FCS November newsletter PDF

Break Up with Salt Series

Break Up with Salt is a four-part educational series on improving your management of High Blood Pressure and health was held virtually on Microsoft Teams from October 5 – October 26, 2020 from 10:00 – 11:00 a.m.The class was well attended with 13 registrants.This program covered the basics of high blood pressure and managing it through nutrition and lifestyle changes to improve your health and reduce risk of further health complications of Hypertension.

The sessions included:

• What is High Blood Pressure & Changing your Salty Habits
• DASH Diet and Food Label Reading
• DASH in for Groceries
• Mastering Meals with Flavor

Participants reported how they learned new ways of how to season their foods without using salt.They learned about the different herbs and spices that gives food great flavor without salt.They also learned how to read the nutrition fact label on products and why it is important not just to look at the calories, but to also focus on sodium, sugars, and fats.

Did you know that sweet potatoes are a major health superpower vegetable?You can cook the sweet potato different ways such as mashing, baking, roasting, or air-frying.They are packed with minerals, fiber, vitamins, and phytonutrients for your body and mind.So, when you go shopping for groceries this weekend, stop and buy some sweet potatoes and give your family something different to say, WOW, those sweet potatoes are delicious, can I have some more!

Some of the benefits that we get from the sweet potato include:

• Healthy vision – sweet potato has vitamin A which helps us to have great vision.
• Immunity – it supports our immunity in providing growth to other bodily functions including our communication.
• Reduce blood pressure and stroke risks – they contain potassium and magnesium which helps with blood pressure support in reducing blood pressure and strokes.
• Lower LDL cholesterol – the sweet potato can help in reducing the bad LDL cholesterol as well as decrease some heart disease, obesity, and type 2 diabetes.
• Supports longevity – its orange color and beta-carotene have antioxidants that defend against free radicals that can damage cells.

Sweet potatoes are a low-glycemic food that is high in fiber and can absorb glucose in the bloodstream slowly, preventing blood sugar increase.Did you know that boiled sweet potato has the lowest glycemic index of 44 and if baked for 45 minutes the glycemic index rises to 94?

Why not make sweet potato a part of your weekly menu.

Nutrition Facts:

Serving Size: 1 medium-size sweet potato

112 calories0 g total fat0 g saturated fat26 g total carbohydrates4 g dietary fiber5 g sugar2 g protein438 mg potassium (12% DV)32 mg magnesium (8% DV)39 mg calcium (3% DV)0.8 mg iron (3% DV)3 mg vitamin C (5% DV)

Healthy Recipe

Seasoned Roasted Sweet Potatoes

Ingredients

• 2 pounds (3 large) sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into ½ inch pieces
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• ¾ teaspoon fine sea salt (use less if table salt)
• ¼ teaspoon freshly cracked pepper
• ½ teaspoon ground chili powder*
• ½ teaspoon paprika
• ½ teaspoon ground cumin
• ½ teaspoon garlic powder

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.Peel and cube the sweet potatoes into ½ inch pieces.Add to your largest sheet pan and add olive oil, salt, pepper, chili powder, paprika, cumin, and garlic powder on top.Toss to coat all the sweet potatoes and then spread out to arrange in an even layer.You do not want any potatoes overlapping or you will end up with steamed potatoes instead of roasted potatoes.Flip every 10-15 minutes cooking for a total of 27-35 minutes.

Notes:

• *Use chipotle chili powder and/or smoked paprika for a smokey flavor.If you want to make your sweet potatoes even spicier, add ¼ to ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper.

Nutrition:

110 Calories

Water Bottles Donated to ESJH, WSJH & Head Start Schools

Healthy St. John Community Coalition decided to adopt giving water bottles to the schools in St. John the Baptist Parish as one of their PSE (Policy, System, Environment) changes.Cynthia Clifton started making some calls to see if she could get organizations volunteer to donate water bottles.To the greatest surprise, Healthy Blue donated 200 water bottles to ESJH and the Rotary Club of LaPlace donated 170 water bottles to the Head Start students.We are still working hard to find an organization that will donate water bottles to WSJH.

The water bottles were adopted because of the COVID-19 pandemic so that each student would have their own personal water bottle to bring water from home to hydrate themselves during the day at school.The Healthy St. John Community Coalition will continue to focus on other PSEs in the future, like adding healthy snacks and 100% juices to vending machines in the schools.

Thank You to all the members of the Healthy St. John Community Coalition for all they do for the community.

Thank You to Mr. Lamont Bigham for creating Health St. John Community Coalition website.It is very, very nice.To view the website, go to www.healthystjohn.com.

Individuals or groups that are interested in attending nutrition lessons can contact Cynthia Clifton, Nutrition Extension Agent, LSU AgCenter at 985-497-3261 or cclifton@agcenter.lsu.edu to register.

The LSU AgCenter is a statewide campus of the LSU System and provides equal opportunities in programs and employment.