Staying Safe – Sun Protection and Vitamin D
Recipes and Nutrition Tips – Seasonal Pasta Salad-Asian Linguine Salad
Physical Activity Tips – Classic Outdoor Games with a Twist
Food Access Resources in Massachusetts –Hunger and Food Resources
Staying Safe
Vitamin D is important for building healthy bones, teeth, and muscles.
We need vitamin D and our body uses the sunlight to create it. However, it takes less than 15 minutes for the Ultraviolet (UV) rays from the sun to damage our skin. Follow these tips to protect yourself and reduce the risk of skin cancer.
Recipes and Nutrition Tips
Celebrate the colors of summer with this seasonal pasta salad.
The combination of whole-grain pasta and abundance of vegetables in this Asian Linguini Salad creates a meal packed with nutrients. This pasta salad can be served hot or cold, as a main or side dish, and is sure to be a crowd pleaser. This recipe works well with any variety of fresh vegetables you have on hand, so be ceative. Chopped peanuts can be added for a tasty crunch. Many of the vegetables in this recipe are grown locally during summer months. Support community agriculture and buy them at your local farmers’ market.
Looking for another pasta salad recipe? Watch this video from MyPlate Kitchen: Pasta Salad.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=e4ClTklcN6o
Physical Activity Tips
Classic games to play outside with your family.
Hopscotch with a twist.
Now that evenings are brighter and warmer, go outside with your family and play hopscotch. Use sidewalk chalk to create a hopscotch obstacle course. First, draw the traditional 10-space hopscotch board and then assign a physical activity to each box. Examples might include, Jumping Jacks, Mario Jumps, or even Squats.
Red Light, Green Light.
One player is chosen to be the “traffic light.” They stand a good distance away from the starting line (at least 20 to 30 feet) and turns away from the other players.
The “traffic light” shouts out ‘green light.’ The players begin to run toward this person until they hear them shout ‘red light’ and spin around to face them.
The players must freeze on the spot. If the “traffic light” catches any one move, they send them back to the starting line. The frozen players must remain frozen until they hear ‘green light’ and they run again! This is repeated until one player reaches the “Traffic Light”.
The first player to reach the “traffic light” wins the round and becomes the next “traffic light.”
Food Access Resources in Massachusetts
Pandemic EBT (P-EBT) provides food support for families and children.
Massachusetts residents who receive SNAP benefits can use their EBT card to buy food online from Amazon and Walmart. Visit this link for more information about buying from approved online retailers using SNAP benefits.
https://www.mass.gov/lists/snap-online-purchasing-program-outreach-flyers
The Department of Transitional Assistance (DTA) answers frequently asked questions related to COVID-19 on food assistance (SNAP) and economic assistance (TAFDC, EAEDC) in this link.
https://www.mass.gov/info-details/dta-covid-19-frequently-asked-questions
Information on food assistance programs in Massachusetts can be found at this link. http://www.projectbread.org/news-and-events/detail-pages/getting-snap.html
