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!

Sunday Morning Lesson: "Practice What I Preach"

Paradise Greetings,

It's raining now (I live in the tropics). A couple of hours ago, however, was the perfect time for my Sunday Morning Practice What I Preach Lesson: my early morning walk/run!

Even though the air was so thick with humidity you could slice it with a butter knife, I laced up my walking shoes, put on my UAB alumni t-shirt, stretched for a few minutes and took off for my morning exercise.

When I am working with a group of parents who are overweight or who have children at unhealthy weights, I always talk about setting goals. Do you have an exercise goal of your own?? The general rule of thumb for the minimum amount of daily exercise we need is this: 30 minutes most if not every day for adults and 60 minutes or more every day for kids.

To get to a healthier weight, use my proven strategy: "Eat Smarter and Move More". If your goal is to lose 5 pounds over the next 4 weeks, then use the "Move More" component and increase your exercise time. If you usually walk 25-30 minutes 3 days a week, then start walking 30-35 minutes 4 days a week in the next week. That's what I did this morning on my Sunday Morning Practice What I Preach walk. And you know what? I feel great! Adding 5 minutes was painless. The additional 5 minutes of sweating felt great! My heart is happy and yours will be, too, when you set a fitness goal and JUST DO IT! Be a positive role model in the life of a child --teach them my Sunday Morning Practice What I Preach lesson.

My Sunday morning lesson to you ends with this reminder...The epidemic of childhood obesity in America requires that we each act deliberately to be part of the solution.

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 - This is one of my favorite family vacation photos when the younger cousins walked their way through, up, down, and around Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming!

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

Are All Sugars the Same?

Paradise Greetings,

Last week on the Regis and Kelly show, Anderson Cooper filled in for Regis. He and Kelly were talking about his recent decision to cut out sugar. Kelly asked him what he eats for breakfast and he proudly said he eats Special K cereal.

The fact is that Special K contains high fructose corn syrup, the highly processed sugar. When I mentioned this during a guest appearance on WPSL, the show's producer said it might well have been a product placement subliminally advertising Special K.

Call me naive. What about the truth? The truth is that high fructose corn syrup is one of the fuels for America's obesity epidemic. High fructose corn syrup is not the same as fructose, the sugar in plain ole fruit.

High fructose corn syrup may contribute to cancers (see my article at http://www.healthydiabetescoach.com/). It contributes to weight gain. It is often stored around your waist. It is one of the hidden ingredients fueling America's childhood obesity crisis.

ALL SUGARS ARE NOT THE SAME. High fructose corn syrup, an ingredient found in Special K cereal, should be eliminated from what we eat. Let's get it right and tell the truth about what is really in Special K. Anderson, I have a simple question: were you advertising a product or just uninformed?

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

To your perfect health!

Nancy Heinrich
Founder, Growing Healthy Kids

A Summer Saturday Night

Paradise Greetings,

It rained this afternoon. A lot. My parched yard is looking happier now.

It's a wonderful slow, hot, steamy Saturday night in Vero Beach, where the tropics begin. The cardinals are flying in and out of the back yard.

I'm taking the rest of the evening off to simply enjoy a summer Saturday night!

To your perfect health!

Nancy Heinrich
Founder, Growing Healthy Kids

Healthy Snack Attack a Hit at Back to School Bash

Paradise Greetings,

Yesterday morning the Back to School Bash at the Sheriff's Office was a blast. Over 800 backpacks, including school supplies, were given out to kids. In record time! After I had the Growing Healthy Kids Healthy Snack station set up and ready for action, I walked across the street to where kids, parents, and grandparents were congregating under the shady oak trees. I introduced myself to a couple of families and invited the kids to come by and learn how to make healthy snacks. I saw a number of kids who saw me first and remembered me from the monthly events I've done the past year for kids served by Youth Guidance waiting to be paired with mentors.

Several boys tugged at my heart when I saw them, gave them a hug, and asked if they had been paired up with a mentor since the last time I'd seen them. Both boys hung their heads down and each had the same reaction as they quietly said, "No."

People say it takes a village to raise a child. I believe that. When you meet some of these kids who have a tough go of it at home, in their life's circumstances to date through no fault of their own, you want to connect them with what they need so they wake up with a smile every day.

This is why I approached Youth Guidance last year and suggested that we partner to create monthly events where the kids learn something fun and adults get to meet some of the kids looking for mentors willing to commit an hour or two a week in the life of a child. I'm sharing this with you ("the world") because I am now planning 2010-2011's programs. Some of you reading this will commit to be a mentor or find the person you know who is waiting for you to ask them to be a mentor.

It IS all about the kids. Some kids need more help than others. Like the boys I saw again yesterday. They need good, strong role models. We need a couple of good men to step forward. Are YOU the one the boys are waiting for?

Growing Healthy Kids - 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