Might healthy food vending provide the the best possible combination of profitability and job satisfaction?  To hear many of our YoNaturals distributors tell it, there is no better way to approach career independence than to be a YoNaturals healthy vending marketer!

As a potential small business owner, you may have a whole list of ideas that would work as new business ventures. Or maybe you only have two or three ideas on your list. Or maybe you have none, even though you know for certain that you do want to own your own business. No matter which of those positions it is that you find yourself in, you should consider adding a YoNaturals business vending to your list of possibilities.

Discovering the right business for you and your family can seem daunting. Especially in today’s economy. Not so long ago it seemed like everyone was chasing the next hot idea. Now, it seems like just as many people are just as content to stuff their money under their mattress where they can keep a better eye on it. However, as in many situations, the most popular option will not always be the best for your situation. In fact, a sensible combination of the two preceding attitudes will probably serve you well as a new entrepreneur.

That is, two of your primary objectives as a potential small business owner are to invest in an expanding market and to find a business that will also be a relatively stable investment, and, as many investors have already discovered, we fit the bill. With one eye on the stock market and another eye on the ever expanding organic food market, CEO of YoNaturals Mark Trotter has been able to develop a very strong business model in a field that is wide open to a new take on vending. By investing in vending machines that are chock full of organic and natural snack foods, YoNaturals has already become a leader in the healthy vending machine movement.

Now, even as the economy has taken a downturn, people continue to rely on YoNaturals vending machines to provide them with the healthy snack foods that can satisfy their entire family. In fact, many health-conscious parents are not willing to budge even one iota in their quest to provide their children with the healthiest options available to them. By strategically placing our vending machines in places where both children and adults congregate, we want to make sure that parents do not ever have to sacrifice health for convenience. And that’s a business plan that everyone can live with.

If what you have read so far sounds like a good idea to you, then visit www.YoNaturals.com today to find out how to get started on the path to small business ownership.

The teenage years are often some of the most difficult ones of a child’s life, even with respect to something as basic as maintaining a healthy diet. Teens spend so much time with their friends, snacking and eating meals together as they commiserate over life’s circumstances. Further, many of these meals take place in fast food restaurants due to most teenagers’ limited cash flow. These circumstances can mean that teens inadvertently end up eating foods that are chock full of fat, sugar, and calories. Unfortunately, this decrease in diet quality coincides with an increase in nutritional requirements, especially for kids in their early teens as they go through puberty.

Iron and calcium are two of the most important players in this rapid growth phase. Iron is used by the body to carry oxygen to muscles. Teenage girls are especially susceptible to an iron deficiency, and parents should make sure that they are getting plenty of iron-rich foods in their diets. As for calcium, as teenage bodies grow, they have an increased need for the nutrient that will strengthen their skeletal systems. Although the body adjusts to absorb more calcium during these rapid growth phases, some teens simply do not eat enough calcium-rich foods to meet the demand. Deficiencies in these areas can cause both long and short-term problems.

Fortunately, with the guidance of their parents, teens can develop (and maintain) healthy eating habits that will not only benefit them now but also for the rest of their lives. Of course, the best way to meet diverse nutrient needs is by choosing foods from all of the food groups. Although a daily vitamin can be a useful supplement to a well-balanced diet, it should never be used as a substitute for proper nutrition. A well-balanced teen diet is not so dissimilar from a well-balanced adult diet, so building healthy habits as a teen can have benefits that last well into the adult years.

For many teens, another important aspect of maintaining their overall health is making sure that they get enough exercise. As with their adult and child counterparts, a lack of exercise is one of most basic causes of teen obesity. It is important for teens to be physically active on a regular basis in order to build muscle and develop strong bones. Going for runs or walks; playing soccer, ultimate Frisbee, or flag football; or taking dance or karate classes are all good ways for teens to ramp up their physical activity levels.

It all starts with educating teens about what kinds of foods they are putting into their bodies. Encourage them to choose healthy snacks from YoNaturals vending machines (even when mom and dad are not around) for a lifetime of good health.

When it comes to eating healthy, it goes beyond just the foods you eat, but it also includes the way you prepare those foods and the seasonings you use in those foods. You can take a healthy food, but if you prepare it with seasonings that are loaded with empty calories, you have defeated the purpose of eating healthy foods. In order to assure that you are eating the healthiest foods possible, you want to pay close attention to the way you prepare foods your family eats and the type of seasonings you include. Many herbs and spices have almost no calories yet provide flavoring that is even tastier than that of the customary butter, salt and pepper.

One of the problems with choosing healthy foods is learning to prepare them in ways that are healthy as well. For example, when people buy zucchini, the first thing they want to do is bread it and fry it in butter which turns a healthy vegetable into one that is high in saturated fat and cholesterol.  If you want to fry foods, you should learn to use olive oil which has no cholesterol and is actually healthy for you. Learning to bake or grill meats instead of frying them makes a big difference in not only the calorie content but also the cholesterol and fat. Unfortunately there are still many people who insist on frying chicken, steak and pork chops because that is the way they were taught or because they have developed their own recipe and think any other method of cooking will spoil the flavor of their creation. It’s important to learn how to make adjustments so that your family is eating meals that are healthier, something that is not only a part of the foods you prepare but also the way you prepare them as well.

In addition to parents learning how to cook healthy foods, the schools need to learn to prepare healthy snacks. Some of the responsibility falls to the vending machine vendors that service the schools, but with Healthy Student Vending (a YoNaturals initiative) offering healthy and organic snacks, they can replace the empty calorie snacks that many schools now offer in their vending machines. Replacing unhealthy snacks in vending machines in our schools is certainly a step in the right direction, but it has to follow to every area of a child’s life, especially the home. Parents need to make a commitment to change the foods they buy and the way they cook them in order to provide their families with healthy meals.

Author: Brenda Coxe

Author: Laura Rayburn

In the on-going fight against childhood obesity, it is increasingly important for parents to model healthy behavior for their children. It’s no secret that children look to their parents for ideas on what kinds of actions, behaviors, and attitudes are accepted and expected in their household. Children will then imitate these patterns and habits that are set forth by their parents or guardians. This means that, as a parent, it’s your responsibility to model the positive attributes that you want and expect to see in your children one day, including good attitudes toward healthy eating and exercise routines.

The food that you put on your child’s plate (and on your own plate) now will affect them for the rest of their life. Feed them healthy foods now, and later on it will seem strange to them if they are not eating healthy foods. For example, if you put an emphasis on purchasing and preparing fresh vegetables for dinner each night, then your children will be much more likely to make fresh veggies a cornerstone of their diets when they are grown and have families of their own.

Exercise is another area where you can get your child involved early on. A cursory glance at your local park will reveal that there are many new moms and dads that take their babies out for jogs, walks, and bike rides. In addition to the physical fitness benefits that you will reap now, bringing your children up in a climate where fitness is emphasized will benefit them as they grow older and are able to exercise on their own. As your child matures into her adolescent years, talk to her about the importance of maintaining a regular exercise schedule and the impact of exercise on your own health.

Another positive habit that you can model for your children is maintaining a positive body image. Even as children, they will be on the receiving end of many of the messages that our culture sends. Unfortunately, one of the messages with potential to cause the most harm is that in order to be beautiful, a person must meet certain physical standards set forth by the fashion industry. Reinforce positive ideas about physical fitness and healthy eating instead of focusing your attention on comparing yourself to a stick-thin supermodel.
Last but not least, remember that it’s going to be difficult to always be prepared with a healthy snack when you’re a parent. Fortunately, these days you have a better option than choosing a snack or soda from the traditional vending machines. Seek out YoNaturals healthy vending machines instead. Choose it for you, and choose it for your child.

Jessica VachalThe desire to eat healthfully is the sort of thing that is affecting all adults these days – the desire to look your best is a huge push towards this desire, but whatever it takes, right? The same should be true for children, however, and with the childhood obesity epidemic reaching epic proportions in the United States today, looking good can even be a minimal priority at such tender ages. The fact is, overweight children have a tendency to be teased at school, and wouldn’t any parents want to spare their children from any teaching if at all possible? There should be no focus on a child to look any certain way of course – there is no need to plant seeds that may forever damage a child’s fragile ego – but there should definitely be an emphasis on encouraging your child to be healthy.

Being healthy can mean nothing more scary or intense than eating fruits and vegetables. The push to encourage kids to eat such foods however, can be rather tricky, as any human being is going to go for fatty, sugary foods over fresh fruits and vegetables for taste alone. Yet that is the key to starting your children off young in learning what is healthy to eat and what is not. The child who grows up eating fruits and vegetables habitually and having fast food as a treat every now and again is going to be much more capable to keep their weight down all throughout their adult life, and will lead a healthier lifestyle because of it..

This responsibility does fall on the parents, however, because they must lead by example. They must teach a child what is good to eat everyday and what is not so that a child can make good decisions all by himself. If you teach that fruit juice is better than soda, then a child will be able to choose the YoNaturals vending machine between the vending machine options at school, and will choose one of their organic fruit juices or organic snacks rather than the potato chips or chocolate candies located in one of the other vending machines. Giving your child the tools to deal with life on their own is the real task of parenthood, after all. So make sure you work as a family to teach healthy living habits to your children, and do your best to keep them from picking up unhealthy habits that will hinder them into adulthood.

Author: Jessica Vachal

The push to eat and live healthfully is a strong one for many Americans – despite the rising rates of obesity in their country. Unfortunately, the same needs to be just as true for parents - as childhood obesity is becoming an epidemic within this country as well. It cannot be denied that there is nothing sadder than the thought of your child being teased by mean classmates or standard bullies. However, overweight children are very often the brunt of such cruel childhood pranks, and as parents we should want to do everything possible to keep that from happening with our own children. However, in order to do this, parents generally need to make the first stand in setting an example for their children and in doing so, they need to start eating and living healthfully on a day-to-day basis.

After all, many adults will eat or live healthfully as a particular date draws near that they want to look their best for – a reunion, a vacation, and so forth. When a child is looking up to you for guidance, however, you need to ensure that you are being healthy day in and day out or else your offspring will not learn that this is the way life should be lived every single day. Eating fruits and vegetables is one easy way to make living healthfully a part of your day-to-day life, and at the same time this will allow you to teach your children that the best way to stay healthy and, let’s face it, trim, is to eat a diet rich in both fruits and vegetables. High in fiber and relatively low in calories, fresh fruits and vegetables are a great way to teach your children – and to teach yourself – how to feel fuller, longer with great nutritional benefits to boot.

Learning that fruits and vegetables should be the largest component of your daily intake of food can help a child to make smart choices when they are left to their own devices as well. At school, a well-taught child may choose to get a fast lunch from the YoNaturals vending machine on campus and will choose from its selection of organic fruit juices and organic snacks rather than the potato chips and soda from a neighboring vending machine. A well-taught child will go to a friend’s house and have an extra serving of salad with their pizza rather than two extra slices. The point is that parents must be involved, however, so go to it moms and dads, and buy some bananas and carrots for the fridge.

Eating healthfully is half the battle to maintaining your weight and ensuring that you lead a healthy lifestyle. A lifestyle that you will be able to maintain until you are well into your old age. Of course, you have to start earlier rather than later in order to make sure that you can get the most benefits from your healthy lifestyle endeavors. Also, just to allay some fears, there’s nothing wrong if it takes a little superficial encouragement to get you to lay down the French fries and pick up some carrot sticks, just so long as you do it.

The point is, humans are very easily swayed by what is easier and what is tasty in their lives. For most people, salty French fries basted in grease are much tastier than, say, carrot sticks. But you are, or at least you should be, very well aware that carrot sticks are much healthier for you to eat than French fries. So if you are dedicated to your health, you may still choose the carrot sticks. Still, when you get home from work and are starving, stopping by the local fast food joint to get those French fries is going to seem much easier, and tastier, than running to the store for some carrot sticks when you’re already too hungry to think straight. The key there is to try to eat more throughout the day. Try to keep healthy snacks on hand so that you can munch on those when you are feeling peckish, rather than starving yourself so that on the commute home all you can think about is what you’re going to eat for dinner.

Another temptation is the chance to run up to the office vending machine, but this sir something that should be avoided at all costs. You are not going to be any happier after having eaten a candy bar from the vending machine on your drive home from work, than you will be after having consumed a huge fatty meal after not having had such an equally-fatty snack. Granted, if you have a YoNaturals vending machine at your place of work, then you need to worry less about making sure to have healthy snacks on hand. Unfortunately, not everyone can have the organic fruit juices and organic snacks that YoNaturals offers, and as such the rest of us need to take precautions so that we do not sabotage our attempts to lead healthy lives.

Author: Jessica Vachal

Author: Laura Rayburn

Carbohydrates have a tarnished reputation thanks to the much-publicized successes of Atkins dieters over the past few years. However, the thing that is often left out of these stories regarding people who hate carbohydrates is that they can play a good and important role in a healthful diet. The key to winning the battle is knowing which carbohydrates are working for you, and which ones are working against you.

Even people with the most basic knowledge of carbohydrates have the knowledge they need to pick a healthy food over an unhealthy one, since the choice can be as easy as choosing a whole grain bread over a loaf made out of a highly refined grain. That said, with a bit of education and thoughtful decision making, everyone can incorporate the good kinds of carbohydrates into their own diets.

First, take a look around you and begin to observe the sheer number of carbohydrate-containing food products that you come across within the span of a single day. Since both kinds of carbohydrates can be found in abundance whether you are standing in the grocery store, a local restaurant, or your own kitchen, it is going to be important to know what makes a good carb good and a bad carb bad.

Next, consider the fact that carbohydrates come in all shapes and sizes and can even be found in many fruits and vegetables, and when you see a food that contains carbohydrates, make note of whether those carbohydrates are manifested as simple sugars or complex carbohydrates. Simple sugars are broken down much more easily than the complex carbohydrates, and cause many people’s blood sugar levels to rise rapidly. On the other hand, complex carbohydrates take a longer time to break down, which means that they are released into the blood stream over a much longer period of time.

Finally, figure out how you can incorporate the healthy carbohydrates into your diet while avoiding the ones that can cause long term health problems such as diabetes and heart disease. Fresh produce, whole grain breads, and low-fat dairy are three great examples of sources of healthy carbohydrates in a person’s diet. The fact of the matter is that carbohydrates are everywhere, but they are not all out to ruin your waistline. The key to cutting carbohydrates while still maintaining a healthy and well-balanced diet is being able to pick out the good ones while avoiding the bad ones. Besides making healthy decision in your home and in restaurants, it is also important to equip yourself to be able to make these decisions on the fly. Choosing snacks from vending machines is a place where many people stumble. However, if you seek out health food vending machines from YoNaturals when these hunger pangs manifest themselves, then your good carb/bad carb decision just got a whole lot easier.

In these days of political correctness we can not call people fat and it is also frowned upon to call them sick.  YoNaturals feels that just being overweight should be viewed as an illness, the same goes even more so for obesity.

Why is being overweight a sickness?   Being overweight can cause heart diseae, diabetes and cancer.   A mere 10% increase above the ideal weight cam cause an approximate 6% increase in blood pressure.   Hypertension causes cardiovascular disease.

What about diabetes?   Well even a slightly overweight person is increasing their risk of diabetes by 100% and if you are carrying 60lb or more extra then you are 3000% more likely to become diabetic, 3000%!

The American Cancer Society did a 20 year study involving over a million Americans and found that both men and women who were 40% overweight had higher rates of cancer.

How do we treat this epidemic?   Unfortunately there is no magic pill that you can take to lose the weight, it is down to two things nutrition and exercise.   For some reason these two words seem to have the effect of swear words on people who want to bury their heads in the sand.

Exercise can be added into your life slowly from parking your car a block away from work and walking the rest of the way.   Try taking the stairs instead of the elevator.   Incidental exercise like this is a great way to start improving your fitness before starting a more serious program.   If you have not exercised for years, you do not have to go crazy, start walking 5 minutes twice a day.   Gradually increase this until you are walking for 20 mins a time.   Then you need to think what exercise you want to continue with.   You can continue to walk, or you can take up swimming, dancing or going to the gym.

Next we need to look at diet, the easiest way is to make little changes gradually.   You shouldn’t be trying to go on a “diet” rather you should be making lifestyle changes.   Increase more fruit and vegetables as well as whole grains.

Keeping a food diary is a good idea to see when you are finding yourself reaching for foods.   This way you can try to ensure you have healthy snacks available at the right time.   I find that I start wanting to snack at about 3pm, so I make sure that I have some carrot sticks or popcorn on hand, because otherwise I would be reaching for chocolates or potato chips.

If you add vegetables to your meal you can fill up on the fiber that they contain and reduce the amount of fatty food you may be having with them.   If you cannot resist stopping at McDonalds on the way home, order a salad to go with your burger and fries.   The next step is to eat the salad first so that you can fill up a bit before you start eating those fatty fries.  

The other way YoNaturals suggests to reduce the volume that you eat is to eat slowly, chew everything really well.   It is by chewing that your brain registers that you are eating and will send messages saying that you are full.

Try to start your day with a wholegrain breakfast such as oats and add fruit to this.   This is extremely healthy and will keep you full into the morning so that you do not feel the need to snack.

If you do want to snack then keep nuts and seeds on hand, along with dried fruits, fresh fruits and vegetable sticks.

It is very important not to skip meals, otherwise your blood sugar levels will fluctuate and you will find yourself reaching for a quick fix of sugar.

Following these few steps offered by YoNaturals vending will help you to keep your weight under control and so lower your risk of heart disease, diabetes and cancer.