Lynze’s Agricultural Adventures

Hey Girl Scouts! What is the first thing you think of when you hear the words “eating healthy”? All I used to think is…boring! However, I’ve come to realize that eating healthy doesn’t have to mean lackluster meals. There are many exciting foods that you can branch out and try. Not only are these foods delicious, they contain key nutrients that fuel your body. Being Girl Scouts, we strive to be well-rounded individuals, and that means we can get pretty busy. We need healthy foods to fuel us so that we can keep up with our extensive schedules. I’ve included three new foods for you to try and recipes you can whip up on the go by yourself or with parental supervision, depending on your age. These recipes can also help you meet a few of the requirements to earn a new badge! (See last paragraph for specific badges.) To get started on a healthy lifestyle, here are three great new foods to try. Happy healthy eating!

QuinoaQuinoa is a seed that can be prepared like rice. It has a fairly high content of protein per  1/3 cup and is gluten- and cholesterol-free. It has a nutty flavor and can be cooked in a variety of ways. Pick it up at your local health food store.

Quinoa recipes:

For an easy lunch or dinner, this quinoa burrito recipe is great. 

Real Simple: http://www.realsimple.com/food-recipes/browse-all-recipes/chicken-and-quinoa-burritos-00000000052476/index.html

For an easy breakfast, I recommend quinoa fruit power bars. 
Kitchen Daily: http://main.kitchendaily.com/recipe/quinoa-and-fruit-power-bars-142682/

To eat as a plain side-dish, follow this recipe.

Eco Child’s Play: http://ecochildsplay.com/2008/09/05/kid-friendly-organic-grains-fast-cooking-quinoa/

Kale
Kale is a healthy super-food that’s jam-packed with essential nutrients. When consumed on a regular basis, kale provides your body with nutrients such as vitamin K, vitamin C, vitamin A, fiber, iron, potassium and so much more! It also has antioxidants and numerous health benefits. It belongs to the food family that includes cabbage and collards. It is available in three different varieties: curly, ornamental or dinosaur. This dark leafy green can be found at your local grocery store and is readily available winter through spring.

Kale recipes:

For a healthy snack, try making your own kale chips.

Babble: http://blogs.babble.com/family-kitchen/2010/07/06/its-easy-eating-green-with-kale-chips/

A kale smoothie? I know what you’re thinking…”ick!” Give this recipe a go, and you won’t be sorry! The fruit covers up the taste of the kale, making this sweet smoothie a delicious breakfast or dessert.

Anderson Cooper: http://www.andersoncooper.com/2012/06/22/kale-smoothie-for-kids-recipe/

For an easy and delicious vegetable side dish at dinner, try sautéed kale.

Kitchen Daily: http://www.kitchendaily.com/recipe/basic-sauteed-kale-639

Jicama
This yummy root vegetable contains dietary fiber, antioxidants, minerals and vitamins. It has an interesting sweet flavor and a crunchy texture. It can be consumed in a variety of ways and is available year-round at your local grocery store.

Jicama recipes:

Jicama tastes great in all salads; here is one that I really like: .

Simply Recipes: http://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/jicama_salad/

What’s better than French fries? Jicama fries!

Super Healthy Kids: http://www.superhealthykids.com/healthy-kids-recipes/quick-and-easy-snack-jicama-fries.php

Jicama slaw is a fast side dish packed full of nutrition.

Food Network: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/bobby-flay/jicama-slaw-recipe/index.html

These recipes taste delicious and are fun, quick and easy to make, which is perfect with our hectic schedules. To get started, ask your parent for help or supervision, and get cooking! Learning to create tasty and nutritious meals means that you are taking initiative to become an even more responsible and independent individual. Plus, by following a few of these recipes you are completing a step in earning the My Best Self (Brownie), Staying Fit (Junior), and Eating for Beauty (Cadette) badges.  Have fun creating these recipes and beginning your quest for a healthier lifestyle.

---

 [mg1]Jen, I’m assuming you’ll just hyperlink these.

Lynze’s Agricultural Adventures

Hey girls! My name is Lynze and I am a writer for Hear&Now teen magazine. I’ve been a Girl Scout since 2000. Through Girl Scouts, I have gained invaluable skills while creating many memories and friendships. I am also an active member of the Future Farmers of America organization. If you are unfamiliar with this organization, its purpose is to teach students about the importance of agriculture while developing their leadership skills. Both Girl Scouts and Future Farmers of America take pride in helping cultivate responsible and independent leaders like me. As a member of both organizations, I have noticed that much of what I have learned in Girl Scouts can be applied to the Future Farmers of America, and vice versa.

On that note, I would like to introduce you to my new series of blog posts that you can read right here on GSHCC’s blog, “Lynze’s Agricultural Adventures.” Agriculture is a vast industry and covers a wide variety of exciting subjects. I plan to post an assortment of topics that show how you can pursue your interests in the agriculture industry while being a Girl Scout. I’m excited to begin; stay tuned.

GOT MILK? ®-Girl Scouts Photo Contest Finalists

The finalists of the statewide GOT MILK? ®-Girl Scouts Photo Contest have been chosen!

Girls from GSHCC submitted their photos with captions answering the prompt: How have Girl Scouts and milk helped me become strong, healthy and confident?

Here are the three finalists from GSHCC. Each received a $350 camp scholarship, funded by the California Milk Processor Board.

Elyssa G: “How have Girl Scouts and milk helped me become strong, healthy and confident? By providing me strength to achieve new heights!”

 

Julianna L: “Girl Scouts are confident and milk is healthy!”

Anna R: "Milk feeds my body, Girl Scouts feeds my soul."

 

Everyone who knows me knows that I love change.  I think sometimes it is a curse but life is always interesting and, hey—changing.  I should have started this blog when I started at Girl Scouts but it seems fitting to start it at the end and work backwards.

I leave an organization I love – one that helped me as a girl and that still inspires me today.  I have been able to accomplish so much with the help and support of a lot of people.  We have a new Program Center, new office in Modesto, and best of all an almost new Camp Menzies.  If you believe things can happen – they do.  All of these steps, supported by generous donors, have resulted in a refreshed look and feel for GSHCC. While we have consistently remained committed to one mission—to build girls of courage, confidence and character who make the world a better place—we have made it a priority to remain innovative and relevant. And this is reflected in our new Program Center. Our digs are very industrial and cool; we just look like a place where amazing girls would want to go.

One of the nice things about retiring is the kind words from many of the volunteer.  I guess I was a breath of fresh air when I arrived and I of course didn’t know that until now.  I remember driving around in a golf cart at camp and just yelling to the heavens, “I love my job!”  Who wouldn’t after leaving a 25-year career in the insurance industry? 

 

-Pam Saltenberger

Roseville Older Girl Lounge gets crafty at Anthropologie

Hear&Now staff and MarComm interns Riley and Gianna recently joined up with 16 girls from the Older Girl Lounge in Roseville to learn more about Anthopologie’s artistic side. At the event, they discovered that many employees have art degrees and both conceptualize and hand-make all of the displays throughout the store. Here’s Riley’s recap:

On Sunday, Sept. 9, Gianna and I went to Anthropologie in Roseville for an older girl outing. We learned about the crafty side of clothes! Not only does Anthropologie sell adorable clothes, and house ware, but they do so many DIY (Do It Yourself) projects for their different displays in the store! While we were there we got to paint tree logs for a new window display that Anthropologie is putting up soon. Also, we looked at all their displays, and different areas of the store, and saw how they made each one themselves. One of the displays was a paperclip piece of art, and they linked 40,000 paperclips together to make it! Wow! My favorite display was the one behind the cash register, where an artist outlined a city scape in pencil and then hammered in nails over her drawing. After, she hung string across all the nails to create a beautiful picture behind the counter. Gianna’s favorite was a chandelier made out of dyed mop heads! The artist at Anthropologie who dyed the mop heads had green hands for days when she was done! All in all, Gianna and I had such a fun time, learning, playing, painting and meeting girls from different troops during this amazing Older Girl Lounge event.

The Older Girl Lounge in the Sierra Creek and Sierra Rose service units brings together Girl Scout Cadettes, Seniors and Ambassadors (grades 6-12) for unique and fun events. Girls can sign up for events with their troops or individually. Older Girl Scouts and their parents can contact Lounge organizer and troop leader Beth Martin to find out about upcoming programs: bnrmartin@surewest.net.

 

 

Best Friends for LIFE

Hi, my name is Alana and I love being a Girl Scout because it provides me with an outlet where I can be myself and make a difference in my community. Having a Girl Scout troop also gives me a group of life long friends that I can continually rely on. I don’t have to fear being judged by them for the clothes I wear or the way I style my hair because I know they embrace me for me.

Throughout my 11 years as a Girl Scout I have made friendships that have lasted. I first moved to Sacramento when I was in 1st grade and the first thing my mother did was enroll me in a Girl Scouts. It made the transition to a new town much easier because I knew that I had a group of girls that would help me through the first day.

I met my best friend Jane through Girl Scouts. She was in my troop and we happened to live in the same neighborhood. Our parents enrolled us in many of the same Girl Scout day camps and we went to many of the same Girl Scout events. After about a year I started attending the same school Jane went to and we were in the same class. Being able to spend time together in school and outside of school really allowed us to see every side of each other. As time went on our friendship grew stronger and stronger, and today I know that she’ll always be there for me. I never have to fear going through everyday life without someone whom I can confide in and whom I know has my back. Without Girl Scouts we would never been able to make such a deep connection and maintain our friendship for so many years.

Jane and I as young Girl Scouts.

Jane and I today.  BFFs!

Troop 54's trip to Washington, D.C.

Susanne wrote to GSHCC about a trip her troop took to Washington, D.C. for the Girl Scouts 100th Anniversary celebration on March 12.  This troop saved their cookie money in order to make the trip possible. 

Well, we did it—and thank goodness we were prepared!
A huge thank you is owed to our supporters for helping us on our journey to Washington, D.C. We pack a lot in during our short trip, and saw so many things. I think, if given the opportunity, we could all sleep for the next day-and-a-half straight.

Each night, after the girls were showered and in their PJs, we gathered in one of the dorm rooms in a circle and each shared one highlight of the day. The highlights varied from the hamburger at Johnny Rockets, the orangutan on the zip-line at the national zoo, meeting Congresswoman Matsui at the capitol and meeting the women Girl Scout astronauts at NASA. But for me, I have to say, one of the greatest highlights was seeing those girls take it all in, and seeing Girl Scouts and Girl Guides from all over the world swarming into the city on droves as the big 100th event approached. By Friday, walking down the street in Washington, D.C. was impossible. We couldn't get on the Metro without running into several troops of Girl Scouts. Girls everywhere were wearing Girl Scout shirts, either self designed or from the GS Shop. A lot of girls were also wearing their vests and pins.

We were "SWAPed" out within an hour of the event on Saturday, because we had been trading SWAPS all week long.  Everyone we met was so kind and thoughtful, both Girl Scouts and others that saw that we were Girl Scouts.

As I looked across the Washington Monument grounds on Saturday at the "thousands upon thousands" of Girl Scouts, I was in awe. It brought tears to my eyes, and still does today...and you know that each and every girl on that mall was there because someone bought a box of cookies from her.

With warmest regards,
Troop leader of troop 54, Susanne

At the mall on March 12.