My First Time in Mt. Pleasant

Wow! Today I visited Van Allen Elementary in Mt. Pleasant, Iowa, and I have to say, the city of Mt. Pleasant is home to some of the most hospitable people and enthusiastic children I have ever met.

Classroom by classroom, I visited students in grades 2 through 5 to deliver more of my Snacking Smart from A to Z cookbooks and to talk with students about the importance of healthy snacking. Many of them were surprised to learn that I did not know much about nutritious eating when I was their age; in fact, I told them that I frequently ate fruit roll-ups, ice cream, and candy bars without thinking of how it would impact my performance in school, sports, and life, for that matter.


We discussed several of the snack ideas included in Snacking Smart from A to Z, but we also addressed unhealthy snacks and how they can hinder performance. I asked students to think of food as fuel, and their bodies as engines. I told them that if they filled their bodies with unhealthy foods, it was similar to filling their engines with fuel caked with dirt and junk that would not allow it to function as well.


We talked about their goals and dreams. I heard about students who wanted to be doctors, lawyers, police officers, football players, and actresses. In each case, the students helped each other identify ways that healthy eating and physical activity could help them achieve their dream, or be important to them in their future job.


I was thoroughly impressed with the great ideas all of the kids came up with when we talked about ways they could help their family members become healthier. Some even had suggestions for how to keep their pets healthy! There is never a dull moment :)


During lunch, I was fortunate to receive a tour from Valerie Unkrich, a professor at Iowa Wesleyan College in Mt. Pleasant. Iowa Wesleyan, along with the Iowa Association for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance (IAHPERD), is a huge sponsor of my platform this year, which allows me to distribute so many cookbooks. I am so grateful for their support. Valerie attended many of my classroom sessions today and was so fun to spend time with throughout the morning.


I handed out several hundred of my books today, and was happy to hear many students say they were going to try some of the snacks, and even help their parents with the grocery shopping to make sure they got some healthier snacks in the house.


This was such a rewarding and impactful day; for both the students and me.


I can't wait for the next adventure!
Best,
Jennifer

Adventures in Eastern Iowa

On Friday, I had the wonderful honor of visiting Wilkins Elementary in Marion, Iowa, to distribute more of my Snacking Smart from A to Z cookbooks to all of the first graders in the school. I began each presentation with a discussion about the MyPyramid food groups and the impact of added fats and sugar on nutritional value. Then, we combed through several of the recipes in my cookbook, and sampled fresh fruit kabobs, which is the recipe under the letter "F" in Snacking Smart from A to Z. The kids loved it! Some of them even said they had ideas for how to make their own fruit kabobs at home, which is exactly what I like to hear.






Later in the morning, I visited Summit Pointe, a retirement community in Marion, and performed several pieces on the piano for about 30 of the residents. They were able to hear a special preview of my Miss Iowa talent, Chopsticks, and I also played two of my favorite Lorie Line pieces. What a great day!




Stay tuned for more updates next week!
Jennifer

A Wellness-Filled Day in Decorah

Today I was a special guest in the Decorah Community School District. Decorah High School’s Health Life Skills Management Class planned and organized a school-wide Health Fair, which was a day-long event that included over fifteen breakout sessions on health-related topics featuring a wide array of speakers. I kicked off the day at 8 a.m. this morning as their opening speaker, and delivered a presentation I call “Extreme Makeover: YOU Edition.” I shared with all 600 high schoolers the incident that led to my passion for wellness, discussed the importance of nutrition and exercise, and finished by sharing six steps every student can take to transform their lives and give themselves an “extreme makeover” of sorts.



After speaking at the high school, I headed over to the elementary and visited every K-2 classroom to make a quick presentation about healthy eating and activity and gave each student a copy of the healthy snack cookbook I created, “Snacking Smart from A to Z.” They loved the book and were very inquisitive about my crown. So cute!


Later in the morning, I visited the entire middle school to lead another assembly. The kids were very attentive and shared lots of great statistics with me on fast food and school lunches, in addition to asking some thoughtful questions. I was very impressed with this group!

Finally, I trekked over to the 3rd and 4th grade wing of school to deliver more cookbooks. The students ate them right up! I talked with a couple of fourth grade classes while they were eating in the cafeteria, and the students were cheering so loudly and with such excitement that I wondered if they would ever quiet down! Boy, wouldn’t it be nice to hear that every day :)


What an honor it was to visit so many students – and at all grade levels – in one day. I handed out nearly 1000 healthy snack books in this one visit, and it makes me so excited for the job opportunity of Miss Iowa. There is no doubt in my mind that I am ready, and this program is so greatly needed in our state today.

Thanks for reading!
XOXO,
Jennifer

A Quick Update

Happy May! They say time flies when you are having fun, and I have found the truth in that this spring. Miss Iowa is almost here, but I just wanted to update you on a few of my recent endeavors.

Miss Iowa Orientation
On Saturday, April 24th, all of the Miss Iowa contestants met in Bettendorf for the annual Miss Iowa Orientation. We started off the day hearing from Cathy Herd, Miss Iowa 1992, who was first runner-up to Miss America and a double preliminary winner – both swimsuit and talent. Not only was she a fantastic representative then, she is an unmatchable resource for young women wanting to prepare for the job of Miss Iowa. Here we are pictured with her.


We also were able to meet our hostesses. I am so thankful to have been paired with Margie this year. She was my hostess last year as well, and I would not trade her for anyone! We are going to have a great time together in just over a month :)

Miss Iowa Bridal Fashion Show
The day after orientation was the first-annual Miss Iowa Bridal Show, which ended with a fashion show highlighting the latest wedding styles from David’s Bridal in Davenport. Several of the contestants volunteered their time, and I am quite certain I speak for all of them when I say we thoroughly enjoyed having our hair and make-up done, being surrounded by wedding vendors, and modeling gorgeous gowns. What a fun way to raise scholarships for the Miss Iowa program! A special thanks goes to Tim Heim, who worked so tirelessly to make sure the day went off without a hitch.

Snacking Smart from A to Z
A new and improved cookbook will be hot off the press in just a few days! For the past year, I have used my own printing resources to distribute thousands of healthy snack cookbooks to elementary students throughout the state. Thanks to a partnership with IAHPERD, I will be able to distribute several thousand more before the summer. Numerous schools across the state have already signed up to participate. In some, I’ll be leading assemblies; in others, I’ll be in the classroom, and a few are letting me showcase my project in the cafeteria with students so that I can talk with them about their food choices. Each cookbook features 26 recipes – one for every letter of the alphabet – that can be used as a healthy snack. Nearly all kids age 6-19 snack – 98%, to be exact – and my mission is to provide them with an abundance of delicious and nutritious ideas for nibbling between meals. An enormous part of living a healthy lifestyle depends upon the choices we make as individuals, and equipping youth with the tools to improve those choices will directly impact their overall nutrition. Copy and paste this link to view a copy! http://missmuscatine.com/SnackingSmartBrochure.pdf

Afton Elementary
On Monday, May 3rd, I had the pleasure of joining Dr. Ed Thomas from Graceland University in Afton, Iowa. I served as a volunteer PE teacher for the day and worked with students from Kindergarten through 6th grade on medicine balls, agility ladders, and obstacle courses to demonstrate that fun that comes with physical activity. Below are a few pictures from the day.










More to come soon!
Love,
Jennifer

A Grand Blue Mile!

Tonight I had the privilege of being the warm-up leader and one of the many volunteers for the KidStriders (www.iowakidstrong.com) Grand Blue Mile Victory Run. Nearly 700 youth from the Des Moines area showed up to celebrate running a minimum cumulative marathon distance of 26 miles during recess KidStriders sessions. The Victory Run was combined with the Drake Relays' First Annual Grand Blue Mile, which took place in downtown Des Moines.

Before the race, I met with several students participating in the program, and they were ready to run!


This young gal wanted her picture taken with a "real princess!" After the race she gave me a high five (and did the "down low, too slow" thing to boot ...). What a joker!


These ladies are in the "See Us Run Des Moines Program," go to Roosevelt High School, and are going to run in the Des Moines Marathon in October! Good luck with training girls!


This was the finish line!


I ran the entire 1/4 mile race (that is quite the distance for elementary students) in my crown and sash with these two girls. They did a great job! Keep running girls!


As you can see, there were TONS of kids in attendance! This event was fun not only because I got to meet so many enthusiastic children, but because it is an initiative that makes fitness fun and rewarding for students. As a supporter of childhood obesity prevention initiatives, it is so important we support programs like this in the state of Iowa.

Fabulous Photos from Shirk Photography

On Wednesday of this week, I pulled up to a house in Wilton, Iowa, wondering if I was at the right place. I was to have my Miss Iowa photos taken with Ben Shirk, owner of Shirk Photography. It was gloomy and rainy, and I soon realized my GPS led me to the correct location. Ben walked out of his house, home to his photography studio, in his stylish hat, carrying an umbrella so that I wouldn’t disrupt my new “Do” :)


Ashlie at Park Avenue Style in Muscatine did a great job styling my hair beforehand, and Ben was kind enough to keep the style from being destroyed.

What a fun experience we had! Ben has been shooting out of his home for the past four years, and I can tell he has a bright future ahead of him. Check out his web site: www.shirkphotography.com – just looking at a couple of his pictures says it all. He has a fresh, unique style that will bring him an enormous amount of success. I feel blessed that he so graciously donated my portraits for Miss Iowa. I will definitely keep him in mind for future photos!

We spent several hours together as he created eye-catching backdrops and planted me in them ever so perfectly. Thanks, Ben for the great pictures! I have already told him it will be tough to make my final decisions.

Thanks also to Ashlie for working her magic with that curling iron and hairspray – two items no woman can live without! She was also kind enough to donate her services to the Muscatine titleholders for one year. What great support we have in our area of the state!

It is paperwork time, so I’ll be finalizing my platform statement and resume, along with other required documents, in time for Miss Iowa orientation on April 24th. I’m so excited for the competition already, I can hardly stand it!

Thanks to all of you for your constant encouragement, support, and love. I would not be where I am without you.

Hugs,
Jennifer

P.S. Please enjoy a few of the sample photos I've posted below.

Have you seen Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution?

It airs Fridays at 8 p.m. on ABC. As a current nutrition and fitness professional and future Registered Dietitian, this show has left me beyond excited.

Jamie Oliver is attempting to tackle the obesity epidemic in the United States by starting a cooking revolution - one that strays from the consumption of processed foods and focuses on the preparation of whole, nutritious meals.

This quote sums up his mission:

"This Food Revolution is about changing the way we eat. We need to start cooking again, to make sure our children don’t grow up on a diet of processed food, at school or at home, and so they won’t have to battle obesity and diet-related illnesses when they grow up. Cooking is one of the most important skills a person can have and it has been proven that families who cook together eat better. A small change in your kitchen in could save the life of someone you love. America needs to do something now, before it’s too late.” Jamie Oliver

With my platform of Childhood Obesity Prevention, I could not be more enthralled about this movement, and challenge you to watch the program as well as sign his petition here: http://www.jamieoliver.com/campaigns/jamies-food-revolution/petition

I encourage you to join this movement - even if it means you simply watch the program on Friday nights and talk with someone about it. Jamie Oliver has the potential to create a much needed awareness about the role parents and schools both play in fostering healthy environments for children.

On a similar note, stay tuned as I begin my Snacking Smart tour across the state of Iowa! One of the core messages I leave with children is to eat whole, clean foods that are near their natural state - good growing foods. My platform is a perfect complement to this revolution, and I look forward to seeking out more opportunities for involvement.

All the best,
Jennifer