There is something so refreshing about walking with your child on a crisp Autumn morning. I can’t say that I get to enjoy this enough as we live about 15 miles from the school, however we use our vehicle as little as possible. For example, the bus stop is about a 1/2 mile away and we walk there in the mornings. In the afternoon I prefer to pick him up from school, but instead of driving all the way to school I’ll park at my mom’s house who is about 1 mile from school but also a mile closer to my house. I figure every little bit counts.

Did you know that October is International Walk to School Month? Why not celebrate with Clorox Green Works and try to win a grant for your school at the same time? Clorox Green works is holding a challenge on Facebook and whichever school has the most steps in the end will win one of five $5,000 grants for their school. So get the kids together and start walking!

At the Elementary school my son attends they do several things throughout the school year to promote overall health. The only fundraiser our entire Elementary holds is a Run-a Thon and is held in October every year. Kids collect pledges for every lap they run and then on the day of their given 20 minutes to run outside to loud fun music. This year my son ran 31 laps which I was told, based on the size of the track that this is a little over 2 miles! In the spring they run a week of a “Walking Bus”, where families “Carpool” by walking. They meet up in groups based on the streets they live on and all walk to school together. The kids that are on buses don’t have to be left out, they can also meet up with the walking bus and join in the fun. Now, our school lunches are pretty good, in fact Ryan prefers them over packed lunches most of the time. There is one week out of every month or more though that they use fresh produce from local farmers to serve the kids. These are just a few of the ways, I can’t express how proud I am to be a part of this community.

To enter your family and school in the Clorox Green Works Walk to School Challenge head to their Facebook page to get all signed up. It only takes a couple minutes and is totally worth it. To find out more about International Walk to School in the USA, head to walktoschool.org.

“I wrote this review while participating in a blog tour campaign by Mom Central on behalf of Clorox Green Works and received a $20 thank-you gift certificate.”

What do you really know about the sugars you are consuming? I’ll now be the first to admit that I’m not very well educated in the sugar business. I recently took place in a pantry hunt and a mission to learn more about sugar and how much of it is in the food our family eats on a daily basis. I was under the assumption that High Fructose Corn Syrup should not be in anything we consumed or at least not in the top 5 ingredients, but I was wrong. Most sugars should in fact be treated equal. The scary statistic is just how much is in almost everything in my pantry.

I personally feel like the meals and snacks I prepare for my family are generally healthy. Upon inspection, they still are, I just really need to make sure that certain ingredients are used in moderation. Perhaps finding an alternative for certain dressings will be in affect. It turns out that it’s almost impossible to find an ingredient list that does not include at least one kind of sugar. My salsa was one of just a handful of that did not contain any added sugar. Even my beloved Nutella listed sugar as the first ingredient.

What you really need to pay attention to is how much of these foods with added sugar you are eating. If you’re in the mood for something sweet try a piece of fruit, that contains natural sugar. I’ve learned that even a serving of canned fruit, drained of its syrup, is just as nutritional as the real thing. Perhaps you need to lower portion sizes and eat more often. That would be a method that works well for me. I find that if I eat a healthy snack mid morning and a light healthy lunch that I’m less likely to want a candy bar at 3:00 and more likely to want an apple or a yogurt. Cereal with low fat milk can be a nutritional snack as well, just make sure you read the label! A recent box of cereal I bought, that I thought was reasonably healthy, has in fact more sugar than a box of Corn Pops (which I thought were super sugary). My bagels that I eat every morning? Yep, you guessed it.

Now with all that being said, it doesn’t mean I’m going to cut those foods and others out of our diet. I may cut portions by half or so, but will not eliminate them. I feel better knowing that I can make well educated and informed choices when it comes to meal time now. I can ease my anxiety when I see High Fructose Corn Syrup in the top 5 ingredients and just remember that I need to moderate all sugars in general.

I challenge you to a pantry hunt. How many different types of sugar will you find? Sugarstacks.com is a helpful website to show you in the form of cubes how much sugar you are taking down with a serving of every day foods.

“I wrote this review while participating in a blog tour campaign by Mom Central on behalf of the Corn Refiners Association. I received a gift certificate to thank me for taking the time to participate.”