by admin | May 8, 2015 | Grown Up
Once again, we are excited to feature our great partners over at the Healthy Weight Commitment Foundation (HWCF) who provided us with the great content below.
On top of their many (many!) roles, Moms are impressive jugglers. They are known to balance work routines with multiple school schedules, errands, team sports, and after school activities—all before getting out the door most mornings. During the busy weeks during the school year, Moms get all sorts of advice about the importance of maximizing “together time” by sharing meals and activities together, on top of their already crazy busy calendars.
As members of the Healthy Weight Commitment Foundation, we support busy Moms with free resources to help do just that! In addition to the resources shared by HWCF, we here at The OrganWise Guys, have a great kid’s club page on our website offering mom’s free resources such as fun videos, coloring and activity sheets. These are a great way to get a healthy conversation going with the kids while spending some valuable time together.
Speaking of valuable time, the month of May brings flowers of course, but also a couple of events that could help your family decompress and make plans for being more active and healthy together.
- First, unplug. That’s right! May 4th – 10th is a national week of deliberate retreat from the screen. While this activity is largely aimed at children, seeking to get kids moving and outside for play, we’re all guilty of pinching family time with a sneak peek at our email and social media. Why not plug in by unplugging? The official “unplug” week may be coming to a close, but you can consider doing this once a week all year long to incorporate more quality family time.
- Mother’s Day is May 10th. Enough said! Make a plan to put Mom in the center of things and plan something as simple as a hike and a picnic. Your family can benefit from getting some exercise on Mom’s special day.
- Memorial Day weekend is the unofficial kick off of summer and falls on May 25th this year. Find all sorts of ways to spend quality time over a long weekend reading the Together Counts™ blog. Search topics from meal planning to healthy living and make it your go-to for ways to get together this summer.
Share ways you’re making the most of May by commenting below or at https://www.facebook.com/togethercounts
by admin | May 7, 2015 | Kids
As you know, Mother’s Day is this weekend and while kids may not realize just how big of a deal this day is for Mom, they absolutely should! This is a day for kids to show just how much their mom means to them.
The Kidney Brothers share with kids a tough lesson they learned about spending money on themselves rather than on a special gift for their Mom for Mother’s Day. Download the free activity and coloring sheets to see how they got themselves out of their predicament. As a bonus, these sheets can also keep the kids busy (and quiet!) this Mother’s Day weekend, which is also a wonderful gift in our opinion!
by admin | May 6, 2015 | Educator, Grown Up
Formerly National Employee Health and Fitness Day, the entire month of May is now devoted to creating a healthy workplace environment during Global Employee Health and Fitness Month. The importance of living a healthy lifestyle, including eating nutrient-rich foods and exercising, extends beyond just your physical well-being. A person who takes care of themselves physically is generally a more confident and productive employee. So, celebrate this month in your workplace by incorporating fun activities that promote health and wellness!
Here are some fun ideas you can begin to integrate this month and throughout the year:
- Promote taking the stairs instead of the elevator
- Start a walking group that meets before or after work or even during the lunch hour
- Sign up as a team for a run/walk for a good cause and encourage everyone to train together for it
- Hold monthly educational sessions by bringing in guest speakers to talk about various health topics
- Send out a brief weekly newsletter providing healthy tips or even recipes
- Plan a health fair type event with healthy offerings and activities for families
What other ideas do you have to help create that healthy workplace environment?
by admin | May 3, 2015 | Grown Up
We all like to have a good reason to celebrate, but a celebration doesn’t always have to be unhealthy! Next week is Cinco de Mayo, so we wanted to share some tasty, yet healthy recipes to enjoy during your Cinco de Mayo celebrations!
Need an appetizer? Start out with this yummy Corn Salsa or you could serve up these Slow Cooker Vegetarian Stuffed Green Peppers.
But if you are looking for the main dish, try any one of these recipes listed below:
Walnut “Meat” Taco Salad – a popular meat substitute for vegetarians or vegans, walnut meat makes for a great nut-based dinner. Simply combine ¾ cup walnuts with ¼ cup sundried tomatoes, and 1 tsp. each of chili powder, cumin, garlic powder and ½ tsp. salt in the food processor and process until it becomes the consistency of ground meat. Mix together with lettuce, chopped cherry tomatoes, black beans, avocado, red onion and low-fat Mexican cheese for a tasty dinner.
Crockpot Creamy Mexican Chicken – Place 2 chicken breasts at the bottom of the slow cooker. Add 1 15 oz. can of black beans (drained), 1 7 oz. can green chiles, 1 15 oz. can diced tomatoes, 1 15 oz. can of corn (drained), and 1 package of taco seasoning. Cook on high for 6 hours, until chicken is cooked. Use a fork to remove chicken and shred. Place chicken back in the slow cooker, add 1 package low-fat cream cheese and cook on high for 30 minutes. Serve with whole grain tortillas.
Mexican Veggie Burrito – Add cumin and cilantro to your vegetable mixture. Place about 1/2 cup of your veggies in a whole grain tortilla and top with low-fat Mexican cheese, low-fat sour cream, salsa, and guacamole. We like to warm ours up on the stovetop so the tortilla is crispy and the cheese is melted.
Whole Wheat Chicken Burritos – Serve healthy burritos for dinner with this simple recipe. Start with a whole wheat tortilla. Sprinkle low-fat Mexican style cheese over the bottom third of the tortilla. Then add diced grilled chicken, cooked black beans, tomato salsa, guacamole and low-fat sour cream. Carefully, fold the left and right side of the tortilla in, then roll up the tortilla starting at the bottom. Transfer the rolled burrito to a sandwich press or to a skillet on medium heat. Cook until the tortilla becomes crispy. Serve immediately. The ingredients can also be stored in the refrigerator for several days for leftovers.
Mexican Style Chicken Roll-ups – Combine one chopped green pepper, 1/2 jalapeno pepper, low-fat pepper jack cheese, and 2 tbsp. of low-fat cream cheese. Scoop 2 tbsp. of the mixture onto the chicken breats, roll up and place on a baking sheet seam side down. Bake in the oven at 400 degrees for 35 minutes. Serve with tomato salsa and black beans for a filling meal.
Corn and Black Bean Quesadillas – Use a whole grain tortilla, low-fat Mexican cheese, and a mixture of black beans, corn, chopped tomatoes, and cilantro for this quesadilla recipe. Spread a thin layer of cheese over the tortilla, then add the mixture of fillings to the bottom half of the quesadilla. Fold it over, then use a sandwich press or cook on the stove top until the cheese becomes melted.
What are your Cinco de Mayo plans?
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.
