"Families Team Up To Improve Health"

That is one of today's headlines on the front page of the Richmond Times Dispatch. This is precisely why families need to THINK out of the box and not EAT out of the box, about the technique of putting a home-cooked meal on the dinner table. Try the cooking co-op method!!! The story follows a father and son, both overweight, working out together. "They are winning their battles because they work together as families." "When a parent and child work out together, the attitude changes...This is what we need to do, what the whole family needs to do," says Dr. Madge Zacharias, a board-certified pediatric physician. "It becomes a team approach. It fosters positive benefits for the family and builds family memories." "Families that make changes together are more effective," says Dr. Edmond Wicham, assistant professor of medicine and pediatrics at Virginia Commonwealth University. "It's important that the parent is role-modeling rather than just telling a child what to do. The article goes on to say, "Life changes are at the heart of weight loss. Zacharias has other weight-loss tips:...Have a structure to meals." So cook for a night, and eat natural foods for a week!

Duty Calls

Here's the definition of duty: 1) That which one is morally or legally bound to do: obligation. 2) Action or conduct required of one's position. ---Syn. 1) Duty, obligation, and responsibility denote an action that one is bound to perform. Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes said "... life is action and passion." So as we begin to think about fall and going back to school, think about action that can change your life. If you ate more meals at home with your family and friends, would you eat more natural foods as opposed to processed foods saving more money that could instead go to pay down debt or go into home repairs? Are you passionate about saving money, stress and calories? Then for the first time try a cooking co-op the month of September. Cooking co-op is action, obligation, and responsibility. But so is any sport. The thrill of victory is a home-cooked meal on your very own table. Duty is calling us to action- develope that action side of your nature!

Try This to Help Our Nations's Obesity Rate

A new report confirms the obvious: America's obesity rate has increased. In 1991, no state had an adult obesity rate above 20%. Now only Colorado is the only state to have less than 20% adults that are overweight. Nine of the states with the highest obesity rates are in the south. Obesity, diabetes, hypertension, and inactivity all track together. More than 1/3 of children ages 10-17 are overweight. The poor and less educated have higher obesity rates. States have answered by passing soda taxes, laws on nutrition labeling etc. How about advertising and encouraging the use of cooking co-ops in the work place, neighborhoods, churchs? At sporting events, it's fun to see and participate in "the wave" as different sections of the stadium take turns standing up. If we want to get America moving in a healthier direction, let's start a cooking co-op 'Wave."

"The Power of a Gentle Nudge"

This is the title of the lead article in the personal journal section of the Wall Street Journal back in May. A study conducted by Stanford University showed that "... small amounts of social support, ranging from friends who encourage each other by email to occasional meetings with a fitness counselor, can produce large and lasting gains against one of America's biggest health problems- physical inactivity...Even many of the nation's most committed excercisers have trouble doing it on their own..35% to 40% of Americans...prefer to work out in groups. Like alcoholics who can stay sober only with the help of 12 step meetings, these athletes owe their high levels of fitness to running, cyling or swimming clubs." Here in Richmond, many runners and bikers benefit from runs and bike trips organized by various groups. The power of a gentle nudge, by being part of Team Cooking Co-Op, is eating more natural food, as opposed to processed food at a fraction of the cost and enjoying more time around the dinner table with family and friends. Livestrong? How about Cook2livestrong?

Communion

Had a discussion on communion yesterday and I realized in eating bread and drinking wine at the Lord's Supper, we are bringing into our bodies and souls nurishment. And it is of utmost importance the quality of what and how we bring that nurishment into our bodies and souls. Here are some quotes from Jeffrey Meyers about communion and family meals: "They (children) begin to learn very early what is the meaning and significance of the family meal, and they learn how to behave in accordance with that significance...We congregate around food, not just for nourishment but also for social reasons. Families unite around the table. Friendships are formed and cultivated at meals. Elaborate social rituals develope to set apart common meals and to facilitate fellowship. We live to eat and eating structures are common life. This is how God made us." Cooking co-op brings quality food (less processed food), gives you the structure to cook one night and eat for a week and perhaps we would all learn better behavior!