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Why is it that we only ever think “cranberries” at Thanksgiving and Christmas? From cranberry sauce to cranberry cocktails, this U.S. superfruit has many health benefits that you can gain year-round! Cranberries have a long history in the United States, used as food, in ceremonies, and medicinally by Native cultures. Cranberries were first planted in Dennis, Massachusetts in 1816. Now, cranberries are farmed on nearly 60,000 acres across the United States, Canada, and Chile. Most cranberries are harvested between September and October, mak...
As days start to get colder and leaves start to fall, you may find yourself wondering; what fresh fruits and veggies are in season this time of year? In the Explore Fall’s Seasonal Foods (2014) Article, written by Pamela Daniels, from Michigan State University Extension Services, produce when in season is usually better quality, tastes better, is more affordable, and usually is available in large amounts. Some fall fruit and veggies that are in season are apples, beets, broccoli, carrots, kale, leeks, pumpkins, sweet potatoes, winter squash a...
September is National Family Meals Month, a nation-wide movement encouraging families to commit to sharing one more meal together per week. Research overwhelmingly shows that sharing regular family meals is linked to positive outcomes in children. These include high grades, high self-esteem, healthier eating habits, and less risky behavior. Regular family mealtimes provide an opportunity to foster family relationships as well as instill important values in children and teens. For younger children, family meals provide an opportunity to...
Whether you say “Herbs” or “Erbs,” there is no doubt the addition of these flavorful plants can turn ordinary dishes into extraordinary dishes. An herb is the green or leafy part of a plant used for seasoning or flavoring. Herbs have fragrant or aromatic properties that may be used in flavoring foods, fragrances, and essential oils. Common herbs include basil, parsley, rosemary, and dill. Herbs may be used as an ingredient in the cooking process in a recipe or to add a burst of flavor to a complete dish. Typically, dried herbs are used to impa...
Have you ever been so hungry you could eat a cow? Or heard your stomach rumbling because you haven't eaten in a couple of hours? According to the Official State Website, an average of one out of five children are suffering from food insecurity. Food insecure households are those where people had difficulty providing food to all members of the household due to limited resources. Worldhunger.org defines hunger as a short-term physical discomfort as a result of chronic food shortage, or in severe...
Carbohydrates or “carbs” are sugars, starches, and fibers found in plant and dairy products. Most recently carbs have taken a hit as being “bad” and are now often portrayed as the cause of excessive weight gain. Fortunately for all of us who enjoy these foods that is not true. Carbs are one of the most basic food groups, along with protein and fat. They play an important role in a healthy lifestyle, but, there is a catch… not all carbs are created equal. There are certainly some that do not lend to a healthy lifestyle. The Bad The carbs tha...
You’ve heard the timeless slogan, “Beef-It’s what’s for Dinner,” but have you considered how eating beef can support your overall health and well-being all day long? A large body of scientific evidence shows that many people would benefit from eating more protein at every meal, not just dinner. The majority of protein is consumed at dinner, at 42%, then lunch, at 28%, and the least at breakfast, at just 16%. Increasing your protein intake at each meal, including breakfast, may help you meet your daily protein needs, build a strong and healthy b...
Families all across the country are joining the family meals movement. You can too! Make this a priority in your family today! How often do you have a quality meal with your family? Juggling jobs, kids and the demands of a busy, modern life often come at the expense of family mealtime. According to a 2013 Harris poll, only 30 percent of American families share dinner every night. September is Family Meal Month, this is the perfect time to make family meals a priority in your life. According to the Food Marketing Initiative’s website, f...
June is Cataract Awareness Month and the time to protect your vision. A cataract develops when the eye’s lenses are damaged and proteins begin to cluster. This cluster of proteins cloud the lens and progresses overtime, thus, affecting vision. Among America’s aging population, cataracts are a leading cause of visual impairment. As shown by the National Eye Institute, by age 80, well above half of Americans either have a cataract or have undergone cataract related surgery. Are cataracts age-specific? Of course not, they may occur at any age...
This summer, there’ll be a new food truck in town. The Boys & Girls Club of Richland County will be running a Mobile Summer Food Program out of a food trailer, kindly provided at cost by B & B Trailers. In partnership with Montana No Kid Hungry and the Office of Public Instruction, the trailer will be serving two free meals for children each day: breakfast at the Richland County Housing Authority – next to West Side School – and lunch at the parks nearest the major public housing sites. Many children rely on school meals to get the nutri...
The Richland County Nutrition Coalition and the Boys and Girls Club of Richland County have teamed up to help educate children on how to identify healthy food options. Members of the Coalition have dedicated one afternoon a month for the past 3 months to work with 2nd and 3rd graders at the Boys and Girls Club as a pilot project for our community’s youth. Members of the group met with the kids initially to lead fun activities about making healthy snack decisions. The Nutrition Coalition teaches healthy eating habits based on MyPlate guidelines...
Each year during March, we celebrate National Nutrition Month®, which presents a great opportunity to focus on the importance of making informed food choices and developing sound eating and physical activity habits. The theme for 2018 is “Go Further with Food” which encourages us to achieve and experience the numerous benefits of healthy eating habits but also urges us to find ways to cut back on food waste. Food waste is simply defined as when an edible item goes unconsumed. This can occur for many reasons. Retailers may throw out foods, espe...
With the Christmas holiday looming, you may have started meal planning, and those plans probably include a selection of wine and spirits for your guests. Wine and spirits have been a staple of holiday celebrations for hundreds of years, from mulled wine, to prosecco, to champagne and hard cider. Each of these, however, contains a significant amount of extra sugar, meaning you'll unknowingly consume more calories than you intended at your celebrations. The type of sugar, as well as the sugar...
Cherry jam, cherry juice, cherry pie, oh my! Summer is finally here, and that means sweet cherries are in season. In the Sidney area, we are lucky to have a range of cherry variety available at local grocers throughout the season, as well as regular visits from the Jacobs Fruit Company Truck. For the past five years, Levi Jacobs, owner and operator of Jacobs Fruit Company, had made regular stops in Glendive, Sidney, and in Eastern North Dakota, with his refrigerated truck filled with cherries. Jacobs’ cherries are sourced from growers in the W...
When it comes to selecting the foods we eat, nothing seems more confusing than choosing “healthy” options. We are constantly bombarded with information about food products, nutrition and ingredient information on the news, social media and Pinterest. If you find yourself confused by “healthy” options, you aren’t alone. Over twenty years ago, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) narrowed down a definition of “healthy” that was allowable to use on food packaging to mean foods low in fat, cholesterol and sodium and contain at least 10% of...
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Anyone who has cooked a healthy and complete dinner in the last 5 years has likely looked to the internet for inspiration. The Internet is far superior to cookbooks for helping readers suss out recipe quality. Before the Internet, if you wanted to find out how good a recipe was, you had to make it yourself. Now, you can Google the type of recipe you’re looking for, browse several versions, and choose the one with the highest user rating. Reader reviews can even help you make a recipe better by suggesting modifications, or tailor it to your d...
Boys & Girls Club of Richland County is the premier after school program for our community’s youth. It is estimated nearly 24% of children are food insecure and unsure how their next meal will be provided. Boys & Girls Club of Richland County is partnering with the Richland County Nutrition Coalition and Reynolds Market to combat this problem. The Club provides fun and engaging programming and structured supervision to emphasize healthy eating options for our members. The Richland County Nutrition Coalition and Reynolds Market hold an annual He...
February is American Heart Month, and the Richland County Nutrition Coalition would like to remind you of the importance your diet, and specifically beef in your diet, can be to preserving the health of your heart. Each year, heart disease is associated as the primary factor in one out of every four deaths. That makes heart disease the leading cause of death for both men and women in the U.S., according to the Centers for Disease Control. There's no doubt about it, heart disease is a scary...
Annual fundraising campaigns featuring bulk fresh fruit is a win-win for residents living in Richland County. Throughout the year, organizations like PEO, Kiwanis and 4-H take advantage of selling boxes of seasonal fruit including peaches, apples, pears, oranges and grapefruits to benefit their respective cause. According to the USDA, the daily recommendation of fruit needed each day ranges from 1 ½ to 2 cups of raw or cooked fruit. This recommended amount is dependent of an individual’s age, sex and level of physical activity. One of the be...
Summer is the perfect time to explore local food sources at your hometown Farmer’s Market! From savoring produce at the peak of freshness to meeting the people who grow your food, there are countless reasons to support farmers markets. Here are just a few! 1. Taste Real Flavors The fruits and vegetables you buy at the farmers market are the freshest and tastiest available. Fruits are allowed to ripen fully in the field and are brought directly to you—no long-distance shipping, no gassing to simulate the ripening process, no sitting for wee...
Morning time, the time of day that you get you and possibly several others ready to face the world. Everyone has their own routine. Does yours including eating a healthy breakfast? Many people don’t realize just how important a healthy breakfast really is. Eating breakfast can help control hunger throughout the day, decrease your risk of heart disease and diabetes, and improve cognitive function related to memory. It has also proved beneficial to help increase concentration for children and adults throughout the day, according to the A...
The Richland County Nutrition Coalition is gearing up to offer a truly unique culinary experience to our community! Taste the World will be held on Fri., June 10 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Elks Lodge. Anil Kara will be demonstrating how to prepare authentic meals from his home country of Turkey. These ancient recipes from the Ottoman Empire are healthy, flavorful, and delicious. This event is a great way to jump out of your comfort zone to experience many new flavors and insightful tips on how to incorporate variety into your diet. Adana...
When it comes to preparing an area for a vegetable garden there is one main point to stress: do whatever you possibly can do to limit the amount of "damage" to the soil. Soil damage, refers to soil compaction, breaking soil structure, robbing the soil of nutrients, etc. People frequently get anxious when it finally warms up and conditions are right for working in the soil, but sometimes waiting an extra day or two to let the soil dry out some (or warm up a little) pays off tremendously in the...
February is American Heart Month, and Richland County Nutrition Coalition reached out to the MonDak Stockgrowers Board to help highlight the Heart Healthy benefits of a balanced diet, including moderate amounts of lean beef. In a study done by researchers at Penn State University, participants who consumed lean beef daily, as part of a heart-healthy diet, had a 10% decline in bad cholesterol. This diet, termed BOLD; Beef in an Optimal Lean Diet, features lean beef as the primary protein source and is rich in vegetable, fruits, whole grain,...
