Teachers!

Work sheets and activity ideas that go along with these healthy heart articles can be found at www.HealthyPima.org If you're an Arizona Nutrition Network teacher, use these supplemental activities and log your hours!

What Did Pioneer Children Eat?

It’s Arizona’s birthday! Imagine what life was like for kids 100 years ago…what did they wear, where did they live, what did they do, where did they get their food? Grocery stores didn’t exist back then. If pioneers were lucky enough to live near a town, they may have had a general store where they could buy basics like fl our, sugar and coffee. But they had to grow or raise most of their food.

Food in early Arizona was infl uenced by what was eaten by Native Americans, Spanish explorers and settlers from Mexico. Arizona’s foods were heavily infl uenced by Sonora, Mexico, since it is was once part of the Arizona Territory.

Protein-rich beans were a staple of the Native Americans who lived in the area. The tepary bean grows well in our hot, dry climate, so settlers came to depend on the beans, too. Wild game was hunted—the meat was served with the beans, or perhaps potatoes and homemade rolls. Mesquite beans were also a popular food, sometimes being ground into fl our for bread or tortillas. Even pads of the prickly pear or the fruits of the cholla and saguaro were prepared and eaten!

In the late 1600s, Father Kino brought cattle to the area, so there was beef to eat. When Tucson was founded in 1776, cattle raising was the most important industry. Goats also were imported for their milk!

Irrigation canals brought river water to fi elds of beans, corn and squash. Settlers also grew jicama, a tuberous vegetable brought from Mexico. Tomatillos, used by the ancient Aztec Indians, also were brought here.

At about that same time, the Mexican Revolution of 1910 caused thousands of people to fl ee Mexico and move to Southern Arizona. They brought their Sonoran food traditions with them, such as wheat tortillas, green corn tamales and carne seca, a dried beef dish.

If you make a MyPlate meal out of the foods pioneer children ate, what would it look like? It would include protein from meat and beans, a few vegetables, some breads and tortillas for grain foods. But what’s missing? Fruit was scarce and goat milk wasn’t plentiful, so pioneer children may not have had enough vitamins A and C from fruit and calcium from milk! These nutrients help you grow properly and help prevent illness. Because of a lack of nutrients and little or no health care, many pioneers were about 2 to 3 inches shorter than Americans are today and lived only about half as long as we do. Modern health care and access to nutritious foods can make a big difference.

Bear’s Big Birthday Feast

Let’s all celebrate birthdays with some nutritious treats. Even at parties it’s important to eat foods that promote healthy bodies. People often eat foods high in calories, fat and sugar as treats. But eating too much of these foods can damage our bodies, cause us to put on the pounds and rob us of our health.

Here are some healthy tips from Boomer Bear: munch on foods that contain whole grains, fruits or vegetables, and choose snacks low in sugar and fat. Some of a bear’s favorite foods include berries, lean meat like fi sh, and wild plants and grasses. Try these snack ideas for any celebration!

Make your healthy snacks for your party exciting. Get your guests involved in their food choices by making food art. Here’s a delightful twist on pizza for your guests. Create mini pizzas by using cookie cutters to shape the pizza dough. Ingredients are simple and include: whole wheat dough, pizza sauce, low-fat mozzarella cheese and any tasty veggies.

And why not try to ditch the sugar and fat-fi lled cake? Try replacing it with a low calorie, mixed berry shortcake. Partygoers can even create their own dessert. Put out a selection of fruits and berries to top their individualsized sponge or angel food cake. The berries and other fruit in this desert are great for our bodies and contain vitamin C.

Beware the White Bread!

“Give us white bread, give us white bread!” That was the rallying cry of the poor people of France in the early 1800s. Back then, white bread could only be eaten by royalty or rich people. White bread was the result of milling the wheat kernel to separate the bran and germ from the endosperm. Grinding just the endosperm makes a soft, white fl our. The poor peasants did not get this “special” fl our—instead they ate bread made from brown fl our. Brown fl our was ground from the entire wheat kernel, making it a whole grain fl our. During that time there were bread riots all across France—demanding white bread was a way of demanding equal rights for all people.

Interestingly, the peasants did not have the same illnesses as the rich aristocrats. Many years later scientists learned why—when the germ and bran are removed from the wheat kernel to make the white bread, many vitamins and minerals are lost. The rich suffered from many vitamin defi ciency diseases that the poor did not! Humans started growing grains thousands of years ago as a way to store food for periods of time when no fresh food, such as fruit and vegetables, was available seasonally.

When ancient cultures started farming grains, they developed tools to harvest the crops. The Egyptians developed a grinding process in which the grain was crushed between two rolling stones. This allowed the endosperm of the grain to be reduced to a fi ne fl our for baking or bread making.

During Roman civilization, grain milling technology rapidly developed. The fi nest fl our, almost a creamy color, was sold only to the upper class citizens. Interestingly enough, wrestlers and athletes of that time were fed the coarser grade of fl our “…to keep their limbs strong.” When the industrialization wave hit America in the later 1800's, a new way of milling and mass refi ning took hold in the grain business. Removing the bran and germ seemed like a good idea at the time, since it meant that grain products could sit on store shelves much longer without spoiling or getting moldy.

But in the 1920s, scientists realized there was a loss of essential vitamins and minerals when removing the bran and germ layer from the grain. They learned that “enriching” the grains, or adding nutrients that were lost during the milling process, would help prevent vitamin defi ciency diseases. An international effort to enrich grains was launched during the 1940s as a way to improve the health of World War II soldiers and civilians of Britain and the United States while food was being rationed.

Unfortunately enriched grains don’t replace all of the lost vitamins and minerals— only a few are added back. Therefore white fl our does not have the same nutritional benefi t as whole grain fl our. That’s why it’s important to eat several whole grain foods every day.

Source: www.wholegrainscouncil.org/
www.rawfoodexplained.com/refi ned-and-processed-foods/introduction.html
www.everydiet.org/1011/the-history-and-types-of-brea

One Hundred Year Old Games

Kids had a lot of chores 100 years ago. Can you imagine what they might have been? But when they were done with their chores, they liked to play games, just like you! Ever wonder what children your age played 100 years ago? There are many things they did, but one activity is jumping rope! It has been around for a very long time— back then they called it “skipping rope.” The cool thing is you can still do it today! Jumping rope is a great way to stay active and keep a healthy heart and body.

Other outdoor games kids still play from yesteryear are hopscotch, hide-and- seek, red rover, and even baseball. Other games they played include Fox and Geese, Blindman’s Bluff, Last Couple Out, Chain Tag, Bean Bag Relays and many others. You might like to fi nd out how to play some of these games by searching the Internet for “Children’s games 1900” or “pioneer children’s games” and learn some new games to share with your friends.

One thing you might notice about some of these games that often one person is “It” and perhaps the others are not very active. Or sometimes the game is an elimination process—where children are eliminated until only one is left—this leaves kids who are “out” early without much to do. So today, many of those games have been changed a little so that everyone is active and no one is “out.” That makes them not only more fun to play for everyone, but also keeps everyone moving more. If you share one of the old-fashioned games with your classmates or friends, see if you can change it so that no one is “out” and everyone stays active the whole time. Now get out there and have fun playing like they did a 100 years ago!

Boomer Bear’s Grape Dip

Here’s a recipe for one of Bear’s favorite birthday treats. Maybe your class could try it the next time you have a classroom celebration. This recipe makes four servings, but you can do the math to increase the amount of ingredients needed depending on how many you want to serve.

1 (8-ounce) container of low fat vanilla yogurt
2 tablespoons grape juice
2 cups chopped or sliced fruit (such as nectarines, strawberries, apples, pears)

Preparation:

1. Combine yogurt and juice in a small bowl. Mix well.
2. Wash fruit under briskly running water.
3. With the help of an adult, slice or chop fruit.
4. Put bowl of dip in the middle of the platter and arrange fruit around it.

Recipe Math

Here’s some math to go with your recipe! This recipe makes four servings, but what if you wanted to make enough for your class, say 24 people? By how much do you increase each of the ingredients? How many times larger is 24 than 4? (Hint: what is 24 divided by 4?) How many ounces of low fat vanilla yogurt will you need? How many tablespoons of grape juice? How many cups of chopped or sliced fruit?

Whole Grain Mania—Catch It for Health

Did you know that January is National Wheat Bread and National Oatmeal month? Wheat bread and oatmeal are just a couple of examples of healthy whole grains. A whole grain is a grain that has just been processed enough to be able to eat it (such as removing the inedible hull) and still contains the three edible parts of the grain: the bran, the germ, and the endosperm.

• The bran is the outer part that has fi ber, which cannot be digested, but helps keep our digestive system healthy. The bran also helps keep you feeling fuller for longer. It also has iron and magnesium, which are needed for healthy blood.
• The germ is the part of the grain that provides nutrients such as B vitamins, which are needed for your body to produce energy from the food you eat. The germ also has a tiny bit of fat which includes vitamin E for healthy skin.
• The endosperm is usually the only part left after processing— white fl our contains just the endosperm. The endosperm has complex carbohydrates and some protein, but barely any vitamins and minerals. That’s why it’s a good idea to “make half your grains whole” which means that half of the grain foods you eat should be whole grains so that you get all the nutrients in the bran and germ.
• The three parts of the grain together, such as in 100% whole wheat bread, can make a nutrient powerhouse to fuel a growing body! Oatmeal is a healthy whole grain, too —you can use rolled oats to make a warm bowl of yummy oatmeal in the morning. Oatmeal helps your body in several ways:
  • Provides many vitamins, minerals and fiber
  • Helps keep blood sugar levels in the normal range (this is a problem for diabetics)
  • Helps prevent heart disease

So how do you fi nd whole grains?

Look for the words “whole grain” on the packaging, or in the ingredient list. Sometimes a label may say “whole wheat,” “multigrain,” “stone-ground,” etc…but it may not necessarily be a whole grain. Look for foods that say “100% whole grain.” Other examples of whole grains include buckwheat, bulgur, brown rice, whole corn (not degerminated corn) including popcorn and quinoa. To learn more about different whole grains and whole grain recipes visit these websites:

Web Enhancement: Use whole grains to help you with your core school subjects! Find a variety of work sheets based on grade level and subject with a whole grain popcorn theme at: http://www.popcorn.org/ForKids/PopcornWorksheets/tabid/61/ Default.aspx

Boomer Bear’s Apple, Oatmeal and Cinnamon Treat! On birthday morning, Boomer Bear likes to start the day with his favorite oatmeal. As you may have already read elsewhere, January is National Oatmeal Month. Here’s a recipe to make Bear’s delicious oatmeal. You can have it any day, not just on your birthday!

Makes 4 one-half cup servings.

• 1 large apple
• 1 cup quick cooking oats
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1 3/4 cups 100% apple juice

Preparation:

1. Wash the apple. With the help of an adult, chop the apple into small, bite-size chunks. Be sure to remove the core (the part with the stem and seeds).
2. Combine the apple chunks, oats, cinnamon, salt and apple juice in a microwave safe bowl. Cover the bowl with a lid or plastic wrap. Be sure to leave a little opening for the steam to get out.
3. Microwave on high for 2 minutes. With the help of an adult, use a pot holder and carefully remove the bowl from the microwave.
4. Stir and let cool for 1 minute.

Teachers — LOOK!

Work sheets and activity ideas that go along with these healthy articles can be found at www.HealthyPima.org.
If you’re an Arizona Nutrition Network teacher, remember to log your hours when delivering nutrition lessons or nutrition-integrated physical activities.

How Good Is YOUR Balance?

Did you know that the secret key to maintaining a healthy body weight is all about striking a balance? Think of an old-style balance scale—if the number of calories your body receives from the foods you eat and drink each day (energy in) equals the number of calories you burn in your daily activities (energy out) your weight will stay the same because the two sides are balanced. However, if the amount of calories you take in each day through food and drink is more than the amount of calories you burn in your daily activities, then you will gain weight since the ‘energy in’ side is “heavier” than the ‘energy out’ side of the scale. The opposite is true as well. If you burn more calories though your daily physical activities than you take in by eating or drinking, your balance will tip towards the ‘energy out’ side of the scale and you will lose weight. Striking an energy balance on both sides of the scale through healthy eating and daily physical activity will ensure that you will maintain a healthy body weight.

Using MyPlate as a guide for healthy eating can help you choose nutrient-dense foods that are low in calories. Make sure half of your plate is fi lled with fruits and vegetables, while the other half of the plate is divided between grains (such as whole grain bread, rice or pasta) and lean protein. Making the switch to fat-free or low-fat (1%) milk is a smart beverage choice because it gives you the calcium you need for developing strong bones without all the extra calories that come in 2% and whole milk. Here are some rules of thumb to remember for each food group:

• Grains--Eat whole grain foods at least half of the time, and choose grain foods low in fat most of the time such as bread, bagels, and corn tortillas (skip grain foods such as muffi ns, donuts, cake and fried tortilla chips most of the time).
• Vegetables—Choose veggies that are not fried, and without added fat such as butter, ranch dressing or cheese sauce. Try oven-baked “fries,” use reduced-fat ranch, or enjoy veggies with a sprinkle of herbs or spice.
• Fruits—Select fruits without added sugars—get fruits canned in their own juice. Limit juice as a beverage to 12 ounces or less per day—it’s a concentrated food that is full of nutrients—and calories!
• Dairy—Drink 1% or non-fat milk and choose reduced fat cheese, yogurt and other dairy products.
• Protein—Pick out lean types of meat, such as reduced-fat hamburger and chicken breasts; trim all visible fat off of meat.

Keeping Fat In Check for Birthday Treats

Everyone likes “treats” for birthday celebrations – including Boomer Bear— and probably the State of Arizona, too, if it could eat! Some treats have way too much fat in them and can be bad for our health, so it’s a good idea to keep an eye on fat when choosing treats to eat.

Fat has a bad reputation, but it’s not all bad. The body needs fat for energy to keep you thinking and moving. It provides padding to protect organs such as your kidneys, so they don’t bounce around when you run. And, it carries the fat soluble vitamins A, E, D and K. Fat has 9 calories per gram, which is more than twice the energy in carbohydrates and protein. However, too much of the wrong kind of fat can lead to high blood pressure and heart disease. Look at the Nutrition Facts panel and ingredient labels to make smart choices about fat.

When looking at a food label, Total Fat is listed right below the calories. Look to the right hand side and you’ll see the %DV. This stands for Percent Daily Value. The %DV shows you how much one serving of the food uses from your fat “allowance” for the day. For instance, if a food shows Total Fat at 25% DV, that means one serving of that food gives you 25 percent of the total amount of fat you should eat in a day. All foods added up should not equal more than 100%. Saturated Fat and Trans Fat have been linked with clogged arteries, high blood pressure, and heart disease, so keep these to a minimum. Saturated fat is found in animal products such as meat, butter and full-fat dairy products.

Only some labels will show the healthy unsaturated fats called polyunsaturated and monounsaturated. The government does not require that these fats be listed so you won’t see them on every label. Both types of unsaturated fat help to improve heart health and can be found mostly in oils, such as olive oil, sunfl ower seed oil and avocados.

Another ingredient to look for is hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated oils. If a food product has these oils in the ingredients list then that means it has Trans fat, even if the label says that it has 0 grams per serving. If a food product has less than 0.5 grams of Trans fat per serving, the company can claim that it is Trans fat free. Trans fats can be found in shortening and baked goods, as well as deep fried foods.

Bottom line, make sure you eat some fat but not too much. Choose foods with unsaturated fats and stay clear of saturated and Trans fats—especially your birthday treats!

Web Enhancement: How well do you know and understand the nutrition facts label? Test your knowledge, and learn even more, here: http://www.nourishinteractive.com/ kids/healthy-games/7-ride-the-food-label- game-nutrient-information