Category: November 2017

Holiday Meals

Ashley Svaty
Nutrition, Food Safety
and Health Agent

Did you know that one in six Americans could get sick from food poisoning this year alone? Keep your family safe this holiday season by following the 4 steps to safe food:  Separate, Clean, Cook, and Chill.

Separate raw from ready to eat foods. Keep meat, poultry, seafood, and eggs separate from all other foods starting at the grocery store and continue through preparation.  Prevent cross contamination by using separate cutting boards for raw meat and ready to eat foods.

Clean hands often. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends to wash hands for 20 seconds with soap and water before and after preparing food, after touching raw meat, raw eggs, or unwashed vegetables, and before eating or drinking.

Cook food to safe internal temperatures. ALWAYS use a food thermometer, do not judge doneness of food by color.

  • Cook beef, pork, lamb, steaks, and roasts to 145°F with 3-minute rest time.
  • Cook Fish to 145° F
  • Cook ground beef, pork, veal, lamb to 160° F
  • Cook all poultry to 165° F.
  • Reheat leftovers to 165° F

Chill leftovers within 2 hours. Bacteria grows rapidly at room temperature, do not let food sit out.  When storing leftovers in the refrigerator, use shallow pans or containers to decrease cooling time. This prevents the food from spending too much time at unsafe temperatures (between 40 °F to 140 °F). Keep leftovers in a cooler with ice or frozen gel packs if food is traveling home with guests. Eat leftovers within 4 days or store in your freezer.

For more information please visit www.foodsafety.gov

By:  Ashley Svaty

What are the Four H’s in 4-H?

What are the 4 H's in 4-H?

National 4-H Week is coming October 1st! Aliesa explains the significance of the 4 H's in 4-H in preparation for next week. Find club information for Jewell, Lincoln, Mitchell, Osborne and Smith Counties at postrock.ksu.edu.#KS4H #TrueLeaders

Posted by Post Rock District 4-H on Thursday, September 28, 2017

4-H is a community of young people across Kansas engaged in learning leadership, citizenship, and life skills. Caring adults who support our programs are essential for youth to achieve their potential. Adults can share guidance, knowledge and wisdom, as well as model respect and provide skills training.

Want to join or volunteer? Contact your local extension office to learn how. Find out more details at http://www.postrock.k-state.edu/4-h/join/.

By:  Nora Rhoades

Planting Fall Bulbs for Spring Color

Is the thought of cold, winter days bringing you down? Fall is the best time to plant bulbs to have a pop of color in your landscape in the spring. Bulbs are often the first plants to make an appearance after a long winter and can be enjoyed with little effort and maintenance.

To view the full article along with planting tips, visit our blog!

http://postrockextension.blogspot.com/2017/10/planting-fall-bulbs-for-spring-color.html

By: Cassie Homan

How to Support Youth after Traumatic Events

Nora Rhoades
Family and Youth
Development Agent

Children can face emotional strains after traumatic events, such as accidents, disasters, and witnessing and/or being victims of violence. Understanding how children and youth may react and caring for them in an age appropriate way are critical to their healing and future well-being, but it can be difficult to know what to do. Below are some resources you may find helpful as you support children and youth after traumatic events.

  • Parenting a Child Who Has Experienced Trauma: This factsheet discusses the nature of trauma, especially abuse or neglect, the effects of trauma on children and youth, and ways to help a child who has experienced trauma. Parents or foster parents who do not understand the effects of trauma may misinterpret their child’s behavior, and attempts to address troubling behavior may be ineffective or, in some cases, even harmful. By understanding trauma, parents and foster parents can help support a child’s healing, the parent-child relationship, and their family as a whole. (Source: Child Welfare Information Gateway)

Information for this article has been adapted from the National Resource Center for Healthy Marriage and Families, Newsletter, Issue 57, October 2017.

By:  Nora Rhoades

Turkey Fruit Trays

Get creative, have fun, and involve the kids when making your original vegetable or fruit tray!  Feel free to use your favorite produce but this recipe includes:

  • 1/2 pear sliced in half lengthwise
  • 1 apple cored, sliced
  • 2 mandarin oranges, peeled, segmented
  • 2 kiwi, peeled, sliced
  • 10 red grapes
  • 4 green grapes
  • 3 matchstick carrots
  • 2 mini chocolate chips

Steps:

  1. Place pear on serving plate.
  2. Layer apples, oranges, kiwi and grapes  around pear to form the turkey’s feathers.
  3. Place 2 carrots under pear to form its feet.
  4. Cut other carrot into 3 pieces and place on pear to form arms and a beak, and use chocolate chips for the eyes.

Source: https://www.produceforkids.com/recipes/thanksgiving-turkey-fruit-tray

By:  Ashley Svaty

Fall Garden Clean-Up

You may be tempted to walk away from your garden after the first frost, but doing a simple clean up can greatly impact your garden next spring. It is important to get rid of leftover plant debris in annual flower beds and vegetable gardens to reduce the risk of pests and diseases.

Watch this video to learn more:

By: Cassie Homan

Donating Safe and Nutritious Food

The holidays are a great time to donate food to food banks, food drives, and soup kitchens.  Make the most out of your donations by following these guidelines.

  • Donate foods that would fill a healthy and safe plate for the consumer, based on MyPlate recommendations.
  • Cash donations are useful as pantries can generally buy food in bulk for a lower price. Also, they can buy the items most needed by their clients.
  • Do not donate repackaged, expired, or damaged food.
  • Donate water packed, “Low-Sodium”, or “No Salt Added” vegetables and fruit packed in “100% juice”.
  • Donate 100% whole grains. Whole-wheat pasta, barley, brown rice, and wild rice are complex carbohydrates which are more satiating and filling.

For more information please visit the Donating Safe and Nutritious Food to Food Pantries and Soup Kitchens, Fact Sheet Here or Feeding American Healthy Food Drive Donation List Here

By:  Ashley Svaty