Creatine Isn’t Just for Athletes!

Posted on November 22, 2024 by Fill Your Plate

By Heide Kennedy, Arizona Farm Bureau Communications Intern

 

If you’ve ever looked into any fitness and performance supplements, I’m sure that you have run across creatine supplements before. It can often be found mixed into energy drinks or pre-workout, protein powders, or just by itself. The way that it’s marketed you’d think it’s really only beneficial if you’re a fitness guru or an athlete. But creatine is actually quite beneficial for everyone.

According to the Mayo Clinic, creatine is a compound of 3 amino acids and it’s mostly found in your muscles and brain. Our liver, pancreas, and kidneys make about 1 gram per day, and we can also get it through red meat and seafood consumption.

While creatine’s main and most popular benefit is muscular energy and endurance for improved fitness and athletic performance, that isn’t its only benefit. Creatine is also good for:

  • Injury prevention
  • Cognition and brain health
  • Sarcopenia and bone health
  • Heart failure
  • Skin health

Also, the improved muscular energy that creatine provides is beneficial for everyone as well, but those in the fitness world just utilize it more!

A little fun fact, eating beef specifically helps to boost your body’s production of creatine. Good thing we produce lots of fresh beef here in Arizona!

For more health-related articles, check out the Fill Your Plate blog!

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Build a Bounty Bowl

Posted on November 18, 2024 by Fill Your Plate

By Heide Kennedy, Arizona Farm Bureau Communications Intern

Every fall my Pinterest begins to show ideas for everything fall-themed. And amongst all the aesthetically pleasing pins are recipes for these super cute bounty bowls, or grain bowls. These are basically a warm bowl of cooked grains and then artfully topped with the bounty of fall including a protein, some seasonal vegetables, and a bunch of other cute toppings for added color, nutrition, and texture.

This Wheat Farmer’s Salad, another variation on the Bounty Bowl, is a creation of farmer Tiffany Shedd. Delightfully Yummy!

Needless to say, they’ve become something I love to make and experiment with every year. They’re so versatile and easy to make. You literally just add all your favorite toppings and leave off what you don’t like. And then you can have fun making it look cute in the bowl before you destroy it with a spoon!

Since you can practically make them however you want, there’s no exact recipe. So, here are a few guidelines or suggestions instead!

  • Pick a grain or a blend of grains – Quinoa, brown rice, farro, and barley are a few good options!
  • Get a nice, thick bowl – They look cuter and also insulate your hot food better!
  • Add some protein – Grilled chicken, steak, salmon, or turkey are all great options.
  • Top it with veggies – Sauteed or fresh greens such as spinach or kale are delicious, as is roasted butternut squash, brussels sprouts, carrots, or tomatoes. Dried or fresh fruit also adds a nice sweetness too!
  • Add some texture – Chopped nuts, crumbled cheese, seeds, crusty bread pieces, or pomegranate seeds are all some yummy ways to add a different texture.
  • Dress it up – Creamy dressings are always delicious on these kinds of bowls, but a light vinaigrette or just a simple drizzle of oil and vinegar is amazing too!

So, have fun making your bounty bowls and filling them with all the produce of the season! Arizona farmer’s markets are chock full of fun, delicious, and unique seasonal produce that is perfect for making these bowls. Check out the Fill Your Plate website for more info on local farmer’s markets!

 

 

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Homemade Apple Cider

Posted on November 15, 2024 by Fill Your Plate

By Heide Kennedy, Arizona Farm Bureau Communications Intern

 

As cool temperatures are finally here in Arizona, many of us find ourselves reaching for warm, cozy drinks like hot cocoas and pumpkin spice lattes. Another warm, cozy, and even spicy drink that is perfect for cold days is hot apple cider. While they do have it at stores, there is nothing like making your own at home, and luckily it is incredibly easy to do!

A quick note about this recipe is that it is all based on your own personal taste and desired amount. You can increase/decrease any of the ingredients to your liking.

 

Homemade Apple Cider

Ingredients:

  • Apples – You can use as many as you’d like and whichever varieties you’d like. You can mix sweet with sweet or mix tart with sweet.
  • Oranges – This is to add the citrusy flavor to the cider, so depending on how strong you want it determines the number you use.
  • Spices – Cinnamon sticks and whole cloves are traditionally used, but allspice, ginger, and nutmeg can also be good additions!
  • Sweetener – You can use whatever sweetener you prefer, and whatever amount you’d like. Brown sugar, honey, and maple syrup are good options.

Place the whole apples, oranges, and spices into a stockpot, crockpot, or Instapot and cover with water. Cook on high heat till it comes to a simmer. Cover, and reduce heat to medium-low, and let simmer for 2 hours or until apples are soft.

Mash all the contents together and let simmer for a few more minutes. Then, strain the solids out of the liquid. Add your desired sweetener, if any.

That’s it! Serve your cider warm and garnish with orange slices or cinnamon sticks if you want to be extra cutesy!

Not only is hot apple cider a delicious and warming drink but making it at home also doubles as an amazing air freshener while it’s cooking! So, try making some this fall! It’s a perfect party drink and is also amazing to enjoy on your own!

For more fall articles or for more recipes, check out the Fill Your Plate website!

 

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Curing Turkey Dryness

Posted on November 11, 2024 by Fill Your Plate

By Heide Kennedy, Arizona Farm Bureau Communications Intern

 

Every Thanksgiving, my mom always has to grill steaks along with baking a turkey for Thanksgiving dinner. Why? Because my dad absolutely despised turkey because it’s so dry. Some of you can probably relate. It can be tricky to bake a turkey in the oven and still keep the meat moist. Typically, people inject their turkeys with butter to try to get more moisture in there. But my mom has since found a better trick to curing turkey dryness!

Thanksgiving Turkey

(photo credit: BigStockPhoto.com)

The solution is to soak your turkey in a brine for about 12-24 hours before cooking. The turkey absorbs the liquid and the flavoring and retains it better than just a butter injection. The following recipe is just a general guide for making a brine. The main goal is to just flavor the brine how you’d like and make enough of it to cover your specific turkey, as they come in all sizes.

 

Buttermilk Salt Brine Recipe:

  • 1-2 Half gallon jugs of buttermilk, depending on the size of your turkey.
  • 3-6 Tbs. Kosher salt
  • Water to cover the turkey.
  • Whatever seasoning you’d normally add to your turkey.

 

Combine all ingredients and pour over the turkey, either in a meat bag or a brining bucket if you have one. Then, keep it in the fridge until the brining is done.

After you’ve brined it and are ready to bake your turkey, remove it from the brine and pat it dry with paper towels. Sprinkle and pat it with some more of the seasonings you added to your brine. Place it in a turkey bag and on top of a baking sheet and toss it in the oven.

And there you have it, a simple solution to keeping your turkey moist for Thanksgiving dinner! Even my dad approves and will now have some turkey with the rest of us!

For more holiday articles or recipes, check out the Fill Your Plate blog!

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Move Over Pumpkins! 8 Other Squash Varieties to Try This Fall

Posted on November 8, 2024 by Fill Your Plate

By Heide Kennedy, Arizona Farm Bureau Communications Intern

Year after year, whenever fall rolls around, the hype and obsession surrounding pumpkins begins. Pumpkin pies, pumpkin spice lattes, pumpkin candles, pumpkin décor, pumpkin lotions, and soaps, carved pumpkins, the list is endless. While pumpkins are definitely cute, and the pumpkin-flavored drinks and pumpkin-scented candles are all amazing, there’s plenty of other fall squash that deserve some attention too!

Arizona produces lots of different vegetables, pumpkins, and other squashes included! Here are 8 varieties of squash that grow well in Arizona and are harvested from September to November.

  • Acorn Squash – Has a sweet flesh that is great stuffed or baked.
  • Buttercup Squash – Small squash that are great for baking or mashing.
  • Delicata Squash – A thin-skinned squash that can be cooked and eaten without peeling.
  • Dumpling Squash – Tiny mini squash often used for decorating. But are great baked, grilled, or steamed.
  • Kabocha Squash – Large and very hard and tough outside but has a velvety flesh.
  • Butternut Squash – A very versatile squash great for baking, roasting, and sautéing.
  • Spaghetti Squash – Once baked, the inner strands resemble spaghetti noodles.

 

While some are better for certain cooking methods than others, most squash are very versatile and can be baked, steamed, grilled, roasted, sautéed, mashed, or used as a base for soups. Also, all squash is a great source of antioxidants, vitamins A, B6, and C, potassium, fiber, and some omega-3 fatty acids. They can be stored for a month or more.

Some of these varieties such as acorn, butternut, and spaghetti squash, you can find in your local grocery store, while others such as dumplings, delicata, and kabocha are more of a specialty variety found in farmers’ markets.

So, give other varieties of squash a place in your fall décor and meal rotation! They are delicious, nutritious, and grown locally!

For more articles like this, check out the Fill Your Plate blog!

 

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