BEST PRACTICES FOR PARENTS

WELLNESS WEDNESDAYS

Wellness is a state of mind.  It starts with the conscious intention to be healthy and balanced.  To respect ourself and others. To live peacefully.  Everything we need follows from this intention. Be mindful of what you eat.  Exercise often.  LOVE LIFE.

                                                 ---Nancy L. Heinrich

What a great year for Growing Healthy Kids!  So many great kids have participated in our educational programs.  So many parents have asked questions, seeking answers for growing their own healthy kids. 

I am grateful to the children, parents, volunteers and supporters of Growing Healthy Kids, the businesses and organizations who have helped our programs to thrive, to everyone who has read Nourish and Flourish, and to all the farmers who grow the foods we need. 

As a gift to wrap up this wonderful year, I am sharing some �best practices for parents� from Growing Healthy Kids' projects, workshops, and lessons:

DO: 

• Find your local farmers markets. 
• Talk with your local farmers.
• Read food labels. 
• Buy foods with less sugar.
• Buy foods with more fiber.
• Eat more kale, dark chocolate, and blueberries. 
• Teach your kids how to make 10 basic recipes.
• Exercise daily.
• Make cookies with applesauce or pumpkin instead of butter.
• Schedule time every day to do nothing. 
• Flavor foods without salt. 
• Eat breakfast. 
• Eat protein in your breakfast � it is brain fuel!
• Drink water.
• Buy cereals, breads and pastas where the first ingredient includes the word, �whole�, as in whole grains.
• Get enough sleep.
• Eat wild salmon, strawberries, and walnuts.
• Buy your kids a lemon squeezer. 
• Take family wellness walks. 
• Buy your kids a pack of basil or oregano to plant.
• Buy a good quality extra virgin olive oil.
• Eat dinner together most nights of the week.
• Practice instant recess.
• Buy vegetables and fruits from your local farmers.
• Have naps.
• Laugh every day.

DON�T:

• Don�t eat foods containing food dyes. 
• Don�t eat farm raised fish.
• Don�t buy foods containing �partially hydrogenated� fats.
• Don�t skip breakfast.
• Don�t eat tilapia.
• Don�t allow cell phones at your dinner table.
• Don�t buy soda.
• Don�t be mean. 
• Don�t buy foods with more than 8 grams of sugar per serving.

A very Merry Christmas to all! 

In gratitude,

Nancy L. Heinrich, MPH

Founder, Growing Healthy Kids, Inc. 

OBESITY, DIABETES, AND MINDFUL EATING

Have you heard about mindful eating?  Just think about the words.  Eating.  Mind.  Full.  A mind full of food.  Presence of mind.  Think about what you eat.  How much you eat.  What quality of food you eat.  With whom you are eating.  Be mindful about eating. 

As I continue to search for and create solutions to childhood obesity and diabetes, I always get back to this statement:  You are what you eat.  This is what mindful eating means to me.  When you know where your food was grown and you eat the right amount and kind of foods, and you enjoy what you eat, things start rebalancing themselves.

For me, mindful eating begins on Saturday mornings when I head over to one of our two Green Markets.  I talk to my friends who happen to be the farmers growing the yellow beets, swiss chards, and Purple Cherokee tomatoes I buy.  I plan my menus around what I just bought.  Then I pair the menus with friends.  This to me is mindful eating.  Quality, not quantity.  Enjoyment, not convenience.  Balance, not greed. 

If we are going to solve the childhood obesity epidemic, we must first take a look at ourselves.   Think about what you eat.  Be mindful of what you eat and how much you eat.  Enjoy what you eat.  You have the power to prevent diseases and obesity if you just think about it. 

Growing Healthy Kids is a movement to halt, reverse, and prevent childhood obesity one child and one garden at a time.  Be part of the solution.  Your children will thank you.

Your friend,
Nancy Heinrich
Founder, Growing Healthy Kids