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Here are some practical Halloween health and safety tips from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Tips and instructions on how to make a worm bin using leftover table scraps.
Flavonoids are plant-based compounds with powerful antioxidant properties; they reduce inflammation, promote healthy arteries, and help fight aging by preventing and repairing cellular damage.
Try going for a 10-minute walk around the corner and add a few more minutes each day until you are walking at least 30 minutes a day for at least five days a week.
Do you have any idea how many calories can be consumed during the holidays? Here are some examples of party food items and the calories each has.
This article provides holiday food safety information.
Minutes from the St. Charles Parish Advisory Committee meeting held on May 26, 2011.
This article gives the nutritional value of figs, fig facts and tips on how to store figs.
News Release Distributed 05/25/11To help Louisiana residents determine if they’re ready for a hurricane, LSU AgCenter housing specialist Claudette Reichel developed a 20-question quiz. “The answers you give can help you evaluate whether you’re well-prepared or whether you need to take some action now,” Reichel says. The quiz covers everything from whether your family has a written emergency plan to supplies you have on hand. As hurricane season kicks off, Reichel and other experts say it’s a perfect time to evaluate where you stand and what you can do to be better-prepared if a storm heads your way. “Even if you’ve been through a hurricane before, it’s easy to forget some of the preparations that can protect your property and family, so it’s a good idea to review your plans and make sure you haven’t left anything off,” Reichel says. “Taking the right precautions before a storm has the potential to save time, money, hassles and even lives if a hurricane strikes.” LSU AgCenter experts say the following hurricane quiz can help you gauge whether you’re prepared. They recommend you take action if you answer “No” or “I don’t know” to any of these 20 questions: –Do you have a disaster survival plan? –Have you planned an evacuation route and destination? –Do you have an emergency communication plan for staying in touch with or getting messages to friends and family? –Is your homeowner's and flood insurance coverage up-to-date and sufficient to replace your home and belongings if they are damaged or destroyed? –Do you have an inventory of your property and belongings? –Do you have copies of your insurance policies, household inventory and other important papers, as well as other valuables, in a safe place – one that’s waterproof and fireproof? –Do you know how to turn off your utilities (electricity, gas and water)? –Do you have a plan and supplies on hand to protect and secure your home and outdoor items (and your boat and pool, too, if you have them)? –Has your roof been inspected within the past six months? –Have you trimmed the trees and shrubs around your house? –Has your car been maintained, and are the tires, including the spare, in good condition? –Do you have a plan of what to do with food in your refrigerator and freezer in the event of a possible power outage? –Is your emergency phone list up-to-date and handy? –Do you have emergency survival supplies such as batteries, a battery-operated radio, flashlights, lanterns, fuel, nonperishable food for three days, water/water jugs, manual can opener, medicines, traveler’s checks or cash, and other necessary items on hand? –Do you have an emergency supply kit for your car? –Do you have a plan of how to take care of family members with special needs (those with disabilities, infants or the elderly)? –Have you decided what you will do with your animals if you must evacuate? –Have you budgeted for the added expenses to protect your home, buy supplies, evacuate, clean up and recover? –Have you discussed your emergency plans, duties and rules with your family? –Do you know the LSU AgCenter offers publications and other free information on disaster cleanup and recovery on its website (www.lsuagcenter.com) and through its parish offices across the state?For more information on preparing for a disaster or recovering from one, contact your parish LSU AgCenter office. You also may find the online publications such as “There’s a Hurricane Forming” in the publications section of the LSU AgCenter's website at www.lsuagcenter.com and more information by going directly to www.lsuagcenter.com/hurricanes. One other resource is the LaHouse Resource Center near the LSU campus in Baton Rouge and its online website www.lsuagcenter.com/LaHouse for information and exhibits of hurricane-resistant building systems, methods and products.
News Release Distributed 05/25/11Just in time for Memorial Day weekend and the unofficial kickoff to the summer grilling season, the U.S. Department of Agriculture has updated its recommendation for safely cooking solid cuts of pork. USDA has lowered the recommended safe cooking temperature for whole cuts of pork from 160 degrees to 145 degrees and added a three-minute rest time, said LSU AgCenter nutritionist Beth Reames. “USDA recommends cooking all whole cuts of meat to 145 degrees as measured with a food thermometer placed in the thickest part of the meat, then allowing the meat to rest for three minutes before carving or consuming,” Reames said. The safe temperature for cuts of beef, veal and lamb remains unchanged at 145 degrees, but the department has added a three-minute rest time as part of its cooking recommendations, Reames said. “Cooking raw pork to 145 degrees with the addition of a three-minute rest time will result in a product that is both microbiologically safe and at its best quality,” she said. “This change does not apply to ground meats – including beef, veal, lamb and pork – which should be cooked to 160 degrees and do not require a rest time.” The safe cooking temperature for all poultry products, including ground chicken and turkey, remains at 165 degrees, she added. “Consumers now have to remember only three cooking temperatures – 145 degrees for whole meats, 160 degrees for ground meats and 165 degrees for all poultry,” Reames said. A "rest time" is the amount of time the product remains at the final temperature after it has been removed from a grill, oven or other heat source. This time is important because during the three minutes after meat is removed from the heat source, its temperature remains constant or continues to rise, which destroys disease-producing microorganisms. “USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service has determined it is just as safe to cook cuts of pork to 145 degrees with a three-minute rest time as it is to cook them to 160 degrees with no rest time,” Reames said. The new cooking suggestions reflect the same standards that the agency uses for cooked meat products produced in federally inspected meat establishments, which rely on the rest time of three minutes to achieve safe pathogen reduction. "Consumers often have viewed the color pink in pork to be a sign of undercooked meat,” Reames said. “If raw pork is cooked to 145 degrees and allowed to rest for three minutes, it may still be pink but is safe to eat. The pink color can be due to the cooking method, added ingredients or other factors.” As always, cured pork (e.g., cured ham and cured pork chops) will remain pink after cooking. Appearance in meat is not a reliable indicator of safety or risk, Reames said. Only by using a food thermometer can consumers determine if meat has reached a sufficient temperature to destroy disease-causing microorganisms. Any cooked, uncured red meat – including pork – could be pink even when it has reached a safe internal temperature.
This newsletter highlights the June 2 field trip, our You Must Have Been a Beautiful Baby May luncheon, the Discovering St. Charles Parish tour held in May and current collection activities.
This newsletter highlights the upcoming May 18 field trip, club meetings, the Edible Enterprises tour in April, collections and May luncheon information.
This newsletter highlights VFC's field trip to Edible Enterprises, club meetings, a cherry cola chocolate cake recipe, collections, the 2011 community project and the May luncheon.
This newsletter highlights the first parish field trip, club meetings, foods to help you lose weight, collections, cancer survivors, bridge closures and club news.
These links will take you to fact sheets that delineate flood-event disaster assistance available through FEMA and USDA. This may be of value as you continue to provide stakeholders with flood-related updates. We will continue to update everyone as more information is available.
Louisiana faces serious flood threats during tropical storms and hurricanes from a combination of surge and inland rain. This site directs you to information you can use to understand how predicted flood levels may impact you, how you can reduce flood damage and how you can recover and rebuild once the floodwaters recede.
Learn how to avoid being a victim of identity theft at a workshop offered on April 15, 2011.
This newsletter gives tips on retirement planning and social security benefits. Articles include: Financially Speaking, Are You the Tortoise or the Hare?; The Advantage of Starting Early for Retirement Planning; New Scam Alert; and Top Questions and Answers about Social Security.
Food, decorations and rituals that make the holidays festive for people can be hazardous to pets. This is what pet owners need to do to keep the season safe for their animals.
This newsletter gives tips on how to save money. Topics include: Pay yourself first, Suggestions on how to invest in bonds, Explanation of I-savings bonds rates and terms, What the new credit card law means to you, and What do you get when you buy an ounce.
Grilled cauliflower recipe, history and nutritional value information.
Recommendations on how consumers can protect themselves from recession-related scams and others.
Families across Louisiana are now making their grocery lists in preparation for those summer outdoor meals. Food safety should be high on the list while those preparations are being made. Great ingredients and recipes are some of the concerns in planning for your BBQ menus, but food safety should be equally important. Some of the biggest concerns are keeping hot foods hot and cold foods cold, avoiding "cross contamination" of raw and cooked foods and storing food appropriately.
The 2009 hurricane season is approaching very quickly here are some relatively easy steps you can take to protect your home from hurricane damage.
(Distributed 10/28/09) Today’s lifestyles might be causing people to miss out on the unique love and belonging that come from family bonds, according to LSU AgCenter family and child expert Diane Sasser.
