Nominate a Nutrition Education Advocate to win $300 in Resources!

With the season of giving and being thankful upon us, we’d like to host another giveaway to shine light on nutrition education advocates.

Here’s what to do:

Nominate an individual currently involved in nutrition education, someone making a difference in your community that deserves a little recognition. This could be a parent, teacher, student, or even an organization.

Write a paragraph summarizing their work and why you think they deserve to win our grand prize and email it to toni@learningzonexpress.com.

We will then share the nominations on our blog and the Learning ZoneXpress Facebook page.

The deadline for nominations will be December 5th, 2012 and we will select a winner on Friday, December 7th.

The winner will receive a large grab bag of Learning ZoneXpress nutrition products with a value of $300! We will tailor the products to meet the winner’s profession and needs. The package will arrive before the Christmas holiday and in perfect time for the individual or organization to implement and use in 2013!

Can’t wait to read about all of the great influences out there and share their stories!

Learning ZoneXpress CEO Wins Silver in Stevie Awards for Women in Business

All of us here at LZX would like to congratulate the one and only Melanie Nelson for being awarded a Silver Stevie Award for Entrepreneur of the Year!

Melanie Nelson, founder and chief executive officer of Learning ZoneXpress, was awarded a silver award in the ninth annual Stevie Awards for Women in Business at a ceremony Nov. 9 in New York.

Nelson won in the female entrepreneur of the year category (consumer products, 11 to 2,500 employees) for her work in nutrition education.

Learning ZoneXpress became the third entrepreneurial adventure for Nelson, former Family and Consumer Sciences teacher, in 1997 when she saw the need for relevant, creative resources for nutrition and health.

Click here to read the full story on Melanie Nelson and Learning ZoneXpress.

Latest Release: Eating Well with MyPlate Pamphlet

USDA MyPlate is the latest icon designed to promote healthy eating. It is the new food pyramid icon from the USDA that helps promote healthy food choices and healthy eating habits. One of the advantages of MyPlate is its simple design, which allows kids, parents and business families to make the connection between health and food easily. But there is depth of nutritional education in the health icon too.

Introducing Eating Well with MyPlate Brochure

Learning ZoneXpress has created the Eating Well with MyPlate Pamphlet to encourage healthy eating and help families delve into some of the detailed nutritional lessons in the healthy graphic . Our educational nutrition brochure also features simple tips to improve health with MyPlate,. The MyPlate nutrition brochure explains the symbolism of the MyPlate icon, how to build a healthy plate, tips for portion size, how to get a personalized calorie plan, the importance of physical activity, and foods to reduce.

The pamphlets are an easy-to-read nutrition education resource for the doctor’s office, healthcare clinic, classroom, or workplace – anyplace where health care professionals, nutritionists and nutrition and health educators have an opportunity to reach out to parents, families and patients.

Think Healthy Thursday: Wilson Elementary in Owatonna Receives School Health Connection Award

We, at Learning ZoneXpress, are proud to announce that one of our local elementary schools has recently won a $10,000 School Health Connection award to promote healthy activities.  Wilson Elementary in Owatonna, MN is one of just 10 schools to receive this significant award.  The award will allow Wilson Elementary School to have direct access to caregivers from our local Allina Health Clinic.  They will also receive online learning tools, teacher training and a health fair for the entire school.  In addition, the funds will allow the school to purchase needed equipment and supplies to encourage building healthy lifestyles.

Wilson Elementary is serving as a community leader in encouraging the development of life-long healthy habits.  The school has an on-site garden that allows students to participate in planting, caring for, harvesting and tasting fresh vegetables.  Third graders at the school also have the opportunity to come early each morning to school for an exercise program led by one of the P.E. teachers.  Currently, about 25-30 students come regularly.  Teachers at Wilson are also proactive about including physical activity in the classroom by including short movement activities as transitions or as part of the learning experience (example: jumping jacks while counting by 5s).

You or your school may not be the recipient of a $10,000 grant, but you can take steps right now to encourage children (and yourself) to build healthy habits that will last a lifetime.  Including frequent opportunities for movement in the classroom or office is one way to do this.  Children and adults spend much of their day sitting.  Learning ZoneXpress has a great tool to help you get students’ brains and bodies engaged through brief activities.  Our 5 Minute Physical Activities book is written by P.E. teachers and offers a wide variety of fun activities that will recharge you and your students.

Little by little, one healthy choice at a time, we can help our young people learn to make health a priority.  In the process, we as teachers, parents and community members can work on improving our own health as well.