by kelsey | Apr 25, 2012 | Cooking Tips, Diet, Food, Weight Management, Wellness/Health
Do you have a child that refuses to eat vegetables? Many prefer fruit over vegetables because of their sweet taste. However the combination of fruit and vegetables offers our body’s a great source of vitamins and minerals and each color offers their own really great nutrients…which is why we encourage you to eat a colorful diet. As many of you know, we recommend getting at least 2 fruits a day and fresh or frozen are best. Be careful of the juices and canned fruit as they often times have more sugar and lack the fiber which is beneficial for us. To help increase vegetable intake (strive to get at least 3 servings/day), try using a variety of preparation methods such as raw, steamed, or roasted. Here are some tips to help your children increase their intake of vegetables:
- Allow your children to pick out the vegetables for dinner
- Use cut-up vegetables with dip as a snack
- Vary the choices to keep it interesting
- Have kids help wash, peel and slice vegetables if they are old enough.
Including them in the decision making and preparation gives them ownership and makes eating them more satisfying! A really great website for learning more about increasing your fruit and veggie consumption is: www.fruitsandveggiesmorematters.org. Check it out!
-Kelsey
Reference: http://www.eatright.org/Public/content.aspx?id=6442450985
by kelsey | Apr 18, 2012 | Diet, Food, Wellness/Health
Iron is an essential mineral that aids in a variety of functions in the body. It’s main role is to carry oxygen and carbon dioxide within the red blood cell from one body tissue to another. It’s also needed for energy production and to help our immune system. There are many foods that contain iron, however some are more easily absorbed than others. Typically heme (animal) sources of iron such as beef, chicken, pork, etc are more readily absorbed than the non-home (plant) sources such as green leafy vegetables and beans.
To help increase your absorption of iron, we recommend including vitamin C foods along with your iron sources, as the vitamin C helps increase absorption, especially of those non heme iron sources. An example of this is pairing up a citris fruit along with your whole grain cereal. You will absorb more iron in your cereal when paired with the fruit compared to just eating the cereal alone. Another concept to be mindful of, is to be aware of the iron blockers, ie- foods that inhibit absorption or iron. Foods that inhibit absoprtion include coffee and tea (regular and decaf), whole grains, bran, legumes, spinach, and high fiber foods. To increase your absorption of iron, these foods are best eaten with heme iron sources and/or vitamin C sources. Examples of this would be pairing a chicken breast with brown rice or strawberries with oatmeal.
How much iron do I need in a day?
Males >18 yrs: 8 mg/day
Females 19-50 yrs: 18 mg/day
Females >51 yrs: 8 mg/day
Pregnancy: 27 mg/day
Lactating: 8-9 mg/day
-Kelsey
by kelsey | Apr 17, 2012 | Diet, Food
Did you know that more than one million farmers and ranchers raise cattle in every state in the United States?! Since cattle are raised throughout the nation, the producers use their local resources to produce nutritious, safe, and tasty beef. Because of this, there is a wide variety of choices of beef for consumers. You may have heard the terms grain finished, grass finished, natural and certified organic when considering choices of beef. It is important to understand the meanings of these choices to help make the most desirable selection per your personal preferences. One thing is for sure though, no matter what you desire, there is a great choice for you!
Grain Finished: cattle spend most of their lives grazing on pasture and then spend 4-6 mo in a feedlot; fed scientifically and healthy balanced diet of grains such as corn, wheat, or soybeans; may judiciously be given FDA approved antibiotics or growth promoting hormones; may be given vitamin or mineral supplements; have continuous access to clean water and room to grow and roam
Grass Finished: cattle spend their entire lives grazing on pasture, may judiciously be given FDA approved antibiotics or growth promoting hormones; may be given vitamin or mineral supplements; can be difficult to produce year round in North America due to changing seasons and weather conditions
Naturally Raised: cattle can be grain finished or grass finished–look at the label for details; have never received antibiotics or growth promoting hormones, may be given vitamin and mineral supplements; must be certified by USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service
Certified Organic: cattle can be grain or grass finished as long as the feed is 100% organic; have never received antibiotics or growth promoting hormones, may be given vitamin and mineral supplements; must be certified by USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service; look for the official label.
For more information check out: www.beefnutrition.org or view the full educational handout regarding this information at: http://www.beefnutrition.org/CMDocs/BeefNutrition/ChoicesofBeef_Final_web.pdf
-Kelsey
by kelsey | Apr 12, 2012 | Diet, Food, Weight Management, Wellness/Health
With spring underway, our house is bustling as this is one of the busiest times of the year for us on the ranch. Spring time is most noted in our house by calving and planting. This lifestyle often results in late night suppers, night checks to ensure the cows are not having any issues, and long hours of work as the farmers and ranchers are working hard to the crops in and ensure their cows and calves are doing well. It’s a type of work that many have been brought up in through generations. As a dietitian and wife of a rancher/farmer, I marvel at the work they do and it reminds me of the importance of promoting our local produce!
Beef is an excellent source of 10 essential nutrients, especially protein, selenium, iron, zinc, and choline. There are 29 lean sources of beef that meet the government guidelines for lean. Red meat often gets a bad rap in the media, however the bottom line is that lean beef does truly offer several health benefits to us including heart health, muscle development, and weight management due to its excellent nutrient content.
Now yes, I may be a little biased since this is a way of life for my family, however nutrionally speaking it truly is a great source of nutrients. I am not telling you go out and get a fatty 20 oz steak, but I am telling you it’s ok to incorporate portion controlled lean sources of beef into your daily intake.
Today I signed up to become a part of Team BEEF. Team BEEF is part of the South Dakota Beef Council and is a community of runners and health enthusiasts who recognize the nutritional benefits of lean beef and the important role high quality protein can play in training. I am excited to represent South Dakota Team BEEF at the Buffalo NY marathon/half marthon my brother and I will be running in May. Next week I plan to discuss a few concepts of beef and its nutrition.
-Kelsey
*The picture just a glimpse of what our ranch looks like right now or as Adam calls it, “the nursery.” 🙂
by kelsey | Mar 29, 2012 | Etc., Food
If you have read, listened, or watched the news lately, most likely you have heard about the “pink slime” or lean finely textured beef. There is a lot of hype about this in the media which results in a lot of confusion and questions. As consumers we want to make sure we access high quality, safe food, thus I wanted to share with you the facts about the lean finely textured beef.
This information is from Registered Dietitian Holly Swee, who works with the South Dakota Beef Industry Council.
- “Lean finely textured beef is just that. Beef. When steaks and roasts are cut, it creates the “trim” that becomes ground beef. The companies supplying lean finely textured beef use a process to remove a lot of the fat from the lean beef in the trim, which is then added to ground beef as a concentrated, lean source of protein. Though some media outlets are reporting this product is a filler, that’s not true. It’s beef plain and simple.
- The nutritional profiles of lean finely textured beef and traditional ground beef are nearly identical. Lean finely textured beef is 90%-to-95% lean (5%-10% fat) and, just like all beef, is a good or excellent source of 10 essential nutrients including protein, iron, zinc and B vitamins.
- Lean finely textured beef offers affordable nutrition for kids, which is critical given shrinking school budgets, rising food costs and the fact that for many kids, school lunch is their best chance at a getting a well-balanced meal during the day.
- Ground beef that includes lean finely textured beef is safe according to independent scientists, safety advocates and the Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS). By law, E. coli and Salmonella cannot be in meat supplied for school lunch. In some cases, a small, safe amount of ammonia gas or citric acid is used to produce the lean finely textured beef, which like other safety measures along the way, reduces the potential for bacterial contamination. FSIS has reviewed and approved this practice as safe, and safety advocates have applauded it as an effective way of ensuring safe beef for consumers.
- Processing aids like ammonia gas, citric acid and others do not appear singled out on food labels because by definition and by law, they do not affect the finished food. According to the Food and Drug Administration, labeling of “incidental additives” like these processing aids would be impracticable and might draw undue attention to what essentially amounts to meaningless trace amounts.
You may be wondering if we’re talking about the same product after all you’ve heard or read about “pink slime,” but the fact is, the gross descriptions of this product and process that are circulating out there just aren’t true. Lean finely textured beef is simply a low-fat source of beef protein, that when added to ground beef, is just another ingredient in the ground beef dishes you know and love.
There are a number of resources available if you’re interested in learning more or looking for information to share, including: a fact sheet from the U.S. Department of Agriculture; video of the process from one of the lean finely textured beef suppliers, Beef Products Inc.; an interview and expert Q&A with Dr. Russell Cross, former FSIS administrator and current head of the Department of Animal Science at Texas A&M University; and a “pink slime” myth debunking website.”
If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to contact myself or Holly.
-Kelsey Raml, MS, RD, LN
by kelsey | Mar 22, 2012 | Etc., Food
The warmer weather, turning of green grass, and birds chirping are signs spring is here! Spring is always a great time to do some “spring” cleaning! We often think about spring cleaning in regards to the outside of our house such as cleaning windows, etc, however it’s also really important to take a good look at the inside of your house, especially the inside of your fridge and freezer. Take look at the food products inside your fridge, if anything is expired or has a signficant odor, cleaning is a must! First off, empty your fridge so that you can really clean inside. You can use a vinegar water (equal parts) solution to wipe the inside out. The acid in vinegar helps destroy mildew. Then wash inside the fridge with a baking soda and water solution. Be sure to scrub the gaskets, shelves, sides, and doors. If able, allow several days to air out. If your fridge is extra smelly, you can sprinkly fresh coffee grounds or baking soda loosely in the bottom of your fridge or place them in an open container. Another option is to place a cotton swab soaked with vanilla inside freezer and close the door for 24 hours.
“For more information on how to keep your refrigerator safe and clean, check out our Refrigerator Safety Tips and visit homefoodsafety.org.”
Reference: http://www.eatright.org/Public/content.aspx?id=6442468402
Happy Spring Cleaning!
-Kelsey
