Photos:  Holly’s family dinnertime, Holly portrait

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Dinner: Do It Together!

It’s dinnertime!  What does that mean to you? 

For some, it means gathering around the table for a home-cooked family meal—  spaghetti and meatballs again?  Or is it Mom’s famous chicken enchiladas tonight?  No matter what’s on the table, it’s an important time to spend eating and talking as a family.

For many, though, dinner is more a chore or an afterthought than a family ritual.  Teens are everywhere but at home, from sports practices to school activities, and even parents are away, often staying late at work.  Today, the convenience of fast food has replaced the quality of sit-down family meals.  For many families, what to eat is whatever is easiest.

What can you do?

=> Plan a dinner party.  Grab a few friends (after all, they’re family!), find some recipes on the Internet, and invade the kitchen.  Whether it’s a night in Mexico or an escape to India, you’re sure to have a delicious time.

=> Eat with your family.  Sure, it may sound like more torture than algebra homework. But no matter how big or small your family is, eating together is good for you: by conversing and socializing with other people, you’re less likely to overeat, and you will have a more enjoyable eating experience (except for your younger brother’s constant whining, of course).

=> Surprise! So maybe your family isn’t used to eating together.  Give them a shock and surprise them with a dinner specially made by you!  And since you went to all the effort of making it, you can require the attendance of all family members, and make a habit of it.  While you have them captive, assign who gets to cook next time!

=> Go grocery shopping.  Help your parents with the shopping list, making sure to         choose things that are yummy but healthy.  Don’t forget to make it fun— try going        on a scavenger hunt through the grocery aisles, or take a field trip to the local farmers’ market.

Table Talk

Whether it’s your favorite food, a fun party idea, or a family meal tradition, we want to hear about it!  Sound off at dinnertime@stayfiteatright.org! 

(Photo---head shot of Jessica Fogarty)

Hey There!

      Hi, I’m Jessica, and I’m here to write some fun and interesting articles about how to stay healthy!  I’m thirteen years old, and a freshman in high school. I enjoy playing sports such as soccer, volleyball, and tennis. Some other interests that I have are playing the alto saxophone, drawing cartoons, video games, and music of all kinds! I hope you will find my articles helpful and entertaining, and good luck on your adventure on the road to better health!

Que Tal!

Hola, soy Jessica, y estoy aqua para

escribir divertidos e interesantes articulos acera de comomantenernos

saludables! Tengo trece anos y estoy en mi primer ano de escuela secondaria. Me divierto jugando deportes, tal y como futbo;, volibol, y tenis. Algunos otros intereses que tengo son tocar el alto saxofon, dibujar caricaturas, jeugos de video, y toda clase de musica. Espero que entertainment, y Buena suerte con su aventura en el camino hacia Buena salud!

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Growing Up With “Cocina Mexicana”

By: Jessica, Age 13

For me, growing up Mexican has brought along with it…“Cocina

Mexicana”, or Mexican Food, of course!  I’ve always enjoyed helping cook and eat my mom’s one-of-a-kind meals, but there was always the problem of having too much fat and grease in the food. (Photo—Jessica and her mom in the kitchen cooking) When I was about 6 years old, my doctor told me that I had unusually high cholesterol for my age, and that motivated my parents and me to start eating healthier. So instead of lard for frying, we used vegetable oil. Also, we changed the type of milk I drank, so I now drink skim milk rather than whole milk like many Latino families do. And just by making a few changes, it made all the family a bit healthier. So check what you’re eating at home, and do some research to find out what else you can use to substitute for some of the more unhealthy items that you’re using to cook your meals, and maybe you can improve your cooking skills at the same time!

Creciendo con “Cocina Mexicana”

Por Jessica

            Para mi, creciendo Mexicana ha traido consigo. . . “Cocina Mexicana”, o mas bien, comida Mexicana, naturalmente! Siempre me ha gustado ayudar a cocinar y comer la comida unica de mi mama, pero siempre habia el problema de demised manteca y y grasa en la comida.

            Cuando Yo tenia cinco anos, mi doctora me dijo que tenia demasiado colesterol para mi edad, y eso dio motivo a mis padres y a mi para comenzar a comer comer comidas mas saludables.  Haci que, en vez de manteca para freir, usamos un poco de aceite vegetal.  Tambien, cambiamos la clase de leche que usamos; ahora tomo leche desnatada en vez de leche gruesa como varias familias Latinas que conosco.

            Y con hacer unos cantos cambios, hemos hecho a nuestra familia algo mas saludable.  Haci que noten lo que comen en casa, y hagan un poco de estudio para saber que mas pueden sustuir en vez de cosas danosas que estan usando para cocinar sus comidas, y  quizas mejoren sus habilidades de cocina al mismo tiempo!

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Have A Picnic

By: Jessica,  Age 13

(Photos---Jessica picnicking)

 So everyone likes to hang out with their friends, right?  Everyone will get together at so-and-so’s house and have a big party, and eat pizza and junk food all night. Well, there are other ways you can spend time with your friends, but in a healthier atmosphere. A really great way is to have a picnic! My cousins Jocelyn and Natalie came to visit the other day, and we did just that. We made sure we had fruits, vegetables, and our tasty ham sandwiches. Of course, if you have a real sweet tooth, you could make Ants On A Log, which consists of a celery stick with peanut butter and some raisins on top! Healthy and tasty at the same time! Its even better if you have a park near by, so you can take a soccer ball or volleyball and be able to get active and have a few rounds of whichever sport you choose!  The main idea is to stay active and have fun! So get out there and do it!

Salir a un “Dia de Campo”

Por: Jessica

            Claro que a todo mundo nos gusta andar entre amigos, verdad? Nos juntamos en la casa de tal y tal y nos divertimos en fiestas, comiendo pizza y otras comidas danosas por toda la noche.

            Pues, hay otras formas de juntamos con los amigos, pero en un ambiente mas saludable. Una buena idea es con un dia campo! Mis primas Jocelyn y Natalie vinieron de visita hace un dias, y eso hicimos. Aserguramos incluir frutas, vegetables, y sabrosos sandwiches de jamon en pan de trigo. Y para los ganosos de algo dulce, se puede preparar un “leno de hormigas”, el cual consiste de un palito de apio con crema de cacahuate y  unas cuantas pasas encima! Saludable y sabrosito, todo al mismo tiempo!

            Seria todavia major si hay algun parque cerca, pues entonces pueden llevar una pelota de futbol o de voleo y se poner activos jugando unos cantos turnos de cualquier deporte que escojar! Lo importante es mantanernos activos y divertidos, haci que vayanse y endo y haganlo!

Sidebar article:

Picnic checklist:

ü      Pick your location.  California Department of Parks and Recreation has tons of places in and out of cities that are great picnic locations---here are a couple of cool spots!  (Photos from Bigstockphoto.com # 136198 & 81246—picnic tables)

ü      Pick your friends…and make some new ones!  (Photo Bigstockphoto.com #119909 squirrel)

ü      Now, pick food that doesn’t spoil and is easy to manage, like these things:

Cheese (photo 21372)

Bread (photo 98614)

Dried fruit (photo 26592)

Apples—oops, this one didn’t make it to the picnic! (photo 48264)

Nuts & Citrus (photo 8560)

Kiwis (photo 24463)

ü      And, don’t forget you might have surprise guests (photo 52879—ant)

Photo:  Aaron—attached.  A Marine Corps logo at the end would be nice. 

Aaron’s Story

Fulfilling a Dream

I was born on August 15, 1998 in San Jose, California.  As an infant, my first solid food was French fries. 

At dinnertime, we always had to finish all the food that was on our plate before we could leave the table.  I was always eating.  When I was little, it was okay, of course, because I was always outside with my brothers and sister playing, so I burned all the extra calories and fat I ate.

My overweight problems did not start until I was 11, in elementary school.  I had a few physical ailments, which allowed me to get out of the physical education parts of class.  My physical activity went down to a very minimum compared to when I was younger.  I gained weight rapidly since I was eating more and exercising less, and this kept up until I went to junior high school where I first tried to get my weight problem under control.  There, it was mandatory to take physical education classes both years of that school, so it allowed me to increase the amount of exercise I got. 

I transferred to a different school, though, where the P.E. requirements were less and once again, I started to gain weight.  I finally peaked at 230 pounds when I was 15 years old, in my sophomore year.  I had always wanted to be a Marine, and I knew they would never accept me at that weight. 

I enrolled in the aerobics class offered at my current high school.  I also enrolled in the weight training class.  For the next 2 ½ years, I worked hard at the physical fitness program.

I also started eating healthier, with the help of my aerobics teacher, Michelle Baxter. 

Now it’s my senior year, and I weigh 165 pounds.  And now the good news---I enlisted and have been accepted to the Marine Corps, my dream job since I was eight years old.