Posts Tagged ‘nutrition’

Frannie Marmorstein
Frannie
Marmorstein

Have a Happy and Healthy Thanksgiving

Tuesday, November 22nd, 2011

I love everything about Thanksgiving; being surrounded by family and friends, my mom’s cranberry cookies, The Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade, Black Friday shopping, the list is endless. But as I look forward to celebrating my holiday in sunny Florida with palm trees and 90 degree weather, I can’t help to think about the inevitable–returning to DC feeling like a stuffed turkey. In the spirit of staying healthy and keeping on track with everyone’s New Year’s Resolutions (yes, those are coming up again soon too) I would like to offer some easy tips to have a great holiday.
  • Get off to a good start. It’s always a bad idea to skip a meal, especially on Thanksgiving. If you arrive at the dinner table hungry, you are more likely to overeat and less likely to make healthy choices.
  • Gobble Gobble. If you do eat the turkey (my vegetarian self usually abstains), go for the white meat, not only is it leaner, it has less cholesterol than dark meat. And of course, go easy with the gravy – just remember – a little bit goes a long way.
  • Don’t Feel Stuffed. I love Martha Shulman’s Recipes for Health in The New York Times. Last week, she featured creative healthy stuffings that are not only good for you but taste good too. Why not try red rice and quinoa stuffing with mushrooms and kale or red and black rice stuffing with lentils, almonds and cranberries? Try something new and get creative.
  • Potato, Potatoe. There is no need to eat the mashed potatoes AND the sweet potato casserole. Limit yourself to one starch or take a smaller portion of each.
  • Get Active. This Thanksgiving, my sister and I will be running Miami’s Turkey Trot 5K to kick off our day, not only are we getting off of the couch, but we are spending quality time together (isn’t that what this holiday is all about anyway?) If a 5K isn’t your thing, take a walk after dinner, or get the family together for an afternoon game of tag football.
Thanksgiving isn’t about the food we eat; it’s about how we spend the day with the people we care about, and giving thanks for the good in our lives. The truth is the healthiest way to spend your holiday is surrounded by the people you love.

Posted in Food Policy and Nutrition
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Darby Pearson
Darby
Pearson

I Heart Fall in DC

Wednesday, October 12th, 2011

DC is a city of neighborhoods, and in each neighborhood, you find something a little bit different – different restaurants, architecture, bars, people, but lately, I’ve noticed that for the most part, they all have one thing in common – a great farmers market.
The District, always home to an eclectic mix – some who are passing through for a term and some who are lifers (like me!), all bring different experiences, cultures, and best of all, food. With the array of great seasonal produce, it doesn’t matter what’s cooking, you know that in DC it’s always fresh, and often (ideally) from not too far away. I believe food has the power to bring people together and share a little piece of themselves and their history. Whether I am roasting butternut squash or making a warm pot of mushroom soup when I come in from the increasingly chilly afternoons, I love fall and I heart DC.
Take a Saturday afternoon this fall and venture to some DC foodie hot spots I highly recommend:
Any fall recipes you’re looking forward to?

Posted in Blogosphere, Community Involvement, Food Policy and Nutrition
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Kaitlin Doody
Kaitlin
Doody

IHSMS: The right formula for successful healthcare communications

Tuesday, May 17th, 2011

The evolution of Health 2.0 in our data-driven world calls for a shift in the way health organizations locate and communicate with their target audiences. While health challenges abound in local communities and on a global scale, so does the potential within the communication tools and technology that we hold.

Spectrum’s team of health communicators from across the globe will converge in Washington, D.C. on May 18th from 9-10:30 a.m. ET to present data and reveal insight from a global listening program. The listening program was conducted in 11 countries to assess the impact and conversation around malaria. During tomorrow’s event, the International Healthcare Social Media Summit team will discuss the implications for the data found, as well as offer insight into strategies for using digital tools to benefit national and international healthcare organizations today. For more information about the summit and to register, please visit the event page. You can also view live-streaming of the summit or follow the conversation on Twitter: #ihsms.

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Posted in Health 2.0, Social Media
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JennyFrank
Jenny
Frank

Video and board games to replace PE and Health classes?

Tuesday, April 19th, 2011

Source: Exergamefitness.com

Last week, my colleague Arianna and I attended the Social Marketing and Games Symposium at George Washington University. The panelistsdiscussed the use of interactive video games as well as traditional board games for positive health behavior change.

Karen McDonnell, Associate Professor at GWU’s Department of Prevention and Community Health, spoke about her current study in “exergaming,” which can best be described as replacing sedentary video games with interactive video games like Wii Fit and Dance Dance Revolution. Positively, games like Dance Dance Revolution were found to have no difference in the amount of energy expenditure when compared to typical PE classes. These interactive video games were also found to be more enjoyable than PE classes for overweight and obese boys and girls in 6th-8th grades. And everyone knows when you enjoy what you are doing, you are more likely to continue engaging in the activity.

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Posted in Food Policy and Nutrition, Health 2.0
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ErinTurner
Erin
Turner

Preliminary Dietary Guidelines for Americans Announced

Thursday, July 1st, 2010

Growing up, I remember sitting in health class learning about the food pyramid with its chunky base of pasta and breads – a pyramid that is hardly reflective of the war on carbs that seems to be popular as of late. With very few adults having access to a health class of any sort on the latest nutrition information and hundreds of individuals sharing conflicting information on “the way,” where does one turn when trying to determine what’s the healthiest way to eat? The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has an answer: the 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans.

Last week, USDA and HHS released the preliminary version of the latest guidelines, which are updated every five years to help Americans determine the right foods they need to fuel an active, healthy lifestyle and reduce their risk of chronic disease. The new guidelines, which have been in development since the panel of 13 expert medical and scientific researchers first met in late 2008, recommend a significant decrease in salt, fat and sugar intake and place a greater emphasis on a plant-based diet than did the 2005 guidelines. (more…)

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Spectrum

The National Farm to Cafeteria Conference

Friday, May 21st, 2010

“There are good things happening in this city,” said Detroit Mayor David Bing on the third morning of the National Farm to Cafeteria Conference held in Detroit, a city quickly becoming a leader in the urban and school garden movement.

Yet, that same statement could have come from countless other mayors, school administrators and community leaders in cities and states across the country. The farm to school movement is blossoming nationwide, and the nearly 700 attendees at the National Farm to Cafeteria Conference know it.nfcc-logo

Hosted by the Farm to School Network and organized by the Community Food Security Coalition, the conference was supported by a wide range of corporations, foundations, agencies and non-profits. With the majority of school lunches failing to provide the most basic nutritional needs to children, there has never been a better opportunity than now to change young American’s relationship with food.

Conference participants were reminded of the impact one school garden can have for a child who has never seen a head of broccoli or a seed grow into a plant. Farm to school programs reconnect communities, support local economies and improve the health of our children. Bottom line: a healthy and locally-sourced school lunch can benefit a student’s ability to learn as much as it benefits a local farmer’s pocketbook.

For more information on food and nutrition policy, check out the Spectrum Food and Nutrition Report. (more…)

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