Monday morning musings from COPE volunteer Carolyn: As my parents prepare to downsize they have been finding “hidden treasures” in boxes unopened in the 17 years we’ve lived in this house. Our garage is an apparent gold mine. One such find was a journal I kept in 1997. I was ten years old, for those […]
Recipe: Egg, Avocado, and Tomato Salad
Serves 1 Ingredients: 2 hard boiled eggs (see directions below), cut into eighths 1/2 a small avocado, diced 1/4 cup diced white onion 1/2 cup quartered cherry tomatoes Salt and pepper to taste (Optional) Fresh cilantro to taste Mix all ingredients in a bowl and enjoy right away (otherwise you risk the avocado turning brown). […]
Recipe: Black Beans with Onion and Spinach
Enjoy alongside your favorite protein, or over 1/2 cup brown rice. Serves 4. Ingredients: 1 cup diced white onion 1 tablespoon olive oil 1 can of black beans (15.25oz), drained and rinsed 1.5 cups fresh spinach, chopped Salt, garlic powder, and ground cumin to taste (Remember, you can always add more spices if you want, […]
Recipe: Easy Roasted Cauliflower
A guaranteed crowd pleaser! Enjoy as a side next to your favorite protein, on its own, or with your favorite sauce. Ingredients: 1 head of cauliflower (6 inches in diameter will feed about 6 people as a side) 1 tbsp olive oil 1 tsp salt Fresh cracked pepper to taste (Optional) 1/2 cup shredded parmesan […]
Traffic Light Eating- Red Light Substitutions
When you approach a stoplight when driving you have three options, 1) keep going 2) slow down 3) stop. What would happen if we applied this mindset to our diet? We would then see raw fruits and vegetables as “green light” foods, you can eat as many as you desire. Lean meats, grains, eggs, dairy […]
What’s Water Got To Do With It?
In a world full of juices, energy drinks, and soda it seems there is no room left for the humble cup of water. Unfortunately, these sugar-filled drinks have taken precedence to water, especially for children. (Illustrated by The Washington Post) Excess sugar found in sports-drinks makes their permanent home in the liver, leading to fat […]
Don’t throw stones at glass houses
Lately I’ve been listening to how many opinions are being expressed about things that are none of our business….but society continues to think they are, so things are said that become hurtful whether or not they were meant that way. Here is an example: A comedian who verbally assigns blame and shame to people with […]
COPE goes to Washington
We usually think of Childhood Obesity Awareness Month as a time for activities and education for our kids and families. This year, we spent the month discussing policy and recommended changes in Washington, DC. Think about it for a minute – if we want better access to fresh food, more information about chemically altered foods, […]
September is National Childhood Obesity Awareness Month
This is the fourth year September has been designated Childhood Obesity Awareness Month. I’m not sure too many people know this though. As for me, I’ve had a hard time getting media attention for this topic. It seems we still have a lot of studies, statistics, and thoughts about childhood obesity but not a lot […]
COPE Session Results 2011 Coastal Middle School
Our first LEAN Kids COPE session ended yesterday with sadness and excitement. Sadness that the wonderful fun we had for sixteen weeks has come to a close but excitement because we had tremendous results and are all healthier now! 100% of the participants lost inches 100% increased their fitness ability in endurance and strength as […]
URGENT HELP NEEDED
The COPE Studio was recently lost in the devastating Ferguson Ave fire. This fire ravaged many buildings in Sandfly and the loss to businesses is huge. Unfortunately, all of the COPE materials and curriculum were destroyed in the fire.
Please help us rebuild by supporting our Go Fund Me campaign.
Our Mission
Our mission is combating childhood obesity with a threefold approach: nutrition education, fitness and behavioral health - which we believe is the game changer. When a child learns behavioral and emotional strategies, they will have the tools to make positive choices throughout their life. This empowers them to maintain a healthy lifestyle and reach their full potential no matter what challenges they face.
We do this with a variety of school and community based programs for a range of age groups.