by kelsey | May 26, 2016 | Cooking Tips, Diet, Food, Wellness/Health
Memorial Day is just a few days away and I am guessing many of you have picnics and outdoor cooking/eating plans! Practicing proper food safety is essential with summer outdoor cooking. Here are some easy tips to make sure that you and your family have the safest and best picnics possible this summer:
- Safe food handling
- Wash your hands before preparing your food and when dealing with meats and fresh produce. Try to limit cross-contamination by cleaning prep surfaces often. If you don’t have running water where you are, be sure to bring anti-bacterial wipes with.
- When putting your beautifully prepared food in a basket make sure that you have utensils for raw food and cooked foods. If you have uncooked meats like hamburger, chicken, etc., make sure that they are packed in secure containers that won’t leak. Pack them together and at the bottom of the cooler in case juice from the food leaks.
- One recommendation for properly cooked food would be a food thermometer. Make sure that your grilled foods reach a temperature of 145 degrees Fahrenheit for steaks, roasts, and chops, 160 degrees for ground meat and 15 degrees for poultry.
- Chilling picnic foods
- Keep food at or below 40 degrees F
- Pack in insulated cooler with ice or ice packs
- A filled cooler keeps cooler longer than a partially full cooler
- Have meat thawed in the refrigerator before your put in the cooler
- Wait until the last moment to put perishable food items in the cooler
- If bringing food and drinks, try to keep drinks in separate cooler
- This will allow for less cool air to escape when getting beverages from cooler
- Keep cooler in the shade
- If perishable food left out for more than two hours throw away. If it is especially warm (greater than 90 degrees F) throw away in one hour
- Keep cooked food above 140 degrees
Most of all enjoy the fun times spent with family and friends!
-Kelsey
by kelsey | May 25, 2016 | Diet, Food, Weight Management, Wellness/Health
There is exciting news in the nutrition world this week! We are getting a new and improved nutrition label! The FDA revealed what the new label will look like and the changes are going to be very beneficial to us consumers! Here’s the scoop according to the FDA: http://www.fda.gov/Food/GuidanceRegulation/GuidanceDocumentsRegulatoryInformation/LabelingNutrition/ucm385663.htm
“Highlights of the Final Nutrition Facts Label
1. Features a Refreshed Design
- The “iconic” look of the label remains, but we are making important updates to ensure consumers have access to the information they need to make informed decisions about the foods they eat. These changes include increasing the type size for “Calories,” “servings per container,” and the “Serving size” declaration, and bolding the number of calories and the “Serving size” declaration to highlight this information.
- Manufacturers must declare the actual amount, in addition to percent Daily Value of vitamin D, calcium, iron and potassium. They can voluntarily declare the gram amount for other vitamins and minerals.
- The footnote is changing to better explain what percent Daily Value means. It will read: “*The % Daily Value tells you how much a nutrient in a serving of food contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.”
2. Reflects Updated Information about Nutrition Science
- “Added sugars,” in grams and as percent Daily Value, will be included on the label. Scientific data shows that it is difficult to meet nutrient needs while staying within calorie limits if you consume more than 10 percent of your total daily calories from added sugar, and this is consistent with the 2015-2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans.
- The list of nutrients that are required or permitted to be declared is being updated. Vitamin D and potassium will be required on the label. Calcium and iron will continue to be required. Vitamins A and C will no longer be required but can be included on a voluntary basis.
- While continuing to require “Total Fat,” “Saturated Fat,” and “Trans Fat” on the label, “Calories from Fat” is being removed because research shows the type of fat is more important than the amount.
- Daily values for nutrients like sodium, dietary fiber and vitamin D are being updated based on newer scientific evidence from the Institute of Medicine and other reports such as the 2015 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee Report, which was used in developing the 2015-2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans. Daily values are reference amounts of nutrients to consume or not to exceed and are used to calculate the percent Daily Value (% DV) that manufacturers include on the label. The %DV helps consumers understand the nutrition information in the context of a total daily diet.
3. Updates Serving Sizes and Labeling Requirements for Certain Package Sizes
- By law, serving sizes must be based on amounts of foods and beverages that people are actually eating, not what they should be eating. How much people eat and drink has changed since the previous serving size requirements were published in 1993. For example, the reference amount used to set a serving of ice cream was previously ½ cup but is changing to ⅔ cup. The reference amount used to set a serving of soda is changing from 8 ounces to 12 ounces.
- Package size affects what people eat. So for packages that are between one and two servings, such as a 20 ounce soda or a 15-ounce can of soup, the calories and other nutrients will be required to be labeled as one serving because people typically consume it in one sitting.
- For certain products that are larger than a single serving but that could be consumed in one sitting or multiple sittings, manufacturers will have to provide “dual column” labels to indicate the amount of calories and nutrients on both a “per serving” and “per package”/“per unit” basis. Examples would be a 24-ounce bottle of soda or a pint of ice cream. With dual-column labels available, people will be able to easily understand how many calories and nutrients they are getting if they eat or drink the entire package/unit at one time.
Compliance Dates
Manufacturers will need to use the new label by July 26, 2018. However, manufacturers with less than $10 million in annual food sales will have an additional year to comply.”
Below is a comparison of the current label to the new one. What do you think? Will it be more user friendly!?!?
-Kelsey
by Dan | May 22, 2016 | Etc.
We have all had times in our lives where we feel we were “wronged” by somebody. Sometimes we can move on, and sometimes it just keeps “hanging on”, and we keep bringing ourselves back to it again. We have to learn to let it go! We need to be surrounded by others, whether family or friends who support us, and help remind us, that they are they for us, no matter what. Here are my 3 kids when they were little, and I was running the Twin Cities Marathon. They were a walking billboard for me that day. This was the message on the front of their shirts. It can be a reminder to us all to “Go”! Keep moving forward, and learn to forgive those things in our lives, or people in our lives, who we have had an issue with. Exercise is a great way to help relieve that additional stress.
Forgiveness is not the easiest things to do in some situations…but for many, is the only true answer.
But can it ever change things going into the future! A huge amount of stress can be taken off of our backs just by doing this. Sometimes we may need time to think, time to go workout and relieve that stress and figure out what to do, and at other times, we just need TIME!
Forgiveness can help us move on. Exercise can be a source to give us that energy, and time to think, to be able to move on! You don’t, or won’t know, how much until you try it!
We need to rely on people around us, and closest to us to help with this. It is amazing how much this can help as well!
As I was coming to the finish line of the marathon that day at Twin Cities, my kids all turned around to give me another message! I have never forgotten this…ever! And I don’t think I ever will! This was huge to me, and a reminder to me that I have people who care for me as well! We don’t need to always do things by ourselves, or have to get through those tough times by ourselves! That is what family and friends are for! The picture is at the end of this post!
Keep moving everybody! Learn to forgive…learn to let it Go! I frequently look back on this picture…it is one of my favorites!
Consecutive Exercise Day #: 3159
Dr. Dan
by kelsey | May 19, 2016 | Etc.
Each Friday morning in the summer starting June 3rd.
Free of charge 9:00 a.m. for around an hour each week.
We will walk at a comfortable pace, so come and join the social aspect of being outside with friends and getting some exercise.
June 3 McKinley Park (by the picnic shelter)
June 10 Stokes-Thomas City Park (by the Veterans Memorial)
June 17 Mt. Hope Cemetary (by the front entrance)
June 24 Redlin Art Center (by the front entrance)
July 1 No Walk Scheduled because of the Fourth of July weekend
July 8 Joy Ranch (in parking lot near SE side of Main St.)
July 15 Jackson Park (in the parking lot across from Cattail Crossing)
July 22 Bramble Park Zoo (by the picnic shelter)
July 29 Eastwoods Park (by the playground)
August 5 Slumberland Disc Golf Course (in the parking lot)
August 12 Stokes-Thomas City Park (by the Veterans Memorial)
August 19 No walk scheduled because of the Local Senior Games
August 26 Senior Activities Center (in the park area out front)
For more information call Jeremy at the Park and Rec @ 882-6260
by kelsey | May 18, 2016 | Cooking Tips, Diabetes, Diet, Food, Weight Management, Wellness/Health
I get asked about healthy snack options on a regular basis. Snacking can be included in a healthy diet as long as you are making a good choice and watching your portions. I encourage snacks to have a balance of nutrients–especially healthy carbohydrates and lean proteins to help keep energy levels stable and provide satiety. Give these a try!
- Peanut butter and banana or apple
- Greek yogurt and fruit
- Hummus and carrots
- Low-fat cottage cheese and red pepper
- Snack mix with nuts, oats, and dried fruit
- Oatmeal topped with fruit and nuts
- Beef jerky and apple
- String cheese and whole grain crackers such as Wheat Thins or Triscuits
- Half of a turkey sandwich
- Almonds and fruit
- Yogurt
- Light popcorn
-Kelsey
