SQUIRREL'S MESSAGE FOR THE NEW YEAR Have some People Acorns Filled with Love. Dear Kids, It's HOLIDAY time and I've been having a lot of holiday FUN. I've been gathering acorns (my NATURAL food) to give to my friends and family. I've even been stringing them back on my oak tree to show the holiday spirit. I hear that children can't eat acorns. Acorns are not natural food for children. That makes me so sad. They say that acorns taste very bitter to children and would take days and days to cook. But, I also hear that children have lots more natural foods to choose from than squirrels. So that makes me very HAPPY! But, wait, I also hear that some children don't eat their natural foods very often, so here's a LITTLE tip for you from a frequent natural food eater. LITTLE SQUIRREL TIP Number 1: Eat GRAPE TOMATOES. They are acorn-sized treats and they are good for you! You can eat lots of them with your lunch or for a snack and they won't make you fat. Think of them as PEOPLE Acorns Filled with LOVE. Here are some BIG SQUIRREL TIPS for you and your parents: Go to the grocery store with Mom and Dad. Say, "NO," to JUNK FOOD and "YES," to NATURAL FOOD. I eat ACORNS, my natural food. I also eat corn from the neighborhood bird feeder and the cereal that Mr. Smith scatters on the ground. Be like me. Look for your natural food in the grocery store. Find something new that you'd like to try. Plan your school lunches. If your school cafeteria feeds you a lot of NATURAL FOOD, then BUY, but if it's all processed, high fat, with no fiber or nothing nutritious, then PACK your lunch EVERY DAY. Include fresh FRUIT, cut up VEGGIES, bread with WHOLE GRAIN, LOW FAT meat, fish or PROTEIN, and a low fat YOGURT. You'll find that you can eat more, stay SLIM, and be ENERGIZED. Start young. You may not start gaining too much weight until you are around ten years old, but it's smart to start your good habits early. You'll need them someday. Acorn-sized People Treats Sweet Grape Tomatoes Red Seedless Grapes Chunks of Broiled Chicken Low-fat Cheddar Cheese Cubes Whole Wheat Bagel Cut-ups Pasta Shells with Tomato Sauce Apple Pieces Baby Carrots Thick Banana Slices Almonds Mushrooms (Sautéed and Salted) Red, Green, Yellow, or Orange Pepper Slices Broccoli Florets (Steamed) Sweet Potato Chunks Olives Pretzel Bites Tablespoon of Sunflower Seeds Tortellini Natural Food Fit for Natural Kids Junk Food for Kids Apples Candy Oranges Chips Air Popped Popcorn Movie Popcorn Lean Chicken Barbecued Spare Ribs Romaine Lettuce Creamy Salad Dressing Low-fat Yogurt Ice Cream Whole Wheat Bread made with Whole Grain Flour White Bread made with Enriched Flour Lately, I've been scampering around more than ever! I keep myself so ACTIVE that I never feel sluggish anymore. Now, I can always be on the GO. By the way, I'm a TREE squirrel and I do NOT hibernate like my ground squirrel cousins. You can SEE me climbing, skittering, jumping, RUNNING, and prancing during ALL the seasons of the year. How about you? Do you stay active in all the seasons? Here's another BIG SQUIRREL TIP for you. Be like me. Be on the go at recess time: walk, RUN, play, skip, prance, skitter, and leap. You'll stay WARM all winter and not need to hibernate like my little ground friends. Leave the books and art supplies inside for the classroom and go outside to SKITTER and SCAMPER. Have your best year ever, Squirrel Feel free to email the kid's editor at rwedit@rodale.com. And while you're at it, draw a picture of the natural foods you eat. String them up like acorns and when you have seven, send them to us! KR, rwedit@rodale.com or stop back after the new year and see the natural foods that Mrs. Goodrow's students are eating at school.