food on a table

Have you tried quinoa?

Among other good stuff, this edible seed provides protein, 
vitamin E, potassium, iron, magnesium and zinc

Whenever I see the word “quinoa” (pronounced keen-wa), I think of my younger daughter’s reaction to it when I brought some home the first time. She was curious about a food with a name that began with the letter “q.” She began studying the package. I had done my homework before my purchase, so I

coffee in a cup

Is coffee good for your health?

Prairie Fare: Buttermilk Pancakes

Just call me MacGyver,” my husband said, referencing a mid-1980s and 1990s TV show character. I looked up from my task to see if he was fixing something with a paper clip, chewing gum or his pocketknife, as the secret agent used to do. The TV character often narrowly escaped explosions with his clever solutions


How can you tame a sweet tooth?

How can you tame a sweet tooth?

Prairie Fare: New and improved Two-Ingredient Lemon Bars

Mom, why are they called cookies instead of ‘bakies?’” my 17-year-old daughter asked me. She was scooping cookie dough onto a tray for a 4-H food entry in the fair. “You bake cookies. You don’t cook them,” she continued. She likes to test me with unusual questions on a regular basis. I pondered her question

Judging food contests tempts the plate

Judging food contests tempts the plate

Prairie Fare: Chocolate Zucchini Snack Cake

My job has a few perks, and judging the occasional food contest ranks among them. I have judged potatoes, beef, ham and pies, to name a few. I judged another food contest a couple of weeks ago. All of the food entries were numbered and placed on tables, and our team of three judges studied

To help prevent obesity, the dietary committee recommends shifting the focus from total fat intake to adoption of a healthier food-based dietary pattern.

Dietary guidelines shouldn’t place limits on total fat intake

Limits have no basis in science and contribute to bad consumer choices

In a Viewpoint published June 24 in the Journal of the Medical Association (JAMA), researchers from the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University and Boston Children’s Hospital call on the federal government to drop restrictions on total fat consumption in the forthcoming 2015 Dietary Guidelines for Americans. Co-authors Dariush Mozaffarian, MD,


Foods that help you take care of your eyes

Foods that help you take care of your eyes

Prairie Fare: Asian-Style Cobb Salad and Avocado Egg Cups

Mom, I’ll help you,” my 11-year-old daughter said. I think I detected a smirk on her face. “No, I can do it,” I replied with a bit of determination in my voice. “No, really, I can do it for you,” my daughter persisted. She definitely had a smirk on her face this time. I squinted,

chalkboard promoting restaurant items

Eat better, live longer and reduce greenhouse gas

British study says ‘minor’ adjustments would include fewer animal products, especially red meat, fewer savoury snacks and more fruit, vegetables and cereals


Eating a more healthy diet could extend the British lifespan, lower health-care costs and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, according to new research led by the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM). The findings are based on two papers. The first, published in Climatic Change, estimates the greenhouse gas emissions associated with current U.K.

avocado sliced in half

How to manage splurges at big-box food stores

Prairie Fare: Avocado Egg Scramble

Are we going to buy a pallet of baked beans today?” my husband teased. I grabbed the handle of the van-sized grocery cart and began strolling through the towers of food in the warehouse where food is sold in bulk quantities. I put a large bag of avocados in my cart even though I had


asparagus

Grilled asparagus adds variety, nutrition to menu

Prairie Fare: Grilled Asparagus

I noticed the thick bunches of asparagus at a grocery store and the sight of the green stalks carried me right back to my childhood. In the early summer, with paper bags in hand, my dad and I hunted for asparagus near our home. We walked about one-half mile to an asparagus patch in a