Last month, LiveWell Northwest Colorado, a project of Northwest Colorado Visiting Nurse Association, introduced Let’s Go! 5-2-1-0, a program aimed at increasing healthy eating and physical activity. The program endorses the following message emphasizing the importance of:

While we struggle as a nation with growing waistlines, there are a few simple ways that you can improve the eating habits of your family. Focus on eating 5 or more servings of fruit and vegetables a day. Some food for thought:

What is a serving for adults?
•A whole fruit the size of a tennis ball
•1/2 cup of chopped fruit or veggies
•1 cup of raw, leafy greens
•1/4 cup of dried fruits

What is a serving for kids?
•Size of the palm of their hand

Choose with the seasons
•Buy fruits and veggies that are in season.
•Don’t forget that frozen fruits and veggies are always available and are a healthy choice.

Family mealtime
•Do not underestimate the importance of family mealtime; take 10-15 minutes to sit down together.
•Get your family involved with meal planning.

Put Limits on Juice
•Juice products labeled “-ade,” “drink,” or “punch” often contain 5% juice or less. The only difference between these “juices” and soda is that they’re fortified with Vitamin C.
•Always try to choose whole fruits over juice and if you choose to serve juice, buy 100% juice.
•Make changes slowly by adding water to your child’s juice.
•Try mixing seltzer with a small amount of juice.
•Each day, juice should be limited to: 4-6 ounces for ages 1-6, 8-12 ounces for ages 7-18 years and children 6 months and under should not be given juice

Be a Role Model
•Snack on fruits and veggies.

Let’s Go! 5-2-1-0 is helping you and your kids be healthy by working with families and other partners to improve healthy eating and to be more physically active. For more information or to get involved with this campaign, please contact Barb Parnell, LiveWell Northwest Colorado Community Coordinator for the Northwest Colorado Visiting Nurse Association at (970) 819-4110, or bparnell@blog.northwestcoloradohealth.org.

Sincerely,
Barb Parnell, LiveWell Northwest Colorado Community Coordinator
Northwest Colorado Visiting Nurse Association