Raising Kids, Eating Right, Spending Smart, Living Well

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1 Cooperative Extension Service Pendleton County 45 David Pribble Dr Falmouth, KY (859) Fax: (859) Pendleton.ca.uky.edu Raising Kids, Eating Right, Spending Smart, Living Well DECEMBER 2017 CELEBRATE FAMILY AND CONSUMER SCIENCES DAYS What is family and consumer sciences? Family and consumer sciences (FCS) is an interconnected collection of disciplines that help people gain knowledge and make informed decisions about their well-being, relationships and resources to improve and enhance quality of life. The field includes: Human Development Nutrition and Wellness Housing and Interior Design Consumer issues and Consumerism Family and consumer sciences is also known as human environmental sciences. Family and consumer sciences professionals are dedicated to improving the quality of life for individuals and families. Dine In With Us! What you can do! (choose one or more) 1. Commit to Dining In on December 3 at: aafcs.org/fcsday/home 2. Prepare and eat a healthy meal with your family on December Ask your friends and family to Dine In. 4. For a healthy selection of recipes using Kentucky produce visit: plateitup.ca.uky.edu 5. Take a photo of your family preparing a healthy meal and post it to Facebook or Twitter using #FCSday Source: Parenting and Family Communication Personal and Family Finance Textiles and Apparel Food Science TABLE OF CONTENTS TIMELY TIPS...1 EATING RIGHT...2 SPENDING SMART...2 WHAT S COOKING...3 RAISING KIDS...3 LIVING WELL...3 COUNTY INFORMATION...4 Family is not an important thing. It s everything. -- Michael J. Fox A PUBLICATION OF NORTHERN KENTUCKY FAMILY & CONSUMER SCIENCES AGENTS COOPERATIVE EXTENSION OFFICES BOONE 859/ CAMPBELL 859/ CARROLL 502/ GALLATIN 859/ GRANT 859/ KENTON 859/ OWEN 502/ PENDLETON 859/

2 Managing Diabetes During the Holidays Source: Ingrid Adams, associate extension professor A healthy diet is so important to controlling and minimizing the effects of diabetes, but eating healthy can be a struggle and challenge for some people with diabetes, particularly those who have been recently diagnosed with the disease. The upcoming holidays pose additional challenges and present more temptations. If you have diabetes and you eat a moderate amount of foods that are high in nutrients and low in fat and calories, then eating during the holidays should be no different from the way you eat every day. If you do not eat this way, then try to create daily, healthy eating habits before the holidays begin. These habits should include consuming a wellbalanced breakfast, fruits and vegetables in a variety of colors, whole grains and a variety of lean proteins in the appropriate portion size. During the holidays, most people have the tendency to go overboard with desserts, because they are at every function and these treats are available in large quantities. Desserts often contain few nutrients and are heavy in carbs and fat that can quickly raise your blood glucose levels. Healthier options include eating fruit for dessert, splitting a dessert with someone, removing high-fat whipped topping and frosting from desserts and eating fewer carbohydrates during the main course so you can have a small dessert. You can reduce the amount of sugar in many holiday dishes by making healthy adjustments to your recipes. Use vanilla or cinnamon as a sugar substitute in recipes. Unsweetened applesauce or sugarfree syrups can be used in place of regular syrup. You can also try using fresh fruit or fruits canned in their own juices rather than fruits canned in heavy syrup. 2 Paying for convenience at the grocery store Source: Heather Norman-Burgdolf, UK extension specialist in food and nutrition Our society loves convenience, especially when it comes to food. Convenience items are already prepared and packaged, so that we have little work to do before consuming the product. Convenience items are everywhere, but most commonly found at the grocery. They also tend to be more expensive than regularly packaged items. You can purchase different types of convenience items including scratch, semi-convenience, convenient and ready-to-eat. A general rule of thumb is the more time a food takes you to prepare, the cheaper it is, with ready-to-eat options exhibiting the greatest costs. For example, bagged lettuce can cost three to four times more than if you purchase a head of lettuce and shred it yourself. In the center aisles where you find boxed packaged foods, 100-calorie pack snacks generally cost 20 percent to 100 percent more than the same item in a regular sized package. In this case, the additional packaging leads to more costs. You can make smarter monetary choices at the grocery store by choosing wisely when it comes to convenience items. First, invest time instead of money. For example, purchase the whole head of lettuce and take the time to prepare it on your own. Purchase a regularly packaged snack and use the serving size on the nutrition facts label to make your own small snack size. Use the unit price to compare similar items. The unit price is listed on the price tag directly below the item on the shelf. The unit price gives us an idea of how much the items costs divided by weight. Using this number, we can compare foods that are the same but in different sized containers or compare brands. Your best value will generally be the item with the lowest unit price. Remember that purchasing convenience items at the grocery store is not always a bad thing. It is important that you recognize the best balance of time, quality and cost that fits your and your family s lifestyle. Make sure that spending a bit more on convenience items truly adds value and not a perceived value caused by good marketing.

3 Teach Self-Control As parents, one of our top concerns is our children s behavior. We want them to respect others and make the most of relationships. Researchers tell us that children begin even as babies and toddlers to decide how to express feelings and relate to other people. How can we start our little ones on the path to managing their own behavior? Teaching selfcontrol does not have to be hard not if we start early and guide our children in positive, creative ways. Babies need respect and love. Babies are wonderful new human beings, but they are not ready to think about your feelings or rules. They will learn to trust and depend on you if you are respectful and consistent in meeting their needs. If you are, you will not need to worry about misbehavior. Trusting babies naturally learn peaceful behaviors. Toddlers need respect, love, and guidance to learn self-control. As babies become toddlers with minds of their own, it is time to teach them self-control and about getting along with others. At this point, positive discipline techniques are good to know. It is important to start early in shaping a child s behavior with consistency, love, and understanding. This key Teach Self- Control talks about the difference between positive and negative discipline for older babies, toddlers, and preschoolers. It offers suggestions for preventing misbehavior in the first place and teaching better ways to behave Happy and Healthy Holidays It s common to pack on 5-10 pounds during the holiday season, but there are ways you can eat both healthy and well! The holidays are a great opportunity to enjoy time with family and friends, celebrate life, be grateful and reflect on what is important. They are also a time to appreciate the gift of health. Stay Active: Physical activity is just as important during the holidays as any other time of year. You should be active at least four to five times a week for 30 minutes. Eat Well: With al the delicious food available, eating too much may seem expected during the holidays. However, moderation is a great mantra for the holiday season. Wash your hands often: Colds and the flu are most prevalent in the winter. One of the easiest ways to prevent getting sick or spreding germs is keeping your hands clean and urging others to do the same. Manage Stress: Holidays do not have to be stressful. Be realistic, plan ahead and take time for yourself. Handling stress can be done by getting adequate amounts of sleep, committing to fewer gatherings or setting a budget for the holidays. Prevent injuries: Many common holiday activities can cause injuries that put a damper on the holiday cheer. Watch young ones and assist the elderly who are at increased risk of falls and other injuries during this time. Source: Adult Health Bulletin, Dec Ingredients: 6 Medium sweet potatoes 1/4 C Maple Syrup 2 Tbsp Brown Sugar 2 eggs 1/2 tsp salt 3/4 cup low-fat vanilla Greek yogurt 1/4 tsp vanilla extract 1 Tbsp cinnamon Topping: 1/2 C Brown sugar 1/2 C ground rolled oats 1 Tbsp maple syrup 3 Tbsp melted butter 1/4 tsp salt 1/2 tsp cinnamon 1/2 C chopped pecans Directions: Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Peel sweet potatoes and cut into 1-inch cubes. Place sweet potato cubes in a medium saucepan and cover with water. Cook over medium-high heat until tender. Drain and mash. In a large bowl, mix together mashed potatoes, maple syrup, brown sugar, eggs, salt, yogurt, vanilla and cinnamon. Blend until smooth. Pour into a 13-by-9 inch baking dish. Topping: In a medium bowl, mix the brown sugar and oats. Add in syrup, melted butter, salt and cinnamon; blend until mixture is coarse. Stir in pecans. Sprinkle over sweet potato mixture. Bake 30 minutes, or until topping is lightly browned. 3

4 NEWS FROM PENDLETON COUNTY EXTENSION Recipe for Life 5th Grade Recipe for Life did not happen in November due to construction. It has been rescheduled for the week of February 19th and February 26th! If you would like to work Recipe for Life this year, please call the office and sign up for a day to cook with 5th graders. Call if you wish to volunteer. For more Plate it Up Recipes visit: plateitup.ca.uky.edu FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT Kenna Knight COUNTY EXTENSION AGENT FOR FAMILY & CONSUMER SCIENCES EDUCATION 4

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