May 2009 Archives

Gen X and Y women (adults between the ages of 20 to 40 years) are computer savvy and appreciate the convenience of technology. They value independence in life, work, and personal finances.  

With the intention of guiding Gen X and Y women towards financial security, Texas AgriLife Extension Service and the U.S. Department of Labor Women's Bureau partnered together and developed a free online curricumlum -- Wi$eUp. Its goals are to promote financial security through online education and to encourage responsible saving habits for future retirement.

The Wi$eUp curriculum includes eight lessons: Money for Life, Money Math, Money Basics, Credit in a Money World, Savings Basics, Insurance & Rish Management, Becoming an Investor, and Achieving Financial Security.

Bimonthly Wi$eUp teleconferences or webinars are held to address topics covered in the curriculum. Expert Q&A is also available on the Wi$eUp website.

To register for the free online course and access resources listed above, go to website http://wiseupwomen.tamu.edu/index.php.

Beginning "officially" on Memorial Day, and lasting well into the fall, many of us will be moving our cooking, especially when cooking meats, fish, and poultry, out of the kitchen and onto the grill.  As we prepare these foods, it is always good to remember to cook meat, fish and poultry to a proper internal temperature in order to ensure that they are safe for our family to eat.

The most effective way to test whether these foods are thoroughly cooked is to use an instant-read food thermometer.  You can purchase an instant-read food thermometer at your local grocery or big-box store.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture Food Safety Inspection Service http://www.fsis.usda.gov/Food_Safety_Education recommends the following internal temperatures:

*Hamburgers (ground meat and sausages, including pork sausages)--155°F

*Steak, other beef, veal, lamb, fish, and shellfish--145°F

*Poultry--165°F

*Pork (except pork sausage)--145°F

 

 

According to Extension Disaster Education Network", (EDEN), part of the process in being "Prepared for the Unexpected" is to get informed by educating ourselves about just what types of disasters can occur in our area.

It is important to know that disasters can be a result of natural hazards, accidents, or terrorism.

In Texas we can be subjected to natural hazards such drought, fire, floods, hurricanes (directly and indirectly), ice storms, tornadoes, and disease epidemics such as Swine Flu.

Other disasters can be caused by accidents such as explosions equipment failure, hazardous material incidents, household chemical emergencies, and nuclear power plant emergencies.

Terrorism poses yet another type of disaster we should educate ourselves about.  According to the Department of Homeland Security, acts of terrorism include assassinations, bombings, cyber attacks, hijackings, kidnappings, threats of terrorism and the use of biological nuclear and radiological weapons.  No Community is immune from these types of attacks.

Please note the following contact information for resourceful assistance here in Texas:
Emergencies:         911 (www.911.state.tx.us);
Non-emergency:     211 (www.211.org);
TX Poison Control:  (800) 222-1222;
TX Dept. of State Health Services:  www.dshs.state.tx.us/comprep

To get more information about "Preparing for the Unexpected", please visit our website(s):
Texashelp.tamu.edu;
http://dallas-tx.tamu.edu; 
http://pvcep.pvamu.edu;or contact Marvin R. Young to schedule a presentation at 214-904-3050

It takes a village to raise a child and it takes a campus to raise a baby squirrel! Enjoy this amazing video clip about parenting of squirrels.

Link to the video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1jByfWOLmjo&feature=player_embedded

June 17, 2009 - Save the Date

If you'd like to learn solutions for family issues in challenging times, plan to attend the Family Issues Summit, presented by District 4 - Family & Consumer Sciences educators at the Texas AgriLife Extension Urban Solutions Center, 17360 Coit Road, Dallas, Texas 75252.

This summit, which takes place from 9:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m., will include topics related to building strong parent-child relationships in challenging times; why financial literacy matters, especially now; why staying healthy puts dollars in your pocket; feeding your family without starving your wallet; and more.

The registration fee for this event is $25.00, which includes lunch.  Registration deadline is June 1, 2009.  Five clock hours can be earned, and clock hour certificates will be available at the conclusion of the capnote address.

For more information, please contact Lexie McGrane at amcgrane@ag.tamu.edu or Wenhsing Cheng at wcheng@ag.tamu.edu .

 

 

If you're trying to encourage your child to eat more fruits and vegetables, try the following activities to make fruits and vegetables fun:

1.  Read the book Eating the Alphabet to your child.  This book exposes different fruits and vegetables to children.  The  family can also eat the alphabet.  Each day offer a fruit or vegetable that begins with a particular letter of the alphabet.

2.  Feature a different color each day of the week and then eat fruits and vegetables that are of that color.

3.  As children get older, teach them how to select different fruits and vegetables at the grocery store.  Show them how to pick a ripe cantaloupe or good quality green beans.

4.  Grow a vegetable garden.  This garden can be as big as a back yard full of okra, beans and squash or as small as a container of tomatoes.  This helps children to learn where vegetables come from.  It may also stimulate their interest in agriculture and nutrition.  For gardening information or questions, visit the Dallas County Master Gardener's website at http://www.dallasmastergardeners.org.

Remember, fruits and vegetables provide many vitamins and minerals that contribute to good health. They are also an important source of dietary fiber.  Put a rainbow on your plate by eating 5-9 fruits and vegetables every day! 

 

Are you confused by the "nutrient content claims" found on packaged foods?  For example, when the words "reduced fat", "light", or "low fat", appear on the package, how can we use these terms to make healthier choices?  How about "reduced calorie", "light", "low calorie", and so on?

These expressions are not meaningless catch-phrases or slogans.  They are precise descriptions of nutrient content established by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

Here are the phrases used in most of the nutrient content claims, along with what they mean:

Fats

"Reduced fat" - At least 25% less fat than the regular version.

"Light" - Half the fat of the regular version.

"Low fat" - 3 grams or less of fat per serving.

Calories

"Reduced calorie" - At least 25% fewer calories than the regular version.

"Light" - One-third of the calories of the regular version.

"Low-calorie" - 40 calories or less per serving.

Sodium

"Low sodium" - No more than 140 mg. sodium per serving.

Cholesterol

"Low cholesterol" - No more than 20 mg. of cholesterol and no more than 2 grams of saturated fat per serving.

Fat and Cholesterol in meats

"Lean" - Less than 10 grams of fat, less than 4.5 grams of saturated fat, and less than 95 mg. of cholesterol per serving.

"Extra lean" - Less than 5 grams of fat, less than 2 grams of saturated fat, and less than 95 mg. of cholesterol per serving.

Now that you can decode nutrient content claims, you can make healthier food choices.  If you would like more information about healthy nutrition, please contact Lexie.

 

Heads up, Texas - if you're not buckled up, you'll have to pay up. A properly fastened safety belt is your best chance for surviving a traffic crash. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) and the Texas Department of Public Safety are joining forces with hundreds of police and sheriff's department across Texas to launch this year's statewide Click It or Ticket effort. Law enforcement officers will be working overtime from May 18 t May 31 ticketing drivers and passengers who aren't wearing their safety belts.

To learn more about the Click It or Ticket campaign, click on the attached Fact Sheet ( CLICK-FactSheet.pdf) or visit the campaign website at http://www.nhtsa.gov/portal/site/nhtsa/menuitem.ce4a601cdfe97fc239d17110cba046a0/.

Since more than half of the young drivers killed in 2007 weren't wearing seat belts at the time of crash, this year's Click It or Ticket camaign is putting an emphasis on getting young drivers and passengers to buckle up on every trip - day or night. Teens can receive a free download of music by going online and view a short video about buckling up. Here is the link to the coupon, http://www.clickitorticketmusic.com/.

Although September is National Emergency Preparedness Month, we here at the Cooperative Extension Program and Texas AgriLife Extension Service in Dallas County are helping our neighbors to "Get Informed", "Get Prepared", and "Get Involved" before it is too late!

Starting April and continuing throughout the remainder of the year, we will be presenting vital information so that if a disaster occurs in our area, we will be informed, prepared, and involved so that we can reduce risk of injury and even death. 

Some of the information presented will assist you with:
*  Knowing the types of disaster that can occur in your area;
*  Making a family plan;
*  Escape routes;
*  Family communication;
*  Emergency and non-emergency resources / contacts; and
*  Creating a family disaster supply kit

In Dallas County, to schedule a presentation or receive more information on "Preparing for the Unexpected", contact Marvin R. Young at 214-904-3050, mryoung@tamu.edu; visit the Extension Disaster Education Network website at: texashelp.tamu.edu.; or visit our website in Dallas County at: http://dallas-tx.tamu.edu/. 

Today's youth have more discretionary money than ever before, yet they know little about how to manage this income. Many resources have emerged to assist teens when it comes to managing money, but fewer programs address working with younger youth.

 

Moreover, most efforts center on what schools should do to teach money management. That's great, of course, but children learn many beliefs about money--from television, advertising, and especially from family members--long before they enter school. Some of these beliefs will help them as adult consumers and some will not.

 

Children could learn good spending and saving behaviors at home, if parents knew what to teach and how to teach it. Parents are, after all, their young children's first and most influential educators in all areas of life. Thrive By Five: Teaching Your Child about Spending and Saving provides basic money concepts as well as fun hands-on learning activities for parents of preschoolers.

 

For more information about the Thrive By Five program, contact Wenhsing at wcheng@ag.tamu.edu.

Parents who read to their children on a regular basis tend to raise children who are superior readers and who perform better in school. Reading stimulates chidren's imaginations, enhances their vocabularies, introduces them to components of stories, provides them with information about the world around them, and promotes positive parent-child interaction.

Fathers play a criticle role in their children's development. Research indicates that when fathers are actively involved in their children's education, children are more likely to receive A's, more likely to participate in extracurricular activities, more likely to enjoy school, and less likely to repeat a grade.

Reading also provides fathers with a great oppotunity to interact with their children in a positive way, while contributing to their cognitive and social development.

FRED (Fathers Reading Every Day) is a four-week program designed to encourage fathers, grandfathers, and other positive male role models to increase father involvement in children's literacy development and to improve the quality of father-child relationships.

For more information about the FRED program, contact Wenhsing at wcheng@ag.tamu.edu.

For the answer to the daily question - "What's for dinner tonight?" - visit the website http://healthyliving.tamu.edu

Good eating,

Lexie