Forget the Fryer - Healthy Kids Go Oven-Baked

Recently, President Obama proclaimed September 2013 as National Childhood Obesity Awareness Month, “encouraging Americans to get involved in promoting healthy eating and physical activity for our kids nationwide.” You can check out the announcement on the Let’s Move! website.

The vision of the Junior League of Columbia is to strengthen the health and well-being of children and families in the Midlands. Because of this vision, we focus on healthy children through events such as Kids in the Kitchen, the Healthy Kids Fun Fair, Healthy Kids with Special Needs and more. We are excited to bring healthy recipes, tips and news on a monthly basis to JLC’s blog.

Today, we bring you a healthy recipe that the kids can even get involved in making. We found this Almond-Crusted Chicken Fingers recipe on the Eating Well website, which has some great healthy kid-friendly recipes. The great thing about these chicken fingers is that they are baked in the oven, and not fried! You can serve them with some great vegetables and sides for an easy and healthy meal for the whole family.

(Image from Eating Well's website)

Almond-Crusted Chicken Fingers

Original Recipe Here (Eating Well®)

Makes 4 Servings

Active Time: 20 Minutes

Total Time: 40 Minutes

INGREDIENTS

Canola oil cooking spray

1/2 cup sliced almonds

1/4 cup whole-wheat flour

1 1/2 teaspoons paprika

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1/2 teaspoon dry mustard

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

1 1/2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil

4 large egg whites

1 pound chicken tenders, (see Ingredient Note)

PREPARATION

Preheat oven to 475°F. Line a baking sheet with foil. Set a wire rack on the baking sheet and coat it with cooking spray.

Place almonds, flour, paprika, garlic powder, dry mustard, salt and pepper in a food processor; process until the almonds are finely chopped and the paprika is mixed throughout, about 1 minute. With the motor running, drizzle in oil; process until combined. Transfer the mixture to a shallow dish.

Whisk egg whites in a second shallow dish. Add chicken tenders and turn to coat. Transfer each tender to the almond mixture; turn to coat evenly. (Discard any remaining egg white and almond mixture.) Place the tenders on the prepared rack and coat with cooking spray; turn and spray the other side.

Bake the chicken fingers until golden brown, crispy and no longer pink in the center, 20 to 25 minutes.

TIPS & NOTES

Ingredient note: Chicken tenders, virtually fat-free, are a strip of rib meat typically found attached to the underside of the chicken breast, but they can also be purchased separately. Four 1-ounce tenders will yield a 3-ounce cooked portion. Tenders are perfect for quick stir-fries, chicken satay or kid-friendly breaded “chicken fingers.”

NUTRITION

Per serving: 174 calories; 4 g fat ( 1 g sat , 2 g mono ); 66 mg cholesterol; 4 g carbohydrates; 0 g added sugars; 27 g protein; 1 g fiber; 254 mg sodium; 76 mg potassium.

JLC Learns About the Snack Pack Program

Contributed by Carol Caulk, Active Member

Junior League of Columbia had a strong turnout at McGregor Presbyterian Church in Irmo for Thursday night's February Split Meeting, despite the dreary weather.

Stuart Stout of the St. Andrews Optimist Club and Diane Parham, Chair of the Missions Committee, at McGregor Presbyterian Church shared the story and background of their Snack Program.

The children who benefit from the Snack Program have been identified through teachers, guidance counselors andschool social workers as not getting enough to eat over the weekends, which affects their health and ability to learn. Many are homeless; others are from families that have lost jobs and are in need of help. Sadly, the numbers continue to increase.

Over a year and a half ago, the Optimist Club and McGregor Church decided to join forces and began assembling snack packs for 50 children.  

The Optimist Club currently meets at McGregor Presbyterian Church every Sunday evening and packs 190 snack packs a week during the school year at a cost of over one thousand dollars ($1,000) a week, ensuring that at least 190 children will not go hungry over a weekend.

During longer breaks from school the group will assemble larger snack packs.  The summer break snack packs cost an average of $40.00 a box and are to last a family five weeks until they can return and get a second box to last another five weeks until the children return to school.

“Prior to the Snack Pack program there were a larger number of children reporting to the school nurses on Monday mornings stating they were ill when in reality they were hungry. This number has dropped significantly,” said Stuart Stout.

The Optimist and McGregor members do not know the faces of the children they are serving through the Snack Program.  Only the teachers know the identities of the children.  One teacher said she had to choke back tears at the unbridled joy and gratefulness of a child receiving this tiny bag of food to take home for the weekend so they would not be hungry.

The St. Andrews Optimist Club and McGregor Presbyterian Church welcome any help you would like to offer whether it be cash, in-kind donations of snack pack items or just your time to help assemble snack bags.  For more information please contact stwartstout@att.net .

Below is a list of some of the items included in the snack packs:

Nature Valley Sweet & Salty Nut Bars or other granola bars
Kellogg's Rice Krispies Treats - individually packaged squares

Single-serving cereal boxes (Variety pack)

Fruit snack packets (gummy/chewy type, preferably made with fruit juice)

Instant oatmeal packets

Instant grits packets

Slim Jims

Applesauce cups or mixed fruit cups (peel-off plastic or pop-top lids)

Mandarin oranges (small or 4-oz cups or pop-top cans)

Lance crackers - any variety (not cookies)

Chef Boyardee Ravioli - pop-top 7-oz cans or 15-oz cans

Chef Boyardee Spaghetti & Meatballs - pop-top 7-oz cans or 15-oz cans

Microwaveable macaroni and cheese cups

Healthy Kids Fun Fair

Come One, Come All!

2013 marks the second annual Healthy Kids Fun Fair, sponsored by JLC. Scheduled for Saturday, February 23rd from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the Dreher High School gym, Healthy Kids Fun Fair is a totally free event for children and their families. Open to everyone, the Fun Fair focuses on educating children on healthy eating, fun exercising and leading a healthy lifestyle. While at the fair, children and their parents can benefit from:

• FREE BMI Testing, from USC School of Medicine, Pediatric Diabetes & Obesity Institute.
• FREE Vision Screenings, from USC/Midlands Optometric Society.
• FREE Dental Screenings in the Colgate, Bright Smiles Bright Futures Van.
• Watching the EdVenture Dental Puppet Show.
• Information from the American Lung Associatino on childhood asthma.
• Information from the University of South Carolina Goodbodies Program.
• Information from USC Honors College, Project Vida, on body cleanliness.
• Importance of physical activity, provided by My Little Gym Fitness.
• Information from Value Medical, on convenient cost saving pharmacy care.
• Healthy Cooking, from JLC Kids in the Kitchen.
• Learning how to grow healthy plants, from a JLC Provisional Group.
• Learn how to lead a B543210 lifestyle, including eating a healthy breakfast, fruits, veggies, dairy, drinking plenty of water, avoiding sweetened drinks, exercising daily and limiting TV time.

Plus, parents can benefit from receiving tons of information on how to lead a healthy lifestyle in hopes their children will model after their behavior. In addition to material provided by the JLC, Palmetto Health Richland will provide information on adult healthy lifestyles and adult BMI testing. 

Performances will occur during the fair by:

• Enforcers Cheerleading Squad
• Dance World
• Steps of Faith
• Dance Techniques
• East West MMA Karatee Group
• Double Dutch
• C&C Soul Line

Children and their families can also have their picture taken with Elmo, the Palmettovors, plus other mascot celebrities! Come one, come all! The JLC Healthy Kids Fun Fair 2013 is sure to be an educational AND FUN event for the entire family!

Submitted by Ann-Stanton Cannarella, Active

Lunch w/ Leaders: The Importance of Understanding and Educating the Community on Proper Childhood Dental Health

Membership in the Junior League of Columbia has many benefits.  One that is most important to me is the opportunity for life-long learning.  This week’s Lunch With Leaders is a great example of how the League works to educate and inspire our members about important issues in the community.

As many of you know, children’s dental care is now a priority for the League as part of our community focus area.  A panel of community leaders specializing in children’s dental health shared their knowledge with League members during this session. Panelists included a representative from Healthy Learners (who is also a former school nurse), a dental hygienist, a representative from DHEC’s division of Oral Health, a pediatrician from Palmetto Health, a pediatric dentist, as well as a Junior League of Columbia member who is a dentist (thank you, Dr. Erin Causey). This group did an incredible job of presenting some of the many challenges facing children in SC in regard to oral health. 

The information was intriguing and eye-opening to me. Some of it was just plain sad – especially when learning that prevention is truly the key to solving this crisis which is affecting countless numbers of children in our community.  My fingers were flying to capture this information. Here are some of the highlights.

Parental education is critical.  Every child should have a “dental home” by age 1.  Juice and chocolate milk in “sippy cups” are major contributors to tooth decay in young children.  Water is the only thing that should ever be in a” sippy cup”! The PH level in drinks (acid) is also harmful to teeth.  The frequency that a child drinks sugar is what causes cavities – not just how much sugar is in a single drink.  Baby teeth are important (apparently there are baby tooth root canals – yikes). “Mountain Dew Disease” is terrible. One of the panelists said he could tell a Mountain Dew drinker almost immediately by looking at his or her teeth.

What are the repercussions of poor oral health in children? There are a lot.  School attendance declines, children cannot focus in the classroom when they are in pain, self-esteem is negatively affected and serious health problems can occur when infections go untreated.  It is well-documented that children who suffer from poor oral health do not succeed as well as their healthy peers and, later in life, there is a downward spiral in future employment situations.

As League members we, of course, wanted to know, “What can we do to help?” Fortunately, there are a number of ways the League could make an impact in this area.  We can serve as advocates in the community to bring this issue to the spotlight, and we can include educational materials and other resources at our events and incorporate them in our existing projects and activities.  There are probably endless opportunities for the JLC to help address this epidemic, and I feel certain we will rise to this exciting challenge.  Stay tuned!

On a closing note, I have to take this opportunity to remind everyone that poor oral health doesn’t only affect children who live in poverty.  If you have children, be sure you are heading advice for keeping their mouths healthy.  I bought some cool, neon-colored child-size “flossers” yesterday for my son and have vowed to make sure they are used! I hope we can all work together to bring lots of healthy smiles to our community and look forward to the JLC putting its efforts behind this worthy cause.

Post by: Carla Moore, President Elect

Here's to Your Health DIAD Project

Submitted by Alyssa Good, Active Member

 

Every day there are children througout the Midlands who do not have access to basic health care services and supplies. On Sunday, October 14, fifteen Junior League volunteers assisted with assembling baskets filled with toothbrushes, floss, band-aids and many other supplies to give to local nurses and teachers through one of the Junior League of Columbia's Done in a Day projects. These healthcare supplies will be given to children in our schools throughout the year. School teachers and nurses are a point of entry to the Healthy Learners service model. The baskets will serve as a reminder to the school teachers and nurses to refer children to Healthy Learners for medical treatments.