Springtime is officially here! Sunshine is abundant, flowers are in bloom, and cool breezes fill the air. While Arizona in the spring is difficult to beat, springtime in the desert seems to come and go in the blink of an eye. In just a couple of months, triple digit temperatures will make it nearly impossible to exercise for very long outside. As the weather here hits a comfortable balance between hot and cold, now is an excellent time to get out and be active outdoors. Celebrate the last week of National Nutrition Month with a healthy dose of physical activity!
Regular exercise and a balanced diet do wonders for mental and physical well-being, but did you know that simply spending time in the great outdoors touts many of the same benefits? It’s true: nature offers boosts to mood, energy levels, and immunity. This spring, add an extra boost of wellness to your workout with some open-air fun, and be sure to fuel that fun with nutritious snacks.
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When family budgets tighten, healthier foods are sometimes swapped for cheaper, less nutritious foods. The price tags at health-food stores may seem daunting, but eating well doesn’t need to depend on your ability to purchase pricey, trendy ingredients, and it certainly doesn’t have to break the bank. Here are three ways to keep your diet balanced and healthy while on a budget
We’re celebrating National Nutrition Month in March, but this week also marks the 28th National School Breakfast Week. National School Breakfast Week was founded with the goal of providing information about the federal School Breakfast Program and promoting the link between eating a healthy breakfast and improved academic performance.
Breakfast is often hailed as the most important meal of the day. A healthy breakfast sets the tone for the rest of your day and staves off the dreaded “afternoon slump,” but research also shows that breakfast is particularly vital for children’s success in school. We all remember what it was like to be a teenager. Most of us can also appreciate the roles our parents, teachers, and other important figures played in helping us get through those sometimes-awkward transition years. Along with puberty, pressure to fit in with peers, and school-related stress that teenagers experience, today’s teens face some new challenges. They’re far more connected to their social networks via social media, and they’re privy to the seemingly endless storm of information and advice (both good and bad) on the web.
It’s tough to overstate the benefits of being physically active. Regular exercise lowers the risk of heart disease, cancer, diabetes and more. Research suggests that it also helps fight and prevent depression by releasing endorphins (our brains’ stress-fighters). However, working out often feels like a chore, and getting yours kids to participate can be an even bigger challenge. Inspire a positive attitude toward staying active in your family and show them exercise doesn’t have to be a drag!
We’ve talked about food systems on our blog before, and its likely you’ve seen many efforts to donate to and highlight one component of our local food system: emergency food programs.
You already know that the food system refers to the production of food, policies surrounding food in communities, and our consumption habits. But what happens when our food system is not sustainable or equitable and cannot provide enough food for everyone? Unfortunately, this is the reality across America and the world today. Last week, we talked about a central part of our work here at Pinnacle Prevention: food systems in Arizona. Our team has a vision for healthy communities across our state, and our primary way of achieving these food system goals is through systems change.
In general, systems change represents a shift in the way communities make decisions about services and programs, as well as the ways these services are delivered to citizens. This shift is made possible through partnerships and collaboration across communities, including direct community input, stakeholders and agencies. Systems change creates lasting impact on multiple levels of influence. Here at Pinnacle Prevention, much of our work revolves around local food systems in Arizona. We are all part of the food system, though most of us don’t realize it. The food system is comprised of nearly every aspect of food, including the environment in which it is grown, production, demand, processing, transport, and where it is consumed and disposed. Each and every component is complex in its own right. Our mission is to encourage and build healthy, sustainable food systems in our state and communities.
Families in America throw away about 25 percent of the food they buy, often because of expiration dates on food packaging. For an average family of four, this waste is between $1,365 and $2,275 of lost grocery money every year.
Many of us rely on these labels to tell us when it’s time to toss our food, but these labels are actually leading to a huge amount of perfectly edible food being wasted every year. Let’s face it: family mealtimes can be a battle.
Everyone knows how important it is to eat our fair share of greens — everyone, that is, except your child who is scrunching her nose at that side of asparagus, hoping her determined distaste can make it disappear into thin air. It’s easy to get frustrated when you’re having a hard time convincing your children to dig in to their healthy and not-quite-favorable helpings. By making the following practices part of your dinnertime routines, you can make your mealtimes — and picky eaters — happier and healthier. |
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