April Newsletter - Burke County

Eat Med in May

Whether you’re preparing a meal at home or dining out, the foods you choose can make a real difference. May is International Mediterranean Diet Month, a time to celebrate and learn more about the transformative power of eating the Med Way.

You may have noticed the Mediterranean Diet getting lots of attention on the news recently. That’s because eating like those who live in the Mediterranean region has been shown to promote health and decrease the risk of many chronic diseases, such as some cancers, Alzheimer’s, type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, and cardiovascular disease.

The first of the 7 Simple Steps to eating the Med Way is to change your protein. Check out these tips to make positive changes to your protein intake.

Eat primarily plant-based foods.
Replace red meat with plant-based proteins, such as beans and legumes often.
Eat seafood at least three times per week. Include fatty fish, such as mackerel and salmon.
Avoid fried fish.
Eat white-meat poultry, such as turkey and chicken, at least twice a week.

The Med Instead of Meds 6-session program was created by a group of nutrition and health professionals from NC State University and NC Division of Public Health. As previously mentioned, eating the Med Way has been proven to protect against chronic illness. In some cases, eating the Med Way may even result in decreasing medications taken for blood pressure, high cholesterol, or diabetes (check with your health-care professional before changing any prescribed medications), hence the name Med Instead of Meds. The Med Instead of Meds program and Resource Guide is available right now for On-Demand viewing at burke.ces.ncsu.edu/online-fcs-workshops.

Visit medinsteadofmeds.com for more info on the 7 Simple Steps to eating the Med Way and many Med-approved healthy recipes.

June 20 - 25, 2021

We still have 2 spots left for our trip to camp at the Eastern 4-H Center, located near the beach of NC. Overnight camp is for youth, ages 8-13.
Pandemic restrictions and guidelines will be followed and we will have parent/youth camp orientation meeting prior to camp week.

A $50 non-refundable deposit is required to hold your spot. We are offering fundraising opportunities and scholarships to assist with camp costs! Call our office at 828-764-9480 if you are interested.

Bagworms

It’s time for bagworms to hatch and once this happens trees and shrubs can suffer as these small, voracious worms eat foliage and needles while they build a bag around themselves during the process. They aren’t easy to see and most folks don’t even realize they have a problem until it’s too late. Foliage becomes sparse and shrubs are stripped of their needles. Many small pinecones suddenly appear, hanging on plants that don’t even have pinecones! But it isn’t a pinecone, it’s a bagworm that has spent the summer building a protective bag around itself that pesticides can’t penetrate.

At this point it’s too late to spray but if you apply insecticides early enough they are easily killed. Applications made in May and June can control this pest and if you had them last year, you can probably expect them again this year. So get out there and look for the small gray to black worms as they crawl along the branches of your ornamental plants before they build their protective bag. They seem to prefer arborvitaes, Leyland cypress and junipers but can be found on almost every landscape plant in your yard including Japanese maples and blueberries!