There’s so much to love about summer - the balmy nights, slipping on a pair of thongs, swimming at the local pool, seasonal fruits like cherries and watermelon. Christmas. But best of all, it’s a chance to unwind after another busy year!

Over the past couple of months the Healthy Together Wodonga team has been flat-out with keeping the local community busy with healthy activities and exciting initiatives. We’re also thrilled to be bringing Jamie’s Ministry of Food Mobile Kitchen to Wodonga!

As always, our Facebook page is the one-stop-shop for information and also a great hub to win some awesome prizes. Stay tuned for our #healthyselfie competition happening over January and February.

Finally, we want to wish everyone a safe, healthy and happy Christmas and new year!

In late October the team was joined by Parliamentary Secretary for Health Georgie Crozier and member for Benambra Bill Tilley to launch the Voices4Health initiative which supports people in our community who are well-connected, through formal or social networks, to influence the health of their families, friends and community.

You can join the discussion on the Voices 4 Health online forum.

Healthy Together Wodonga was shortlisted for two 2014 Victorian Health Promotion Foundation Awards.

The VicHealth awards highlight some of the finest health promotion projects and programs working in Victoria over the last year with hundreds of applicants in the running.

Healthy Together Wodonga was nominated in the Research Into Action category for its Innovation Grants initiative and in the Encouraging Physical Activity category for its Workplaces in Open Spaces corporate volunteering program.

Great job team!

Jamie’s Ministry of Food Mobile Kitchen will roll into the Wodonga Council offices car park on Monday, January 19, 2015 and deliver a five-week cooking course to residents of Wodonga and surrounding areas.

As part of the Healthy Together Wodonga initiative, residents will have the opportunity to access and participate in this innovative, community-based cooking program built on Jamie’s belief about cooking and the associated impact on healthy living.

The mobile program offers a five-week cooking course, composing of a 90-minute cooking class per week with up to 12 participants in each class.

The Mobile Kitchen will be open seven days a week, with the hands-on classes led by a team of dedicated Jamie’s Ministry of Food trainers.

Date: Monday, January 19 to Sunday, February 22, 2015
Venue: Wodonga Council offices car park (Hovell St)
Costs: Classes cost just $10 per session and $5 per session for concession.
Bookings are open now and can be made at: https://thegoodfoundation.secure.force.com/bookings

For more information please contact The Good Foundation on (03) 9282 9100.

Congratulations to Baranduda Primary, Victory Lutheran College, Wodonga West Primary and St Augustine’s Primary for participating in the annual Walk to School promotion.

The promotion supported by Healthy Together Wodonga and VicHealth helps raise awareness of the benefits to active transport and encourages school children to walk, ride or scoot to school more often.

Healthy Together Wodonga provided incentives for schools to run their own events during the month of October through vouchers from Sports First and fun local passports. Each child received a local passport and collected stickers from the school crossing supervisors for each day they engaged in a form of active travel to get to and from school.

HTW also worked with Baranduda Primary, Frayne College and Trinity College to map barriers and opportunities their local school faced in using active travel. This work will inform a key area of Wodonga Council's Integrated Transport Strategy.

Walk to School supports the Achievement Program for Schools and achieves the Physical Activity and Safe Environment benchmarks of this program.

Would you like to be healthier in the new year?

Creating goals is easy but sticking to them and staying healthy is long-term commitment and requires guidance.

This is why LiveLighter has developed this free online tool to help time-poor individuals make goals a reality.

The planner features a variety of delicious recipes that are easy to make, allows you to do the exercise you enjoy and is designed so your new habits can become part of your everyday life.

Signing up is easy at the LiveLighter website.

How about making these watermelon trees over the Christmas holidays?

Forget icy poles, fruit just got cooler.

Follow the simple steps at this link to create your festive fruit everyone will love (it’s as easy as ABC).

Ditch the chips, lollies and soft-drinks for your New Year’s Party and swap them with more nutritious options. Start 2015 feeling good!

These recipes and many more can be found on our Pinterest page.

• Get Fruity: a platter of fresh summer fruits, berry mocktails and frozen yoghurt covered blueberries.
• Think Veggies: stuffed mushrooms, chargrilled veggies, veggie sticks with home-made hummus, guacamole or tzatziki.
• Sassy Salads: Greek, garden, roasted vegetable, tabouli and home-made dressings.
• Outside the box: sushi, pita-bread and Indian spice party mix.

Enjoy the Christmas holidays without getting a Santa belly!

Check out these cute little grinch fruit snacks, easy to make and good for you and your kids.

All you need is a green grape, slice of banana, strawberry and marshmallow (in that order) on a toothpick.

Voila! Festive, delicious and healthy!

A sweet treat that is perfect for people with allergies and spreading Christmas joy.

Ingredients:

• 1.5 cups almond meal
• ½ cup (or thereabouts) cacao nibs
• ¼ teaspoon sea salt flakes
• ¼ teaspoon gluten free baking powder
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 tablespoons maple syrup
• 2.5 tablespoons of melted coconut oil (or other cooking oil of choice like butter)

(Makes about 15 biscuits)

Steps

1. Preheat oven to 170 and line an oven tray with baking paper.
2. Mix all ingredients in a large bowl, the mixture should hold together and not be falling apart or dry or crumbly. If it is dry, add a bit more maple and a tiny bit of coconut oil.
3. Measure out 1 tablespoon for each biscuit, roll into a ball and place on tray. Flatten the middle of the biscuits with a fork.
4. Bake in the oven for 13 minutes

Biscuits will be really soft when first out of the oven but will firm up as they cool.

Store in an airtight container. Enjoy!