Kids Physical Fitness Challenge

Best Score on Sports II Rapid Returner

Healthy Food Challenge

Gluten free food!  Some people are allergic to wheat or Gluten, this is called Celiac Disease. Gluten is found in all sorts of foods, some you may not even think of like, ice cream, soy sauce, licorice, some soups, potato chips, oatmeal, chocolate and tooth paste. As you can see people with an allergy to wheat can have a hard time avoiding it. Our recipe contains no Gluten, so it’s safe for people with and without Celiac Disease.

Today’s recipe is courtesy of KidsHealth.org

This Potato Dumpling Soup recipe is gluten-free, but it makes a hearty meal for anyone!

Ingredients:

¼ cup of olive oil
2 large onions
3 stalks of celery
3 cloves garlic
4 cups of gluten-free chicken broth (available at most health food stores)
2 cups of  water
6 large potatoes, cut in ½-inch cubes
3 eggs
½ tsp. salt
¼ tsp. of pepper (fresh-ground pepper is preferred)
1 cup gluten-free flour mix
2 cup of milk
3 tsp. lemon juice
salt and pepper, to taste
shredded cheese

Soup:
Heat oil in a large soup kettle over low heat. Chop onions, garlic, and celery. (For a smooth soup, blend ingredients in a blender.) Cook chopped or mashed mixture until onions are translucent or slightly caramelized. Add the chicken broth and water. Increase the heat to medium high and bring it to a boil. Add the cubed potatoes to the boiling broth, and cook until tender (about 10 to 15 minutes).

Dumplings:
Crack eggs into a bowl. Add salt and pepper. Slowly add the flour until you have a golden yellow, sticky dough. (If the dough comes out dry, add some water until it is sticky.) Drop the dough by spoonfuls into the boiling broth, and they will expand and lighten in color. It only takes a few minutes for them to cook. After the dumplings have cooked, reduce heat to low. Add the milk. Simmer for another 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Garnish with cheese, if desired, and serve.

Kids Physical Fitness Challenge

Best Score on Sports II Skiing –  We’ll work on our core strength, flexibility, lower body strength and reaction time.

Healthy Food Challenge

The challenge this week is Berries! This is a special healthy and yummy Valentine’s Day recipe.

Berries are very high in anti-oxidants, which help protect us from cancer and help us heal. They are also high in Vitamins which keep us from catching colds and flu. Plus they are beautifully delicious!

Berry French Toast Recipe (Courtsey of Snack-Girl.com)

1 egg
1/4 cup milk (almond, soy, cows, etc.)
dash of spice – cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, etc.
2 slices 100% Whole Grain bread
1/4 cup frozen berries
Low fat cooking spray

Beat egg, milk, and spice together. Heat griddle or non-stick pan over medium heat. Add cooking spray and dip bread in egg mixture. Place on griddle and cook for 3 minutes on one slide. Flip and cook for one more minute until egg is cooked through. While toast is cooking, thaw berries in microwave (about 30 seconds on high). Cut center of toast with a heart cookie cutter and pour berries into the hole.

Carlsbad is full of fun things for kids to do and Knuckleheads Gym is one of them. Bring your friends and come play!

Kids Physical Fitness Challenge

Highest level on MoJo! This is a challenging game that works your core and upper body.

Healthy Food Challenge

This weeks kids fitness challenge food is … Zucchini!  High in fiber, eating zucchini will help you digest your food properly, maintain a healthy blood sugar level and prevent cancer. They are high in potassium and magnesium which help lower blood pressure and prevent heart attack and stroke.

For some families, Super Bowl Sunday means getting together with friends and family to watch the game and eat. Here’s a healthy alternative to french fries that everyone will love and is easy to make.

Zucchini Fries (Recipe courtesy of EatingWell.com)

Preheat your oven to 475°. Coat a baking sheet with a light spray of olive oil. Combine the flour, cornmeal, salt and pepper in a large seal-able plastic bag. Dip the zucchini in the egg white. Put coated zucchini into the bag with flour ingredients and shake the bag to coat the zucchini completely. Place flour mixture coated zucchini on baking sheet, making sure that zucchini doesn’t touch. Spray zucchini with a light coating of olive oil. Bake for 10 minutes. Turn the zucchini and give it one more light olive oil spray. Bake until golden brown, about 8 to 10 minutes more. Serve hot.

When you visit Knuckleheads Gym make sure you try  the MoJo game. Ask Kristen or Jordan to log your best time for the kids fitness challenge. Knuckleheads Gym is a fun thing for kids to do in Carlsbad, CA.

Want to know more about our memberships? Click here.

Kids Physical Fitness Challenge

Longest time on Dodgeball (LightSpace)

Healthy Food Challenge

Yum… popcorn, a whole grain snack that has a satisfying crunch and is low in calories. The pre-packaged microwave popcorn is expensive, high in sodium and fat.

Popcorn gives you Vitamin A and K as well as trace amounts of thiamin, calcium, niacin, Vitamin B6 and foliate. It’s also high in fiber, which helps you feel full an keeps your digestion moving.

How can you make popcorn that’s good for you and is easy on your pocketbook?

Make over your microwave pre-packaged popcorn. All you need is popcorn, lunch bags, tape and your favorite flavoring. You can pop corn in the microwave without the expensive, processed, pre-packaged product from the grocery store.

Regular, ordinary popcorn sells for about $1 a pound and you’ll get about 8 servings per pound. As opposed to  microwave popcorn, 4 servings for $3. Not only will you save tons of money, but you won’t have to worry about the chemicals released into the popcorn when it’s cooked in the microwave.

Here’s the cooking instructions:

1/4 cup popcorn dumped in a brown paper bag. Fold over the top a few times and tape shut.
Place folded side up in the microwave for 2 to 3 minutes or until the popping slows down to about 5 seconds between pops. Eat it plain or add flavors like butter, salt, Parmesan cheese or chili powder.

The kids fitness challenge is brought to you by Knuckleheads Gym, a fun thing for kids to do in Carlsbad. We’re a membership gym for kids with monthly memberships starting as low as $39 per month. Members can come into the gym 6 days a week for 3 hours at a time.

Kids Physical Fitness Challenge

Highest score on the Hula Hoop on Wii Fit

Do you know how to ‘”hoop”? This guy does! He even won his high school talent show!

www.youtube.com/watch?v=xUBhg4Bfg8E

Healthy Food Challenge

Did you make a new year resolution to eat more healthy food? Here are some healthy snacks to help you keep your resolution!

Cinnamon Cheezy Goodness

• 1/4 cup of low fat Cottage Cheese
• 8 Raisins
• 1/8 teaspoon cinnamon

Mix together for a yummy and healthy after school snack.

Creamy Orange Rolls

• 1/2 whole wheat tortilla
• 1/2 tablespoon cream cheese
• 1/3 carrot, grated
• 8 raisins

Warm the tortilla, just a little bit. This will make it easier to roll. Spread on cream cheese, add grated carrots, and raisins. Roll up and eat.

Jack LaLanne’s Healthy Dessert Recipe

• 1 banana
• 10 raisins
• 1/4 cup grated coconut
• touch of honey (optional)

Mash banana and spread on plate or put in bowl. Add raisins, coconut, and honey (if desired).

The kids fitness challenge is brought to you by Knuckleheads Gym, a fun thing for kids to do in Carlsbad. We’re a membership gym for kids with monthly memberships starting as low as $39 per month. Members can some into the gym 6 days a week for 3 hours at a time.

Happy New Year! At this time of the year, adults create resolutions for the up coming year. They may want to lose weight, get organized, eat healthy foods, exercise, get a better job, pay off their debt or volunteer to help others. Why should grown-ups get all the fun of making resolutions? Kids can make New Year resolutions too!

Kids, 7 to 12 are the perfect age to start making resolutions. They’re old enough to contemplate what they want to change in their life and make a commitment to changing. At this stage, they’re beginning to be mindful and respect others. They’re working on being independent and learning. Making a resolution and sticking with it will build discipline and character.

Here are some tips for helping your child keep their New Years resolutions.

• Write your resolutions down. You may want to decorate the paper you wrote them on and frame it. Make sure they’re specific. For example, I want to eat more healthfully – by eating one vegetable at every meal, or I will help out at home by putting my bicycle away in the garage after I ride it.
• Put your resolutions in a place where you’ll see it frequently. This will remind you of your commitments. The refrigerator in the kitchen or the bathroom mirror are a couple of places where you’ll see your resolutions frequently.
• When you share your goals with others you’re more likely to achieve them. Your family can support you to remember your resolutions. So share your resolutions with your family.
• A single, new resolution each month maybe easier to keep than a couple of huge year long resolutions.

When you’ve accomplished your resolution, reward yourself by doing something that’s fun! Knuckleheads Gym is a fun thing to do in Carlsbad, CA. Work out on our exercise machines, climb the rock treadwall, dodge the lightball on Lightspace or play our giant games. You’ll have so much fun you won’t even notice that you’re exercising. Come in for an hour or two, or become a member and come in for 3 hours, 6 days a week!

Open
10am to 6pm
Jan 3rd – 6th

Kids Physical Fitness Challenge

Highest number of times jumped rope in 2 minutes

Healthy Food Challenge

Cranberries!!! Vitamin C and fiber play a very important role in cranberry’s health benefits, along with it’s the amazing array of phytonutrients.  Cranberries are high in antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and anti-cancer properties. They build up your immune system and are great at killing bacterial infections. On top of that cranberries are tangy and delicious!

Cranberry-Nut Mini Loaves with Flaxseeds

1 1/2 cups fresh or frozen cranberries
2 oranges
Orange juice, if needed
1/3 cup whole flaxseeds, (see Ingredient note)
1 cup whole-wheat flour
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 large egg
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup canola oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup chopped walnuts, or pecans (2 ounces), divided

Preheat oven to 350°F. Coat three 6-by-3-inch mini-loaf pans with cooking spray. Pulse cranberries in a food processor until coarsely chopped. Grate orange zest to measure 2 tablespoons. Squeeze juice, adding orange juice, if necessary, to measure 3/4 cup. Grind flaxseeds into coarse meal in a clean dry coffee grinder or blender. Transfer to a large bowl. Add whole-wheat flour, all-purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt; whisk to blend. Whisk egg, sugar, oil, vanilla and the orange zest and juice in a medium bowl. Add to the flour mixture and mix with a rubber spatula just until the dry ingredients are moistened. Fold in cranberries and 1/4 cup nuts. Scrape the batter into the prepared pans, spreading evenly. Sprinkle the loaves with the remaining 1/4 cup nuts. Place the pans on a baking sheet. Bake the loaves until the tops are golden and a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean, 35 to 45 minutes. Cool in the pans on a wire rack for 10 minutes.Thanks to www.EatingWell.com for the recipe.

Check out this cool cranberry activity book from WiseCran.org.

Knuckleheads Gym is one of the fun things for kids to do in Carlsbad, CA.  Give us a call at (760) 480-8600 for more information.

Kids Physical Fitness Challenge

Best time in Skiing on Kinect Sports 2

Healthy Food Challenge

Onions!

Onions are an outstanding source of polyphenols and quercetin. Onions help your cardiovascular system stay healthy by keeping your blood flowing freely and preventing heart attacks. Eating onions regularly can help prevent bone loss and lower your risk of getting cancer. Onions are also anti-inflammatory and may even be anti-bacterial.

Potato Latkes

1 1/2 pounds russet potatoes, (about 2), shredded
1 medium white onion, shredded
2 medium shallots, minced (about 1/4 cup)
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 large egg, lightly beaten
2 pieces whole-wheat matzo, (6-by-6-inch), broken into pieces
1/2 teaspoon white pepper
3 tablespoons peanut oil, or extra-virgin olive oil, divided

Toss shredded potato, onion, shallots and salt in a medium bowl. Transfer to a sieve set over a large bowl; let drain for about 15 minutes. Squeeze the potato mixture, a handful at a time, over the bowl to release excess moisture (don’t over squeeze—some moisture should remain). Transfer the squeezed potato mixture to another large bowl. Carefully pour off the liquid, leaving a pasty white sediment—potato starch—in the bottom of the bowl. Add the starch to the potato mixture. Stir in egg. Put matzo pieces in a seal-able plastic bag and crush with a rolling pin into coarse crumbs. Sprinkle the crumbs and pepper over the potato mixture and toss to combine. Cover and refrigerate until the matzo is softened, 20 to 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 425°F. Coat a baking sheet with cooking spray. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Stir the potato mixture. Cook 4 latkes per batch: place 1/4 cup potato mixture in a little of the oil and press with the back of a spatula to flatten into a 3 1/2-inch cake. Cook until crispy and golden, 1 1/2 to 3 minutes per side. Transfer the latkes to the prepared baking sheet. Continue with 2 more batches, using 1 tablespoon oil per batch and reducing the heat as needed to prevent scorching. Transfer the baking sheet to the oven and bake until heated through, about 10 minutes.

Thank you to EatingWell.com for the recipe.

Knuckleheads Gym is one of the fun things for kids to do in Carlsbad, CA.  Give us a call at (760) 480-8600 for more information.

Kids Physical Fitness Challenge

Most Basketball 3 point shots in 3 min

Healthy Food Challenge

Ginger!

To me, the holiday season isn’t complete with out gingerbread cookies or a gingerbread house. Gingerbread can be traced all the way back to the Egyptians and Greeks. It migrated to Europe with the Crusaders. Queen Elizabeth I served Gingerbread Men painted in the likeness of the men she presented them to. During Medieval times gingerbread would be tied with ribbons and given as a token of love.

Ginger is a good source of potassium, magnesium, copper, manganese and vitamin B6. If you have a cold, ginger may help. It promotes sweating which can help you to detox. A ginger teas is good for nausea from motion sickness or pregnancy. It’s also an anti-inflammatory and good for arthritis.

Gingerbread Cookies

3 cups whole-wheat pastry flour
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
1/4 cup canola oil
1 cup sugar
1 large egg
1 cup molasses
2 tablespoons white vinegar

Whisk whole-wheat flour, all-purpose flour, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, cloves and salt in a large bowl. Beat butter, oil and sugar in another large bowl until creamy. Add egg, molasses and vinegar; beat until combined. Add the dry ingredients and stir to combine. The dough will be very soft. Divide the dough into 4 equal portions, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate until chilled, at least 2 hours or overnight. Preheat oven to 350°F. Coat several baking sheets with cooking spray or line with parchment paper. Working with one portion of dough at a time, on a floured surface, roll the dough 1/4 inch thick. Cut cookies using cookie cutters. Gather scraps and reroll. Using a spatula, place the cookies 1/2 inch apart on the prepared baking sheets. Repeat with the remaining dough. Bake the cookies, one batch at a time, until puffed but still soft, 10 to 12 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool. Thank you to EatingWell.com for the recipe.

Knuckleheads Gym is one of the fun things for kids to do in Carlsbad, CA.  Give us a call at (760) 480-8600 for more information.