Pages

Monday, March 30, 2015

Home Safe Home

Congrats to Kera Atmore and Lyndsey Winger! They are last week's random giveaway winners!
Here are their replies to the giveaway question, "What Helps you Get Dinner on the Table?"

 "We sliced a pork tenderloin and grilled the smaller pieces for 10 minutes instead of the 40 minutes it takes to cook a whole tenderloin. Had a packaged side dish and a steamed veggie that cooked while we were grilling the meat. 30 minute meal and the meat was very tender." 
- Kera Atmore

 "I like to shop sales when I'm grocery shopping combined with using coupons to get the best price for my food staples and I'll stock up. It helps to have everything on hand to make a quick meal" 
- Lyndsey Winger

Home is a place to relax, play and enjoy spending time with family. Of course, accidents happen! Many accidental injuries and deaths are related to the home and it's environment. However, there are steps you can take to prevent these injuries and deaths.

www.safekids.org

Prevent Slips and Falls:

  • Install grab bars in showers and tubs.
  • Use nonslip mats in bathtubs and showers.
  • Install stair rails.
  • Have good lighting.
  • Keeps stairs free of clutter.
  • Use safety gates in homes with young children at the tops and bottoms of stairs. Remember to read the manufacturer's instructions to make sure you have the right gate for your needs. Not all gates are safe for use at the top of stairs.
  • Keep babies and young kids strapped in when using high chairs, swings or strollers.
Prevent Drowning:
  • Supervise young children in bathtubs.
  • Always watch young children while they are swimming or playing in or around water.
  • Teach your children to swim and about water and pool safety rules.
  • Keep toilet lids closed and keep doors to bathrooms and laundry rooms closed.
Prevent Fire-Related Deaths and Injuries:
  • Keep flammable objects away from the stove.
  • Make sure every bedroom has two exits in case of fire.
  • Practice your fire escape plan.
  • Install smoke alarms on every floor, including basements, and test batteries every six months.
  • Blow candles out when you leave the room or before you go to sleep.
  • Keep appliance cords out of children's reach, especially if the appliances produce a lot of heat.
  • To prevent accidental scalding, set your water heater to 120 degrees Fahrenheit or the manufacturer's recommended setting.
Prevent TV and Furniture Tip-overs
  • Mount flat-panel TVs to the wall to prevent them from falling off stands. Follow the manufacturer's instructions to ensure that you have a secure fit.
  • Use brackets, braces, or wall straps to secure unstable or top heavy furniture to the wall.
  • If you have a large, box-style (CRT) TV, place it on a low, stable piece of furniture. If you no longer use your CRT TV, consider recycling it. To find a recycle location, go to www.GreenerGadgets.org.

Which safety tip do you follow in your home? 
Or which tip will you follow? 
Let us know in the comments!
Posted by at 3 comments:

Thursday, March 26, 2015

This Weekend in Weber County!

Time for this weekend's roundup of educational, free, athletic, or just plain fun(!) events happening in Weber County!




  • Saturday 9am. A Walk in My Shoes 2k Walk at Newgate Mall. $10 Earn .5 hour vacation for participating and submitting Fitness Event Summary Form with your End-of-Year Summary.
  • Saturday 7:30am. Striders Winter Race Circuit Half Marathon at Eden Park. $55 Earn 2 hours vacation for participating and submitting Fitness Event Summary Form with your End-of-Year Summary.
  • Saturday 10am-5pm. Volunteer Planting Day at the Ogden Nature Center. Help plant bare-root stock at the Ogden Nature Center. FREE
  • Saturday 12pm. Weber State Women's Softball vs. Portland State at Weber State University Wildcat Softball Field. FREE
  • Saturday 6pm. Treehouse Troupe at the Treehouse Children's Museum. FREE - $7
  • Saturday 7:30pm. Arcadia at Weber State University, Eccles Theater, Val Browning Center. $10-12



Enjoy Weber County!
Posted by at No comments:
Labels:

Monday, March 23, 2015

Last Week to Win a National Nutrition Month Goody Bag PLUS Tips for a Healthy Quick Dinner

Time is running out to take the 
Employee Health Risk Appraisal worth 
2 hours of vacation time! 
This survey should only take 10 minutes and will help direct the future of the Wellness Program. 
Hurry! It's only available thru March 31st!


Congrats to Nella Forsberg and Peter Stoker! They are last week's random giveaway winners!
Here are their replies to the giveaway question, "Which Healthy Tip Will You Try?"

"I'm cutting back on refined sugar. I often crave sweets after a meal, so I will reach for a fruit." 
- Nella Forsberg
"I need to get my 30 minutes of exercise a day!" 
- Peter Stoker

After a long day at work, worrying about what to make for dinner isn't something anyone looks forward to! It can seem so much simpler to just swing through the drive-thru lane and grab food for everyone. However, you will most likely be sacrificing both your family's money and health with regular take-out meals.

To make the healthy choice the easy choice here are some tips to make planning dinner easier as well as ideas for healthy and quick dinners!

First, planning is key. Sit down with your family's calendar and plan your meals for the next week. Once you get the hang of it, you can increase the plan to two weeks, then three, then the whole month! 

Keep staples on hand. This is particularly helpful with dinner sides. Stock up when side items are on sale and have complete meals ready to throw together.  

 Do as much prep over the weekend as you can. Make a large batch of rice and freeze it into portions appropriate for your family's mealtime. Buy salad fixins to throw together quick side salads. Cook an oven full of baked potatoes, have them ready to grab from the fridge during the week. Pre-cut fruits and vegetables for easy serving.

 Use your crockpot. There are several healthy and super quick crockpot recipes that will enable you to make dinner all while you're at work. Some don't even require prior prep, you dump the ingredients in the crockpot and turn it on!

 Healthy & Quick Dinner Ideas:
www.sixsistersstuff.com

www.tidymom.net

www.thrivinghomeblog.com

www.sparkpeople.com


What Helps You Get Dinner on the Table?
Tell us in the comments below for your chance to win a National Nutrition Month Goody Bag!
Giveaway closes on March 28th. 
Must be a Weber County Employee to win.
Posted by at 7 comments:

Monday, March 16, 2015

Preventing Chronic Conditions Through your Diet PLUS Enter to Win a National Nutrition Month Goody Bag!

Time is running out to take the 
Employee Health Risk Appraisal worth 
2 hours of vacation time! 
This survey should only take 10 minutes and will help direct the future of the Wellness Program. 
Hurry! It's only available thru March 31st!


Congrats to Janet Long and Ellen Seely! They are last week's random giveaway winners!
Here are their replies to the giveaway question, "What is your go-to healthy snack?"

 "Carrots & hummus or homemade trail mix: craisins, almonds, & sunflower seeds" 
- Ellen Seely
"Kind bars which have a lot of nuts, low sugars, and taste yummy! Also nut-thins (crackers made by Blue Diamond) with some almond or peanut butter are a great snack!" 
- Janet Long

 Hippocrates stated, "Let food by thy medicine and medicine be thy food." Today we say, "You are what you eat." Both comments are basically saying our health can be made or broken by what we choose to eat.

Unhealthy diets and lack of physical activity can contribute to or make many chronic diseases and conditions worse, including type 2 diabetes, hypertension (high blood pressure), heart disease, stroke, and some cancers. By improving eating habits and increasing physical activity, we can reduce obesity and other chronic diseases. 

 Here are some tips to jump start your physical activity and improve your food choices;

Keep on the go...
  • There are lots of ways to be active. Go for a walk, take the stairs, ride a bike, dance, shoot hoops, jump rope, take a fitness class, or play a fitness video game. Choose what you like best, and then just do it!
  • Start slowly. Do not get upset if you can not do a lot - just keep moving! Add more activity each week.
  • Aim for 30 minutes everyday. You do not have to do it all at once - 10 minutes at a time, three times a day is fine.
  • Use a step counter for fun. Use it to keep track of the number of steps you take in a day. Try to increase this number every day. There are several apps available for download that take the place of a traditional pedometer.

Your nutrition prescription...
  • Eat foods that are high in fiber. Whole grain bread, cereal, brown rice, oatmeal, lentils and dried peas, fruits and vegetables.
  • Eat small servings of fish, meat, poultry, low-fat cheese, and soy products like tofu. Remove skin and all the fat you can see. 
  • Beware how you prepare. Have baked boiled or grilled foods instead of fried.
  • Enjoy the natural flavor. Eat foods that are low in salt and do not add salt to your food.
  • Drink water instead of regular soda or fruit drinks.
  • Make it a "real" treat. When eating sweets, desserts, or candy, have only a small serving after a healthy meal and not every day.
  • Eat slowly and try not to take second helpings. If you are still hungry after a meal, fill up on vegetables or a piece of fruit.

Which Tip Will You Try?
Tell us in the comments below for your chance to win a National Nutrition Month Goody Bag!
Giveaway closes on March 21st. 
Must be a Weber County Employee to win.
Posted by at 4 comments:

Thursday, March 12, 2015

This Weekend in Weber County!

Time for this weekend's roundup of educational, free, athletic, or just plain fun(!) events happening in Weber County!



  • Friday 5:30 - 9pm. Weber Pathways presents An Evening with Pete McBride. $60-100




Enjoy Weber County!
Posted by at No comments:
Labels:

Monday, March 9, 2015

National Nutrition Month: Snack-Time! PLUS Enter to Win a National Nutrition Month Goody Bag

Time is running out to take the Employee Health Risk Appraisal worth 
2 hours of vacation time! This survey should only take 10 minutes and will help direct the future of the Wellness Program. 
Hurry! It's only available thru March 31st!


We all know it's super hard not to over-eat during lunch or reach for a bag of chips an hour after. After all, we're hungry and live fast on-the-go lifestyles! Lucky for us when you have easy portable ingredients, creating an on-the-go snack becomes relatively simple.

Here are a few nutritious grab-and-go snacks for when hunger strikes!!
  1. Whole grains, nuts, and seeds: Whole grain crackers make a tasty snack and nuts pack a ton of protein and fiber as well
  2. Greek yogurt: Mix with fresh fruit to take in 7 grams of fiber.
  3. Hardboiled egg: Only around 70 calories and you can boil a bunch at the beginning of the week to save time.
  4. Whole wheat tortilla and hummus roll up: (1 tortilla, 1 Tbsp. hummus). The first ingredient in hummus is chickpeas (garbanzo beans), which provides you with lots of fiber and protein.
  5. Fruits and veggies: You can easily prep and throw into Ziploc baggies to grab-and-go throughout the week.
  6. Whole wheat breakfast cereal mixed with dried fruit and almonds: You get plenty of fiber from the cereal and protein from the nuts.
...and last but certainly not least,
  1. Water: It is so important to stay hydrated! Dehydration causes you to believe you need to eat when actually you really need liquid intake. Keep a bottle with you at all times and refill it throughout the day.

What are your Go-To Healthy Snacks?
Tell us in the comments below for your chance to win a National Nutrition Month Goody Bag!
Giveaway closes on March 14th. 
Must be a Weber County Employee to win.
Posted by at 9 comments:
Labels: , ,

Thursday, March 5, 2015

This Weekend in Weber County!

Time for this weekend's roundup of educational, free, athletic, or just plain fun(!) events happening in Weber County!






Enjoy Weber County!
Posted by at No comments:
Labels: ,

Monday, March 2, 2015

Start Your Day with Breakfast! PLUS Enter to Win a Nutrition Month Goody Bag!

Two lucky employees will win a National Nutrition Month Goody Bag that includes a gift card to a local grocery store! 
To be eligible for this awesome prize tell us what your Favorite Healthy Breakfast Food is in the comments below. 
The giveaway will close Saturday, March 7. 

We all have heard the phrase, "Breakfast is the Most Important Meal of the Day." While that may be true, with work, school, and the general craziness that is life, it is also one of the most overlooked meals of the day!

Why is breakfast so important? In general, people who eat breakfast have more energy, are more productive in their work, and eat healthier throughout the day. Without breakfast, people can get irritable, restless and tired.

Are you struggling with eating a healthy breakfast in your rushed mornings? Here are some quick and healthy breakfast ideas you can try:

  • Spend some time over the weekend and make freeze ahead breakfasts. Thaw overnight in the fridge or zap in the microwave before heading out the door!

http://totallythebomb.com/freeze-ahead-breakfast

  • Got 10 minutes? Here are 16 ideas that can be prepared in 10 minutes or less!

http://www.sparkpeople.com/resource/nutrition_articles.asp?id=64#_a5y_p=1306599

  • Make your breakfast the night before with overnight oatmeal. There are bunches of different recipes out there but you can use this simple outline to create your own! 



  • Try these breakfast themed snacks any time of day.

http://greatist.com/health/healthy-fast-breakfast-recipes

What's your Favorite Healthy Breakfast Food? 
Tell us in the comments below for your chance to win a National Nutrition Month Goody Bag!
Giveaway closes on March 7th. 
Must be a Weber County Employee to win.
Posted by at 14 comments:
Labels:
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)