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Tickets are on sale for the 4th Annual Piggly Wiggly Big Chef Little Chef Challenge!

Join us on Thursday, June 14th from 6:30 pm – 9:00 pm at the Lighthouse on the Creek in Mt. Pleasant for an evening of food, fun, and festivities to benefit Louie’s Kids.

Tickets can be purchased on-line here or at the Square Onion in I’on or Royall Hardware on Coleman Boulevard, both in Mt. Pleasant.

Prices are $50 for advance tickets and $65 the day of the event. Tickets include the creations of the chef duos, beer from Pearlstine Distributors & the Piggly Wiggly, wine courtesy of Republic National Distributing Company, Cypress restaurant and the Charleston Grill, plus hors d’oeuvres from the Square Onion.

Featured Chefs this year: 2009 James Beard winner, Best Chef Southeast Mike Lata of FIG, French Master Chef Nico Romo of FISH, Marc Collins of Circa 1886, Cary Zapatka of Square Onion, 2012 James Beard-nominated and finalist Craig Deihl of Cypress, John Zucker of Cru Cafe, Ben Berryhill of Red Drum, John Ondo of Lana Restaurant, 2011 Winner Michelle Weaver of Charleston Grill, Kevin Johnson of The Grocery, 2012 James Beard-nominated Jeremiah Bacon of OAK and 2012 James Beard-nominated Ken Vedrinski of Trattoria Lucca.

Entertainment will be provided by musicians Doug Jones and Charles Hedgepath, and you won’t want to miss the opportunity to win a “Night on the Town” package, courtesy of Crushed Fine Wine, Red Drum and Mt. Pleasant Shuttle.

See you there!

For more information, please call 843-724-9267 or email ashley@louieskids.org.

The date is set for the 2012 Piggly Wiggly Big Chef Little Chef to benefit Louie’s Kids & Run Buddies. We are excited that this year’s event will be held in The Lighthouse overlooking Shem Creek, with lots of room and AC! Details are being confirmed daily and will be forthcoming so keep coming back here or visit our page on Facebook. Louie’s Kids on Facebook

Big Chef Little Chef 2012 Sponsor Packet

Participating Chefs:

2011 Winner, Chef Michelle Weaver of Charleston Grill
Chef Marc Collins of Circa 1886
2010 Winner, Chef Mike Lata of FIG
Chef Jeremiah Bacon of Oak Steakhouse
Chef Nico Romo of Fish
Chef John Ondo of Lana Restaurant
Year 1 Winner, Chef Craig Deihl of Cypress
Chef John Zucker of Cru Cafe and Catering
Chef Cary Zapatka of Square Onion
Chef Ben Berryhill of Red Drum & Next Door
Chef Ken Vedrinski of Trattoria Lucca
Chef Kevin Johnson of The Grocery

Entertainment by Doug Jones, with more musical guests to join and celebrity guest to make an appearnace. Tickets are $50 pre-event and $65 day-of and will go on sale May 1st. Call 843-724-9267 or email info@louieskids.org for more info!

Tickets sell out quickly so buy them as soon as they go on sale.

Can’t wait to see you there and taste more amazing healthy dishes!

Our 2012 Fundraisers have been set! Put these dates on your calendar and check back for more details as they come together.

Big Chef Little Chef - June 14th @ The Lighthouse on Shem Creek
Slim Down the South Celebrity Softball Game – August 4th @ The Joe
Circa 1886 Celebrity Guest Chef Dinner – August 16th @ Circa 1886
The Yoga Marathon – October 6th – Marion Square

Looking forward to these great events for 2012! Contact info@louieskids.org if you have any questions or want to volunteer.

Those of us at Louie’s Kids have known this for years, now the rest of the world will too! Louis Yuhasz, Founder and CEO of Louie’s Kids, has been named a “Leader With Heart” from CNN producers and his story will be aired on Headline News network starting on August 1. We couldn’t be more proud and excited to see the final product of the Day at the Beach with Louis and many of our ‘Kids’!

Set your DVRs to watch Headline News on ‘The Morning Express’ show at the following times:
Monday, Aug. 1, between 8:30 – 9:00 am
Wednesday, Aug 3 between 9:00 – 9:30 am
Saturday, Aug 6 & Sunday, Aug 7 between 10 – 11 am

The 8th Annual Yoga Marathon presented by Half Moon Outfitters to benefit Louie’s Kids and Run Buddies in Charleston, SC will be held on Saturday, October 29th! Join us in Marion Square from noon to 3pm for an afternoon of sun salutations and downward dogs to raise funds for our special programs. To register yourself or your team, Click Here.

For more information, please call 843-724-9267 or email info@louieskids.org.

Start practicing your poses and share with all of your friends!

Details and registration information below!

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER!

Join the fun and support a great cause as a sponsor of our 4th Annual Big Chef Little Chef Challenge! We have plenty of options for every budget and the exposure is HUGE HUGE HUGE so sign on today!
BCLCSponsorship Packet 2012

Watch the story on Live 5 News

Thank you to the TrySports Mount Pleasant team for making it happen so our Mitchell and Burke Running Clinic Run Buddies can have new shoes and shirts for the Cooper River Bridge Run on March 31st!

We’re at it again! Our amazing kids and running partners will be participating this Saturday in the MUSC Health Go Red! Heart 5K Run/Walk to bring awareness to Heart Health month. Come see them on the race course and cheer them to victory! We are so very proud each time one of our own crosses the finish line; I know you will be too. We hope to see you there! If you want to run or walk yourself, they would love to have you. Visit Here

For those of you who interact with children on a regular basis, Darkness to Light is a great resource for training on how to recognize, react and prevent child sexual abuse. The staff, volunteers and board of Louie’s Kids all are required to take the training. Click here to learn more about the organization and their resources. Darkness to Light

With the New Year quickly approaching you may be thinking about the past year, thinking of what you have accomplished, and thinking of what you want to accomplish this year. Regardless of it being a new year or not, it is always good to think ahead, think about where you are at the present time, and where you want to be in the future. It is always good to have goals, but several things are important to keep in mind when setting goals because you don’t want to end up like the majority of people who make New Year’s resolutions and not adhere to them.

The first thing to remember is to always PLAN and set S.M.A.R.T goals. Your goals need to be:
- Specific. For example, instead of saying “I will be more active this week”, say “I will go to the gym 4 days this week.”
- Measurable. Goals need to be something you can measure. The above example also pertains to this. At the end of the week, you know if you were active on 4 days or not.
- Action- oriented and Achievable. Instead of saying what you won’t do, say what you WILL do. Additionally, the goal needs to be able to be achieved.
- Realistic. Is your goal realistic? Are you willing AND able to do it? For example, instead of “I will never eat fried foods,” say “I will only eat fried foods one time this week.” Also, is your goal realistic to achieve at this time? Maybe you can not be active 5 days this week because of other commitments, so maybe your goal for this week is 3 days.
- Timely. A goal needs a time frame. If you want to run a 10k, when do you want to run it? Someday won’t work and someday may never come.

Planning is important in order to achieve your goals. For example, if you say “I will run 4 days this week,” and you don’t plan, then Monday comes and goes, Tuesday you don’t feel like running…and before you know it there aren’t even 4 days of the week left. I always recommend picking one day per week, maybe Sunday night, look at your calendar, set your goals, and PLAN for that week. Know that your plan for this week may be different than next week.

Weekly goals or short term goals are very important. Long term goals are great to have, but they can be overwhelming and when things are scary they tend to not get accomplished. Therefore, if you have never run more than one mile and your long term goal is to run a half marathon, then break down that goal. Start with smaller, more realistic, more easily attainable goals. Once you have accomplished a short term goal, you have a sense of accomplishment and have the motivation to continue. If you only set a long term goal, for example, of running a half marathon and that takes a few months to train and work up to, then you don’t feel like you have accomplished anything for months and that can be very discouraging.

Now, remember life happens and sometimes your plan may not work. Maybe you got stuck at work and couldn’t leave early enough to get your run in, or maybe you had plans to run outside, but now you can’t due to horrible weather, or maybe you had plans to run with a friend and they cancelled on you. It happens- life happens. So, you need to be able to be flexible, think outside the box, and come up with a new plan at times in order to accomplish your goals. You could easily give up and say something to the extent of “it’s raining and cold”, “I can’t run by myself”, or “tomorrow is another day”, but instead re-examine your goals and find another option. It’s NOT what you CAN NOT do, but rather what you CAN DO. Some times things get in the way, some times there are road blocks, but that is not an excuse to not accomplish your goals. Next time you find yourself at a road block ask yourself what you CAN do….plan, be flexible, tweak your plan, and you WILL accomplish your goal!

The holiday season has quickly approached us and it is important to stay focused during this time. Holidays can be both stressful and enjoyable, but don’t let yourself lose sight of your goals and end up eating your holiday stress. First of all, the myth is that the average person gains between 7- 10 pounds between thanksgiving and new years, but several studies suggest the average weight gain is only about a pound. Here are a few helpful tips to keep that weight in check:

1. Focus on weight management NOT weight loss during the holidays. Your goal should be to maintain your weight. Holidays are tough, so don’t make them even tougher by also trying to lose weight.

 2. Set REALISTIC goals. Don’t set yourself up for failure by setting unrealistic goals. Be true to yourself. You know what you are going to do and what you won’t do. 

 3. Keep an honest food diary. If you have been keeping track of your food, don’t stop now. Keep track of your food and be honest. Remember, if you bite it, write it!

4. Choose wisely – “What do I really want and enjoy?” Also, don’t deprive yourself. Remember MODERATION. It is okay to have a little bit. Maybe take a spoonful of everything you enjoy, but don’t over do it!

5. If you are going out and are unsure if there will be healthy food that you will want, make a healthy dish and bring it with you.

 6.  Plan on NOT dieting after the New Year. Remember it’s a LIFESTYLE

 7. Anticipate stressful or difficult situations and PLAN how you will handle these challenges. It’s easier to deal with a situation if you have planned ahead. Also, remember to set realistic expectations

8. Get Moving! Continue your routine and stay active. This is a great time to be active with the whole family. Encourage family or friends to take a walk with you. Start a new family tradition- sign up for a Turkey Trot or just take a family walk together while the turkey is cooking and/or after the thanksgiving meal.

 **Celebrations are really about family and friends — not food.

We all can use a few healthy recipe ideas for sharing and giving. I don’t know about you but I could eat my weight in banana bread. Now we have a healthy alternative to serve. Please enjoy!

Healthy Banana Bread
3 Large Ripe Bananas
1 cup Splenda
2 egg whites
4 tbsp applesauce
1 ½ cup whole-wheat flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
½ cup chopped walnut pieces.

Preheat oven to 325°. Lightly Grease a 9X5 inch loaf pan; set aside.
In a bowl, mash bananas; you should have 1 cup. Beat in Splenda, then egg whites and applesauce. In another bowl, stir together flour, salt, and baking soda; add to banana mixture and stir just until all flour is moistened. Stir in walnuts. Pour batter into prepared pan.
Bake for 55 to 60 minutes.

Makes 1 Loaf.