In a world of quick fixes, temporary solutions and unrealistic recommendations, it’s nice to see health and wellness advice shift towards positive and practical solutions. Today marks the official start of the 19th annual Healthy Weight Week, with the goal being to “celebrate healthy diet-free living habits that last a lifetime.” During the week, people are encouraged to "improve health habits in lasting ways: to eat well, live actively and feel good about themselves and others." With a mission and goal so closely matched to our own healthy lifestyle approach, here's how Dairy Council of California is supporting wellness now and well beyond Healthy Weight Week.

Talking the Talk

We are fortunate to be able to educate millions of Californians each year by partnering with schools, health professionals, workplace wellness coordinators and community leaders. I can speak for the rest of our staff when I say that each one of us personally believes in the value of nutrition education, optimal wellness and positive ways to create healthy habits. But like most people, we also need daily motivation and inspiration to stay on track with our own personal health and wellness goals. As a way to mirror the work we do to improve the health of those in our communities, we make it a priority to promote wellness within our work environment as well. 

Walking the Walk

As we start the New Year we'd like to share with you an email that we received from a third grade teacher:

I am a 3rd grade teacher for special education students in a self-contained classroom in Irvine.  This is the first year I introduced your entire 3rd grade curriculum.  Today was parent teacher conference day and a parent shared the following:  

She eagerly shared that she felt the lessons were life-changing and powerful. She commented that the program is so successful that her son ate some vegetables he would never have considered prior to the teaching.  Mom went on to say how much this has impacted their eating habits since her son talks about the pyramid and healthy foods at almost every meal.  He even asked about the calories and stated the sugar content in an unhealthy snack.  

Thank you for bringing this wonderful curriculum into our classroom.  It truly is changing lives.

Patricia L. Young

Laguna Hills, California

Hearing stories like these from teachers is very rewarding and encouraging. Thank you Patricia for the email and to all teachers that are taking the time to teach health to children in schools.

Maureen Bligh, RD

Project Manager

Here in Merced City School District we have had the opportunity to work with local chefs. A small mini-grant provided the funds we needed to conduct a project that taught fifth grade students the skills to prepare healthy recipes and taught them the benefits of eating healthy. This project was piloted at Ada Givens Elementary School beginning in the Spring of 2009. The success of the program has allowed it to be conducted for three years.

Julie Acker was the energy behind the project. She is the School Cafeteria Manager and she has a passion for sharing her love of healthy cooking. Along with a local chef, Julie conducted a series of cooking classes with her fifth grade students. The recipes prepared included; Orange Banana Smoothies, Tropical Fruit Salad, Veggie Wrap, Strawberry Yogurt Parfait, and many more.

All of the recipes featured fresh veggies and fruits and/or low-fat dairy products. Julie chose these recipes because she knew that her students did not eat enough of these foods.
The cooking classes allowed students to learn knife skills, basic measurements, table setting and reading recipes. In addition, students learned the benefits of eating fresh produce and consuming adequate amounts of low-fat dairy products. Students were expected to take the information they had larned and share the recipes and knowledge with their school community.

After attending the cooking classes, fifth grade students prepared the recipes, developed flyers promoting the health benefits of the recipe and conducted a “taste testing activity” for the K-4th grade students at Ada Givens School. The response from K-4th students was overwhelmingly positive. The students loved the new recipes and enjoyed learning from their fellow students. The project has been so successful that some of the recipes are being adapted and tested for use in the School Meals Program.

Plans are in place to replicate this project at the Chenoweth site for the 2011-2012 school year. I hope to expand the project to include 1-2 more elementary sites in the coming year.

Terri Soares, Registered Dietitian
School Food Service Director
Merced Unified School District

Eat Better, Eat Together is a blog series by registered dietitians and parents whose stories and advice help families start or strengthen a commitment to balanced family meals and create healthy, successful families. Take the Eat Better, Eat Together Family Meal Pledge at Facebook.com/DairyCouncilofCalifornia.

Many of us know the important role calcium plays in developing and maintaining strong bones, which is especially important for children. But do you know the benefits of consuming calcium-rich foods extend to all ages of life?  Whether you're 6 or 60, the importance of eating a variety of high-calcium foods is critical for many reasons, such as:

• Building strong bones and teeth. High-calcium foods help build peak bone mass and also slow the natural loss that can occur with age.
• Lowering blood pressure. A diet rich in low-fat dairy products, fruits, vegetables and whole grains works as well as some medications to improve blood pressure.
• Keeping your heart healthy. Calcium is a mineral that helps contract muscles and regulate your heart beat.
• Decreasing your risks of some types of cancer. Calcium in foods may slow down the growth of cells that lead to cancer.
• Managing your weight. Getting 3 servings of milk and milk products each day may help you manager your weight and lower your body fat.
  

Sharing the benefits of calcium in our diets and helping ensure all of us are getting enough is extremely important, which is why we have recently revised our nutrition education booklet Calcium Connection- Healthy bodies one generation to another. This booklet is filled with age specific information about why we need calcium from adolescence through older adulthood. A simple calcium quiz allows you to see your personal 'calcium score', and also includes simple steps for helping you get enough if you aren't already. Enhanced with new graphics, a calcium-rich shopping list, recipes and even a calcium plan, this booklet is a must read for all adults! If you're a health professional or teacher, these booklets are available for you to provide for your clients or parents with whom you work. It's easy to request your booklets, and remember, if you work in California they are completely free! Health professionals and/or teachers residing outside California can request them for a nominal charge.

Since adequate calcium intake is important at all ages, planning family meals at home that include calcium-rich foods can help everyone meet their daily calcium needs. Eating together can be any mealtime occasion from breakfast to dinner. Benefits of family meals go beyond just knowing that your family is getting the adequate nutrients they need for optimal health, like calcium. Families who eat together also have time to engage in important conversation which helps builds self-esteem and healthy emotional connection.  So, the next time you pour milk into your kids glasses at dinner, enjoy a yogurt smoothie with lunch, or have a piece of broccoli and cheddar quiche for breakfast, think about all of the unique benefits you're getting, from healthy bones and beyond!

Subscribe to the Dairy Council of California blog, follow @Dairy_Council and #EatBetter2Gether on Twitter for more Healthy Eating Made Easier.

Ashley Rosales, RD

Project Manager

Much has been written about the health benefits of children eating breakfast. Some of the key benefits of breakfast for school children include:

• Students who eat breakfast are in class more often, have improved behavior and better brain functioning.
• Effective school breakfast programs are associated with higher achievement test scores, better grades, and positive learning environments. Successful school breakfast programs are also associated with lower rates of absenteeism and tardiness, as well as fewer visits to the school nurse.

It is also important to remember that some children need school-sponsored meals in order to avoid hunger. During our long recession, participation in the school meals program has skyrocketed. Fortunately, school breakfast and lunch meals offer reliable and consistent sources of food, assuring that our children get the nutrients they need.

Beyond the obvious benefits of academics and health, school breakfast meals can also provide a positive environment that help to build a sense of community. To learn more about this aspect of school breakfast, I interviewed Dayle Hayes, MS, RD, creator of School Meals That Rock  on Facebook.  Dayle has devoted her career to child nutrition and developing effective healthy school environments. As you’ll see from her responses to my questions below, lately she has been focusing not only on what children eat at school but also on how they are eating.

Can school meals be fashioned into a type of “family meal?”

Eating school breakfast in the classroom can easily be a good model for positive communal mealtimes. Some states mandate school breakfast in high risk areas and four (California, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Indiana) consider the time children are eating in the classroom as instructional time. While children are eating the teacher can:

• Discuss the expectations for the day, i.e. helping the class get organized
• Read or tell a story
• Encourage children to converse in small groups

What do teachers think about breakfast in the classroom?

Teachers with experience in providing breakfast in their classroom recognize the social benefits of this time together. Breakfast time brings a calming atmosphere to the classroom – centering the students’ attention on what is to occur next. Students work as a classroom community to help with set up and clean up which helps to teach responsibility. In many ways this experience parallels what we encourage families to provide during meals at home.

Why should schools strive to support pleasant and positive mealtimes vs. just getting the students fed?

Mealtime should be a time for students to relax, socialize and nourish their bodies and minds. When the eating environment is pleasant, students eat and behave better. More positive environments included trained adults supervising the cafeteria or classroom and schedules that allow adequate time for students to eat.

Since the beginning of human culture, eating together has been important to families and communities – and provides rituals that bind us together. School breakfast in the classroom can also help to fulfill this role. What are your schools doing to create a family-like, positive mealtime eating experience?

Maureen Bligh, RD
Project Manager

Halloween conjures up fond memories of my two grown daughters – finding or making the perfect costume…debating the look that our carved jack-o-lantern should sport…and, of course, trick-or-treating.  Some people might think that with a mother who is a dietitian and a father who is a dentist, Halloween wouldn’t be celebrated in our household, or that we’d be giving out sugar-free gum or floss and confiscate all of daughters’ goodies.

Wrong! My husband and I wanted them to experience this kids’ tradition to the fullest…and that included candy. Sure, there are substitutes that kids like – stickers, small plastic toys, bubbles. One year a dental colleague gave out Flintstone toothbrushes that were a big hit! But in no way do these items negate the allure of candy.

My advice to parents is just relax…lighten up…and use a touch of common sense. Indulging in candy treats on this one special night (and maybe a handful of days after) is not going to condemn a child to a life sentence of sugar addiction. The more focus you put on forbidding children to have candy, the stronger their desire to have it.

With our own daughters we held a typical goodie bag inspection at the end of the evening, primarily a safety check. Then they could each pick about 15 of the pieces they most wanted to keep. The rest of the candy made its way to Dad’s golf buddies or Mom’s tap dance class colleagues. I always suggested to my girls that they eat one, maybe two pieces a day, but I didn’t monitor that. They could eat the candy as quickly or slowly as they chose. My younger daughter, a slave to instant gratification, usually depleted her supply within three days. But then she was done – no begging for more or splurging her allowance on candy bars, licorice whips, etc. And she was fine with that. My older daughter, the planner/saver, would stretch her supply out over about three weeks. She liked to savor. And once I even found a few pieces in a drawer in December – she’d forgotten about them! 

If you don’t make the candy a major issue, it’s likely your children won’t either. Keep Halloween in perspective – in no way will you undermine the everyday healthy habits you’re trying to nurture in your children. Kids recognize this is a special occasion and not the norm. I suggest you take pressure off of your kids and yourself – just enjoy a delightful, guilt-free day!

What are some of the ways you handle the Halloween “loot” collected by your children? 
 
Mary Anne Burkman, MPH, R.D.
Director, Program Services

Today is Food Day. At Dairy Council of California we love the idea of celebrating food, but like most of the health professionals, farmers and health advocates we work with, we think about and celebrate food 365 days year, so every day is Food Day! We join forces each day to educate and empower individuals to make the best food choices for optimal health.

The nutrition education programs we create and share with students and adults encourage each individual to make the best food choices for their circumstance. These decisions are often based on taste, cost, convenience, nutrition, cultural and family traditions, and personal values. We respect those values, circumstances and individual decisions and know that the best food choices for one family may not be right for another.

We think the best way to recognize Food Day is to thank the many partners, customers and industry funders who make our work to reach millions of Californians each year with this open and positive approach to nutrition education a reality.

Thank you to the dairy farmers and milk processors who have funded efforts since 1919 to build healthier communities and create healthier, successful students.

Thank you to the 80,000 educators who teach and share our nutrition curriculum in schools. Each year, they carve time from their busy classroom schedules to make nutrition a priority and teach lessons about making healthy food choices.

Thank you to those registered dietitians and other health professionals who follow an open and positive approach to food and believe that all foods can be a part of a healthful diet when managing for variety, moderation and proportionality.

And thank you to those who provide healthy, delicious, and affordable food produced in a sustainable and humane way.

Read a Farmer’s Words on Food Day:
The Wife of a Dairyman

Happy Food Day!

LeAnne R. Ruzzamenti
Director of Marketing Communications

Eat Better, Eat Together is a blog series by registered dietitians, educators and parents whose stories and advice help families start or strengthen a commitment to balanced family meals. Take the Eat Better, Eat Together Family Meal Pledge at Facebook.com/DairyCouncilofCalifornia.

Last week, 15 bloggers from the US, Canada and New Zealand shared their tips, tricks and motivation for sharing balanced meals with their families. Here are the top 10 big ideas they shared, from their families to yours.

1. Planning is essential; develop systems that make the purchasing, preparing and partaking easier.
2. Keep it simple. Family meals don’t have to be elaborate to be healthy and effective. Come up with easy ways to balance your meal with simple vegetable side dishes or fruit and yogurt for dessert.
3. Have healthy food on hand and eat from your freezer or pantry on busy weeknights. Prepare double batches of food when you’re less rushed so you can cook once, eat twice.
4. Family meal does not have to be dinner, breakfast or lunch may work better in some households.
5. Toughen up. Offer your family one meal that includes all five-food groups and everyone should be able to find something they’ll want to eat.
6. Turn off technology and tune into each other. Make conversation the focus of family meals, but keep it light. The dinner table is not the place for discipline.
7. Share the work. Enlist help from the family, from planning the shopping list to making lunches, setting the table, pouring the milk and clean up.
8. Eating as a family is truly comforting, from toddlers, teens to adults. Family meals can become a cherished tradition for the whole family.
9. Dump the guilt. Family meals may not happen every day, and that’s ok. Make the most of your family meals when they occur.
10. Family meals aren’t always easy, but we think they’re always worth the effort. Start or strengthen your family’s commitment and take the Eat Better, Eat Together family meal pledge today!

To learn more about family meals and how to make them a more positive and nutritious experience, subscribe to the Dairy Council of California blog, follow @Dairy_Council and #EatBetter2Gether on Twitter for more tips and the latest on healthy family meals.

Dairy Council of California

This week we are celebrating the important role the National School Lunch Program has played in child nutrition. Our previous blog post shared the reason for its being, which was to provide hungry children the foods needed to be optimally nourished so they can learn and grow healthy. The National School Lunch Program has a long history of helping achieve this goal, and since the early 1900’s the dairy industry has also played a pivotal role supporting this effort. In fact, it was around this time that the founders of the Dairy Council of California, Sam Greene and Chester Earl Grey, saw the opportunity to bring the nutrition inherent in dairy products to California schools. They knew that they could provide a much needed service to the public that would benefit generations to come.

The Beginning of the School Milk Program: In the early 1920’s, Greene surveyed California schools to get a clear picture of the state of school nutrition. This survey found that on average 36% of children did not receive milk on a regular basis. This meant a significant number of children were missing out on milk's critically important nutrients needed for optimal growth and health, such as calcium, protein, vitamin A and D. The results of this survey were instrumental in adding milk to the school lunch menu. As a result of milk being served in the California school lunch program, by 1950 per capita milk consumption had increased 25%. And with the inauguration of the Child Nutrition Act and its Special Milk program, milk consumption in schools increased nearly 10-fold over the 23 year period from 1947-1970.

Dairy Industry's Commitment to Child Nutrition: The dairy industry has been committed not only to providing milk and dairy foods to students as part of a balanced, nutritious meal, but also to teaching them how to eat healthfully from all five food groups. Providing nutrition education about the health value of milk and dairy products was at the core of Greene’s vision for the creation of the Dairy Council of California. He believed that you could make a lifelong impact on the health of children if you taught them how to include nutrient-rich foods, like milk, into their everyday choices. This commitment to nutrition education and the desire to contribute to community health is the reason the California dairy industry has continued to support the Dairy Council of California for over 90 years.

Let’s continue to celebrate this commitment by supporting the efforts made on behalf of the National School Lunch Program and take the time to teach nutrition education in schools.

Ashley Rosales, RD
Project Manager