Winner of 2nd Annual Facebook Review Contest Announced!

Posted on January 17, 2012 by in Special Offers

We would like to thank all of the participants of this year’s Facebook Review Contest. It was so much fun reading about how you use LZX products, what you like, and what you don’t like. These prove helpful in our product development meetings. We are constantly coming up with new ideas for products, and customer reviews are priceless in this process.

Without further ado, the winner of the 2nd Annual Learning ZoneXpress Facebook Review Contest is…

Before I go on, I should quickly note that we also drew names for two runners up. These two individuals will each receive a$25 LZX gift certificate!

Okay, are you ready to find out if you’re the big winner??

Click here to reveal the winners. Winners please contact toni@learningzonexpress to receive your certificate.

Thanks again everyone!

 

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Movie Monday- Herbs & Spices

Posted on January 16, 2012 by in Movie Monday

This week we’re featuring one of my favorite  Learning ZoneXpress videos with Paulette Mitchell about herbs and spices. Paulette is a well known cookbook author as well as a culinary cruise ship chef. In this video, Herbs & Spices, Paulette shows us how various herbs & spices can give our food personality and how they are the essence of our world’s cuisines. She explains how to cook with these spices and offers a few recipes for us as well. (My favorite being basil pesto!)

It’s easy to follow along, and the recipes demonstrated are easy enough to get the entire family involved. It is appropriate for grades 6- adult and just under 20 minutes long. Accompanying teaching materials are also included.

Learning ZoneXpress also offers this DVD as an activity kit with a great activity booklet. This booklet includes five 2-hour sessions featuring a wide variety of recipes, crafts, and worksheets about herbs and spices!

Paulette Mitchell has been in a number of Learning ZoneXpress’ International Foods DVDs as well. Browse the collection here.

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Prepare for Nutrition Month in March

Posted on January 13, 2012 by in Health News, LZX Team News, Special Offers

How is that New Year’s Resolution going? If your resolution related to nutrition or helping kids love nutrition we might be able to help!

We have been busy here at Learning ZoneXpress developing all new nutrition education tools and resources to help teach and promote healthy choices. We invite you to check out all of the brand new and best-selling products in our flyer to gear up for National Nutrition Month in March.

We have a reward to help incent folks to stay healthy – receive a FREE 2012 Foodscapes Calendar with any purchase!  Use code 1003 to redeem. While Supplies Last!

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Think Healthy Thursday- “Building Healthy Habits for a Lifetime”

Posted on January 12, 2012 by in Think Healthy Thursday

In the past thirty years, studies from the Centers for Disease Control show that youth obesity has more than tripled. This is a shocking fact, and organizations like the Alliance for a Healthier Generation are pulling together to combat it.

In this video from Health Matters at Work podcast series, Jerry Franz of Community Health Charities interviews 18 year old, Scotie Conner from Oklahoma. Scotie is a youth advocate for the Alliance for a Healthier Generation, an organization started by the Clinton Foundation and American Heart Association. He strives to inspire other children to make small changes like exercising more and cutting out junk food to improve their health.

I will keep this post brief, because this video does a great job of explaining what it is he does and why he feels so strongly about it. It’s a very inspiring clip, and I encourage you all to take a few minutes to watch.

To know that this young individual is so passionate about creating change empowers others to do the same.

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Find the Garden Hero

Posted on January 11, 2012 by in Garden Heroes

The Garden Heroes are plush characters that promote a love of fruit and vegetables – especially with young children. Although, they also seem to be picking up a fan base with grownups as well. There are 39 Garden Heroes in all. They make great gifts and fun toys in a classroom or childcare center.

In their free time, the Garden Heroes like to travel and take pictures. We have pictures of the Heroes all over the world. We post their pictures on the LZX Facebook Page on a regular basis and invite fans to guess Where in the Word the Garden Heroes Are. The first person to guess their location correctly wins their choice of Garden Hero. We like to spread the joy so we ask past winners to give other folks a chance.

Below is a collection of past locations. Can you guess where they are? (Sorry no prizes for guessing in this post.) Just mouse over the picture to see if your guess is correct.

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Movie Monday- Fast Food Nutrition

Posted on January 9, 2012 by in Movie Monday

In our fast paced lives, we often resort to a quick meal on the go. What exactly are we consuming on these pit stops of ours?  Nutrition isn’t typically the first thing that comes to mind when we talk about fast food. Instead, fast food is generally associated with high amounts of saturated fat, trans fat, sugar, sodium, and calories, and a lack of fruits and vegetables. How do we make the right choices to get the most out of these meals?

Join Rickey and Genevieve in Fast Food Nutrition as they explore the world of fast food with fun and humor. They help viewers learn how to make the healthiest choices when eating on the go at fast food restaurants. Many chains have started expanding their offerings to include healthier alternatives. Learn all about them in this video. Accompanying teaching materials are also available. Watch the preview of this video below.

Learning ZoneXpress also has a poster, tablet, and PowerPoint presentation about the topic of fast food.

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Organize a Healthy Food Fight℠ Recipe Contest of your very own

Posted on January 5, 2012 by in Think Healthy Thursday

Recipe contests are always fun, so why not try one with a healthy spin? The Aetna Healthy Food Fight contest was developed in 2010 as a way to promote healthy cooking and healthy eating.  Contestants all across the U.S. competed in regional cook-offs. The winners of those were then sent to NYC to compete for the grand prize.

This event is held only once a year, but what really grabbed our attention is that they encourage you to start your own local, healthy recipe contest.  Where you host it and who you involve is up to you. You can hold it at your place of work, a school, somewhere in your community, or just with a group of friends at home. Aetna Healthy Food Fight created a PDF file with all of the details to get started. All you need to do for the PDF provide your name and email here.

In order for it to be an official  “Healthy Food Fight” contest, there are certain requirements that must be met. The downloadable file is packed with a recommended schedule, tips for getting started, rules and regulations, advice on spreading the word about your event, and great ideas for contest rewards. (Of course LZX always has great incentives and rewards as well!) It even supplies you with score cards, promotional posters, and a winning certificate.

To be honest, most of the work is done for you. You just have to get a group of participants together that want to show off their creative cooking abilities while using healthy ingredients! Food brings people together, and hosting an Aetna Healthy Food Fight of your own might open doors to other great events that promote nutrition and healthy choices.

Something to think about on our Think Healthy Thursday. Now, let’s get cookin’!

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Start the New Year off right with USDA’s second MyPlate message “Enjoy your food, but eat less.”

Posted on January 3, 2012 by in USDA MyPlate

The new year is here, and it’s certainly not too late to make a resolution. Perhaps you’ve made one already, but is it realistic? Dieting and weight loss seem to be among the most popular year after year. What exactly do they entail though? Sometimes, our resolutions are so broad and tough that we make it difficult for ourselves to stick to them. It’s no wonder most of us barely make it through February before we crack.

Make it easier on yourself this year, and focus on small things at a time. Take portion control for instance. Instead of telling yourself you’re going to cut out certain foods all together, how about “enjoy your food, but eat less?”

That just so happens to be the message of the second phase of the USDA MyPlate campaign. The best part about it is that it’s realistic. Portion sizes have become out of control. Everywhere we turn, we’re presented with value packs, super sized meals, and over-sized portions. We’re inadvertently consuming more than we should, because it’s right there in front of us.

So,  let’s step back a bit. The dieting and weight loss resolutions will fall under this one if we do it right. Here are some helpful tips when it comes to portion control:

  • When eating out, ask for a “to-go” box for half of your meal. Most entrees served at restaurants are more than one person should consume in a single sitting.
  • Try to drink a glass of water before your meal.
  • Eat healthy snacks in between meals to appease your appetite.
  • Try eating on a smaller plate. Sometimes, the visual is all it takes.
  • Avoid eating directly from packages. We tend to eat more than we realize when we’re eating straight from the boxes or bags. (This is especially true with snack foods)
  • Pre-portion tempting treats. When we’re presented with larger portions of delicious treats, it’s harder to resist. If you divvy them up in to “single-serving” snack bags, you prevent over indulging.
  • Enjoy a salad before your meal.
  • Avoid eating with distractions. The TV is the best example. If you’re munching while watching the latest episode of your favorite show, you’ll undoubtedly eat more.

Learning ZoneXpress has a wide array of portion control products with helpful reminders. Let’s start this year off right and be mindful of our portion control. We all know a little bit can go a long way. So, here’s to 2012! Enjoy your food, but eat less.

If you have any tips you would like to add, please comment below. We’d love to hear from you.

 

 

 

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Winners of Fruits & Veggies Video Challenge Announced

Posted on December 29, 2011 by in USDA MyPlate

Yesterday, the winners of the ChooseMyPlate Fruits & Veggies Video Challenge were announced! This contest started at the end of  September and encouraged participants to create a short 30 second video about how they add fruits and veggies to their diets without spending an excessive amount of money.

There were three categories for submissions:

  • Tips for kids
  • Tips when eating at home
  • Tips when eating away from home

The goal of this video challenge was to emphasize the USDA’s MyPlate dietary guidelines, specifically focusing on making half your plate fruits and vegetables. They received a total of 142 submissions, and if you a few minutes to browse through the video galleries, we really recommend it. Some of them are so creative. What a great way to spread such a positive message?

Alright, without further ado…here are the winners!

‘Tips for Kids’ Winner

‘Tips When Eating at Home’ Winner

‘Tips When Eating Away From Home’ Winner

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Think Healthy Thursday: The Urban Gardener

Posted on December 29, 2011 by in Health News, Think Healthy Thursday

Last week we shared a video from Roger Doiron, founder of Kitchen Gardeners International, on the beauty of growing your own garden. It helps keep you and your family healthy, it’s economical and it’s environmental. We recognize that not everyone has a yard to turn into a garden so this week we’re highlighting Window Gardens with another TED talk by Britta Riley.

Living in New York City, she wanted a taste of home gardening. She set up a company called WindowFarms, which makes vertical hydroponic platforms for growing food in city windows – but almost more importantly, she has developed an online community of Window Farmers to help them support each other and create smarter solutions. There are solutions for folks who have a little money and solutions for folks who have more time. Some of us who live in cold-climates are thinking about these Window Farms as a jumping point to getting our summer gardens!

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