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Healthy Lifestyles
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Snack
Attack! After school is prime snacking time.
But, to keep everyone fit, try avoiding
prepackaged options like cookies, candy and
chips. Instead, let the kids play with their
food. Getting them familiar with different
fruits and vegetables will make them more
likely to try new ones – and there’s nothing
healthier than fresh garden goodies. Why you’ll love it:
Kids get to play with
their food and you get to sneak nutritious
foods into their diet.
What do to:
1. Give kids a paper plate to use as the
base.
2. Then, let them use celery, carrots,
zucchini, cucumbers, bell peppers or other
veggies cut into sticks or rounds; banana,
apple, peach or pineapple slices; melon
balls; lettuce leaves; orange sections or
any other produce to create their structure.
Give suggestions life fish, cars, flowers or
their names as ideas of things to build.
3. Now, peanut butter, cream cheese, cheese
spread, yogurt, jam, pizza sauce or ranch
dressing can serve as the glue to hold their
fruits and veggies together. (Older kids can
use toothpicks also.)
4. For the final step in creating their
masterpieces, kids can decorate with seeds,
nuts, grapes, raisins, olives, frozen peas
or beans.
Stay Fit All Winter Long!!!
Although the weather outside may be frightful,
you don’t need to sit by the fire all day long to be
warm. All you need to do is get active! “Children
should get at least 60 minutes of exercise daily no
matter what the weather looks like,” says Dr.
Jennifer Shu of Children’s Medical Group in Atlanta.
She offers some easy ways to keep your family warm,
and fit, during the winter!
 Get
outside. Bundle up the whole family and take a walk
around the neighborhood, or head to the mountains
for skiing and snowboarding.
Take it inside. It doesn’t matter if it’s icy,
rainy or windy outside if you encourage indoor
sports such as basketball, gymnastics, swimming and
soccer. Or, if you don’t want to leave the house,
break out the jump ropes, hula-hoops and mini
trampolines to turn your home into a playground.
Game on! If your child likes games, try active
ones such as Twister Moves High School Edition, a
bean bag toss, Dance Dance Revolution or Wii Sports
– interactive video game versions of tennis,
baseball, bowling and more.
Remember to stay wet.
On the inside, at least.
When the air is dry (especially with indoor heat)
and during exercise, remember to keep your child
hydrated even though he may not feel hot or sweaty.
“By the time your child actually feels thirsty, she
could already be a little dehydrated,” says Shu.
Do you know a young
person struggling to lose weight?
An essay contest could win
them a
fitness camp scholarship
 Apples have long been a symbol of good
health. That’s why the Michigan Apple
Committee has teamed up with Atlanta Parent
Magazine and Wellsprings Camp to help in the
fight against one of the nation’s top health
concerns: childhood obesity.
“Get Fit With Michigan Apples Essay Contest”
will award five scholarships (each worth
$5,950) to one of the Wellspring Camps
throughout the nation – the one closest to
Atlanta is in North Carolina. Wellspring is
a weight loss and fitness camp designed
specifically for young people. For more
information on the camps, visit
www.wellspringcamps.com.
Contestants must be between the ages of 5
and 24 and submit an essay describing their
personal weight loss struggle and why they
are most deserving of a scholarship.
All entries must be received by February 22.
Official entry forms must be mailed to the
Michigan Apple Committee, at the address
below.
To enter the contest, mail one or more
original Proofs of Purchase from bags of
Michigan Apples, a recent photo, a 500- to
1000-word essay explaining why the entrant
needs and deserves this scholarship and a
completed official Entry Form.
Michigan Apple Fitness Camp Scholarship
Atlanta Parent Magazine
2346 Perimeter Park Drive
Atlanta, GA 30341
 Quick Fixes
You’re starving. The kids are starving. A
cheeseburger and fries would be the easy fix. But
let’s face it; a kids meal is not necessarily a
healthy meal. You’re in need of nutritious food you
can grab fast, whether you’re on the road or have
just walked into the house.
It’s not impossible with these ideas to drive
right past the drive-thru.
Meals on Wheels
To avoid fast-food temptations, keep an 8"x12"
insulated cooler tucked in your back seat. Stock it
with food for every member of the family – bottled
water, bottles of low fat chocolate milk, juices,
nuts, pretzels, yogurt, fruit, cereal health bars
are all great ideas. Having this cooler on hand will
save time and money, and more importantly, fat and
calories.
Meals at Home
Though it doesn’t always seem to be true, you
can, in fact, assemble a healthy meal in about the
time it takes you to place an order for four in the
drive-thru. Here are some ideas for creating quick,
healthy dinners the whole family will enjoy.
- Convenience foods. Anything
frozen, canned, pre-cut, pre-washed or pre-bagged is
fair game for healthy meals.
- Speedy Side Dishes. Keep frozen
or canned veggies on hand to round out a healthy
meal.
- Quick Baked Potato. It’s a
perfect addition to a healthy meal, and you can get
oven-baked taste in less time than you think.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Wash the potato,
then microwave on high for about 4 minutes. Rinse it
again so it’s wet. Finish baking in oven for 10 to
15 minutes.
- Quick Chicken Dinner. Chicken is
a great centerpiece to a nice, lean meal. Skin a
whole chicken. Then shake on the spices. Place
chicken in an oven-cooking bag; then microwave on
high for 10 minutes.
- Cereal. With skim milk and fruit,
it’s a great quickie supper, especially if you’ve
had a big lunch.
- Cook Big, Freeze Small. On the
weekends when you have more time, cook a big
batch of soup or a hefty pan of lasagna. Freeze
it in small containers for handy use later.
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