Are you ready for Gingerbread House Day?

December 12th is Gingerbread House Day.  Are you ready to celebrate?  Take a look at this Thin-gerbread Men recipe courtesy of www.hungry-girl.com

Ingredients:
One 14.5-oz. package gingerbread cake and cookie mix

1 cup Fiber One bran cereal (original)

1/2 cup canned pure pumpkin

2 tbsp. whole-wheat flour (for dusting)
1/2 tsp. cinnamon 

1/4 tsp. pumpkin pie spice

1/4 tsp. baking powder

3 no-calorie sweetener packets (like Splenda)
dash salt

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

In a blender or food processor, grind Fiber One to a breadcrumb-like consistency. Transfer crumbs to a medium bowl.

To the bowl, add all ingredients except for the flour and pumpkin. Stir well and set aside. In a separate small bowl, combine pumpkin with 1/4 cup warm water. Mix well.

Add pumpkin mixture to the medium bowl. Stir until blended. (This may take a while -- you'll get there!) Once combined, use your hands to knead dough into two balls.

Line two extra-large baking sheets with parchment paper. Prepare a dry surface by dusting it with some of the flour. Dust a rolling pin with the flour, as well.

Roll out one dough ball on the floured surface, forming a square about 10 inches by 10 inches.

Using a 3-inch gingerbread-man cookie cutter, cut 16 cookies. (You'll probably have to re-roll the trimmings to cut the last few cookies.) Transfer cookies to one of the baking sheets. Repeat with the other dough ball, for a total of 32 cookies. Using a toothpick, "carve" little eyes and smiles into the cookies.

Bake in the oven for about 10 minutes, until edges are firm.

Let cool for a minute or two before removing cookies from the baking sheet. Then let cool completely. Enjoy (just not all at once)!

MAKES 32 SERVINGS

PER SERVING (1 cookie): 59 calories, 1.25g fat, 98mg sodium, 11.5g carbs, 1g fiber, 4.5g sugars, 0.5g protein

ENJOY!

HCI Education Classes are Coming!

We will be offering 3 FREE Wellness Programs will be starting in January!

Healthy Lifestyles is designed to help better manage your weight, reduce the risk of illness or injury, and lead you in the right direction for the healthier life you’ve been looking for.  Be advised that Healthy Lifestyles is not a guaranteed “quick fix” to lose weight.  A long term commitment is needed in order to be successful in changing your lifestyle.

4 Weekly Sessions Begin:  January 6th, 2011 at the Martinsville Family YMCA 6:00 P.M.

Healthy Hearts is designed to help participants monitor their heart condition, know how to use medications effectively, identify warning signs of a heart attack or stroke, know how to reduce cholesterol, sodium, and fat intakes, know how to make changes in how they prepare their meals, be able to make informed healthy choices at the grocery store and restaurants.

5 Weekly Sessions Begin:  January 10th, 2011 at Community Fellowship (in Collinsville) at 6:00 p.m.

Diabetes Self Management Program is designed to help individuals that have been diagnosed with diabetes or prediabetes know how to manage their blood sugar through diet, exercise, and possibly medication and give participants the information and encouragement that they need to prevent prediabetes from progressing to diabetes, or manage their diabetes.
6 Weekly Sessions Begin:
January 10th at the Ridgeway Library at 6:00 p.m.
January 11th at Bassett Family Practice at 10:00 a.m.
January 13th at Community Fellowship at 6:00 p.m.

Classes are free, however, we require advanced registration.  Please contact Diane at 276-403-5030 with questions or to sign up!

Hi Everyone! It's been awhile since we've posted, but we are going to try and keep this blog updated more regularly! We really to get some followers, so spread the word!

Aerobics always has new and exciting things going on, and of the New Year 2010 is no exception! We are still offerring a variety of classes, but we want to hear from you guys! What do YOU want?

There will be a poll posted soon, so check back often. Please check out our latest newsletter at our aerobics homepage: HCI Family Aerobics and download a schedule while you are there!

Deirdre Moyer, one of our awesome aerobics instructors recently attended a training called Steptastic! We look for new and exciting things to be incorporated from that training, check her out at any of our sites :)

Drums Alive is Here!!!

Drums Alive is finally here! This exciting class will be piloted two times in October (October 2nd and 23rd) and every Wednesday of the month throughout November at Spencer Penn Centre from 6:30 pm until 7:30 pm.

Drums Alive is a great new fitness craze that combines traditional aerobics with the powerful beat and rhythm of the drums. It’s a workout for the entire body, mind and spirit!
Through Drums Alive, participants will experi­ence the pulsating rhythms, dynamic movements and powerful percussions of this high energy dance and rhythm program combining traditional aerobics and stability ball drumming.

For questions or to get more information, contact Diane Sawyer at 276-956-2983 or visit our website at http://www.healthycommunitymhc.org./

Men's Smith River Outing Cancelled

We are very sorry to say that the Men’s Smith River Outing is now cancelled due to unforeseen circumstances. We apologize for any inconvenience that this may have/will cause. We look to still reschedule in the future but are uncertain of the timeframe that we are looking at. Be sure to keep an eye on our website for updates as they arise.

We will, however, keep the list of those individuals and groups that expressed interest and will contact you first when we are able to lock in a date and time.

In terms of men’s health, we will be launching our new men’s health wellness program in the Fall and urge the men in this community to take advantage of what this program will offer.

For more information, questions and/or concerns, please contact Diane Sawyer, at 276-956-2983 ext 301 or dsawyer@healthycommunitymhc.org.

Men's Health Month

June is National Men's Health Month. This month's awareness is to help men become more aware of the health problems that can be prevented with early detection and treatment among men and young boys. The latest statistics show that the health of men in our lives needs vast improvement. It is proven that men die 6 years younger than their female companions.

 

 

The Coalition for Health and Wellness will be honoring the men in our lives by having a kick off to their upcoming men's health program. The kick off event is planned for June 20th at Gravely Nature Preserve starting at 9:00am. Canoeing down the Smith River, male friendly healthy cooking demonstartions, and guided trail walks are just the start of the fun!

 

 

So come out to help celebrate men's health and bring the special men in your life out to this exciting event! Space is limited and registration is required. To register or for questions, contact Diane Sawyer, HCI Program Director, at 276-956-2983 ext. 301.

Drums Alive Unveiled

The Martinsville Henry County Coalition for Health and Wellness' Healthy Community Initiative unveiled their new aerobics class, Drums Alive, to be launced in the fall. The demo gave participants of the 2009 JAM Session a taste of what the class will entail. For a complete list of the Coalition's aerobics classes, please visit www.healthycommunitymhc.org.

10th Annual Women's Health Week

The 10^th annual women’s health week will take place on May 10-16. The theme this year is “It’s your time.” This observance week is designed to encourage women around the globe to make their health a priority to live a longer, healthier, and happier life.

There are going to be several community events taking place to celebrate this awareness week to help women know the importance of their health. Saturday May 9^th at Temple of Christ Church 9am until 1pm and Saturday May 16^th at Granberry United Methodist Church 10am until 2pm, the coalition will have health screenings at each event where blood pressure, cholesterol, and glucose monitoring will take place.

May 14^th there will be an aerobic JAM Session where women from the community will get together for a fun filled evening of exercise starting at 6:00pm until 9:00pm at Spencer Penn Centre. The JAM session will have all the HCI aerobics instructors showing off the various aerobic exercises done in the coalition classes including sculpt, abs, cardio, strength training, belly dancing, ball exercise, yoga, and New! Drums Alive. If you would like to register to attend this event please contact Diane Sawyer by May 8^th at 276-956-2983 ext. 301 or email at dsawyer@healthycommunitymhc.org. Space is limited so please contact us soon!

HCI Family Aerobics "JAM" Session

Exercise for your heart!! Did you know that physical activity is a risk factor for heart disease AND that most Americans do not do enough exercise to get ANY benefit? According to the American Heart Association and the American College of Sports Medicine, adults ages 18-65 should get at least 30 minutes of moderate intense physical activity 5 days a week. 

The benefits of daily physical activity are endless:

• Reduces the risk of heart disease by improving blood circulation throughout the body
• Keeps weight under control
• Improves blood cholesterol levels
• Prevents and manages high blood pressure
• Prevents bone loss
• Boosts energy level
• Helps manage stress
• Releases tension
• Improves the ability to fall asleep quickly and sleep well
• Improves self-image

This February, make a decision that will last you a lifetime, get committed to improving your heart health. Get up off the couch or from behind your desk and get some exercise! Come join our aerobics program, we offer classes 5 days a week throughout the community!