what do eating carrots do for you?

I was reading the lunch menu for school and noticed a headline at the top - an effort to get kids to eat their fruits and vegetables instead of having them go straight into the trash:

Our apples are getting a new look and a new name!
During the month of April, you will start to see a few new changes on our serving
lines. First, apples will be sliced in schools to help consumption of the apple and
decrease waste. Apples and other fruits and vegetables will also be placed in
attractive black bowls and trays. Lastly, research from Cornell University has shown
that by naming fruits and vegetables , such as “juicy apple” or “x-ray vision carrots”
instead of just calling them apples or carrots, a whopping 66% were eaten, far
greater than the 35% of them eaten when unnamed. Look for new names to be
popping up next to apples this month and be sure to keep your eyes peeled for
others to pop up next school year.

I'm excited that they're trying hard to get more kids to eat healthy fruits & veggies.  Reading between the lines, however, it's a shame that this is what it comes to in order that kids take in such important nutrients.  Vegetables and fruits are not an option in our house, never have been.  It's part of a well-balanced meal.  We also pack a lunch from home.  I've always given my kids the option to pick ONE day a week to eat at school, and you can imagine, it's always been the junkiest food day picked each time.  The tradition continues this year for Oliver, but Henry hasn't taken a hot lunch option yet.  I think he gets it and understands that his options are healthier and less wasteful when taken from home. 

Perhaps those who eat lunch at school will make better choices, be less wasteful, and take steps to improve their own health.  Well...   one can hope.  At least the school is trying!

Orange

They say to eat a variety of color for health, right?! Today's lunch consists of all that is orange! Clementine, cantaloupe and squash.

Significance of Colors

According to the CDC, eating fruits and vegetables of different colors gives your body a wide range of valuable nutrients to fight diseases and stay healthy. According to dietitian Julie Garden-Robinson, a food and nutrition specialist at North Dakota State University, some healthy colors to consider include reds, oranges, yellows, greens, blues, purples and whites. The different colors have different benefits and should be eaten regularly.

She adds that orange and yellow produce is rich in carotenoids, which help reduce the risk of cancer and heart disease, can improve immune system function and aid healthy vision. Yellow and orange produce includes apricots, squash, carrots, lemons, oranges, papayas, peaches, pineapples, sweet potatoes and tangerines.  Source

 

 

This is leftover from our non-traditional Easter meal yesterday.  Hubby made it from this recipe, with only slight modifications (peaches {more orange} not pears) due to what we had on-hand.  It's a very filling little meal and not bad warmed up too.  Mmmmmm, perfect for getting back on track after my slip of eating all things sugary in the past week.  oops.

 

Oh, April,  how I love your change in weather and the opportunity to get outdoors soon!  30 days to prove I can make it to my original goal weight and continue on this path of a healthy lifestyle!  30 days until short-sleeves will bear unbelievably better looking arms on this chica than in the past six years!

 

What colors are YOU eating today?

 

hooked on wheatgrass

The adventures of wheatgrass have begun at our house! In JP's quest to get us on the right track, all but one @3513 have tried it (and I'm not naming names) as of this morning.

What exactly IS wheatgrass, you ask?

Wheatgrass is young wheat which is sprouted and grown for about 7-10 days. The deep green cereal grass is harvested (cut) and juiced in specially designed wheatgrass juicers. Thousands of health-conscious people drink wheatgrass juice every day.

Benefits  include increased energy, improved digestion, rids the body of toxins, improved fertility (don't need that benefit), and on and on...  but rather than retype everything that it can do for you, just check out some of the facts listed here and the testaments of others on their blog. This is our first harvest of three trays that grew from wheatberries over the last two weeks.  So far, so good.  Tastes sweet and smells like freshly cut grass (hmmmm, cannot say that's my favorite).
Unless we start turning green (you know, like eating too many carrots can make you turn orange), I think this will become part of our routine going forward.  Many hands to turn the crank, water the wheatgrass, and take a shot!