Children Gettin' Their Move On

Children as I'm sure you know, have A LOT of energy! I've discovered in the past few years between being a swim instructor, a camp counselor and helping out at a children's youth group, children love spending time with adults & love moving. To help the parents out there with a few idea's to getting your children & the family involved in "fun-moving-activities"here are some starters:


1. Encourage kids to jump rope. If they're are older, go "double-dutch" with two ropes or have a Hula Hoop Contest!

2. Take the dog for a brisk walk or  play fetch. No dog? Have kids take their teddy bears for a walk instead. Walking as a family is a good talking time!

3. Give kids colored chalk & create a sidewalk mural. Draw a hopscotch game-to play alone or together. When I was younger I created a road, with driveway intersections, stop signs and rode my tricycle as if I was driving on the road, it occupied me for hours. I also had a little horn & was beeping at all the "traffic" (boy, I sure wish the traffic in my tricycle years were the same as in my car years!)

4. Don't let rainy days put a damper on your fun! Plug in a favorite station on Pandora & dance-dance-dance! And if you want to do some cleaning, dance with a vacuum & use the dust pan broom as a microphone...it's what I do, of course all the blinds are pulled as to not scare the neighbors.

5. Start a "hundred" walking club. Who's first in your family to walk a hundred times up and down the sidewalk or stairs in your house?

6. Play tag ot kickball in the playground, park or backyard.

7. If there's snow, make a snowman, go sledding. Or take the family skating at the ice rink. My family use to do this at least twice a month & the fun memories of wiping out on the ice...ah good memories :)

8. On warm days, go in-line skating, roller skating or ride bikes, or run through the sprinkler "rain." Want a little challenge? Have a family water balloon fight girls vs. boys or every-man for himself.

9. Hike together in a nearby park. Have kids find ten points of natural interest to enjoy as you hike.

10. Host a neighborhood bicycle or scooter wash outside-or a dog wash instead.


Spend time as a family & enjoy the moments you have with one another :) 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sources:
American Dietetic Association Complete Food & Nutrition Guide 4th Edition
By: Roberta Larson Duyff, MS, RD, FADA, CFCS
Copyright: 2012 Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics

More Brain Power!!

Remember back in grade school discussing the different parts of the brain? Chuckling at the possible fact that boys used the left side of their brain and girls used the right side of their brain. The brain is the "commanding officer" making sure his privates (the bodies processes) are adequately doing their job. To get us reacquainted again with these functions, let's take a quick look at the five areas:




1.    The Cerebrum consisting of two lobes controls your thinking and voluntary muscles
2.    The Cerebellum controls your coordination including balancing and movement
3.    The Brain Stem is the main channel for sending messages all throughout your body. It regulates all involuntary muscle movements in your heart beat, breathing and circulation
4.    The pituitary gland controls hormonal growth and the hormones responsible for metabolism
5.    Last but not least the Hypothalamus which regulates body temperature


The Nervous System is so complex with millions of neurons connecting to other neurons and as you grow the brain creates more connections between these neurons essentially making it easier to perform more functions efficiently.  So, when you were presented with those brain-teasers, you were making more neuron connections in your brain! See, technically your brain is getting bigger. 

Well, just like those brain teasers, regular exercise has been shown to substantially improve memory highlighting that certain types of exercise improve different cognitive functions.


In a study conducted at the University of British Colombia, they recruited dozens of women between the ages of 70-80 with mild cognitive impairments & randomly assigning them to six-months of supervised exercise in three different categories: lifting weight, brisk walking and stretch/toning groups. 


After six-months, the toning group scored worse on the memory and the women who walked or weight trained performed greater on any cognitive test with a variation that the women who walked showed greater signs in verbal memory then those who lifted weights. 


This suggested that different type of exercise improve different types of cognitive function. "Teresa Liu-Ambrose, an associate professor in the Brain Research Center at the University of British Colombia who oversaw the experiments with older women, is that for the most robust brain health, it's probably advisable to incorporate both aerobic and resistance training. It seems that each type of exercise "selectively targets different aspects of cognition," she says, probably by sparking the release of different proteins in the body and brain. (NY Times)

For the full article:

http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/04/10/how-exercise-may-boost-the-brain 

Sources:
kidshealth.org
well.blogs.nytimes.com

Everything In Moderation

Occasionally, you crave that dark chocolate bar, perhaps a small french fry from McDonald's or even that slice of pizza from your favorite brick oven restaurant! And they just hit the spot especially when you don't eat them on a regular basis, it's a nice treat to have that little taste leaving you satisfied for a while. Just recently the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics came out with a new position to a 'Total Diet Approach to Healthy Eating.'

The paper emphasizes that an overall total diet should be emphasized over the idea of just focusing on one nutrient or one particular food.

Too much of anything can be potentially bad for you. Buying a medium french fry 5 days out of the week can be too much but having it once a month and balancing it out with eating a diet that includes all the food groups isn't "bad" for you. We have this tendency to label foods as "bad" or "good" which can contribute to unhealthy eating behaviors. 

The main point of this article is moderation, portion control and exercise as the key points to staying within ones energy needs.

To give you a little insight of what I consider "moderation" and "balanced" lifestyle, let me give you a little insight into the life of Christa :)

7am:      Good morning everyone! Drink 2, 8 oz glasses of cool water, read my bible and gradually wake up

7:45:       Prepping breakfast

8:15:       Breakfast menu:

                   -2 slices of fresh whole grain bread, toasted with 1/2 Tbsp Nutella and 1/2 Tbsp of Strawberry Jam 

                   -Vegetable Omelet cooked in 1/2 tsp of Smart Balance, 1/2C peppers/onions, 1 egg and 2 egg  

                     white, 1/2 slice low-fat Cheese

                   - 3 Strawberries, Slice

                   - 1 C coffee with 3 Tbsp of Almond Milk

9am:       Time to study (or if it's summer time, doing some house work outside enjoying the sun :)

11am:     Break time, taking my doggie Samson for a walk

12pm:     Lunch menu: 

                  1 apple 

                  Peanut butter and jelly sandwich on whole grain thin bread and 2 bite size Dove Dark Chocolates 

1pm:       Household chores & prepping the meal for dinner

2pm:       Work-out time either cardio/strength training/running 

See, I enjoy chocolate & even Nutella but this maybe once or twice out of the week that I do this and I make sure that I'm reaching all the food groups and balancing what I need to meet my total daily calorie needs as well as leaving time for exercise :)

For more information on the Academy's position on a "Total Diet Approach to Healthy Eating," below is the link:

http://www.eatright.org/Media/content.aspx?id=6442474717#.UUxVpBfsXQS

Let's "Whey'' The Protein Benefits

Have you ever thought to use a Whey Protein Supplement to increase muscle mass or enhance performance? 

On the SCAN DPG blog view the article that I wrote using journal articles and educational textbooks to better understand the role of Whey Protein Supplements.

Click Below for the link to the article:

Let's "Whey" The Protein Benefits Link

Spice Up Your Life!

Salt & Pepper, Salt & Pepper... tired of the same old seasonings? Why not try some Chili for pan-searing a fish or Ground Cumin and Curry to season a bean soup. There are so many spices out there that are calorie free, tasty and have tremendous health benefits! Don't believe me? Here is a handy dandy spice fact sheet that I created for an educational cooking class that I had a little while ago, referencing some research articles showing possible health benefits in relation to consumption of spices & prevention of certain diseases. To get you to jump start your spice rack here is a recipe: "Roasted Sweet Salmon" to combine these well-liked spices together.

For side dishes:  have grilled asparagus and baked red potato, quartered with a pinch of garlic salt, fresh rosemary and olive oil. If you prefer a glass of wine with your meal have a light Pinot Grigio with soft notes of pear. Mmmm-mmm yummy in my tummy!

Enjoy! :)

REFERENCES:

(1) Blending the Benefits of Flavor and Health through Herbs and Spices. (2007). Nutrition Health Review: The Consumer's Medical Journal, (99), 3.

(2) Reinagel., M. (2012). Today’s contemporary spice cabinet. Food & Nutrition journal of the Academy of  Nutrition and  Dietetics, (1), 1.

Sweetened Beverages Taking Over Your Liquid Consumption?

7-UP, Pepsi, Mountain Dew, sports drinks, chocolate milk, vitamin water...in all sweetened beverages. The consumption of sweetened beverages has increased to a daily value from 4.8% in the 70's to 10.3% of a total calorie intake today.

??Water or Sweetened Beverage??

A recent research article from the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics decided to do a cross-sectional analysis of 4,880 children between the ages of 3 to 11 evaluating the relationship between sugar-sweetened beverage intake and cardiometabolic markers in young children.

Cardiometabolic markers that were included: blood total cholesterol, HDL, LDL, triglyceride, C-Reative Protein concentrations (which is a marker indicating any inflammation within the blood), waist circumference and BMI (height to weight ratio).

Children consume a total of 175kcal/day from just sweetened beverages. 

The conclusions led to believe that the consumption of sweetened beverages was positively associated with decreased HDL cholesterol, increased C-Reative Protein concentrations and increased waist circumference in children ages 3 to 11. 

This is not only prevalent in just children but on all age groups.

It's not horrible to have a soda here and there but if it's your only source for replenishing your body with fluids try to ween yourself off the soda & replace it with an 8oz (2 cups) glass of water. Your body is approximately 50-70% of your total body weight and the most abundant molecule within the body. You need water not only to quench your thirst but also it is the "key" to start the many chemical reactions in your body. To name one: is in metabolism where water is used to break down food to eventually produce energy. So grab a bottle and I dare you to try and fill your water bottle 3x's a day with some of that H20 :)

______________________________

"The Relationships between Sugar-Sweetened Beverage Intake and Cardiometabolic Markers in Young Children" 
 Source: Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. February 2013

 Ethan C. Kosova, MD, MPH; Peggy Auinger, MS; Andrew A.Bremer, MD, PhD

It's Getting Chili in Here!

This past weekend was a chili kind of day. We got about 10 inches of snow which meant staying home and having some time to relax in my PJ's, catch up on some homework and cook some real good food. 

After shoveling the snow and playing outside with my dog, Samson, to warm up my insides for the evening, I decided to make some Chili for my family & I for dinner!

I even had some left over for dinner on Monday and packed it for school since I discovered a microwave in my evening class :)

The many times I've made Chili I've discovered a few tips to make it delicious:

-When using a Chili spice the longer it simmers the more flavorful the dish will become (this happens with most spices, the longer they simmer the more the flavors will blend together)

-When simmering Chili's (or meat in general) be sure that the temperature is low so as to not over cook the meat as it tends to become rubbery tasting

-Cinnamon and honey is such a wonderful combination hitting the sweet taste buds 

Homemade Chili

1 1/2 pounds, Ground Turkey

1 can of black beans

1 can of kidney beans

4 Tbsp, olive oil

2 onions, diced

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 Green pepper, diced

1 8oz can of diced tomato's

1 8oz can of tomato sauce

1/4C Honey

4 Tbsp of Chili

1 Tbsp Paprika

1tsp Garlic Salt

1 tsp of Cinnamon

1/4C Red Wine (optional) recommend a medium-full bodied Merlot

1 tsp Cayenne (optional, if you want spicy)

Directions: 

1. In a large saute pan, saute the onions, green pepper and garlic until they are translucent

2. Add ground turkey and cook all the way through

3. Add tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, chili, cumin, cinnamon, garlic salt, honey and stir well
4. Let it simmer for 10 minutes

5. In a large pot combine all ingredients 

    *If you want to add red wine add it here

6. Cook under a low heat for 3 hours in a large pot half covered

It turned out delicious! The meat wasn't overcooked, the beans held their shape and tender. The combination of sweet, salty and spicy all I could say was "mmmm-mmmm." It hit all the right taste buds! I will post a nutrient analysis soon to see what your getting nutritionally in 1 6oz portion! 

Below is a picture of this tasty meal for your enjoyment :)