GROWING HEALTHY KIDS' Founder Visits Boys and Girls Club

MOTIVATING KIDS TO TRY NEW FOODS is a challenge for parents.  At the first “Meet the Author” program held at the Sebastian Boys and Girls Club, Growing Healthy Kids founder Nancy Heinrich talked with kids about what inspired her to write Nourish and Flourish, her new book for parents about what kids (and parents) need to eat to stay at healthy weights.  According to Heinrich, “Parents pick up their kids from Growing Healthy Kids' education programs and the kids can’t stop talking about the great foods they learned to make.  We kept getting requests from parents to come up with a book for families to make it easier to eat better.  Their requests inspired us to write this book.” 

In a frank discussion with the kids about inspiration, Heinrich talked about the steps involved from taking an idea to a published book that all the kids got to see up close.  Her discussion prompted lots of young hands to go up in response to her questions to the kids about what ideas they have for writing their own books.  She offered several tips such as identifying a favorite pen or pencil to write with and taking ten minutes a day to write in a favorite notebook or journal.  Club Art Director Ella Chabot-Policare, who invited Heinrich to conduct the first “Meet the Author” program in November 2012, prompted the children to create artwork based on the Nourish and Flourish theme.  See below for the art of two Boys and Girls Club participants inspired by the first "Meet the Author" program: 

The best part of the "Meet the Author" program just might have been the snack Heinrich made for the children from one of the recipes in Nourish and Flourish:  Artichoke- Lemon Hummus served with fresh celery and carrots.  It was a big hit enjoyed by even the younger kids when they saw the eyes of their friends light up with delight and surprise as they had their first taste of the garbanzo bean dish and proclaimed it tasty and delicious!  Who knew it could be so much fun to eat healthy! 

Nourish and Flourish is available at amazon.com.

NOTE FROM NANCY:  We have a responsibility to protect the health - and lives - of our children.  We can reverse, prevent, and halt childhood obesity.  Be a role model for your children.  Eat less sugar.  Eat more breads and pastas with four or more grams of dietary fiber per serving.  Drink water, not soda.  Eat fruit and drink less fruit juice.  Take walks with your kids.  Love life.  Your children will thank you.  Their health and their lives depend on the choices you make for them.  

3 TIPS FOR GREAT BREAKFASTS

I believe in breakfast.  My uncle Griff, who lived in Long Beach, California, was a basketball and tennis coach at Long Beach State College.  Our family would drive south for the holidays every year and Uncle Griff would always prepare great breakfasts.  Cereals, eggs, pancakes, fresh fruit, orange juice.  He taught me that it is the meal that sets the tone for the day.  It gives you the edge.   It gives you brain power.  It gets you and your body ready to play and work for the day.

“Breaking the fast” after not eating all night resets your body’s metabolism to expect small amounts of energy every couple of hours.   Believe it or not, eating breakfast is one of the master keys to getting to - and staying at - a healthy weight. 

Here are 3 great tips you can use:

1.       Replace rolled oats with steel cut oats.   The traditional rolled oats are more processed than steel cut oats.   Always choose less processed foods for better health.  I love the “Bob’s Red Mill” brand because it cooks in about 15 minutes.  Add your favorite toppings.  My favorites are cinnamon, ground flax seed, a little agave nectar and fresh or frozen blueberries (for a brain boost). 

2.       Plan for on-the-run breakfasts when the kids oversleep on school days and soccer Saturdays.  Hard boil some eggs, keep bananas in the family fruit bowl, and let the kids choose a low sugar-high protein breakfast bar to keep on hand. 

3.       Don’t skip breakfast.  If you want to lose weight, you need to eat breakfast. Anything is better than nothing.  

Steel cut oats with cinnamon, agave nectar, and frozen blueberries.

So, what’s in your breakfast bowl? 

Peace,

Nancy Heinrich

Founder of the Growing Healthy Kids movement to halt, prevent, and reverse childhood obesity

TROPICAL CARROT CAKES FOR GROWING HEALTHY KIDS (AND FAMILIES)

Parents, 

I often write about how much sugar we as Americans are eating (156 pounds a year - YIKES) and that too much sugar is the major contributor to our obesity crisis.  

Do most of us eat too much sugar?  Yes.  Is a little bit of sugar OK?  Yes.

A couple of weeks ago I entered the 3rd Annual Jeanne Graves Charity Cupcake Challenge, a benefit for the Michael J. Fox Foundation and a tribute to a mother who taught her daughters the love of baking in the family kitchen and lost her life to Parkinson's disease.  

Elliott Alley, an 8-year old student at Osceola Magnet School in Vero Beach, FL.

Meet Elliott Alley.  He and his parents stopped by our table for a sample.  Elliott's mom told me, "He is really, really picky and he doesn't eat vegetables."  I told Elliott I really would like his opinion because our cupcakes had carrots in them.  He surprised his parents by having a taste.  His parents were really surprised when he stated, "This is really good!"  

Many people stopped by our table for a sample and exclaimed how delicious, moist, and favorful they were. The cakes, featuring coconut and brown rice flours, got more rave reviews from many testers when they found out they are "gluten-free".  I talked with several people who talked about having family members who have celiac disease and cannot eat foods containing the protein in certain grains, like wheat, that trigger symptoms.  

Tropical Carrot Cakes before the cream cheese frosting.

We used carrot slices cut in the shape of a heart as a simple decoration.

So here is the recipe for Tropical Carrot Cakes for Growing Healthy Kids (and families) as featured in the 3rd Annual Jeanne Graves Charity Cupcake Challenge.  Enjoy!

TROPICAL CARROT CAKES

Cake Ingredients:

·         2 eggs + 2 egg whites

·         1/2 cup vegetable oil

·         ½ cup apple sauce

·         1 cup brown sugar

·         ½ cup agave nectar

·         1 8-oz. can of crushed pineapple

·         3 teaspoons vanilla extract, divided

·         1- ¾ cup brown rice flour

·         4 Tablespoons coconut flour

·         2 teaspoons baking soda

·         2 teaspoons baking powder

·         1/2 teaspoon salt

·         3 teaspoons ground cinnamon

·         1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

·         3 cups grated carrots, grate on larger side of cheese grater

·         1 cup chopped walnuts

      Frosting Ingredients:

·         8 oz. cream cheese, softened

·         3 cups confectioners' sugar

·         4 Tablespoons fresh orange juice

·         Fresh coconut, for garnish (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a large bowl, beat together eggs, oil, apple sauce, brown sugar, agave nectar, pineapple and vanilla. Mix in flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Stir in carrots. Fold in walnuts. Pour into muffin tins lined with beautiful paper or foil liners. Fill each liner 3/4 full. Bake in the preheated oven for 18-20 min. Let cupcakes cool completely. While cooling, prepare frosting.

Frosting: 
In a medium bowl, combine cream cheese, confectioners' sugar and 1 teaspoon juice*. Beat until the mixture is smooth and creamy. Spread frosting high on the cooled cupcakes.  Garnish with toasted coconut if desired.

*For demonstration purposes, Natalie’s Orchid Island Orange Juice was used in the preparation of this recipe.  

Epidemiologist Nancy Heinrich is best known as the founder of Growing Healthy Kids, Inc., a nonprofit organization which creates solutions to the childhood obesity epidemic.  Her latest book is NOURISH AND FLOURISH: Kid-Tested and Approved Tips and Recipes to Prevent Diabetes (available at www.amazon.com).