Here are some healthy ideas for celebrating this fun holiday:

1. Walk the parade route. The parade kicks off at North and Pennsylvania streets at 11:30 a.m. on Thursday, March 17, and ends at Vermont and Meridian streets.
2. Go green. Skip the car and walk or ride bikes to the day’s destinations whenever possible. Our friends at SustainIndy and the IBJ can help you get started! 
3. Eat greens today. Leafy vegetables such as kale, spinach and Romaine lettuce pack in vitamins, iron and fiber. Or, try adding broccoli snap peas or cabbage to potato, rice or noodle dishes.
4. Skip the sweet treats slathered in green frosting. For a healthier green treat, try lime gelatin or add mint flavoring to sugar free vanilla pudding, along with a few drops of green food coloring.
5. Enjoy some healthy St. Patrick’s Day fun with your kids!
6. Don’t leave your health to the luck of the Irish. HealthNet’s Health Promotions offers FREE one-on-one nutrition counseling and FREE personal coaching on how to quit smoking. Make an appointment at the health center nearest you.
7. Celebrate St. Patrick’s Day by making Indy a healthier place to live! Last year, HealthNet’s Health Promotions program assisted more than 6,000 in our community with services like free cervical cancer screenings, nutrition and tobacco cessation counseling, and childbirth classes. With your help, they can do even more.

BUT!! Don’t forget FOUR great things about our Health Promotions team!

1. Nutrition & Diet – Our Clinical Dietician is here to help people learn how eat healthy, lose weight, control their cholesterol and SO MUCH MORE!  It is hard for anyone to eat healthy but even HARDER when you don’t have many choices.  Eating healthy on a budget is Karen’s strong suit. She will make sure you get on the road to success.
2. Tobacco Cessation – QUIT SMOKING!! We have a VERY persistent Tobacco Cessation Counselor who will exhaust every strategy in the book to find a way for her patients to stop smoking.  (Read a success story in a previous post).  It really all boils down to the individual’s commitment to quit, but Stacey will make sure that you have every tool possible to keep from lighting up again!
3. Pregnancy & Childbirth – Newly pregnant?  Whether it is a patient’s first pregnancy or FOURTH, all who participate in our childbirth or breastfeeding classes will benefit in some way. Our 5-week childbirth classes surround patients with others who are sharing the same experience.  Expectant moms learn helpful tips during their pregnancy and take a tour of the Methodist Hospital Labor and Delivery unit. Carlene makes it her job to help our patients be prepared for this new stage in their life.
4. Community Outreach – Whether it is a Health Fair or piloting a new walking program (more to come), our Health Promotions team is always thinking of great ways to engage our patients in preventive care.  It is our job to help patients take ownership of their own health, because their lives are busy and at times VERY stressful. Illness can only increase stress and cause greater difficulty in treatment.

In the middle of all of this “MADNESS,” we want to recognize the great work done by our Health Promotions team.  Who also needs YOUR help! All pregnancy classes, smoking counseling, and nutrition help are free to our community.  A quick donation can go a long way in order for our team to continue and INCREASE their success in the most underserved areas of our community.

Consider a $25 gift to Health Promotions to keep them in our centers and increasing the health of our neighborhoods!