Friday, December 31, 2010

Happy New Year!

Paradise Greetings,

As 2010 comes to a close and everyone readies themselves for the celebrations of ringing in 2011, I want to wish each and every one of you the best for the New Year!

Thank you to everyone who has been a part of the Growing Healthy Kids adventures in Indian River County, Florida and beyond. We have accomplished so much this year and the best is yet to come!

Be well, stay safe, and enjoy your loved ones. We'll connect again in 2011 and continue our adventure of Growing Healthy Kids, one child and one garden at a time!!

To your perfect health.
Nancy Heinrich
Founder, Growing Healthy Kids

Wednesday, December 29, 2010

Family TIme

Paradise Greetings from the Chilly North,

I am writing from my mother's home, where our family has gathered in celebration. We will be leaving soon for a day of walking in the forest between Louisville and Lexington, Kentucky. Last night while enjoying a family dinner of shrimp and steak fajitas, guacamole, and homemade salsa with the jalapenos and tomatoes I brought up from the garden in Vero Beach picked before this week's freeze, we cooked up our family outing for today.

The snow that fell on Christmas Eve melted a little bit yesterday while we took a walk at Mount St. Francis. At the end of our walk, my sister-in-law, Inger, spotted a bluebird, then two, then three and finally four. We all stopped in amazement as we admired their brilliant colors against the nakedness of the tree limbs and the white snow. Treasured moments!

When I awoke this morning, I felt the muscles I had exercised yesterday while enjoying an extended workout with my son, my brother and his family visiting from Denmark, and my 15 year old nephew from Bloomingon at the beautiful YMCA facility in New Albany, Indiana. While we have enjoyed indulging in cookies my mother baked in preparation for this family gathering, our family knows the importance of regular physical exercise, even at holiday times. Whether it is a family exercise morning at the Y or a walk in the forest, physical activity can be incorporated into family reunions and celebrations.

2010 has been an exciting year for Growing Healthy Kids. This is a contemplative week of transition for me and for our work to halt and reverse childhood obesity. Make regular physical activity a part of your family's resolutions for the New Year.

To your perfect health!

Nancy Heinrich
Founder, Growing Healthy Kids

Monday, December 20, 2010

School Lunches

Paradise Greetings,

A couple of days ago, MSNBC had a story about a woman who is eating a school lunch every day to make a point. A very good point. She is on a mission to raise awareness about what America is feeding its future leaders. Right away the story had my attention. Now I invite you to give her your attention. Presenting Mrs. Q, my new best friend.

From time to time, I invite my readers to have lunch at an elementary school. Every time I visit an elementary school at mealtime, I stop by the cafeteria to take a look at what the kids' choices are and then I am reminded why almost every day for the past 10 years I have made my son's lunch.

Our health is determined in large part by what we eat: "You are what you eat." "Let food be your medicine." If you eat more food (input) than you need (output), you will gain weight. If you eat more salt than your body can handle, you greatly increase your risk of developing high blood pressure, which can easily kill you if undetected and/or uncontrolled. You know where I'm going with this.

The more you know, the better choices you can make. Check out Mrs. Q's observations about what America's schools are feeding our most valuable resource: http://www.fedupwithschoollunch.blogspot.com/. Then call the school principal at your neighborhood school and make a lunch date. Be part of the solution.

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

To your perfect health,
Nancy Heinrich
Founder, Growing Healthy Kids