TOP TEN HOLIDAY HEALTH TIPS

Joel Samick,group exercise instructor at the Kennett Area YMCA

Follow these ten tips for a happy, healthy holiday season:

1) Walk: Dress warmly and take a brisk walk around the neighborhood. Bring your dog, your spouse and anyone else who is sitting at a computer terminal or TV screen. Use your walk as an interlude between holiday meal courses: you’ll eat less and burn more of it off. As a plus, the exposure to sunlight helps you make Vitamin D and feel better emotionally.

2) Sleep: If you sleep less than seven hours a night, you may be depriving your body of the rest it really needs. Can’t seem to get to sleep? Exercise helps. You can survive on less sleep, but there are likely to be undesirable effects to your immune system and appetite control.

3) Prioritize: Maybe only one of the four parties scheduled this week is really important. Cancel your plans for the others. This may allow you to keep to your exercise routine, control your eating and get the sleep you need. Don’t you feel better already?

 4) Make a new tradition: Traditions are wonderful, but they wouldn’t exist if no one ever made new ones. Start a new tradition this year, like eating a healthy festive meal and following it up with a BIG walk. Some of your old traditions may be unhealthy or getting a bit long in the tooth; know when to let go.

 5) Get out: Gorging ourselves all day long then watching hours of football while the kids text one another and follow along on Facebook may be great fun, but why not go somewhere or do something this year? Go bowling, ride a horse, ride your bike, jog, go rock climbing or visit the Y the day after.

6) Turn off your cell phone: Have you noticed? It’s constantly buzzing and ringing and flashing. No wonder you can’t seem to relax! Give it a rest. Turn it off and leave it in a drawer somewhere. GET OUT OF TOUCH FOR A DAY. It will be good for you and everyone around you. Let them leave you a message.

7) Drink before you eat: Drinking a glass of water or seltzer before a holiday meal helps with hydration and digestion and will make you feel fuller sooner so you will eat a bit less.

8) Schedule open time: Fine, go ahead and schedule every single minute of every day, just be sure to include scheduled open time so you can relax. It will make you more efficient and more fun to be with.

9) Work out:  You’ve seen the ads on TV; if the drug companies had their way we would all be taking a dozen pills daily. The ironic thing is that regular moderate exercise would eliminate the need for many of those drugs and their potential side effects.

 10) Eat healthy, live healthy: Instead of stressing about your weight during holiday season just persist year round in making good choices about your activities, what you eat and how much. Over time your good choices will add up!

 Enjoy your holidays and have a happy, healthy New Year!  

 

 

Joel Samick is a group exercise instructor at the Kennett Area YMCA, Kennett Square. Visit www.ymcabwv.org or any of its branches: Brandywine YMCA, Jennersville YMCA, Octorara Program Center, West Chester Area YMCA or the Oscar Lasko Youth Program Center.

Employee Healthy Recipe Contest Winner #3

The second healthy recipe contest winner did it again and submitted another great healthy recipe!

Chicken Mediterranean
Category: Dinner

Ingredients:

• 3-4 Boneless chicken breasts
• 1/2 cup reduced sodium chicken broth
• 1 1/2 - 2 cups tomato sauce
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 small onion, coarsely chopped
• 1 green pepper, seeded & chopped
• 1 8oz. can sliced mushrooms, drained
• 16 oz. stewed tomatoes
• 2 stalks celery, chopped
• 1 Tablespoon basil
• 1 cup dry white cooking wine (optional - if not used, increase chicken broth)

Directions:

1. Poach chicken in 1/2 cup chicken broth.
2. Cut chicken into bite size pieces.
3. Combine all ingredients in a large dutch oven pot and cook over medium heat for 20 minutes.
4. Serve over rice.

Employee Healthy Recipe Contest Winner #2

Here is the second winner of our healthy recipe contest, this recipe was submitted by Rita W. from the YMCA of the Brandywine Valley's Association Office.

Chicken and Snow Peas
Category: Dinner

Ingredients:
•    1½ lbs. boneless chicken
•    1/2 teaspoon salt
•    1 tsp. tarragon
•    1/8 teaspoon pepper
•    1 cup reduced sodium chicken broth
•    1/2 teaspoon sherry extract
•    1/2 teaspoon dehydrated onion flakes 
•    1/2 cup canned, sliced mushrooms, drained
•    4 oz. snow peas, fresh or frozen
•    2 green onions, coarsely chopped

Directions: 

1. Cut chicken into 2x1 inch strips. Sprinkle with salt, tarragon and pepper.
2. Combine chicken broth and sherry extract in a skillet. Bring to a simmer over low heat. Add chicken strips and onion flakes.
3. Cook 10 minutes or until chicken strips are white and tender. Add mushrooms and snow peas.
4. Cook until vegetables are heated through but snow peas are still crisp.
5. Garnish with green onions.
6. Enjoy :)

If you have any healthy recipe ideas of your own, feel free to share and they could be included in a future post!

Employee Healthy Recipe Contest Winner

Here at the YMCA of the Brandywine Valley we are having our own Healthy Recipe Contest. Employees are asked to send in their favorite healthy recipes and then we choose the winners. Here is our first healthy recipe winner brought to you by Robin M. from the Kennett Area YMCA's Group Exercise department.

Apple Kuchen (German Apple Cake)
Category: Dessert

Ingredients:
•    ½ cup all-purpose flour
•    ½ cup whole wheat flour
•    1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
•    1 teaspoon coarse salt
•    4 Tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
•    3 ounces unsweetened apple sauce
•    3 Tablespoons Truviz or ¾ cup brown sugar Splenda
•    2 large eggs, lightly beaten or 4 egg whites
•    1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
•    1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
•    Juice of ½ lemon
•    3 to 4 tart apples, such as Granny Smith, Cortland or Winesap

Directions: 

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Butter (or spray) an 8-inch square pan or equivalent-size baking dish. 
2. In a small bowl, whisk together the flours, baking powder and salt. In a medium bowl, cream together the butter, applesauce and 2/3 of the Truviz or Splenda. Stir in the eggs and vanilla. Add the flour mixture and beat until combined. Spread the mixture evenly in the prepared pan. 
3. In a small bowl, combine the remaining Truviz or Splenda with the cinnamon. Squeeze lemon juice into a medium bowl. Peel, core and slice the apples into a bowl. Add the cinnamon-sugar mixture and toss to thoroughly coat each apple slice. Arrange the apple slices on top of the batter in overlapping rows, pressing lightly into the batter. Bake for 45 minutes, until a cake tester or toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in the pan on a wire rack for 10 to 15 minutes before serving.
4. Enjoy :)

If you have any healthy recipe ideas of your own, feel free to share and they could be included in a future post!

Have Fun with Flavor, Shape and Color

Eating five servings of fruits and vegetables every day might seem like a lot to ask. It may be easier to visualize adding color to your meals. Your local farmers' market or the produce aisle in your grocery store is full of interesting shapes, textures and colors. It is also full of flavors, but you’ll have to take some of them home and try them to experience that for yourself!

Here are some ways your family can aim for Five Every Day that may inspire you to find your own unique approach:

Breakfast 

• A handful of blueberries or a banana cut up and added to your high-fiber cereal and low-fat milk. 
• Six to eight strawberries cut up and added to a cup of low-fat vanilla yogurt and some granola. 
• Half a cup of mushrooms and half a cup of bell pepper chopped and added to your scrambled eggs or omelet.

Lunch 

• A salad made up of dark leafy greens, carrots, and other fruits or veggies of your choosing. 
• Add slices of cucumbers, spouts, tomatoes, or avocado to your sandwich.
• A bowl of homemade vegetable soup or chili.

Afternoon Snack 

• A sliced apple topped with peanut butter and raisins. 
• Whole grain tortilla chips dipped in salsa, guacamole, or black bean dip. Or try dipping veggie sticks in hummus.
• 8 ounces of frozen, 100% natural orange juice eaten like you would ice cream or sorbet.

Dinner

• Accompany your chicken or fish with some steamed mixed vegetables like broccoli, carrots, and cauliflower. Maybe some apple sauce as well? 
• Finely chopped onions, mushrooms and broccoli added to your spaghetti sauce or as pizza toppings.
• Start dinner with a fresh salad. Use dark leafy greens, fresh tomatoes, fresh green pepper, grapes or currants for added flavor.

The delicious crunch of fruits and veggies can be part of every meal and snack your family enjoys throughout the day and is important for your whole family’s health. Everybody needs the vitamins, fiber and minerals that these colorful foods provide in order to grow and stay strong, energetic and free from illness.

Bring some new fruits or vegetables home and try them raw or cooked in a variety of ways. Involve the kids in the process and watch their willingness to try new things grow and flourish.

Eating your Five Every Day from a wide array of colors ensures that you and your kids will get more of the important nutrients that you need for healthy living.

Tips for Healthy Bones and Joints

Nearly half of Americans over the age of 18 are affected by musculoskeletal (bone and joint) conditions, according to research by The Burden of Musculoskeletal Conditions in the United States. If you want to remain active as you age, take steps now to improve the health of your bones and joints. Maintaining a healthy weight, regular physical activity, strength training and a diet rich in calcium and Vitamin D are essential to meet this goal.

Drop the pounds. Nearly 36 percent of adults in America are obese, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Those extra pounds add stress to your joints and can contribute to the onset and progression of knee osteoarthritis. A modest weight loss of 10 to 15 pounds can help ease knee pain.
 
Get moving. Weight-bearing exercises, such as walking or dancing, help build strong bones and muscles. Regular physical activity can help relieve pain and improve joint mobility. Thirty minutes of moderate intensity exercise on most days of the week will help you maintain a healthy weight and produce health benefits.
 
Pick up a dumbbell. Strength or resistance training will increase bone density, build muscle mass and combat the effects of osteoporosis, a condition that weakens bones, leaving them susceptible to fractures. The American College of Sports Medicine recommends strength training three days a week.
      
Get enough calcium and Vitamin D. Make sure you are consuming enough calcium, because the body needs this nutrient to build strong bones and teeth and keep them strong as you age. Food sources of calcium include milk, leafy green vegetables and beans. And don’t forget about Vitamin D, which helps the body absorb calcium. This vitamin can be found in fish, eggs, fortified milk and cod liver oil. Because the amount of calcium and Vitamin D a person needs depends on various factors, consult a physician for advice. 
Written by Bettinita Harris, an ACSM certified personal trainer with the Kennett Area and Brandywine branches of the YMCA of the Brandywine Valley.

Healthy Habits Start at Home

According to the Centers for Disease Control, childhood obesity rates have almost tripled over the last thirty years to 17% of all children and adolescents between the ages of 2-19.  For this reason, the Department of Health and Human Services supports many programs to increase physical fitness, daily activity, and healthy eating.  Journals such as Childhood Obesity feature articles like, “The Impact of a Three-Year After-School Obesity Prevention Program in Elementary School Children.” 
 
However, healthy habits need to start in the home.  Children learn what they see.  As parents, we may be telling and teaching our children one message, but modeling another.  Consider the example of a mother who brings her 12 year old son to me for nutritional counseling.  “All he wants to eat are chicken nuggets and soda,” she tells me. “Can you please talk to him?”  “Sure,” I say, “but let’s you and I meet first.”   It’s not unusual that I meet a parent who sincerely wants his/her children to eat healthier, but the shopping list consists of toaster pastries, frozen pizza, chips, soda or chicken nuggets.  “It’s just easier,” parents say.  It’s true.  It is easier to provide fast, convenient foods that you know your child will eat, and avoid an argument at the dinner table, or breakfast, or lunch.  The easy way isn’t always the best way. 
 
There aren’t many children who do their own food shopping.  Children depend on their parents for basic needs such as food and shelter.  Sure, there are some children who will cook dinner, pack their own lunch, or make their own breakfasts, but children can only prepare and eat what’s available to them.  If, as a parent, you want your child to eat healthier, you need to buy healthier foods.  You need to prepare healthier foods.  You need to eat healthier foods.  Examine your own attitudes and values with regards to food, exercise, and overall health.  Do you make it a priority, or are you too busy?  Is it too hard to prepare healthy meals, or do you just not know what to prepare?  Do you depend on school lunches and other outside sources to teach your children to make healthy food choices?  How much physical activity, or movement, do you get throughout your day?
 
Another idea to consider is how your family views food.  Is food used as comfort or reward?  Is food withheld as punishment?  Does every outing, event, vacation revolve around the food?  These are the habits that form our relationship with food, and that carry over into adulthood.  Most adults will say, “I know what I should be eating, I just don’t know why I can’t lose weight.”  Many children can recite the 6 food groups; tell why calcium is an important nutrient, and why we need protein.  However, obesity prevails because of the attitudes and habits surrounding foods that were learned and reinforced early on. 
 
So, the best thing you can do to help your child eat healthier is to adopt a healthy attitude toward food yourself.  You can change your habits once you understand and are aware of what you are choosing.  Stressed?  Learn to express your feelings and needs verbally.  Bored? Do something you love to do that doesn’t involve food.  Happy? Celebrate by doing something special with the family. It is even possible to eat healthy while on vacation.  Start by making small changes, and view every day as a new opportunity to model healthy behaviors for your child. 

Carmel M. Rickenbach, MS, RD, LDN, is a Licensed Registered Dietician with the Kennett Area YMCA.

HEALTHY FISH AND CHIPS
Canola or olive oil cooking spray
1 1/2 pounds russet potatoes, scrubbed and cut into 1/4-inch-thick wedges
4 teaspoons canola oil
1 1/2 teaspoons Cajun or Creole seasoning, divided
2 cups cornflakes
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 large egg whites, beaten
1 pound cod or haddock, cut into 4 portions
1.    Preheat oven to 425°F. Coat a large baking sheet with cooking spray. Set a wire rack on another large baking sheet; coat with cooking spray.
2.    Toss the potatoes, oil and 3/4 teaspoon Cajun (or Creole) seasoning in a large bowl. Spread on the baking sheet without the rack. Bake on the lower oven rack, turning every 10 minutes, until tender and golden, 30 to 35 minutes.
3.    Meanwhile, coarsely grind cornflakes in a food processor or blender or crush in a sealable plastic bag. Transfer to a shallow dish. Place flour, the remaining 3/4 teaspoon Cajun (or Creole) seasoning and salt in another shallow dish and egg whites in a third shallow dish. Dredge fish in the flour mixture, dip it in egg white and then coat all sides with the ground cornflakes. Place on the prepared wire rack. Coat both sides of the breaded fish with cooking spray.
4.    Bake the fish on the upper oven rack until opaque in the center and the breading is golden brown and crisp, about 20 minutes.
(Recipe: www.eatingwell.com)