Wellness

@ Moraine Valley

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Healthy Road Trip Tips!

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It’s that time of year again.  Families near and far are shuffling kids, moms, dads, aunts, uncles and grannies into the car for the illustrious family road trip vacation.  But when your vacay – and your family – crams into one car, it’s hard to find something portable that you can also feel good about giving your family.  

Below are 5 tips to help stay healthy for this summer’s road trip!  They’re fit for tots, teens, and parents alike.  And most importantly, they’ll withstand 70 miles per hour, potty pit-stops, and backseat fights.
Healthy snacks on the road:

road trip


1) Plan, Plan, Plan!
By planning your meals and scheduled stops, and bringing along healthy beverages and snacks, you will save time, money and a lot of excess fat and sugar calories!  Sit down and make a plan on when you will stop for meals.

2) Hydrate!
First in that cooler needs to be water and 100% fruit juice boxes.  This way, your family will stay hydrated during your road trip.  Stay away from pop, sugary juice, tea, sports and energy drinks.  Along with saving a lot of excess calories, you will save a lot of money avoiding gas stations and vending machines!

3) Pack healthy snacks.
By packing healthy snacks, you can decrease the excess fries and chips and the “I’m hungry” whines in between meal stops!  I recommend packing snacks into smaller snack bags so people can grab individual portions from the cooler.  (Sidenote: Eating in the car does increase the choking factor especially for very small kids. Be mindful of this when choosing what snacks to bring).

Some ideas:
-Hummus and whole-wheat pitas (Now sold in little packs at the store!)
-String cheese sticks
-Fruit and Veggie Snack Packs, bag of apples
-Sunflower seeds and nuts/trailmix
-Animal crackers, pretzels, Goldfish, etc

4.) Stop and eat meals.
Sometimes it may seem like it’s easier to power through your drive by utilizing fast food restaurants and not stopping to eat, but that may backfire.  Take the time to stop and eat, stretch your legs and move around a bit before you continue on your trip.  Add a side salad or a fruit to your meal instead of the usual fries and chips.  If you want to go the fast food route, try and order sandwiches but supplement the meal with the snacks you have packed in the car. This is a HUGE cost saver on road trips!

5) Exercise!
Take the time on your potty breaks to move your legs a bit, especially if you have young kids in the car.  If the tensions are getting high in the back seat, it may be time for some fresh air!  Many rest stops have trails and playgrounds now.  A great app to download is USA Rest stops which will help you find what rest areas are closest to you.

Now that you’ve got your summer road trip snack pack prepared, you’re ready to head out on a road-bound vacation you can truly feel good about.

Happy Trails to you!

Kelly Devine Rickert MS RDN LDN

Quick Healthy Recipes

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Chopped Cashew Chicken Salad

Greek Yogurt Veggie Dip
Ingredients for 3 servings
16 oz Greek yogurt
3 tablespoons dried parsley
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
¼ teaspoon pepper
½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 tablespoon green onion
OPTIONAL 1 tablespoon green onion ½ teaspoon dried minced garlic ½ teaspoon dried minced onion

Pair with your favorite chopped veggies for a lower fat, higher protein alternative.

5 INGREDIENT PEANUT BUTTER ENERGY BITES
SERVINGS: 12 BITES
Quick and Healthy 5 Ingredient Peanut Butter Energy Bites. Takes less than 10 minutes to make with only 5 ingredients! The perfect healthy snack!
INGREDIENTS
2/3 cup creamy peanut butter
1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 cup old fashioned oats
1/2 cup ground flax seeds
2 tablespoons honey
INSTRUCTIONS

  1. Combine all 5 ingredients in a medium bowl. Stir to combine. Place in the refrigerator for 15-30 minutes so they are easier to roll.
  2. Roll into 12 bites and store in the fridge for up to a week.

Chicken Cashew Salad

1.5 cups carrots and cabbage (each)
5 oz chicken
¼ cup cashews
2 tbsp sesame seeds
2 tbsp peanut vinaigrette (found at Trader Joe’s!)
Green onions (optional)

Cilantro Pesto Pasta Salad

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Recipe time!  Here is an easy and healthy recipe to add to your dinner table this summer!

Ingredients:

Pesto
2 cups tightly packed cilantro leaves
2 garlic cloves, peeled
1/2 cup walnuts, chopped
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
2 teaspoons fresh squeezed lemon juice
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
¾ cup of extra-virgin olive oil
1/3 cup non-fat plain Greek yogurt

Salad
2 cups halved grape tomatoes
2 cups diced zucchini
1 cup thinly sliced red onion
3 cups shredded or diced chicken breast
3 cups cooked whole wheat elbow macaroni

Directions:
1. Pesto: Add cilantro, garlic, walnuts, Parmesan, lemon juice, salt and pepper to a food processor. Pulse 4 to 5 times until ingredients are roughly chopped. Turn on the food processor, and slowly drizzle in the oil through the lid opening. Process until smooth. Add the yogurt to this mixture and process until well combined.
2. Salad: In a large bowl, combine the rest of the ingredients with the pesto. Gently toss to combine.

Beat the Bloat This Summer!

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BBQ’s, cottage weekends, parties, summer drinking all have what in common? An increase in calories, carbs and fat which unfortunately leads to some summer weight gain and bloating. So what can we do? Try these tips and tricks below to decrease your summer bloat and inch the scale back down.

1. Ditch the alcohol for a while and replace with caffeine free, water based drinks. Water, infused with with fruit, vitamin water zero, or other flavored waters with no calories work great!
Aim for 64-100 oz a day!(No pop as well!)

2. Watch the salty snack foods (pretzels, tortilla chips, cheese). And the dips they accompany! Try veggies and hummus, apple with peanut butter or slice of watermelon or cataloupe for a refreshing snack instead!

3. Up the fruits and veggies. Naturally high in water and fiber, these foods keep you full and satisfied, and keeps you hydrated with no extra salt. Add to meals or snacks!
Breakfast:
Add to egg wrap
Lunch
Add to your sandwich or wrap or choose a nice big salad for lunch
Dinner
Add a salad and a cooked veggie to help fill you up.

4. Decrease the cured and salty meats such as hotdogs, brats, frozen hamburgers, etc. Choose fresh meat or go meat free for a bit.

5. Cook at home! Often times people go out to eat more in the summer but during the week try and cook some simple meals at home. You control the salt and ingredients so less bloating for everyone!

Enjoy!

Kelly Devine Rickert MS RDN CSSD LDN
Moraine Valley Wellness Coordinator

10 Ways to Enjoy More Fruits and Vegetables This Summer!

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Put those fresh in season fruits and vegetables to use this summer. Below are 10 ways to boost your produce intake this summer!

  1. Stuff an omelet with vegetables. Turn any omelet into a hearty meal with broccoli, squash, carrots, peppers, tomatoes or onions with low-fat sharp cheddar cheese.
  2. “Sandwich” in fruits and vegetables. Add pizzazz to sandwiches with sliced pineapple, apple, peppers, cucumber and tomato as fillings.
  3. Wake up to fruit. Make a habit of adding fruit to your morning oatmeal, ready-to-eat cereal, yogurt or toaster waffle.
  4. Add grated, shredded or chopped vegetables such as zucchini, spinach and carrots to lasagna, meat loaf, mashed
    potatoes, pasta sauce and rice dishes.
  5. Make fruit your dessert: Slice a banana lengthwise and top with a scoop of low-fat
    frozen yogurt. Sprinkle with a tablespoon of chopped nuts. Or freeze some grapes for a quick evening snack.
  6. Grill colorful vegetable kabobs packed with tomatoes, green and red peppers, mushrooms and onions.
  7. Keep cut vegetables handy for mid-afternoon snacks, side dishes, lunch box additions or a quick nibble while waiting for dinner. Ready-to-eat favorites: red, green or yellow peppers, broccoli or cauliflower florets,
    carrots, celery sticks, cucumbers, snap peas or whole radishes.
  8. Make a veggie wrap with roasted vegetables and low-fat cheese rolled in a whole-wheat tortilla.
  9. Place colorful fruit where everyone can easily grab something for a snack-on-the run.
    Keep a bowl of fresh, just ripe whole fruit in the center of your kitchen or dining table.
  10. Variety abounds when using vegetables as pizza topping. Try broccoli, spinach, green peppers,
    tomatoes, mushrooms and zucchini.

Kelly Devine Rickert MS RDN LDN

Moraine Valley Wellness Coordinator

Covid-19 Vaccine

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Benefits of Getting a COVID-19 Vaccine

Per CDC Website, 5/5/21

COVID-19 vaccination will help keep you from getting COVID-19

Once you are fully vaccinated, you can start doing more

  • After you are fully vaccinated for COVID-19, you may be able to start doing some things that you stopped doing because of the pandemic. For example, you can gather indoors without masks with other people who are fully vaccinated.
  • We are still learning how vaccines will affect the spread of COVID-19. Until we know more about how vaccines will affect the spread of COVID-19, people who are fully vaccinated against COVID-19 should keep taking precautions in public places like wearing a mask, staying 6 feet apart from others, avoiding crowds and poorly ventilated spaces, and washing your hands often.
  • People are not considered fully vaccinated until two weeks after their second dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna COVID-19 vaccine, or two weeks after a single-dose Johnson & Johnson’s Janssen COVID-19 vaccine. You should keep using all the tools available to protect yourself and others until you are fully vaccinated.

COVID-19 vaccination is a safer way to help build protection

  • COVID-19 can have serious, life-threatening complications, and there is no way to know how COVID-19 will affect you. And if you get sick, you could spread the disease to friends, family, and others around you.
  • Clinical trials for all vaccines must first show they are safe and effective before any vaccine can be authorized or approved for use, including COVID-19 vaccines. The known and potential benefits of a COVID-19 vaccine must outweigh the known and potential risks of the vaccine before it is used under what is known as an Emergency Use Authorization (EUA). Watch a video explaining an EUA.
  • Getting COVID-19 may offer some protection, known as natural immunity. Current evidence suggests that reinfection with the virus that causes COVID-19 is uncommon in the months after initial infection, but may increase with time. The risk of severe illness and death from COVID-19 far outweighs any benefits of natural immunity. COVID-19 vaccination will help protect you by creating an antibody (immune system) response without having to experience sickness.
  • Both natural immunity and immunity produced by a vaccine are important parts of COVID-19 disease that experts are trying to learn more about, and CDC will keep the public informed as new evidence becomes available.

COVID-19 vaccination will be an important tool to help stop the pandemic

  • Wearing masks and staying 6 feet apart from others help reduce your chance of being exposed to the virus or spreading it to others, but these measures are not enough. Vaccines will work with your immune system so it will be ready to fight the virus if you are exposed.
  • A growing body of evidence suggests that fully vaccinated people are less likely to be infected without showing symptoms (called an asymptomatic infection) and potentially less likely to spread the virus that causes COVID-19 to others. However, further investigation is ongoing.
  • Stopping a pandemic requires using all the tools we have available. As experts learn more about how COVID-19 vaccination may help reduce spread of the virus that causes COVID-19, CDC will continue to update its recommendations to protect communities using the latest science.

COVID-19 vaccines are safe and effective

We understand that some people may be concerned about getting vaccinated now that COVID-19 vaccines are available in the United States. While more COVID-19 vaccines are being developed as quickly as possible, routine processes and procedures remain in place to ensure the safety of any vaccine that is authorized or approved for use. Safety is a top priority, and there are many reasons to get vaccinated.

None of the COVID-19 vaccines can make you sick with COVID-19

None of the COVID-19 vaccines contain the live virus that causes COVID-19 so a COVID-19 vaccine cannot make you sick with COVID-19. Learn more Facts about COVID-19 Vaccines

Moraine Valley Covid 19 Vaccine Clinic!

Pfizer COVID-19 Vaccine Clinic offered by Osco
Monday, May 17, 9 a.m.-4 p.m. (first dose)
Moraine Valley Community College, Building M, Moraine Rooms
Link to register for an appointment: https://kordinator.mhealthcoach.net/vcl/1620140873290

Moraine Valley faculty, staff and students have priority registration through Wednesday, May 5. The link to register will open to the public starting Thursday, May 6, so save your spot today! You may share the registration link with your family and friends. A follow-up clinic for the second dose of the vaccine will be on Monday, June 7.

Any questions?

Kelly Devine Rickert

devinerickertk@morainevalley.edu