monster's BLOG
Having a case of the Mondays could make you famous. 
Just as a little reminder for next week, each Monday we have what we call Monster Mondays. That’s the day where yours truly selects one lucky monster to be Facebook Famous! That means your monster could be featured on our Playnormous Facebook page and been seen by all of our members on their Monster Profile page.
Winners also receive a super cool Facebook Famous trophy for their Monster Profile! Perhaps a cool trophy could make having to start back to work or school seem not so bad after all.
To see who’s won each week, simply visit the Playnormous Facebook page and click “Like.” Remember you must be a member of Playnormous to create a monster and submit it into the Monster Gallery.
Hurray for trophies and hurray for Mondays (and Fridays)!
Drum roll please.
Our resident chef, Chef Bleu from Lunch Crunch 2, couldn’t be prouder. We received so many amazing, healthy, kid-friendly recipes for our Recipalooza event, it was really difficult to pick. Thankfully we were able to get input from our Recipalooza partners at The Kids Cook Monday and Children’s Museum of Houston to make a final decision.
Green Monster Soup!
Our first winner is mother of two Allison L, aka monster member Lugaral, from Coventry, Rhode Island. Allison created a split pea soup with a little extra kick called Green Monster Soup. We couldn’t have named it better ourselves.
This recipe is packed with veggies like carrots, split peas, zucchini, squash, and onions. You’ll also find quinoa (pronounced “KEEN-wah“), a tasty whole grain with a texture similar to whole grain rice. It sounds a bit exotic, but both of Allison’s girls love it!
This recipe is advanced so parent help is definitely needed. To try it out at home, simple print out Green Monster Soup as a cute recipe card or text only.
Awesome Low-Fat Blueberry Bran Muffins!
Our second winner is 9-year-old Megan A, aka monster member Binky, from Redmond, Oregon. Megan created an amazingly healthy muffin recipe, appropriately named Awesome Low-Fat Blueberry Bran Muffins. She used whole wheat flour, applesauce, nonfat milk, bran cereal, and tons of blueberries to keep these treats healthy. Oh my goodness those muffins look amazing!
This is great starter recipe for kids who are interested in getting more involved in cooking. Lots of mixing and mashing with a tasty result! This recipe is available in recipe card format or text only.
Learn more about our winners.
To learn more about our winners and what they’ve won as our revered Recipalooza chefs, simply visit the contest winners page and our Playnormous Facebook page. To get copies of these and other healthy recipes, visit our permanent healthy recipes section.
Congratulations to Megan and Allison for their amazing Recipalooza recipes!!
A heartfelt message of love.
The Playnormous Monsters wish you a very heart-healthy Valentine’s Day! To keep you and your Valentine healthy in 2011, take a peek at some of our popular heart-healthy posts.
Heart Healthy Grocery Shopping Lessons
8 Valentine’s Day Treats for 300 Calories or Less
The largest of its kind. 
Every year, tons of technology-loving teachers head to a conference called TCEA. That’s the Texas Computer Educator’s Association Convention and Exposition. TCEA is the largest state organization devoted to the use of technology in education. If you are a teacher and you want to know how to use technology in your classroom, this is the conference to attend.
Playnormous presents Feb 10.
This year, Playnormous is going to be speaking with two of our amazing Playnormous teachers in Spring Branch ISD, Ann King and Karen Harrell. If you recall, these were two teachers that won a monster iMac in our Monster iMac Giveaway last school year.
This year’s theme is “No Limits” and the convention takes place in downtown Austin, Texas from February 7-11, 2011. Playnormous will be presenting at the 8:00 AM – 9:30 AM CST session, “No Limits, No Boundaries” Out of the Box Technology on Thursday, February 10. In this session, attendees will learn about how teachers in Spring Branch ISD are using technologies like Playnormous to motivate, teach, and engage students.
Visit the TCEA Annual Convention and Exposition page for more details on how to register. We hope to see you there!
Signed, sealed, delivered. 
Just in time for the beginning of 2011, the USDA released their new dietary guidelines for 2010. Apparently they’re running a bit behind this year since it took a little extra time to get both Secretaries Vilsack and Sebelius in the same room. Regardless, we’re excited since it’s been a whole five years since the last set of guidelines.
What’s changed?
There are some interesting new changes that the USDA has made since 2005. These are outlined in their Q&A document, but here are the basics:
- Two new chapters were included: “The Total Diet” considers various health-promoting dietary patterns and “Translating and Integrating the Evidence” addresses the broader environmental and social change needed to support healthy eating.
- A flexible approach to a total diet was encouraged, incorporating individual tastes and food preferences into the Report’s individual recommendations for a dietary pattern that is acceptable without exceeding calorie needs.
- Eating behaviors were addressed (e.g., breakfast, snacking, fast food) and the association of screen time with increased body weight was assessed.
- Recommendations to increase consumption of plant foods (vegetables, cooked dry beans and peas, fruits, whole grains and nuts and seeds) were included.
- Seafood consumption of 8 oz (two servings) per week was encouraged.
- The Report noted that the benefits of consuming seafood far outweigh the risks, even for pregnant women.
Line item three I found most interesting. Eating behaviors have been addressed. Perhaps behavior change is upon us…
To read more about the new USDA guidelines for 2010, including the full press release, visit dietaryguidelines.gov.
