Dance Mob TOMORROW!

Get ready for the Dance Mob!!  Meet tomorrow (Thursday, May 31st) at LOVE Park!

If you need to learn the moves check out this video....

Even if you don't want to dance, we'd love you to come and watch!   Hope to see you there!

For more information contact Tiffany Spraggins.

Low in Calories and High in Nutrients?!

Having good blood pressure is very important now and when you get older because your body needs healthy organs.  The only way you can have healthy and clean organs is by eating good food that is rich in vitamins and minerals that your body needs day by day.  For example dark leafy greens are low calories but high in good things like fiber, iron and vitamins A, C, E and K! By eating more low calorie high nutrient foods you can keep your organs working efficiently!

So, instead of reaching for chips and other types of junk food as snacks, try something fresh that will satisfy your appetite and feed your body with what it needs.  Try making fresh kale chips with nothing but kale, a little olive oil and a touch of salt!  With just a little baking these crispy treats will curb your craving for chips!

Remember eating healthy not only a good choice for today, but also smart choice as time goes by and you grow older.

Let us know, what kind of nutrient rich foods do you like and choose for snacks?? 

The Scary Story of Junk Food

Junk food isn't just a tasty snack...

Junk food is food of little or no nutritional value that is high in fat, sugar, and calories.  In addition, consumption of junk food has the ability to alter brain activity in a manner similar to illegal drugs like cocaine or heroin, meaning it can be just as addictive.  Junk food does not contain nutrients that are beneficial to the human body. In most cases, these foods are filled with harmful carbohydrates, fats and cholesterol that do not provide any useful energy. As a result, somebody consuming junk food has reduced level of essential nutrients thereby causing weakness in the body.  This is why the addictive nature of these foods is even more problematic.

Junk foods have been identified as a major cause of heart diseases including myocardial infraction, cardiac arrest and atherosclerosis.  This is due to the fact that junk food contains excessive amount of low-density lipoproteins and cholesterol that get deposited on the inner linings of blood vessels.

Overall junk food is very bad to your body and should not be eaten frequently.

Tell us how you make healthy substitutions for junk food during snack or meal time!

Thoughts on Healthy Eating

Healthy eating is not about strict nutrition philosophies, staying unrealistically thin, or depriving yourself of the foods you love. Rather it’s about feeling great, having more energy, stabilizing your mood, and keeping yourself as healthy as possible– all of which can be achieved by learning some nutrition basics and using them in a way that works for you. You can expand your range of healthy food choices and learn how to plan ahead to create and maintain a tasty, healthy diet.

For instance, you must moderate the quantities of food you eat on the daily basis. Try to add colorful fruits and vegetables to your meals, eat more healthy carbs and more grains, avoid unhealthy fats such as snacks, cookies and candies and enjoy the healthy fats such as fish, nuts and avocados. Finally, add protein like milk or beans to help you feel full and try to reduce the amount of added salt and sugar that you consume. 

What do you do to make sure you eat healthy??

School Food Recipe Contest Celebration

With support from Sodexo, the PUFFA Youth hosted their open house “Hunger Awareness” School Food Recipe Contest event for their Global Youth Service Day project during their SALT and PUFFA gathering on April 26th, 2012. Youth formulated recipes based on the “chop box” concept (aka food baskets). The contest was created by youth with the intention to generate creative attention among peers around improving school food.

Youth created a School Food Jeopardy game, to help inform and engage their peers on the constraints that the School District of Philadelphia is faced with regarding serving portions that correlate to nutrition and cost requirements for serving school meals.

Youth from South Philly won the grand prize (Nuts to You gift cards) for their chickpea burgers recipe made for just under a $1.14. All youth were declared winners and took home blue ribbons. PUFFA Youth will share their finalist recipes with the School District’s Food Services Division as a service to these dedicated people and the children they feed.