July Family & Consumer Science Newsletter

There are several email lists that I am subscribed to, but one of my favorites is the NIH Research Matters list. National Institutes of Health (NIH) covers everything health related and provides research results on various health topics to the public. One article I found particularly interesting this month was about erythritol, an artificial sweetener used in many food and drink products to reduce sugar and calorie intake, and it's relationship ties with heart attacks and stroke.

Erythritol is found naturally in fruits and vegetables and in cells involved in human metabolism. However, when used as a sweetener, the levels used are more than 1,000 times greater than their naturally occurring levels in foods. Erythritol is lumped into the "sugar alcohols" category, and they aren't required to be listed individually on nutrition labels. The NIH funded a research team at the Cleveland Clinic wanted to look more closely at the effects of increased consumption of the artificial sweetener and how it is linked to future cardiac risk.

As foods are increasingly modified to accommodate different diet plans - like using sugar alcohols in place of real sugar - we need to look closely at the long-term effects these modifications have on our health.

Working with the summer foods program is one of the things I look forward to each year. The program consists of two different efforts to get fresh produce, dry goods, and other resources to families across the county. The first is the summer foods program, and the second, student choice markets.

The summer foods program provides home deliveries over the summer of fresh produce, pantry staples, hygiene products, and community resources to families who generally benefit from free/reduced breakfast and lunch for their children at school and Head Start when school is in session. The program is a partnership of Partners Aligned Toward Health, Reconciliation House, TRACTOR Food and Farms, Dig In Community Garden, NC Cooperative Extension, Yancey Schools, Yancey DSS, Yancey Public Library, Yancey Transportation Authority, and many others. Families will receive 6 total deliveries - every other week while schools are on break.

Student choice markets are held at the schools hosting summer school or other summer activities. Tables are set up and stocked with gorgeous produce from TRACTOR and Dig In Community Garden, and are offered to the students to take home. Students get the choice of which fruits and vegetables they want to take, and they often choose things they like, their parents like, or a combination of both. These markets are a great way to show off produce that aren't as common in our kitchens, like microgreens, oyster mushrooms, garlic scapes, and all sorts of other fun stuff! I love running into students in different places in town and having them point me out as "the teacher who brings the vegetables to school". This year, Cooperative Extension is able to offer taste tests of vegetables so students can try them prepared in different ways, hopefully encouraging them to take them home and recreate what they've tried. The student choice markets are grant-funded, so we host these as long as funding allows.

We are always in search of new volunteers for both programs, so if you are interested in helping, just click the link below!

Color Me Healthy and Kids Club are going STRONG at Genesis Academy!

With Color Me Healthy, we've tried rainbow fruit kabobs (a HUGE hit!), a mix of veggies with a side of fat-free ranch for dipping, and we've solved a food mystery by using our touch, smell, and sound senses. My favorite part so far has been watching them get excited about trying new things. The week we tasted different veggies, I included raw spinach leaves. To my surprise, many didn't know what it was and had never tried them. There were few reluctant to try it, and most of the kids asked for more "leaves".

Kids Club has been an incredible experience. I had no idea what to expect since I had never taught the series before, but it has been a blast. Each week we go through different exercise sets that work all parts of the body. One week, after doing "The Twelve Days of Fitness" activity (done to the tune of "The Twelve Days of Christmas), my legs were so sore I couldn't hardly move the next day! It made me realize how much I needed to work on my own physical fitness because these weren't complex moves. Since then, I've been working to meet my move goals on my Apple Watch daily.

For the past several weeks, Tracey Hall, the Empowering Youth and Families Program Program Assistant (EYFP PA) in Burke County, and I have been conducting a virtual EYFP series.

The program was open to all NC residents, and we have several devoted families who show up each week. Since we are meeting virtually, we have encouraged participants to send us all sorts of photos and any other relevant information as they discuss the lesson topics.

The following was sent to us after our first meeting where we discussed what makes each family member unique and how families are made of individuals who work together to form a team. The homework assignment was to come up with a family motto for your family. Here's what one of our families shared:

"Last week trying to come up with a family motto, with some help from Google, [ E ] and I came up with three choices as you can see in the photo. And she created a group chat to ask various family members from both sides of her family both adults, and kids to vote on a family motto.

Well…as all families have some level of dysfunction especially sometimes in families where mom and dad are no longer together…two of the “adults” in the chat shall we say got off topic, and caused some chaos due to their personal issues with each other. But at any rate, Choice C won out in the poll amidst all the chaos and confusion: Be helpful, be honest, be happy.

[ E ] was having so much fun with this activity prior to the group chat veering into chaotic territory. In order to try and lighten the mood, I found a meme online which I had seen before that I thought was fitting to the outcome of this activity. Today on our long drive together from Greenville to Jacksonville we talked about the motto fiasco again. And [ E ] shared that she had decided on the meme that I found as her official family motto, and we are thinking about getting T-Shirts!!

Also on our drive today [ E ] revisited some her hashtags from last week, but decided to keep #weird while coming up with some new hashtags. I’m so impressed that she is able to embrace her “weirdness” at such a young age. It took me 40 plus years to even begin to embrace and appreciate my weirdness instead of wanting to fit in.

I realized that I already have a hashtag I have been using this year: #Ichooseme2023 as I am trying to embrace showing myself some of the love and attention I am used to giving to everyone else."

Monthly Recipe Feature

If your squash grow like most I hear about, you'll be overwhelmed with a large amount of them before the end of the growing season. If you're tired of eating them the same old ways, try this new spin on the summer staple. This works great with all forms of summer squash and zucchini, and the seasonings can be customized to your preference. I made a batch using powdered ranch seasoning and you'd never know they weren't potato chips!

If you'd rather dry them to use later in the fall or winter for soups and casseroles, dehydrate them with no seasoning and store in an air-tight container for up to 12 months. To use dehydrated zucchini and summer squash, pour boiling water over the squash, and let them soak for 15 minutes. Once the vegetables are properly plumped up, pour off the water, and use the squash as usual in your favorite recipe.

Canning Tips | Jar Storage

One of the questions I get asked most is about jar storage after processing. Do you store jars with the rings on or off?

You can reuse those same bands for the next round of canning without needing to buy more. Unlike the lids, which are one-time use only (as far as canning goes), the bands can be used over and over again until they rust or become damaged.
If there were problems during processing, you’ll know because gases from bacteria and spoilage will break the seal on the lid.
If a band is holding that lid in place, however, you might not find out for weeks or months (when you’re looking for the jar).
As long as the boiling water bath created a good vacuum seal on the lids, unscrewing the bands after processing will not cause your jars to unseal.

As temperatures increase through July and August, people head to the nearest body of water to cool off.

National Drowning Prevention Day is held on July 25 every year as a means of raising awareness of the long-term effects of drowning on families and communities, as well as life-saving ways to prevent it.

Every year, an estimated 236,000 individuals drown, and it is one of the top ten fatalities of kids aged five to 14. Toxicological studies show that children and adolescents from rural areas are more likely to drown than those in urban areas. This is because access to natural water sources is much higher in rural areas.

The most common reason for drowning is a lack of swimming ability. It’s not uncommon for people of all ages to jump into the ocean without proper training. Drowning can be drastically reduced with water safety training and lessons taught by a lifeguard.

What do you do if you can't swim or if you're hesitant about getting in the water? Wear a life jacket! Life jackets are designed to keep you afloat in water; they will automatically turn you face-up, keeping your mouth and nostrils clear of the water to prevent drowning.