Choose Your Yogurt Wisely

Posted on June 7, 2023 by Fill Your Plate

By Heide Kennedy, Arizona Farm Bureau Communications Intern

We all know how important it is to pay attention to the nutrition labels on the packages of foods that we buy. This little piece of information can actually tell us a lot about the healthfulness of that product by giving us the full nutritional breakdown of that food as well as alerting us to any hidden or not-so-desirable ingredients.

We’ve all been told to never judge a book by its cover. This truth applies to many different things, food products included. While they may be promoted as healthy, or appear to be healthy, that isn’t always the case. One such product is yogurt, which is often touted as being a great source of gut-healthy probiotics. This can be true, but only in certain kinds of yogurts. Registered dietician nutritionist Kelly Plowe breaks down what you should be looking for when selecting yogurts in order to ensure that you’re getting a nutritious, probiotic-filled yogurt.

Fresh Assorted Yogurts With Fruits And Berries

There is no shortage of options when it comes to yogurt, and choosing the best option ultimately comes down to two criteria:

  1. Sugar content

Many kinds of yogurt are chock full of added sugar. The main culprits are typically pre-flavored yogurts or bottled yogurt drinks. While these may taste delicious, they are certainly not a healthy choice. Plowe even notes that the yogurts that are labeled as sugar-free, low-sugar, or light, are often filled with artificial sugars, which she says are not good for your gut health. So, choose yogurts that are plain and unsweetened to get the most nutrition out of your yogurt. If you’re not a fan of the slightly bitter taste of plain yogurt, my favorite thing to do is add a little bit of honey or fresh or dried fruit for just that hint of sweetness.

  1. Probiotic content

The probiotics in yogurt are the gut healthy bacteria that come from the yogurt fermentation process. According to the Food and Drug Administration, in order to be classified as yogurt, a product has to have at least these two strains of bacteria, Lactobacillus bulgaricus and Streptococcus thermophilus. Yogurts can have more strains of bacteria as well. Plowe says that when shopping for yogurts, look at the labels and see how many CFU’s (colony-forming units) of each kind of bacteria it contains. The more probiotics, the better!

Yogurt can be a great source of healthy fats, protein, and beneficial bacteria, as long as you select your yogurt wisely! So, keep these tips in mind next time you’re out grocery shopping.

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

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Learn About Arizona Agriculture this Summer!

Posted on June 5, 2023 by Fill Your Plate

By Heide Kennedy, Arizona Farm Bureau Communications Intern

Summer is finally here! While this does mean that we, unfortunately, get to roast in triple-digit Arizona heat, the positive is that it also means that school is out, and playing and enjoying time at home is in full swing. Spending time outdoors is always a great way to get some vitamin D and exercise, but there are days when it’s just too darn hot for that, and spending the day indoors is a better option. Instead of turning on the TV to watch cartoons, or picking up the controllers and playing video games, take the opportunity to learn about something new, such as Arizona agriculture!

Arizona Farm Bureau’s Ag in the Classroom program offers so many resources for fun, educational learning opportunities about Arizona agriculture, many of which can be accessed online and watched from the comfort of your own house! To make it even better, there is something for everyone! There are videos that the whole family can enjoy, some that are geared towards younger kids, and then some that are more in-depth for older kids!

Virtual Ag Tours

The virtual ag tours are lots of fun for the whole family to watch. In these, you’ll get to see pictures and videos from different farm families and their crops or livestock, as well as hear them talk about what they do on their farms! My family had the opportunity to give a virtual tour of our goat ranch and had a blast while doing it!

Ag Issues Webinars

These webinars talk about some of the different issues facing the Arizona agriculture industry as well as how different bills and policies impact this industry. These are a lot more in-depth, so younger kids might not learn as much from them as older kids will.

Ag in the Classroom Virtual Presentations

While these presentations are ones that are typically shown in schools, they are still super fun to watch, easy to understand, and very informative! These ones are especially good for younger kids, as they often read an agriculture-themed kids’ book, and then explain all of the concepts and how it relates to them!

The Ag in the Classroom YouTube channel contains all these videos and more! Check it out here!

Plus, the Outreach Department hosts regular videos on just about every agriculture topic you can imagine. We feature them in our “Food for Thought” series of videos.

Arizona agriculture is very diverse in the crops that are grown, the animals that are raised, and all of the products produced, so there is no shortage of learning opportunities! So, take advantage of some of the time spent indoors this summer and explore what Arizona agriculture has to offer!

For more articles on summer activities and Arizona agriculture, check out the Fill Your Plate blog!

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Watermelon: The Uglier, the Sweeter!

Posted on June 2, 2023 by Fill Your Plate

By Heide Kennedy, Arizona Farm Bureau Communications Intern

Summer is never complete without a sweet and juicy watermelon. It’s the perfect fruit to refresh yourself with on a hot summer day. But do you ever find yourself wondering how to pick the best one when you’re at the grocery store? Often, we always look for the prettiest, most unblemished, greenest watermelon, thinking that it will be the sweetest. But it turns out, this actually isn’t the case!

According to chef and food expert My Nguyen, the ugliest watermelon from the bin is almost always the sweetest. She says to look for these 3 “blemishes” when picking a watermelon.

A large yellow spot

The big yellow patch on the bottom of the watermelon indicates how long it has been ripening in the sun. So, the bigger the yellow spot, the longer it has been ripening, a sure sign of sweetness!

Webbing

Nguyen explains that the webbing on watermelons is actually from bee pollination, so the more webbing that covers a watermelon, the more likely it is to be sweet.

Dark spots

Those dark spots that ooze out of watermelons often look a little bit gross. But they are actually the watermelon’s sugars seeping out of the flesh. So, more dark spots means that the watermelon is bursting with its natural sugars.

Next time you’re shopping for a watermelon, remember that its not a beauty pageant. Rather, look for these three blemishes on your melon for a better chance at having that super sweet watermelon that we all crave on hot summer days!

Also, check out these past articles that highlight watermelon from Fill Your Plate!

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Serve Mustard Coleslaw at Your Summer Barbeques!

Posted on May 31, 2023 by Fill Your Plate

By Heide Kennedy, Arizona Farm Bureau Communications Intern

Summertime always calls for a barbeque at some point or another! Both the barbequed meat and all the side dishes that go with it are always amazing! Every couple of months, my family loves to take a day and get a fire going and smoke a ton of meat to keep stocked in the fridge and freezer. And my mom always makes a big batch of coleslaw to go with it!

Coleslaw is the perfect summer barbeque side dish because it is cold, crisp, delicious, and pairs so well with smoked meat. Not only that, but cabbage is also incredibly nutritious!

According to clinical nutritionist Leticia Sores, cabbage is a great source of fiber, folic acid, potassium, vitamins A and C, and antioxidants. To top it all off, it is very low in calories! Thanks to its diverse nutrient content, cabbage can help to lower blood pressure, reduce inflammation, promote satiety, promote your immune system, promote vision health, and improve digestion.

So, next time that you’re barbequing this summer, make sure to include a big bowl of coleslaw on your menu!

Also, don’t worry, I wasn’t going to leave you hanging in regard to my mom’s coleslaw recipe! Check it out below!

Mustard Coleslaw

Ingredients:

  • 1 Head of cabbage chopped into square pieces
  • 3 large carrots grated
  • ½ Cup of mayonnaise
  • ½ Cup of mustard
  • ¼ Cup of vinegar
  • 1 tsp. Celery seeds
  • Salt and pepper to taste

Combine the grated carrot and chopped cabbage in a large bowl. Mix the last five ingredients together and pour over the cabbage and carrots and toss well.

*The flavor is much better after it has sat in the fridge for a couple of hours.

*Also, my mom never really measures ingredients, so feel free to adjust according to your taste!

My favorite thing about her coleslaw recipe is that it isn’t your typical classic coleslaw that is sweet and slightly tangy. Rather, hers is a mustard slaw, so it’s super tangy!

Did you know that we grow cabbage and carrots right here in Arizona? Next time that you’re shopping for your coleslaw ingredients, keep an eye out for the produce that has been grown here in Arizona! Take a look at the Fill Your Plate website for more information on where to find locally-grown foods!

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Slather Up with Some Sunscreen this Summer!

Posted on May 29, 2023 by Fill Your Plate

By Heide Kennedy, Arizona Farm Bureau Communications Intern

The summer months are always super fun, as there is no school during the week, vacations are planned, and overall, there is just much more leisure time to enjoy. But, along with these relaxed summer months comes intense sunshine and heat, which means that sunscreen is a must for many people. Here are a few tips on how to choose the best and most effective sunscreen to slather yourself with!

Before choosing the best sunscreen for your skin, it’s important to know just how sunscreen actually works to protect your skin from the sun’s rays. According to the Cleveland Clinic, active ingredients in sunscreen filter ultra-violet light before it can penetrate your skin. Some active ingredients such as zinc oxide or titanium oxide act as a reflector that makes UV rays bounce off your skin, while other chemical-based ingredients soak into your skin and help to keep the absorbed sun rays from causing any damage.

 

When it comes to choosing the best sunscreen to use, Dr. Melissa Piliang, there are two things to look at on the bottle. First, you want to choose one that has a high SPF number, at least a 15, as the SPF is what protects you from UVB rays, which are the main cause of sunburn. But you also need something to protect your skin from UVA rays, which cause skin cancer and other damage. To protect against UVA rays as well, look for a sunscreen that says “broad spectrum” on the bottle, as this means that it protects against both kinds of sun rays.

A few other tips that Dr. Piliang gives when it comes to sunscreen is to let it soak in for about 30 minutes, to reapply every two hours, and to take advantage of other sun protection such as hats or umbrellas!

So, protect your skin this summer while you’re enjoying all the activities these months have to offer!!!

For more articles about summer recipes, summer activities, and more, check out the Fill Your Plate blog!

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