WELLNESS WEDNESDAYS: Thank a Farmer, Feed a Child

�Weight sits like a spider at the center of an intricate, tangled web of health and disease.  Three related aspects of weight � how much you weigh in relation to your height, your waist size, and how much weight you gain after your early twenties � strongly influence your chances of having or dying from a heart attack, stroke, or other type of cardiovascular disease; of developing high blood pressure, high cholesterol, or diabetes; of being diagnosed with postmenopausal breast cancer or cancer of the endometrium, colon, or kidney; of having arthritis; of being infertile; of developing gallstones; of snoring or suffering from sleep apnea; or of developing adult-onset asthma.�

                                              --Walter C. Willett, M.D., from Eat, Drink and Be Healthy

When I was a kid, I always looked forward to the trip to visit my grandparents and their farm in Indiana.  When we woke up in the mornings, my grandfather would have already been up for hours milking the cows.  Days were filled with helping (or at least we thought we were helping) plow the fields or taking tractor rides around the farm�s back roads.  Afternoons I would help my grandmother with a task in the kitchen to help get supper on the table.  Evenings my brothers and I chased lightning bugs around the front yard while my mother and grandparents rocked on the porch swings and my grandfather relaxed, smoking his pipe.

Thinking about those wonderful summers on the farm with my family reminds me about how important my grandfather�s job was.  He was a farmer.  He grew corn and soybeans and provided a safe home for his dairy cows.  He respected the land by growing his cash crops and then letting the soil rest and replenish by planting alfalfa.  He always planted a big vegetable garden for my grandmother out behind the farmhouse.  The tomatoes and beans we ate in the summertime were bursting with flavor in every bite, unlike the hothouse-raised tomatoes you often see in stores today.  Enjoying the flavor of fresh-picked vegetables lovingly prepared by my grandmother was the essence of childhood memories on the farm.  We ate the food that had been grown by my grandfather and prepared by my grandmother;  when it was gone we went outside to play.  Every day, we seemed to eat just the right amount of food and enjoyed lots of physical exercise and fresh air.  

Next time you buy vegetables, think about who grew them and how they got to your store and your table.  Better yet, visit your local farmers market and buy vegetables directly from the farmer who grew them.  The shorter the distance vegetables have to travel to get to your family�s dinner table, the better for your health. Support your local farmers.  Give them your respect.  When we have access to foods grown without chemicals, we have a better chance of not triggering cancer and staying at a healthy weight.  Kids deserve good foods.  Thank you to all the farmers working to grow good food! Thanks, Grandpa, for teaching me about respect.  

Here is an easy recipe that we have been working on in the Growing Healthy Kids Test Kitchen.  My grandfather would have loved it!  You can substitute yellow cornmeal if you cannot find blue cornmeal.  Blue corn is higher in nutritional value and has a nutty taste.  Kids love to make these and they make a great addition to a healthy school lunchbox! 

GROWING HEALTHY KIDS:  Our Recipe Collection

Blue Corn Cakes

In a medium mixing bowl, combine:

• �        � cup blue cornmeal
• �        � cup flour (I like to use oat flour)
• �        1 Tablespoon baking powder
• �        1 teaspoon salt

In a small saucepan, saut� for a few minutes over low heat:

• �        3 Tablespoons butter
• �        Corn kernels, cut off 1 ear of fresh corn (or use 1/2 can of corn, drained)

Pour corn mixture into dry mixture. 

Add:

• �        2/3  cup unsweetened almond milk (or a little more if needed)

Whisk together until batter is smooth.  Let rest for a few minutes.  Add more milk if needed.  

Ladle � cup batter onto griddle coated with just a little grapeseed oil.  Cook until sides of cakes bubble gently and cakes are light golden brown, about 2 minutes. 

Gently turn them over with a spatula and cook for another 2 minutes or until golden brown. 

Serving suggestions:  Top with chopped tomatoes, fresh cilantro and fat-free sour cream OR saut�ed red peppers and Vidalia onions.

Makes 8 griddle cakes. Enjoy! 

In gratitude,

Nancy Heinrich

Founder, Growing Healthy Kids

WELLNESS WEDNESDAYS: Nutrient Density Matters

WELLNESS WEDNESDAYS:  Nutrient Density Matters

�When are you going to stand up for your children and their future?  It�s time to warrior up!�               

        --- Tsleil-Waututh Elder Amy George from Sierra Magazine, March/April 2014

How often do you think about your children�s future and what their world will look like in five years?  In full disclosure, the above quote came from an article in Sierra Magazine.  The article was about the impact of coal trains on a sensitive area of northwest Washington State where fishing for salmon and herring support a local culture, including the Lummi Nation of native Americans.

When I work with parents who are overweight or who have children who are overweight or obese, I often have the same thought as Tsleil-Waututh Elder Amy George.  Are we willing to let the large food manufacturers dictate whether our children will be doomed to a shortened lifespan because they are overeating foods with no nutritional value?  Will the McDonald�s dollar menu be your family�s demise?  Will eating too much of the bad foods (white sugar, white flour, and too much salt) cause health problems for your family?  Will the sugar-filled cereals and Pop Tarts intentionally placed at a child�s eye level of your grocery store rob your kids of their ability to focus in school? 

A lot of my work centers around teaching families about how to become more health literate and making better choices for themselves and their children.  Our children are getting fatter, but obesity is preventable.  Focus on eating nutrient dense foods (like wild salmon, kale, lentils, spinach) to replace foods of low value.  The most nutrient dense food is watercress - in case you are wondering where to buy it, I can always find it at Publix, thanks to B&W Growers in Fellsmere, FL.  High on the list is kale.  Green is great!   For a link to some great nutrient dense recipe ideas, click here.

As parents, whether we choose to fight to prevent coal trains from coming through environmentally sensitive lands or whether we choose to educate parents with the knowledge about how to eat well and economically to prevent obesity and obesity-caused diseases, we make choices every day.  It is time to warrior up! 

Thank you,

Nancy Heinrich

Founder, Growing Healthy Kids, Inc. 

WELLNESS WEDNESDAYS: Why I Love Watercress

WELLNESS WEDNESDAYS

Why I Love Watercress

�We now know what is true:  a whole foods, plant-based diet can prevent and treat heart disease, saving hundreds of thousands of Americans every year.�  

--from The China Study by T. Colin Campbell, Ph.D. and Thomas M. Campbell II

Several months ago, the organizer of the Fellsmere Farmers Market and Mercado heard what Growing Healthy Kids is doing to create solutions to diabetes and obesity.  She wanted someone to do cooking demonstrations for local residents.  Because our health literacy programs teach people how to eat good food that is tasty and affordable, I was very interested to see if we could be of service to local residents in Fellsmere, located in the northwest corner of Indian River County, Florida.  It is home to a large population of migrant and �settled out� farm workers in the citrus industry.  Many residents are overweight and have diabetes. 

Talking with residents at the Fellsmere Farmers Market and Mercado 

Watercress

Cooking demo using watercress and kohlrabi (in the lower left corner)

So with the invitation to participate at the Saturday market, I looked at vegetables being grown in Fellsmere to create a program using our �local, fresh, and healthy� formula.  It turns out a national company has a farm in Fellsmere and grows arugula and watercress which it ships all over the United States.    I drove up to their farm on a Friday after work and picked up several boxes of freshly harvested greens.  I stayed up late playing in the Growing Healthy Kids Test Kitchen, experimenting with different tasty combinations of greens, grains, and flavors.

The next day I drove north to Fellsmere with my car filled with tables, tents, cooking supplies and, of course, watercress!  The day was great and glorious.  Vendors were selling local honey, fresh eggs, oranges and, of course, our famous Indian River grapefruit.  Lots of people stopped by sample the watercress dishes.  Everyone wanted the recipes!  We served over 150 plates of samples and talked with several hundred more people about simple ways to eat your way to a healthier weight and reverse diabetes. 

Watercress is a �nutrient dense� food.  In fact, it may be the most nutrient dense food known.  Turns out there is something call the Aggregate Nutrient Density Index created by Dr. Joel Fuhrman based on the equation H=N/C (the health value of a food equal to the nutrients it delivers per calorie).  Watercress has a perfect 1,000 rating.  It has 10 calories in a 2 cup serving.  It is loaded with Vitamin C (and vitamins A and K). It contains calcium and beta-carotene.  Add watercress to your saut�ed veggies, a breakfast smoothie or pile it onto your favorite sandwich.  Watercress tastes good and is good for you. 

Our relationship with food should be built on a foundation of knowledge and honesty.  Kids need foods that deliver real results, not foods filled with added sugar, salt, and fats.  Next time you go food shopping, please pass by the PopTarts in the middle of the store and head to the vegetable section.  Take home a bag of watercress today!   In next week's Wellness Wednesdays column look for one of our newly created tasty and delicious watercress recipes.

Thank you,

Nancy Heinrich

Founder, Growing Healthy Kids, Inc.