November Preview- New Fruit and New Veggie!

First- HAPPY HALLOWEEN!  Please be safe tonight as you go trick and treating.  Also, try not to eat all of your candy in one sitting.  It's not the healthiest choice and will give you a tummy ache!

Secondly, tomorrow is November 1st!  That means another round of school visits and Super Snack Lady will be unveiling 1 new fruit and 1 new vegetable!  Below you'll find pictures that are hints at the new produce.  What do you think they are?  I can't wait to hear your ideas when I come to your school in November.  See you soon!

This is the vegetable for the month of November.
You are up close and personal with it.
Any guesses on what it is?

This is the top of the fruit for November. 
This fruit comes in different colors, though
the color pictured is most common.
What fruit is this?

 If you- or your class- has a guess, just submit a comment on this post!  Perhaps there will be a prize for the class or person with the correct guess! (If you are a student submitting an answer, make sure to put your school please so that I know where to take your prize)


Last thing-  On the right hand side of your screen is a "SUBSCRIBE" button.  PLEASE SUBSCRIBE TO MY BLOG! It will send you a little email everytime I updatethis blog so that you know to check out what cool things Super Snack Lady is up to, along with healthy tips, free or inexpensive activities in the community, and fun physical activities.

1 Month Under Super Snack Lady's Belt

It's hard to believe that it's already been a month since Super Snack Lady has undergone training to become a super hero of healthy foods! It's been a very busy October for Super Snack Lady with visiting 4 schools, preparing yummy foods, and meeting with teachers and principals to set up more fun visits for the whole school year.  Hopefully by November I'll be in all 6 schools and will literally be teaching almost 1,000 kids a month about healthy, nutritious, delicious fruits and vegetables!

Super Snack Lady with a quick minute before her class comes back from specials.  They were pretty surprised to see a Healthy Super Hero waiting for them with a tasty treat!

Super Snack Lady (Ms. Sarah) at Garfield Elementary on her very first day of visits to schools.  Garfield students were VERY brave about trying the black grapes, red grapes, and green grapes.  Though they wish that Super Snack Lady would have brought ranch, they loved the carrots in their natural, yummy, crunchy state!







Super Snack Lady wants to know:  What did YOU learn in October?  Are you being braver like a super hero and trying new fruits and vegetables?  Did you ask your mom, dad, grandma, grandpa, aunt, or uncle to buy you yummy black grapes?  Or what about the juicy red grapes?  Or did you prefer the sour green grapes?  Have you tried your carrots with no ranch or dipping sauce and instead just ate them like Bugs Bunny? Hopefully you enjoyed the fruit and vegetable of October and Super Snack Lady can't wait to introduce you to 2 new foods in November.  

Check back on Wednesday (Halloween) to get two photos that will be hints to what I'm serving up in November!

Until Wednesday, please have a safe Halloween.  Remember, eating candy is alright- as long as you don't eat too much at once.  Perhaps you should have a rule at your house that you have to do a short burst of physical activity before you eat a piece of candy.  For example: 10 jumping jacks, 1 lap around the outside of your house, or playing fetch with the dog. Just a healthy idea for some junk food treats.  :)

Let's Dance?!

How are you staying active in October?  The weather has been up and down, warm and cold, sunny and rainy, and everything in between! I've been struggling to find things to do inside during days and days of rain!  You too?  Some days I've taken my dog for a walk, other days I've raked the yard (many, many times due to the wind!), and still other days I've found myself at the local YMCA going for a jog and lifting some weights. 

As I get to the Y my attention is always drawn to the studio room where I can see people smiling, laughing, and DANCING to loud, fun music.  I must admit that some days I go home and pull up You Tube (kids- you should ALWAYS have parent permission before you go to any website, especially You Tube) and find Zumba or hip hop dances on there that teach you how to dance, step-by-step. 

Below you will find some kid friendly dances that I found on You Tube.  Click away and dance with your kids in the living room- even if the dog looks at you funny (like mine does!).

A step, by step, dance how to for kids! (Hip hop themed!)

Let's Move! Interlude dance with Michelle Obama and Govenor Branstad (and 14,000 Iowan kids!)

Just Dance for Kids- Despicable Me song 

Other good dance songs- The Cha Cha Slide, the YMCA, The Hokey Pokey, and Cupid Shuffle, just to name a few.

If you don't want your kids on You Tube, then just turn on the radio and make up your own dance!  Each station will give you a different type of music and then you can create your own line dance, hip hop dance, slow dance and everything in between!

Remember, being "good" at dancing isn't important- it's important that you TRY YOUR BEST and HAVE FUN!!!!

(P.S.  Just so you know- I am human too.  In fact I am writing this blog from my couch today due to walking phenomena.  Staying active is important, but eating healthy and getting enough rest is just as important.  So, as colds are passed around make sure you wash your hands, eat fruits and veggies, stay active, and REST!)

Carving Pumpkins Can Create a Wonderful Snack

What do you do when you carve your pumpkins around Halloween time?  The first thing I do is cut the top of the pumpkin and start scooping out all of the gooey, gross seeds and stringy guts out.  I always have a big trash can and just scoop the inside out and put it in the trash.  Well... NOT THIS YEAR!

This year I saved the seeds and decided to make a yummy, crunchy snack.  Let me tell you, it is pretty easy too!  This is what you need to do:

1) Scoop out the "guts" of the pumpkin but sit aside the seeds.  (A colander to wash the seeds would be ideal, though any container would be fine.)  



 








2) Wash the seeds.
3) Dry the seeds by patting them dry with paper towels.

 









4)  Using a teaspoon of Olive Oil toss the seeds (about 1-2 cups of seeds) until they are lightly coated .
5) Sprinkle on the seasoning of choice such as:  cayenne, lightly salted, curry, barbeque seasoning, cinnamon and sugar, or even red pepper flakes. 
6)  Bake at 325 degrees for 25-30 minutes, stirring/flipping the seeds occasionally.
7) Let the seeds cool down and enjoy!

Leave a comment on your favorite flavor combination!

First Day of School Visits was a ..... TOTAL SUCCESS!!!

Though Super Snack Lady is actually a licensed teacher she will admit that she still gets nervous before meeting new groups of kids.  S.S.L. (Super Snack Lady for short) woke up early this morning eager to start her first day of school visits and once she got the Garfield Elementary the excitement only grew!  SSL must say that all of the students listened very well and we got to try a pretty awesome fresh fruit and a fresh veggie both!  Some older classes even got a surprise, mystery veggie that some kids had never had before!

Stay tuned for photos once teachers send them to SSL (because she can't teach and take photos at the same time!).  In the mean time, SSL will say that she had a FABULOUS first day of teaching kiddos about fresh produce, where it comes from, and how to prepare it. 

Thank you to the wonderful principal, teachers, and students at Garfield for making my first day so amazing! I can't wait to get into the other schools!! (PS- do you see the wonderfully colored tree in the picture.  I LOVE FALL!)

Prepping for School Visits :)

This week I officially start my school visits to some of the schools!  This is a very exciting time for me as I've been prepping for a long time to get things ready to make this an awesome year of exposing children to fresh produce and fun physical activities.

Garfield and Van Buren schools- I'll see you this week!!!!

Here I am getting goody bags ready for teachers at Garfield Elementary, which I visit tomorrow.  Every teacher gets books for their classroom along with fun physical activity cards.  Students will also get some goodies on my first visit (but I don't want to ruin that secret so you'll just have to ask your child what they got!)

Good Deals at Your Grocery Store

Let me start off by saying that we have NO affiliation or connection to ANY grocery stores in the Cedar Rapids area.  I have personal preferences for where I shop for my groceries and truthfully it depends on what I'm buying (I go different places for produce then I do for meat for example). 

That being said, the mission of this blog is to give you the tools to make good food decisions and I'm always trying to get good deals.  I know fresh produce is expensive and that it deters people from buying it. A hint I can give you when buying fresh produce is to buy what's in season because not only will it be cheaper but it will also taste better. So this blog post is dedicated to some good deals on some healthy foods, especially ones that are currently in season!


Target: (Their ad runs from Sunday October 7th-Saturday October 13th)
- Honey Crisp Apples: $4.99 for 3 pounds of apples (which is approximently 9 apples)
- Red Seedless Grapes: $1.69 per pound
http://weeklyad.target.com/cedar-rapids-ia-52402/pages#1

Walmart: (Their ad is from Sunday October 7th- Saturday October 13th too)
- Nature's Own Whole Grain Bread: $1.98 per loaf
http://localad.walmart.com/Walmart/Entry/Flash?storeref=2716&forceview=y

Hy Vee: (Their ad runs from Tuesday October 9th- Monday October 15th)

- Washington Royal Gala apples: $1.28 per pound (approximently 2-3 apples depending on size)
-Sweet Midnight Oranges: $1.28 per pound
-Avocados: $1 per avocado
-Kandy Cantaloupe: $2.48 per cantaloupe
-Baby Carrots: 99 cents per pound
-Cauliflower: $1.99 per bunch
-Hy Vee Greek Yogurt: 10 yogurts for $9.00
-Hy Vee Soup: 4 cans of soup for $5.00
- Hy Vee frozen veggies: 77 cents a bag
- Red Seedless Grapes: $1.98 per pound

http://www.hy-vee.com/shop/WeeklyAd.aspx 

Super Snack Lady LOVES October (and Leaves)!!!

Super Snack Lady Sarah LOVES fall.  The changing leaves, the beautiful sunsets, the cooler weather, taking her puppy on walks in parks- it is all just so pretty! Super Snack Lady stays active in this wonderful weather by raking leaves in her own lawn along with her elderly neighbor's lawns.  Raking leaves are a great work out for your arms and upper body.  Make sure that after you make an awesome pile of leaves that you enjoy it by jumping into it!!!

Check out the pictures below that show Super Snack Lady enjoying a fall night!

Raking as the sun is setting.  This is my neighbor's lawn and they are 85 years old and appreciated my help.

The pile is quite big and I wasn't even done with the lawn!





 



Action shot of Super Snack Lady jumping in the leaf pile!  Make sure you don't have sticks in the pile before you jump so you don't get hurt.  And as always, the bigger the pile the better!

What Can You do In October?

October is a GREAT month to get outside and enjoy the wonderful weather.  The leaves are changing and falling from the trees, the weather is cooler, and there are plenty of activities going on in our community that you can take part in!  Below there are some specific events that you could attend as a family:

October 6th (10:30am)- Wandering Adventure Club at Wickiup Hill (north of Cedar Rapids by Toddville).  There is no registration and it's free!  You get to walk the trails of Wickiup Hill and explore what the park has to offer.  Please go to http://www.mycountyparks.com/county/Linn/Park/Wickiup-Hill-Learning-Center-Area.aspx for directions and more information on this wonderful Nature Center!

October 6th (10am-11am)- Youth Photo Scavenger Hunt at Wickiup Hill.  There is registration but it's free!  With the help of the Linn Area Photo Club kids (under the age of 17) explore the park and trails and take pictures of nature in a photo scavenger hunt setting.  Visit the website listed above to register for this event.

October 19th (6:30pm-8:30pm)- Monter Mash Halloween Party at the Stoney Point YMCA.  There is registration and it costs $5 per child. Costumes are welcome and there will be crafts, physical activities/games, and even swimming.  Parents need to stay if their child is swimming.  Register and get more information at www.crmetroymca.org.

October 20th (10:30am-noon)- Wicked Wickiup Fall Fest at Wickiup Hill.  There is registration and it costs $5 per family.  Costumes are encouraged and welcomed!  There will be crafts, pictures taken with fall themed items, trick or treating, and other activities.  Please see the Wickiup Hill link above to register.

October 21st (1pm-4pm)- Safe Halloween For Kids at Usher's Ferry Historic Village in Cedar Rapids. Costumes are a must for this fun event!  There will be trick or treating, costume contest, and games.  There is no registration but it costs $6 per child.

October 27th and 28th (all day)- NewBo City Market Grand Opening in the historic NewBo district of Cedar Rapids.  It's a free event, though there are over 20 vendors that will be on hand with fresh produce, fresh meat, and other goodies that you can purchase.  Support this year round market on it's opening weekend!

Other activities you could do as a family to keep active are:

• Rake leaves
• Walk to a local park (if there is a safe route) and play
• Take your dog on a walk before it gets too cold for them to be outside for any length of time.
• Go to a pumpkin patch (like Bloomsbury Farm http://www.bloomsburyfarm.com/) and walk the fields to find the perfect pumpkin.  You get an added work out if you pull a wagon behind you or carry your pumpkin!

A Tasty Treat Recipe

The first Monday of the month will be dedicated to posting a recipe from the Iowa State Extension and Outreach website titled "Spend Smart, Eat Smart" which features low cost, yummy dishes.

Since October is famous for apples (along with pumpkins, ghosts, and cooler weather) the recipe this month is for a tasty treat that is also very healthy.  Please follow the link below to view the recipe along with the picture of the delicious apple dessert.

http://recipes.extension.iastate.edu/2011/12/19/hurry-up-baked-apples/

Enjoy!