Empowering Kids for Health - Joy

In this week’s DKWIO do-it-yourself series, we are celebrating the everyday Joy in our lives. Teaching children to experience joy involves making the connection between body and mind.

In the DKWIO program, we work hard to introduce new ways of thinking about food. When we ask children about how they eat joyfully, they are quick to answer with cake, candy, ice cream and other sugary foods. For the most part, this is how American’s eat joyfully. Think about the last celebration you attended. What kind of food was served? It is sometimes difficult to teach the connection food has with our body. Although eating cake and ice cream is sometimes okay, it’s not the kind of food you should eat everyday. We teach children about the kinds of foods that make their bodies happy.  Here are a few ideas to introduce the concept of joy to your child’s food:

·       Introduce new foods frequently. They will never know what they are missing until they try it.

·       Take your child to the grocery store and explore the produce department together.

·       Research new recipes and explore opportunities to swap-out regular recipes with healthy alternatives.

Here are some great foods that will make your body happy.

Empowering Kids for Health - Peace

Are you at peace with the food you eat? DKWIO reminds kids that there are really no “bad” foods; all food has some nutritional value. The key is how much of these foods they eat and how often they eat them.

Making smart food choices are key to living a healthy lifestyle. Nutrition Explorations lists the following tips to help parents shape children’s eating habits:

1. Focus on eating nutrient-rich foods instead of what not to eat.
2. Set a good example.
3. Use positive messages.
4. Set expectations.
5. Cook together.
6. Talk about nutritious choices wherever you go.
7. Make good nutrition convenient.
8. Make mealtime family time.
9. Remind kids to fuel at school.

 Visit Nutrition Explorations for more information about making healthy food choices. 

Don't Forget...

An Evening Out with Work It Out happens THIS week…have you registered yet?

An Evening Out with Work It Out will take place on Thursday, February 11, 2010 from 7:00 pm to 9:30 pm at the Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit.

The evening at MOCAD will include wine and appetizers courtesy of D’Amato’s of Royal Oak, music by DJ Urban Kris and a chance to explore the galleries of MOCAD, the innovative museum on Woodward Avenue in Midtown Detroit.

An Evening Out with Work It Out is a perfect opportunity to support the children in our community and enjoy a fun evening in a unique setting with a great group of people! 

Space is limited -– register here today!

 

Empowering Kids for Health - Healing

This week marks the 3^rd week of the DKWIO at-home series. These easy to follow, at-home sessions are here to help introduce new ideas and approaches to improving children’s health and wellness in your own home. This week’s focus – healing.

Everyone’s body will experience healing at some point – whether we heal from a broken leg, a scratched knee, or the common cold our bodies undergo the process of healing. Sometimes after exercising, our bodies might feel sore - when this happens it means our muscles need to heal. We can help  our muscles heal by making sure we have plenty of snacks with protein after exercising.  Foods like peanut butter on graham crackers, cheese and crackers, fruit with cottage cheese or sun butter on whole wheat bread are all excellent types of snacks that will jump start the healing.

Don’t forget about yoga!  Practicing yoga stretches before and after exercising will help keep your body flexible. Yoga also teaches you to move your body and to breathe in a way that helps it to heal and stay healthy inside and out. 

Don't Forget...

An Evening Out with Work It Out happens next week…have you registered yet?

An Evening Out with Work It Out will take place on Thursday, February 11, 2010 from 7:00 pm to 9:30 pm at the Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit. The evening at MOCAD will include wine and appetizers courtesy of D’Amato’s of Royal Oak, music by DJ Urban Kris and a chance to explore the galleries of MOCAD, the innovative museum on Woodward Avenue in Midtown Detroit.

An Evening Out with Work It Out is a perfect opportunity to support the children in our community and enjoy a fun evening in a unique setting with a great group of people! 

Space is limited -– register here today!

"A good snapshot stops a moment from running away." --Eudora Weity

We are eagerly counting down the days to the "Evening Out with Work It Out" event. The exclusive evening will take place on February 11th at the Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit and will feature wine, appetizers, music by DJ Urban Kris, and a preview of Brad Zielger’s captivating images of DKWIO children practicing yoga.

For three weeks, Brad visited the Boys & Girls (Fauver-Martin) Club in Highland Park to capture the focus, calm, and dedication of the children participating in DKWIO's yoga-based programs. For three weeks, the children welcomed him and his interesting camera equipment into their quiet room and every week, he was happily greeted with, “Yay! You are back to take our pictures again!”

DKWIO would like to send a BIG “thanks" to Brad for volunteering his time and talent for our event. To learn more about Brad Ziegler’s photography and services, please visit http://www.bradzieglerphotography.com/index.htm.

Interested in attending the event? Register online at www.dkwio.org/events/eveningout or call 313.227.2100 for more information. 

Don't Forget...

An Evening Out with Work It Out will take place on Thursday, February 11, 2010 from 7:00 pm to 9:30 pm at the Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit.

The evening at MOCAD will include wine and appetizers courtesy of D’Amato’s of Royal Oak, music by DJ Urban Kris and a chance to explore the galleries of MOCAD, the innovative museum on Woodward Avenue in Midtown Detroit.

An Evening Out with Work It Out is a perfect opportunity to support the children in our community and enjoy a fun evening in a unique setting with a great group of people!  

Thank you D’Amato’s!

D’Amato’s, an Italian bistro in downtown Royal Oak, blend a casual, inviting atmosphere with classic and contemporary Italian cuisine. D’Amato’s allows its chefs the creativity to branch out beyond traditional Italian techniques to serve up some of the finest fare in the area.

Check out D’Amato’s at http://www.damatos.com.

Interested in attending the event? Register online at www.dkwio.org/events/eveningout or call 313.227.2100 for more information.

 

Empowering Kids for Health - Energy

The DKWIO 10-week program consists of themed activities that embody the yoga philosophy and teach healthy, nutritional lessons. As a special edition on our weekly blog, we will feature each of the 10 themes for a “do-it-yourself” home course. This week’s theme: ENERGY.

Kids are always on the move…from the moment they wake up they are ready to face the day at full speed and some seem to find energy out of the thin air!  During the first week of the Danialle Karmanos' Work It Out in-school programs we teach the kids about how our bodies need energy and the effect food has on the energy our bodies use.

When we teach kids about energy we compare our bodies to a flashlight – when the battery on the flashlight is low, the light is dim. When the battery is at full strength, the light is very bright. The same is true for our bodies - when we eat foods like, candy, ice cream, pop, and chips our bodies only get short bursts of energy, our battery begins to run low, and our energy is weak. When we eat foods like fruits, vegetables, milk, and our bodies get long-last energy and we function at full strength. Eating foods that give us long-lasting energy is helps us to play sports, exercise, walk, run around the play ground, and practice yoga.

Parents: click here for more information about how to incorporate “energy” foods into your family’s meals.

 

 

An Evening Out with Work It Out

Mark Your Calendars! An Evening Out with Work It Out will take place on Thursday, February 11, 2010 from 7:00 pm to 9:30 pm at MOCAD in the heart of Detroit’s Midtown.  DKWIO is partnering with the Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit (MOCAD) to showcase a captivating collection of images by well-known photographer, Brad Ziegler. 

Tickets are $50 per person, $75 for VIP champagne reception with the artist from 6:30 pm - 7:00 pm.  All proceeds benefit Danialle Karmanos' Work it Out 501(c)(3).

Wine and appetizers provided by D'Amato's of Royal Oak with a music experience created by DJ Urban Kris.

Visit www.dkwio.org for event details and registration.

Mindful Eating and the Yoga Connection

Last week, Fox 2 Detroit reported on a study published by the Journal American Dietetic Association regarding weight loss and the connection between practicing yoga and mindful eating. 

According to the study, those who practiced yoga also ate mindfully. These same individuals were also at healthier weights than those who did not practice yoga in the study. Practicing yoga was directly associated to increased body awareness, specifically a higher sensitivity to hunger. The researchers found that people who ate mindfully – those were aware of why they ate and stopped eating when full – weighed less than those who ate mindlessly, who ate when not hungry or in a response to anxiety or depression. The researchers also found a strong association between yoga practice and mindful eating but found no association between other types of physical activity, such as waling or running, and mindful eating.

To learn more about the study, visit the Journal of the American Dietetic Association.