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Butternut Squash Pasta Sauce
Squash season is here! This is a great recipe that can help sneak in some additional vegetables onto the dinner plate, and you can substitute any winter squash in this recipe. Try it with pumpkin, acorn squash, honeynut, delicatas or really any mystery gourd at the farm stand. Side note: You can eat any winter squash, which is always my excuse to buy some fun gourds!
Winter squash is a great source of many vitamins and minerals but it’s a great source of beta carotene, which is a precursor to vitamin A. Winter squashes are also high in vitamin C, B6, magnesium and fiber. –Dana Mealing, RDN, LDN, CIEC, Tevis Center for Wellness community nutrition educator
Perfectly Roasted Eggplant
Eggplant can be a challenging vegetable to cook. If it’s not cooked right, you get the equivalent to an oil-soaked chunk of memory foam, but cooked correctly, you get the most savory, soft, creamy vegetable you could imagine. Eggplant is also a great vegetable to add to your diet because its nutrient dense with about 3 grams of fiber for 1 cup, an excellent source of potassium, and the skin is rich in anthocyanins, which can help reduce inflammation, and may help improve cardiovascular health. I strongly encourage you to try eggplant, and this is a great starter recipe. –Dana Mealing, RDN, LDN, CIEC, Tevis Center for Wellness community nutrition educator
Light Lemon Cod
We hear a lot of talk about omega 3 fatty acids and salmon, but cod is another excellent source of these heart-healthy, anti-inflammatory essential fatty acids. Cod has a soft but firm texture, and a mild flavor that has a hint of sweet to it. It’s also a great lean protein and an excellent source of B12. Cod also tends to be a lower mercury fish. If you have concerns about the contaminants in your fish, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency does provide a watch list for recreationally caught fish, which are linked below. –Dana Mealing, RDN, LDN, CIEC, Tevis Center for Wellness community nutrition educator
Practice Food Safety This Summer
Summertime is here! As we enjoy the outdoors, it’s important to remember proper food safety protocols, especially during family picnics and other outdoor events. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, rates of food poisoning increase in summer months because bacteria grow faster in warmer weather. Eating food left in the “Danger Zone” (40 degrees to 140 degrees) can make you and others sick.
Treating Sunburn
The weather is warmer, and the days are longer—perfect for spending days enjoying outdoor activities such as going for walks, watching baseball games, swimming, boating, fishing and gardening to name a few. More time outside means more exposure to UVA and UVB sunlight, and a greater risk for a bad sunburn without proper precautions.
The best thing, of course, is not to get a sunburn at all, but mistakes happen. Some sunburns are mild, and others can require medical attention. Read More
Coconut-Lime Overnight Oats
Here is a convenient, grab-and-go breakfast recipe with a fresh flavor. Overnights oats can be made with any flavors, fruits, nuts, seeds or nut butters, but however you flavor it, the combination of fiber-rich rolled oats and protein-dense Greek yogurt will keep you full and satiated all morning and help bring stable energy (and blood sugar) to the start of your day! If you’re looking to change this recipe into a healthy, hearty dessert, top it off with a crushed graham cracker or two crushed Biscoff cookies. —Dana Mealing, RDN, LDN, CIEC, community nutrition educator at the Tevis Center for Wellness
Chicken with Rhubarb Sauce
Although in the culinary would its often treated as a fruit, rhubarb is actually a vegetable! And, as a vegetable, it has many health benefits; it’s rich in nutrients and a good source of fiber. Rhubarb originated from the western parts of China and has been used in traditional medicines for hundreds of years. Contemporary research shows that rhubarb has a host of health benefits. It has anti-tumor and anti-inflammatory properties, and it also has an impact on gut health. Not only does it have anti-microbial properties that help fight bad bacteria, such as H. pylori (the cause of stomach ulcers), but also helps to feed the good bacteria in our intestine while also strengthening the mucosal lining of the intestine. Learn more about rhubarb here. –Dana Mealing, RDN, LDN
Understanding the Medicare Three-Night Rule: Why It Matters
Sometimes after a hospitalization or surgery, individuals require additional assistance or rehabilitative services prior to their return home. This care is often provided at a skilled nursing facility in the community.
How to Have Safe Fun in the Sun
The days are longer, the weather is warmer and people are spending more time outdoors—summer is almost upon us! But how can you ensure that your family is not at an increased risk for illness or injury during the most active months of the year? Here are a few tips to keep you and your loved ones protected.
Love the Skin You’re In with Prevention and Early Detection
Spring is here! As you enjoy the warmer weather, remember to take care of your body’s largest organ—your skin! May is Melanoma and Skin Cancer Awareness Month. According to the National Skin Cancer Foundation, one out of every five Americans will be diagnosed with skin cancer by age 70.