I am proud to award my Golden Whisk to Kaiser Permanente’s Thrive campaign. When I first saw the broccoli commercial on my TV screen, I was quite taken back. At last the President Bush broccoli sabotage was being erased. I was proud to see broccoli taking the lead in this unprecedented oratory.

Is it possible smart eating could become fashionable? Yes, of course it will, as soon as elephants fly.

I am angry at those narrow minded individuals who balk whenever current consumer research groups point to new evidence about the dangers of daily ingested food products. Consumer groups (the Food Police) are the butt of bad jokes by insensitive persons who lack diet discipline and prefer going through life avoiding responsibility, but I would hate to think of the consequences if trans-fats had never been brought to our attention.

Today, anything and anybody who makes you aware of how important health is to your well-being is a friend. We should regard the information as a priceless tool which, used properly, can save your body and your cash, and make you a better human being. Those who dispense new life saving tips aren’t winning awards or getting hits on the Internet. Yet, a minor voice like mine applauds these efforts.

I respect any medical organization that reminds people of how simple care adds to our longer and healthier life. It’s good to know that somewhere there are knowledgeable staff and caring doctors when needed. Can we see more billboards with blue berries, and high school vending machines that sell fruit and bottled water? Could we see more medical professionals declaring similar sage words flashed upon our TV screens?

KAISER THRIVE CREED
We stand for broccoli. For Pilates. And dental floss. We believe in the treadmill and its siblings Stairmaster, and elliptical. In SPF30 we trust. We stand for seatbelts and stopping HIV. And we believe fruit makes a wonderful dessert. We have faith in optimism. In laughter as medicine as well as penicillin. And we pledge allegiance to one nation, indivisible with resistance and cardio for all.

We believe in physical therapy, psychotherapy, even music as therapy. All hail cold turkey, the gum, and the patch. We’re anti-addiction. Pro-antioxidant. And have never met a vegetable we didn’t like. We believe there is art to medicine as well as science. And we believe health isn’t an industry, it’s a cause. We are Kaiser Permanente and we stand for health. May you live long and thrive.! For more information visit www.kaiserpermanente.org/thrive

APPLETON CENTRAL ALTERNATIVE SCHOOL Is Awarded THE GOLDEN WHISK AWARD!
As American schools are plagued with junk food sales and soda machines, the obesity rate among students is skyrocketing. The barrage of health warnings from legitimate medical sources are proving fruitless at altering school policy. It seems the fast food industry has replaced the family dinner and the cafeteria lunch. However, a school in Appleton, Wisconsin is taking charge of their local students lunchtime diet. In partnership with Natural Ovens Bakery, their lunches are non-chemically processed foods, low in fat, salt, and sugar. Fresh fruits and vegetables are served on a daily basis as well as fresh water through out the day.

But this dedication to a healthier lifestyle doesn’t stop in the lunchroom. Once they have created this environment, healthy eating is reinforced via the school curriculum. Teachers guide students to develop practical decision-making skills in choosing
foods and physical activities in order to develop greater self-sufficiency and behavioral skills.

To share their philosophy of healthy lunches with other schools Natural Ovens has created a “Roadmap to Healthy Foods in Schools” that helps guide your school to make healthy changes. They also provide a sample PDF preview of the materials included in this packet. This full roadmap package includes a 14 minute DVD explaining ACAHigh School’s lunch program and can be purchased online for $25.

More information is available at www.naturalovens.com.

I wholeheartedly applaud the efforts of bringing a better way of students whose benefits will be reflected long after they exit this hall of learning.