Entry bubble National Nutrition Month

By: Colleen | March 05, 2008 | Category: Health

March has it going on:

  • NCAA basketball tourney, aka "March Madness". By far, my FAVORITE time of the year. P-I-T-T- let's go Pitt! (Had to plug for my Panthers)
  • St. Patty's day - a pretty big deal for a gal whose moniker means "Irish girl." In addition, Shamrock Shakes are available all month long at McDonald's. Amazing.
  • "In like a lion, out like a lamb." Bring on Spring!

Besides all this great stuff, March is also National Nutrition Month! I confess to being a raging chocoholic, but I am aware of the importance of a healthy diet.

There is an overwhelming amount of information out there concerning healthy eating habits. The newly re-designed food pyramid suggests a diet heavy in whole grains, veggies, fruit, lean protein, and low-fat dairy.

Some tricks for sneaking some extra nutrition into your daily eating habits:

  • Replace soda with fruit juice or water. H2O  too bland? Squeeze a slice of lemon for added flavor.
  • Use ground turkey in favor of ground beef for cooking. Much less fat and calories and tastes just the same (I swear)!
  • Substitute whole-grain breads for white bread in sandwiches.
  • Try salsa in place of ketchup. The salsa has much less sugar and more lycopene than ketchup.
  • Remove the yolks from your eggs for omelets - spare yourself the cholesterol and fat.

Healthy eating doesn't have to be a chore. And you can always have your favorite treats in moderation. I for one, will be enjoying a Shamrock Shake.

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Entry bubble Celebrating African-American History Month: Hometown Heroes

By: Jake | February 11, 2008 | Category: General

 Richmond Skyline

February is African-American History Month and I thought in order to celebrate I would list some famous African-Americans from my hometown of Richmond, VA. Feel free to list who you think are important African-Americans from your hometown in the comments.

  • Maggie Walker became the first woman to charter a bank in the United States when she chartered St. Luke Penny Savings Bank in 1903 and ran it until 1929. The Maggie L. Walker National Historic Site at her former Jackson Ward home is operated by the National Park Service.
  • Bill "Bojangles" Robinson was a legendary tap dancer who, despite racial tensions, earned top dollar on the vaudeville circuit in the early 1900's and crossed over to the silver screen to star beside Shirley Temple in the 30's. A statue of him stands in Richmond where in 1933 he saw two children scurry across a busy highway and donated money to the city to install its first traffic light.
  • Arthur Ashe became the first African-American male tennis player to win a Grand Slam tournament. Ashe also championed the cause to end apartheid in South Africa and raised awareness about AIDS in an unfortunate way- after contracting the disease from a blood transfusion during heart surgery. A statue of Ashe was erected on Richmond's Monument Avenue in his honor.

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