You can receive Featurettes by e-mail daily, weekly or monthly by request. We can e-mail by your choice of topic or all stories as you may prefer. To make it even more convenient for editors to use our stories, NAPS has added an RSS syndication feed to our Web site. Simply hit the RSS button on our site for automated updates on available content. Please contact us to arrange to receive Featurettes in the format that works best for you at (800) 222-5551 or e-mail your request to us at printmedia@napsnet.com. We can provide Featurettes on CD-ROM or you can download it online at www.napsnet.com. Gary Lipton Media Relations Manager Phone: 1-(800)-222-5551 Fax: 1-(800)-990-4329 Web site: www. napsnet .com e-mail: printmedia@napsnet.com #2522 North American Precis Syndicate, Inc., 350 Fifth Avenue, 65th Floor, New York, N.Y. 10118-0110 Tips To Help Children Develop Strong Reading Habits (NAPSA)—Getting a child to read can be challenging, but a recent survey found that 96 percent of U.S. and Canadian parents recognize the importance of having strong reading skills for school and as an adult. “As U.S. literacy rates worsen, parents need to make daily reading a priority for themselves and their children. Our society cannot afford a generation that doesn’t enjoy reading,” says Dr. Mary Mokris, education specialist for Kumon Math and Reading Centers. The survey for Kumon, conducted by Harris Interactive, found that activities such as playing outside, watching a movie and eating together were more important to today’s families than reading together. “Spending as little as 15 minutes a day reading together helps children of any age improve literacy, analytical and lifelong learning skills while fostering a love for the English language,” said Mokris, who offers the following tips to promote literacy at home: 1) Bring reading home—Create a reading area in your house that has comfortable furniture, good lighting and, most importantly, magazines, newspapers and books your children will enjoy. 2) Start a parent-child book club—Parents can learn more about their child’s interests and children will get more comfortable reading and sharing in front of peers. 3) Read the book, watch the movie and discuss—It gives children and adults an opportunity to discuss the content, dilemmas and Reading can be a family affair when parents look for books that the whole family can enjoy reading together. moral implications of the story. This combination sharpens both comprehension and decoding abilities, two of the most important skills for learning. 4) Physical reading—Make reading a part of your outdoor playtime. Read to your child and ask him to act out what he has just heard. Older children can read a play and then perform it. 5) Read and explore—Have each family member choose an area attraction that he or she would like to visit. Have older children read about the area and play tour guide for the day. Need help selecting books that appeal to your child’s interests or reading ability? Kumon Math and Reading Centers offers a free Recommended Reading List, which includes a range of 350 titles for any reading level. You can stop by a Kumon Center for a copy. For Kumon locations, visit www.kumon.com or call (800) ABC-MATH. Winning The Great Tomato Tip-Off Contest (NAPSA)—Eating tomato products is a fun, affordable way to enhance a healthy diet, and a new contest has come up with a few winning tips to help you do just that. Dietitians at the Sports, Cardiovascular and Wellness Nutrition (SCAN) dietetic practice group of the American Dietetic Association sent heart-healthy tips to the Great Tomato Tip-Off Contest, a partnership effort between the Tomato Products Wellness Council (TPWC) and SCAN. Winning tips were selected based on originality, practicality, consumer appeal, nutritional value and affordability. Winning tomato tips will be published on the TPWC Web site, as well as in upcoming materials. Tomato paste, sauce, diced, whole or any other form of canned or processed tomato products contains an array of nutrients like vitamin C, vitamin E, betacarotene and lycopene that can protect the heart from disease in a number of ways, making them a perfect fit for a heart-healthy diet. Here are a few of the winning tips: • Toss diced, canned tomatoes with jalapeos and black beans for a satisfying salsa. • To save time, use canned, chopped tomatoes in tacos and tostadas. • Pour tomato sauce over sliced meat loaf and add sprigs of parsley for eye appeal. • Add canned tomatoes to canned soups to boost vitamin C and potassium. • Toss drained, diced tomatoes with freshly chopped basil and spoon onto grilled fish. • Pour canned, diced tomatoes over chicken breasts, sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and bake. • Scatter Italian seasoned, Tomatoes are a delicious fit for a heart-healthy diet. Add tomato paste to soups, stews and casseroles. Spoon diced tomatoes into sandwiches. canned tomatoes on a baked frozen pizza for a fresh taste. • Add diced, drained, canned tomatoes to cooked Spanish rice or couscous. Choose one day of the week—let’s say, Tuesday—to make sure you eat at least three tomato products. As a reminder of all the wonderful nutrients in tomatoes (vitamin C, lycopene and other health-promoting, disease-fighting compounds), on Tuesdays add tomato paste to soups, stews and casseroles, drink tomato juice for breakfast, take a spoonful of diced tomatoes and add them to a wrap or sandwich, add extra tomato sauce to your pizza slice. Get creative—if it’s Tuesday, it’s tomato day. While trying to brainstorm ways to eat healthy tomatoes, think cross-culturally. Mexican food is known for spicy salsas containing garlic, lime and cilantro. Italians create traditional dishes with elegant spaghetti sauces, flavorful pizza sauce and tomato bruschetta. Some African stews made in slow cookers have a tomato and peanut butter base. Always keep cans of tomatoes in stock at home. When looking for a new twist on dinner, pick a tomato dish from another culture and innovatively add your own blend of spices and food combinations. Be creative and try something new. Contest winners were: • 1st Place: Colleen Kvaska, M.A., R.D., CDE. • 2nd Place: Dominique Adair, M.S., R.D. • 3rd Place: Siri Zimmerman, B.S., R.D. candidate. The Tomato Products Wellness Council is an organization of tomato growers, processors and well-known brands working to create awareness of the health benefits of tomato products by providing industrywide leadership, communications and scientific research. For more information, visit www.tomatowellness.com.