I'm baaaaack!

After a several month sabbatical, I was inspired by one of our customers last night to get back to the blog, so here I am. I don't think I have really written anything since our big flood (the entire first floor of our house flooded last April) and starting my new job, so I have lots of material in my brain(I hope!).

Let me start by saying I have the best job in the world--for me, that is. I get to talk with kids and their parents about nutrition, meal ideas, time-saving techniques, etc. These are kids who have met the criteria for a program called Healthy Habits meaning that their Body Mass Index is too high. Frankly, this is an epidemic with our youth today--a third of all kids meet this criteria. Scary, right?

So I get to try to help these families, and I love it. Most of them soak up the knowledge like sponges; they just didn't know any better before. I get to teach them. How blessed am I!

We have seen lots of changed lives, lots of happier kids, lots of healthier kids who couldn't exercise or didn't want to who now enjoy exercise. It is truly amazing. My prayer every day is that God gives me the knowledge, the wisdom, the ability to communicate what I need to to these kids and their parents, so they are ready, willing, and able to make changes...new "healthy habits."

This is a one-of-a-kind program--there is nothing like it in the country that we know of. It is the brain child of my boss, Dr. Kurt Pflieger, a Pediatric Cardiologist, who happens to want to reverse the current trend of obesity and inactivity in our youth. He is doing a great job!

Anyway, just wanted to explain why I haven't posted in a while, and that my intention is to begin again. My hope for all of you readers is that you are making your families' health a priority...not an after-thought. From my perspective, if our kids are not given proper nutrition, how can we justify all the activities that we fill our lives with? We are so busy trying to give them the best or make them into super athletes, dancers, gymnasts, musicians, or intellectual scholars that we neglect their very health. How can we expect them to do all these things without the nutrients their bodies need?

FYI: I call this nutrient-dense food vs. empty-calorie food. Nutrient-dense foods are usually on the outer perimeter of the grocery store...fresh fruits and vegetables, meats, eggs, dairy, whole-grain breads, and nuts (some stores). Empty-calorie, highly processed foods are in the aisles of the grocery store. Of course, there are exceptions, like peanut butter and beer. Sorry, I had to throw that one in. LOL!

They need nutrient-dense food at every meal and snack. The empty-calorie, highly processed food needs to become a once-in-a-while treat, not an everyday, every meal occurrence. Go through your pantries and get rid of the packaged foods that are more chemicals than food. Stock up your refrigerator with fruits, vegetables, fresh meats, and all-natural dairy products. That means no margarines, no artificially sweetened yogurts, no packaged noodle products with MSG that take the place of nutritious meals for our kids--I hope you know what I am speaking of.

We, the parents, are responsible for this epidemic. One more note about my job--the gym that I work at is a gym for pre-teens and teens called TrainUp. I believe it was named that because of the biblical verse, "Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it," Proverbs 22:6. Like I said, I have an awesome job!