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Teen Advisory Board Senior Awards
May 5, 2019
Senior members were honored at the May 5, 2019 Senior Awards Meeting.
The teens have been on the Teen Board for 2-5 plus years and will be greatly missed. We wish them the best as they begin a new chapter in their lives in their college endeavors.
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Graduating seniors L-R: Sky Chen - Stanford University
Sasha Lobo - Texas A & M University
Kyle Wilson - Purdue University
Meghna Tripathy - University of Oklahoma
Rob DeLoit - University of Alabama
Grace Steakley - Baylor University
Jason Few - Duke University
Teen Advisory Board 2019-2020
Back Row L-R: Jackson Litts, Raj Solanki, Alison Zhang, Katherine Zhang, Hannah DeLoit, Lauryn Tu, Zoe Price, Hailey Burnette and Chase Provo. Bottom Row L-R: Mehaa Amirthalingam, Anshumi Jhaveri, Aarthi Annamalai, Summer Brown and Sreeram Satish.
Congratulations to our newly elected officers for the 2019-2020 year.
President - Summer Brown
Vice President - Zoe Price
Secretary - Alison Zhang
Treasurer - Mehaa Amirthalingam
Social Media Coordinator - Jack Wilson
Co-Event Coordinators - Anshumi Jhaveri and Mia Price
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Teen
Board Members Chase Provo, Anshumi Jhaveri and Lauryn Tu participated at the
FBISD Benefits & Wellness Health Expo. The event was held at FBISD Wheeler Field House and Mercer Stadium on Saturday, May 4,2019.
Healthy Choices Grants
Next Deadline July 15, 2019
Rolling deadlines for grants: April 15, July 15 and October 15.
Congratulations!
April 15, 2019 Grant Recipients
Fort Bend County Kids & Cops, Inc. Summer Camp
Honey Elementary, Lubbock ISD
Turner Elementary, Pasadena ISD
Val Verde Regional Medical Center
Teen Fit Summer Program, San Felipe Del Rio CISD
YES Prep Brays Oaks
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Summer Meals Program
Texas Department of Agriculture
The Summer Meal Programs connect children 18 years old and younger to healthy and nutritious meals after the school year ends. The Texas Department of Agriculture (TDA) has developed no cost, online resources and printed materials you can use to promote the availability of these meals for families in need.
Please visit SummerFood.org/OutreachToolsto learn more about how to find summer meal sites and access downloadable materials to use on social media platforms. To order printed materials, please click on "
LINK" to submit your request today!
Use these three tools to find a summer meal site in Texas:
* Dial 211 to speak to a live operator
* Text FOODTX or COMIDA to 877-877
Summer Reminders
Stay Hydrated
Eat Healthy
Exercise Daily
Have Fun
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Meet the Oliver Teen Advisory Board
The Oliver Foundation Teen Advisory Board is a 12-18 member
organization represented by students across the Houston area. Each month you'll meet a different member who will share their perspective on living a healthy life.
Sky Chen, President Emeritus
Elkins High School - Sugar Land, Texas
Teen Board member 2014 - Present
Sky is a senior at Elkins High School, where he is a member of the student council. He is an avid athlete and loves playing numerous sports. He volunteers frequently at his church, enjoys traveling, reading, and watching movies.
Sky will be attending Stanford
University in the fall.
Being Vegan (or coming close)
When I tell people that I'm going vegan, I'm often met with weird looks and raised eyebrows, as going vegan today is still seen by most people as a far-fetched goal only attainable by true hippies. However, it really is not as hard as it seems. Here are a few things that I've learned from my journey.
1. If done properly, being vegan can be great for your health.
The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition reported in 2009 that vegans mostly had lower body weights, lower blood pressure, and lower cholesterol. The report also found that vegans consumed more fiber, folate, vitamin C, vitamin E, potassium, and magnesium and less saturated fat. Veganism has also been associated with a lower risk of type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and overall mortality.
However, there are a couple of nutrients that you will need to pay more attention to because they're typically found in animal products.
Iron: The non-heme iron from plants is less easily absorbed by the body than the heme iron in meat. There are also typically lower iron amounts in plant foods. One thing I did to help was to consume iron-rich plant foods with a food rich in vitamin C, which improves the absorption of iron, like tofu with bell peppers.
B12: Vitamin B12 is only naturally found in animal products such as eggs, meat, poultry, fish, and dairy products. Luckily, I've found that vitamin B12 is fortified in many vegan foods such as plant-based milks, breakfast cereals, and soy products.
Calcium and vitamin D: We typically get calcium from animal products like meat and milk. There are however many vegan alternatives, such as kale and soy milk.
Omega-3 fatty acids: I've found that the best sources for Omega-3 fatty acids are sea vegetables (e.g. seaweed) and some nuts and seeds like flaxseeds, chia seeds, and walnut
2. You don't have to be a religiously strict vegan!
According to Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health nutrition expert Walter Willett, it's not necessary to be 100% vegan in order to reap the benefits of a plant-based diet. Furthermore, my philosophy is that each person just needs to try their best and cut out as many animal products from their diet as they can. As long as you understand the significant environmental and health benefits that come with a vegan diet and you consciously reduce your consumption of animal products, I believe that you can be considered a vegan. It's okay to have a cheat day every now and then or have several foods that you just can't give up, such as a BBQ pulled pork sandwich.
It's okay to eat meat if you're out with friends and there's no other option. Being vegan isn't about comparing devoutness; it's about trying your best.
3. Oatmeal is key.
Ever since I became a vegan late last October, I've had a bowl of oatmeal almost every morning. Oatmeal is a fantastic source of both methionine and lysine, two amino acids that are harder to come by without animal products. Other alternatives include peanuts, sunflower seeds, whole-wheat bread, quinoa, lentils, broccoli, and more.
4. Beware processed foods!
Just because something is vegan doesn't mean it's good for your health. For example, if you start eating a ton of vegan junk food (e.g. veggie chips), you will probably gain weight. The first week I went vegan was rough because my body wasn't used to the lack of meat. I felt hungry a lot during that week. It's important to not use vegan junk foods like Pillsbury crescent rolls and Ritz crackers that are highly processed and contain a lot of sugar and sodium to satisfy your hunger. I snacked on fruits whenever I was hungry the first week and it helped me survive until my body got used to my new diet.
5. It's also really good for the environment.
Although this is a newsletter for a health and nutrition based organization, the environmental impact of livestock production cannot be overstated. Eating plant-based foods uses significantly less energy and water. Animal products also create much more greenhouse gas emissions that further global warming.
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HAWAIIAN-STYLE FRIED CAULIFLOWER RICE
INGREDIENTS
- 1 large head DOLE® Cauliflower, coarsely chopped
- 1 tablespoon canola oil
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 medium DOLE® Carrot, chopped
- ½ teaspoon grated fresh ginger
- 1 medium red bell pepper, chopped
- 2 cups DOLE® Angel Hair Coleslaw
- ¼ cup coconut aminos
- ½ cup chopped DOLE® Tropical Gold® Pineapple
- 2 DOLE® Green Onions, thinly sliced
- ¼ cup dry roasted macadamia nuts with sea salt, chopped
- 3 cups chopped DOLE Broccoli
DIRECTIONS 1. PULSE cauliflower, in 2 batches, in a food processor 10 times or to rice-like consistency. Makes about 6 cups. 2. HEAT oil in a large skillet over medium heat; add garlic, carrot, onion, and ginger; cook 5 minutes or until onion is tender, stirring occasionally. Stir in pepper, coleslaw, coconut aminos, and cauliflower; cook 8 minutes or until cauliflower is tender, stirring occasionally. Makes about 7½ cups. 3. SERVE rice topped with pineapple sprinkled with green onions and macadamia nuts.
Servings: 6
Prep Time: 25 minutes
Calories per serving: 129
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Oliver Foundation
5535 Memorial Drive, Suite F, #256
Houston, Texas 77007
Info@olivefoundation.org
www.oliverfoundation.org
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