03/29/2024
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NC-Coop-Ext-Lunch&LearnSandra Cain of the NC Cooperative Extension office held a Lunch & Learn session at the Elizabethtown Farmer’s Market at noon on Monday, June 22, to deliver some important messages about how dairy products impact our health. The focus of this first mid-day demonstration was the Importance of Dairy Products in the Daily Diet, because June is Dairy Month.

Did you know that in every 8 ounce glass of whole milk, there are 7.37 grams of fat? Think you are OK with 2% milk? You still get half the fat in 2% milk. Tried 1% milk? It still has a quarter of the fat of whole milk. “The best way to get milk into your daily diet is by cooking with skim milk” said Cain. “If you use it in your cooking, you won’t notice the difference in flavor, and skim milk has no fat.”

We have all probably heard these facts before, but Sandra brought some visual aids, to help people visualize the fat in milk. She recommends skim milk, not just because it has less calories, but because it is more heart-healthy.  “Over time, the fats we eat clog our arteries” Sandra said, “Know what’s in your food, get in the habit of reading the labels.”

Sandra made a few different flavors of Smoothies, with low-fat yogurt and skim milk, and gave everyone samples of Red, White, and Blue Fruit Smoothie, Peach Mandarin Smoothie, and Mixed Berry Smoothie. A delicious and nutritious way to meet your daily dairy, and fruit requirements. “You can put many different flavors together in smoothies”, Sandra said, “I’ve even had a smoothie with kale.”

In the coming months, NC Cooperative Extension is partnering with the Elizabethtown Farmer’s Market to hold more informational workshops on various subjects. If there something you want to learn more about, visit the website below, and contact them by phone or email to discuss the subject you wish to learn about.

Sandra Cain is the director of Nutrition and Food Safety, and Family Resource Services, with NC State University and A&T University’s Cooperative Extension office. https://www.ces.ncsu.edu/

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