Show your heart some love this February!

February is American Heart Month, and what better way to celebrate it than together as a family. American Heart Month brings awareness to heart health and inspires us to adopt healthy lifestyles to prevent heart disease.

Symptoms of heart disease generally do not show up until a person reaches middle age and thus are commonly thought of as an issue only for older adults. However, research shows that fatty plaque buildup begins in childhood and progresses into adulthood. Therefore, to decrease the risk of developing heart disease, the American Heart Association recommends teaching children about heart health early on. “Encouraging and modeling healthy behaviors help children to develop a healthy lifestyle early, which they can then continue into adulthood,” states Diane Reinhold, University of Illinois Extension, Nutrition and Wellness Educator.

Join us this February for the I MADE That: Show Your Heart Some Love, make-at-home 4-H project. The cooking education kit will inspire your youth to embrace their heart health while learning new skills in the kitchen. 

The February kits include the February: I MADE That booklet, fun activities to stay active this winter, a chocolate exploration taste-test, heart-healthy recipes, and select recipe ingredients to get started. This project is ideal for families to work on together or for youth with cooking experience.

Register now for this February program. Kits are $5 and will be available for pick-up beginning Monday, February 7 at our Extension offices in Jo Daviess, Stephenson & Winnebago Counties.

Registration deadline is Monday, January 31, 2022.