National Chocolate Milk Day - Should My Child Drink Chocolate Milk?

Should My Child Drink Chocolate Milk?

Trina Robertson, RDN

Resources
1.  Should Children Drink Chocolate Milk? United Dairy Industry

National Johnny Appleseed Day

John Chapman (September 26, 1774 – March 18, 1845), called Johnny Appleseed, was an American pioneer nurseryman who introduced apple trees to large parts of Pennsylvania, Ontario, Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois, as well as the northern counties of present-day West Virginia. He became an American legend while still alive, due to his kind, generous ways, his leadership in conservation, and the symbolic importance he attributed to apples.

The Story of Johnny Appleseed

Johnny Appleseed, Wikipedia 

National Lobster Day - Nutrition and Recipes

Suggestions on how to Eat Lobster to stay
Healthy and Avoid a Mess (or make a mess)

*No Butter and No Cream
*Ask for Lemon, Olive Oil, and Dijon Mustard
and Make Your Own Dressing.

*Wear A Bib

Lobster Facts
From Atlantic Offshore Lobstermen’s Association (AOLA)

The difference between a hard shell and soft shell lobster.  Lobsters will periodically shed their shells as they grow. This can happen as many as 25 times before they are 6-7 years old; then males shed every year and mature, females every two years. When lobsters become very large molting is less frequent. After they shed they have a paper-thin shell, which can take up to two months to harden and are called soft-shell, new shell, or shedders. The debate goes on as to which is most tasty, though the soft-shell is definitely easier to crack!

Lobsters do not have vocal cords. They do not scream when being cooked.

The teeth of the lobster are in its stomach. The stomach is located a very short distance from the mouth, and the food is actually chewed in the stomach between three grinding surfaces that look like molar surfaces, called the "gastric mill".

Besides the greenish-brown colored lobsters, there are also rare blue, yellow, red and white ones. Except for the white ones, they all turn red when cooked.

A 2-pound female lobster usually carries approximately 8000 eggs. A 9-pound female may carry more than 100,000 eggs. The female carries the eggs inside for 9 to 12 months, and then for another 9 to 12 months externally attached to the swimmerets under her tail.

When the eggs hatch, the larvae will float near the surface for 4 to 6 weeks. The few that survive will settle to the bottom and continue to develop as baby lobsters. From every 50,000 eggs, only 2 lobsters are expected to survive to legal size. It takes 5 to 7 years for a lobster to grow to legal size in the ocean. A lobster at legal size will weigh approximately 1 pound.

Lobster Cooking and Eating

The Lobster and the Beer,
A Story of Survival

   

National Cholesterol Education Month - What You Need to Know

What is cholesterol?

Cholesterol is a waxy, fat-like substance your body needs. But when you have too much in your blood, it can build up on the walls of your arteries and form blockages. This can lead to heart disease, heart attack, and stroke.



There are two kinds of cholesterol: high-density lipoprotein (HDL) and low-density lipoprotein (LDL). HDL is also called "good" cholesterol. LDL is called "bad" cholesterol. When we talk about high cholesterol, we are talking about "bad" LDL cholesterol.

Seventy-one million American adults have high cholesterol, but only one-third of them have the condition under control.1 September is National Cholesterol Education Month—a good time to resolve to get your cholesterol screened.

Screening

Screening is the key to detecting high cholesterol. Because high cholesterol does not have symptoms, many people do not know their cholesterol is too high. Your doctor can do a simple blood test to check your cholesterol level.

The National Cholesterol Education Program recommends that adults aged 20 years or older have their cholesterol checked every 5 years.

You may need to have your cholesterol checked more often if any of the following statements apply to you:

· Your total cholesterol is 200 mg/dL or higher.

· You are a man older than age 45 or a woman older than age 50.

· Your HDL cholesterol is lower than 40 mg/dL.

· You have other risk factors for heart disease and stroke.

The Healthy People 2020 objective is to have 82% of the population screened. The number of people who said they were screened for cholesterol between 2005-2009 increased from 73% to 76%, only a handful of states met the 82% Healthy People 2020 objective.

Prevention and Treatment of High Cholesterol

Make lifestyle changes by:

·   Eating a healthy diet. Avoid saturated fats and trans fats, which tend to raise cholesterol levels. Other types of fats, such as polyunsaturated fats, can lower blood cholesterol levels. Eating fiber also can help lower cholesterol.

·   Exercising regularly. Physical activity can help lower cholesterol. The Surgeon General recommends that adults engage in moderate-intensity exercise for 2 hours and 30 minutes every week.

·   Maintaining a healthy weight. Being overweight or obese can raise your cholesterol levels. Losing weight can help lower your cholesterol.

·   Not smoking. If you smoke, quit as soon as possible.

Be sure to follow your doctor's instructions and stay on your medications, if prescribed, to control your cholesterol.

For more information about cholesterol and how you can prevent high cholesterol or keep it in check, see "Your Guide to Lowering Your Cholesterol with TLC" from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute.

Reference
CDC, Cholesterol

 

National Family Meal Month and Family Day: a Day to Eat Dinner With Your Children

Family Day—A Day to Eat Dinner with Your Children™ is a national movement promoting parental engagement as a tool to help keep kids substance-free. Family Day began as a grassroots initiative and has grown to become a nationwide celebration. In 2010, President Obama, all the Governors, and over 1,000 Mayors and County Executives proclaimed and supported Family Day!

More than a decade of research by The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University has consistently found that the more often kids eat dinner with their families, the less likely they are to smoke, drink or use drugs.

Dinners Make A Difference! While there are no silver bullets – substance abuse can strike any family regardless of ethnicity, affluence, age, or gender – the parental engagement fostered at the dinner table can be a simple, effective tool to help prevent substance abuse in kids.

Join the Movement - National Family Meals Month

Family mealtime is an ageless tradition shared by people all around the world. Eating dinner together keeps the doors of communication open. It's a perfect time to show your children they are your priority. Studies have shown children who eat dinner with their families are less likely to use alcohol, tobacco, and illegal drugs and more likely to develop good eating habits.

Sesame Street: Eat Together!


Quick and Easy Meals to
Bring Families Together at Meal Time

To learn more about Family Day, visit:
Website. Family Day – A Day to Eat Dinner with Your Children™

Website: Informed Families - Family Day is a Day to Eat Dinner With Your Children

International Day of Peace

International Day of Peace
The International Day of Peace ("Peace Day") allows individuals, organizations, and nations to create practical acts of peace on a shared date. It was established by a United Nations resolution in 1981 to coincide with the opening of the General Assembly. The first Peace Day was celebrated in September 1982.

In 2002, the General Assembly officially declared September 21 as the permanent date for the International Day of Peace. By creating the International Day of Peace, the UN devoted itself to worldwide peace and encouraged all of mankind to cooperate for this goal. During the discussion of the U.N. Resolution that established the International Day of Peace, it was suggested that:

"Peace Day should be devoted to commemorating and strengthening the ideals of peace both within and among all nations and peoples…This day will serve as a reminder to all people that our organization, with all its limitations, is a living instrument in the service of peace and should serve all of us here within the organization as a constantly pealing bell reminding us that our permanent commitment, above all interests or differences of any kind, is to peace."

International Day of Peace

The International Day of Peace,
observed each year on 21 September 

“Together, let us stand up against bigotry
and for human rights.
Together, let us build bridges. Together,
let us transform fear into hope.”
United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres

2024 Theme: Cultivating a Culture of Peace
This year marks the 25th anniversary of the UN General Assembly’s adoption of the Declaration on a Culture of Peace. The declaration reminds us that peace is more than the absence of conflict – it requires active participation, dialogue, and mutual understanding.

In today’s world of rising tensions, the values laid out in 1999 are more important than ever: respect for life, human rights, non-violence, and a commitment to dialogue over confrontation.

As UNESCO’s Constitution states, “wars begin in the minds of men,” and so must the defenses of peace. The International Day of Peace isn’t just about ceasefires – it’s about recognizing our shared humanity and cultivating peace through education and cooperation across generations and nations.

Our survival as a global community depends on it.

National Cheeseburger Day - Healthy Homemade Cheeseburger

Healthy Homemade Cheeseburger 

Yield: Makes 4 servings

Ingredients
3/4 lb extra-lean ground beef
2 tbsp finely chopped onion
2 tbsp chili sauce
1 tsp Dijon mustard
4 slices (3/4 oz each) reduced-fat cheddar
4 whole-wheat hamburger buns
Lettuce and tomato slices

Preparation
1. Mix first 4 ingredients.
2. Form mixture into four 1-inch-thick patties.
3. Broil 5 to 7 minutes on each side for medium to well-done burgers.
4. Top each burger with a cheese slice right before removing from the oven.
5. Transfer burgers onto buns, top with lettuce and tomato and serve.

Reference:

Epiccurious, Healthy Homemade Cheeseburger

September 13, National Celiac Disease Awareness Day

Celiac disease is an immune reaction to gluten, a protein found in wheat, rye, and barley. The disease affects about one in 100 people in Europe and North America.

The Awareness Campaign provides current, comprehensive, science-based information about the symptoms, diagnosis, and treatment of celiac disease, also known as celiac sprue, nontropical sprue, and gluten-sensitive enteropathy.

The key to understanding the Gluten-Free diet is to become a good ingredient label reader. The following ingredients should not be consumed. They come from prohibited grains: barley, rye, triticale, wheat (durum, graham, kamut, semolina, spelt), malt, malt flavoring, and malt vinegar (generally made from barley—verify the source).

Celiac Disease Foundation 

Public Service Announcement

Riceworks Sponsors Interview With 

Celiac Disease Expert Shelley Case

Resources

1. Celiac Disease Foundation
2. Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, Celiac Disease
3. Shelley Case, RD

National Nutrition Week in India - The Indian Cuisine

National Nutrition Week in India

Vision
To achieve optimal nutrition of vulnerable segments of the population such as women of reproductive age, children, adolescent girls, and the elderly.

Mission
To enable food and nutrition security conducive to good health, growth & development and increase productivity through dedicated research, so as to achieve the national nutrition goals set by the government of India in the national nutrition policy.

National Nutrition Week (India)
Dietary Guidelines of Indians 

Indian cuisine encompasses a wide variety of regional and traditional cuisines native to India. Given the range of diversity in soil type, climate, culture, ethnic groups, and occupations, these cuisines vary substantially from each other and use locally available spices, herbs, vegetables, and fruits.  

Indian food is also heavily influenced by religious, in particular, Hindu and cultural choices and traditions. Also, Middle Eastern and Central Asian influences have occurred on North Indian cuisine from the years of Mughal rule. Indian cuisine is still evolving, as a result of the nation's cultural interactions with other societies.

Indian Chicken Curry with Rice, #EatingWell   

Historical incidents such as foreign invasions, trade relations, and colonialism have played a role in introducing certain foods to the country. For instance, potato, a staple of the diet in some regions of India, was brought to India by the Portuguese, who also introduced chilies and breadfruit. 

Indian cuisine has shaped the history of international relations; the spice trade between India and Europe was the primary catalyst for Europe's Age of Discovery. Spices were bought from India and traded around Europe and Asia. Indian cuisine has influenced other cuisines across the world, especially those from Europe, the Middle East, North Africa, sub-Saharan Africa, Southeast Asia, the British Isles, Fiji, and the Caribbean.

Resources and References

1. National Nutrition Week (India) – Dietary Guidelines of Indians
2. Indian Cuisine, Wikipedia - Spices at a grocery shop in India   

3. Indian Chicken Curry with Rice, #EatingWell