by admin | Jul 8, 2015 | Grown Up
July is National Grilling Month, so we are excited to share these fruit and veggie grilling tips from our friends over at Produce for Kids!
During the summer months, outdoor cooking on the grill is a favorite pastime for friends and family gatherings. When it comes to getting kids involved with cooking, grilling offers a great opportunity to experience fruits and vegetables in refreshing new ways.
Asparagus, zucchini and yellow squash offer a tasty change to the normal routine. How about grilled broccoli or cauliflower? Maybe sweet pineapple, cantaloupe, peaches and pears? Read on to see how to enjoy these favorites all summer long.
Make sure your grill is ready for those delicious fruits and veggies. Scrub down the grill top using a steel brush. Depending on your child’s age, this can be a great lesson for them in taking ownership and care. Wipe the grate with an oiled cloth (an old piece of shirt bundled and tied works great) to remove any dust residue. If you have a gas grill, make sure the burner airways are clean and clear of cobwebs and debris. It’s critical for safety sake to first have the gas disconnected if you are taking your grill apart. Using mild soap, water and a skinny brush (that should be able to get inside the burner tubes), clean burners as needed. Essential items to have on hand when you’re grilling are a pan with oil to keep grill top clean, steel brush, tongs (make sure they actually hold the food when being pinched), a metal spatula and a serving dish.
- Broccoli & Cauliflower: Take whole heads of cauliflower and broccoli, wash, then slice ¼-inch cross-section. Most children enjoy helping drizzle veggies with olive oil, salt and pepper. Once grill is hot and grate is cleaned and oiled, add broccoli and cauliflower and cook until there are grill marks, and pieces are slightly tender, about 2-4 minutes per side. Remove from grill and serve.
- Pineapple & cantaloupe: Cut fruit cross-section, about ½-inch, so it’s a circle piece. Slice in half, like a half moon. Remove seeds from cantaloupe. With grill on medium high heat, add fruit and cook until there are grill marks, and pieces are slightly tender, about 1-3 minutes per side. Remove from grill, and serve with vanilla ice cream.
- Peaches, nectarines & plums: Slice fruit in half, stone removed. Lay fruit cut side down and cook about 2-3 minutes each side, or until fruit is tender with light brown grill marks. If you want to add an extra “wow” to this, simply reduce some balsamic vinegar until it’s a syrup and drizzle on top.
Grilling together can be the perfect summer family activity. Now, get outside and prepare delicious foods together!
This post originally appeared on the Produce for Kids Blog.
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Produce for Kids is a cause marketing company that helps families eat healthier through its promotion of fresh produce, bank of 200+ recipes and blog full of healthy family living tips and advice. Through our partnerships with grocery stores and produce companies, we’ve raised more than $5 million for children’s charities since 2002. Follow Produce for Kids on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and Instagram and visit produceforkids.com.
by admin | Jun 9, 2015 | Educator
June is National Dairy Month, a time to celebrate all the tasty foods made of dairy which also provide many important vitamins and minerals for active bodies. Did you know that in order to get the amount of calcium in an 8-ounce glass of milk, you’d have to eat one-fourth cup of broccoli, seven oranges or six slices of wheat bread?
National Dairy Month is also a perfect opportunity to teach your children about where their food comes from. My children love the story of Sunnybell, a Florida dairy cow who shares her story about life on a dairy farm. They giggle every time they hear Sunnybell talk about how some of her friends have chilled water beds to keep them cool in the Florida heat. Try discussing Sunnybell with your own kids, they are sure to be entertained!
One of my absolute favorite programs for school health and wellness is Fuel Up to Play 60 (FUTP60), a joint program between the National Football League (NFL) and the National Dairy Council. FUTP60 is a student led program which encourages students to live healthier lives through the promotion of healthy eating and physical activity. Even better, up to $4,000 is available to schools who implement the FUTP60 program (and might be able to fund some of The OrganWise Guys materials you have your eye on). I’ve seen FUTP60 transform a school’s culture in just one school year through the coordinated excitement it creates among the students, staff, and parents. You can learn more about FUTP60 here.
Remember, even during the long (and sometimes lazy) days of summer, there are teaching opportunities everywhere. During National Dairy Month, take the opportunity to talk with your child about the vitamins and minerals in their bowl of low-fat ice cream or how their grilled cheese is helping to build strong muscles and bones so they can swim longer and faster. They may think you’re providing them with just a treat, but we know you’re giving them just what their bodies need to thrive this summer.
Today we feature OWG guest blogger and childhood obesity consultant, Melodie Griffin. Melodie’s passion lies in the prevention of childhood obesity through the school and early learning settings. All programs Melodie promotes are fully approved by her home based lab rats, five year old son, Howie, and two year old daughter, Hope. You can connect with Melodie on her Facebook page, WellConnect LLC.
by admin | May 23, 2015 | Grown Up
We love having Produce for KidsBuild a Better Burger on our blog! Today they are here with a fun way to get kids involved in the burger-building process. Here’s to healthy burgers!
Summer is here and Memorial Day and Fourth of July is right around the corner! Grilling out burgers is a must for any summer cookout and definitely a family favorite in my household. Check out this handy infographic for building a better burger and let kids pick their own toppings! Or you can create a burger bar for a fun, themed cookout!
Don’t be afraid to get creative! One of my favorite things to do is to swap out some of the meat in our burgers for fresh veggies like mushrooms, onions and peppers. They keep burgers moist and add nutrition. Or try making homemade veggie burgers, like these Very Veggie Burgers!
This post originally appeared on the Produce for Kids Blog.
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Produce for Kids is a cause marketing company that helps families eat healthier through its promotion of fresh produce, bank of 200+ recipes and blog full of healthy family living tips and advice. Through our partnerships with grocery stores and produce companies, we’ve raised more than $5 million for children’s charities since 2002. Follow Produce for Kids on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and Instagram and
by admin | May 22, 2015 | Grown Up
I love Memorial Day for so many different reasons. It gives us a dedicated day to remember those that gave their lives while serving our country. We have the opportunity to share our feeling, pride, respect and honor for those that gave it all.
How fitting is it that while celebrating our fallen soldiers, we are also celebrating the beginning of summer. The days where we are free to enjoy the sand between our toes, splashing around in the pool, and juicy watermelon during a summer picnic. It’s because of our soldiers that we have the freedom to enjoy such carefree and joy filled weeks during the time while school is out.
Like other holidays, I encourage you to use Memorial Day as another opportunity to promote healthy behaviors within your family. Look for ways to put a healthy spin on your favorite picnic foods. Revel in the delicious in-season fruits and vegetables. Initiate a backyard family game of kickball, tag, or catch. Bring out the sprinkler or the chalk and have kids create their own games in your driveway or yard. With the warm weather and the long days, the possibilities are almost endless.
And keep this is mind as we are talking about healthy behaviors during our Memorial Day festivities; excessive weight and body fat are now the number one reason potential new recruits are disqualified from serving in the military. With nearly one-quarter of applicants disqualified for this reason each year, obesity is officially our top national security threat. Military leaders emphasize that today’s high levels of obesity among children present challenges in recruiting tomorrow’s military.
So, in a sense, by ensuring your child has healthy role models, access to healthy food, and plenty of opportunities to be physically active this Memorial Day, you are doing your part to help guarantee our country has the best, brightest, and healthiest military possible.
Enjoy that Memorial Day Family Fun!
Today we feature OWG guest blogger and childhood obesity consultant, Melodie Griffin. Melodie’s passion lies in the prevention of childhood obesity through the school and early learning settings. All programs Melodie promotes are fully approved by her home based lab rats, five year old son, Howie, and two year old daughter, Hope. You can connect with Melodie on her Facebook page, WellConnect LLC.
by admin | Apr 29, 2015 | Grown Up
Next week (May 4-8) is Teacher Appreciation Week, and with it, comes the stress of finding that perfect thing that says thank you to the teachers who influence, inspire, and challenge our children 180 days (or more) each year.
In working with teachers and conducting a very unofficial poll, I have found that a majority of them are motivated and inspired by feeling appreciated. While gift cards and other gifts are nice (and I’m sure will be happily accepted by most), the most meaningful and impactful gifts for teachers are those that reassure them they are making a difference in the life of your child (after all, that’s why many of them entered into this profession). Bonus for us as parents, true appreciation gifts don’t take a lot of money, just some creative thinking on your part.
Additionally, please don’t forget about those teachers that interact with your child on a regular basis but aren’t the classroom teacher, including music, PE, art, reading, computers and other teachers. They can have just as great of an impact, if not greater, than that of the classroom teacher and also deserve to feel appreciated during this week. I don’t know about your child, but my son thinks his PE teacher is the coolest person on this planet (and my appreciation gift to him will include this statement).
So, my challenge to you during Teacher Appreciation Week is to provide each teacher your child interacts with a statement about how they have made a difference in your child’s life. A simple story, a statement about how your child’s work has improved because of them, or a quote directly from your child about what they like about them. Tuck this note of appreciation into your gift card or other gift and I promise you the teacher you’re giving it to will truly feel the meaning of Teacher Appreciation Week. They will treasure that note and feel the appreciation they so deserve and the motivation they need to continue to deliver quality education and inspiration for the remainder of the year.
I think a quote from Margaret Cousins does an amazing job of summarizing what we, as parents, can do for our teachers; “Appreciation can make a day, even change a life. Your willingness to put it into words is all that is necessary.”
Today we feature OWG guest blogger and childhood obesity consultant, Melodie Griffin. Melodie’s passion lies in the prevention of childhood obesity through the school and early learning settings. All programs Melodie promotes are fully approved by her home based lab rats, five year old son, Howie, and two year old daughter, Hope. You can connect with Melodie on her Facebook page, WellConnect LLC.
July is National Grilling Month, so we are excited to share these fruit and veggie grilling tips from our friends over at Produce for Kids!
Produce for Kids is a cause marketing company that helps families eat healthier through its promotion of fresh produce, bank of 200+ recipes and blog full of healthy family living tips and advice. Through our partnerships with grocery stores and produce companies, we’ve raised more than $5 million for children’s charities since 2002. Follow Produce for Kids on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and Instagram and visit produceforkids.com.
