ASEP Health and Wellness Blog

May 11, 2020

Fruit!

Fruit is delicious! Fruit is least likely to be a problem with getting it in your diet because of how sweet they are. So why highlight fruit?

- Try a variety of fruits! Sticking to one kind of fruit can make you miss out on essential nutrients other fruits have.

- Make it a point to eat whole fruit over fruit juice. Juice can be very refreshing on a hot day, but by cutting out certain parts of the fruit you are again missing out on key nutrients. Not to mention the added sugars a lot of store bought juice has.

- Fruit is a good substitution for dessert! If you are finding yourself eating too many sweets, try substituting it with a bowl of fruit. You want to aim for sugar found naturally in foods like fruit and not processed foods.

Physical Education Lessons

How to stay healthy at home Do you know how to stay healthy and strong? Follow along while Joey teaches you the important keys to staying healthy!
1) Move 2) Eat 3) Drink 4) Sleep

Easy In-Door Activities With the Family!

Grab your family and do some fun activities together!

Popcorn All you need is a ball and people to play with! Toss the ball up in the air then clap and try to catch the ball. Toss to the next person. After everyone has done 1 clap, try doing 2 claps, then 3 claps, etc. See how many claps you can do!

Up, Down, Stop, Go A great game for when you are sitting for too long. Similar to red light green light. When someone says "Up" you put your hands up, when someone says "down" you put your hands down, when someone says "Stop" you freeze, and when someone says "Go" you run in place.

Crazy 8s Lets get the wiggles out! Shake your right hand while counting backwards from 8, then with the left hand, then with the right foot, then with the left foot. You're going to do that again but counting backwards from 7, then 6, then 5, until you get to 1.

12 Fun Physical Education Games 1) Toss Run & Catch 2) Volleyball 3) Frogs Across the Pond 4) Time Machine 5) Loggers 6) Horse Gallop & Hay 7) 2 is a company, 3 is a crowd 8) Battle Field 9) Boom Ball 10) Instructor Led 11) Balance 12) Stations

Tabata with Superheroes!

What on earth is Tabata? Tabata is a type of workout that lasts only 4 minutes! It's structured as 20 seconds of intense workout with 10 seconds of rest for 8 rounds.

Follow along with your favorite superhero for an intense workout!

Black Panther

Spider Man

Star Wars

Avengers

Fortnite

"Have I given myself enough exercise, water, and healthy food today?"

As a general guideline, strive to get about 1 hr of exercise in for kids and 30 min for adults

Try getting at least 6 cups for kids and 8 cups for adults per day. We all need lots of water for our bodies to function properly!

Everyone needs different amounts of calories so try focusing more on nutrients and variety in your diet. :)

DANCE!

Our bodies need movement! Join DANCEPL3Y in their follow along dance songs!

Thunder by Imagine Dragons

Bounce Generation by TJR & VINAI

Shake It Off by Taylor Swift

We are one (Ole Ola) by Pitbull

Heartbeat Song by Kelly Clarkson

Fight Song by Rachel Platten

Smoothie Video!

It's smoothie time! A smoothie is a perfect way to get some fruit and vegetables in your diet. Try adding new fruit/ vegetables you wouldn't normally put in a smoothie.

Everyone likes different combinations but try adding at least 1 new fruit or veggie
Fruit to try: kiwi, cherries, grapes, pomegranate, lemon
Vegetables to try: spinach, beets, pumpkin, cucumber, carrot, zucchini
Try adding something new: peanut butter, yogurt, oats, coconut flakes
*cinnamon or unsweetened cocoa powder can add a fun twist without the added sugar!

Family Meals

I want to stress the importance of family meals! Even if it is a simple meal, eating together as a family has many health benefits. The benefits are not just for kids but also for adults. This is a great time to bond more with each other while sharing stories and enjoying good food.

To get more ideas check out: The Family Dinner Project

May 16, 2011

Health & Wellness Assembly!

Health and Wellness Assembly is a Celebration and showcase of how ASEP's kids are making healthy lifestyle choices. This is done through eating healthy, being physically active and working together. As well as spreading the word that by making healthy life choices you will feel better, do better in school, feel good about yourself and to have a good time while you’re at it.

With the help from our wonderful ASEP staff Snack Squad lead a mini exercise to start getting everyone's hearts pumping!

The 3rd graders following the mini exercise. Look at them sweat!

4th & 5th graders presented a dance that they had learned about 3 months ago! They knew every single step & it was spectacular!

Current & previous kids in Snack Squad showing off their vegetable & fruit suits!

Marya from Girls on the Run & Ms. Nancy leading wacky stretches!

ALSO we would like to thank all those who participated thank you for making this health & wellness assembly one of a kind! Hayes Valley Farm, Girls on the Run, Addis Light, & Andrea's Dance Class!

May 5, 2011

Snack Squad Interview!!

On May 5, 2011 Snack Squad was interviewed by a very famous journalist & here is the exclusive interview!

Michael, 10 years old, 4th grade, Silver Group

1. What is your favorite part of Snack Squad?

"Making food for people & delivering stuff to teachers."

2.Describe a new experience in Snack Squad.

"Made home-made pasta, our own smoothies & tried different types of chocolate."

4. What is your favorite food and how is it healthy?

"Bagel & cream cheese, because they have milk & grains no sugar or oil."

5. Any message you want to pass on about healthy food or physical activity?

"Eat more stuff off the pyramid but all the healthy stuff. Make sure you go outside for 60 minutes or more.

Luis, 9 years old, 4th, Silver Group

1. Favorite part of Snack Squad?
"Going on field trips & when we give out snack."

2. Describe a new experience in Snack Squad.

" Serving snack."

3. New food that you have tried & why you liked it?
"Grapefruit because it is juicy and big. Also I've never made pasta before."

4. What is your favorite food and how is it healthy?
"I like broccoli & tomatoes because it has lots of nutrients & does not have sugar."

5. Any message you want to pass on message you want to pass on about healthy food or physical activity?

"Make sure you plate is separated in healthy food groups."

Marley, 10 years old, 5th grade, Silver group, going to Roosevelt Middle School!

1. Favorite part of Snack Squad?

"Chocolate & field trips & serving."

2. Describe a new experience in Snack Squad.
"Healthier eating habits & label reading."

3. New food that you have tried & why you liked it?

"Home-made pasta because it was fun to make and it tasted good."

4. What is your favorite food and how is it healthy?
"Watermelon its healthy because its a fruit and it keeps you hydrated."

5. Any message you want to pass on message you want to pass on about healthy food or physical activity?
"Read the label and see it the 1st or 2nd or 3rd ingredient is sugar. Make sure you get 60 minutes or more everyday."

Apr 29, 2011

Snack Squad's Milk Taste!

Snack Squad was put to the test to see if they could guess what type of milk they were drinking.

But before testing Snack Squad had to fill out a sheet together to learn how to read milk labels. They had to figure out what milk had the most sugar or which milk had the most vitamins.

They also had to determine if the serving size was the amount they used. Was it too much milk or just enough or not enough?

Now it was time for the tasting!

Snack Squad trying to determine what milk it was ( it was organic soy milk!)

At the end they wrote down a number to each milk they tested & got almost all of them right! Great job Snack Squad!

Apr 27, 2011

The Red Ballons at Whole Foods!

The Red Group also known as the Red Balloons had a great trip to Whole Foods!

When the Red Balloons arrived they were greeted by Jennifer who was going to be our guide for the day! Jennifer started of by talking to the Red Balloons about seeds!

Jennifer showed us how lettuce & pea seeds looked like. "They look so small!" said the Red Balloons amazed at what pea seeds look like.

We then traveled to where the produce section where we met David! David talked to us about organic produce and what it meant and why it was healthier for you.

He then treated the Red Balloons to strawberries, blueberries & grapes!

Yum! Looks healthy & delicious!

After visiting the fresh produce we headed over to the cheese where we met Jenn who is in charged of the cheese department. She asked the Red Balloons what animals made milk and what foods had milk in them & rewarded everyone with organic string cheese!

Did you know that Whole foods has over 300 different types of cheese?!

We then headed over to Isaiah where he showed us the different types of fish they had and even showed us how big some fishes mouths were!

Red Balloons ended the day by going through checkout where we left with a little organic treat!

Apr 8, 2011

Finale at Sociale!

On Friday April 8, 2011 Snack Squad went on a great adventure to Cafe Sociale for a Celebration of completing Snack Squad! When we arrived Tia (the owner & head chef) gave Snack Squad a tour of her kitchen and introduced us to her sous chefs. She then proceeded to show Snack Squad how she would prepare the meal. Snack Squad had a chance to help Tia cook the vegetables and help cook the pasta. After preparing the lovely dish Snack Squad got done to work by eating their dish! "Yum" was all we heard while Snack Squad ate their dish. Tia ended the day by bringing out some of her famous chocolate cake!