empowerme

Skip the sugar. Quench your thirst with water instead of soda, and grab a banana instead of a cookie – you’ll feel better.

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.

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.

Outside? Get creative! Get a group together to play any sport you like. Create an obstacle course or play Olympics with different made-up activities you can do in your neighborhood.

Reach for the Sky. Grab a small textbook. Bend your arm up with palm facing up. Place the textbook in your hand grasping the spine of the book. Raise your arm up to the sky - extending your arm up.  Then return to the bent armed position.  Repeat 10 times then switch arms.

Take the Challenge . Challenge your friends to try all kinds of fruits and vegetables. Have everyone keep track of the different kinds of fruits and vegetables that they eat and see how many you can all try. Make it a competition and the winner gets a meal made for them with their favorite fruits and vegetables.

Skip the Sides. Eating a burger or sandwich by itself is often filling enough. If you do want a side, consider ordering a fruit cup or side salad. Most fast food restaurants now offer them.

Cut the fat out of your gravy by refrigerating the pan juices and scraping off the solid layer of fat before making your gravy, or use a fat separator.

Put 100% fruit juice in an ice tray and freeze it overnight. You can eat the fruit cubes as mini- popsicles or put them in other juices. Frozen seedless grapes, banana, and strawberries make natural mini-popsicles and are a great summer treat.

Sugar...not so sweet. Reduce extra sugars, including sodas and juices.

Get others involved! Bringing more fruits and vegetables into your life can be a challenge. Invite your friends to get together and host an 'Iron Chef'-style challenge with recipes that include veggies. Create a cookbook of recipes and have everyone bring the dish they submitted so people can taste them.

Sleep gives your body energy, like food does, so you can last through the day.

To gain the maximum benefits from play time, engage in moderate to vigorous activity at least half the time.

Add it On. Add fruits and vegetables to foods you already love. Try adding frozen peas to mac'n'cheese, veggies on top of pizza, and slices of fruit on top of breakfast cereals or low-fat ice-cream.

Try a new fruit or vegetable every week. Here are a few to begin with: kiwi, squash, pumpkin, asparagus, and Asian pear.

Choose low-fat or fat-free milk or 100% juice to get vitamins, build strong bones, and reduce the risk of illness. Aim for 3 cups of milk a day and drink only 100% juice.

Host a Contest. Have some adults help you host an 'Iron Chef'-like contest with the special ingredient being any vegetables. Provide only healthy cooking items and try to include all different vegetables. Everyone there can be a judge and get to feast on healthy veggies. It is important to have adults there to help with cutting and cooking and they can help be judges too.

Put your green thumb on. If the weather is nice, help out with the yard work. Mowing the grass and gardening can be fun exercise.

The average kid spends 4-5 hours a day in front of a screen. Cut it down to 1-2 hours each day. Shift that time to making your community healthier.