As the temperature heats up and the summer months approach, remind your participants about the importance of drinking water and staying hydrated.
Water makes up about 75 percent of the body! It is a part of your immune system, helps maintain body temperature through sweating, helps transport nutrients in the blood, and helps eliminate waste from the body.
Being dehydrated can cause headaches, back pain, muscle weakness, fatigue and dizziness. There can also be a decrease in brain function when a person feels thirsty.
To avoid dehydration and make sure your participants are well-hydrated all summer long, encourage them to bring water bottles with them. For participants who do not like water, encourage them to add fresh fruit to their water bottles to give it some flavor.

For Complete Newsletter: Nutrition Nibbles Parks & Recreation 2102 – May

We are excited to present our 2nd annual Summer Nutrition Education Conference for teachers and school staff at our partner schools.

This FREE conference will be at the Sheraton Tucson Hotel and Suites on Thursday July, 19. Lunch and continental breakfast will be served and attendees can earn up to 8 clock hours.

Click here for more information and to register.

Space is limited so register today!

For Complete Newsletter: Nutrition Nibbles Schools 2012 – May

Due April 11th

This is the last chance to participate in the UA Nutrition Network’s National Nutrition Month promotion! We want to hear all about how you celebrated at your site during March.

Click Here to download a contest entry form and receive a participation prize for your site. All completed entry forms should be sent to Lindsey Cler at lcler@email.arizona.edu, or via fax at 626-9373, by April 11th.

For Complete Newsletter: Nutrition Nibbles Parks & Rec 2012 – April

AIMS tests are right around the corner. Research has shown that good nutrition and physical activity have positive effects on academic performance. Click Here for detailed information regarding the importance of breakfast and healthy nutrition during testing periods.

Below are tips and suggestions for how to encourage your students to eat well and be active before, during and after testing.

• Use the FitBits activities (elementary), or FitDeck cards (middle/high school) provided to your school by UANN as a physical activity break between tests.
• Encourage students to eat breakfast on the days of testing. Send home a short letter and ask students to return it with a parent signature noting that the student ate breakfast. Offer a prize for students who eat breakfast and return the letter (Prizes may be available through UANN. Talk with your Point Person if you’re interested in this activity.).
• Work with your point person to come up with prizes for students who bring in healthy snacks on test days. Reward students for their positive choices.
• Encourage students to use the whole grain snack containers your school received to bring healthy whole grain snacks during testing.

For Complete Newsletter: Nutrition Nibbles Schools 2012 – March

Receive a participation prize for your site by letting the UANN know how you celebrated National Nutrition Month.

The flyer and entry form are available on the

UANN website.

Be sure to submit your completed entry form to Lindsey Cler by April 11th (contact information available on the entry form).

For Complete Newsletter: Nutrition Nibbles Parks & Recreation 21012 – March

This year, the theme of National Nutrition Month is Get Your Plate in Shape! The information below will help you talk with you students about how they can reshape their plates.

• Click Here for the USDA’s 10 Tips for a great plate. Print it and talk about one tip every day for 10 days!
• Check out the Kid Friendly Veggies and Fruits tips from USDA and try one tip or idea with your students every day for 10 days!
• Work with your school’s point person and purchase a paper plate for each student. Have students color or cut and paste pictures of how they will ‘Get Their Plates in Shape.’ Then, string the plates together and hang them in the hallways for the month so that everyone will know you are celebrating National Nutrition Month!
• Click Here for National Nutrition Month information from the American Dietetic Association.
• Challenge students to write poems or essays about why it is important to eat healthy foods and be physically active.

For Complete Newsletter: Nutrition Nibbles Schools 2012 – March

February is a great time to talk about heart health and nutrition. Below you will find information and vocabulary words to help students understand the connection between nutrition and heart health. Share this information with students and help them achieve healthy habits for happy hearts.

A normal heart is a strong muscular pump.It is a little larger than the size of your fist, and during an average lifetime, the human heart will beat more than 2.5 billion times. The average heart beats about 100,000 times each day and pumps about 7,200 litres (1,900 gallons) of blood.

Your heart pumps blood to the organs, tissues, and cells of your body, delivering oxygen and nutrients to every cell and removing carbon dioxide and waste products made by those cells.

When there is too much cholesterol in the blood, it can damage the arteries and veins that carry blood  throughout the body.

For Complete Newsletter: Nutrition Nibbles Schools 2012 – February

Trivia Ball

You will need a small, light ball to play this game.

• Participants sit in a circle and decide on a category related to nutrition (for example: whole grains, lean proteins, green vegetables, sources of Vitamin C, etc.).
• One participant throws the ball to another participant in the circle, who immediately names an item in the category and throws the ball to someone else.
• If a participant can’t think of anything, or repeats something that’s already been said, that player is out. Designate an exercise (10 jumping jacks, 5 push-ups, run two laps, etc.) that participants can do to get back into the game.

Choose a new category when a majority of participants begin to have trouble naming items.

For Complete Newsletter: Nutrition Nibbles Parks & Recreation 2012 – February

Please take a look at some of our entries from the Sunnyside Parks and Rec Sites.

Rudolph the Healthy (Red-nosed) Reindeer

Rudolph the cherry nose reindeer had a very healthy nose and if you ever saw it you would even say it taste like juice. All of the other reindeers didn’t like nutrition so they used to laugh and call him names. They never let poor Rudolph join in their junk food ways. Then one nutritious Christmas Eve, Santa came to say Rudolph with your activity so right won’t you practice with us tonight. Then all the other reindeer loved him as they shouted out with glee, Rudolph the cherry nosed reindeer you’ll go down in nutrition history.

~Submitted by: Los Niños

For Complete Newsletter: Nutrition Nibbles Parks & Recreation 2012 – January

Energy balance is the number of calories consumed, compared to the number of calories used by the body. If you use as many calories as you consume, you can maintain a healthy weight.

Metabolism, is the rate at which people break down food for energy, and it is different from person to person, based on age, gender, activity level, and other factors.

Basal metabolic rate, or BMR, is the amount of calories that your body uses for all of your basic daily functions, like breathing and keeping your body warm. This rate also varies from person to person.

For Completer Newsletter: Nutrition Nibbles Schools 2012 – January