Recipe of the Week: Tuscan-Style Tuna Salad

Come Have an Awesome Time at the Y!

Recipe of the Week: Pork Chop Suey

Lights...Camera...Pedal!

Recipe of the Week: Catalan Sauteed Polenta & Butter Beans

It's Tumble Time Once Again!

Just Kick It!

Let's Take a Ride!

Recipe of the Week: Creamy Avocado & White Bean Wrap

Recipe of the Week: Lemon Chicken Stir-Fry

Recipe of the Week: Vanilla-Orange Freezer Pops

SUMMER IS THE SEASON OF THE BERRY!

Summer Berries

Delicious, colourful berries are in season. Here's what to do with them. Temporarily stained fingers and tongues are a cheap price to pay for the oodles of health benefits and bold, sweet flavours of berries — available all summer long. When colourful punnets of these warm-weather staples start appearing in abundance on market shelves, grab them, as there's very little you can't do with this versatile fruit.

Health Benefits

If you add one food to your diet this year, make it berries. They taste great and are very nutritious. Strawberries, blueberries, blackberries and raspberries are rich in antioxidants, which may reduce the risk of certain types of cancer.

Selecting and Storing
When choosing berries, be sure to examine the punnet carefully for any signs of mould. Once mould has started it can spread quickly from berry to berry. Shop at supermarkets, or fruit markets with a high turnover, or at farmer's markets where the food has travelled the shortest distance, to ensure the freshest fruit. Because berries are fragile, keep them in their original containers or arrange them in a shallow pan (to reduce pressure from stacking), cover them with a paper towel and put them in the fridge. Don't wash them until just before you're ready to use them.
Blueberries freeze especially well. Arrange them in a single layer on a baking sheet and freeze until hardened, then transfer them to a resealable bag. Incidentally, frozen berries taste great and retain much of their nutritional value. In a pinch, you can substitute them for fresh in baking and smoothies. In fact you'll find that frozen berries are actually better to bake with than fresh berries. The juice from fresh berries has a tendency to bleed into cake and pancake mixture.


Cooking with Berries
Keep a punnet or two on hand in the fridge all week. Their price goes down significantly when they're in season and given their health benefits, you'll want to enjoy them in these ways and others:

• Toss a handful of berries into your morning cereal to pump up its nutritional value.
  
  
• Start off the day with a fresh berry smoothie: Blend a mix of whatever berries you have on hand with half a banana some low fat plain yogurt and skimmed milk. Sweeten it with a bit of honey if necessary.
  
  
• Fold a handful of berries into your low fat or fat free yogurt.
  
  
• For a berry sauce to drizzle over pancakes, or fresh or frozen yogurt, puree 150g berries with 50g sugar and 1 tablespoon lemon juice until smooth. Fold in another 150g whole berries with a spoon.
  
  
• Top a bed of greens with a few berries and a tangy vinaigrette.
  
  
• Marinate (yes, actually marinate) strawberries with 1 tablespoon of balsamic vinegar and 1 tbs of icing sugar, for a very Italian take on dessert.
•  http://www.weightwatchers.co.uk/util/art/index_art.aspx?tabnum=1&art_id=30271

TRY THESE FUN EXERCISES WITH THE KIDS!!

Types of Exercises You Can Do With Your Child
_______________________________

Balance:  This exercise is like a mirror game.  You start  by telling the child to follow your lead while you hold up one foot for several seconds, then the other.  You can squat down or get on your tiptoes.  Whatever you do, make sure you’re balancing.  After you’ve had a turn, tell them it’s his/her turn to lead.

Hop Dots:  This is a simple exercise that’s easy for children do, but it has great rewards.  Put dots on the floor and have them hop from dot to dot and maybe have them pick up a couple of things along the way.  You should do it too to make the experience more enjoyable for the kids.

Hold on:  With this one the child is simply trying to hold on to mommy or daddy’s leg while walking.  This is fun for all children.  What they don’t know is they’re working almost every muscle in their body just trying to hold on.

Quick on Your Feet:  Start off this exercise by kneeling.  Toss a ball in the air high enough that you can hop up to both feet and grab it before it touches the ground.  After you’ve mastered that, do the same thing from a sitting position. And after that, do it from a lying position.  Younger kids can also do this exercise by using a balloon and have them do the same movements. 

Gorilla Walk:  Spread your feet apart about as wide as your shoulders. Bend at your waist and grab your ankles. Hold your ankles and walk stiff-legged.

Worm Walk:  Get into a push-up position, with your body and arms straight and your hands on the floor.  Keep your hands still and walk feet up as close to your hands as possible.  Keep feet still and walk with your hands forward to the starting position.

http://www.a-zfunforkids.com/exercise-ideas.html

Recipe of the Week: Grilled Chicken Tenders with Cilantro Pesto

Recipe of the Week: Turkey & Tomato Panini

SUMMERTIME IS ON OUR HEELS...

Summertime is on our heels as school is wrapping up for another year.  That means it's time to get outside, have some fun and get those feet in gear!  Did you know Bluffton offers a wide array of local activities the entire family can participate in?  Check out the links below to find out about all the places you can go to enjoy Summer.
Don't forget about the Wells Co. YMCA as well!  We offer classes all season along with programs such as tumbling, our Autumn Classic golf outing, Dream Team Baseball and Mom's Morning Out.  Go to our website for more information.  Summertime truly is on our heels...so let's get moving!


https://www.fwymca.org
http://www.in.gov/dnr/parklake/; http://www.ci.bluffton.in.us/homepage.htm

Try This Summer Recipe!!

Cycling...Movie...Snack...It's a Date!

Spring Asparagus...Try It!



 Try this lovely vegetable roasted with a drizzle of olive oil, salt and pepper.  Pop it in the oven for about 15 minutes at 400 degress, dress with some coarse sea salt, or tie with roasted scallions, and enjoy! 

This gem can be served on a veggie tray, too!  Just blanch for about one minute, shock in ice water, and serve with your favorite dip or humus.  It's a fun twist on the typical carrots and celery platter!

Per Food Network

April Weigh-Ins Coming Thursday!

On Thursday we will be holding our monthly weigh-in for the WWI competition.  Don't forget we offer three times slots throughout the day as well as two locations for weigh-ins in order to accommodate those busy schedules.  Keep up the hard work and we'll see you Thursday!