Behind the Scenes: New Cooking and Prediabetes Posters

Posted on November 1, 2022 by Stephanie Ronco

Hey, do you remember that Chop Test article you saw a while back? How about that Prediabetes Guide?

If you do, then you’re not alone. Lots of people reached out and told me that those were two of their favorite posts. So many, in fact, that I decided to take those posts to the next level and turn them into nutrition education materials.

The Chop Test offers a simple and memorable guide to cooking with vegetables, so I decided that the key points would make a marvelous poster that could be hung in a commercial kitchen, posted in a health fair booth, propped up for a cooking demonstration, or incorporated into a nutrition display.

This guide to properly preparing vegetables is as versatile as it is useful. With a simple test to tell which kind of vegetable is best for which cooking style, this bright and informative poster will help your audience gain kitchen confidence while introducing new vegetables into their eating plans.

Will this poster make your life easier? Learn more about it!

Now let’s change gears and take a closer look at the new Prediabetes poster.

The statistics on prediabetes are astounding. My hope is that we can help our practitioners help people avoid diabetes entirely — heading it off before prediabetes turns into full-blown diabetes. This poster offers an excellent screening tool that is done in an engaging infographic style. With information on what prediabetes is, how it affects the body, what symptoms it displays, and what the average consumer can do to reduce his or her risk of prediabetes (or treat the condition itself), this poster offers a bright and simple way to educate your audience. Throw it in a display, use it to pep up a shared space, add it to a wellness fair booth, or hang it in your office — it will be a great educational resource for whatever you need.

This poster uses colorful graphics, simple sentences, and clear diagrams to appeal to a wide range of learning styles, promoting participant engagement while boosting information retention. It draws its information from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the American Diabetes Association (ADA), and the National Institutes of Health (NIH), so you know that the research that backs it is supported by the latest peer-reviewed science.

Intrigued by this poster? Get the details today!

And, because I love ya, I want to share the handout that accompanies the Chop Test poster. Here it is, in all it’s glory! Download the free PDF today!

We’re here to help you look your very best, right now! So which resource will make your life easier?

Nutrition Bootcamp: PowerPoint and Handout Set

Chop Test Poster

Elementary Nutrition Workbook

Plant-Based Beats Processed

Posted on September 13, 2022 by Hollis Bass

It seems like processed and ultra-processed foods have been i n the news a lot lately.

While some people get mired in conversations about what foods should be considered processed (canned beans? whole grain bread?), you can’t go wrong by promoting a plant-based eating pattern that’s centered on vegetables, nuts, seeds, legumes, whole grains, and fruits.

We have some great ways to get your students, clients, or employees off the processed food track and on the road to a plant-based eating pattern.

1. One of our newest posters uses pictures to encourage nutrient-dense foods over ultra-processed ones:

Nutrient-Dense Vs Ultra Processed Food Poster 18x24 Laminated - Nutrition Poster

$19.00 ~~$24.00~~

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2. One look at this poster (which also comes as a banner, stickers, and bookmarks) kind of says it all:

Real Food Grows Poster - Nutrition Poster - Motivational Poster

$22.75 ~~$25.50~~

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3. If there’s a health fair in your future, create an eye-catching display with our Real Food Grows theme materials. You’ll really get their attention when you wear our fruit and veggie mask!

By Hollis Bass, MEd, RD, LD

Free Handout: Nutrient-Dense vs Ultra-Processed

Custom Real Food Grows Banner Stand 24" X 67" - Wellness Fair Banner 24" X 62" - Add Your Logo To This Health Fair Banner

$175.00

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Show Off Fruits & Veggies

Posted on May 17, 2022 by Hollis Bass

‘Tis the season for fresh fruits and vegetables and we have a beautiful new poster that shows them off. Take a look at the I Heart Fruits & Veggies poster:

I Heart Fruits and Veggies Poster - Photo Heart - NEW - 18" x 24" Laminated Food Art Nutrition Health Poster

$22.75 ~~$25.50~~

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Here are some ways to use this bright, eye-catching poster in your nutrition and health education:

With younger children:
- Ask questions…
  - What colors do you see?
  - Can you count the fruits and veggies?
  - Can you name them?
  - Which ones do you eat?
  - Which ones have you never tried before?
- Do a hands-on activity with a fruit or veggie that’s in season: look, touch, smell, taste.
- Have a fruit & vegetable story time: here are some children’s book suggestions from University of Nevada Extension.
With teens and adults:
- Ask questions…
  - How many of these fruits/veggies can you name?
  - Which ones have you tried?
  - Which ones do you like?
  - How do you prepare them?
  - Are there any that you’ve never tried?
  - Any you’ve never seen?
Alongside these nutrition education topics and activities:
- MyPlate: Make half your plate fruits & veggies
- Dietary Guidelines: Make Every Bite Count
- Cooking demos (use our guide!)
- Farmer’s market tour
- Supermarket tour
- Heart healthy eating
- Eat the rainbow or Colors of Health
- Plant-based eating pattern
- Fruit for dessert with our Fruit Tooth Dessert Cookbook

By Hollis Bass, MEd, RD, LD

Learn to Love Vegetables

Posted on April 29, 2021 by Hollis Bass

Americans do not have a good relationship with vegetables.

Almost 90 percent of us don’t meet intake recommendations for vegetables (2020-2025 Dietary Guidelines). And even more of us fail to eat enough from the five vegetable subgroups: dark green; red and orange; beans, peas, and lentils; starchy; and other.

Yet, plant-based eating is a hot topic. There’s something wrong here!

How can we help our clients or students learn to love vegetables? It starts with the basics – how to select, store, and prepare different veggies.

If your students or clients can’t work with veggies hands-on, the next best thing is our Building a Plant-Based Eating Pattern: Vegetables DVD.

This DVD offers an unbelievable amount of material – everything from the nutrients and health benefits of different veggies to their flavor profiles and culinary uses. But my favorite parts are the cooking demos that show kitchen hacks for preparing all types of vegetables to perfection.

You can use the cooking demos on this DVD all year long to show your clients or students how to prepare what’s in season. One demo shows how to use roasted tomatoes, onions, and peppers to make a marinara sauce that’s served over zucchini noodles – perfect for the summer farmers market season. Other demos show how to prepare veggies like artichokes, Brussels sprouts, kale, cabbage, and more.

Even the best home cooks (and the most seasoned registered dietitians!) will learn something new from these fun segments that show how to use every part of plants and learn to love vegetables.

Hollis Bass, MEd, RD, LD

Take a Look at Fall Vegetables

Posted on September 29, 2020 by Hollis Bass

Fall is officially here! Along with cooler temperatures, we’re excited to see a new crop of seasonal vegetables at farmer’s markets and in the supermarket.

For too many people, fall produce means pumpkins (or just pumpkin spice!) and sweet potatoes. We know that’s just the beginning, so why not offer a class on fall vegetables? We have a DVD that makes it easy for you, and it’s perfect for virtual class settings.

Our Building a Plant-Based Eating Pattern: Vegetables DVD has everything you need to teach practical skills that your audience will be able to use right away. Videos show them how to select, store, and prepare all types of vegetables. They’ll also see kitchen veggie hacks and take home healthy, delicious recipes.

The DVD breaks vegetables down into categories based on plant parts (roots, tubers, bulbs; stalks; leaves; flowers; fruits; and seeds), because these parts often have similar preparation and cooking methods.

For fall, you might want to use the lesson on Bulbs, Tubers, and Roots because so many are now in season:

Beets
Carrots
Garlic
Onions
Parsnips
Potatoes
Sweet potatoes
Yams
Turnips
Rutabagas

Through engaging videos, your audience will learn how to choose the freshest bulb, tuber, and root veggies; where to store them; and their health benefits. They’ll feel like they are right in the kitchen as we show them how to make an easy vegetable root salad with greens, shaved ginger, grated carrots, and thinly-sliced golden beets, all tossed in vinegar and oil. They’ll also see how to use baked, roasted, microwaved, and pureed veggies to make a healthy MyPlate.

The Building a Plant-Based Eating Pattern: Vegetables DVD also includes recipes you can give the audience. How do Cider Baked Sweet Potatoes, Carrot Hummus, and Raspberry & Beet Cheesecake sound?

Of course, there are many other fall vegetables covered throughout the seven lessons included in our DVD. Maybe you’ll focus on winter squash, Brussels sprouts, arugula, broccoli … the possibilities are endless!

Hollis Bass, MEd, RD, LD

Best Ways to Rinse Produce

Posted on June 25, 2020 by cheryle

My Sister-in-law texted me: how do you wash your produce?

Me: Water

SIL: Don’t you use soap or something?

Me: No just lots of fresh running water.

SIL: Dr. on YouTube says to use soap in the sink.

Me: That will make you sick.

SIL: So how do you kill the germs?

Me: Don’t want to kill them, just slide them down the drain.

OK, first let’s set the record straight. According to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), there is no evidence that food or food packaging is involved with the transmission of COVID-19 (up-to-date information is available on their website ). Like all other viruses, it needs a living host —which could be a person or an animal — on which to grow. Viruses do not grow in food. While the chances of this happening are very low, the virus could potentially be on the food if a fellow shopper or store worker with the virus sneezed or coughed on it. So washing your hands after touching food and packaging is a prudent activity. Remember this is a respiratory illness not a gastrointestinal illness, the virus needs to get into your respiratory system to make you sick.

Back to the instructions: don’t touch your face, nose, and mouth and wash your hands (with soap and water) a lot.

Produce should be handled all the time, not just during this COVID-19 pandemic, using good food safety practices.

Wash your hands and counter tops before handling produce.
Wash the produce thoroughly in fresh running water.
Even wash foods that you’re going to peel because dirt or bacteria can be transferred from the skin onto the moist meaty section of the food when you slice or peel it.

Check out the FDA’s 7 Tips for Cleaning Fruits, Vegetables for specifics: https://www.fda.gov/consumers/consumer-updates/7-tips-cleaning-fruits-vegetables

Despite what you may have seen on social media, you should not wash produce in soap, detergent, sanitizer or any chemical disinfectant. If produce is washed it soap, the soap may be absorbed by the food or you may not get it washed off completely, this could cause gastrointestinal problems.

Plain water is good enough. Several studies have been done looking at washing produce with commercial produce washes and they found that they are no more effective than running water.

Be a good consumer. Don’t shop if you’re sick. Sanitize shopping carts and hands as you enter stores. Don’t touch items you don’t plan on purchasing. Sanitize your hands when you leave the store and wash them when you get home.

Cheryle Jones Syracuse, MS

Professor Emeritus, The Ohio State University

References: Washing Food: Does it promote food safety? United States Department of Agriculture. https://www.fsis.usda.gov/wps/wcm/connect/2ceaa425-0488-4e86-a397-e2d9c470fc4a/Washing_Food.pdf?MOD=AJPERES

Bulletin #4336 Best Ways to Wash Fruits and Vegetables, University of Maine Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition and Cooperative Extension https://extension.umaine.edu/publications/wp-content/uploads/sites/52/2020/04/wash-fruits-vegetables.jpg

What’s on Your Fork?

Posted on November 18, 2019 by Hollis Bass

Are you looking for an easy (and educational) way to brighten up a classroom, hallway, office, or cafeteria? Check out our What’s On Your Fork poster, bulletin board banner, and wall decals. They feature beautiful, professional photographs of real, healthy food on a black background – these really stand out!

There are so many fun things you can do with the What’s on Your Fork theme. Here are just a few ideas:

What’s on Your Fork display: Start with our banner or poster, or make your own visual materials with pictures of fruits, vegetables, healthy protein sources, and whole grains. Leave space for people to add pictures of what’s on their own forks.
- Kids can cut out pictures of healthy food from magazines or supermarket flyers, tape them to plastic forks, and create their own display.
What’s on Your Fork selfies: Encourage people to snap a picture when they’re eating healthy food (if it’s on a fork, that’s fun; if not, that’s fine too!). They can share it on social media (#WhatsOnYourFork), share it with a friend, or keep it private.
What’s on Your Fork with food groups: Let clients decide which food group they want to focus on and have them take pictures of what’s on their fork for one day, three days, or a week. Someone who needs to eat more vegetables would take a picture whenever there’s a veggie on their fork (or spoon, or plate, or bowl!). Do the same for fruits, whole grains, and lean protein.
What’s on Your Fork sugar control: People might say they’re going to limit themselves to 1-2 treats a week, but “forget” when they walk by a candy dish or are offered a piece of birthday cake. Have them snap a picture when they eat a sweet treat (on or off a fork!) and keep it on their phone. Then every time they’re tempted by something sugary, they check their phone to see the last time they had one.

Fork Photo Wall Decals - "Walloons" Set of 8" Wall Decals - Set of 6

$45.00

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What's On Your Fork? Bulletin Board Banner 24" x 24" Square Banner for Bulletin Boards, Walls, and More

$49.00 ~~$0.00~~

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What's On Your Fork? Poster - Nutrition Poster - Motivational Poster

$22.75 ~~$25.50~~

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J is for Jicama

Posted on October 17, 2019 by cheryle

Jicama is a fun vegetable that’s worth getting to know. It looks like a big flattened potato with brown bark-like skin. The “j” in jicama is pronounced like an “h”– (HEE-kah-ma). It is native to Mexico and is sometimes called a Mexican potato, Mexican turnip or a yam bean.

Technically jicama is a legume and its large tuber root is eaten raw or cooked. Peel off the brown skin and inside you’ll find crispy juicy white flesh. Some people describe the flavor as a cross between an apple, a pear, and a water chestnut. It has a texture similar to a radish.

Jicama is frequently used raw because of its crisp texture and crunch. Quite often recipes call for it to be shaved thin, grated or cut into “matchsticks.” Two great things about jicama: the white flesh doesn’t discolor and turn brown like potatoes and it tends to stay crispy after mixed with dressings and/or cooked. A one-pound jicama yields about three cups of chopped shredded flesh.

Jicama is available year-round in the produce section of most supermarkets. Select jicama that is firm, unblemished with a slightly silky sheen and free of cracks and bruises. Pick smaller vegetables, they tend to be sweeter and crisper. Sometimes stores display jicama in the area of the produce section that are misted. But, this is not a good idea, when exposed to water jicama tends to mold and become soft. These are ones to avoid. Jicama should be stored in a cool dry place. Once cut jicama should be stored in the refrigerator

Jicama does not contain any sodium, fat or cholesterol. It’s a good source of fiber and an excellent source of vitamin C. One cup of sliced raw jicama contains about 50 calories.

Try it on your next vegetable platter, in a stir-fry or as a crunchy addition to a salad.

Cheryle Jones Syracuse, MS
Professor Emeritus, The Ohio State University

Is that a girl pepper?

Posted on August 21, 2019 by cheryle

As educators, it seems like one of our major jobs these days is helping people sort out the truth from the myth and misinformation on the web. Sometimes these articles and memes sound like they might be true and then then next thing you know everyone’s talking about it and then everyone believes it.

Perhaps you’ve seen the one about buying green peppers by their sex. The post reports that peppers with three lobes or bumps on the bottom are male and better for cooking. Female peppers supposedly have four bumps and are full of seeds, sweeter and better for eating raw.

Let’s set the record straight, peppers don’t have genders. When you look into the botany of peppers there is a little truth to the sex thing. Peppers grow from flowers that do have both male and female parts. But the peppers themselves do not.

So, what about the number of lobes on the bottom of the pepper? Like many other things (including people) the shape is determined by weather, growing conditions, and genetics. The number of the bumps don’t give us any clue to the flavor or sweetness of the pepper.

Just like many other fruits and vegetables, the degree of sweetness is generally a factor of the ripeness of the item. So, if you want sweeter peppers, select those that are red, yellow or orange. Yellow and orange peppers are a separate variety. Green peppers will gradually turn red on the plant but not yellow or orange.

When selecting pepper, for the best value, get one that is heavy for its size. As bell peppers ripen, they begin to wrinkle and lose the firmness in their skin. Therefore, avoid dull, shriveled or pitted peppers. Refrigerate peppers in a plastic bag and for best quality use within five days.

Bell peppers are a great source of vitamins A and C and beta-carotene. If your budget will allow, pick the colorful red, orange or yellow peppers. They have more vitamins and beta carotene than their green counterparts. Peppers are fat-free, saturated fat-free, low in sodium, cholesterol-free and low calorie.

Just another case of you can’t believe everything you read on the internet.

Cheryle Jones Syracuse, MS
Professor Emeritus, The Ohio State University

Butter Beans

Posted on August 15, 2019 by cheryle

If you’re not from the south, you may not be familiar with the vegetable known as a “butter bean”.

Technically they are what other parts of the nation call lima beans and belong to that genus and species Phaseolus lunatusis. They are sometimes called sieve beans, calico beans or Madagascar beans. But, most frequently in the South, they are known simply as “butter beans”.

Like other beans, the butter bean contains fiber, iron and B-vitamins. They are a rich source of low-fat protein. A ½ cup serving of butter beans contains 5 grams of protein, 1 gram of fat, 17 grams of carbs, and 4 grams of dietary fiber for 100 calories.

Lima/butter beans grow in pods that are removed before eaten. They can be eaten “green/fresh” when they are young. Or left on the plant to mature more and harvested for “dried” beans.

If you’re purchasing or preparing freshly shucked butter beans it’s important to remember NOT to eat the beans before cooking. Lima and butter beans contain a substance called linamarin and if they are eaten raw forms hydrogen cyanide which is poisonous.

Luckily butter beans and Lima beans are not usually consumed uncooked. Cooking the beans for 20 minutes will destroy the toxin.

A few things to think about:

the linamarin is still present in the dried beans-they need to be heated/cooked after soaking.
read packages of frozen Lima or butter beans to ensure they have been cooked—simple blanching—which is common in frozen foods may not be enough to destroy the linamarin.
make sure your Lima and butter beans are thoroughly cooked before serving

No matter what you call them, butter beans are good eating.

Here is a favorite recipe for Vegetarian Paella using lima or butter beans:

Vegetarian Paella
Serves: 4 | Serving Size: 2 cups
Total Time: 25 min | Prep: 10 min | Cook: 15 min

Ingredients:

Olive oil cooking spray
1/2 onion, dice medium
1/2 red bell pepper, dice medium
1 carrot, peel and slice thin
1 cup sliced mushrooms
1 cup sliced kale
1 plum tomato, dice medium
1 cup low-sodium tomato juice
1 cup water
2 cups instant brown rice
2 cups frozen Lima beans

Directions:

Heat a wide, shallow 3-quart sauce pan over medium-high heat. Lightly spray with olive oil cooking spray. Add onions, peppers, carrots, and mushrooms and sauté for 2-3 minutes until vegetables begin to brown.

Add the rest of the ingredients and reduce heat to medium. Cover pan and cook for 5-6 minutes until liquid is absorbed by rice and rice is tender.

Serves 4. Each 2 cups serving: 311 calories, 2g fat, 0g saturated fat, 0gtrans fat, 0mg cholesterol, 40mg sodium, 64g carbohydrate, 7g fiber, 6g sugars, 11g protein.

By: Cheryle Jones Syracuse, MS
Professor Emeritus, The Ohio State University

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