Vero Beach High School band. How AWESOME is that? I am very proud of all the kids in the band.

Last week Growing Healthy Kids taught kids at the Boys and Girls Clubs of Indian River County how to make Fabulous Florida Fruit Shakes and another Seal of Approval was received for this tasty recipe. The kids joyfully passed out samples to staff members in between running to the teaching garden to check on our mustard greens, carrots, peas, beans, and tomatoes. Everything is growing!

Eating fruit every day is important for great health. Blueberries and strawberries are two of the world's healthiest fruits. They are very nutritious and taste great. Blueberries are low in calories (40 per 1/2 cup) and are powerful disease fighters (which is one reason why I eat a cup of blueberries every day). Strawberries are the most popular berry in the U.S. They are very low in calories (20 per 1/2 cup) and are rich in antioxidants, heart-healthy nutrients, and vitamin C.

Flaxseeds are the most concentrated plant source of omega-3 fatty acids and contain anti-inflammatory properties. Flaxseeds are a very good source of dietary fiber (the lack of fiber is a big reason why kids and adults eat too much!) and contain both insoluble and soluable fiber. The fiber in flaxseeds has a cholesterol-lowering effect. Only use GROUND flax seeds - 2 tablespoons a day - use on yogurt, cereal, salads.

Ready for the recipe that received the Growing Healthy Kids' Seal of Approval last week? Put in a blender: 1 cup fat-free milk, 1 cup frozen blueberries, 1 frozen banana, 5 Florida strawberries, and 1 Tablespoon ground flax seeds. This is enough to feed several kids and have them asking for more! Thank you, Publix Supermarkets, for providing the ingredients for this recipe.

Growing Healthy Kids - improving the health - and lives - of kids, one garden and one child at a time.

To your perfect health!
Nancy Heinrich
Founder, Growing Healthy Kids

Planting Seeds for Growing Healthy Kids

Paradise Greetings,

Notice anything unusual about this photo? The kids are 100% engaged in planting seeds in the teaching gardens at the Boys and Girls Club - and getting some extra physical fitness added into their day without ANY protest! I just love teaching the kids how easy it is to eat smarter and move more!! This photo was taken yesterday during my regular weekly Growing Healthy Kids program. Some of the seeds we planted a month ago didn't make it because of the unusually cold weather we're having (coldest winter since 1958) so it was time to plant again. After all, according to our friend, Spencer Porteous, plants need sun, water, and love to grow!

Radishes, lettuce and green peppers are coming up now. We have another head of cauliflower about ready for harvest, so more "mashed cotatoes" next week! Despite our extreme weather the past couple of months, the green peppers we planted on October 13 are still alive and producing new peppers. The boys were absolutely intrigued using my camera to get close up pictures of the tiny peppers. I loved it when one of the kids said to me, "We need to plant more marigolds." And so we will...

All the kids went home with a packet of seeds compliments of the cancer prevention program at Florida Department of Health with instructions to sow them this weekend. Each child also received their own garden tool to use at home. You would have thought it was Christmas!
Growing Healthy Kids-improving the health of America's children, one garden and one child at a time.

To your perfect health!
Nancy Heinrich
Founder, Growing Healthy Kids

Teach a Child to Grow

Paradise Greetings,

What do YOU think about all the added sugars, fats, and salt in the lunches our children eat at school? I think it's time to improve the quality of food served to our most important resource - the next generation. Improving the nutritional quality - and access to locally grown foods - are 2 of the 4 points in The First Lady's new childhood obesity campaign.

I think it's time for a food revolution. Let's have a Salad Party and get the greens and the good stuff from our local farmers. Let me know if you want to help. When you eat more of the good stuff, you eat less of the bad stuff. Keeping it simple.

It's like last Friday at one of my weekly Growing Healthy Kids program for kids served by the Boys and Girls Club, something magical happened. A couple of parents were picking up their children and said to me, "Is that my son eating VEGETABLES???" When you give kids a healthy choice, they choose health!!

Today's picture is from last Friday at one of the teaching gardens. Peas. Green beans. YES, YES!

Growing Healthy Kids - improving the health - and lives - of America's children, one garden and one child at a time.

To your perfect health.
Nancy Heinrich
Founder, Growing Healthy Kids

Free Parent Workshop "Growing Healthy Kids...and Families"

Paradise Greetings,

One week from tonight, please join Dr. William Elman, board certified pediatrician and family practice physician, and me for a conversation about where we go from here in getting our children - and us - back into shape. This is an awesome opportunity to come together for 90 minutes at the beautiful Majestic Theater in Vero Beach and discuss why and how we must solve the health challenge of children - and parents - who are overweight and obese. Learn simple ways to get on track towards better health and healthier weights. You will walk away knowing how to make one small change a week for 10 weeks that can have huge results.

Last week at one of our Boys and Girls Club weekly program, I was teaching kids how to read food labels and looking for trans fats (anything that includes the words, "partially hydrogenated" on the ingredients label, even if the Nutrition Facts label says "0 trans fat"). One of the boys quietly said to his mom, "I'm going to start dieting." Mind you, I NEVER say the word diet in these classes. It's ALL about making healthy choices through informed decision making. We had talked about how one kind of peanut butter - the Peter Pan brand - had added sugars and added saturated and trans fats (both "bad" fats)and compared it to the Smuckers Natural Peanut Butter, which did not have added sugars and fats. I was reminded that many adults talk about "starting a diet" when what really matters is eating healthy every day. Food is life, after all. Learning how to recognize saturated and trans fats on food labels. Learning to watch for (and avoid) "High Fructose Corn Syrup" and other names for added sugars in foods. Learning to season foods with herbs instead of added salt. Learning how to choose foods that are high in dietary fiber, instead of choosing foods which contain no fiber. This is what healthy eating is all about. This is what I communicated to this boy's mother because kids hear adults talking about "dieting" and we need to banish that word from our vocabularly.

Children, when given the choice, choose healthy foods and snacks. Please call Youth Guidance Mentoring & Activities Program at 772 770 5040 to register for next Tuesday's FREE PARENT WORKSHOP, called "Growing Healthy Kids...and Families." The workshop is from 6:00-7:30 PM. Bring your children and they will get to watch a free movie while you, Dr. Elman, and I discuss protecting our most precious children's lives and health.

Growing Healthy Kids - improving the health - and lives - of children, one garden and one child at a time.
See you next Tuesday.

To your perfect health.
Nancy Heinrich
Founder, Growing Healthy Kids

Missing: One Cinnamon Basil Plant

Paradise greetings,

Here's the update on the first kayak garden in Indian River County. I stopped by Kayaks Etc. the other day to see Kristen Beck and check out the herb garden that the kids from the Boys and Girls Clubs of Indian River County planted. The first thing Kristen said to me was, "Someone stole the cinnamon basil -- the WHOLE PLANT!" Sure enough, someone dug it out of the kayak garden.

So, I need your help: BOLO (that's police talk for Be On the Look Out) for one beautiful, fragrant cinnamon basil plant.

The kayak garden is looking good! Kristen has already harvested lettuce, basil and cilantro. The beans will be coming next.

What I love about the kayak garden is that every northbound car on US 1 driving through Vero Beach sees it and it may plant a seed with those who see it about gardening for fun, recycling things you don't normally recycle (like old kayaks) and creating garden art wherever we are.

Now, off to find Kristen a new cinnamon basil plant!

Growing Healthy Kids - improving the health - and lives - of kids, one garden and one child at a time.

To your perfect health,

Nancy Heinrich

Founder, Growing Healthy Kids

Growing Healthy Kids Grow Minigarden Gifts

Paradise greetings,

This week Growing Healthy Kids was all about minigardens. We created small herb minigardens for the kids to take home to Mom, Dad, or Grandma as Christmas presents. These gifts will now add fresh flavors to foods they are cooking at home such as spaghetti, pasta, and salad. We talked about how using fresh herbs instead of salt can help us keep our hearts healthy.

The kids then made Christmas cards to accompany their herb minigarden gifts.

We talked about how easy it will be for the kids to recycle containers now (just add holes, dirt, seeds, and water!) and use them for new minigardens at their apartments and houses. A little container of basil, cilantro, and parsley can add joy and beauty for children - and their families.

We ended our lesson with "delicious and healthy" kid-friendly snacks that anyone can make and the kids loved:

Snack Idea 1: 1/2 sliced yellow delicious apple (I used some from the high school band's fall apple sale fundraiser) with a slice of cheddar cheese

Snack Idea 2: 1/2 sliced yellow delicious apple and a Gogurt

As I was packing up at one of the Boys and Girls Clubs programs, I thanked each of the staff members at the clubhouse. One remarked to me, "The kids were having a blast with you!" That's because it is about having fun with a purpose.

Another staff member followed me outside to the gardens. He had a lot of questions and we talked while the sun was setting as I taught him about basil, picking a basil leaf from one of the plants for him to smell. Breath in the possibilities as we learn how to eat healthier!

Now I need your help...Please let me know your suggestions for "delicious and healthy" snacks for kids that contain calcium, are low-fat, and are high in fiber. We'd love to see if they get the "Growing Healthy Kids" seal of approval!

To your perfect health,

Nancy Heinrich

Founder, Growing Healthy Kids

Our First Kayak Garden

Paradise greetings,

Can you believe this is already day 4 of the Growing Healthy Kids blog?

This afternoon I attended the Christmas party for American Association of University Women. In conversation, I described the Growing Healthy Kids project, planting gardens for the kids, getting the kids out kayaking once a week, and other fun stuff. She got very excited about it and went off to tell another woman about the project who said she has just seen one of our gardens. Yippy!!

We need to deliberately choose to grow healthy kids. It is NOT OK that kids eat too many calories, especially excess fat calories. I guess everyone thinks it is OK because I sure don't see the Florida Department of Health or major employers or health insurance companies doing much about this increasing epidemic of children who weigh twice what they should. They probably think they're doing something, but what??

This weekend Growing Healthy Kids particpated in the amazing Christmas party for 100 unmatched kids (kids yet to be matched with a mentor) in Youth Guidance. We had a blast planting little pots of parsley for the kids to take home. I couldn't help and observe that so many kids there would benefit from the increased exercise and the weekly healthier eating lessons we are doing.

What breaks the heart of God must break the heart of man...

Last month, some Boys and Girls Clubs kids met me at our kayak partner and we transformed an old, leaky sit-on-top kayak into a spectacular garden container. Mike Beck with Kayaks Etc. cut off the top, moved it next to U.S.1 in front of their shop, and we filled it with dirt and compost. Then the kids and I planted an herb garden in it! I'll go by this week and take a picture what it looks likes now and share it with you! It's such an awesome garden. '

The idea is to recycle and repurpose things into garden containers. Create garden art wherever you are!

Let's teach kids to think outside the box - and play in the dirt! It does a body good!

To your perfect health,

Nancy Heinrich

Founder, Growing Healthy Kids

A Child's Tender Touch

Paradise greetings,

Since Growing Healthy Kids planted its first gardens in October, there has been a lot of joy and fun watching the kids connect with nature in a way that many of them have not done before. When we meet outside at the garden it is to first observe and record the changes. What has changed from the previous week? How much have our plants grown? Any weeds? Bugs? How big are the tomatoes?

What I am observing is how gently the children tend their garden. When I point out a weed that has sprung up, someone will carefully and methodically pull it out so they get the roots.

Many of the kids I'm playing with live in rental houses. Some are moving from relative to relative because a parent had their job down-sized. Some kids live in apartments, some in duplexes. They don't have anyplace where they can grow a plant, take care of it, and watch it grow. Some of the kids have told me they are glad they have a garden now so they can learn how to make things and provide some food to help their parents.

When Growing Healthy Kids surveyed 150 kids in the summer, most kids said they wanted to learn how to cook healthy foods, so we are doing that. They are learning to make healthy snacks. They do so enthusiastically. They are getting to choose health.

I am thankful that my Vero Beach Kiwanis Club members have totally embraced this project. I am thankful that the staff of Boys and Girls Clubs of Indian River County has allowed me to build boxes filled with dirt and plants and bring weekly lessons to the children they serve. I am thankful that the Youth Guidance program loves what Growing Healthy Kids is bringing to the kids they serve.

A lot of what Growing Healthy Kids is about is teaching kids to respect nature. When we respect nature, we learn how to respect ourselves and each other.

Growing Healthy Kids is about improving the health - and lives - of children, one garden and one child at a time.

To your perfect health,
Nancy Heinrich,
Founder, Growing Healthy Kids