HEALTHY COOKING CLASS SATURDAY JUNE 7

Preventing diabetes - and other obesity-related diseases in children who are overweight or obese - is the reason I started Growing Healthy Kids, Inc.  There is an urgent need to  improve health literacy at a local level about this preventable disease. Knowing where to start is often confusing.  Focusing on real foods is how I create solutions for families who want to gain the upper hand on a disease whose complications include increased risk of kidney failure, lower limb amputations, and blindness. When a teenager develops type 2 diabetes, there is another dimension to side effects and complications for which physicians have not been prepared; developing diabetes before age 20 is estimated to reduce a lifespan by about 15 years.  

This Saturday, June 7, I will be teaching a healthy cooking class at Florida Veggies & More. Participants will learn tips for controlling their blood sugar, blood pressure, cholesterol and weight as well as delicious recipes using locally grown farm fresh vegetables.    

Children from the Youth Guidance Mentoring and Activities Program
at a recent GROWING HEALTHY KIDS program at
Florida Veggies and More in Vero Beach. 

According to Heinrich, �Knowing what to eat if you are diagnosed 

with diabetes (or prediabetes) is a mystery for most people.  Advice such as "just cut out the sugar" and "go to the library and get a book about diabetes" does not provide the practical �what to buy� and �what to eat� confidence that people need to prevent the complications that accompany uncontrolled diabetes or to get on a path towards healthier eating.�

Saturday�s class marks the final class of a very successful spring 
series of healthy eating workshops which began in January.  Dan and Lisa Brenneman, owners of the hydroponic farm, are excited to announce that the Healthy Cooking with Nancy Heinrich, The Healthy Diabetes Coach series will resume in September with the start of the next growing cycle.  This Saturday�s class is at 2:00 and is open to the public.  Kids, of course, are welcome.  For $5, attendees receive a small plate, the recipes and evidence-based health tips.  The class is at Florida Veggies and More, located at 6755 37^th Street.  For more information, contact Lisa Brenneman at 772-559-5641 or me at 772-453-3413. 

See you at the farm!
Nancy Heinrich
Founder, Growing Healthy Kids

GRATEFULNESS AND GRATITUDE

WELLNESS WEDNESDAYS

�You think this is just another day in your life.  It is not just another day.  It is the one that is given to you today�It�s the only gift that you have right now. And the only appropriate response is gratefulness.�

                                --Brother David Steindl-Rast, a Benedictine monk

This week's issue of WELLNESS WEDNESDAYS is dedicated to gratefulness.  The fourth Thursday of November is the celebration of Thanksgiving, a special day in American history.  It is a celebration of giving thanks, a historical reminder about the Pilgrims and the American natives breaking bread together, creating family and community traditions, of being grateful. 

Thank you to farmers like Lisa Brenneman.

Thank you to the children who come and learn at our programs.

Thank you for family (that's my brother Bill, on the left, with some of the kids)

Thank you for family (my brother, Rob, on the left with his son, Robbie at the new family farm).

Thank you to the volunteers who
provide the fuel for our programs.

Thank you for the staff who assist in our
Growing Healthy Kids in the Kitchen programs.

Thank you to our volunteers at our
annual Hummus at Humiston events,
where we connect kids with the local farmers. 

Thank you to the farmers who grow what we need.

Thank you to friends.

The mission of Growing Healthy Kids, Inc. is to improve the health � and lives � of America�s children by focusing on good foods and physical fun.  Our programs educate parents and children about the �how� and �why� of eating locally grown vegetables, fruits, and whole grains and creating plant-based meals that are easy and economical to prepare.  Because of this mission, we get to play with the people who are growing good foods, take farm trips with kids, and create healthy recipes in our Growing Healthy Kids Test Kitchen.  In our work to improve health literacy and reverse childhood obesity and obesity-related diseases, there are many things for which I am grateful.

To watch an inspirational video and listen to the words of Brother David Steindl-Rast, including the music of my friend, Gary Malkin, click here.

Here are some of the things I am grateful for today and every day:

The local farmers who grow the Swiss chard, Tuscan kale, Purple Cherokee tomatoes, spinach, pumpkins, watermelon, navel oranges, Ruby Red grapefruits, pecans, Shitake and Portobello mushrooms, basil, parsnips, sweet potatoes, butternut squash, and other beautiful vegetables, fruits, and nuts that fill the recipes we create with and for Growing Healthy Kids.  Several of the local farmers who partner with the Growing Healthy Kids project and to whom I am grateful include Louis Schacht (Schacht Groves), Kevin O�Dare (Osceola Organics), Linda Hart (Crazy Hart Ranch), Lisa and Dan Brenneman (Florida Veggies and More), and Brenda and Jim Gibbons (Gibbons Organics).  For a link to some amazing recipes featuring the foods we highlight in the Growing Healthy Kids Test Kitchen, click here.

The local chefs who are using foods grown by our local farmers instead of vegetables grown 2,000 miles away.

The parents who are seeking better foods for our children who eat two of their three meals through the free and reduced school meal program.

The volunteers who make our educational programs so much fun.

The children who have attended and those who will attend our educational programs, because they are the true leaders of Growing Healthy Kids.

Most of all, I am grateful for family.  We are all family in this adventure called life! What are YOU grateful for?

In gratitude to each and every one of you,

Nancy Heinrich

Growing Healthy Kids, Inc.

"HUMMUS AT HUMISTON" HOME RUN FOR KIDS

WELLNESS WEDNESDAYS

"I realized you can only be as good as your health.  I let my health go because I was so focused on building my company."

                                      --Celebrity chef Art Smith, Chef Art was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes in 2008 after complications from the disease killed his father and grandfather.  That's when he learned how to eat smarter and lost 120 pounds.

WE DID IT AGAIN!  Our Third Annual Hummus at Humiston event for kids from Youth Guidance Mentoring and Activities Program in need of mentors was a success!  This event is a favorite of the staff at Youth Guidance because the weather is always perfect in November, the food is awesome, and the local farmers are at the Green Market with their fall bounties of squash, tomatoes, and kale. 

A special thank you to the local farmers who helped make this event a memory maker for all the kids (and the volunteers) at our Third Annual Hummus at Humiston.  Thanks to Sid Banack of Countryside Citrus, Louis Schacht of Schacht Groves, Kevin O�Dare of Osceola Organics, Lisa Brenneman of Florida Veggies and More, and Alex Gomez of Pure Produce.  Here are some pictures from our party in the park!

Sid Banack of Countryside Citrus 

Kevin O'Dare (right) talks with a volunteer and a youth about "why" organic.

Stopping at Florida Veggies and More

Alex Gomez of Pure Produce (hydroponically grown veggies)

The karate demonstration was great!

"We made it ourselves!"

Hummus, as the kids all learned � and tasted � is easy to make.  It makes great appetizers, sandwiches, wraps, and snacks for Growing Healthy Kids!  For this recipe and more, order a copy of Nourish and Flourish  from Growing Healthy Kids.  Click here. 

GROWING HEALTHY KIDS: Our Recipe Collection

HUMMUS AT HUMISTON

PLACE in food processor or blender:

• One 16-ounce can garbanzo beans, rinsed
• 2 Tablespoons tahini (sesame seed butter)
• Juice from 1 lemon
• 3 garlic cloves, crushed
• 2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (or 5-10 black olives)
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin (optional)

TO STORE:  3 days in the fridge or 1 month in the freezer.

OTHER FLAVORS to make:

1. Artichoke-lemon hummus:  Add 1 cup artichoke hearts and an extra 1/4 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice
2. Sun-dried tomato hummus:  Add 1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes

CHOP 2 or 3 of your favorite vegetables, such as tomatoes, peppers, and cucumbers. 

SERVE hummus for lunch in a whole grain pita or wrap.  Serve it as a snack with veggies.  Choose whole grain pitas or wraps with 4 or more grams of dietary fiber per serving.

The best part of our Third Annual Hummus at Humiston event?  One child is now matched with a mentor for the next year!!  Bam!  Thank you to all the volunteers at the event.

Foods filled with fiber - like the garbanzo beans in hummus, and fruits and veggies, are the foods that help prevent diabetes.  Eat more of the good foods!  Bon apetit!

In gratitude,

Nancy Heinrich

Growing Healthy Kids, Inc. 

NATIONAL CHILDHOOD OBESITY AWARENESS MONTH AND LOCAL FARMERS

WELLNESS WEDNESDAYS

�We are not very good at keeping people healthy 
over the long haul.� 

                                                     -- quote from a Cleveland Clinic administrator 
                                                                                  on a talk show in 2013 

What�s your favorite summer vegetable?  One of mine is red peppers.   There are just so many delicious ways to prepare them (think roasted red pepper soup, roasted vegetables, and wild shrimp and roasted pepper quesadillas).  

With fresh peppers and tomatoes in abundance right now, making a fresh salsa is an easy way to eat fresh and eat local.  One thing we love to do in the GROWING HEALTHY KIDS movement is expose kids to farms and farmers so they learn where food really comes from and, hopefully, will learn grow a few things they like.  The folks at Florida Veggies and More recently invited GROWING HEALTHY KIDS to play at their hydroponic farm in Vero Beach, Florida as part of National Childhood Obesity Awareness Month.  

Eggplants!!

"Farmer Lisa" Brenneman gives the kids
and the volunteers a tour
of the hydroponic greenhouse.

GROWING HEALTHY KIDS with YOUTH GUIDANCE at
Florida Veggies and More this month as part of
National Childhood Obesity Awareness Month.

�Farmer Lisa� Brenneman gave a farm tour to children involved with Youth Guidance Mentoring and Activities Program and adult mentors, then we all met in the farm store kitchen for cooking lessons using fresh-picked veggies.  Not a drop of salsa was left at the end of our fabulous morning!  Thanks, Farmer Lisa, for sending everyone home with a pepper plant of their own! 

An Easy Growing Healthy Kids Menu

Summer Salsa

Mango Salsa

Whole grain cheese quesadillas*

  

SUMMER SALSA

COMBINE in a bowl:

• 1 medium tomato, cut into �-inch cubes
• 1/4 cup finely diced red onion
• dash sea salt
• 1 Tablespoon lime juice
• 1 Tablespoon extra virgin olive oil (optional)
• 2 Tablespoons (or more) fresh cilantro, chopped fine
• 1/2 jalape�o pepper, finely diced (with or without seeds, depending on desired hotness-it is hotter with the seeds) (PARENTS:  Substitute 3 Tablespoons of chopped green pepper for the kids' version.)

       

TRANSFER to a serving bowl.  Let rest for about 1 hour, covered and unrefrigerated, for best flavor. 

USE gloves when working with jalape�o peppers. 

NOTE FROM NANCY:   This is a fun, easy recipe to make for Tuesday Taco night.  Serve with black bean and cheese nachos, enchiladas, quesadillas, or just whole grain chips.  It also makes a delicious topping on a Sunday morning veggie omelet. 

To make mango salsa, use less tomatoes, dice up a ripe 

mango, and add about � cup of diced red pepper. Eating good foods is easy when you know how to prepare a few basic recipes.  For these and more basic recipes every kid should learn to make, click here to order your copy of NOURISH AND FLOURISH.

Parents, the responsibility for our children's health is most importantly ours.  Hospitals, drug companies, and health insurance companies do not have an interest in keeping people well.  With all the profits being made from disease and obesity, we can each make the decision to be as healthy as possible.  One thing we can all do is plan our meals around the fresh and locally grown vegetables where you live.  SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL FARMERS! 

In gratitude,

Nancy Heinrich

Growing Healthy Kids, Inc.

*For demonstration purposes, La Tortilla Factory whole grain tortillas (12 grams of dietary fiber per tortilla) were used in the preparation of the quesadillas.