Fuel up to Play 60!

This past weekend I had the opportunity to work with the American Dairy Association North East (ADANE) and Fuel Up to Play 60 to talk to kids on the importance of eating breakfast and fueling and refueling before and after workouts and play time. Friday I helped set up and participate in a event for Fuel Up to Play 60 at the minor league stadium in my hometown. I was able to meet about 50 kids from local, inner-city schools and show them how teaming up with Fuel Up to Play 60 and their peers can help them get and stay healthy, as well as work toward getting some great prizes like going to NFL games or meeting some NFL players. At the event, the kids all got a healthy breakfast consisting of make-your-own yogurt parfaits, granola bars, fruit and milk. Breakfast is one of the most important meals of the day, and without it we cannot preform in school or in sports to the best of our abilities.
The kids were all brought to together then for a few introductions and a short talk. First a young farmer talked to the kids about what he does on his family's dairy farm, why he loves farming, and why its an important profession. Then, they had a sports dietitian (my dream job) from Syracuse University come up and talk to the kids about the importance of eating breakfast and was able to demo some smoothies for the kids. She even had some help from Arizona Cardinal's safety, Tyvon Branch. The kids were all so excited to see an NFL player there, and one who really supports Fuel Up to Play 60 and refueling with milk. After the demo, they were sent out onto the field to participate in various stations with different types of physical activity. They played games like a farmers relay and rolled a pair of exercise dice which showed how many reps of a certain exercise must be preformed. After their time at the stations, they were greeted with cartons of chocolate milk for a refuel drink and got to hang out with Tyvon Branch and Oakland Raider's Latavius Murray. The kids were so excited and were asking for pictures and autographs. Before being sent home, they all got a nutritious lunch and left with a smile. Not only was this a day of fun for them, but also a day of learning how to eat right and make healthy decisions all day long.

The following day I was asked to attend and help run a station at the CNY Football Academy with the dietitian from Syracuse University and ADANE. This one day football camp is put on every year and open to kids ages 9-13 in the Central New York area. The camp is a half day program where the kids rotate through a series of stations designed to help them polish their football skills like a running back station, ropes station, and a quarterback station. Along with playing football all morning, they were able to go through a couple stations of basketball as well. The camp is run by Mike Hart, a former NFL player, along with the help of Branch and Murray.
The station I was at was a break station for the kids. We were under a canopy and the kids were able to sit and relax, drink water and take a bit of a break  While they were relaxing, we talked to the kids about breakfast, why it is important, and what constitutes as a healthy breakfast. We had a few examples of a healthy breakfast, unhealthy breakfast and no breakfast. We asked the kids about what they thought about each one, and how they would feel after eating each of the examples. Of course everyone thought that the breakfast that consisted of chips, soda and candy sounded like it would be awesome, but we explained why it wouldn't be the best for them. Sure, that would taste wonderful, and you may get some energy from it, but you'll crash shortly after eating it and not be ready for the rest of the day. The healthy example consisted of cereal, milk, blueberries and walnuts. We stressed to them the great amount of protein and calcium in milk, which helps builds strong muscles and bones. Both of which are very important for growing kids and athletes.
Everyone that came to our station and listened all seemed to be very receptive and responsive to our message. The kids were all so excited to hear that they were getting chocolate milk with lunch too! This was a great opportunity to me to help send out the message to kids and try to instill in them a healthy habit of eating breakfast every day. I got to work with a really great dietitian, which helped to inspire me to stay on my path of becoming a sports dietitian. I look forward to being able to do more events like this in future and continue on my way to being an RD.

Tips for Eating Healthier this Summer

It's officially summer time! School is out for everyone and even the calendar finally says its summer. With summer comes more cookouts, parties, graduation parties and lots and lots of snacking. Snacking can be the downfall of many people's diets or plans to get fit. But no need to worry, I'm here to help! Here are a few tips to help you start or continue eating right in the sunshine and heat.

- Plant a vegetable garden- whether you're in an apartment or a house, you can have homegrown vegetables! Herbs are easy to grow and don't take up much space. You can even grow them inside on a window sill in a little pot. Window boxes are also great for growing things like lettuce or even radishes. And growing tomatoes can be as easy as getting a picking up a tomato kit from your local grocery store or home improvement store

-Buy foods from local farms- When you buy local you not only support your local economy, but you're almost guaranteed that what ever you're buying is just as fresh as if you were growing it at home. I recommend looking up what's in season before you go to the grocery store to buy to make sure you are buying the freshest produce or fruits available.

Now, fruits like blueberries and strawberries are in season where I live.  Try going out and pick strawberries and blueberries at a local fruit stand that offers these options.  It can be much cheaper and a lot of fun to pick them yourself.   One of my favorite memories of growing up is picking strawberries with my family and then making fresh strawberry ice cream.

-Swap out milkshakes with smoothies- A hot day sometimes calls for a refreshing and cool treat to make the heat a little more bearable. Smoothies are an easy and delicious treat to help withstand the heat. Grab a blender, throw in some of the fresh fruit you just picked or grabbed at the store, some ice, and yogurt or milk and blend. Viola! You'll have a cold treat to help you cool off in the summer heat. Protein can be added too to make a great post workout drink. If you aren't able to finish off all the smoothie you made, you can pour it into Popsicle or ice trays and put them in the freezer to have later.

-Skip the chips and dip and try veggies and hummus- Crisp potato chips and dip can taste really, really good, aren't the most nutritious choice for a snack. Instead of bringing chips or crackers and dip to your next cookout, bring a vegetable tray with some homemade or store bought hummus! Vegetables and hummus is a low calorie, highly nutritious snack that won't leave you feeling bloated or guilty like chips and dip will. You'll still get a great crunch, without all the costly calories.

-Drink lots of water- it is no surprise that with increased temperatures comes the increased risk of dehydration and heat illness. To be sure you wont be missing out on any of the summer fun due to feeling tired or sluggish, make sure you're getting 10-12 glasses of water a day. Our bodies are about 70% water, and without an adequate supply, our bodies will not function properly.

Summer Snacking Treat- Cheese-Stuffed Pizza Pretzels

I apologize to all my readers that I have not been able to post sooner on my page, but the summer so far has been quite busy with getting ready for my internship, working about 30 hours a week at starbucks, family get togethers, and my boyfriend visiting for a few days. However, I am going to try to stay on top of this and post more in the coming weeks!

If you know me well, you know that I am a foodie. I am very adventurous in my eating and like to try a wide variety of food, even though I am going to school to be a dietitian. At family parties and eating out  with friends I often get asked "why are you eating that if you're in school to teach people how to eat healthy?", my response is always that you can eat anything in moderation and a little splurge here and there won't hurt me. One of the dishes that I like to make when I am in the food for a little splurge is Cheese-Stuffed Pizza Pretzels. I originally saw this recipe on facebook in one of the Tasty food videos and knew that my family, boyfriend and I would all enjoy it. This recipe is perfect for an appetizer at a barbecue or even as a midnight snack. Its super easy and definitely worth the calories.

Cheese Stuffed Pizza Pretzels

Yields: 3 pretzels

Ingredients:
1 (13.8-ounce) tube store-bought pizza dough
4 cups shredded mozzarella (from two 8-ounce bags)
nonstick vegetable oil spray
15 presliced pepperoni
Store-bought marinara or pizza sauce for dipping

Preparation:
Preheat oven to 425°F/220°C. Unroll the dough (it should form 15x9-inch rectangle), then cut the rectangle horizontally into three equal strips. (These will be your three pretzels.) Carefully stretch each of the strips by width and length — stretch each to about 3 inch width and about 34 inch length. Sprinkle 1 cup of cheese down the center of each dough strip. (Reserve the last 1 cup of cheese for later.) Fold the dough over the cheese, pressing to seal and rolling slightly to create 3 dough logs filled with cheese. Cover a baking sheet with foil and spray with vegetable oil. To form the pretzels, take one dough log, move it to the foil covered baking sheet, then form a circle with the ends of the log at the top of the circle. Twist the log ends around each other once and bring them down to meet the bottom of the circle. That's your pretzel shape! Repeat with the other two dough logs on the baking sheet. (Watch the video if you need help with this step.) Wrap pepperonis on the pretzels — 5-ish per pretzel — then sprinkle the remaining cup of cheese among the three pretzels. Bake 14-18 minutes until deep golden brown. Serve immediately with pizza sauce for dipping.

The video is on facebook and can be found with an easy search, unfortunately I am not able to put the link in this post. I recommend eating them right when they are still warm and stuffing a lot of cheese inside them too! Even if you are watching what you're eating, remember it is healthy to treat yourself!