by kelsey | Mar 20, 2013 | Food
Yesterday was National Ag Day, and as a farmer’s wife and dietitian, I thought it would be fitting to discuss the benefits we receive daily from our friends in agriculture! Many don’t think about where our food comes from or the effort it takes to put it on our tables. I myself didn’t have much of this knowledge or concept until I started learning more about South Dakota’s #1 industry from my husband Adam in college. There truly is an art and science to farming, raising cattle, and livestock. This includes planting techniques, seed technology, keeping the plants growing to produce a bountiful harvest, harvest timing, and the markets (selling the product). Successful farmers today truly have to have a vast knowledge of agriculture, animal science, and ag business.
A few fun facts for you about agriculture in South Dakota include:
- 8% of farms in South Dakota are family owned and operated – in fact, over 2,500 South Dakota farms have been in the same family for more than 100 years.
- The average size of a farm in South Dakota is 1,374 acres.
- The average age of a South Dakota farmer is 55.7 years.
- There are 46,000 producers in South Dakota on 31,800 farms.
- Each year, one South Dakota producer raises enough food to feed 155 people in the U.S. and abroad.
- http://sdda.sd.gov/education-outreach/agriculture-industry/
Producing the food that you put on your table, truly is a labor of love and hard work, so in celebration of ag day, I encourage you to thank our local farmers and ranchers for helping put that delicious food on your table….they deserve it!
Here are a few pictures from our life on the farm.
Loading corn to take to the elevator.
The “nursery” during last year’s calving season (notice no snow!).
Proof farmers can clean up and look nice! 🙂
-Kelsey
by kelsey | Mar 18, 2013 | Etc.
Today, March 18, 2013 marks 2000 days of consecutive exercise for our very own Dr. Dan. CONGRATULATIONS Dr. Dan on this awesome accomplishment!! Dr. Dan is a real inspiration to all of us to be more active and like he said in his latest post…there is no time like the present to get moving! Whenever I feel like taking the easy way out and not exercising, I always think of Dr. Dan telling us to “get out of bed, get out the door, and get moving!” Dr. Dan is a busy guy and if he can make time for exercise, we can too…it’s all about priorities and time management and once you get into the hang of it, it will be become habit and part of your daily life, just like it has for him! STRIVE 2 Survive and the Brown Clinic are fortunate to have a physician who practices what he preaches and leads by example. This picture is a great example of this as he poses with his good friend Steve following the Disney Marathon this winter. Please join me in congratulating Dr. Dan!
-Kelsey
by Dan | Mar 17, 2013 | Exercise, Goals, Motivation, Weather, Wellness/Health
The hardest part about getting going with an exercise program is just that: Getting going! We can come up with all kinds of excuses to put it off: I will do it later when the weather is better; I will start when I am not so busy; Once I get this project done, I will have more time to start exercising more. There is never a better time to start than now! Forget all of the excuses. Get out of bed, get out the door, and get moving!
We would sit and watch the pelicans on the beach while we were recently in Mexico. They would take off, fly around, and coast back in, and then just keep repeating the process. Well, it really is no different for us. First, we have to get going, so push off…
…once we get going, we need to “spread our wings”, and work a little…
…then, we can really take off! We can “spread our wings”, move around, enjoy the scenery, take all of our surroundings in, and in the end, feel better!
It truly is amazing how much more you can enjoy life if you take off and explore. See what is all out there. It is easy to take for granted those things that are around us all day, until we no longer have it. I forget how nice it is to look at something green, and not all the white of snow this season. I am ready for Spring, and can’t wait to really enjoy being outside again when it is nice. Keep moving everybody!
Dr. Dan
Consecutive Exercise Day #: 1999
by kelsey | Mar 14, 2013 | Diabetes, Diet, Food, Weight Management
Does your sweet tooth ever get the best of you? Mine sure does! County Fair Foods had an excellent and very tasty sweet treat at our lecture on Tuesday. The recipe is easy and it’s very tasty, be sure to give it a try!
Fruit Cobbler
1-16oz bags of frozen fruit
1 boxed angel food cake mix
1 12 oz can diet 7up
Place fruit in bottom of a 9×13 pan. Pour angel food cake mix over the top and add 7up. Do not mix. Bake 1 hour.
Enjoy!
Kelsey
by kelsey | Mar 13, 2013 | Diet, Etc., Wellness/Health
Today, March 13th is Registered Dietitian Day! It’s a special day to celebrate the work RDs do and recognize how important an RD can be to you with your wellness goals! Last week, I had the opportunity to be a part of the Women in Science day at LATI. This day is for 8th grade girls who are interested in a career in science. There were several other professionals there and the girls rotated through our stations as they learned more about careers in science. Whenever I do talks like these, I usually get asked interesting questions, but the question that stood out to me most was asked by a very polite and nice young lady from Sisseton. She asked, “what made you decide to be a dietitian?” This question sparked my attention and I was happy to share with the group why I chose dietetics as my profession and how I got to where I am today. To celebrate RD day, I thought I’d share a little with you as well!
As many of you know, I grew up in a medical household where talking about anatomy, biology, health, and science was a daily and normal thing. We (my older brothers and I) would get to follow my dad on rounds at the hospital on Sundays before or after church and spend time roaming the clinic (this usually involved wheelchair races…we never broke anything or got hurt so don’t worry!) when he was charting after hours (this was the time of paper charts, not EMR!). I took as much science and math classes as I could in school and I was fortunate to take a nutrition class taught by Jensi Andrus my senior year at WHS. I was already interested in health and nutrition but this class really sparked my interest. I decided to go to Augustana College as a pre-optometry student majoring in Biology. I enjoyed my classes and the school, but something didn’t feel quite right. I took another nutrition class at Augie and knew from then on, that was what I wanted to do. In a matter of a few days I decided to change my major to dietetics and since Augie didn’t have dietetics, I transferred to SDSU. The transfer was one of the best things I have ever done as I also got the opportunity to compete on the new Varsity Equestrian team while I was there.
I am grateful to have the opportunity to work with a great group of people here at Brown Clinic and of course all of you! The best part of my job is seeing the improvements people make in their health, wellness and lifestyle just by improving what they eat and how much (and course exercising!). Nutrition can really play a key role in disease prevention and disease management. We can’t control our genetics but what we can control is the choices we make in regards to food and activity…and getting to be a part of these improvements is very fulfilling and well worth it!
So to celebrate RD Day, I challenge you to consume an extra serving of fruit or veggies today or get an additional 10-15 minutes of activity. Gradually work into these changes and they will eventually become habit!
-Kelsey
