GROWING HEALTHY KIDS

WELLNESS WEDNESDAYS: What the World Needs Now

2023-01-25T10:32:00.041-05:00

"Lord, make me an instrument of thy peace. Where there is hatred, let me sow love."

--Francis of Assisi

We have entered this new year with a preponderance of violence.

How can children be expected to grow up surrounded with kindness, love, and peace when daily newscasts are filled with the ugliness of violence? It is OK to turn off the TV and not watch the news. I certainly do it. It is OK to light candles and create a loving home space where the art of conversation can be enjoyed and shared with children.

If we fail to create the world in which we want our children to be raised, then we have no one to blame but ourselves if the cycle of violence continues to the next generation. Raising kind and loving children is key to raising healthy children who will love themselves and care for the planet which we all call home. Sow what you want to grow. I choose to sow seeds of love.

With love and kindness,

Nancy Heinrich, MPH

Founder and Wellness Architect

WELLNESS WEDNESDAYS: Children and Childhood Obesity

2021-12-29T11:56:00.022-05:00

“Children who have obesity are at greater risk for diseases such as type 2 diabetes and heart disease, which have a significant impact on health and healthcare costs. Obesity can also increase the risk for severe symptoms of COVID-19, even among children. Additionally, decades of data show that children of color and those growing up furthest from economic opportunity are at greatest risk for obesity.”

--Robert Wood Johnson Foundation

Please consider these realities:

Adult obesity rates continue to increase. Four in 10 adults in the US are obese.
Youth age 2-19 obesity rates continue to increase. One in 5 children and adolescents in the US have obesity.

According to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, parents can do 5 things at home to prevent childhood obesity:

1. Eat rainbows

2. Move more

3. Slow down on sugar

4. Limit screen time

5. Sleep well

We can ALL benefit from using these suggestions to live healthier lives every day. Growing Healthy Kids is focused on creating solutions to reverse and prevent childhood obesity and building partnerships with others committed to ensure that all children have access to healthy foods.

There is an urgency to end this childhood obesity crisis and protect children’s health and lives. For example, children diagnosed with type 2 diabetes can expect to have a shorter life by 15-17 years.

Together, we can do great things to improve the health – and lives – of America’s children.

With love and kindness,

Nancy Heinrich, MPH

Founder and Wellness Architect

Photo above: Kids at a Growing Healthy Kids workshop getting ready to visit the Vero Beach Farmers Market

WELLNESS WEDNESDAYS: What You Eat Matters

2021-12-22T16:21:00.024-05:00

“If slaughterhouses had glass walls, everyone would be vegetarians.”

--Paul McCartney

What you eat either feeds disease or heals. Your choice.

By eating a variety of plants (mainly vegetables, fruits, legumes, and whole grains), you are healing yourself, especially when you choose organically grown foods.

Plant-based eating is a delightful way to support local farmers, learn to create new dishes for family and friends to enjoy, and eat food because it makes you feel great and doesn’t leave knots in your stomach, as often happens from consuming meat, due to delayed digestive times.

Take a week and think about small changes you can make to what you eat every day to shift to plant-based eating. At the end of a week, stop eating all animal products for a month. Avoid processed foods, especially those with ingredients you can't pronounce. Record the changes in how you feel, sleep, think. Give it a shot and be amazed. Heal to be healthy.

What you eat matters. For your health and the health of your children. For our minds, bodies, and spirit. For the health of our planet.

With love and kindness,

Nancy Heinrich, MPH

Founder and Wellness Architect

Photo above: Kevin O'Dare sharing fresh herbs with a youth at a Growing Healthy Kids' workshop.

WELLNESS WEDNESDAYS: Love Your Farmers

2021-12-15T15:43:00.013-05:00

"When you follow a vegan diet, there is much less need for surgeons to clean out your arteries or intestinal tract."

--Neal Barnard, MD, Founder of Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine

Planning meals begins with the local farmers. What are they growing and harvesting each month? Recently, to my Indiana winter delight, I have been able to buy green onions, garlic, cabbage, and salad greens from several farmers at the New Albany Farmers Market.

Fresh green onions, also known as spring onions, add delightful crunch and flavor to my lunchtime salads and are always a favorite ingredient for my Mexican meals featuring slow cooked black beans and brown jasmine rice. Garlic (pictured above) is a must-have ingredient in every kitchen, especially the Growing Healthy Kids Test Kitchen. You can always tell the difference between fresh and old garlic when you slice garlic cloves. Cabbage, a superstar cruciferous vegetable with strong anti-cancer properties, is an unsung hero in the kitchen-it is so delicious when gently steamed and served with brown rice, black beans, and egg rolls (my new winter comfort food meal). Salad greens are a staple for me, as having a salad at least 5 days a week is one of my goals that makes meal planning so easy.

Support your local farmers. If you see a fruit or vegetable you haven’t tried yet, ask farmers how the farmers use them. Teach your children to be curious. Eat from the main food groups - fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and legumes (beans and lentils) – every day. Eat nuts and seeds in moderation. Limit/eliminate foods from animals. This way of eating is so good and good for you, your kids, and our planet!

With love and kindness,

Nancy Heinrich, MPH

Founder and Wellness Architect

WELLNESS WEDNESDAYS: Cruciferous Delights

2021-12-08T12:32:00.032-05:00

"Nobody cares if you can't dance well. Just get up and dance."

--Martha Graham

Eating with the seasons has always been my way. Since growing up in Sacramento, California where I got spoiled being able to enjoy fresh fruits and vegetables year round, I now appreciate eating with the seasons. I don’t need access to every fruit and vegetable every month of the year, unlike many Americans who don’t think about the energy it takes to transport foods from one side of the country to the other or from South America to the U.S.

At the New Albany (Indiana) Farmers Market, it has been great to find small farmers “growing under cover” in the winter, raising cruciferous vegetables such as green and purple cabbage, Napa and savoy cabbage, bok choy. This Brassica genus family of veggies, including broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, and kale, is known for strong anti-cancer properties.

The Growing Healthy Kids Test Kitchen has been filled with the wonderful flavors of curries and soups featuring cruciferous veggies grown by some of my favorite Indiana and Kentucky farmers. Simply steaming half a small head of sliced green cabbage to enjoy with parsley potatoes and vegan sausages is one of my favorite winter comfort meals. Shredded purple cabbage will be on top of tonight's tempeh tacos! Enjoy your own cruciferous delights!

With love and kindness,

Nancy Heinrich, MPH

Founder and Wellness Architect

WELLNESS WEDNESDAYS: Food Insecurity

2021-12-01T16:50:00.024-05:00

Food Security definition: the state of having reliable access to a sufficient quantity of affordable, nutritious food.

A recent solicitation arrived in the mail from Dare to Care, a food bank in Louisville, Kentucky. This organization has a huge warehouse on the south side of Louisville where fresh and perishable foods along with canned goods with long shelf lives are loaded into trucks for distribution to church pantries, school backpack blessings programs, and emergency centers helping local residents meet their basic needs for food.

Children shouldn’t go hungry. But many do.

Food insecurity is real for millions of Americans. If you work full-time earning the federal minimum wage ($7.25/hour), you live below the federal poverty level. In 2021, the federal poverty level for a family of four (excluding Hawaii and Alaska) is $26,500. One wage earner in a family of four making minimum wage working 40 hours a week earns $15,080/year.

Children shouldn’t go hungry. But many do.

Relying on food banks will not lead Americans to long-term food security, but it is at least a short-term bandaid on our nation’s economic crisis of expecting people to meet their basic needs on less than a living wage. Until the nation’s leaders raise the federal minimum wage for workers to a living wage, children will go hungry and families will be desperate to receive what they can get at food banks like Dare to Care.

Children shouldn’t go hungry. But many do. Be part of the solution. Support your local food banks or church food pantry with a gift of money and/or your volunteer time.

With love and kindness,

Nancy Heinrich, MPH

Founder and Wellness Architect

WELLNESS WEDNESDAYS: What I am Thankful For

2021-11-24T15:37:00.050-05:00

"I don't have to chase extraordinary moments to find happiness - it's right in front of me if I'm paying attention and practicing gratitude."

--Brene Brown

In November the days grow shorter. I am packing more activities into the daylight hours. As I spend more time indoors, I use the silence to reflect.

Since March 2020, when the U.S. went into COVID-19 lockdown, our lives have changed dramatically. The concept of staying healthy took on a new meaning, as those with diabetes and obesity being found to be at high risk for infection with COVID, being hospitalized, and dying. Every week, people talk in hushed tones about someone they know at work or at church who got infected or who has died.

At the beginning of 2021, vaccines to protect against COVID became available, offering hope and light. When the state asked for employees to step forward and help work in county health department vaccine clinics, I stepped forward. I worked with an incredible team of registered nurses in Corydon, Indiana to help them get vaccines into arms. I saw bravery in our health professionals, often working double shifts, to get every dose of vaccine administered and documented, not wanting to waste even one single dose. I remembering calling people at the end of long work days those first few weeks in January, telling them we had an extra dose and that we would wait for them and could they come right over to the health department. The people I called on the health department's fill-in list dropped what they were doing to drive over for a chance to be one of the first in the state to be vaccinated, giving themselves protection from the fear of infection, disease, and death. We worked in unity to help our neighbors stay safe and healthy.

As families gather safely to give thanks, I give thanks for my family and all they do to support our mother’s desire to age in place. I give thanks for the world’s health care heroes. I give thanks for farmers, especially the pumpkin farmers in Indiana (see picture above). I am thankful for parents who have navigated deep waters to protect their children through the pandemic. I am thankful for every breath I take. I am thankful for the gift of life every day. What are you thankful for?

With love and kindness,

Nancy Heinrich, MPH

Founder and Wellness Architect

WELLNESS WEDNESDAYS: Kick Ass Chili

2021-11-17T07:00:00.017-05:00

"Any man that eats chili and cornbread can't be all bad."

--Carroll Shelby

A couple of years ago, a good friend talked me into entering a local chili contest so there would be a meat-free version for people to sample. I created this excellent recipe for that contest but dreaded having to work in a park using only a propane tank for cooking and heating. When the chili contest was cancelled due to inclement weather, I did not have to deal with the propane tank. Oh, happy day!

I love making this chili in the fall when friends come for dinner. If you put together the ingredients in the morning, you can put it in a crock pot on low and let it simmer the rest of the day while you play. If you have a local farmer who grows bell peppers, you can use green peppers or use a combination of green and purple, yellow, and red. Make a pan of cornbread, chop up green onions and avocado, slice up a lime to squeeze on top of the chili, and enjoy!

Growing Healthy Kids: Kick Ass Chili

(for People who don’t eat meat and other kind souls)

This is an amazing chili recipe. Freezing the tofu adds great texture. Letting the tofu soak up the marinade overnight adds great flavor. Trust me on the peanut butter.

STEP ONE:

Place a container of extra firm organic tofu in the freezer. The day before you want to make chili, take package out of freezer and defrost in fridge overnight.

The next day, open tofu package, drain liquid, and squeeze all excess liquid from the block of tofu.

Mix together in large mixing bowl:

· 3 Tablespoons tomato paste

· 3 Tablespoons soy sauce

· 3 Tablespoons smooth peanut butter

· ½ cup vegetable broth

Crumble tofu into 1/2” pieces and mix thoroughly with tomato paste mixture. Cover with plastic wrap and place in fridge to marinate tofu till ready to make chili (at least 4 hours, overnight is even better).

MEANWHILE…STEP TWO:

Heat large soup pot to medium heat.

Add:

· 3 Tablespoons olive oil

· 1 medium red onion, diced

· 1 large or 2 medium green peppers, diced

· 2 cloves garlic, minced

Cook for 4-5 minutes, stirring frequently.

Add:

· 1 28-ounce can diced tomatoes

· 1 can kidney beans, drained and rinsed

· 1 can pinto beans, drained and rinsed

· ½ small can chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, finely diced plus 2 Tablespoons adobo sauce (TIP: remove seeds for less heat)

· 2-4 cups vegetable broth

· Tofu mixture

· 1 Tablespoon chili powder

· 1 teaspoon cumin

· 1 teaspoon oregano

Bring chili to a boil, then reduce heat to simmer, cover, and cook for at least 1 hour before serving.

Serve with fresh lime wedges, diced avocado, sliced green onions, and your favorite cornbread.

With love and kindness,

Nancy Heinrich, MPH

Founder and Wellness Architect

WELLNESS WEDNESDAYS: Fall Colors

2021-11-10T10:43:00.062-05:00

Trees

by Joyce Kilmer

I think I shall never see

a poem lovely as a tree.

A tree whose hungry mouth is prest

Against the earth's sweet flowing breast;

A tree that looks at God all day,

And lifts her leafy arms to pray;

A tree that may in Summer wear

A nest of robins in her hair;

Upon whose bosom snow has lain,

Who intimately lives with rain.

Poems are made by fools like me,

But only God can make a tree.

Fall is a spectacular season. I am grateful for the opportunity to experience it as I care for my mother in her Indiana home. As trees make the transition between summer and winter, I am in awe of God’s beauty. The colors change from pale to brilliant. Greens change to yellow, orange, red, and brown. Every day is a new color palette.

These fall colors remind me of the mantra in our Growing Healthy Kids workshops for children and parents: Eat rainbows. Eat foods of many colors, for they contain different vitamins and minerals that complement each other.

Some of the colorful and locally grown foods I have used in the past week’s meals include: napa cabbage, bok choy, spaghetti squash, butternut squash, zucchini, red and yellow Italian peppers, spinach, garlic, heirloom tomatoes, onions, yellow beets, and beet greens.

What colors are on your plate?

With love and kindness,

Nancy Heinrich, MPH

Founder and Wellness Architect

Photo locations: Culbertson Mansion on Main Street and Baptist Floyd Hospital on State Street, New Albany, Indiana

WELLNESS WEDNESDAYS: November is American Diabetes Month

2021-11-03T08:55:00.029-04:00

"Three things cannot be long hidden: the sun, the moon, and the truth."

--Buddha

Eric Adams did it. He reversed his diabetes (his A1c was 17% when he was diagnosed) by eating plants and getting rid of all foods from animals. Eric Adams, newly elected mayor of New York City, is becoming a leader for health literacy. He has learned from medical doctors providing leadership on whole food plant based eating to reverse heart disease and type 2 diabetes such as Caldwell B. Esselstyn, Jr., Michael Greger, Dean Ornish and Neal Barnard, founder of Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine.

November is American Diabetes Month, sponsored by the American Diabetes Association. What a great time to begin the conversation about how plant-powered eating can reverse diabetes. It turns out that saturated fat, found in foods from animals, does terrible things to the body. This fat that is solid at room temperature gunks up the body, preventing insulin from working properly. When you remove the saturated fat and highly processed foods and make whole foods from plants your primary foods, your body can thrive.

This month, learn how eating plant-based whole foods can reverse your diabetes. That’s what Eric Adams did. Now he is on a mission to share what he has learned with others struggling under the weight of a diabetes diagnosis and its complications. Improve your health literacy and be inspired from Eric's personal journey in his book, Healthy at Last.

With love and kindness,

Nancy Heinrich, MPH

Founder and Wellness Architect

WELLNESS WEDNESDAYS: Striving for Variety

2021-10-27T07:00:00.018-04:00

“It’s been said that no one can really motivate anyone else; all you can do is instill a positive attitude and hope it catches on.”

--Eddie Robinson

My Saturday mornings are defined by visits to the local farmers market. When I am in Indiana, most Saturdays it is the New Albany Farmers Market where I trade 5 or 10 or sometimes 20 dollars for fresh picked vegetables and herbs at my favorite farmers. These Saturday morning choices will guide my dinner menus for the next week. Last Saturday I got a head of Napa cabbage (from Axel of Lost Acres Farm, the same farmer who grew the bok choy I just featured in curry dishes), fresh garlic, poblano peppers (for adding to mushroom and black bean quesadillas), new potatoes (for using with poblano peppers in breakfast tacos), and Heirloom tomatoes (sadly, getting to the end of the tomato season) and spring onions (will use in the breakfast tacos).

To get a good range of vitamins and minerals, it is very important to eat a variety of vegetables and fruits. Not just potatoes and apples. Not just green beans and blueberries. We need to strive for a weekly variety of 15, 20 or more different fresh foods (from local farmers whenever possible). Eat a cornucopia of different foods and your body will thank you. The synergistic effect of eating a variety will help heal you and keep you healthy.

This week's goal is to make or create a new recipe with Axel’s beautiful head of Napa cabbage. I also plan to track what vegetables and fruits I eat (I like to do this occasionally to self-monitor my weekly variety) to see what this week’s number is.

With love and kindness,

Nancy Heinrich, MPH

Founder and Wellness Architect

Photo above: kohlrabi

WELLNESS WEDNESDAYS: My Farmacy Favorites

2021-10-20T17:17:00.020-04:00

“Let food be thy medicine.”

--Hippocrates

Photo: Freshly dug sweet potatoes from Shining Light Garden

Some people rely on a pharmacy for their medicine to make them well. I prefer going to the farmacy, at my local farmers market or out my back door. Eating foods that were grown within 50 miles and were just picked have very high nutritional value.

People who know me know that early Saturday mornings are sacred time when I am at the local farmers market, shopping for the superstars of my week's meals. It is important to eat and drink a wide variety of fruits and vegetables and not consume the same 3 or 4 items. Here is a list of some locally grown foods I have been using in the Growing Healthy Kids Test Kitchen this week:

Bok choy
Baby butternut squash
Poblano peppers
Garlic
Zucchini
Heirloom tomatoes

We have been eating very well with these wonderful vegetables. Adding organic brown rice, farro, and lentils (for a lentil-vegetable soup), this week’s selection of meals have been tasty, inexpensive, healthy, and full of vitamins, minerals, and dietary fiber.

Every child deserves access to healthy foods, including fresh vegetables and fruits. Wouldn't it be great if every child had their own food farmacy? Start small, with a pot of herbs, such as basil or thyme, on the kitchen window sill. Start sprouting seeds in mason jars. In the spring plant 3 tomato plants and some radishes. Get a Tower Garden. Take your kids with you to the farmers market near you.

Plant seeds. Start your own farmacy. After all, we are Growing Healthy Kids.

With love and kindness,

Nancy Heinrich, MPH

Founder and Wellness Architect

WELLNESS WEDNESDAYS: Seeds and Burgers

2021-10-13T07:00:00.038-04:00

"The diet, to be healthy, has to be mostly fruits, vegetables, beans, nuts and seeds."

--Dr. Joel Fuhrman

There has always been a bit of a “living on the wild side” feeling when I create recipes using my favorite seeds: pumpkin, sunflower, sesame, hemp, and flax. Weird, I know. Adding seeds to your favorite recipes can really kick things up a notch. They add a fun crunch and nuttiness to foods. When you realize the power of real food to keep us healthy, you respect every bite you eat. The journey from the farmers who grew the food to my plate deserves to be respected, revered, and protected.

Joyful is how I always feel biting into zucchini bread made with ground flax and pumpkin seeds. Weird, I know. Butternut squash soup topped with toasted pumpkin seeks always makes me smile. The nutritional value of seeds is valuable to our well-being:

seeds contain omega-3 fatty acids, lignans, phytosterols, potassium, magnesium, dietary fiber

At least once a month, I make veggie burgers in the Growing Healthy Kids Test Kitchen. Below is one of my favorite recipes: 3 Seed Burgers. You can make the burger mixture, then cover and place mixing bowl in the fridge for a few hours or overnight before cooking.

GROWING HEALTHY KIDS: Our Recipe Collection

3 SEED BURGERS

Ingredients:

· ½ cup raw pumpkin seeds

· ¼ cup raw sunflower seeds

· ¼ cup unhulled sesame seeds (or substitute hemp seeds)

· 1 cup cooked lentils

· 2 tablespoons rolled oats

· 3 tablespoons tomato paste

· ¼ cup diced onions

· 2 tablespoons tahini

· 1 tablespoon chopped Italian parsley

· Pinch of cayenne pepper or smoked paprika

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350. In food processor, combine all 3 seeds and process until coarsely chopped. Add remaining ingredients. Process until mixture is blended. Shape mixture into 4 patties. Lightly oil a baking sheet with a little olive oil. Place patties on sheet and bake for 10 minutes. Turn and bake another 8 minutes.

Serve burgers on whole grain buns. Garnish with avocado, lettuce, and tomatoes.

Eat. Enjoy. Repeat.

With love and kindness,

Nancy Heinrich, MPH

Founder and Wellness Architect

WELLNESS WEDNESDAYS: Why I Love Ground Flax Seeds

2021-10-06T08:47:00.022-04:00

"I could talk food all day. I love good food."

--Tom Brady

The best chefs in the world will tell you the same thing: Use the best ingredients you can afford to buy. One of the best ingredients for good health also happens to be very inexpensive: ground flax seeds. Even when you buy organic seeds, these gems are a true value for all the good health benefits they contain.

I have long known about the health benefits of flax seeds. A bag can always be found in my fridge. The issue was I was only eating them once in a while. When I read How Not to Die by Dr. Michael Greger a few years ago, I re-embraced these beauties for their many health benefits and focused on including them daily in what I eat.

Not only are flax seeds high in dietary fiber and omega-3 fatty acids, they help lower blood pressure and LDL cholesterol. They help ensure regular bowel movements. ONLY use ground or milled flax seeds, preferably organic, as whole seeds exit the body in the same state as they entered-whole and undigested. One to two tablespoons a day, added to shakes, salads, cereal, and muffins, can be a game changer to help improve your health status. Their nutty taste adds flavor, too. Try them for 2 weeks and feel the difference!

With love and kindness,

Nancy Heinrich, MPH

Founder and Wellness Architect

WELLNESS WEDNESDAYS: Kale & White Bean Soup

2021-09-29T17:47:00.003-04:00

"I feel that good food should be a right, not a privilege, and it needs to be without pesticides and herbicides. And everybody deserves this food. And that's not elitist."

--Alice Waters

I recently checked out The Great Vegan Bean Book by Kathy Hester from the library. The author said Rancho Gordo (ranchogordo.com) her favorite online bean source. A couple of years ago, a good friend of mine gifted me a bag of beans from Rancho Gordo and I have been smitten, just like Kathy, ever since. This summer, when stopping for artisanal bread from Blue Dog Bakery and Café in Louisville, Kentucky, I noticed they now stock bags of Rancho Gordo beans for all their customers lined up outside the bakery. The health benefits of beans are HUGE. Eating beans daily is one of the key healthy habits noted by Dan Buettner in The Blue Zones, about regions of the world where people live the longest.

When doing research for another "Wellness Wednesdays" article, I reviewed my favorite recipe files and made a list of my favorite soup recipes. One recipe stood out as a comfort food for this time of the year – kale and white bean soup. Savory and hearty, my wish is that you and your family will enjoy this favorite fall recipe as much as me and mine.

GROWING HEALTHY KIDS: Our Recipe Collection

KALE AND WHITE BEAN SOUP

Ingredients:

6 cups vegetable broth
1 large Vidalia onion, chopped
3-4 garlic cloves, minced
1 medium sweet potato, diced into 1/2 –inch cubes
4 cups chopped fresh kale
¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
2 bay leaves
1-1/2 cups cooked cannellini beans, drained and rinsed (or 1 15.5 ounce
BPA-free can)
1 teaspoon white miso paste
2 Tablespoons nutritional yeast
2 Tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
1 teaspoon fresh marjoram or oregano (or ½ teaspoon dried)

Directions:

Heat 1 cup of the broth in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic and simmer for 5 minutes. Stir in sweet potato, kale, red pepper flakes, bay leaves and the remaining 5 cups of broth and bring to a boil over high heat. Lower heat to medium, add bean and cook until vegetables are tender, 20-30 minutes. Ladle about 1/3 cup of the broth into a small bowl. Add miso and stir to blend. Pour the miso mixture into the soup and stir in nutritional yeast, parsley, and marjoram. Serve hot.

With love and kindness,

Nancy Heinrich, MPH

Founder and Wellness Architect

WELLNESS WEDNESDAYS: Favorite Fall Soups

2021-09-22T10:11:00.022-04:00

"Good manners: The noise you don't make when you're eating soup."

--Bennett Cerf

With fall here, favorite soup recipes start living in my head. Some feature one super star ingredient like lentils, others fall in the comfort food category like tomato soup, a few are just great combinations of rainbow vegetables like minestrone soup. The fun thing about making soups is that you can always change up the recipe a little bit or a lot, depending on the ingredients on hand. Last night, for example, I decided to make red lentil soup but I had just run out of tomato paste. I did have some local heirloom tomatoes on the counter, so I switched up ingredients in the recipe and the soup was great!

My recommendation to parents? Make different soups on the quest to find your family’s favorites. Then keep those soups in regular menu rotation and the ingredients on hand in your pantry and fridge. Your kids will stay busy helping you prep veggies and getting all the ingredients on the counter (“mise en place”).

Trips to the local farmers market often make the decision about what soup to make an easy one. When local tomatoes are in season, you can bet we will be making classic tomato soup. When summer kale is being harvested, kale and white bean soup is on the stove. When butternut squash are at the markets, I make sure I have fresh curry powder and cans of full-fat coconut milk on hand.

Have fun making your favorite soups with your family! When you make lentil soup, I’ll be over for dinner!

With love and kindness,

Nancy Heinrich, MPH

Founder and Wellness Architect

WELLNESS WEDNESDAYS: Fall Squash

2021-09-15T16:37:00.025-04:00

"Food is our common ground, a universal experience."

---James Beard

Visiting farmers markets this time of year is pure fun. Fall squash in beautiful shades of orange, yellow, and green - such as butternut, acorn, pumpkin kabocha, and delicata - mimic the color of fall leaves as trees say good goodbye to summer and prepare for winter.

Butternut squash is one of my favorites. With its deep orange color and high fiber content, the versatility of butternut squash is overshadowed by its powerhouse of nutritional value. Roast it with root vegetables. Cube it for sauteeing. Cook it with onions, curry, and coconut milk for comfort soup to serve for friends. According to the US Department of Agriculture, 1 cup cubed has 493 mg of potassium, 2.8 grams of dietary fiber and only 63 calories. High in beta-carotene, it is good for your skin and your digestive tract.

When you visit your local farmers markets this fall, look for a new “baby” variety of butternut squash. I tried it for the first time this month and it is delicious! You can have your own personal butternut squash! I served it with wild rice, sautéed beet greens, and crabless cakes – simply divine!

With love and kindness,

Nancy Heinrich, MPH

Founder and Wellness Architect

WELLNESS WEDNESDAYS: Lose the (Saturated) Fat

2021-09-08T11:34:00.047-04:00

"In fact, reversing type 2 diabetes is very possible-if it isn't too severe. Every person with diabetes should focus on a careful diet, one that limits concentrated sweets or sweeteners and is high in fiber and vegetables. Optimal weight should be the goal, as excess weight and obesity makes control of blood sugar more difficult."

--Dr. Andrew Weil, MD

America has a fat problem. We have become a nation of obese and overweight people. More than 1 in 10 Americans has diabetes. More than 1/3 of Americans have prediabetes and if they do nothing about it, they will most likely progress to diabetes, a disease characterized by high blood sugar and a constellation of complications.

Saturated fat is only found in foods from animals. Saturated fat is solid at room temperature. Remember that can of bacon grease your mother saved for cooking when you were growing up? When you eat foods from animals, saturated fat sticks to the inside of your blood vessels, raises your LDL cholesterol (the “bad” cholesterol), narrows your vessels, and decreases blood flow (not good).

If you have diabetes or prediabetes, saturated fat blocks cells from using insulin correctly. It’s like putting chewing gum in the lock of your front door and trying to insert your house key into the lock. Your key (insulin) won’t go in the lock. One of the best ways to reverse diabetes is to eliminate all animal products from your diet. Take the gum (saturated fat) out of the lock and BAM, the key (insulin) opens the door and allows the sugar in your bloodstream to enter the cells where it is needed for energy.

I recently taught a workshop on this topic for adults with diabetes and prediabetes. When people understand the “how” of how insulin is supposed to work and how detrimental animal fats are to someone with high blood sugars, it simplifies the decision to lose the saturated fats and move to whole food plant-based eating.

When you are ready to manage or even reverse your diabetes, stop eating all animal products. Fat has 9 calories a gram, compared to 4 calories a gram for protein and carbohydrates. Cutting out animal fats and eating more fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and legumes will automatically cut your intake of calories and put you on a path to a healthier weight. Cut back on added oils and learn to cook with vegetable broth or water instead of added oils. Then prepare to be amazed with your results!

With love and kindness,

Nancy Heinrich, MPH

Founder and Wellness Architect

WELLNESS WEDNESDAYS: Take Time for Yourself

2021-09-01T10:38:00.012-04:00

"Take rest. A field that has rested gives a beautiful crop."

--Ovid

As Labor Day weekend approaches, people are planning family picnics and time together to celebrate the end of summer and the accomplishments of American workers. Hot dogs and potato chips are flying off the shelves at grocery stores. Watermelons are chilling in the coolers.

Work comes with responsibilities and rewards. It also needs to come with rest and relaxation. So many in the United States work without taking time off, in contrast to Europeans, where most everyone receives paid time off from the beginning of a new job.

A three day weekend is a start, but as one of my brothers says, it takes three weeks away from work to really relax.

Relaxation is truly a gift. To put away the cell phones, turn off the work, and just enjoy living in the moment takes practice. Reading a good book, cooking with family, walking in the woods or on the beach. These practices come with their own rewards such as lower stress, improved digestion, lower blood pressure, and better moods.

Enjoy your Labor Day weekend. Take time for yourself. You have earned it and you are worth it!

With love and kindness,

Nancy Heinrich, MPH

Founder and Wellness Architect

WELLNESS WEDNESDAYS: Eat More Fiber Part 3

2021-08-25T09:39:00.016-04:00

"A high-fiber diet appears to reduce the risk of developing various conditions, including heart disease, diabetes, diverticular disease, constipation and colon cancer. Fiber is important for the health of the digestive system and for lowering cholesterol."

--University of California San Francisco (ucsfhealth.org)

Are you getting about 35 grams of dietary fiber a day? Or less? The fact is that most Americans consume nowhere near enough fiber to prevent diseases.

When we eat enough fiber, everything just works better. The plumbing, that is. Our digestive system, to be specific. Yes, I am talking about bowel movements.

I will never forget one of my wake-up calls about the dietary fiber problem in this country. I was asked to work with a parent whose child had only 1 bowel movement a week (not normal). The child was complaining of chronic stomach pain and missed a lot of school.

On another occasion I was asked to teach a series of nutrition workshops for kids who have been abused and/or neglected living in a residential shelter. I saw more evidence for the need for health literacy education for parents and those adults who are responsible for the care and well-being of children. What I observed was the adults who were buying food for the children in the shelter bought the cheapest bread. It was also the bread with the least amount of dietary fiber. The staff would complain about kids eating an entire loaf of bread in a day. No wonder, as bread made with refined wheat flour where the wheat bran has been stripped from the wheat to increase the shelf life has also been stripped of the dietary fiber that provides satiety and fills us up.

As you increase the amount of fiber in what you choose to eat, remember it is important to increase the amount of water you drink.

Dietary fiber plays a critical role in the prevention of diseases such as diabetes, obesity, and colon cancer. Reading food labels to see how many grams are in a serving will help you make good decisions for you and your family. After all, we are Growing Healthy Kids, one child at a time!

With love and kindness,

Nancy Heinrich, MPH

Founder and Wellness Architect

WELLNESS WEDNESDAYS: Eat More Fiber Part 2

2021-08-18T18:21:00.050-04:00

"Because a poor diet is linked to cancer, obesity, heart disease and diabetes, public health authorities have long endorsed a diet rich in fruits and vegetables."

--source: CDC's 2015 Behavior Risk Factor Surveillance System

Most Americans eat far less fiber than they need, consuming only about a 1/3 of what they need. There is no fiber in foods that come from animals. Fiber is only found in foods that grow from the earth.

People often ask, “Am I getting enough protein?” when the MORE IMPORTANT QUESTION is, “Am I getting enough fiber?” I will have a party when someone asks me, “Am I getting enough fiber?”

When I teach workshops, we talk about the importance of reading food labels to identify key nutrients. Do you eat cereal most mornings? Look at the “Nutrition Facts” panel and identify what a serving size is. Do you routinely have one or two servings? Next, look at how many grams of dietary fiber are in one per serving. If you are eating two servings of cereal, then double the number.

Most adults should aim for about 35 grams of fiber a day.

This is one of my favorite summer breakfasts (see picture, above): cooked oatmeal, milled flax seed, almond milk, and half of a fresh, locally grown peach. Usually I also have a whole wheat English muffin (where the first ingredient on the Nutrition Facts label includes the word “whole”). Here is my breakfast’s fiber total:

½ cup dry Quaker oats: 4 grams

2 tablespoons milled flax seed: 3 grams

½ cup Blue Diamond almond milk: <1

½ large peach: 1.5 grams

1 whole wheat English muffin: 3 grams

TOTAL FIBER: >11.5 grams

This breakfast easily puts me on the way towards the day’s goal of about 35 grams of dietary fiber. Remember, fiber fills you up and prevents overeating. Most people don’t get anywhere near enough dietary fiber. NOTE: As you increase fiber, also increase the amount of water you are drinking. Increasing your dietary fiber is key to controlling and reversing diabetes as well as losing extra weight.

With love and kindness,

Nancy Heinrich, MPH

Founder and Wellness Architect

WELLNESS WEDNESDAYS: Eat More Fiber

2021-08-11T17:48:00.003-04:00

"Only 1 in 10 Americans eat enough fruits and veggies."

--CDC study

Did you grow up with your mother telling you to eat your vegetables? Turns out your mom was right about those vegetables. Foods that grow from the earth (vegetables, fruit, legumes, whole grains) contain fiber, that substance that give them shape. Like bones in animals.

Fiber is really good for us. It fills us up and prevents us from overeating. The bad news is that most Americans don’t eat enough of it. Maybe 1 or 2 in 10 people get enough fiber.

Are there consequences to not consuming enough fiber? You bet. Diabetes and obesity, for starters. Colon cancer for another.

A good place to start is to become aware of how much fiber you eat now. Read the “nutrition facts” labels on prepared and packaged food and look for what a serving size is and how many grams of dietary fiber it has. Just do the math for a day or two and you will figure out if you are low in fiber. If your daily total is less than around 35 grams a day, then you are probably fiber deficient.

Start with your personal inventory of dietary fiber. In the next issue of Wellness Wednesdays, I’ll share how a couple of my favorite meals stack up!

With love and kindness,

Nancy Heinrich, MPH

Founder and Wellness Architect

WELLNESS WEDNESDAYS: Committing to Change

2021-08-04T13:18:00.007-04:00

"We should all be eating fruits and vegetables as if our lives depend on it - because they do."

--Michael Greger, M.D.

Eric Adams is the Brooklyn Borough President and may be the next mayor of New York City. Several years ago, he woke up and could not see the clock. He sent to the doctor and was diagnosed with advanced diabetes, at risk for going blind and an amputation of his leg.

Eric made changes, stopped eating meat and other animal products, and rapidly shifted to plant-based eating. His A1C dropped from over 15% to under 7%. The A1C is the test that is the average of one’s blood sugar over 2-3 months. The higher the A1C, the greater the chance of complications of diabetes, such as blindness, amputation, heart attack, and loss of kidney function.

Now this man is committed to making changes in food policy in New York City and prevention of chronic diseases. From retired policeman to future mayor with an interest in reversing diabetes.

To learn more about Eric Adams' journey and how he reversed his diabetes, listen to his interview on the Rich Roll podcast.

With love and kindness,

Nancy Heinrich, MPH

Founder and Wellness Architect

WELLNESS WEDNESDAYS: Stress and Kids

2021-07-28T13:29:00.040-04:00

"I believe dancing is the best stress reliever."

--Dylan Lauren

School is starting soon. Another school year living in the COVID-19 pandemic and life is going to get weird and possibly dangerous, especially now with the highly contagious Delta variant which targets kids.

As you know, there is no COVID vaccine – yet – for kids under 12 years of age. Our children are now among the most vulnerable to become infected and sick, some so sick they may be hospitalized, and some may die.

This pandemic and its impact on children and schools is a huge deal and getting worse due to the number of unvaccinated people. What we can do as parents, school teachers and administrators is work to ensure that kids have a delicious, healthy dinner with their family, down time in the evenings, at least an hour before bedtime without electronics, get a good night’s sleep. Be mindful that your kiddos may be stressed and keep an eye out for changes such as:

unusual or new behaviors such as not engaging with family and friends,
being withdrawn,
spending more time alone,
taking more risk-taking behaviors,
talking back to a parent,
lack of concentration or focus,
avoiding sports,
starting smoking or drinking alcohol, or
talking about self-harm.

Our children are embarking on a new school year in the midst of a once-in-a-hundred years pandemic. They will experience stress. Some will need professional help. School teachers and counselors can help keep an eye on your kids. If you have a concern, talk with school staff. Seek out mental health resources in your school or community.

Stress contributes to overeating, anxiety, and sleep disturbances which can all be risk factors for childhood obesity.

With the constant news about the pandemic that kids are likely to hear, whether or not you know it because kids are little sponges, parents need to be on guard. We need to be hyper-vigilant for the sake of our children’s health –and their very lives.

Everyone has stress, right? You drive in traffic, you have stress. Kids have a test coming up, they have stress. What matters is our response to stress. Take extra good care of yourself so you can take extra good care of your children in this uncharted time.

With love and kindness,

Nancy Heinrich, MPH

Founder and Wellness Architect

WELLNESS WEDNESDAYS: Diabetes Matters

2021-07-21T19:48:00.005-04:00

"Issues like diabetes do, as you well know, have a knock-on effect to diabetes. So we all are better off if we invest in prevention."

--Jacinda Ardern

I hate diabetes. It can rob people of their sight, their limbs, their kidney function, their lives. It causes people to go on kidney dialysis. It puts people at 2-4 times higher risk for having a heart attack or stroke than someone without diabetes. It is preventable and can be reversed.

Kids who are overweight and obese are at higher risk for developing diabetes than kids who are at healthy weights. Diabetes matters to the health of America’s children which is why pediatricians, school administrators, community leaders, and parents should be taking actions to prevent it.

Childhood obesity is the elephant in the room. We ignore obesity, turn a blind eye, and pretend it is not there. But obesity is a major risk factor for children being diagnosed with diabetes.

All children deserve access to healthy foods to help them maintain healthy weights. Are they eating animal products every day or are their families moving towards more plant-based eating and less consumption of meat, chicken, and dairy? Are they eating highly processed foods every day? Are they consuming foods and drinks with added sugars every day?

Of course, there are other variables beside what kids eat, in the equation of when childhood obesity leads to a diabetes diagnosis, such as:

How much screen time do kids have?
Are they getting physical activity every day?
What are the stressors to their physical and mental health and are they being addressed?
Are they getting enough sleep?

Moving to plant-based eating is one of the most important things we can do to prevent and reverse diabetes and to solve the childhood obesity epidemic. Please pass the lentils!

With love and kindness,

Nancy Heinrich, MPH

Founder and Wellness Architect