Every Thanksgiving celebration seems to be complete with way too many leftovers, usually the turkey, pies, and dinner rolls. And really, how many leftover turkey sandwiches can you eat!? This holiday season, mix things up with some new recipes using your dinner leftovers and extra ingredients. But...

Often a day of candy, treats, and sugar, a healthy Halloween might be an oxymoron. By focusing more on getting dressed up and the fun of playing games and tricks, you can focus less on food and celebrate the festivities with healthier options. Giving Out (Tricks or) Treats If you are...

September is Healthy Aging Month, and a great time to highlight nutrition needs of older adults. With advancing age, nutrient requirements change. Primarily, older adults need fewer calories but actually need more of many nutrients. Read on for a "Top 5" list of nutrition topics older adults need...

Summertime equals vacation time, and we want to enjoy it! But enjoying your vacation does not mean you have to forget about your health. Whether traveling by car or eating for days at the beach's hotel restaurant, try these tips to keep your health on track. Tips for Travel (car...

One tiny berry packs a nutritious and versatile punch as we celebrate the blueberry during National Blueberry Month. Starting in June and throughout the summer, look for subtly sweet blueberries growing locally in Illinois. Nutritionally, blueberries are like many fruits: low in calories,...

It's that time of year where fresh garden produce is more readily available. Whether from your own garden or the farmer's market down the street, that garden fresh taste is hard to beat. Unfortunately, most produce we find in the grocery store is harvested before it is ripe and transported many...

School is ending for the year and kids everywhere are excited to start their summers. Whatever the kids are doing, make sure they eat healthy lunches this summer. For kids who will be staying home alone or with siblings, will they need to make their own lunches? If so, be sure to stock kitchens...

Whenever I teach on food groups – to youth and adults – there are always a few foods I mention that overlap into two food groups. Not that we cannot put them into just one, but because foods have a lot of different nutrients, they might fit into more than one group. The current guide describing...

This March, Nutrition & Wellness Extension Educators across Illinois are excited to celebrate the start of the "Illinois Nutrition Edition" blog. We write this collaborative blog to be your source for information on issues and trends related to food, nutrition, and health. Nutrition is an ever...

The other day I was eating lunch in our staff break room with some of my coworkers. As I was assembling my lunch and adding my mandatory scoop of avocado atop my chicken and kale, my co -workers winced in disgust. "I can't eat avocado alone" they kept saying. Guacamole seems to be the only way...

March is National Nutrition Month and this year's theme is "Enjoy the Taste of Eating Right." Given that taste is the biggest indicator of whether we will eat a food, the theme is certainly appropriate! With warmer weather on the way, I'm asking you, too, to bring the heat and try my favorite...

Cold temps triggering a craving for comfort food? There's nothing better than a steaming bowl of chili on a crisp fall day, but it can be a bit high in calories when higher-fat ground beef is used. Whip up a batch of our hearty turkey chili for a meal that'll stick to your ribs but not your...

We Americans like to put our own spin on most international dishes, and orange chicken is no exception! Pile fried chicken pieces on top of fried rice and cover it all in a sticky sweet sauce and you've got a meal that's far from healthy. Can we rescue this restaurant favorite? (Scroll...

Lasagna has morphed from an Italian classic to an Americanized diet disaster. Typical recipes are filled with sausage and/or beef, carb-heavy noodles, plus gobs of ooey gooey cheese. We really don't need all that meat and cheese (translation: artery-clogging fat and waist-...

Howdy! If you're like me, you cringe every time you have to throw away a piece of moldy or suspiciously smelly piece of food, produce, or leftovers. I hate wasting food, because it's like wasting my hard-earned money, especially when I know it can be prevented. It makes sense that wasting less food...

There is such joy in enjoying the beauty of the seasons in healthy ways. Taking a walk to enjoy the gorgeous, colorful foliage, raking leaves with your family as a fun activity, and walking by foot to pick your own apples: these are just a few of my favorite fall fun activities. All of these...

If you are like many people struggling to keep the New Year's weight loss resolutions alive, March is a great month to help get back on track. The academy of nutrition and dietetics has designated March as National Nutrition Month. This year's theme is "Enjoy the taste of eating right." March will...

A few weeks ago, I was contacted by reporter Erica Quednau of WCIA-3's Current. Current, which airs after the Morning Show, focuses on a different theme each day and centers its stories around that topic. Obesity was the topic for that coming Thursday, and would I be willing to share my experience...

Fall is filled with little pleasures – every year I eagerly anticipate sipping hot apple cider on crisp autumn afternoons, se