EXTRACTS OF THYME Fall Produce Picks October, November, December 2018 eatsmartmd.blogspot.com/2018/10/fall-produce-picks.html Fall brings cooler temperatures and shorter days, but great produce at the farmers markets! Fall is a popular time to visit local farms and farmers markets for the perfect pumpkin but there are so many other great fruits and vegetables to choose from too. Stop by your local farm or farmers market this week and try one of these fall produce favorites! Broccoli Broccoli is in season during the fall months. Broccoli is a great vegetable for an after school snack or add to simple weeknight dinners. Broccoli can be eaten raw, steamed or roasted for added flavor. Try a new recipe like Garden Stir-Fry or Veggie Quesadillas and see how your kids like it. 1
Kale Kale is a popular vegetable to add to smoothies, but there are many other ways to incorporate kale into your regular meals. Sauté kale and add to scrambled eggs in the morning, include kale in Greens & Beans for an easy weeknight side dish, or roast kale and make Kale Chips for a healthy snack on the go. Winter Squash Many people shy away from winter squash because of the hard skin. To cook winter squash, poke a few holes in the squash with a fork, then place in the microwave for about 3 minutes. Let the squash cool and then it will be easier to cut or peel. Winter squash can be added to soup. For an added twist, make Spaghetti Squash with your family and see if your kids think it taste like spaghetti! Sweet Potatoes Sweet potatoes are a holiday staple in many homes, but this is a great vegetable to make for your family during the fall when they are in season. Try Mashed Sweet Potatoes, a great twist on a childhood favorite that your kids will love! Another great recipe to try is Chicken, Sweet Potato, and Carrot Packets only 10 minutes to put all ingredients together for a great weeknight dinner. Apples Apples are a popular fruit for all ages, but have you tried new apple varieties lately? There are many varieties of apples that can be found in Maryland. Have an apple tasting with you family and see what variety of apple they like best. Cook with apples by making your own Homemade Applesauce at home or make Apple Jack-O-Lanterns for a fun fall treat! The fall offers so many wonderful fall fruits and vegetables! Your family may even find a new favorite recipe or fruit/vegetable. Volunteer Recap from Brianna Fachler-University of Delaware Undergraduate I had a great experience this summer volunteering for the University of Maryland Extension here in Baltimore County. I got out of my comfort zone and experienced a plethora of new things. I traveled to all different counties in Maryland this summer and got out into the community. I did everything from going to Police Athletic League Centers to help teach kids nutrition, to going to Women, Infant & Children clinics farmers markets to promote fruit and vegetables through the Market to Mealtime program. I also wrote some fact sheets about diabetes and food safety. I wrote blog posts including one about staying hydrated in the summer. I even got to experience a canning workshop on pickling! I did whatever needed to be done in the office in order to help out anyway I could. I loved being able to go out-and-about in the community and interact with people from children to adults. I learned how important it is to get information out into the community. There is so much to know about food safety and nutrition. I felt like I was able to really make a difference by giving this information out to help people make healthier choices. I was happy to be able to use knowledge I had learned in school in real life experiences. I am so grateful for all of the experiences I had this summer with Shauna Henley and Amy Wolpert, and I cannot wait to use everything I learned in the future. 2
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Walking for Wellness eatsmartmd.blogspot.com/2018/10/walking-for-wellness.html Walk Maryland Day is October 10, 2018. Walk Maryland Day is a day to celebrate the official state exercise - walking! It's also a way to promote awareness about how walking improves our health. October 10th is also Walk to School Day. Help the entire community come together to promote health and safer routes for students to walk and bike to school. These are great events to help people be active and start walking in your neighborhood. Think about ways to be active every day, not just one special day. Why focus on walking? Well - walking is a great way to be active, you can do it anytime, anywhere, and it does not require special skills or equipment. The health benefits of walking may: Reduce the risk of diseases like heart disease, stroke, diabetes, and cancer. Improve blood pressure and blood sugar levels. Increase energy level. Decrease stress. Help prevent weight gain. If you are new to walking, or haven t been active in a while, start off slowly. Try 5-10 minutes to start. Work up to 30 minutes per day. If you don t have 30 minutes at once, get creative and break up your activity into shorter sessions. For example start the day by parking or getting off the bus/train 10 minutes away from your job and walk briskly to work. At lunch, walk for 10 minutes around where you work, inside or out. End the work day by walking briskly for 10 minutes back to your car or station. Still not convinced you should stop reading this and go for a walk? Check out this list of 100 reasons to go for a walk. 5
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Terry Serio Virginia Brown, DrPH Shauna C. Henley, PhD Extension Educator Extension Educator Extension Educator Food Stamp Nutrition Education Family & Consumer Sciences Family & Consumer Sciences Family & Consumer Sciences Carroll County Baltimore County Carroll County University of Maryland Extension-Carroll County Phone: 410-386-2760 700 Agriculture Center Toll-Free: 888-326-9645 Westminster, MD 21157-5700 Fax: 410-876-0132 If you have a disability that requires special assistance for your participation in a program, please contact the Carroll County Extension Office at 410-386-2760; fax 410-876-0132, two (2) weeks prior to the program. The information given herein is supplied with the understanding that no discrimination is intended and no endorsement by University of Maryland Extension is implied. Please visit us online at http://extension.umd.edu/carroll-county 10