How to Make Eating (Healthy) Fun- and How to Get Moving!

Super Snack Lady has posted before about how to get your kids hooked on veggies and fruits.  Yes, she sometimes wears a cape to her school visits along with a variety of other shirts that encourage healthy eating.  Are you wondering right now, "How am I supposed to do that too?!?!"  Super Snack Lady totally understands!  It's a challenge to get kids to try new things.  To be honest, trying new fruits and veggies has to be fun, exciting, and interesting.  It can be so much more than having your child eat "just two more bites of _______" before they can get up from the table. 

Get all of the senses involved.  Did you know that mushrooms smell like the woods or "the outside" as kids normally say?  Or how about the nice, fuzzy outside of a peach?  Not to mention the wonderful rainbow of colors that the earth has given us in all fruits and vegetables.  Kids are even surprised at the crunch of an apple (yes, other fruits and vegetables other than carrots make a crunch!). 

If getting their senses involved doesn't work there is one last ditch effort to be made:  Cute, fun video clips with songs and sometimes celebrities trying to convince kids to eat healthy or even be active.  Check out the ones below for some entertainment (warning: some songs might be caught in your head all day!)

Using Your Senses

Captain Vegetable on Sesame Street

Will.i.am- What I Am (a song about being who you are and being your best)

Let's All Exercise!

Even Cookie Monster Eats Healthy Foods


These are all Sesame Street clips, but you'd be surprised to find out that Super Snack Lady has seen 5th graders jam out to the Will.i.am clip!  Enjoy!

Flat Super Snack Lady is at it again!

Recently Flat Super Snack Lady went on her first airplane and went to Washington D.C.  Did you know that Washington D.C. is where President Obama lives?  Check below to see how Flat Super Snack Lady stayed active while walking around and sight seeing in our nation's capital!



Flat Super Snack Lady stopped by Abe Lincoln
and said hi real quick. 



Flat Super Snack Lady also enjoyed a flight through
the Museum of Air and Space.  Hello planets!

Lastly, Flat Super Snack Lady joined other tourist
to see the new Martin Luther King Jr. monument that
just went up last year. 

What is in Season NOW?

The best way to keep your fresh produce prices as low as possible is to buy things that are in season.  While Super Snack Lady knows what is in season in the summer and early fall the other parts of the year are a little bit harder to know.  As this blog post is being written they are forecasting nearly a half of a foot of snow for Iowa.  What is "in season" right now in Iowa?!?

While Super Snack Lady attempts to buy local she also knows that winter in Iowa is something you can't avoid.  Things just don't grow here in December, January, and February.  That is why your local grocery store can be such a great resource for you!  They ship in produce from all over the United States and the world- where things are in season and at their prime for tasting delicious. 

So, what exactly is in season right now?  Look at the list below for some yummy, and probably more affordable, choices.

• Collard Greens
• Brussel Sprouts
• Clementines
• Dates
• Grapefruit
• Kale
• Kiwi
• Oranges
• Pears
• Sweet Potatoes
• Tangerines

This doesn't mean you can't buy other produce, as your grocery store carries the same items all year round.  However, if you buy things out of season they won't have the same full flavors or won't be as affordably priced.  Keep that in mind as you can't go wrong with produce any time of the year!

Need to know what is in season during other parts of the year?  A great resource can be found at Fruits and Veggies- More Matters.  You can click and find out what is in season for every season or even all year round! 

NewBo Night Recap

On Thursday February 7th Super Snack Lady hosted a Night at NewBo City Market. While it was too busy to keep track of how many kids and families stopped by to see Super Snack Lady and her friends, who were doing live cooking demonstrations, it was a big success!

So, what all happened at Night at NewBo?  

• Super Snack Lady featured some healthy options from the NewBo City Market including fresh whole grain bread from Betty and Bobo's Better Breads, fresh made hummus from Zaytoon's Mediterranean Grill, and low fat ranch from P.H.A.T. Daddies. Kids and parents alike tried the yummy choices.
• Super Snack Lady's friends, Tonia, Sharon and Stephanie did live cooking demonstrations in the Kirkwood Culinary Kitchen that included the families making homemade oatmeal that they could take with them, mini fruit pizzas with toppings of their choice, and lastly skillet lasagna which the kids helped chop, pour, and cook!
• A prize wheel that the kids spun and had to do the physical activity that the spinner landed on.  Once they completed the motion then they got a prize.

Super Snack Lady in front of
the NewBo City Market

A kid tried the P.H.A.T. Daddies
low fat ranch.  Several school
districts in the area use their ranch
as a healthy alternative to buttermilk
ranch which can have up to 17 grams of
fat per serving.

Sharon, who does nutrition education
to adults, was serving up some
yummy fruit pizzas!

Super Snack Lady and Zaytoon's
Mediterranean Grill's owner Jennine
had fun hula hooping and handing
out samples of her fresh made hummus.

A student does the prize wheel and got arm
band stretches.  Super Snack Lady's
awesome co-worker Amy helped her out
with the fun prize wheel.

Students are gathered around Stephanie
making skillet lasagna. 

 It was a very fun night and it was nice to see so many families out and about and checking out the market!

Grocery Stores- The Good, The Bad, The Ugly

All grocery stores are in the business of making money and selling you what you're looking for.  Unfortunately like any type of store they are master marketers and set up their stores in an attempt to get you to spend more money.  Below I'll share some ways that grocery stores are getting more money out of your pocket and some ways they are helping you make healthier decisions!

The Bad:

• Stores are mapped out in a specific way to force you to spend more money- or at least walk by more items you might cave in and buy.  Think about where the milk is located in your favorite store; typically it's at the way back of the store.  All you want to do is run in for a simple gallon of milk and then you get roped into multiple other items because you have to walk by it to get to your milk.  
• In order to avoid junk food it's best to stay on the "outer loop". This means to stay on the areas closest to the outside walls of the store.  Typically this is where fresh produce, homemade bread, meats, and dairy is located.  In the isles is where junk food, chips, candy, other not-so-great for you foods are located.
• Beware of "end caps".  End caps are the section of "goodies" at the end of an isle.  Often people think of these as a place for good sales.  This is not always true and even more than that end caps are primarily used sell items that will catch your eye.  Bright displays with big signs normally are placed here.  Next time a holiday comes around take note of what's placed here.  Recently the weekend before the Super Bowl the end caps were filled with chips, dips, soda, and other snack things, but nothing healthy!
• Grocery stores play into the age and height of people shopping.  Next time you take a stroll down the cereal isle look up and down.  Have you ever noticed that the sugary kid cereal is down at a lower level?  That's so your kids notice them because they are at kid height!  Likewise, the healthier fiber rich cereal is above you.  Look up and down for the best deals, the healthiest options, and the off brand items that have the same nutritional value as the known brand.

 The Good:Super Snack Lady prefers to shop at Hy-Vee for buying produce for work.  It is important to note that Super Snack Lady has a working relationship with Hy-Vee in order to purchase produce at a good price for school visits.  No matter where you shop I'd like to introduce you to a really cool tool that Hy-Vee has implemented in their stores.  It's called NuVal and it tells you what the nutritional value of almost every item in the store right next to the price tag.  A NuVal score of 1 says there is practically no nutritional value in it while a NuVal score of 100 means it has the highest possible nutritional value.  This system makes it easy to see how healthy you are shopping and even easier to compare different items. If you want to know more about the NuVal system click here!  Check out the photos below that Super Snack Lady took on a recent trip to a local Hy-Vee store!

This Romaine lettuce scores a 100 on the NuVal
scale which means it is SUPER healthy!

These red raspberries scored a 91 on the NuVal
scale, which means they are very healthy.

This guacamole (which is made out of avocado)
comes in at 47 which is pretty middle of the road
for the NuVal scoring.  However it is still healthier
than cookies!

This fruit dip comes in at a poor score of 2. 
So remember, your fruit is healthy but if you start
dipping your fruit it is going to make it
a lot less healthy!

Fruit by the Foot scores a bad score of only 1.
Just because it says Fruit in the title of the item
doesn't make it healthy!

Skittles which are famous for being fruit flavored
also come in at a score of 1.  This means that
it has no nutritional value at all.

Another common item comes in at a score of 1.
This Gaterade has no nutritional value for you
or your child!

 Bottom line about grocery stores:  You have to know the secrets in order to not be drawn into getting items that you didn't want to get.  Have a list of items you need and stick to it.  That will not only make you feel better about the choices you are making but will also save you money. 

All Produce Needs a Good Bath Before Eating!

When Super Snack Lady visits classrooms and passes out produce to kids the students often comment that the produce is "wet".  Super Snack Lady simply explains that all produce is washed before she brings it to the classroom.  While most kids think this makes sense it begs the question of, "Why do I need to wash produce before I eat it?" Depending on where the produce comes from it can have pesticides, salmonella, or other bacteria on it.  Not to mention that everyone at the store touches the produce before you purchase it.

During classroom visit kids say things like, "At the store there is water spraying on it.  Isn't that washing it off?"  Or even, "I rub the apple on my shirt to clean it off, doesn't that count?" NO IT DOESN'T COUNT!!! All produce whether it is apples, leafy greens, celery, or anything else needs to be properly washed.  So that brings on the next question, "How do you wash produce?!"

Well Super Snack Lady washes her produce with a white vinegar and water solution.  For every 1 part of vinegar you put 3 parts of water.  Typically Super Snack Lady washes her produce in her sink by plugging the sink and then adding the water and vinegar.  However you can easily make the cleaning solution in a spray bottle and spray onto your produce.  Make sure you rinse the produce off after cleaning it too!  Cleaning produce with a white vinegar solution is proved to clean 98% of dirt, bacteria, and grime off of produce.

This is what the water looked like
after Super Snack Lady recently washed
celery in her sink.  Not only is the
water cloudy, but there is visible
dirt on the bottom of the sink.

After the water is drained there is
a ton of dirt at the bottom of the sink.
YUCK!  Super Snack Lady is happy
that the dirt is in the sink and not
on her yummy produce!

 

February's Fruit and Veggie

New Month = New Snacks!!!

I know a lot of kids really enjoyed the oranges last month and alot of students tried bell peppers for the first time.  Well, since we've changed the calendar to the month of February that means that we have a new fruit and a new vegetable when Super Snack Lady comes to visit. Below you will find pictures of the new fruit and veggie for this month.  Can you figure out what they might be?

This is the vegetable of the month.
In this picture you can only see half of the veggie. 
Some people in Iowa search for these
in the woods in the spring time.

This is the fruit of the month.  It can come
in a lot of colors like green, yellow or red. 
We can grow them here in Iowa too!

Super Snack Lady can't wait to bring these new snacks to your classroom sometime soon!

Flat Super Snack Lady has been BUSY!

Recently you saw a blog post that featured Flat Super Snack Lady on a dairy farm in northern Iowa.  Well after that she got shipped in the mail and went out to.... UTAH!!!  It was a long trip, but she made it safe and sound.  Below is a picture from that visit:

Can you spot Flat Super Snack Lady?  She is located on the sled!
I bet she enjoyed the view of the mountains and sledding in a
new city!  Looks like fun!
This is in Sandy, Utah which is a town right outside of Salt Lake City.

Once she got back to Iowa from Utah she enjoyed a snow day from school with the real Super Snack Lady and her puppy Bailey. 

Good thing Flat Super Snack Lady is just paper
otherwise she'd be freezing in the snow!

Flat Super Snack Lady played with Bailey.  Bailey
loves to play fetch and tug of war.

Where will Flat Super Snack Lady be next?  You'll have to check back to find out!!!  (Hint:  Somewhere far away from Cedar Rapids and it's MUCH warmer!)  She's always looking for people who are staying active and enjoying healthy foods all over America!!!!