- Creating Health & Nutrition Fact Sheets (Source: PennState Extension)
- Is coffee good or bad for me? (Source: Mayo Clinic)
- Ordering Healthy Drinks at the Coffee Shop (Source: eXtension)
Thursday, September 29, 2016
Today is National Coffee Day.. Check out these resources for some nutritional information about Coffee
While the new Choose MyPlate icon doesn't include a coffee cup, there is increasing evidence of the health benefits of coffee. While a plain cup of coffee has about 2 calories, the calories in additions to coffee and specialty coffee drinks can add up.
Monday, August 22, 2016
Can meat and poultry be frozen in original packaging?
Proper packaging helps maintain quality and prevent freezer burn. It is safe to freeze meat or poultry directly in its original packaging, however this type of wrap is permeable to air and quality may diminish over time. For prolonged storage, overwrap these packages as you would any food for long-term storage. It is not necessary to rinse meat and poultry. Freeze unopened vacuum packages as is. If you notice that a package has accidentally been torn or has opened while food is in the freezer, the food is still safe to use; merely overwrap or rewrap it.
Wednesday, August 17, 2016
How long can I freeze pork?
Frozen foods are safe indefinitely. For best quality, fresh pork roast, steaks, chops or ribs should be used within 4 - 6 months; fresh ground pork, pork liver or variety meats should be used within 3 - 4 months; and home cooked pork; soups, stews or casseroles within 2 - 3 months. After that they will still be safe but may lose quality or dry out.For more information about pork visit: Fresh Pork from Farm to Table.
Tuesday, August 16, 2016
Study: Millennials leave jobs over outdated office technology
The Future Workforce Study, from Dell and Intel, shows that 42% of millennials will leave an
office space if it is outdated. More than half of those in the study believe their office will become
"smart" by incorporating virtual reality and the internet of things over the next five years.
ITProPortal.com - http://www.itproportal.com/2016/07/18/millennials-will-quit-if-their-officeisnt-smart/
Emergency Preparedness at Home – Are You Ready?
Emergency Preparedness at Home – Are You Ready?
Your family’s safety is #1 so learn how to be prepared for an emergency in your home with these
evacuation plan tips and emergency kit checklist -
http://www.gethealthystayhealthy.com/articles/emergency-preparedness
Thursday, July 21, 2016
Local School Wellness Policy and Smart Snacks among Four Regulations Ensuring Access to Healthy Food, Consistent Nutrition Standards for Foods Marketed and Served to Students, and Greater Program Integrity
Today, the Obama Administration is announcing four final rules
that implement important provisions of the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act
(HHFKA) building on the progress schools across the country have already made
in the improved nutritional quality of meals served in schools. As a key
component of First Lady Michelle Obama's Let's Move! initiative to raise a
healthier generation, the rules will ensure that children have access to
healthy snacks and that nutrition standards for the foods marketed and served
in schools are consistent. The rules will also promote integrity across the
school meals programs.
"I am thrilled with the progress we continue to make in building healthier learning environments for our kids with science-based nutrition standards for all food sold and marketed in schools. As a mom, I know how hard parents work to provide nutritious meals and snacks to their kids, and we want to make sure we support those efforts with healthy choices at school," said First Lady Michelle Obama. "I am inspired by the tremendous work that's being done in schools across the country to provide our kids healthy food to fuel them throughout the day so that they can grow up healthy and fulfill their boundless promise."
"Children's ability to learn in the classroom and reach their fullest potential depends on what we do right now to ensure their health," stated Secretary Vilsack. "The actions we are announcing today continue the Administration's unprecedented commitment to building a healthier next generation and institutionalize the positive changes schools across the country have already made."
The Smart Snacks in School final rule aligns the nutritional quality of snacks sold to children during the school day with the science-based improvements made to school lunches and breakfasts over the last five years. These include using practical, science-based nutrition standards that ensure children are offered more fruits, vegetables and whole grains. States have the flexibility to allow limited exemptions to school-sponsored fundraisers during the school day. The Smart Snacks standards were implemented in the 2014 – 2015 school year in accordance with the interim final rule. This final rule makes modest improvements to those standards based on public comments and lessons learned from implementation.
The Local School Wellness Policy final rule ensures that any food or beverage that is marketed on school campuses during the school day meets the Smart Snacks standards. According to a study by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, 70 percent of elementary and middle school students are exposed to some kind of food/beverage marketing through school. Many of the foods and beverages that are heavily marketed to children contribute to poor diet quality, high calorie intake, and excess weight gain. However, the majority of schools do not have policies restricting food and beverage marketing to children. This rule makes sure foods offered and marketed to students during the school day have consistent nutrition standards.
The Local School Wellness Policy final rule also empowers communities to take an active role in the health of their children. It requires schools to engage parents, students and community members in the annual development and assessment of local school wellness policies. These policies guide a school district's efforts to establish school environments that support healthy eating and physical activity. States and local communities will have flexibility in developing a policy that works best for them.
Also posted today were the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) final rule and the Administrative Review final rule. Under HHFKA, CEP allows schools and local educational agencies with high poverty rates to provide free breakfast and lunch to all students to promote access to healthy food and reduce administrative burdens on schools and families. The final rule streamlines administrative processes, making it easier to participate in the meal programs. More than 18,000 schools in high poverty areas currently participate in CEP, which is now in its second year of nationwide implementation offering nutritious meals at no cost to 8.5 million students.
The Administrative Review final rule updates the administrative review process used by state agencies to monitor federally-funded school meal programs. It safeguards the integrity of the programs, ensures taxpayer dollars are being spent as intended, and increases accountability and transparency by publicly posting how well school food authorities are complying with various requirements. State agencies began implementing the updated review process in school year 2013-2014, and currently 95 percent of state agencies are already implementing the updated administrative review process.
The rules announced today are part of implementing the HHFKA where more than 52 million children now have healthier school environments than ever before with over 98 percent of schools meeting the healthier meal standards. In addition, research shows that under the updated standards nearly 80 percent of schools offer two or more vegetables at lunch and consumption has increased by more than 16 percent. This is especially crucial for the approximately 15.3 million American children that live in food insecure households, many of whom rely on school meals as a consistent source of nutritious food.
Key improvements to child nutrition programs implemented under the HHFKA include:
In total, USDA's Food and Nutrition Service administers 15 nutrition assistance programs. In addition to National School Lunch Program and the School Breakfast Program, these programs include the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, the summer meals programs, and the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children, which together comprise America's nutrition safety net. For more information, visit www.fns.usda.gov.
"I am thrilled with the progress we continue to make in building healthier learning environments for our kids with science-based nutrition standards for all food sold and marketed in schools. As a mom, I know how hard parents work to provide nutritious meals and snacks to their kids, and we want to make sure we support those efforts with healthy choices at school," said First Lady Michelle Obama. "I am inspired by the tremendous work that's being done in schools across the country to provide our kids healthy food to fuel them throughout the day so that they can grow up healthy and fulfill their boundless promise."
"Children's ability to learn in the classroom and reach their fullest potential depends on what we do right now to ensure their health," stated Secretary Vilsack. "The actions we are announcing today continue the Administration's unprecedented commitment to building a healthier next generation and institutionalize the positive changes schools across the country have already made."
The Smart Snacks in School final rule aligns the nutritional quality of snacks sold to children during the school day with the science-based improvements made to school lunches and breakfasts over the last five years. These include using practical, science-based nutrition standards that ensure children are offered more fruits, vegetables and whole grains. States have the flexibility to allow limited exemptions to school-sponsored fundraisers during the school day. The Smart Snacks standards were implemented in the 2014 – 2015 school year in accordance with the interim final rule. This final rule makes modest improvements to those standards based on public comments and lessons learned from implementation.
The Local School Wellness Policy final rule ensures that any food or beverage that is marketed on school campuses during the school day meets the Smart Snacks standards. According to a study by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, 70 percent of elementary and middle school students are exposed to some kind of food/beverage marketing through school. Many of the foods and beverages that are heavily marketed to children contribute to poor diet quality, high calorie intake, and excess weight gain. However, the majority of schools do not have policies restricting food and beverage marketing to children. This rule makes sure foods offered and marketed to students during the school day have consistent nutrition standards.
The Local School Wellness Policy final rule also empowers communities to take an active role in the health of their children. It requires schools to engage parents, students and community members in the annual development and assessment of local school wellness policies. These policies guide a school district's efforts to establish school environments that support healthy eating and physical activity. States and local communities will have flexibility in developing a policy that works best for them.
Also posted today were the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) final rule and the Administrative Review final rule. Under HHFKA, CEP allows schools and local educational agencies with high poverty rates to provide free breakfast and lunch to all students to promote access to healthy food and reduce administrative burdens on schools and families. The final rule streamlines administrative processes, making it easier to participate in the meal programs. More than 18,000 schools in high poverty areas currently participate in CEP, which is now in its second year of nationwide implementation offering nutritious meals at no cost to 8.5 million students.
The Administrative Review final rule updates the administrative review process used by state agencies to monitor federally-funded school meal programs. It safeguards the integrity of the programs, ensures taxpayer dollars are being spent as intended, and increases accountability and transparency by publicly posting how well school food authorities are complying with various requirements. State agencies began implementing the updated review process in school year 2013-2014, and currently 95 percent of state agencies are already implementing the updated administrative review process.
The rules announced today are part of implementing the HHFKA where more than 52 million children now have healthier school environments than ever before with over 98 percent of schools meeting the healthier meal standards. In addition, research shows that under the updated standards nearly 80 percent of schools offer two or more vegetables at lunch and consumption has increased by more than 16 percent. This is especially crucial for the approximately 15.3 million American children that live in food insecure households, many of whom rely on school meals as a consistent source of nutritious food.
Key improvements to child nutrition programs implemented under the HHFKA include:
- Improving the nutritional quality of all food in
schools to reflect recommendations from the National Academy of Medicine
(formerly the Institute of Medicine) and the Dietary Guidelines for
Americans;
- The rapid growth
of farm to school efforts to more than 42,000 participating schools;
- Improvement of direct certification efforts with the
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program to increase the number of
eligible children enrolled in school meal programs;
- Implementation of national
professional standards for all school nutrition employees who manage
and operate the school meal programs;
- Expansion of the At Risk After
School Meals Program to all states;
- And the first major
revision of the Child and Adult Care Food Program nutrition standards
since the program's inception in 1968.
In total, USDA's Food and Nutrition Service administers 15 nutrition assistance programs. In addition to National School Lunch Program and the School Breakfast Program, these programs include the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, the summer meals programs, and the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children, which together comprise America's nutrition safety net. For more information, visit www.fns.usda.gov.
Tuesday, July 19, 2016
Will spices used beyond their expiration date be safe?
Many spices are available in both whole and ground forms. Ground spices lose their aroma and flavor more quickly, so it's wise to buy them in small quantities. For best quality, store whole spices at room temperature for 2 to 4 years and ground spices for 2 to 3 years.
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