May 31, 2012

Today we had a nice picnic with a variety of foods. This was probably my favorite day because we just hung out, enjoyed the weather, and ate great healthy food! I made kale chips for the first time, it was very simple and quick and tasted good.

Kale chips:

1/2 bunch Kale (washed/dried/torn from stem)

1t sea salt

1t pepper

2T Parmesan cheese

2T Canola oil

Oven- 350F, put kale on baking sheet, drizzle canola oil on kale and stir around to cover, sprinkle with salt and pepper and cheese,  bake chips 6 minutes then stir them around on the pan, then put chips back in for another 3-5 minutes or so until they're crisp, dry, and slightly browned on edges.

Mediterranean Pasta Salad

Ingredients:

16 oz gluten free rotini pasta

Olive oil

4 oz feta cheese

2 large red bell peppers (diced)

1 medium tomato (diced and seeded)**

1 cup chopped fresh basil**

Directions:

1.     Cook pasta according to package directions.

2.     Strain pasta and add olive oil according to preference.

3.     Add the rest of the ingredients. Mix.

4.     Chill before serving.

Fruit Salsa

Ingredients:

1 ½ cups fresh strawberries (diced) **

1 cup fresh kiwi (diced)

1 cup mango (diced)

2 tbsp lime juice

2 tbsp honey

Directions:

1.     Mix all ingredients together in a bowl.

2.     Chill before serving

**Local—purchased at farmer’s market

May 29, 2012

Today we went to the Holter's Holstein Farms and took a tour of their dairy farm. I've never been on a dairy farm before so it was very entertaining for me. It was interesting to learn how their dairy farm works and it was crazy how much milk they produce in a day. The good thing about it was machines did a lot of the work for them, but I still couldn't imagine all the work and time they spend running the farm. I was very surprised how clean it was especially having 180 cows. I loved the souvenirs they gave us at the end too, I haven't had chocolate milk in forever and it was delicious.

May 24, 2012

Our speaker today was Karen Bakies who is the Student Affairs Director with the American Dairy Association Mideast. This type of program is a leader in nutrition research, nutrition education, childhood nutrition and communication. They provide scientific-based nutrition info to the media, physicians, dietitians, nurses, educators, consumers and others. The funding source for American Dairy Association is through dairy farmers.

May 22, 2012

We met with our groups today in class to work on our project instead of having a guest speaker or go on a tour. I'm excited to see how everyone's garden came along at the end of the quarter and see which vegetables they choose to plant for their target group.

May 17, 2012

Today we took a tour of the Good Earth Farm. This farm donates the food they produce to food pantries and will cook meals for the public. Funding first started with his wife's salary from teaching at Hocking College, but now they are funded through donations, grants and the episcopal church. It was very fun taking a tour of this farm and seeing all the animals, especially the friendly cows and baby sheep. It was also interesting to learn about a program like this and their drive to keep it running.

May 15, 2012

Today Melissa Alfano came to speak to us about WIC. WIC is a supplemental nutrition program that is federally funded. The mission of WIC is to safeguard the health of low-income women, infants, and children up to age 5 who are at nutrition risk by providing nutritious foods to supplement diets, information on healthy eating, and referrals to health care. Melissa stated that this program was evaluated every 2 years. My cousin is a supervisor at a WIC office in Columbus, I have shadowed her before and really enjoyed the experience so I would be interested in doing this type of work.

May 10, 2012

Today we met at Ohio University's compost site and the EcoHouse. I've been past the compost site before while running on the trail but have never seen it like we got to do for class. Annie Laurie Cadmus took us around the compost site and the EcoHouse and told us very interesting information that I never knew before. Her job is funded by a grant for the compost facility and through Ohio University. The compost site was a great experience and really cool to learn about. Then we went to the EcoHouse where three students live to learn about sustainability, which would be fun to be able to experience.