Because Nothing Should Weigh a Child Down

healthy eating

Live Light Promotes Healthy Dinner With Dr. Meseret Tena

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Dr. Tena is a Pediatrician at Suny Downstate who works closely with the Live Light Live Right program.
She focuses on how to prepare easy, quick, and healthy meals at home. Whether you cook for one or a big family, here are easy recipes and cooking techniques.

For further information or to set up an appointment with Dr. Tena please call her at (718) 270-7694.

Meseret Meshesha Tena, M.D., FAAP
Director of Pediatric OPD at UHB (Suite D)
SUNY Downstate Medical Center
450 Clarkson Ave Box 49

Visit to Airon Food Market

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A recent visit to Airon Food Market, at 44 New Lots Avenue, Brooklyn, NY, is working in conjunction with the DOH to promote healthy shopping.

They are offering if you spend $5 on fresh fruits and vegatables, you get a free tote bag. The Live Light Live Right team wants to support the Airon Food Market and plans on bringing the Live Light participants that are doing their fitness program at the BRC, to the bodega for healthy snacks after a workout to encourage healthy snacks and promote sales, arrange for a LLLR instructor to visit the bodega and report whether the healthy food items continue to be available and monitor the bodega’s progress, and have the LLLR participants fill out a Fruit and Vegetable survey to determine which items they would like stocked on the shelves at the bodega.

 

Click here for the Airon Market Flyer.

Pump Up the Pumpkin—Why They’re Super!

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Did you know that over 1.5 billion pounds of pumpkin are produced each year in the United States? That the world’s largest pumpkin was more than five feet in diameter and weighed over 1,800 pounds? That each pumpkin has about 500 seeds and takes between 90 and 120 days to grow?

If you are looking to add pumpkin to your diet, keep in mind there are over 45 different varieties of pumpkin and that they are part of the winter squash family. They range in color from red, yellow, and green, and have names like Hooligan, Cotton Candy, and Orange Smoothie.

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Savor the Fall Produce and Hearty Soups

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Yes, it’s true, summer has come to an end. While it is sad to say goodbye to the barbecues, picnics and the summer season, it is a time to celebrate the beginning of a wonderful fruit and vegetable season. Fall is full of delicious foods you can work into your diet in a variety of ways that can perk up any chilly night.

Why Eat Seasonal Produce?

If you are interested in protecting the environment, buying local seasonal produce not only can potentially reduce our carbon footprint but it also helps local economies. Since it is grown locally, the produce is fresher.. which results in more nutritious produce.

From apples to sweet potatoes, autumn’s bumper crop of fruits and vegetables offer a range of intense flavors and substantial textures that you can use to make a piping-hot bowl of soup….a satisfying meal for a cozy fall dinner

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Our Big Summer Fitness Challenge Finale

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Our Live Light Live Right 6-Week Summer Fitness Challenge children participate in a supermarket tour at Western Beef located on East New York and Ralph Avenue. We wanted to give the children a real life experience and knowledge of how to food shop healthy. The children learned about product placement, how to shop for healthy items on a budget, the importance of reading the nutrition labels while shopping, and how to shop for fruits and vegetables. The LLLR team joined the children and shopped together to select healthier items to prepare lunch for the day. After shopping, they all had lunch at Lincoln Terrace Park. This field trip allowed the children to realized that it is possible to have a healthy meal on a budget.

We want to thank Western Beef for providing us with this amazing experience.

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Summer Clean Your Diet

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Summer has arrived, and with longer days and warmer weather comes a new crop of fresh produce. It is a good time to “summer clean” your diet and start introducing the summertime fruits and veggies that incorporate the jewels of summer.

If you are tired of apples, bananas and root vegetables, there are some nice summer produce choices readily available. Brightly-colored produce making more of an appearance at our grocery stores or farmer’s markets include apricots, strawberries, asparagus, cherries and more. The more colorful the fruit or vegetable, the more vitamins and minerals it has.

Check out what local produce is in season by using the following link.

In-season produce reaps the most nutritional value so here’s what to look for in the produce aisle or at the local farmers’ market.

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Our Latest Success Story

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Denville Adams is a 12 years old male, who joined Live Light Live Right (LLLR) in August 2013. He has shown tremendous progress in the program. Through hard work and diligence he has decreased his percentage of body fat from 26.0% to 18.1% in a year. Denville says that he loves the exercise program. He likes the combination of the exercises such as squats, using weights, jump rope, step ups, and jumping jacks. He enjoys the strength training workout with trainer, Ms. Kim, at the Brooklyn Recreation Center. He praises her for motivating him to stay focused on becoming healthier. Denville continues his workout outside of the LLLR program, at home and in his martial arts class throughout the week.

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Is Coconut Oil Healthy?

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Written By Judy E. Marshel, PhD, RD, CDN
Coconut oil, previously shunned by the health and wellness community for its high saturated fat content, is now a staple cooking oil in many households. It can be found not only in specialty health food stores, but at most local grocers as well.

While many healthy professional tout the benefits, many organizations such as the American Heart Association and the USDA continue to caution consumers against all tropical oils, including coconut oil.

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Juicing: An Immune Booster That Tastes Great and May Even Curb your Appetite!

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Written by Judy E, Marshel, PhD, RD, CDN

Juicing is a powerful way to get incredible doses of healthy vitamins and nutrients into your body. It can have dramatic positive effects. Fresh vegetable juice helps to give you more energy, lower your chances of contracting chronic disease and may even accelerate weight loss.

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Nutrition Know How…. Tips to get Through the School Year!

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Nutrition Know How….Tips to get through the school year!

November is upon us, and the kids are well into the school year. While most of us plan on what we will wear to school each day, or do we have all of our homework? Are you still struggling with, What do I eat for lunch? It is time to refocus your efforts as a family to ensure your children’s nutrition and physical activity habits are on track this year.

  • Do you make time for breakfast? Breakfast is a very important meal for growing children. Studies show that breakfast eaters tend to have higher test scores, they concentrate better and solve problems more easily. So whether they eat at home or at school, be sure your children eat a nutritious breakfast every day.
  • Review weekly lunch menus. The National School Lunch Program requires that the meals offered in most schools must have a certain amount of calories, fat, saturated fat, vitamin A, vitamin C, calcium, and iron. It may surprise you to learn that many foods fit into these guidelines, including chicken nuggets and tater tots.

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NYC Health Department of Health and Hygiene wants to help you find a healthy snack

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The New York City Department of Health and Hygiene launches two new campaigns because they believe eating more fruits and vegetables are a delicious and affordable way to eat healthy. These new tools will help New Yorkers to gain better access to finding fruits and vegetables.

In a recent press release from the New York City Department of Health and Hygiene,“Eating well is important for good health, and incorporating more fruits and vegetables into your diet can help prevent chronic disease, such as heart disease,” said Health Commissioner Dr. Mary Bassett. “We want to encourage everyone to make healthy choices, and we continue to take steps to ensure that fresh produce is an accessible and affordable option for all New Yorkers.”

New initiatives are:

  1. Grab a snack of fruits or vegetables with their “Take Me With You” Campaign, encouraging people to carry a piece a fruit or veggies with them since we are always on the go
  2. To help you find a farmers market close to you, you can text “SoGood” to 877877

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To learn more about this visit their website 

Live Light Live Right’s Nutritionist Chef Nico Salsa Creations

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Pineapple Mango Black Bean Salsa

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup diced pineapple/li>
  • 1 cup diced mango/li>
  • 1 cup cooked black beans/li>
  • 6 cilanto sprigs chopped/li>
  • ¼ cup diced onion/li>
  • 2 garlic cloves crushed/li>
  • 2 tbsp of fresh lime juice/li>
  • Salt and black pepper for taste/li>

Directions:

  1. Place all ingredients in a bowl, combine and serve/li>

Fresh Vegetable Pear Salsa

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup diced zucchini/li>
  • 1 cup diced summer squash/li>
  • ½ cup diced pears/li>
  • ½ cup diced tomato/li>
  • ½ cup diced sweet pepper/li>
  • ¼ cup diced onion/li>
  • 2 tbsp chopped basil/li>
  • 2 garlic cloves, crushed/li>
  • 2 tbsp olive oil/li>
  • 4 tbsp lemon juice/li>
  • Salt and black pepper for taste

Directions:

  1. Place all ingredients in a bowl, combine and serve/li>