December 2013 Fun Family Fitness Activities Farmingdale Public - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

December 2013 Fun Family Fitness Activities Farmingdale Public School Viking Health Council

Incorporate physical activity into your everyday routines with these fun, easy ideas that will help lay the foundation for an active and healthy lifestyle.

➜ Rise and stretch! Start the day by doing some quick morning stretches together. Say, “Reach your arms up high to touch the sky! Reach down low to tickle your toes.” ➜ Jump to the car. Instead of walking to the car, bus, or subway, encourage your child to jump like a frog or hop like a bunny. These movements will strengthen his leg muscles and help your child wake up! ➜ Parade to dinner. As meals are being prepared, use this time to encourage your child to march around the table to celebrate the fun of a family meal. ➜ Row, row, row to the bath. Ask your child to pretend she’s rowing both of you toward the bathtub. Sing, “Row, row, row your boat…to the tub with me. Clean, clean, clean, clean… that’s what you will be!” ➜ Have a pajama party! Before bedtime, put on your pajamas, turn on some music, and dance!

• Eat a Rainbow! • What does it mean to eat a rainbow? Choose a variety of different colored whole foods to eat throughout the week as they provide a complete range of important nutrients to help you stay healthy. The more naturally occurring colors on your plate at each meal, the better. Do not make your rainbow using artificially colored foods like gummy bears, soda and popsicles.

Red Foods support heart health and memory: apples, red cabbage, red peppers, red onion, tomatoes, strawberries, cherries, watermelon. Possible Nutrients: vitamin C, folate, lycopene, flavonoids. Orange/ yellow foods support healthy eyes, heart health, immune function: cantaloupe, carrots, butternut squash, mango, oranges, peaches, pumpkin, pineapple, sweet potato, yellow pepper. Nutreints: beta carotene, vitamin A and C. Green Foods support healthy bones, teeth and eyes: asparagus, bok choy, broccoli, cabbage, collard greens, cucumbers, grapes, green beans, green pepper, honeydew, kale, peas, spinach, zucchini. Possible nutrients: vit. K, chlorophyll, carotenoids, omega 3 fatty acids, isothiocyanates. Blue/purple foods support memory and healthy aging: Dark beans, eggplant, beets, blueberries, blackberried, figs. Possible nutrients: anthocyanin. White foods support heart health and good cholesterol: ginger, onions, jicama, mushrooms. Possible nutrients: flavonoids.

Recipe: Eggplant chips. Need: 1 medium eggplant, washed and sliced into 1/8” rounds, olive oil, sea salt. Set oven at 400 degrees. Arrange eggplant rounds in single layer. Brush with oil and sprinkle with salt/spies. Bake 15 min then flip and bake another 10-15 min. Should be brown and crisp. Try with hummus. Recipe: Sweet Potato Hash Browns. 2 medium sweet potatoes, peeled & grated. 1 small onion, thinly sliced, 2 TBLS oil. Kids can help peel/grate potatoes. Combine all in bowl and season. Form into patties, cook for 2-3 min/side in oil in a pan until brown