5K the FCMC Way Finale!

On May 9^th, Floyd County Medical Center and 256 community members embarked on an 8-week activity challenge – to get active and train to walk, jog, or run a 5K!  Our mission was three-fold:  To encourage and involve the community around an event that promotes health and well being, to improve the health of our community by increasing awareness and encouraging activity, and to have some fun!

Each week participants were asked to track their activity distance, activity time, water consumption and fruit/veggie servings.  Participants turned their activity sheet in at a different local business each Monday and received an incentive to encourage them along their journey. Along with a weekly incentive participants received a health tip from FCMC.  Our health tips have been on topics such as staying hydrated, injury prevention, and motivation. 

In 8 weeks, the participants logged 8815 miles, over 2500 hours of activity, drank over 30,000 cups of water, and ate over 18,000 servings of fruits and veggies!

Congratulations to our big winners:  Sue Baker for logging 421 miles; Lisa Schwickerath for logging over 73 hours of activity; James Tupy for drinking the most water – 814 cups; and Dan Hugh for consuming 550 servings of fruits and veggies!

We would like to say thank you to all of our wonderful local businesses who participated as work groups, hosted our participants on Mondays, or donated an incentive along the way.  Your generous participation and support is very much appreciated!  Here is a list of our generous sponsors:

Artwear                                                                                    Healthquest

Blush Salon                                                                              HyVee

Boundless Network                                                                 KCHA

Cambrex                                                                                  Kwik Star

Charley Western Firecracker 5K Committee                           Pfizer

Charles City Chamber of Commerce                                       Radio Shack    

Comprehensive Systems                                                         Rivers Edge Salon

Curves                                                                                     Runners Flat/Rocket Science Coaching

First Security Bank & Trust                                                     Slinger Chiropractic

Floyd County Extension Office                                                Subway

                                                                                                YMCA

And to all who participated in the program – we thank you for your enthusiasm and dedication.  We hope you enjoyed the program, were able to increase your activity level and are on your way to a healthier, happier you!  


Article compliments of Dori Myers

Strawberry Pie Season

It's berry season!! I LOVE this time of year for many reasons and with one of them being, strawberry pie! Growing up, my family of seven children would go with my Mom to pick berries at a local patch. I think Mom decided against us having our own patch because we couldn't start berry fights in public and we would actually behave ourselves :)

We would spend the morning, picking, cleaning and tipping all of the berries and then spend the afternoon making jams, canning/freezing, and making 4-5 fresh strawberry pies. Life was amazing back then, right?!

Although the pies were delicious, they were far from healthy with the sugar-cookie type crust. Remember, we also lived on a dairy farm and butter was readily available at all times! Below are a few tips on why strawberries are healthy and also an updated version of strawberry pie that is much lower in calories than my Mom's version (sorry Mom!).  ENJOY!

Tip: Just one cup of strawberries has about 3grams of fiber and more than one day's worth of the recommended intake of vitamin C.

Strawberry Pie recipe from Cooking Light

Ingredients
Crust:
50 reduced-calorie vanilla wafers
1/4 cup butter, melted
2 Tbsp sugar
1 tsp grated orange rind (optional)

Filling:
2 cups of ripe strawberries
1/2 cup water
2/3 cup sugar
2 Tbsp cornstarch
1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
6 cups of small ripe strawberries

Reduced fat whipped topping

Prep:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Place wafers in food processor and process until finely ground. Add butter, sugar and orange rind and pulse 10 more times or until wafers are moist. Press into bottom of 9-inch pie plate coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350 for 15 minutes and cool. (You could also use a pre-made low fat graham cracker crust here).

Mash 2 cups of berries. Combine mashed berries and water in saucepan and bring to a boil and cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Strain and discard pulp- keep liquid. Combine 2/3cup sugar and cornstarch in pan; add strawberry liquid from above; stirring well with whisk. Bring to boil and cook 1 minute; stirring constantly. Reduce heat, cook for 2 minutes. Remove from heat and add lemon juice.

Place whole or sliced berries in crust (6 cups) and add sauce made above, over the top. Chill for at least three hours.

Nutrition info: 8 servings: Each serving contains 285 calories, 8.5g fat, 52.2g carbohydrate.

 

Dessert Talk

In the summer, we often indulge on an increased amount of desserts due to fresh-fruit availability for pies/crumbles, weddings and anniversaries, graduations and many other social events.

Here are a few ways to decrease calories when preparing (or consuming) dessert:

· Make your dessert "a la mode" with a cookie scoop (1/4 cup) of light or low-fat ice cream instead of a 1/2-cup scoop of full-fat ice cream. You'll save 130 calories, 10.5 grams fat, 6.6 grams saturated fat, 59 milligrams cholesterol and 8 grams carbohydrate.

· Add a small dollop (1/8 cup) of light whipped cream instead of a big plop of heavy whipping cream (1/2 cup). You'll save 162 calories, 17.5 grams fat, 11 grams saturated fat, and 65 milligrams cholesterol.

· Serve your fresh fruit atop a slice of angel food cake (weighing 50 grams per slice) instead of buttery pound cake (85 grams per slice). You'll save 95 calories, 14 grams fat, 3.5 grams saturated fat, 80 milligrams cholesterol, and 16 grams carbohydrate.

· When your pie recipe calls for dotting butter or margarine on top of the filling or on top of the crust, just skip this step. You'll save 100 calories, 11.5 grams fat, 7 grams saturated fat, and 30 milligrams cholesterol for every tablespoon of butter you leave out.

· Reduce the sugar called for in any fruit dessert recipe by 25%. Sometimes you can cut the sugar even further, by 1/3 or half, depending on the recipe. You'll save 49 calories and 12.5 grams carbohydrate for every tablespoon of sugar you cut.

· Don't add oil or melted butter to cake mixes. There's already about 4 grams of fat per serving of dry mix. Add something liquid but low in calories instead, like fat-free sour cream, applesauce, strong coffee, or light yogurt. You'll save 54 calories, 6 grams fat, 0.5 grams saturated fat per serving (if the cake mix calls for 1/3 cup of oil and makes 12 servings).

· Instead of a two-crust pie, opt for a fruit crisp topped with an oatmeal crumb mixture.  (For even more calorie savings, use a healthier crumb topping recipe with more fiber and less sugar.) You'll save 100 calories, 10 grams fat, 2.5 grams saturated fat

Information Provided by WebMD

The “new pyramid” is no longer a pyramid?

On June 2, 2011, USDA recently released their new take on the infamous Food Guide Pyramid. Since 1916, USDA has released multiple charts, graphs, wheels, pyramids, and other images to encourage and educate on healthy food choices. The new icon is to be used to prompt consumers to think about building a healthy plate which includes fruits, vegetables, grains, protein and dairy, the same food groups used on the previous pyramid. The icon comes out in conjunction with the recently revised and released 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans and incorporates some of the new points of interest from that document.

The new image is called, MyPlate, and illustrates a colorful plate that is sectioned into four colors to indicate the food groups for fruits, vegetables, grains and protein. Along side the plate is a round circle representing the dairy group. The sections of the plate vary in size depending on the recommended portion of each food a person should eat.

The new icon is also paired with its own website www.ChooseMyPlate.gov , which gives consumers another resource to use to learn about nutrition and how to use this new method to make healthy choices on a daily basis.  Over the next year, USDA will unveil another tool online that helps consumers to track and mange their personal dietary and activity goals.

Overall, the hope for the MyPlate image, is to give Americans tools that empower them to make healthy food choices for themselves and their families.

(Image above courtesey of http://www.myplate.gov/ )

Summer Snacks!

School is finally out for summer! With that, comes very active and very hungry children! Here is a healthy snack that will be great (and fun) for your kids to make and enjoy.

To-Go Yogurt Parfaits

You will need:

Small ice cream cones

Yogurt

Fruit– berries, bananas, etc

Granola or nuts

1. Take ice cream cone and fill one third with yogurt.

2. Place one Tbsp of fruit on top of the yogurt.

3. Fill the rest of the cone with yogurt.

4. Top with more fruit and granola.

Take with you and enjoy!

Farmer's Markets have Started!!

It's that time of the year to venture out to your local Farmer's Market to let the seasonal produce drive your nutrition choices and exploration! If you can't tell... I love a good Farmer's Market and I'll give you a few reasons why:



1. Variety of Produce- The local Farmer's Markets here are great for supplying so much produce and so many different types of produce for our small area. We, of course, have a lot of seasonal produce in Iowa, but many of the farmers start their plants through the winter and can supply some of the produce before we even think to see it in our gardens.

2. Support Local Farmers- I grew up on a small dairy farm and I will always, always, be partial to those who put in the hard work to farm. I also do not have too much of a green thumb and I love that others will take the time to grow produce that I typically "kill off" in my small garden at home.

3. Education- Not only do the Farmer's provide an abundance and variety of products for us at the Farmer's Market, but most are very knowledgeable about how to use their products, how and where their products were grown, and what makes their product special. This is a great atmosphere for families and children soak up all the extra "summer" education.

4. Communication- The Farmer's Market forces you to get out into the (hopefully) nice weather and socialize with your community. Many of us have been stuck inside all winter and with all the technology these days, it's easy to forget how to communicate and be cordial!

5. Nutrition, nutrition, nutrition- Did you think I would skip this part?! What better way to drive menu and meal planning than picking up a few new fruits or veggies for your family to try each week? Not only will you be providing your family with a new taste appreciation for fruits and veggies, but you will also be introducing them to more vitamins and minerals than they have ever experienced before.

Support your local Farmer's Markets!

(picture from http://agritourism.travelok.com/blog/?tag=locavore)

Flaxseed Fun

Recently, I’ve had many questions regarding the benefits and use of flax seed. Although flax seed is new to most health markets, the crop itself has been used as a healing treatment since 3,000 BC.

The recent flax movement comes after research shows that adding omega-3 fatty acids to the diet can decrease the risk of heart disease, prevent some forms of cancer, decrease inflammation and flax provide extra fiber for a healthy colon.

Flax provides:
omega-3 fatty acids
alpha-linoleic acid (ALA)
soluble and insoluble fiber- soluble fiber assist in GI health and bowel movements; insoluble fiber assist in decreasing cholesterol levels in the body
lignans- a phytoestrogen compound that has been shown to decrease the risk of cancer in laboratory studies

Flax comes from a blue-flowered plant that is grown in the northern Midwest region and also Canada. Flax is also grown in other countries around the world. There are two types of flaxseed, brown and golden and both are similar in nutritional benefits. The most important thing to remember about buying and using flaxseed is that the “good stuff” is in the inside of the seed, and humans are unable to digest the outside seed coating.

You can buy whole flax seed and grind it fresh everyday, or you can buy it already ground. My favorite source of flaxseed is Bob’s Redmill Ground Flaxseed which can be found at both Hy-Vee and Fareway stores. It’s crucial to store flax seed in your refrigerator or freezer, since it is a fat and it can go rancid quickly. Using one tablespoon or 8g of milled flaxseed a day is an appropriate intake to meet ALA dietary needs. Milled or ground flaxseed can easily be added to recipes or can be used to replace other fats such as egg or butter in recipes. Ground flaxseed can also be added easily to yogurt or oatmeal in the morning.

*Did you know that omega-3 eggs come from hens which are fed flax seed meal?

Give flaxseed a try!

(Data provided by Flax Council of Canada)