Creation Health - Greene County: August 2013

Friday, August 23, 2013

Easy Low-Fat Ranch Dressing: Get those Veggies in!

Here at Creation Health, we like to refer to fruits and vegetables as nature's fast food!

Think about it...you simply wash, cut and serve. You can even divide servings into ziplock baggies ahead of time, so that you can grab and go, helping you to get in the recommended amount of 2 cups of fruit plus 2 1/2 cups of veggies per day for a reference 2,000-calorie intake, with higher or lower amounts depending on the calorie level.

And believe me, this is the kind of fast food you want to eat! The health benefits are tremendous, including maintaining a healthy weight and lowering your risk of cancer, to name a few. Just remember to eat the rainbow because different color groups have different benefits.

(Read more at the Original Fast Food.)

For those of you who like a little dressing with their veggies (or on their salad), this easy recipe is a healthier (but still tasty) alternative to ranch dressing and is great for parties!

Ingredients:

1 cup non-fat Greek yogurt

1/2 cup skim milk

1 package Hidden Valley Ranch

**For an even healthier option, replace the package of Hidden Valley Ranch with a homemade mix. Go here for the recipe and use fresh ingredients when possible. Remember...the closer the food is to the way God made it, the better it is for you!

Directions:

Whisk together and chill!

I have to admit that non-fat Greek yogurt is my new favorite ingredient! I discovered it a few weeks ago when I made a healthy taco salad for an article in the Greeneville Sun, which I shared here. I used it as an alternative to sour cream and it tasted just like it!

When I saw this recipe, I knew had to try it! Let me know what you think!

About the Author: Erin Franklin is the Creation Health Coordinator for Greene County and the Founder/Director at Worthy of the Prize Sports Ministries. Erin has a BBA in Marketing and Management from TCU and a Masters of Christian Education in Church Recreation from Southwestern Seminary. She is a published, award-winning author and poet. Purchase her book Worthy of the Prize Sports Camps: A Church's Guide to Implementing an Effective, Community-Reaching Christian Sports Camp to be used as an outreach tool for your church or mission organization, and her ebook find joy in the journey: how 12 women could face tomorrow just because He lives for inspiring stories of women who found overwhelming joy despite their circumstances. Erin is the wife of Aaron, the Worship Pastor at FBC Greeneville, and a work-at-home-momma to 2 crazy little boys, Anderson and EJ. Click here for full bio.

Monday, August 19, 2013

Family Fun Day: 5 Fun Ways to Stay Active as a Family!

My family and I had a blast at Family Fun Day this past Saturday at the Reformation Lutheran Church!

I set-up a table, where I handed out "5 Fun Ways to Stay Active as a Family" flyers and other Creation Health materials, while my boys ran around playing games and eating all kinds of treats! It was a great turnout for this 1st annual event!

For those who were unable to attend, here are 5 fun/active ways to spend time together with your family...

1. Play a game of Backyard Football
-or another game (tag, Frisbee, baseball, etc)---the possibilities are endless, but the point is to get outside and have fun together as a family!

2. Go on a bike ride!
-or take a nature hike---anything that allows you to enjoy God's creation!

3. Participate in a local 5K for Charity!
-or any community race (walk, run, bike ride, etc) that gives you the opportunity to give back while you get fit!

4. Clean the house!
-or yard, garage, etc---turn the music on and burn some calories while you work!

5. Take a camping trip!
-or a trip to the lake---simply get away from the chaos of life for a day or two, enjoying each other's company in a new setting!

What about you? Do you have any ideas of ways that families can stay active together? Feel free to leave a comment!

And if you have an upcoming event, let us know how we can be apart of it!

Thursday, August 8, 2013

3 Healthy Recipes: Greeneville Sun Article

I am absolutely amazed at how much media attention Creation Health is getting around here these days! I am thrilled because it is obviously a great thing for the program!

Speaking of...we were featured again in the Greeneville Sun Accent section yesterday! I was hoping to find an online link to the article, no luck so far, but this picture gives you an idea of what it looked like!

For those of you who missed it, here are the good, easy, healthy, family-friendly recipes I shared....

Appetizer: Celery Sticks and Dips

Cut celery into sticks and serve with Peanut Butter dip! We used equal parts peanut butter and light cream cheese. Then a splash of milk (we used 1%), until the consistency was smooth. I beat it all together, and offered for a snack. If you use regular peanut butter, no sweetener needs to be added. When using all-natural peanut butter, you may want to add a touch of brown sugar or regular sugar.

***to make it even more kid-friendly, serve with plain peanut butter and whole grain Goldfish, allowing the kids to dip their celery sticks into the peanut butter and then use peanut butter to catch a Goldfish onto the end of their stick as if they are "fishing"...for adults, you can also serve with hummus (we used roasted red pepper flavored hummus)

Meal: Healthy Taco Salad

Serves 4
Prep time: 25 minutes
Cook time: 25 minutes

3 (6-inch) corn tortillas
1 1/4 tsp. paprika, divided
3/4 lb. extra-lean ground beef
1 tbsp. chili powder
1 tsp. ground cumin
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1/4 tsp. sea salt
6 cups chopped iceberg lettuce
3 Roma (plum) tomatoes, chopped
1/2 cup chopped red onion
1/2 cup salsa
4 tbsp. nonfat Greek yogurt
Diced avocado (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. For the tortilla chips, cut each tortilla into 8 wedges and place on a baking sheet in a single layer. Coat wedges with nonstick cooking spray and sprinkle with 1/4 teaspoon of the paprika. Bake 15 minutes or until lightly browned and crisp; let cool.
2. In a large nonstick skillet cook ground beef over medium-high heat until browned, stirring to crumble. Stir in chili powder, cumin, garlic powder, salt, and remaining 1 teaspoon paprika; mix well. Stir in 1/2 cup water. Reduce heat; simmer 5 minutes or until water has evaporated, stirring occasionally.
3. Place lettuce on 4 plates; top with ground beef, tomatoes, onion and tortilla chips. Top with salsa, yogurt (which makes a delicious and much healthier alternative to sour cream) and (if desired) avocado, and serve.

Per serving: 172 calories, 4g fat, 2g saturated fat, 40mg cholesterol, 307mg sodium, 17g carbohydrate, 4g fiber, 17g protein

***to make it a little more kid-friendly, wrap into a wheat or corn tortilla and serve like tacos...if you prefer not to make your own chips and salsa, buy all natural

Dessert: Frozen Banana Bites

Cut bananas into chunks. Arrange on a cookie sheet lined with wax paper or parchment paper with a toothpick in each banana.
Freeze for about 1-2 hours.
Melt some chocolate chips or chocolate bark (we used dark chocolate and vanilla) ***you could also use yogurt
Take bananas out of the freezer and dip each one in the melted chocolate (or yogurt), and then into the toppings of your choice (we did some plain, some with almond slices and some with sprinkles for the kids)
Return bananas to the freezer until the chocolate hardens up!

I actually made these myself, so I can testify that they are easy to make and good to the taste! ;) I am actually hoping to start a weekly series where I test healthy recipes and report back to you, will keep you posted!

For now, go here to see the recipes approved by Creation Health (just click "view recipes") and here to see other Creation Health media spotlights from the past week and a half! There have actually been more media features than the ones listed, but I am still trying to find online links to the others! :)

Tuesday, August 6, 2013

Boys and Girls Club Clinics

My boys and I have had the pleasure of spending our last two mornings at the Boys and Girls Club here in town, leading CH clinics!

We had fun teaching approximately 100 different children (divided into 3 different age groups) what the letters C-R-E-A-T-I-O-N stand for and what it means to be CREATION healthy!

We ended each session with a little cheer to help them remember the word CREATION! Here are the cheerleaders from the oldest group, leading their peers in the group cheer!

We were able to give each child a CH coloring book and set of crayons to take home with them!

Let us know when we can come to your organization, to lead your people in a CH class, clinic or seminar!

Saturday, August 3, 2013

Freedom Day!

Today we set-up a Creation Health table at the George Clem School, for Freedom Day! We had a great time getting to know the people in the community, all the while passing out free CH information and resources, including the discovery books which give an overview of the 8 steps to a new you!

It was a simply beautiful day to say the least...gorgeous weather with a nice breeze blowing through the air, filled with the smell of delicious North Carolina BBQ and the sound of good ole gospel music all around us!

Both Laughlin Memorial and Takoma Regional Hospitals, as well as the Greene County Health Department, were there, giving out free blood sugar tests and passing out diabetes information.

We would love to set-up at your next event! Contact me to let me know what we can do for you!

Thursday, August 1, 2013

Kick-Off Breakfast @ The General Morgan Inn

The official kick-off event for Creation Health here in Greene County took place Tuesday, July 30th at the General Morgan Inn. It was an early morning breakfast with almost 200 people in attendance, including media.

It went tremendously well! I could not be more pleased with the turnout and the program itself! Click here for a little video overview of the morning, put together by the Greeneville Sun, for those of you who were not able to attend. And hop on over to our Facebook page to see more pictures of the event.

Since the conclusion of the breakfast, my phone has been ringing off the hook with the media calling for interviews, as well as people from the community calling to discuss ways in which we can work together to change lives across Greene County!

So far the program launch has been on the news, in the newspaper and on the radio! I am absolutly thrilled and I promise to pop back in over the next several days and weeks with reports of media coverage and community projects in the works!

To God be the glory!

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