Growing Healthy Kids

FIGHTING OBESITY WITH FITNESS, FUN, AND FOOD

2012-02-28T07:39:00.000-05:00

Here are a couple of myths I hear:

MYTH 1: It’s hard to teach kids how to eat healthy.

FACT: Teaching kids how to eat healthy doesn’t have to be hard. Start with a simple food project and teach them a new skill. Give them room to try out new flavors.

MYTH 2: Eating healthy is too expensive.

FACT: When you choose foods that are in season, especially foods grown by your local farmers, it can be inexpensive to eat healthy.

MYTH 3: Youth Guidance has plenty of adult mentors for the kids they serve.

FACT: There are still 400 kids on Youth Guidance Mentoring & Activities Program's waiting list hoping to be matched with an adult mentor. Through our collaborative education programs, we help identify mentors for these kids.

Learning how to eat healthy and stay fit is what we do in the programs taught by Growing Healthy Kids. We engage kids in the process by having “fun with a purpose” as Ronnie Hewitt used to say to me.

Here’s the story about last Saturday's Fitness, Fun, and Food Growing Healthy Kids with Youth Guidance Mentoring & Activities Program event held at Riverside Park. Twenty great kids and some enthusiastic adult volunteers spent the morning getting fit on the fitness trail, checking out the cool things to do and see at the Vero Beach Museum of Art's Community Day, then learning how to make Fresh Corn Salsa. The food was fabulous and the young chefs had a blast learning some basic techniques for use in the kitchen, such as how to use a knife, how to slice vegetables, and creative license with ingredients. The cool thing to watch was that ALL the kids wanted to be involved, not just some of them. They ALL wanted to wear the Growing Healthy Kids' aprons that give them superpowers for eating healthy foods. They ALL were having fun with the purpose of learning how to eat healthy, one vegetable and one child at a time.

Below are pictures from Fitness, Fun, and Food. Be inspired to teach your own children about the joys of having fun with a purpose, especially in the kitchen. A very special thanks to Rebecca Hornbuckle of Veggies of Vero for supplying the farm fresh veggies for this event. The flavors of the just-picked tomatoes, peppers, and spinach were delicious. The juicy navel oranges provided very stylish decorations for our “al fresco” dining table.

Growing Healthy Kids is committed to reversing childhood obesity and improving the health of America’s children, one garden and one child at a time. To learn how you can help, go to http://www.growinghealthykids.me/.

Respectfully yours,

Nancy Heinrich

PS - Watch for the Fresh Corn Salsa recipe in our next blog! To learn more about becoming a mentor with Youth Guidance, just call 772-770-5040.

Nancy Heinrich get the kids excited about the fresh veggies.

Go, girls, go!

A volunteer and her mentee make squares for new Community Mural.

One participant learns how to use fresh lime juice to flavor foods.

Valerie Flanagan and kids on the fitness trail at Riverside Park.

OBESITY, DIABETES, AND MINDFUL EATING

2012-01-10T20:32:00.000-05:00

Have you heard about mindful eating? Just think about the words. Eating. Mind. Full. A mind full of food. Presence of mind. Think about what you eat. How much you eat. What quality of food you eat. With whom you are eating. Be mindful about eating.

As I continue to search for and create solutions to childhood obesity and diabetes, I always get back to this statement: You are what you eat. This is what mindful eating means to me. When you know where your food was grown and you eat the right amount and kind of foods, and you enjoy what you eat, things start rebalancing themselves.

For me, mindful eating begins on Saturday mornings when I head over to one of our two Green Markets. I talk to my friends who happen to be the farmers growing the yellow beets, swiss chards, and Purple Cherokee tomatoes I buy. I plan my menus around what I just bought. Then I pair the menus with friends. This to me is mindful eating. Quality, not quantity. Enjoyment, not convenience. Balance, not greed.

If we are going to solve the childhood obesity epidemic, we must first take a look at ourselves. Think about what you eat. Be mindful of what you eat and how much you eat. Enjoy what you eat. You have the power to prevent diseases and obesity if you just think about it.

Growing Healthy Kids is a movement to halt, reverse, and prevent childhood obesity one child and one garden at a time. Be part of the solution. Your children will thank you.

Your friend,
Nancy Heinrich
Founder, Growing Healthy Kids

KIDS, DIABETES, OBESITY, AND FIBER

2012-01-05T21:54:00.000-05:00

Every day there is a lesson. It might be a lesson learned, occasionally a lesson taught. Today's lesson for me was to be fully engaged in serving others.

Teaching someone about the basics needed to know what to eat after you've been diagnosed with diabetes is a big step forward towards reversing diabetes. The basics about what an A1C blood test is, what a "serving of carbohydrate" is and looks like, what low blood sugar is and what to do to treat it and prevent it. Teaching someone what questions to ask their doctor so they can start reversing their diabetes, not just control it.

Do we continue to roll the rock uphill? Don't let diabetes be an uphill battle for you and your family. Learn the facts. Here's a fun fact to remember: most Americans eat too little fiber. Are you one of them? What about your child? The goal is 14 grams of dietary fiber per 1,000 calories eaten. If you eat around 2,000 calories a day, then aim for at least 28 grams of dietary fiber. If you are a young, active male, you probably need 2,500 or more calories, which translates to about 35 grams or more of dietary fiber a day. With McDonald's, Sonic, and Five Guys advertising to get us all fat as pigs, it really is an uphill battle sometimes.

An easy way to get enough fiber every day is to use "The Nancy Rule" for buying and eating bread and pasta. Even if you eat out. Never heard of "The Nancy Rule"? It's simple: Choose breads and pastas that have 4 or more grams of dietary fiber per serving AND the first ingredient includes the word "whole". Commit to this one change and see what happens to your blood sugar. Funny thing is that when you replace low fiber-content foods with higher fiber-content foods, you'll eat less and lose weight.

One of my favorite creations: Veggie Shepherd's Pie

Key ingredient in my Veggie Shepherd's Pie: chick peas

I think that all families with children need to know that this simple fact - and others - can guide them to keeping their kids well for life. We can reverse the childhood obesity epidemic when we all eat smarter, better, and healthier. Remember, anyone can eat healthy - and economically (more on that later).

Use "The Nancy Rule" for the 7 days and then let me know how you feel. Talk with you soon,

Nancy L. Heinrich, M.P.H.
Founder of the Growing Healthy Kids movement to reverse childhood obesity in Indian River County, Florida and beyond

For free tips and videos about food and diabetes you can use: http://www.healthydiabetescoach.com/.

PS -- The Veggie Shepherd's Pie recipe will be featured in the soon-to-be released first book in the Growing Healthy Kids' series,

OBESITY, HUNGER, AND CHILDREN

2011-12-09T18:25:00.001-05:00

Choosing to eat healthy foods, like fresh fruits and vegetables, is something you probably take for granted.  To solve the childhood obesity crisis, kids' access to healthy foods, such as locally grown fruits and vegetables must improve and increase. Fruits and vegetables are what I call REAL FOOD, as opposed to artificial foods, loaded with salt, sugar, and the bad fat, like you find at many fast food restaurants.

I may be "going rad" on you, but what people buy from the dollar menus at fast food restaurants is not real food because it has no nutritional value. Something stripped of all the fiber (white flour), fried in fat, and sprinkled with salt and seasonings designed to get you addicted, is not real food. Yet, people struggling to feed their children, opt for the dollar menus because it is quick, easy, and cheap. It's also a major contributor to the childhood obesity epidemic.

Something else you should know. According to an article in the December 3, 2011 issue of the Vero Beach Press Journal, 18% of residents and 30% of children in the Treasure Coast of Florida DON'T REGULARLY KNOW WHERE THEIR NEXT MEAL WILL COME FROM.

Hunger in America and obesity in America are directly related. It has to do with access to healthy foods, access to locally grown foods, economic security, and jobs. If you don't have a job, you have less choices about what to eat.

Enter Judith Cruz. Her job just got bigger. Judith has just been appointed to Feeding America's strategic planning committee "to help formulate the national hunger relief agency's next 5-year plan to close the country's meal gap." Judith is the CEO of our Treasure Coast Food Bank which provides a stop-gap solution for several counties here on the southeast coast of Florida. Her Food Bank is part of Feeding America, which is an organization where I will soon be doing healthy cooking classes (they don't know it, however). Judith deserves our support and ideas. She is looking at long-term solutions to hunger in America. Hunger and obesity go hand in hand.

To repeat the key point: on the Treasure Coast of Florida 30% of kids don't regularly know where their next meal will come from. Access to healthy food is something most people take for granted. Yet for almost 1 in every 3 kids here, they are worried about access to ANY food, let alone healthy, fresh food.

Hunger in America. Obesity in America.   Be part of the solution. Go to http://www.feedingamerica.org/ and http://www.stophunger.org/.

Growing Healthy Kids is a movement to improve the health - and lives - of America's children, one child and one garden at a time.  Because failure is not an option.

Nancy Heinrich
Founder, Growing Healthy Kids, Inc.

Obesity in Kids and Vitamin D

2011-12-07T20:40:00.001-05:00

"Obese children with lower vitamin D levels may be at higher risk for type 2 diabetes, a new study shows....Obese children were more than three times more likely than non-obese children to be vitamin D deficient, and both obesity and low vitamin D levels were associated with higher degrees of insulin resistance."

This quote is from an article I read this morning: "Low Vitamin D May Raise Diabetes Risk in Kids," by Salynn Boyles.

Another finding from the newly published study disturbed me, "Obese children were also more likely than non-obese children to skip breakfast and drink more soda and juice, suggesting that these lifestyle factors may contribute to lower vitamin D levels, the researchers noted."

I write frequently about the importance of not skipping meals, ESPECIALLY breakfast. This study, published in the latest issue of The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, makes me stop and think about whether every child whose lives we each touch starts their day with a good breakfast. Given the current economy and high unemployment rates, it is to the point now where almost anything kids eat for breakfast is better than NOTHING for breakfast.

In a recent program I did for middle school kids in Indian River County, Florida, only one child had breakfast that day. ONLY ONE CHILD OUT OF 12!!! Why? Is it because of the food insecurity crisis affecting families where parents of young children are unemployed or underemployed? Is it because of the embarassment and shame that prevents families from applying for the free and reduced meal programs at their child's school? With the rising prices of food due and fuel, many families are forced to make choices which are affecting their children's (and their own) health.

One of my jobs is to raise awareness about the root causes for the childhood obesity epidemic in America. The journal article referenced above shines a spotlight on a topic I have long been following.

I will be writing more on the relationship between low vitamin D levels, obesity, and diabetes in future blogs. Stay tuned.

Growing Healthy Kids is a movement to educate adults, school administrators, and policy makers about the root causes of obesity so we can prevent obesity-related diseases, such as diabetes and high blood pressure, in America's kids. Growing Healthy Kids, Inc. creates solutions which improve the health - and lives - of America's kids, one child and one garden at a time. It is my belief that our society will be judged in the future by how well we protect our children.

Gracefully yours,
Nancy L. Heinrich, MPH
Founder, Growing Healthy Kids

New Numbers for Diabetes in American Adults

2011-11-28T20:32:00.001-05:00

The Growing Healthy Kids project started as my response and reaction to the increasing number of overweight and obese children I see attending our public schools. What I really see is kids who will soon be diagnosed with diabetes. These are kids who already cannot complete a physical education class due to their weight. These are kids whose parents say they cannot afford to eat healthy, so they let the kids buy energy drinks at the 7-11 loaded with 17 teaspoons of sugar on the way to middle school and they eat the "dollar menu" from McDonald's 2 or 3 nights a week because they think that is all they can afford. These are the kids on the free and reduced meal program in public school who choose the fried foods and chocolate milk instead of salads and baked fish because of ignorant school district employees who are obese themselves.

So when I saw yesterday's PARADE magazine with the column entitled "Say What?" I was not surprised. There are nearly 2 million Americans each year being diagnosed with diabetes. The column addressed 3 questions these newly diagnosed people are being hit with by their doctors:
1) You need a glucometer.
2) I want you to reduce your hemoglobin A1C.
3) Choose foods that have a lower glycemic index.

Remember Lucy's husband Desi, in "I LOVE LUCY", saying, to her, "You got some 'splaining to do!" The thing is that doctors are not teachers and they don't do the "'splaining" when they diagnose someone with diabetes. They say, "You need a glucometer to test your blood sugar and I'll see you in 3 months." So many times I've encountered patients newly diagnosed with diabetes who've been told they they to start checking their blood sugar and the patient is just wandering around the lobby in circles, clueless about what their next step is, let alone what a glucometer is or how to use the darn thing.

Because of my passion for teaching and for preventing diseases such as diabetes, I created an education program that answers questions 1-3 above and SO MUCH MORE for anyone diagnosed with diabetes or prediabetes. If you know anyone who the PARADE article is addressing, you should know that getting educated quickly about all the basics is key to preventing complications. The education program I created is simple to use, effective, and explains all the basics in language you and I can understand without having to go to medical school. The place to go is http://www.healthydiabetescoach.com/. There are a bunch of educational videos I've created that you can look at in addition to the numerous blog entries which each teach important lessons.

I'm serious about preventing diabetes. I'm serious about doing something serious about the obesity epidemic. Especially when it comes to the kids all around us who are overweight and obese through no fault of their own. If adults with diabetes and prediabetes don't start taking responsibility for learning the basics on their own instead of staying with the mindset of "If my doctor didn't prescribe it, I'm not going to do it", then the kids have NO CHANCE of escaping a diabetes diagnosis.

The fact is that diabetes is preventable and reversible WHEN YOU KNOW WHAT TO DO. For more information about what to do, go to http://www.healthydiabetescoach.com/.

Growing Healthy Kids is a movement to improve the health - and lives - of America's kids, one child and one garden at a time.

Are YOU willing to do to be part of the solution?

To your health,

Nancy L. Heinrich, M.P.H.
Founder of Growing Healthy Kids, Inc.
A non-profit organization which designs and delivers solutions to America's childhood obesity epidemic

Year-End Goals

2011-11-27T12:57:00.001-05:00

December 31, 2011 will soon be here. Have you accomplished all that you wanted to do this year? I'll share a few thoughts with you as I enjoy the perfect weather today in Florida, writing while the fresh air blows through the house.

A gentle reminder about achieving your goals is in order. Having written goals for your health, your family, your personal development and for your work is a great place to begin. Pull out the goals you have already written and see if you are moving forward in each area. If you don't have any written goals, then get out a piece of paper and write some. Go to a quiet place today, before we get back to the crazy-busy work and school routines tomorrow. Reflect on where you are now and where you want to be. Think about what you want. Write it down. Visualize it. Picture it your mind how it will look. Act as though it is already done.

I am reflecting on one of my 2011 goals which is to get the Growing Healthy Kids work into book form and have it ready for distribution on the http://www.growinghealthykids.me/ store in December. I'm almost there. Now we're looking for a couple of people with a national presence to write notes for the back of the book. Who do you know??

Every day I think about this goal and what I am doing to move the project forward. So many people have been asking me to do a book that brings the lessons we teach in each Growing Healthy Kids program together into a format they can share with others, beginning with the kids' favorite recipes. Each healthy cooking program we do for kids includes a recipe, a healthy eating tip, and a physical activity component. It is a lot of work to summarize the work and energy. I hope you will be pleased with the results. Preventing obesity-related diseases seen primarily in adults is the focus of the Growing Healthy Kids movement I started. It is an ambitious project because this country values treatment of disease more than prevention of disease. Yet, our mantra is still, "Think globally and act locally." With every local Growing Healthy Kids project we do in Indian River County, we are thinking globally about ways to reverse childhood obesity.

As I continue to bring this project (and goal) to completion, I want you to think about what you need to move your own goals forward to completion. Let's get some wins in before the end of the year. I want to hear about your goals that involve improving your health or your kids' health. Please send me a comment so we can support each other to achieve our goals!

Growing Healthy Kids is dedicated to improving the health - and lives - of America's kids, one child and one garden at a time.

To your health!
Nancy Heinrich
Founder, Growing Healthy Kids

National School Lunch Week and Your Call to Action

2011-10-13T09:21:00.001-04:00

Did you know that this is National School Lunch Week? Did you know that many of America’s children eat 2 of their 3 daily weekday meals from their school cafeteria? I am always amazed when I ask parents how often they eat lunch with their child at school and how rarely they’ve even been once. The results of my informal surveys reveal that most parents of kids whose breakfast and/or lunch is prepared by “lunch ladies” have never eaten what their kids eat. This is your CALL TO ACTION.

National School Lunch Week is an opportunity to find out what your local public schools are serving for lunch. Here’s my challenge to you: Pick up your phone right now. Call the principal of your child’s school and let him or her know you’d like to come for lunch in the next week. If your kids are already grown or you don’t have kids, then call your local elementary school and make a lunch date anyway. Tell them you are celebrating National School Lunch Week.

Why am I asking you to make this call? Because the Growing Healthy Kids movement is about reversing childhood obesity. Kids deserve access to real food. Healthy food. Locally grown food whenever possible. I’m not saying that schools don’t serve real food. However, there’s lots of room for improvement. With so many kids eating 2 of their 3 meals at school, it only makes sense that what they eat should not be high in fats, calories, added sugars, and salt.

There is a “Farm to School” momentum underway here in Florida, which is great because one of Michelle Obama’s four guiding principles in her national call to action on childhood obesity is to increase access to locally grown foods. Who better to take the lead on making this happen than our schools? It’s a great way to support local farmers, increase the nutritional value of foods served in America’s schools, and increase America’s productivity by creating agriculture jobs.

To learn more about National School Lunch Week, then check out: http://www.schoolnutrition.org/Level2_NSLW2011.aspx?id=15284

Growing Healthy Kids designs and delivers solutions to the childhood obesity epidemic because it is our belief that failure to reverse childhood obesity is not an option.

Have a fabulous and healthy day!

Nancy Heinrich

Founder, Growing Healthy Kids

PS-Get some exercise today!!

The Seed Lady Visits Doughboy's Donuts

2011-10-02T14:57:00.000-04:00

I am always talking with people about healthy eating and healthy cooking. As an epidemiologist, I study diseases and their root causes. Obesity is a disease directly related to the excess consumption of sugar in its many forms. Just yesterday, someone was telling me about a father they knew who bragged about his kid drinking 10 sodas every day. I call that child abuse. Excess sugar consumption leads to inflammation in the body which leads to diseases such as diabetes and arthritis. No child deserves those diseases.

This morning, after a great morning walk and workout, I stopped by Doughboy's Donuts in Vero Beach, Florida to treat myself to one of their insanely delicious Red Velvet donuts. (Yes, it is OK in my book to have an occasional donut. It is not OK to eat them every day.)

The woman at the counter looked at me and said, "Are you the Seed Lady?" I answered, "Yes," although that was the first time someone had formally addressed me that way. I then asked how she knew me.

She then told me that last summer her son volunteered through Boys and Girls Clubs of Indian River County for one of our projects building a very large garden in north Indian River County. She said he had really enjoyed the work and the project. I thanked her for speaking to me and then invited her son to join us in an upcoming volunteer service leadership project. I hope to hear from him, as that would just make this Seed Lady's day!

In gratitude to ALL the kids who volunteer with Growing Healthy Kids,
Nancy Heinrich
Founder, Growing Healthy Kids
"Improving the health - and lives - of America's children, one child and one garden at a time"

PS - Shout-out to Doughboy's Donuts -- apparently I'm not the only one who loves your Red Velvet donuts becauses you were out of them this morning! The blueberry donut, however, was almost as delicious!

Recent Study Reveals Kids Who "Struggle with Hunger"

2011-09-14T07:42:00.002-04:00

In the August 26th Vero Beach Press Journal, journalist Lisa Bolivar reported on the findings of a study released the day before. According to the Treasure Coast Food Bank and Feeding America, a national hunger relief organization, about 30.5% of kids in the Treasure Coast region of Florida “struggle with hunger.”

The findings centered around a term I hear more and more frequently: food insecurity. It means a lack of a stable food supply.

We must find the courage to talk about food insecurity. Why? Because all kids deserve access to food. Healthy food. Fresh food. Good food.
So let’s talk about food and kids. Why is there food insecurity? How can we morally allow a child to go hungry?

I choose to teach kids and families how to prepare healthy meals and snacks economically using fresh foods. The dollar menu at McDonalds is not the answer to our food insecurity crisis. We have a problem and we have to talk about it. Call your neighborhood elementary or middle school principal and ask them how many kids they serve are in situations where they are “food insecure” and go home to empty kitchen shelves, if they are the lucky ones who have a place to call home.

If we are going to solve the childhood obesity crisis, where kids are eating too many calories and too much fat, white flour, white sugar, and salt, we must talk about food. Too much of it for some. Too little of it for others. Not the right balance for many.

Food and shelter are basic rights. If we don’t have access to good foods, then how can we expect kids to achieve the greatness that each child is capable of?

It’s time to do something to protect the health - and lives - of America's children. What will YOU choose to do?

Nancy Heinrich
Founder, Growing Healthy Kids, Inc.

"Because failure to reverse childhood obesity is not an option"

Tribute to a Hero

2011-08-23T20:52:00.002-04:00

On August 7th, a 64-year old champion for children made his transition. This man was one of the first people I worked with when I first conceptualized the national partnerships I wanted for Growing Healthy Kids, a young organization dedicated to reversing childhood obesity. Inspired by an article in Kiwanis magazine, I made it my goal to meet the local head of Boys and Girls Clubs of Indian River County. It took a couple of calls to pin him down to a date when we could meet. We finally met at the old Vero Beach Boys and Girls Club in a dilapidated building on 27th Avenue, where children played right next to a dangerous roadway. The rooms in the rented building had terrible acoustics, especially when filled with energetic kids spending their transition from school to home while their parents worked 2 and 3 minimum wage jobs to make ends meet. He wore a button-down white shirt and dress pants.

A quiet man and a great listener, I gave him the proposal from the Growing Healthy Kids organization: volunteer at the two Boys and Girls Clubhouses on opposite ends of Indian River County once a week for the next nine months, build teaching gardens and conduct weekly healthy eating classes with vegetables we would grow. Teach the kids how to be leaders in eating healthy and being active. Take the kids on field trips to meet with chefs and visit local farmers. It took him about 5 minutes of listening and asking me why I wanted to do all this for him to say "yes" to the proposal.

We did all those things and more because it was always “Fun with a Purpose”. Our purpose? To reverse childhood obesity in Indian River County and beyond.

His only request was that the Growing Healthy Kids program, in creating a partnership with Boys and Girls Clubs of Indian River County, employ his philosophy, “ Fun with a Purpose”. He agreed to let us build small raised bed gardens, where over the course of the next nine months, we created magic for kids, many of whom moved once every month or two because their parents were recently unemployed. Our weekly healthy cooking classes became a popular class with the kids screaming with excitement because it might have been the best-tasting food they'd had all week.

When I first learned of the Executive Director’s illness, I sensed it was serious. Several times I called so I could update him on our progress and plan for the next phase. Each time, I was told he was on an extended medical leave but I could meet with the program director. Then, earlier this year I was a speaker at the Quail Valley Rotary Club and learned that he was not only a Rotary member, but also slated to be the incoming president. The officer said this quiet man had called him to ask that someone else step into the incoming presidency role. I was saddened that this man’s life-threatening illness was robbing him not only his day-to-day work providing a solid, safe base for success for so many children in Indian River County but also his passion for being a community leader.

On August 7th we lost a hero who fought for the right of children to be treated with dignity, regardless of economic background. We lost a hero who knew the difference between right and wrong. We lost a hero who believed in leading by example.

Good-bye, Ronnie Hewett. You inspired me to create programs and lessons where “Fun with a Purpose” is the driving force. You are my hero. Thank you. On behalf of all the children whose lives the Growing Healthy Kids project has touched, thank you.

Rest in peace, Ronnie. You will be missed.

Nancy Heinrich
Founder, Growing Healthy Kids

GHK Poster Contest Deadline Extended

2011-08-20T07:37:00.002-04:00

Dear Parents and Kids,

We want ideas from the kids about what being healthy means to them. So we are extending the deadline to September 30, 2011 for the 1st Annual Growing Healthy Kids Poster Contest!

The theme is "Healthy Eating...Healthy Me". Any medium can be used on an 8-1/2" x 11" paper. The theme words must be included as part of your poster. Prizes include Publix gift certificates, personalized herb gardens, and T-shirts printed with your design.

Mail your entries, along with a $5.00 entry fee* (payable to "Growing Healthy Kids") to:
Growing Healthy Kids
3300 43rd Avenue, #4
Vero Beach, FL 32960

Include the following information with each poster:
Parent name
Parent phone or email
Address
Child's name
Child's school grade in 2011/2012
School name

*$1.00 entry fee for families enrolled in Youth Guidance Mentoring & Activities Program

Help us reverse the childhood obesity epidemic. Kids' voices can help teach others.

(Photo is from a GHK field trip to visit a local hydroponic farmer in Grant, Florida)

Growing Healthy Kids is a movement to improve the health - and lives - of America's - and the world's - kids, one child and one garden at a time.

In gratitude,
Nancy Heinrich
Founder, Growing Healthy Kids

Obese = Fat

2011-08-04T19:24:00.005-04:00

It's soon back to school for the kids in the next few weeks. It's back to the basics for you parents.

Growing Healthy Kids is a movement to not just halt and prevent, but to reverse childhood obesity. The only way this will happen is if you are crystal clear on why the health and lives of children who are obese are threatened.

If someone is obese, they are fat. They weigh too much. They are eating too much. They are eating the wrong kinds of foods. They don't get enough exercise. They probably don't sleep very well. They may be having joint problems. They are at higher risk for developing diabetes, including its nonreversible consequences such as blindness and amputations of the lower legs and feet.

Stop pretending that there are no overweight and obese children in our communities and in our own families. According to our national health department, CDC, approximately 17% of all children in the U.S. between 2 and 19 years old are obese and one in 7 low-income preschool aged children is obese. ONE IN SEVEN. Not good.

The childhood obesity crisis will not be solved until we adults learn some things (hence, today's lesson). When 2 in 3 adults are overweight and obese, we are the problem.

Start by figuring out your own Body Mass Index. The BMI is not perfect and there are some limitations. However, it is an excellent reference to begin making choices.
If you don't know your BMI number, go to www.cdc.gov for a BMI calculator. All you need is your height and your current weight.

Are you at a healthy weight? Yes or no?

If not, then pay attention. Make your first goal to not gain any more weight. Use smaller plates. Use half as much butter. Switch from 2% milk to skim milk. Eat more vegetables and fruit. Pick at least one of these things and do it starting today.

Growing Healthy Kids is a movement to improve the health - and lives - of America's - and the world's children, one garden and one child at a time. Do your part. Be the solution.

Love to you all,
Nancy Heinrich
Founder, Growing Healthy Kids

Our Blog Goes Global

2011-07-30T11:49:00.006-04:00

Childhood obesity is a global problem. It's not just a problem in the U.S. Think about this: Where do you find McDonald's? Where high fat, high salt, high sugar, and white flour foods go (what you find in the foods at McDonald's), obesity follows.

My Russian friend, Luda, and I have been busy today with a big native plant sale and Garden Playshop at the Growing Healthy Kids Variety Store and decided to take a little break. I looked up where readers of the Growing Healthy Kids blog are located. Pinch me!! People in Canada, Russia, Germany, New Zealand, Australia, Ukraine, and many other countries are reading www.GrowingHealthyKids.blogspot.com. I am honored to know that my words and actions have meaning for you.

Solving the problem of childhood obesity requires that we ALL take responsibility for the solutions. Kids are smart. They know if we say one thing and do another. They are watching when their teachers say, "Eat plenty of fruits and veggies" but have a coke and a sandwich on white bread. We can no longer sit on the sidelines and hope that the problem of kids being overweight will just evaporate. We must act deliberately every day to teach adults, to lead by example, and to care enough about our children's health to do the right thing.

Are you a good role model for healthy eating? Do you choose breads that meet "The Nancy Rule"?? Are you getting at least 150 minutes of exercise (aka "physical fun") every week??

Be a positive role model for healthy eating. Work on getting to a healthier weight. Lead by example. Because failure to reverse childhood obesity is not an option.

Growing Healthy Kids - we create and deliver solutions to the childhood obesity epidemic. We are improving the health - and lives - of America's and the world's children, one child and one garden at a time.

Perfect health!
Nancy Heinrich
Founder, Growing Healthy Kids

PS--My gift to you for being part of the solution:
http://www.reallybigresults.com/shopping/health/5-great-health-tips-for-losing-weight-and-5-great-recipes-nancy-heinrich.html

Got flavor? Make Chipotle Lentil Burgers tonight!

2011-07-23T07:43:00.002-04:00

You've been asking, so I'm delivering. Below is the recipe for Chipotle Lentil Burgers.

Lentils are on my list of SUPERFOODS. They are a nutritional powerhouse. Full of fiber. Low in calories. When combined with rice, you get a complete protein. If you want/need to lose weight or have diabetes/prediabetes, eating more foods like lentils will put you on the right path towards your goals. Teach your kids how to cook lentils and let them create their own lentil burgers.

Yet I find that lots of people have never cooked lentils, let alone eaten them. I've been making a killer lentil soup for years, so when I found this recipe in a new cookbook a relative sent me (thanks, Pam!), I couldn't wait to try it. I made a couple of changes and taught dozens of people how to make Chipotle Lentil Burgers in this week's Healthy Cooking classes. (They are ALL clamoring for the recipe so they can make this at home now!)

I also love this recipe because it's also introducing people to one of my favorite spices: Smoked Paprika. NOT the same as paprika. When you open a bottle of smoked paprika the first time and get a whiff of it, the common response is, "WOW!!" So put dried lentils and smoked paprika on this week's shopping list and enjoy!

HEALTHY COOKING WITH NANCY HEINRICH: Chipotle Lentil Burgers

Ingredients:
• 1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil
• 1 small red onion, cut into small pieces
• ½ pound zucchini (1 medium). Cut in half lengthwise and slice ½ inch thick
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 cup lightly packed fresh cilantro, chopped, stems and leaves
• 1-1/2 cups cooked lentils
• 1 cup bread crumbs
• 1 Tablespoon chipotle peppers, seeds removed, with adobe sauce
• 2 Tablespoons “lite” soy sauce
• 2 teaspoons red wine vinegar
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 2-3 teaspoons smoked paprika
Preheat a large pan. Sauté onion for about 3 minutes. Add zucchini, garlic, cilantro, and a pinch of salt, and sauté about 7 or 8 minutes, until zucchini is soft.
Transfer veggies to a food processor. Add all other ingredients EXCEPT for ½ cup bread crumbs. Pulse until mostly smooth, but leave a little texture. Transfer to large mixing bowl. Add the remaining ½ cup bread crumbs. Use a fork to thoroughly combine.
Preheat the pan (OK to use same pan zucchini was cooked in). Divide mixture into 6 equal pieces.
Spray pan with nonstick cooking spray. Form burgers into patties and cook for about 12 minutes, flipping often, until nicely browned on both sides. Use cooking spray as needed.
Serve on whole grain buns such as Arnold’s whole grain sandwich thins with your favorite burger toppings. I like to serve this with sliced tomatoes and dill potato salad.
Note: If you’ve never cooked lentils before, here’s all you need to know: You cook them just like white rice. Dried lentils take about 20 minutes to cook. Just follow the directions on the bag and it’s easy. The thing about lentils is they contain about 9 grams of dietary fiber per ¼ cup (dry) which is a little more than ½ cup when cooked.

This is adapted from a recipe in Appetite for Reduction by Isa Chandra Moskowitz, 2011.

Live well, eat well. Using recipes like Chipotle Lentil Burgers, you CAN eat healthy AND economically.

Growing Healthy Kids is a movement to halt, reverse, and prevent childhood obesity, one child and one garden at a time.

Nancy Heinrich
Founder, Growing Healthy Kids

Listen to my interview on Public Radio WQCS

2011-07-15T21:57:00.003-04:00

Friends,

What have YOU done today to be a role model to teach a child or youth good eating habits? Growing Healthy Kids is a movement to reverse childhood obesity.

Here are a few things anyone can do to be a great role model for kids:
Drink water, not soda.
Eat fruit instead of drinking fruit juice.
Take a child to your local farmers market and buy locally grown stuff.

It's easy to get to a healthy weight -- when you know what to do. To learn more, listen to my interview with Drew Mello on WQCS (just click on the link, then click on "listen now"):

WQCS: Growing Healthy Kids (2011-07-15)

The next Growing Healthy Kids Victory Garden Playshop is Saturday, July 31 at the Growing Healthy Kids Variety Store, 3300 43rd Avenue, #4, Vero Beach, Fl. 32960 (a mile north of SR 60 (AKA 20th Street). This event is FREEEEEEEEEEEEE!

Here's to your health!
Nancy Heinrich
Founder, Growing Healthy Kids
dedicated to improving the health - and lives - of America's children, one garden and one child at a time.

If you know someone with diabetes OR prediabetes, go to www.ourlittlebooks.com for a copy of my book, Healthy Living with Diabetes: One Small Step at a Time.

Growing Healthy Kids Newsletter Debuts This Month

2011-07-10T15:06:00.003-04:00

The GROWING HEALTHY KIDS movement to halt, reverse, and prevent childhood obesity is proud to introduce its monthly newsletter due to overwhelming requests from parents, educators, day care workers, and employers who see their costs skyrocketing due to the obesity-related costs of employees' children. It's time to get going so that all kids are surrounded by adults who know how to eat healthier and prevent diseases such as diabetes and heart disease if our kids are going to stand a chance.

To show you how serious I am about reaching out to you with the featured lessons, tips, recipes, video success stories that can help families get to healthier weights, I'm giving away my book to 10 special subscribers to the Growing Healthy Kids Newsletter...The first 2 subscribers from each of the states with the highest rates of childhood obesity (Mississippi, Alabama, West Virginia, Tennessee, and Louisiana) will receive a copy of my book, "Healthy Living with Diabetes: One Small Step at a Time".

Click here to subscribe to our Growing Healthy Kids Monthly Newsletter:

We need your help to reach and teach Americans who don't know what to do or where to start. Let's get started, get moving, and get healthy, America!! Eat well, live well.

Improving the health - and lives - of America's children - TOGETHER!!!

To your perfect health,
Nancy Heinrich
Founder, Growing Healthy Kids

Enter the 1st Annual Growing Healthy Kids Poster Contest for Summer Fun!

2011-07-05T10:36:00.005-04:00

Dear Parents--

Looking for a summer art project idea for your kids?? Here it is! Growing Healthy Kids invites young artists ages 5-18 to enter our 1st Annual Poster Contest. The theme we have selected is "Healthy Eating...Healthy Me". Entry deadline is August 31, 2011.

Kids can create an 8-1/2 x 11 poster using any medium (pencil, crayon, ink, etc). for a chance to win prizes such as Publix gift certificates, personalized herb gardens, and T-shirts printed with the child's design. Several kids and adults in Indian River County will be invited to help judge the contest. The theme, "Healthy Eating...Healthy Me", must be included as the poster's title.

This poster contest is a great way for kids' voices to be heard so they can teach others about the importance of eating plenty of fresh vegetables and fruits and whole grains and limiting the sugars and the sodas. It's also an art project with heart which we'd like to display in public places throughout the Treasure Coast. Let us know if you know someone who would be interested in hosting a display this fall of some of the kids' posters.

Mailing address for entries:
Growing Healthy Kids
3300 43rd Avenue, #4
Vero Beach, FL 32960

Posters can be mailed (or dropped off during store hours), along with $5.00 entry fee (checks made payable to: Growing Healthy Kids), and the following information with each entry:

Parent's name
Parent phone or email
Address
Child's name
Grade in 2011/2012
School name

The organization sponsoring this poster contest, Growing Healthy Kids, Inc., is a non-profit organization which creates and delivers programs and events to teach and inspire kids of all ages. Its mission is to halt, reverse, and prevent childhood obesity.

Help us get the word out about this contest! Help us reach and teach kids and adults about the importance of healthy eating!

With sincere thanks and gratitude,

Nancy Heinrich
Founder, Growing Healthy Kids
Improving the health - and lives - of America's children, one garden and one child at a time

Happy, Healthy Grilling with Nancy's Famous Black Bean Burger Recipe

2011-07-04T12:29:00.001-04:00

Happy Birthday, America!

I love the 4th of July. It's about spending time with family and friends and celebrating the fact that we are free to do what we choose to do and to be.

As you know, I choose to eat healthy foods and love to share ideas with others in the healthy cooking programs that Growing Healthy Kids conducts. Teaching kids how to eat healthy and return to a healthy weight so they can be free from a lifetime of suffering that comes with the complications of diabetes is a huge part of why I started the Growing Healthy Kids movement. We must halt, reverse, and prevent childhood obesity. We are America, the land of the free and home of the brave. Be brave and take a stand with me. Dare to make a difference in the life of an overweight child.

A recipe I love to make and share, especially today when people have grilling on their minds like today, the 4th of July, is my famous black bean burger.

Here is the recipe:

Healthy Cooking with Nancy Heinrich: Black Bean Burgers

PROCESS in food processor (or mash with fork in large mixing bowl):

• Two-thirds of one 15 oz. can of black beans, drained and rinsed
• ¼ cup corn meal
• ¼ cup brown rice flour
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1 teaspoon chipotle chili pepper
• ½ cup salsa
• ½ zucchini (if not using food processor, then grate zucchini)

TRANSFER to large mixing bowl and mix in:

• Remaining 1/3 can of black beans
• ¼ cup cilantro (optional)

SHAPE into 4 patties.

GRILL with small amount of canola oil.

SERVE on whole grain buns* with your choice of sliced cheddar cheese*, avocado, and tomato.

*For demonstration purposes, Arnold’s Flat Sandwich Thins were used in the preparation of this recipe. Each bun has 100 calories and 5 grams of dietary fiber. Cabot’s Extra Sharp Cheddar Cheese was also used in the preparation of this recipe.

NANCY’S NOTES: What I really like about this recipe is that you can make it a day ahead and keep in refrigerator until ready to use the next day.

Beans are an excellent source of dietary fiber, with about 5-6 grams of fiber per ½ cup. Increasing the dietary fiber improves your blood sugar control if you have diabetes or prediabetes and prevents you from overeating because dietary fiber fills you up.

Enjoy today's freedom and remember to say a prayer for all the people in the military who are serving out of the country and for their families.

In kindness,
Nancy Heinrich
Founder, Growing Healthy Kids
a movement to improve the health - and lives - of America's children, one garden and one child at a time

Dancing and Exercise

2011-06-26T07:46:00.001-04:00

Good Morning, Sunshine!

Whenever I give a talk about preventing diabetes and reversing childhood obesity, EXERCISE is always at the top of the list I give to my audience. Regular physical exercise is soooooo important.

This is what you need to put into practice: 60 minutes a day for kids and 30 minutes (or more) a day for adults.

What counts as exercise?? ANYTHING THAT GETS YOU MOVING! So before I head off to the beach for a walk, here's a video from some of my son's classmates at Vero Beach High School to help you get your exercise groove on today:

Growing Healthy Kids is a movement to reverse and prevent childhood obesity, one garden and one child at a time.

To your perfect health,
Nancy Heinrich
Founder, Growing Healthy Kids

One Child's Future: Diabetes and Colorectal Cancer

2011-06-15T19:58:00.001-04:00

Last week a woman I worked with for the day told me she was “on a diet.” If you’ve read my book, Healthy Living with Diabetes: One Small Step at a Time (www.ourlittlebooks.com), then you know I hate the word “diets” because a short-term diet doesn't teach you what you need to know about how to eat healthy for the long-term ("for the rest of your life").

This woman is clearly obese and in her early 30’s. Getting to a healthier weight will not only add quality (less stress on her joints, decrease her chance of getting high blood pressure and cholesterol, sleep apnea and obesity-related cancers such as cancer of the breast) but also quantity to her life. Her comment that she is on a diet opened a window of opportunity for me.

Within 5 minutes of our conversation, I learned that her 12 year old son has only one bowel movement a week. My teaching immediately zoomed in on teaching her about what dietary fiber is (the undigestible part of plants that give them structure), what foods have it (only foods that are grown from the Earth like beans, lentils, vegetables, fruits, and whole grains), and how much of it we need to eat every day (14 grams of dietary fiber per 1,000 calories we eat, or around 28 grams a day if you eat around 2,000 calories a day). She started writing down everything I said to her, as I quickly sensed her worry and quiet desperation for her son.

Let's talk about something most people don't talk about. It is normal to have at least one bowel movement every day. It is not normal to have one just once or twice a week. Not getting enough dietary fiber is common in children, particularly those who are on the free and reduced lunch program in public schools and get 2 of their 3 daily meals at school. Fiber in foods is what gives us the sense of fullness so we stop eating. Lack of dietary fiber leads to overeating, obesity, diabetes, and certain cancers like colorectal cancer. This woman and her 12 year old son are part of the majority of Americans who eat far less than half the dietary fiber needed.

There is no to little fiber in fruit juices, fruit drinks, Capri sun drinks, white breads, “honey wheat” breads, McDonald’s or Burger King items, sodas, and energy drinks.

Become a fiber detective. Read food labels. Aim for at least 28 grams a day (the current recommendation for American men is 35 grams a day according to the 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans, see www.usda.gov).

I am 100% confident that the homework assignment I gave last week to the woman was completed in one day. She learned a key piece of knowledge and the skills to get herself on the path to a healthier weight and help prevent a future diagnosis of diabetes and/or cancer in her son.

Growing Healthy Kids - improving the health - and lives - of America's kids, one child and one garden at a time. Growing Healthy Kids is a movement to reverse childhood obesity. Because failure is not an option.

In kindness,
Nancy Heinrich
Founder, Growing Healthy Kids

PS -- "The Nancy Rule" says choose breads and pastas with 4 or more grams of dietary fiber per slice or per serving and the first ingredient includes the word "WHOLE".

Danish Company-Novo Nordisk-One of World's Best 9 Stocks Thanks to Global Obesity

2011-06-05T12:08:00.007-04:00

I just read an article in the February 2011 issue of Kiplinger's Personal Finance called The World's Best Stocks by Andrew Tanzer (www.kiplinger.com). The first stock to be highlighted by Tanzer, in case you are capital-flush, is Novo Nordisk, the Danish pharmaceutical company which provides OVER HALF the global market for insulin.

According to Mr. Tanzer, "As people gain weight and consume more sugar in their diets, the pancreas can no longer produce enough insulin to break down that sugar. By the end of this decade, UnitedHealth recently estimated, half of all adult Americans will be diabetic or pre-diabetic unless we suddenly change our diets and lose weight. The incidence of dietabetes is also exploding in countries such as India and China, where diets and lifestyles are shifting abruptly as people see their incomes rise."

I love Novo Nordisk. They are an extremely focused company. They produce very well written patient education materials which I have used in working with adults with diabetes. They are highly skilled and professional at what they do. Because 5-10% of people with diabetes have type 1 diabetes and require insulin, we need companies like Novo Nordisk. However, for the 90-95% of people with diabetes type 2 (the one you get when you eat too many calories and get too little exercise), Novo Nordisk should be Plan B, not Plan A. Even American Diabetes Association says that in their Standards of Medical Care. The fact is that diabetes is preventable and reversible. Most doctors don't spend much, if any, time telling patients how to do that because it is simply easier for them to hand you a prescription.

Americans - and now countries like India and China - are killing themselves - and their children - with too much sugar. Where do you find sugar? Just look on the food labels under "total carbohydrates". There is sugar in cereals. Sugar in sodas. Sugar in energy drinks. Sugar in the processed foods served in school cafeterias. Sugar in fruit juices. Sugar in energy bars. Sugar in the snack foods served at the Boys and Girls Clubs.

It's OK if you want to eat too much sugar. There are drugs just waiting for you. Like insulin. Your doctor will be happy to give you drugs because then you have to keep coming back for more. Instead of becoming drug addicts, it would be so much easier to get back to the basics of wholesome, whole, good foods in the right portion sizes. Call me old-fashioned but I'll take a dinner of wild salmon and spinach anytime over a big Mac (540 calories, 10 teaspoons sugar, 7 teaspoons saturated fat, and 1,040 mg sodium) and large fries (500 calories, 14 teaspoons sugar,6 teaspoons saturated fat, and 350 mg sodium).

My focus is to prevent diabetes and to raise awareness about how to do it. When you know what to do, it's easy. Healthy eating means a commitment to learn how to get to - and stay at - a healthy weight. Focusing on solutions to childhood obesity is what the Growing Healthy Kids movement is all about.

Improving the health - and lives - of America's children, one garden and one child at a time. Because failure is not an option.

In kindness,
Nancy Heinrich
Founder, Growing Healthy Kids

NOTE: My book "Healthy Living with Diabetes: One Small Step at a Time" is available at the Vero Beach Book Center, the Growing Healthy Kids Variety Store (3300 43rd Avenue in Vero Beach) and www.ourlittlebooks.com.

Growing Healthy Kids event at Everything Outdoors Garden Shop is a HOME RUN SUCCESS!

2011-05-24T08:31:00.007-04:00

Post-event notes:
Did we have fun? Yes!
Did the kids who attended learn tips for healthy eating and physical activity they can use for the rest of their lives? Yes!
Did the adults who volunteered learn something they can use for the rest of their lives? Yes!

On April 30, Growing Healthy Kids, in partnership with Youth Guidance Mentoring & Activities Program, held its second annual event at Everything Outdoors Garden Shop in Vero Beach, Florida. The 42 kids from Youth Guidance who attended had a blast with the action-packed morning where they all wanted the opportunity to help load up the fresh and locally grown vegetables into our beautiful salad bowl.

Teaching kids how to eat healthy is easy when you make it fun. That's what the Growing Healthy Kids movement is all about. We make it fun to learn how to eat healthy AND economically.

TIP FOR GROWING YOUR OWN HEALTHY KIDS: Plan some color at each meal. For example, at breakfast use fruit that is in season to make fruit shakes. A couple of weeks ago, I had a canteloupe that needed to get used QUICK, so I cut it up, put it in a zip-lock bag and froze it. A couple of days later I put the frozen canteloupe, some frozen strawberries, and some fat-free milk in the blender for a most delicious shake. Use a little splenda or agave nectar if you need to add a dash of sweet!

Back to my post-event notes...Thank you to all the children and the volunteers who attended our little event at the garden shop with the big Adirondack chairs. Let's do it again soon! A special thanks to Spencer Porteous for his fabulous "What's New in the Garden?" talk. Everyone enjoyed learning about pitcher plants and more!

Reversing childhood obesity is our moral responsibility. It begins with your next meal. Set an example for your kids.

Till next time!
Nancy Heinrich
Founder, Growing Healthy Kids

Breakfast of Champions

2011-05-10T07:11:00.004-04:00

I've had a lot of fun reading my current library book: The French Women Don't Get Fat Cookbook by Mireille Guiliano. The former president and CEO of Clicquot, Inc., Guilano said, "I am still not a fan of big breakfasts, but am a devotee of and convert to balanced breakfasts (and lunch and dinner): some protein, some carbohydrates, some fat (a holy trinity of sorts), and fluids. I often do eat a slice (or slivers) of cheese. And, I consider breakfast the most important meal of the day. Don't skip it or your wheels tend to come off in a hurry."

Guiliano specifically used the word "balanced" in describing her relationship to food. She writes elegantly of the same issue I teach in Growing Healthy Kids workshops, that if you want to get to (and stay at) a healthy weight, you must eat small meals and small snacks, including breakfast: BALANCED meals.

So, once again, I ask you, "What are you having for breakfast today? Do you have a little protein, some carbohydrate, and a little fat on your breakfast plate?"

You can visit Mireille Guiliano online at www.FrenchWomenDontGetFat.com.

Growing Healthy Kids is a movement to improve the health - and lives - of America's children by restoring balance to what we eat. Because failure to reverse the childhood obesity epidemic is not an option.

To learn how you can support our educational programs, please visit www.GrowingHealthyKids.me.

Thanks,
Nancy Heinrich
Founder, Growing Healthy Kids

Making Choices

2011-05-04T07:25:00.004-04:00

Everyday we are faced with decisions. What to wear for the day? What route to drive to work? What tasks to accomplish on the "To Do" list? and so on....

What decisions are you making for your own health? Let me ask you one question. What are you having for breakfast today? If your answer is, "Nothing" then let's talk about making choices.

Breakfast really is the most important meal of the day, ESPECIALLY if you are choosing to get to a healthier weight. Breakfast should consist of some protein, a little fat, and the good carbohydrates such as a whole grain muffin or steel cut oats.

Choose to have breakfast. Make sure your kids also have a good breakfast. We all need our brains to be working in high gear throughout the day. If you want to lose weight, have 3 small meals (including breakfast) and a couple of small snacks. The picture I am sharing is the smile of one happy child from a GROWING HEALTHY KIDS program where we taught kids how to make a Fabulous Florida Fruit Shake with frozen blueberries and bananas, non-fat Greek yogurt, and a little almond milk. That shake, together with a slice of whole grain toast or a whole grain muffin, can get the kids off to school with a smile!

Whenever I give a talk about Healthy Eating and Reversing Childhood Obesity, I always include the importance of a good breakfast. Invariably, someone in the audience asks this question, "Did you have breakfast today??" My answer is always YES! Know what my favorite breakfast is? A small bowl of either steel cut oatmeal or shredded wheat with bran, topped with about 3/4 cup of frozen or fresh blueberries, and almond milk. Now, what are YOU choosing for breakfast?

To your perfect health!
Nancy Heinrich
Founder, GROWING HEALTHY KIDS--a movement to improve children's health, one child and one garden at a time

To learn more about our programs and our store, go to www.GrowingHealthyKids.me.