empowerme

Eggxactly! Boil, scramble, or poach eggs and serve on whole-wheat toast - they're packed with nutrition.

You work hard at school... and you should have time to relax when you get home. But all that sitting... sitting in school, on the bus, in front of the TV... it adds up.  Spend some time doing fun things standing and moving.  Try jumping jacks or sit-ups during commercials or during game shows in the suspense-filled moments.

Mashed veggies instead of mashed potatoes?!? Mashing steamed cauliflower with low-fat milk is a great low-cal replacement for mashed potatoes.

You might be thinking - sodas have water right? And flavor? But sodas don't add any vitamins or nutrients, and caffeine makes you pee more, meaning you lose more water than you put in.

Different foods provide different nutrients so remember to explore all the types of food out there!

Get plenty of ZZZs: While you're sleeping, your body grows and recovers from your days activities. If you don't give your body enough time to recover, it can catch up with you over time. Kids should get at least 9 hours of sleep every night.

Lunch or dinner at home? Whether people know it or not fruits AND vegetables are naturally sweet. Roasting vegetables brings out their sweetness - even peppers! Great desert idea: roasted apples with cinnamon. Yum!

Spend time before the holidays planning healthy snacks to prepare. Make a grocery list and stick to it. Whether you are a host or guest, be the one to create healthy alternatives to the typically not-so-healthy holiday menu.

Kangaroo Jump. Tape a shoelace to the floor in a straight vertical line. Stand on one side of the line with both feet together. Count to 3 and on 3 start jumping over the string from one side to the other 10 times. Take a brief break and do it again.

Pass on the Soda. Opt for water, 100% juice, or low-fat milk instead of high-fat shakes and sugary soda.

Turn off your screens! Screen time includes watching television or movies, playing video and computer games and surfing the internet. When you are sitting in front of a screen, you are not being active and may snack on unhealthy foods. So turn off those screens to increase your energy and make yourself healthier!    

Choose foods that are low in saturated fat - take a look at the food labels to know what you're eating!

Go Nutty! Spreading peanut or almond butter on whole-grain toast is a great way to get both protein and fiber.

Go fishing, and eat more broiled or baked fish. Fish that contain healthy oils like salmon, trout, and herring can make going fishy a way to go healthy.

Got chores? Make them fun! Use music and get active while cleaning, Head outside and help in the garden, or climb the stairs extra times as you clean to get more exercise!

Play or exercise 60 minutes daily and work up a sweat. Try dancing, swimming, mowing the lawn, or bicycling to start. Add challenges like longer distances, weights, or an incline to pump up the intensity.

Getting healthy is about making some changes in your life. Remember to start slow and pick one change to work on at a time.

Need inspiration? Rent a workout video from a local library to learn some moves you can do on your own later.

Go colorful! Fruits and veggies come in a rainbow of colors. Look for new ones in the stores and try them all! Who knows? You may find you like a vegetable or fruit you'd never even heard of before.

Wait more than a second for seconds: Eat a moderate first serving of food. Then, wait a few minutes before going back for seconds. It takes twenty minutes for your stomach to tell your brain that its full, so after waiting you might find that you're no longer hungry enough for that second helping.