A Daily Chore

Campers can escape from home but they can't escape from chores!

Katrice, Jasmine nd Victoria, head down to the pantry twice a day to pick up food to prepare their meals

Camp Vacamas Training Day

First a bit about the Camp Vacamas and then about Cindy G.:
Camp Vacamas is a sleepover camp off of route 23 in West Milford, NJ, bear country. They’ve been around since 1924, helping children from low income families throughout the NY-Tristate area come enjoy a fun-filled summer experience. Programs like canoeing, lifeguard training, creative cooking , basketball and hiking are just some the many activities available around camp.

Vacamas.org -To learn more about Camp Vacamas and what it has to offer:

But what makes Camp Vacamas is different from any other camp? There are so many reasons but I'm here to tell you about The Healthy Lifestyle Program. The HL Program provides the campers with healthy choices in what they eat and how they work it off. All the campers at Vacamas eat well due to a talented and dedicated staff in Chef Andrew's kitchen. But to get so many mouths and minds to pay attention to their sugar intake, caloric intake, portion size and, eating a balance and fulfilling diet, we needed a special program for teenagers that wanted to be more aware of what is a healthy choice is!

Last year Camp Vacamas implemented Healthy Lifestyle to their already impressive roster.
That’s where I come in. This summer I introduced Fun, Food and Fitness to the HL program.

My first day at Camp Vacamas my purpose was to fire up the Camp Vacamas Team 2007. The staff and counselors did not look too fired up, more like they were ready for a snooze. It was hot out and they were tired from some late night pre-opening day festivities. But that didn't stop me from taking them on. So I asked, "Who had breakfast this morning?". Every one raised their hands except for 5 people. So, on that day forth, they received a buddy who would make sure they had breakfast every morning. The rest of the gang was asked to join their breakfast flunkies and stand up for group stretching exercises. Then I quizzed them on the food pyramid and statistics about the obesity epidemic and how they can make significant difference this summer in all the campers' lives.

For more information on what we discussed with the staff please check out some of these cool websites below:

MyPyramid.gov - A USDA website
KidsHealth.org- A fun website for health tips and recipes for kids, teens, and adults
The pyramid above brought to you by -TheFeltSource.com
CDC.gov - Information on the over eating and the obesity epidemic

Arrival Day

Campers and their stuffed animals, hulahoops, basketballs, frisbees, knapsacks, duffel bags and photographs were circulating around the flagpole. This is where everyone congregated from wherever they were bussed. Instant friendships were being made and old friends were catching up, the counselors were bonding with ol' camper friends and introducing themselves to new campers. This is where first and lasting impressions began.

The HL Team 2007

Fun, Food and Fitness came together with the Healthy Lifestyle program at Camp Vacamas. Here are some of the campers who benefited from it!

Breakfast for Champions

Kitchen team got cracking...eggs first thing in the morning.

The menu included whole-wheat French Toast, fresh blueberry syrup and a lesson in portion sizing. This was a big break through day for the campers, especially Dimitri who only had a serving and a half of French Toast! In addition, they ate some yogurt (ie Protein), fresh fruit (ie Fiber), and cereal (ie Carbs) to give them the energy for an active day ahead.

Third day's a-Challenge!

Just barely over the hump. Aside from some typical homesickness the program seems to be starting off with quite a bang! Monday was my first full day with the campers. Local Chef Scott Barnett from Hay Day Market joined us for the afternoon and evening sessions to assist me in presenting a lesson on protein and fiber. After the lesson, it was into the frying pan to put the lesson into practice. The Chef brought up some wonderful whole grain salads and legumes, aka "healthy protein and fiber food choices", for the healthy-choice challenged campers to taste. The "try it and you might like it" philosophy started to work! The Chef pulled out his personal stash of kitchen wares including sharp knives, cooking utensils, herbs and spices. Chef Scott then started teaching them cooking skills, kitchen safety and culinary etiquette. A delicious time was had by all! Chef Scott was so impressed with the kids that he stayed to root them on during the fun and games at the beach later that evening. And of course whip up a special, healthy dessert just before bedtime.

Fun Down at the Waterfront

After a day of healthy Food and Fitness, it was time to have some Fun down at the waterfront! So we strapped on our pedometers and hiked thousands of steps down to the lake, not just to get our feet wet, but fully soaked. A fun time was had during the flying water balloon contest. Who doesn't love launching water balloons on their sitting-duck counselors?! Then some sticky business; a watermelon eating contest. Then it was another thousand-plus steps back up the hill and straight to the showers.

The Infamous Pyramid…

… and a balanced diet and portion control. What a boy and girl should eat, and how to make it tasty!

Splishin' and a-splashin'....

... having Fun down at the lake!!

Independence Day Eve

Today didn't quite start off as a Fun day. Why? Well, HL was in charge of cleanup and even worse it was inspection day so we were the cleanup crew for the entire building! How many calories do you burn from cleaning... that got them working to achieve another Goal!

So, once again Healthy Lifestyle choices were made! Whether in the classroom setting, in the kitchen, on the trails or at the table... all were involved.

It was a very active day - everyone pulled it together like troopers thanks to our Counselor Maria (the red-headed, British version of Olivia Newton-John) and Team Leader Allison (our granola-crunching, tattooed and pierced vegan) who helped out BIG TIME - clean up and participated in the aerobic activity sessions and pitched in to make a delicious, healthy dinner.

FITNESS101- FLEXIBILITY AND STRENGTH TRAINING!

Food, Fun, Fitness and Flexibilty.... OUCH! Part of team-building and fitness is letting everyone have a say in the exercises we do. Of course, this means me doing the exercises and continuing to do the exercises and then doing the exercises some more until everyone joined in doing the exercises instead of just watching me doing the exercises. Bobby doing the leg lifts was a feat. Katrice touching her toes was a stretch. Dimitri swinging his legs in the air like the Karate Kid was impressive! Jalissa flexing her body like a pretzel was very natural. Bobby contemplating doing a push-up but actually doing a lay-down. Jasmine was a good stretcher and one helluva sprinter. Victoria gave us a new sit up technique... that is when she was not laughing with her girlfriends. And backbends by spotting one another was a team-building technique practiced by All!

Fun, Food, and Fitness class on Fiber and Protein

*sigh* Cloudy day on campus. Probably a good day to talk about fiber and protein! It was back to New York City for a li’l R&R for me, but lookin’ forward to seeing how a few more days away from the campers would change them. The classroom was hot and sticky, but with lots of water I pumped them up with lots of healthy choices. Today’s lesson was on fiber and protein and how it should make it into your daily healthy lifestyle. For example, most of them knew that chicken is a good sources of protein, but did not know much about beans and legumes (what’s a legume?) or
that there is fiber in corn, but that it is a starch not a protein! Everyone got to challenge their minds and taste buds as I passed around foods for them to try. It’s ok not to like everything, but try it at least once!