Heart Healthy Family

Making time for a heart-healthy lifestyle can seem overwhelming. But the good news is that making a few small simple lifestyle changes can lead to heart-healthy habits that require little thought or effort.

Get creative and work heart-healthy habits into your family’s life and daily schedule.

Whether you’re a single parent or married, a stay-at-home parent or working, here are ways to make more time for the whole family to be more heart healthy:

1. Identify free times for activity.

Keep track of each family member’s daily activities for one week. You’ll get a snapshot of when you might be able to get the family together for physical activity. It can also help you see which activities you can cut back on.

Pick two 30-minute and two 60-minute time slots for family activity time. Weekdays are usually better for 30-minute activities and weekends are better for 60-minute activities. Try to spread out the time slots. Here are some ideas to get your kids moving that parents can join in.

2. Make time to plan a weekly menu, go shopping and prep your meals.

Keep track of how many times you grab food on the go for one week. Once you find blocks of time when you can do a little planning, it’ll be easy to learn healthy preparation methods, fix healthy snacks and eat fewer fast and processed foods.

3. Simplify your family’s schedule.

In today’s society we’re expected to do it all. But this type of non-stop lifestyle isn’t sustainable or healthy. Try prioritizing your activities and see what you can do without so you’ll have more time for the things that matter. You can also work on ways to manage stress.

4. Take baby steps, not giant leaps.

If you’re the head of your household, making sure that all the heads and hearts in your home are healthy is a lot to handle. The key is to take baby steps. Getting heart-healthy is a journey; you don’t have to do everything at once.

5. Ask everyone in the family to do their part.

Depending on their ages, kids can help prepare healthy meals and help around the house. Treat your family like a team and encourage everyone to work together.

6. Live by example.

We all need to do our best to walk the walk. If we want our kids to eat healthy and exercise, we’ve got to model that behavior. You’re not perfect, but if you’re determined and persistent, there’s not much that can stop you.

 

See source, https://healthyforgood.heart.org/Be-well/Articles/6-Simple-Steps-for-the-Whole-Family-to-be-Heart-Healthy

Easter Egg Hunting Ideas

1. Easter bunny tracks

A full-blown Easter egg hunt guided by the Easter Bunny himself? Surely there could be nothing more adorable. The kids will love waking up on Easter morning to find that the Easter Bunny has left them a personalized note and a few bunny tracks pointing them in the direction of the hidden eggs. These cute printables make setting up the bunny track hunt a breeze.

2. Easter egg garden

For very young children, this is as cute as it comes. If they're too little to hunt well in the yard, you can make your own Easter egg garden that “grows” plastic eggs instead. Placing candy-filled Easter egg flowers in the grass or sand will make it easy for even the littlest ones to find their treats.

3. Indoor egg hunt

If you live in a part of the country where spring hasn’t sprung yet, all hope is not lost. You can turn a cold or rainy Easter day into an adventure when you tell your kids that they’re going to hunt for all their eggs and Easter trinkets inside the house. To make the indoor egg hunt even more unique, try hiding the eggs in a trail or with clues leading to one giant Easter basket.

4. Golden egg hunt

Little mateys at that pirate-loving age will get a kick out of this specialized Easter egg hunt. When kids know there is “buried treasure” involved — like a one-of-a-kind golden egg left behind by the Easter Bunny — they’re likely to take the hunt a little more seriously. Bonus points for putting some booty (read: money) inside or attached to the golden egg.

5. Letter hunt

Learning can be fun, right? For younger kids who are just learning to spell and read, they’ll enjoy hunting for Easter eggs that each contain a letter to spell out a hidden message. Kids can work together to find the letter-filled eggs and put together the Easter message (“Some bunny loves you,” for example) to earn their Easter prize.

Other ideas at http://www.sheknows.com/parenting/articles/954159/easter-egg-hunt-ideas-you-havent-thought-about

WORRIED ABOUT YOUR EYESIGHT?

Lutein is a carotenoid that can help to protect the eyes. Find out if you should take it, and what foods are good sources.

If you or someone you know is getting on in years, you may want to consider supplementing your diet with lutein. Lutein and another carotenoid, zeaxanthin, form the yellow pigment of the retina and absorb blue light, which is a potentially harmful component of sunlight. There is very good evidence that the lutein in food helps protect against cataracts and macular degeneration, which are common age-related eye disorders. The best thing you can do for your eyes this month, and in the future, is to make sure your diet contains plenty of lutein-rich produce, including:

Fruits - mangoes, watermelon and tomatoes are good sources of lutein

Vegetables - corn, sweet potatoes, carrots, peas, squash and dark leafy greens (such as kale, collards and bok choy) provide lutein

In addition to the foods listed above, you can get zeaxanthin from orange bell peppers, oranges, and honeydew melon. I recommend eating five to seven servings of fresh fruits and vegetables per day. If you are unable to get adequate lutein through your diet, you may want to consider a vision-supportive supplement; talk with your doctor.

View source here: http://www.drweilblog.com/home/2016/4/21/worried-about-your-eyesight.html

PLASTIC IN THE MICROWAVE: HOW HARMFUL IS IT?

Is using plastic wrap when reheating or cooking foods in the microwave harmful to your health? 

It's not uncommon to see people microwaving leftovers in plastic dishes, heating up meals in the plastic containers they come in, or placing plastic wrap over foods to protect the inside of a microwave from splatters. Is all this as innocent as it seems?

I don't think so. While plastic has many terrific uses, when it comes to cooking it should be avoided. DEHA [di-(2-ethylhexyl)adipate], sometimes found in cling wrap, and other chemicals commonly found in plastic are potential endocrine disruptors, and can negatively influence hormonal activity. While studies are underway to better define the health risks associated with plastics, it is best to steer clear of using plastic and plastic wrap in the microwave, as the heat can drive plastic molecules into your food. Instead, use glass or ceramic containers and cover foods with waxed paper or a paper towel. I also suggest avoiding pre-packaged foods that come in cling wrap (if you purchase such products, transfer these items to a different storage container once you get home).

View source here: http://www.drweilblog.com/home/2016/2/24/plastic-in-the-microwave-how-harmful-is-it.html

Raising Kids in a Digital World: 8 Books to Help Modern Parents

View source here: http://www.modernparentsmessykids.com/raising-kids-digital-world-8-books-help-modern-parents/. 

Get Leaner, Stronger and Healthier This Spring

After a few months of heavy clothes, hearty food, and gloomy weather, your body, mind and spirit start to crave something different -- something lighter, brighter and more active. Fortunately, just about the time soups, sweaters, and snow are getting on your last nerve, spring shows up. And not a moment too soon!




This year, take that yearning for lighter, brighter and more active things and put it to work for your health. Spring is the perfect time to make changes that will help you get leaner, stronger and healthier -- and to establish habits that will help you stay lean, strong and healthy in every season. Here are 6 that will set you up to look good and feel great: View Source here: http://feeds.huffingtonpost.com/c/35496/f/677070/s/4e374c36/sc/14/l/0L0Shuffingtonpost0N0Cgaye0Egroover0Echristmus0C60Eways0Eto0Eget0Eleaner0Estronger0Eand0Ehealthier0Ethis0Espring0Ib0I940A52640Bhtml0Dutm0Ihp0Iref0Fhealth0Efitness0Gir0FHealth0Kand0KFitness/story01.htm

Eat veggies with your kids!

View source here: http://www.modernparentsmessykids.com/30-ways-eat-veggies-day-long/