Beating the Bad Weather Breakfast

Well this week was my spring break from school, but the weather here in Jax hasn't really put much of a spring in my step. The overcast, cold, and rain have put a wrench in my beach plans, but I wasn't going to let it ruin my breakfast today!

This morning I was solo for breakfast since SF had to get ready for a show opening and I decided to make myself a sunny meal to beat the bad weather.  I went to the Starbucks around the corner and picked up one of the new hazelnut macchiatos as a Saturday treat (sooo good by the way) and got to work on a simple egg, avocado, and tomato sandwich. It was super easy, but was just what I needed to get the spring back in my spring break.

I took half of a small avocado and sliced it onto a piece of whole wheat toast, took a thick slice of a fresh Florida tomato and put that on top, then added my fried egg (fried with cooking spray of course) and topped it off with a little mozzarella cheese and cracked black pepper. A couple of strawberries on the side and my breakfast was complete!

Simple, pretty, and definitely more sunny than this weather! With the heart healthy avocado, the nutty whole wheat toast, the delicious fried egg, and the nice dose of vitamin C from the tomato and strawberries, I think my day got off to a pretty good start! What do you like to make when the weather gets bad?

Stay dry everyone!

Modified Sweet Potato Casserole

Hey everyone! I hope everyone's weekend has been relaxing and maybe even productive. We did an overhaul on our backyard and planted some lettuce and kale in our small raised bed so needless to say, we have had a hard working and dirt filled weekend.

To say our farewell to the weekend and most likely to the cooler weather here in Jax, we decided to have sweet potato casserole for dinner tonight. Sweet potato casserole is one of my favorite sides for Thanksgiving dinner, but it's usually super sweet and has lots of butter in it (not that I complain once a year) so I wanted to revamp it slightly to fit it into my healthier Sunday meal. Here is my recipe:

3-5 sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed
1/4 cup unsalted butter (1/2 stick)
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
2 cups marshmallows

Put the cubed sweet potatoes in a large pot with enough water to cover
Bring to a boil and cook for 15 minutes
Drain the potatoes and add the butter, brown sugar, vanilla, and spices
Mash or use an electric mixer until the mixture is combined but still slightly lumpy
Spoon mixture into a casserole dish and top with marshmallows (you could add pecans or cashews here if you like)
Bake in a 350 degree oven for 25-30 minutes or until marshmallows are just golden brown.

Fresh out of the oven

I cut the sugar by 1/2 cup while keeping the flavor by adding vanilla extract and nutmeg. I also reduced the amount of butter by half as the recipe I normally use calls for 1/2 cup. The marshmallows aren't going anywhere though, they are the best part!

I served this decadently delish casserole with some rotisserie chicken and some steamed green beans for a healthy Southern, Sunday meal! By cutting some of the sugar and the fat I let the goodness of the sweet potatoes shine through and I don't feel bad about making this casserole for a regular dinner.  This casserole is so good you won't even need dessert, heck it could be dessert on its own...and lunch tomorrow!

Rotisserie chicken, steamed green beans, and sweet potato casserole.

As SF was eating his dinner he said, "It's like Christmas in July, and by that I mean Thanksgiving in March." That means he likes it!

Enjoy and have a great week!

Getting Involved

Happy Friday! Today I attended a meeting for the Duval County Child Obesity Prevention Coalition and I wanted to share a little bit about my experience.

Jacksonville has a big problem with poverty, poor nutrition, obesity, and infant mortality in the urban core area (Downtown, Springfield, etc..) and there are many groups trying to get together to help solve the problem. The children of our city are highly impacted by these issues as well as a lack of availability of fresh produce and safe places to play. All of this leads to poor health and obese children, which in the long run will result in higher health care costs due to higher rates of chronic disease and the possibility that this generation will be the first to have a shorter life expectancy than their parents. Concerned yet? I certainly am!

Something I had to wrap my mind around was how bad this problem truly is and how it is knocking on our doors. I am from a smaller city in Southwest Florida that is by many measures a well-to-do city with lower instances of these types of problems. Add that to the fact that I had been sheltered from issues such as food insecurity or child obesity due to my upbringing and you have one shocked, sheltered, suburban girl. Luckily for me, I now know the problem exists and I have a vested interest in doing something about it. We all do. One of my professors once said that obesity is not an "Us and Them" problem, it's OUR problem. It's not just Jacksonville either, its everywhere.

So what are the contributing factors? Well for starters, we have people living in urban areas that are miles away from a grocery store or mega-mart and without transportation to get to a store that sells fresh produce. Corner stores are much more prevalent in these areas and if you've ever tried to find a healthy option at a corner store then you know where the problem lies. It's a lack of accessibility and availability. Another problem is a lack of education about healthy food. Many schools don't have the funding for nutrition educators to come in and teach kids how to make healthy snack choices or what it means to have a healthy meal. Not only do kids not have the education about healthy choices, but they don't even have physical education anymore! More and more schools have taken recess and physical activity out of the curriculum to be replaced by more classroom time. Kids need exercise and if they don't have a safe neighborhood to play in, they need to be able to play at school! All of these are BIG problems in our communities that are leading to BIG and unhealthy kids!

What can I do? That was the question I asked myself after leaving the coalition meeting this morning. What can I do, what can WE do? We can start by learning about the problem and understanding the need. We can visit our local farmer's markets that reach out to our struggling communities and help by funding their efforts. We can have a conversation with the farmers and ask them about their community programs, if they donate extra food, etc... Hey, you get some great produce in the process! We can donate money, time, or food to our local food pantries and find out more about the communities they serve. If your child has a school garden, volunteer some time to help maintain it and take that opportunity to teach your child about where healthy food comes from. You don't have to be a policy maker to change the community. You just have to do a little something!

I base my healthy lifestyle on realistic goals and my busy schedule, which means sometimes I won't be able to do as much hands-on as I would like, but the key to making a difference is finding even a small way that you can help. Always start small and you will be amazed how big your impact can be!

If you are interested in getting involved with the efforts here in Duval county here are some great resources and information articles! If you don't live in Duval, reach out to your health department and see what information is available.

Second Harvest North Florida
Jax 2025
Florida Farm to School
Health Zone One Residents Urged to Get Moving and Eat Healthy

Note: If you're really looking to make change on the policy level, write your representatives about childhood nutrition and obesity in your area. For my fellow Florida residents: http://www.myfloridahouse.gov/