Agua Frescas Are a Healthy Summer Beverage!

Posted on May 17, 2024 by Fill Your Plate

By Heide Kennedy, Arizona Farm Bureau Communications Intern

Water with lemon slices by Charlotte May

There is nothing like a nice glass of cold lemonade or sweet tea on a hot summer day. While it definitely tastes great and is very refreshing, oftentimes these kinds of drinks are full of sugar and not much else when it comes to nutrition. Looking for a healthier alternative that is still sweet and cold? Give agua frescas a try!

Agua frescas are drinks that are very popular in Latin countries. The name translates to “freshwater” or “cool water.”

Agua frescas are basically water mixed with fruit pulp, and occasionally grains or seeds. The result is a naturally sweet, refreshing drink that has a lot more nutrients and a lot less sugar than other beverages. Besides being much healthier than other drinks, another perk to agua frescas is that they are very versatile, you can make them using any fruit or other flavoring that you would like. Below is a very basic recipe for agua fresca as well as some ideas on what flavors to make!

Agua Fresca Basic Recipe:

  • 4 C. Water
  • 2 C. Fruit – Any kind works, so choose your favorites!
  • ¼ C. Sweetener – Not necessary, use only if desired.
  • 2 Tsp. Lime juice
  • Chia seeds, or other grains if desired
  • Optional ice and garnishes

Now all you have to do is combine the first 3 ingredients in a blender, stir in the lime juice and grains or seeds if used, and you’re done!

Some fruit combinations you might consider trying include:

  • Cucumber and lime
  • Cantaloupe
  • Hibiscus
  • Watermelon and lime
  • Blackberry and basil
  • Strawberry
  • Watermelon and cucumber
  • Tamarind
  • Dragon fruit
  • Pineapple and cucumber

Those are just a few ideas! The flavors and combination of flavors is truly endless! So instead of reaching for a sweet tea or soda the next time you’re looking for a refreshing drink, try making a batch of agua fresca!

For more articles on healthy beverages, check out the Fill Your Plate blog!

 

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Treat Your Allergies with Honey!

Posted on May 13, 2024 by Fill Your Plate

By Heide Kennedy, Arizona Farm Bureau Communications Intern

 

Seasonal allergies can be the absolute worst. Your eyes get itchy and watery, your nose gets stuffy, and you can’t stop sneezing, coughing, or both. Typically, our first move when our allergies get bad is to reach for some Benadryl, Zyrtec, nasal spray, or other allergy medicine. But did you know that these standard allergy medicines aren’t the only remedy for your allergy symptoms?

Honey has long been touted as an amazing natural remedy to alleviate allergy symptoms. This sweet and sticky syrup has anti-inflammatory properties that can mitigate some of the unpleasant effects of seasonal allergies. If your airways are congested or if you’re experiencing a rash or other skin irritation, the anti-inflammatory effects of honey can help to reduce some of that irritation.

Additionally, honey is used for immunotherapy, which is an allergy treatment method where the patient is exposed to small amounts of the allergen to build up an immunity to it. Since bees collect pollen as well as nectar, some amounts of pollen from local trees and flowers inevitably get into the honey that they make. Raw, local honey is the best way to expose yourself to the pollen that is in your area since the bees get their pollen and nectar from the surrounding plants that are responsible for your allergies.

Besides being a delicious way to sweeten foods and drinks or to just be eaten by itself, honey offers quite a few health benefits when it comes to relieving allergies and doing so naturally! We have lots of local beekeepers around the state of Arizona, my little brother is one of them! Remember, local honey is the best for treating allergies, as the pollen it contains is the same that surrounds you and causes your allergies!

For more information on local honey, check out the following resources!

Grande Honey Company | Casa Grande AZ | Facebook

Fill Your Plate – Find a Farm Product – Honey

The Healing Power of Honey – Fill Your Plate Blog

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Beef 101 – How to Grill the Best Steak

Posted on May 10, 2024 by Fill Your Plate

By Heide Kennedy, Arizona Farm Bureau Communications Intern

 

In our last Beef 101 article, we looked at all of the nutritional and health benefits that beef has to offer. In this one, we’re going to look at some tips for the best and most popular method for cooking steaks – Grilling. Because as we all know, there’s nothing better than a hot juicy steak that’s been grilled to perfection! Beef Steak On The Bbq Grill With Flames.

I am by no means an expert when it comes to cooking and grilling especially, so here are some tips for grilling the perfect steak from professional chef Chris Frothingham.

 

  • Clean and season the grill – Brush residue off and oil the grates with high-temp cooking oil.
  • Temper the meat for about an hour and a half – Letting it sit at room temperature will help it to cook faster and more evenly.
  • Season the meat well – Use whatever seasonings you like, but salt and pepper are great for enhancing the natural flavor of the steak.
  • Leave the steak alone once it’s on the grill – Moving it around too much can cause it to dry out and not get a good sear.
  • Let it rest once off the grill – Letting the steak sit for about half the time that it took to cook lets the juices redistribute and make the meat more tender.
  • Know when to marinate – Thin and lean steaks such as flank, skirt, and tri-tip are best marinated for about 10 hours, whereas thicker, fattier steaks such as ribeye, sirloin, strip, and filet mignon are best just seasoned before grilling.

Now, there’s another aspect to grilling that is incredibly important, and that is checking for doneness. This might be the hardest part of grilling because just a few seconds over the heat can significantly change the internal temperature of the steak. Frothingham notes that steaks continue to cook with residual heat to about 5 degrees hotter, so the following temperatures account for that extra cooking.

  • Rare – Pull off the grill at 115-120 degrees.
  • Medium rare – Pull off the grill at 120-125 degrees.
  • Medium – Pull off the grill at 130-135 degrees.
  • Medium well – Pull off the grill at 140-145 degrees.
  • Well – Pull off the grill at 150-155 degrees.

While I know I said I am by no means a cooking expert, one thing I do know is that Arizona beef is the best beef by far. In fact, beef is one of Arizona agriculture’s top commodities and is ranked top when it comes to both quality and taste! So, the next time you’re going to grill up some steaks, start by choosing some fresh, locally produced beef, and then follow some of these tips to truly enjoy a perfectly grilled steak!

Remember that May is National Beef Month!

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Beef 101 – The Differences Between Grades of Beef

Posted on May 6, 2024 by Fill Your Plate

By Heide Kennedy, Arizona Farm Bureau Communications Intern

When walking through the meat section of the grocery store, you’ve probably noticed the little shield symbols on the packages of meat that say something like “USDA Prime” or “USDA Choice.” As many of us know, those labels signify the quality grade of the meat, but what many of us don’t fully know is what exactly each label means or what they are based on.

According to the USDA’s website, there are 8 total grades given to beef. Each grade is determined based on the amount of fat marbling (the visible streaks of fat) in the cuts of beef. The fat marbling in each cut lends to its tenderness, juiciness, and overall flavor. Read on for a little more insight into the details of each grade of beef!

Prime – Beef that is graded prime is the top tier when it comes to quality beef. Prime beef is from younger, well-fed cattle, leaving it with abundant fat marbling throughout. It is excellent when it comes to tenderness, juiciness, and flavor.

Choice – Beef graded choice is still high-quality beef, but it has less fat marbling than prime beef. Choice beef is what is most readily available to consumers in a typical grocery store.

Select – Select beef is leaner than both prime and choice beef cuts. As a result, it has less flavor and juiciness than the other two grades of beef. Like choice, it is also very readily available to consumers.

Standard and Commercial – Standard and commercial-graded beef is also frequently sold as ungraded beef or store-brand meat for a lower price. Both these grades of beef are very low in fat content, so they lack a lot of the tenderness, flavor, and juiciness of other beef grades.

Utility, Cutter, and Canner – These last three beef grades are ones that you will rarely see cuts sold in a store. This is the leanest of all beef and is typically from older cattle. Due to its lack of fat content, whole cuts from these grades are not the best for cooking with, so they are typically reserved for use in ground beef, canned meats, or other processed meat products.

One thing that is important to note, is that each and every one of these grades of beef is still completely safe to eat and is still very nutritious. Just because a cut of beef has a lower grade doesn’t mean that it is bad beef. It’s just leaner, tougher beef that is better to be ground up or cooked with moist cooking methods where you can add juiciness and flavor back as opposed to more marbled cuts of beef that already have lots of moisture and flavor and can withstand dry cooking methods.

So, now you know all of the details about each grade of beef, so you can make a more informed decision the next time that you’re out grocery shopping.

On a side note, another label to look for when shopping for beef is the Arizona Grown label because Arizona-produced beef is some of the best in terms of quality and taste! Plus, you can go to our Fill Your Plate Farm Product Search to find Arizona Beef producers that will sell to you directly.

Remember May is National Beef Month!

For more articles on beef, check out the Fill Your Plate blog!

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Beef 101 – Nutritional Benefits of Beef

Posted on May 3, 2024 by Fill Your Plate

The cooler months here in Arizona are coming to an end, which means that 120-degree weather is almost here. While many of us groan at the thought of summer approaching, one thing we can all look forward to is all the backyard barbecues. And for us Arizonans, what better thing to throw on the grill or smoker than some fresh, Arizona-raised beef! Besides being delicious, beef is also incredibly nutritious too! Sliced Medium Rare Grilled Beef Steak Ribeye With Corn And Cherr

In terms of the basic nutritional facts of beef, a 3-ounce sirloin steak clocks in at:

  • 207 Calories
  • 12 Grams of fat
  • 0 Grams of carbohydrates
  • 23 Grams of protein

But the nutrition of beef doesn’t stop there. According to Dr. Atli Arnarson, beef is incredibly rich in a wide range of vitamins, minerals, and other healthful compounds. As a result, there are lots of health benefits that can come from consuming beef.

When it comes to vitamins and minerals, beef is a rich source of the following:

  • Vitamin B12
  • Vitamin B6
  • Zinc
  • Iron
  • Selenium
  • Niacin
  • Phosphorous

 

Additionally, beef is chock full of other compounds that offer multiple health benefits including:

  • Creatine – It serves as an energy source for muscles and is beneficial for growth and maintenance of muscles.
  • Taurine – An antioxidant amino acid that is beneficial to heart and muscle function.
  • Conjugated Linoleic Acid (CLA) – CLA is a trans-fat from ruminant animals that has been shown to promote weight loss and improve insulin sensitivity.
  • L-Carnitine – Helps with fat metabolism, and also improves heart health, fasting glucose levels, and cholesterol.
  • Glutathione – This is an antioxidant that has anti-aging properties, increases longevity, helps prevent illness and lessens disease risk.
  • Beta-alanine – This is an amino acid in beef that stimulates your body’s production of carnosine, which is important to muscle function, reduction of muscle fatigue, and improved endurance.

Now, with all that said, there is a wide range of health benefits that can come from all of the nutrition that beef has to offer. The most obvious is that consuming beef builds muscle mass due to all of the protein and creatine that it contains. That, along with the fat-burning benefits of L-carnitine and the improved muscle endurance of carnosine, make it a great option for those who are into fitness or sports. Beef consumption also helps to prevent anemia, as beef contains a significant amount of heme-iron, which is a more efficiently absorbed form of iron only found in animal products.

Raising beef cattle is one of Arizona’s top agricultural commodities, with Arizona ranchers producing enough beef to feed up to 8 million people! So, when you host a barbecue and fire up your grill this summer, make sure to cook up some delicious and highly nutritious Arizona beef!

And by the way, May is National Beef Month!

For more articles about health, nutrition, and Arizona agriculture, check out the Fill Your Plate blog!

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