March Newsletter

1. March 2013
KIDS BE AWARE, INC.
Volume 2, Issue 3
Health Tips for parents
by inserting sticks into peeled bananas
and freezing.
10 tips : Nutrition Education Series:
7. Bugs on a log
1. Smoothie creations
Use celery, cucumber, or carrot sticks as
Blend fat-free or low-fat yogurt or milk
the log and add peanut butter. Top with
with fruit pieces and crushed ice. Use
dried fruit such as raisins, cranberries, or
fresh, frozen, canned, and even overripe
cherries, depending on what bugs you
fruits. Try bananas, berries, peaches,
want!
and/or pineapple. If you freeze the fruit
first, you can even skip the ice!
8. Homemade trail mix Table of Contents
Skip the pre-made trail mix and make your
2. Delicious dippers CEO’s Corner ...............2
own. Use your favorite nuts and dried
Kids love to dip their foods. Whip up a
fruits, such as unsalted peanuts, Highlights .........................2
quick dip for veggies with yogurt and
cashews, walnuts, or sunflower seeds
seasonings such as herbs or garlic. Serve
mixed with dried apples, pineapple,
with raw vegetables like broccoli,
cherries, apricots, or raisins. Add whole- Featured Articles:
carrots, or cauliflower. Fruit chunks go
grain cereals to the mix, too.
great with a yogurt and cinnamon or Healthy Recipes..............3
vanilla dip.
9. Potato person Body Wellness ................4
Decorate half a baked potato. Use sliced
3. Caterpillar kabobs
cherry tomatoes, peas, and low-fat
...........................................5
Assemble chunks of melon, apple, orange,
cheese on the potato to make a funny
and pear on skewers for a fruity kabob.
face.
For a raw veggie version, use vegetables
like zucchini, cucumber, squash, sweet
10. Put kids in charge
peppers, or tomatoes.
Ask your child to name new veggie or
fruit creations. Let them arrange raw
4. Personalized pizzas
veggies or fruits into a fun shape or
Set up a pizza-making station in the
design.
kitchen. Use whole-wheat English
muffins, bagels, or pita bread as the
crust. Have tomato sauce, low-fat 10 Tips for Parents in setting good
cheese, and cut-up vegetables or fruits examples:
for toppings. Let kids choose their own
favorites. Then pop the pizzas into the 1. Show by example
oven to warm. Eat vegetables, fruits, and whole grains Our Mission and Vision
with meals or as snacks. Let your child
see that you like to munch
To increase disease
5. Fruity peanut butterfly
Start with carrot sticks or celery for the on raw vegetables. awareness among children
body. Attach wings made of thinly sliced and parents; To promote
apples with peanut butter and decorate 2. Go food shopping together! healthy behaviors, reduce
with halved grapes or dried fruit. Grocery shopping can teach your child the spread of infections,
about food and nutrition. and to reduce health-
6. Frosty fruits Discuss where vegetables, fruits, grains, related issues in our
Frozen treats are bound to be popular in dairy, and protein foods come from. Let
the warm months. Just put fresh fruits your children make healthy choices. nation’s children.
such as melon chunks in
the freezer (rinse first). Make ―popsicles‖ (cont. pg 5)

2. Page 2
KIDS BE AWARE, INC.
CEO’s Corner...
Annual Dance for Your
Howdy!
Health on May 4th and hope
Great News! We are setting up to organize this event within
our center at 600 West our own center. Parents and
Cummings Park Woburn, MA Children are invited to sign up
01801 . The process is not over for our program beginning
checks. At Kids Be Aware,
yet as we awaits the end of March, as we hope to
Inc. PO BOX 2173 Woburn,
exemption status from the EEC have received our EEC
MA 01888
( Early Childhood Education) exemption by then.
licensing body. The current need of our I thank you in advance for
organization is to obtain your support and hope that
We are currently looking for
volunteers to help us with the you find it in your heart to
volunteers to help us with
center’s upcoming activities. help us decrease health
children’s activities.
Together, we can raise disease disparities among our
I’m always overjoyed to bring awareness among children children.
more good news to you all each and parents.
Also I wanted to bring to
and every month and hope We have been growing our your attention the talk show
that you enjoy reading us as face book community and that I host every other
much as we enjoy writing invite you to have friends and Saturday from 12:00PM
these articles for you. families like our page. We are Eastern time until 1:00PM.
also selling T-Shirts, Mugs and Please listen to us online as
I have decided to get my
Notebooks, as fundraising we bring to you many
certification as an early
items and we hope that you subjects and resources
childhood educator so we can
will help us in our continue necessary for your day to
license all of our centers in the
efforts to sustain our day life. We strive to bring
upcoming future. The
organization’s mission. better life to all and we work
exemption limits the activities
we can conduct while the On Behalf of KBA, we are hard everyday to accomplish
license provides for more asking for in-kind this.
flexibility. Hiring a center donations. All donations are “Teach me about health so
director is not an option as we tax deductible. that Tomorrow I may teach
have limited funding. The only From our modest beginnings, others” Together we can!
best option is for me to become and with only a little bit of Cheers and Peace to You!
certified and apply for a help, we are growing and we
professional license director II Jeannette Bryant, CEO
still need your financial
as I already have the required Kids Be Aware, Inc.
support that will enable us to
degrees. expand our Kids Be Aware
mission, and to uphold our
We are eager to partner with “We strive to partner
vision for children with schools, churches,
organizations all around town
everywhere. and organizations to
whose mission and vision are focus on the health and
in line with ours. While we You may donate by going at
well-being of our
are pleased in the many our website: http:// children”
milestone of our organization, www.kidsbeaware.org or
we are conducting our first simply by mailing in your

3. KIDS BE AWARE, INC. Page 3
Healthy Treats for children
Cheese Kabobs Peppermint Stick Hot
Chocolate
The protein in this kid-friendly
Nutritional Information
snack keeps energy levels high
until dinnertime. We like to stick Amount per serving
salt-free pretzel sticks into Calories: 194
cubes of low-fat cheese to make
"satellite snacks," but you can also make cheese Calories from fat: 18% Fat:
more interesting to kids by cutting it into fun 3.9g Saturated fat: 2.3g
shapes with a cookie cutter and making kabobs Monounsaturated fat: 0.0g
with your favorite fruit. Polyunsaturated fat: 0.0g Protein: 7g
Carbohydrate: 34g Fiber: 0.8g Cholesterol: 10mg
Iron: 0.6mg Sodium: 96mg Calcium: 32mg
http://www.cookinglight.com/food/lunch-box-
recipes-kids-00412000072333/page5.html
The vegetable
group is where you Naturally sweet and
find many of na- juicy, fruits are also low
ture’s healthiest in calories, fat, sodium,
foods. Vegetables and cholesterol and are
are full of fiber, bursting with an array of
vitamins, and miner- vitamins and minerals.
als and are low in Fruit may already be a
calories, fat, so- staple in your house, so if
dium, and choles- that’s the case, keep it
terol. Vegetables are divided into five sub- up! Remember to intro-
groups based on nutrient content—dark- duce kids to all types of fruit because each offers
green vegetables, orange vegetables, beans its own assortment of nutrients. And try to choose
and peas, starchy vegetables, and a group for whole fruit or cut-up fruit over fruit juices to get
all others. Serve your child a variety of vege- more fiber and fewer calories per serving. Be sure to
tables from all the subgroups each week. cut fruit into appropriately sized pieces for younger
children.
Nutrients: Fiber and abundant vitamins and Nutrients: Carbohydrates, fiber, folate, vitamin C,
minerals, which vary by vegetable potassium
Servings: Approximately 1 1/2 to 2 cups for Servings: Approximately 1 to 1 1/2 cups for kids and 1
kids and 2 to 3 cups for adults 1/2 to 2 cups for adults
http://www.cookinglight.com/food/lunch-
box-recipes-kids-00412000072333/ http://www.cookinglight.com/food/lunch-box-
page5.html recipes-kids-00412000072333/page5.html

4. Page 4
KIDS BE AWARE, INC.
Body Wellness
Healthy eating continues to be a central issue in this country for all ages and all ethnicities.
Thanks to the expansion of information available to the general public, everyone has an equal
opportunity to take an active role when choosing foods for healthier meals. For this year,
March 2013, has been designated as National Nutrition Month. We at Kids Be Aware would
like to participate in this by offering a newsletter that is packed with information and recipes
that you may find useful in your quest for healthier choices.
For years, this country has utilized the food pyramid to educate the general population in making healthy
selections. Since 2010 however, the purpose of the food pyramid was reinvented in, ―ChooseMyPlate‖. The
website listed above, has wonderful tips that help you get started and includes shopping tips especially if
you are feeding your family on a low-income.
http://www.choosemyplate.gov/print-materials-ordering/getting-started.html
The new icon is very easy to understand and follow. The guidelines suggest that half of your plate be fruits
and vegetables. In the remaining half, you will need a whole grain and a protein. Beverages with sugar are
replaced with skin or low-fat milk. What is NOT suggested in these guidelines are ―second-helpings‖. This
means that our old way of thinking in which we need to indulge in second or third helpings in the same
meal, is now inappropriate and unhealthy.
According to the Centers for Disease Control, eating healthy and exercise are two ingredients leading to
healthy eating http://www.cdc.gov/nutrition/. Simple first steps in this new direction can include the new
food plate guidelines and incorporating exercise into your everyday life.
Let’s face it, the times we are living in is fast-paced, stressful, and financially challenging. However, it does
not cost anything to make up your mind to start on the road to healthier living. What’s more important, is
taking that first step- making a mental decision to change unhealthy habits. As parents and grandparents,
we get to model healthy choices every single day. It is not always the quickest, or the most convenient, but
it will always be the healthier decision. It costs nothing but time to take a walk. When is the last time you
and your children have simply taken a walk?
Once you as the parent have decided to go healthy, there are several resources worth checking out:
1. http://www.cdc.gov/bam/ - BAM! Body and Mind, found on the Centers for Disease Control’s website, is
a child-focused website geared towards teaching children steps toward healthier living. This well-rounded
resource is an excellent tool parents and grandparents can have at their disposal and if you are hesitant in
how to start the subject, gather your children together and check out this website together.
2. http://www.nourishinteractive.com/ - This interactive website incorporates MyPlate guidelines, recipes,
games, and other resources that parents and children will find useful and fun!
3. http://kidnetic.com/-T his website is a kid-friendly resource and one that can inspire children to think
about healthy living through games and learning sessions.
While these are just some of the remarkable resources available, the whole point is to GET STARTED!
Susan Ruiz, Chair
Kids Be Aware, Inc.

5. KIDS BE AWARE, INC. Page 5
Nutrition Traps
Health Tips for parents (cont.)
Below is a quick reference list for nutrition traps to
3. Get creative in the kitchen
avoid. Some of them should be rather obvious, however
Cut food into fun and easy shapes with
cookie cutters. Name a food your child helps make. Serve some may surprise you.
―Janie’s Salad‖ or ―Jackie’s Sweet Potatoes‖ for dinner.
Encourage your child to invent new snacks. Make your Being home alone – When left home alone kids have
own trail mixes from dry whole-grain, low-sugar cereal and
dried fruit. free range of whatever is in the kitchen and no one there
4. Offer the same foods for everyone to approve of what they’re eating.
Stop being a ―short-order cook‖ by making different
dishes to please children. It’s easier to plan family meals School Vending Machines
when everyone eats the same foods.
Food portions that are too big – pay attention to how
5. Reward with attention, not food
Show your love with hugs and kisses. Comfort with hugs much your child is actually consuming and the portion
and talks. Choose not to offer sweets as rewards. It lets
sizes that are given on food packing.
your child think sweets or dessert foods are better than
other foods. When meals are not eaten, kids do not need
TV in the bedroom
―extras‖—such as candy or cookies—as replacement
foods.
Rewarding them with treats
6. Focus on each other at the table
Talk about fun and happy things at mealtime. Turn off Overly strict diets: both clean your plate and limit
the television. Take phone calls later. Try to make eating
what you eat methods – You should never go to the ex-
meals a stress-free time.
tremes with your child’s diet. This isn’t teaching them
7. Listen to your child
If your child says he or she is hungry, offer a small, healthy habits, in fact it’s negatively affecting their men-
healthy snack—even if it is not a scheduled time to eat.
Offer choices. Ask ―Which would you like for dinner: tal connection with food. To curb this problem you
broccoli or cauliflower?‖ instead of ―Do you want
broccoli for dinner?‖ shouldn’t prohibit all sweets or likewise require a child to
8. Limit screen time
eat everything on their plate if they’re full.
Allow no more than 2 hours a day of screen time like TV
and computer games. Get up and move during
Unhealthy habits of parents – You’re the one setting
commercials to get some physical activity.
an example so it should be a good one
9. Encourage physical activity Make physical activity fun
for the whole family. Involve your children in the Not involving kids in the food buying and preparing proc-
planning. Walk, run, and play with your child—instead of
sitting on the sidelines. Set an example by being physically esses – Getting kids involved with buying groceries and
active and using safety gear, like bike helmets.
making meals will expose them to the choices they will
10. Be a good food role model
have to make when they are adults and also serve as
Try new foods yourself. Describe its taste, texture, and
smell. Offer one new food at a time. hands on learning to make healthy nutrition not only make
Serve something your child likes along with the new food.
Offer new foods at the beginning of a meal, when your more sense but be more enjoyable.
child is very hungry. Avoid lecturing or forcing your child
to eat. Health Tips By: www.ChooseMyPlate.gov
www.ChooseMyPlate.gov

6. Page 6 KIDS BE AWARE, INC.
Kids Be Aware, Inc.
PO BOX 2173
Woburn, MA 01888
Monthly Highlights
“We strive to partner with schools, churches,
and organizations to focus on the health and
well-being of our children”
Center Opening!
RADIO!
March 2013
Listen to our Talk Show on BBS Radio Station 2
Kids Be Aware, Inc
Every two weeks
Woburn, MA
Beginning at 12:00PM
We are seeking NEW Member
Enrollments!
We are also seeking Volunteer
We are on the Web!
for various roles. Visit us at: www.kidsbeaware.org
Contact us and Volunteer! Please visit us on Facebook!
KBA Board Members
Jeannette Bryant CEO kidsbeawarenow@gmail.com 781-354-2701
Tiffany Henderson Treasurer donald_and_tiffany@yahoo.com 678-431-6543
Susan Ruiz Chair susan.ruiz@waldenu.edu 301-302-4215
Teresa Godley-Chase Co-chair Teressa.godley-chase@waldenu.edu 240-515-4222
Renee Sullivan Co-Chair renee.l.sullivan@gmail.com 478-718-1306
Regina Rainey Board Member reginarainey@ymail.com 864-303-2151