Breakfast on the Farm

Breakfast on the Farm

The Brown County Breakfast on the Farm is scheduled for Sunday, June 5, 2011 at Brightside Dairy, 7180 County Road D, Greenleaf Wisconsin. Breakfast will be served from 8:00 a.m. to noon. The menu includes ham & cheese omelets, porkies, cheese, cinnamon rolls, bagels and cream cheese, yogurt and milk. The cost is $6.00 – adults, $4.00 children ages five to ten and children 4 and under are free.

The purpose of this event is to promote the dairy industry and its contributions to our economy, as well as the importance of consuming dairy products. This event is sponsored by the Brown County Dairy Promotion Committee.

http://www.co.brown.wi.us/i/f/uw_extension/2011%20Breakfast%20on%20the%20Farm%20Brochure.pdf

Tips for Stretching Food Dollars

Tips for Stretching Food Dollars

While the economy continues to sputter, gas prices climb and food prices increase, household budgets are getting stretched. Here are some tips for stretching food dollars while eating healthy.

• Be willing to spend a little more time preparing foods. In most cases, the more processed a food is, the more it will cost. For example, a one-pound bag of baby carrots usually costs more than a one-pound bag of standard carrots. Similarly, popcorn that is already popped or in a convenience form usually costs more than popcorn that need to be popped in a kettle or popcorn popper.
• Take advantage of food sales if you have the space to safely store what you won’t use right away.
• Prepare meals and snacks at home and take them with you rather than purchasing meals and snacks at a restaurant or from a vending machine.
• Choose healthy, low-cost foods for snacks. Examples of healthy, inexpensive snacks are graham crackers with a glass of fat-free milk, carrot sticks with a dip, or a homemade trail mix with cereal, raisins and peanuts.
•  Frozen and canned vegetables and fruits may be less expensive than fresh, especially when the fresh varieties are not in season.

Counting Calories

Counting Calories

The International Food Information Council (IFIC) recently conducted a nationally representative on-line survey of 1,000 people and found that most people are not counting calories. Respondents shared a number of reasons why they do not count calories.

Research shows that people who keep track of calories lose twice as much weight as those who don’t. Keeping track is the crux of controlling weight. It is important that people know the amount of calories they should have on a daily basis. Calorie requirements are unique to each person, and how many you need depends on your gender, age, height, and physical activity level.

If your number is 1,800 and you are about to sit down to a hamburger platter that is 1,000 calories, then you are getting close to your limit for the day. Knowing your number gives you perspective.

  

Other findings include:

- When it comes to deciding which foods and beverages to buy, people rank their priorities in this order: taste, price, healthfulness.

- At restaurants, taste and price are the top priority.

Simple Tips for a Tasty Dairy Dish

Simple Tips for a Tasty Dairy Dish

Using real dairy products can make a big difference in even the simplest of dishes. Here are some easy tips to help you taste the dairy difference.
Add a scoop of peanut butter to plain yogurt to create a creamy fruit dip. Serve with sliced apples.

Cookies are more delicious with a scoop of ice cream in the middle. Try a scoop of vanilla ice cream between two chocolate chip cookies or peach ice cream between ginger snaps.

Dress up vegetables and steaks with a flavorful compound butter. Mix herbs and spices, such as fresh rosemary or chipotle seasoning, into softened butter, then top grilled vegetables or meat.

 Create a cool and creamy tzatziki, the Greek cucumber dip, by mixing minced garlic, diced and seeded cucumbers and dill into sour cream. It is a flavorful dip for warm pita bread.

Give frozen fruit a dairy twist. Blend frozen berries into yogurt and orange juice for a fresh smoothie. For even more fun, pour the smoothie mixture into popsicle molds and freeze.

   

Low Cost Healthy Foods

Low Cost Healthy Foods

Food prices are continuing their steady climb, leaving many people wondering how they can afford to maintain a healthy diet.

Individuals and families on a tight budget can still can eat healthy meals and snacks. Begin by purchasing healthy foods which are low in price most of the time. Here are some examples.

Grains – brown rice, oatmeal, whole-grain breads and tortillas, whole-grain pastas, popcorn and unsweetened cereal bought in bulk.

Vegetables – cabbage, carrots, many canned vegetables, frozen vegetables without added sauces, onions, potatoes, sweet potatoes, and tomato sauce.

Fruits – applesauce, bananas, canned fruits packed in juice or light syrup, frozen orange juice concentrate, and raisins. 

  

 Milk – fat-free or low-fat milk and blocks of low-fat cheese (cheddar, Colby, Swiss or mozzarella)

Meat and beans – canned tuna, eggs, dry beans and peas, frozen ground turkey and peanut butter.

Urban Chicken Workshop

Urban Chicken Workshop

As part of our on-going effort to raise healthy food locally, the Urban Chicken Workshop will teach you what needs to be considered when growing chickens in the community in which you live. This workshop is scheduled for Wednesday, June 1, 2011 at the Brown County UW-Extension Office from 5:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. The cost is $10.00.        Pre-registration is required.
Click here http://www.co.brown.wi.us/i/f/uw_extension/Ag%20-%20Urban%20Chicken%20Workshop.pdf for more information.

This workshop is sponsored by Buck Creek Chickens, Purely Poultry, Glacierland Resource, Conservation & Development, Inc. and Brown County UW-Extension Office.

Food Recalls and Alerts - New Tool Available

Food Recalls and Alerts – New Tool Available

Does it seem like there a lot of food recalls and alerts these days? A new tool has been created to help consumers find the latest information on food recalls and alerts. This new website can be found at http://www.blogger.com/goog_1643381663

This tool is a partnership of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), Center for Disease Control (CDC), Food and Drug Administration (FDA), National Institute for Health, and the White House.

Recalls and alerts can be found by topic: 1)food except meat, poultry and egg products, 2) meat, poultry and egg product, 3) pet food, and 4) illness outbreaks.

There are a number of options available for staying connected to food recalls and alerts including email, RSS, Twitter, podcasts and videos.

Beverage Consumption Update

Beverage Consumption Update

 For the past four years, America’s leading beverage companies – the Coca-Cola Company, PepsiCo and the Dr Pepper Snapple Group have been quietly but aggressively transforming the beverages available to students in Wisconsin and across America.

Under the industry led-new School Beverage Guidelines, these companies have voluntarily removed full calorie soft drinks from schools, reduced and repackaged portion sizes, and created a range of new low-calorie, nutritious beverages. The results have been staggering – 88 percent fewer beverage calories in schools.

School vending machines now offer a range of low-calorie, nutritious, smaller-portion beverage options, including flavored waters and other no- and low-calorie beverage options.

Beginning this spring the beverage industry, through its “Clear on Calories” initiative, will be adding easy-to-read calorie information on the front of every bottle, pack and can so consumers can choose what is right for them. To find out more about the School Beverage Guidelines and the Clear on Calories labeling initiative, visit http://www.wibeverage.com/

Friendship Bread

Friendship Bread

Friendship Bread has been popular for years. The bread is made with a sourdough starter that is kept for an extended period of time often passing from person to person. Another type of bread that is increasingly popular is an extended-rise no-knead bread.

Recent nationwide food borne illness outbreaks have been linked to traditional bread-making ingredients. It’s time to think safety when preparing or sharing these products.
Click here for more information. 

https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&pid=explorer&chrome=true&srcid=0ByxReHb7wpdDMmMxM2UxMjEtM2ZlYS00ODQ3LThmZTItOWYwYjc1MDY5YzNl&hl=en