Smart Snacking: Low-cost, Healthy Ways to Fuel Up Between Meals

By Margo McDonough

For many of us, summer time means snack time. During the warm weather months, we’re out and about more, and less likely to have ready access to healthy foods. But whether we’re in the car, heading to the boat or beach, or at the ball field, cheering on our favorite center fielder, there’s no excuse for not eating right.

An order of fries at the drive-thru or ice cream cone at the ballpark can be tempting. But with a little advance planning, you can create tasty, low-cost snacks that are healthy ways to fuel up between meals.

Both of these snacks cost just pennies to prepare, in contrast to the pricey - and mostly unhealthy - items at convenience stores and concession stands. Some of the cheapest “grab-and-go” snacks are homemade cereal mixes and trail mixes. There are many healthy, no-cook recipes for trail mix and cereal mix on the Internet and in cookbooks. You can adapt them to your tastes. Substitute raisins for peanut chips. Use bran squares instead of wheat squares.”

Turkey Roll-ups Recipe

1, 8-ounce package reduced-fat cream cheese
1 cup reduced-fat shredded Mexican cheese blend
¼ pound deli turkey, finely chopped
2 tablespoons chopped dried cranberries
2 tablespoons salsa
3/4 teaspoon chili powder
4 flour tortillas

In a small bowl, beat cream cheese until smooth. Stir in the cheese, turkey, cranberries, salsa and chili powder. Spread 1/2 cup mixture over each tortilla; roll up tightly. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate. Once firm, cut into 1-inch slices.

Nutritional Facts
1 roll-up: 49 calories,
2 g fat (1 g saturated
fat), 7 mg
cholesterol, 117 mg
sodium, 4 g
carbohydrate, 1 g
fiber, 3 g protein.

Making trail or cereal mix together can be a great family activities. These are perfect cooking projects for kids because they’re easy and don’t involve the stove or oven.

Despite our best intentions, sometimes we forget to prepare snacks in advance. But whether heading across town to a soccer game or across the country on an airplane, it’s become easier to find healthy choices at fast food restaurants and convenience stores. In an airport look for low-fat yogurt or low-fat smoothies. Many convenience stores now stock cut-up vegetables and Dip and Fresh Fruit. Favorite pre-made snacks include natural applesauce cups; fruit cups packed in juice, not syrup; and string cheese.

Margo McDonough, Two Cent Tips Newsletter, University of Delaware Extension



Plan Now to Preserve Your Garden's Bounty This Summer

Plan Now to Preserve Your Garden’s Bounty This Summer

Home-canned spaghetti sauce full of the flavor of garden-fresh tomatoes or strawberry jam bursting with fruit at the peak of ripeness can bring a touch of summer to a Wisconsin winter. With the proper equipment and up-do-date recipes, these foods and other family favorites can be safely canned at home.

Preserving food from your garden or orchard can be a good way to combat the rising prices of food at the grocery. But be sure to follow research-tested recipes for safe, high quality food that your family will enjoy.

Recipes that are not precise, that call for “a pinch” of this ingredient or “a pinch” of that ingredient; recipes that are not tested in a laboratory; or recipes that contain outdated or inaccurate canning information, can result in products that may be unsafe to consume. Ingham offers three general guidelines for safe food preservation:

• Inspect and repair any food preservation equipment at the beginning of the season. Now is a good time to inspect canners or food dehydrators to make sure all equipment is in working condition. And start now to collect approved canning jars and lids for use during the season. Canning jars that use two-piece, self-sealing metal lids are recommended for home canning. Jars should be free of nicks or scratches. A “must” every canning season is new flat lids. Metal screw bands that are not bent or rusted can be reused.
• Have dial-gauge pressure canners tested for accuracy. A pressure canner is essential for canning low-acid vegetables, meats, fish and poultry. Pressure canners come with either a dial-gauge or a weighted-gauge. Dial-gauge pressure canners should be tested each year for accuracy. The Brown County UW-Extension Office offer free dial-gauge testing; call ahead for scheduling of this service.
• Always follow an up-to-date tested recipe from a reliable source. This is perhaps the most important step in preparing for home food preservation, according to Ingham. Cookbooks and old family recipes are not reliable sources of research-tested recipes. Consult the Brown County UW-Extension Office for recipes that will ensure you are canning safe, high quality foods. The University of Wisconsin-Extension has up-to-date recipes in bulletins on safe canning of fruit, jams and jellies, meat, pickles, salsa, tomatoes, and vegetables; and information on freezing fruits and vegetables. Visit The Learning Store at http://learningstore.uwex.edu/ and follow the links from “Home and Family.”

More tomatoes are home-canned than any other product. And home-canned tomatoes can be so delicious. But many people are still unaware that tomato-canning recommendations changed dramatically way back in 1994. Many people are not aware that you must add acid to home-canned tomato products to ensure safety. This is just one example where even though it’s tempting to return time and again to a family-favorite recipe, it’s important to update your canning recipes as guidelines change.

Food safety is, and should be, a primary concern when home canning any type of food, from pickles to meat. The University of Wisconsin-Extension sets itself apart in providing research-based information. Extension office has copies of the up-to-date Wisconsin Safe Food Preservation bulletins. This information is also available online at http://www.foodsafety.wisc.edu. Begin the food preservation season by updating your resources so that you can be sure that you are preserving safe, high quality food for your family to enjoy.

To help you keep up-to-date with home canning practices, the Brown County UW-Extension Office is offering many canning workshops throughout the summer and fall. Topics and dates can be found at www.browncountyextension.org

Source: Barbara Ingham, UW-Extension Food Safety Specialist

Juicy Benefits

Juicers have become popular in recent years. Many of us don’t eat the recommended servings of fruits and vegetables. Juicing makes getting fruits and vegetables and their nutrients easier. You can pack more produce into a glass of juice than you’d be able to eat whole. For example, you will get the nutrients from five cups of chopped carrots in just a single glass of carrot juice.
There are two major types of juices. The first, masticating juicers are quiet, easier to clean and leave behind little pulp. The less expensive centrifugal juicers make a slightly pulpier juice and take up less space.
Here are some ways to squeeze more goodness from fresh juice.

• Fill up on fiber. Fresh juice contains less fiber than whole fruits and vegetables. You can add some pulp back in or add ground flaxseed.
• Stabilize sugar. Juices made with fruits and starchy vegetables can be high in sugar. Keep blood sugar levels in check by adding low-sugar vegetables like spinach, kale or wheat grass to your juice. Also pay attention to portion sizes. Stick to a serving size of juice is four to six ounces.
• Drink it right away. Juice’s beneficial nutrients start to deteriorate shortly after it is pressed. Drink the juice promptly and refrigerate for no longer than a day or two.

Quinoa: An Amazing Grain

Quinoa: An Amazing Grain

Quinoa (keen-wah) is replacing other staples for breakfast, lunch and dinner. It can be prepared in 20 minutes and is mild in flavor. It also is more versatile than rice. Quinoa’s has a mild flavor and fluffy texture with a slight hint of crunch that pairs well with a variety of fruits, vegetables, meats and fish.

For breakfast, use it in place of warm oats and serve with cinnamon, nuts and your favorite berries. For lunch, stir cold quinoa into a black bean salad, topped with cilantro and citrus dressing. In the evening, serve with herbed salmon over a bed of warm quinoa pilaf.

Quinoa has plenty of omega-3’s and monounsaturated fats. It has more antioxidants than some berries and it is one of the few foods in the plant kingdom that provides a complete protein with all eight essential amino acids. It is rich in potassium.

This gluten-free seed swells to three times its size when cooked. Use one part dry quinoa to 11/2 to 2 parts liquid.

It ranges in colors from white to black. White has the mildest flavor. Red is slightly nuttier and black has an earthly flavor.

Once cooked, it will keep in the refrigerator for one week.

Do Diet Beverages Increase Preferences for Sweet Foods and Beverages?

Do Diet Beverages Increase Preferences for Sweet Foods and Beverages?

Reducing consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages is a strong evidence-based recommendation of the Dietary Guidelines for Americans. Water and nutritious beverages such as low-fat or nonfat milk are obvious alternatives to beverages that are sweetened with high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS), sucrose, or other form of added sugars. Many Americans realize the importance of reducing sugar intakes for themselves and their children, but there is much confusion and controversy over the potential value of diet beverages. Until now, there has been a concern that the sweet flavor of diet sodas and other beverages containing low-calorie sweeteners may increase individuals’ preference for, or intake of, other sweet/calorie-laden foods and ultimately contribute to overall weight gain.

A new study from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is the first randomized clinical trial to examine the effect of diet beverages on dietary patterns and energy/calorie intakes. Subjects (mostly women) were randomly assigned to three groups and followed for six months. One group of 106 subjects substituted water for caloric beverages, another group of 104 subjects substituted diet beverages, and a third group was not given either substitution. Both the water group and the diet soda group lost about 2- 2.5% of their body weight on average, as reported in an article published in 2012. The current article focused on dietary intake patterns and food choices. When compared to the diet soda group, the water group increased intake of fruit and vegetables and decreased intake of protein foods, grains, and mixed/frozen/fast-food meals but the diet beverage group had greater reductions in desserts. Overall, the authors state “it was difficult to find meaningful differences between water and the diet beverage groups” because both groups were trying to reduce their food/calorie intakes. The main outcome was that this study’s findings do NOT support the argument that diet beverages cause weight gain by increasing people’s desires or tendencies to consume other sweet foods.

Implications. There are many arguments for and against recommending diet beverages as appropriate substitutions for beverages containing added sugars such as HFCS and sucrose. One of those arguments – the suggestion that diet beverages may increase overall calorie intake by stimulating appetites or cravings for other sweet foods – is weakened by this study. The overall topic still unsettled and the following quote from the Dietary Guidelines for Americans’ Advisory committee’s 2010 report is still a prudent guide for educators.

“Moderate evidence shows that using non-caloric sweeteners will affect energy intake only if they are substituted for higher calorie foods and beverages. A few observational studies reported that individuals who use non-caloric sweeteners are more likely to gain weight or be heavier. This does not mean that non-caloric sweeteners cause weight gain rather that they are more likely to be consumed by overweight and obese individuals…The replacement of sugar-sweetened foods and beverages with sugar-free products should theoretically reduce body weight. Yet many questions remain, as epidemiologic studies show a positive link with use of nonnutritive sweeteners and BMI. Additionally, whether use of low calorie sweeteners is linked to higher intake of other calories in the diet remains a debated question.” (page D5-30).

References:
Turner-McGrievy G, Lyons E, Stevens J, Erickson K, Polzien K, Diamond M, Wang X, Popkin B. Replacing caloric beverages with water or diet beverages for weight loss in adults: main results of the Choose Healthy Options Consciously Everyday (CHOICE) randomized clinical trial. Am J Clin Nutr 2012;95:555–63.
Choose Healthy Options Consciously Piernas C, Tate DF, Wang X, Popkin BM. Does diet-beverage intake affect dietary consumption patterns? Results from the Choose Healthy Options Consciously Everyday (CHICE) randomized clinical trail.
Report of the DGAC on the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2010, http://www.cnpp.usda.gov/Publications/DietaryGuidelines/2010/DGAC/Report/D-5-Carbohydrates.pdf. Everyday (CHOICE) randomized clinical trial. Am J Clin Nutr 2012; 95:555–63.
By Susan Nitzke, UW-Extension Nutrition Specialist, Professor Emeritus, UW-Madison

Great Resource-More Meal Time in Less Time Resources

Great Resource - More Meal Time in Less Time Resources

University of Nebraska-Lincoln has developed a wonderful website and
e-newsletter that helps you with quick meal ideas and making healthy
choices.
Their website is http://food.unl.edu/web/fnh/cook-it-quickrecipes and you can review their newsletters and subscribe to their emailed newsletter from this site.

Eating at Home is an Investment in Family

Eating at Home is an Investment in Family

 Time (or lack thereof) seems to have a big impact on eating behaviors. One of the main barriers to planning regular and balanced meals is our busy lifestyles. Simple, quick dishes made from on-hand ingredients are most attractive to consumers. Fifty-six percent of consumers say they are looking for convenience foods to save them preparation and cooking time. Saving money is one reason to eat at home, but there are a few others that are more important.

Reports indicate that on a typical night, 89% of meal preparers made a
dinner at home – 57% prepared the meal from scratch primarily with
fresh ingredients, no mixes; 24% prepared their “home-cooked” meal
with prepackaged foods that require some preparation; and 8% used
only frozen or heat-and-serve pre-packaged foods. Yet, we also know
that convenience food usage has increased 32% in ten years and there
are more and more frozen “just add” types of products available in the
freezer aisles.

Although trends are starting to change in the right direction, the lack of
time and busy lifestyles still have many of us choosing less-healthy meal
options away from home. Research over the last few years shows that
those who eat more meals away from home tend to have a higher
prevalence of obesity and all the complications that come from this disease. It’s safe to say that eating more healthful meals at home would be an investment in our family’s health.

We also know that children and teens who eat more meals at home with their families are more emotionally and socially stable; receive higher grades; attain more education; eat more fruits, vegetables, grains, and calcium-rich foods; and eat less saturated and trans fat, soda, and fried food. Family meal time is becoming more and more important in bringing families together, building relationships and helping families communicate.

By Maria Pippidis, Two Cents Tips for Delaware Newsletter Contributor, University of Delaware Extension

Consumption of Added Sugar Among U.S. Adults, 2005

Consumption of Added Sugar Among U.S. Adults, 2005-2010

The U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention National Center for Health Statistics examined survey data from thousands of adults to determine if they were following the 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans. The guidelines advise limiting total intake of added sugars, fats and other “discretionary calories” to between five percent and 15 percent of total calories consumed each day.

The new report finds that from 2005 to 2010 American adults got 13 percent of total calories from added sugar alone. Sugar is full of calories that can lead to weight gain and sugary items can displace the consumption of healthier foods.

Key findings include:
• The mean percentage of total calories from added sugars decreased with increasing age and increasing income.
• Non-Hispanic black men and women consumed a larger percentage of their total calories from added sugars than non-Hispanic white and Mexican-American men and women.
• More of the calories from added sugars came from foods rather than beverages.
• More of the calories from added sugars were consumed at home rather than away from home.

Recent analyses indicate that children and adolescents obtain approximately 16 percent of their total caloric intake from added sugar.

Source: R. Bethene Ervin, Ph.D., R.D., and Cynthia L. Ogden, Ph.D., M.R.P.

Spring cleaning-How Long to Keep Food

Spring Cleaning – How Long to Keep Food

Spring is a great time to clean kitchen cupboards, pantry or freezer. It is easy for food containers to get pushed to the back of the cupboard, pantry, or the freezer. This is the time of year I get calls regarding how long food can be kept.

North Dakota State University Extension Service has a great bulletin on this topic titled “Food Storage Guide Answer the Questions… How long can I store ________ before its quality deteriorates or it’s no longer safe to eat. This bulletin can be found at http://www.ag.ndsu.edu/pubs/yf/foods/fn579.pdf

It is a good idea to check the dates of food containers periodically, so food is used in a timely manner and consumed when of excellent quality.