What’s up?
I just got back from a work trip to New York that was incredibly inspiring. MomsRising held a conference on childhood obesity and nutrition that was attended by health policy experts, child advocates, bloggers and just concerned parents. Both the speakers and audience members came from diverse backgrounds and had incredible stories to share:
• First, we were greeted by the First Lady in a pre-recorded video!
• Migdalia Rivera, who publishes the Latina on a Mission blog and has a consulting firm called Stiletto Media, shared a personal story on how she helped reverse her teenaged son’s high blood pressure. She now cooks much healthier and said it has been over five years since she has fried anything in her home. “I bake or steam,” she said.
• Tanya Fields, executive director of the BLK Projek, which focuses on racial and socioeconomic disparities in food access, talked about her inspiration for starting the non-profit: as a single mom in the Bronx, she’s had to feed her children on WIC and food stamps. The good news is it is possible to eat healthy on a “food stamp budget,” she said.
Fields, by the way, brought with her two adorable children, who at first played games on my iPhone, then found our Sue in Queens who had an iPad. 
• We viewed the incredible documentary, Soul Food Junkies. (Seriously, this film is worth renting!) We then heard from the filmmaker Byron Hurt. His personal story, in the film, is powerful.
The event was incredible, and personally, I always love visiting New York. It was the first place that embraced my dad and grandmother when they immigrated to the United States. In terms of Latino culture, it’s my roots. I had a great time watching Soul Food Junkies with a table of almost all Puerto Rican bloggers — a few I had known online and met for the first time in person!
Also, for the first time, I met our Sue in Queens and Diana aka “LadydeeLG”. We had so much fun catching up. I look forward to meeting up again!
I’ve been traveling a lot lately for work, thus my sleep is off again. I found this article in Active.com helpful on the foods that help you fall asleep — and keep you up. It’s no wonder I’ve been craving salmon! Sadly, I need to lay off the coffee and spicy foods.
What else is in the news? What’s up with you?
