Reduce Your Sugar

Even with Halloween and all that extra candy looming on the landscape you should remember that added sugar in your diet can lead to obesity, high blood pressure, and a host of other problems.  There are a few simple things you can do to cut back on the added sugar in your diet. 

Read "Reducing Sugar: How Sweet It Is" on the America on the Move website.



Calculate Your Body Mass Index

Body mass index (BMI) is a measure of body fat based on height and weight that applies to adult men and women. Go to

Click here to go to the BMI calculator

to compute your BMI.  Also check out the links for healthy recipes, healthy weight tools, and a host of other great information.

Safe and Healthy

Today's children are growing up in an online, digital world.  They are almost always "connected".  Parents need to be aware of the dangers so they can protect and empower their kids in the digital world.

"CyberSafe" by Gwenn Shurgin O'Keeffe is a must read.  This informative book will help parents understand things like:

• Cyberbullying
• Hazzards of social networking sites
• The ins and outs of online gaming and virtual worlds
• What is available in parental control systems and what they allow you to monitor
• Digital footprints (and how your child can make a good one)

The book has been approved by the American Academy of Pediatrics and is dedicated to the health of all children.  Parents can find this title in the new book section at the Hibbing Public Library in 303.4834.

Black Bean Salad

Ingredients:


• 1 cup granulated sugar

• ½ teaspoon pepper

• 1 teaspoon salt

• ½ cup salad oil

• ¾ cup cider vinegar

• 1 #10 can black beans, drained

• 1 ¼ cup diced green pepper

• 1 ¼ cup diced red pepper

• ½ cup diced onion

• 1 ¼ cup whole kernel corn, drained

• 2 teaspoons minced fresh garlic

• ¼ cup jalapeno peppers, drained (optional)

Directions:

• Combine the sugar, pepper, salt, salad oil and vinegar until blended and refrigerate.

• Combine the remaining ingredients.

• Add dressing, mix together to coat evenly.

• Cover and refrigerate.

• This salad should marinate for several hours or overnight to allow the flavors to develop.

• Serve ½ cup portions.

• Yield is 20 - ½ cup servings

Nutritional Information Per Serving:

• 380 calories

• 0 mg. Cholesterol

• 587 mg. Sodium

• 7 g. fiber

• 34 g. Carbohydrates

• 4 g. Total Fat

• 0 Trans Fats

Foods Are Not Good or Bad

A healthy eating style is like a puzzle with many parts.  Each part--or food--is different.  Some foods may have more fat, sugar or salt while others may have more vitamins or fiber.  There is a place for all these foods.  What makes a diet good or bad is how foods fit together.  Balancing your choices is important.  Fit in a higher-fat food, like pepperoni pizza, at dinner by choosing lower-fat foods at other meals.  And don't forget about MODERATION.  If two pieces of pizza fill you up, don't eat a third.



October is Children's Health Month

In addition to good nutrition and plenty of fun and exercise, all children need to breathe clean air, drink safe water, and live in healthy communities.  Children, by their very nature, deserve our focused attention and care. Their bodies are different than adults, their behaviors are different, and their interactions with the environment are different. Protecting the health of children is a compelling inducement to improving our environment, both during Children’s Health Month and throughout the year, in the United States and around the world.

To learn more go to the EPA's Children's Health Month 2010 page.



Enter Your Recipes and Win!

Let's Move! toward healthier food in school.

You could win up to $12,000 in prizes by creating nutritious

school lunch recipes that kids love to eat!

Go to "Recipes for Healthy Kids" for more information.

Ten Healthy Eating Tips for the Busy College Student

The average college student is often pressed for time, under a lot of stress and eating on the go. You may find it difficult to avoid bad habits like skipping meals or frequenting fast food restaurants. But eating a healthy diet can help you feel better, cope with stress and perform better in the class-room and on the athletic field. It really isn't that hard to get started.

1. Eat a good breakfast. Studies show that skipping breakfast detracts from scholastic achievement. When there isn't time to sit down and enjoy your morning meal, grab a bagel, piece of fruit, and some juice. Most of these items can be easily stored in your dorm room.
2. If you must eat fast foods, choose wisely. Choose pizza with half the cheese, a regular size roast beef sandwich, baked potato, or green salad with reduced calorie dressing. Limit high fat offering like french fries, fried chicken or fish sandwiches and watch out for salad dressing.
3. Keep healthful snacks on hand so if hunger strikes during a late night study session, you won't be tempted by vending machine candy, chips, or ice cream. Possibilities include fresh or dried fruit, pretzels, unbuttered popcorn, rice cakes or whole wheat cracker. If you have a refrigerator, consider raw vegetables with low-fat yogurt or cottage cheese dip.
4. Eat plenty of foods that are rich in calcium. People in their early twenties need to be build up stores of calcium in their bodies to prevent osteoporosis in later life. If you don't like milk, try to include ample amounts of low-fat yogurt, low-fat cheese, and green leafy vegetables in your diet.
5. If you need to lose weight, do it sensibly. Starvation and/or diets that offer a quick fix usually backfire and are harmful. There is not truth to the theories that suggest eating foods in any particular combination will promote weight loss. The only safe way to lose weight, feel good while doing it, and keep it off is to eat a balanced diet.
6. Sugar provides calories in your diet but few other nutrients and it contributes significantly to tooth decay. Use it sparingly and consider sweetening coffee, tea, cereal and fruit with diet sweeteners instead.
7. The dining hall salad bar can be either an asset or a detriment to you diet depending on how you choose from it. Of course, leafy greens, raw vegetable and fresh fruit are beneficial. But if you choose lot of creamy dressing, bacon bit, and mayonnaise based salads, the calories and fat may equal or even exceed those of a burger and fries.
8. If you drink alcohol, keep in mind that it supplies calories but no nutritional value. A light beer, a glass of wine, or an ounce of liquor each has about 100 calories. There are also many health problems associated with drinking alcohol.
9. Drink lots of water. Your body needs at least eight glasses a day, and if you exercise vigorously, you may need more. To remind yourself, carry a water bottle along to class and keep it handy during late night study sessions.
10. Remember, food is a lot more than nourishment for our bodies. Enjoy and savor it.