Contact Us for Your Educational Needs

The Marion County Cooperative Extension Service is here to provide you with educational information you need for your home, your farm, your family, and your future.

We are located at 313 West 7th Street in Yellville. Our business hours are weekdays: 8:00 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. If you need to contact us at other times, please use the email addresses listed on Page 1.

The University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture is an equal opportunity/equal access/affirmative action institution. If you require a reasonable accommodation to participate or need materials in another format, please contact us as soon as possible. Dial 711 for Arkansas Relay.

Sincerely,

Renee Myers

Renee Myers

County Extension Agent-Staff Chair

Happy Thanksgiving 2016

Volume III, Issue I

Marion County Consumer News

November 21, 2016

STOP THINK CONNECT

From homework and healthcare to banking, the Internet is an essential tool in U.S. homes. All these connected devices can ac-cess your personal infor-mation. Is your digital house in order? 97% of US households

have at least one inter-net-connected device. 58% are concerned about Web-related identity theft

63% say they bank online. 46% say they are still worried about financial info such as account or credit card numbers being stolen

Nearly 1 in 4 parents have never talk web safety with their kids.

Laptops are the most

connected devices at 75%, followed by PCs and smartphones. The top three in-home uses are social media, email and shopping. All can expose sensitive data.

Wireless routers, the gateway to the house-hold, are the targets for cyber attacks. Only 40% of users have ever changed the router’s default administrator password.

Here are some tips to help you get your digital house in order: Protect Your Identi-

ty—Password protect your hardware as well as your account. Use at least 8 characters and combine letters, num-bers and symbols.

Protect Your Financ-es—Choose an antivi-rus software that in-cludes automatic bank-ing and payment pro-tection for secure online transactions.

Protect Your Kids—Talk to kids regularly: for younger ones set access and screen-time limits, for older ones, discuss cyberbullying and appropriate behav-ior.

Protect Your Devic-

Stop Think Connect, continued

2

10 Slow Cooker Safety Tips

2

Dine In Day—

December 3

3

Healthy Holiday Recipes 4

Holiday Stress and Eating Less

5

Coming Events 5

Contact Us for Your Educational Needs

6

Inside this issue:

Marion County

Cooperative Extension

Service

Renee Myers

County Extension Agent-

Staff Chair

Brian See

County Extension Agent-

Agriculture

Lauren Milum

Administrative Specialist

313 West 7th Street

PO Box 386

Yellville, AR 72687

Phone: 870-449-6349

Fax: 870-449-4049

www.uaex.edu/marion

Fall finally arrived with

cooler temperatures and a

little moisture. Now, we can

sit by a cozy fire and sip a

cup of warm herbal tea to

help bring down the stress

level that usually rises this

time of year.

We stress about preparing

meals, buying gifts, clean-

ing the house for guests

and so many other things.

We stress so much that we

don’t get to enjoy the holi-

day events or the family

and friends that we are

stressing for.

How do you handle the

stress? Do you binge eat?

Do you binge shop? Do

you retreat to a quiet place

and meditate? Or do you

just let the stress build until

you explode?

Recognizing and develop-

ing coping strategies help

us handle the stressful situ-

ations. Be proactive. Make

a plan. Know your limits

and set some guidelines.

Read more on page 5.

Marion County Consumer News Page 2

es—Choose a multilayered secu-rity solution that includes firewall and anti-phishing to block at-tempts to access your infor-mation.

Protect Your Household—Haven’t changed your default ID and password? Do it now, and set your router’s security level at WPA2 or WPA—more secure than WEP.

As technology becomes more im-portant in our personal lives, so does securing it.

No matter how secure you are, soon-er or later, you may be hacked. What do you do then? First, be prepared ahead of time. Create regular backups of all your personal information. If your computer or mobile device is hacked, the only way you can recover all of your personal information may be from backups. If one of your online accounts has been hacked, immediately log in and change the password to a strong, unique password. If you no longer have access, contact the company.

Monitor your credit cards. If you see charges you do not recognize, call the credit card company right away. The Arkansas Attorney General has a website with more information: http://www.ag.arkansas.gov/programs/consumer-protection/

3. Prep meat and vegetables sepa-

rately. Don’t cross-contaminate.

If you prep your meat and vege-

tables ahead of time, store them

separately in your fridge.

4. DO NOT COOK FROZEN

MEAT or POULTRY! Defrost

to ensure meats cook all the way

through to the safe internal tem-

perature.

5. Temperature is important.

Make sure that your cooker

reaches a high enough tempera-

ture to kill bacteria. It is best to

start on the highest setting for

about the first hour and then

switch to the lower setting for the

rest of the cooking time.

6. Don’t overfill the pot. To be

sure your food cooks thoroughly,

It should not be more than two-

thirds full.

7. Cut up the meat. Large pieces

of meat may take too long to

cook thoroughly.

Slow cookers are a convenient way to

cook up a delicious dish with mini-

mal effort. Just throw the ingredients

in the pot, turn it on, head to work,

come home and dinner is ready to be

served. But wait. That is not all you

can do with a slow cooker. It is per-

fect for making overnight oatmeal,

game day dip or even winter stew.

Ahhh, a dream come true, but if you

neglect food safety rules, this dream

can quickly turn into a nightmare.

Keep your food safe to eat by follow-

ing these 10 tips:

1. Start clean. Make sure the cook-

er, utensils and work area are

clean. Remember to wash your

hands.

2. Keep perishable foods cold as

long as possible. Bacteria multi-

ply rapidly at room temperature.

To avoid this, keep your food

refrigerated until time to add to

the pot.

8. Don’t let the heat out. Only lift

the lid to stir or check for done-

ness.

9. Use a food thermometer. The

only sure way to know if the food

has reached bacteria killing temp

is with a food thermometer. This

web address will give you the

safe minimum cooking tempera-

ture for meat, poultry, seafood

and other cooked foods.

https://www.foodsafety.gov/

keep/charts/mintemp.html

10. Refrigerate within two hours

after cooking. Leftovers must be

stored correctly to be safe. They

also must be eaten in a timely

manner. Store leftovers safely in

shallow containers.

10 Slow Cooker Food Safe Tips

STOP THINK CONNECT

Volume III, Issue I Page 5

Do you look forward to the holidays,

but dread the decisions and details

that cause stress? Do the food and

beverage temptations everywhere

during the holidays increase your

stress and sabotage your healthy eat-

ing plan? Unfortunately, often when

the going gets tough, the tough start

eating.

Recognizing stressors and developing

coping strategies will help us handle

stressful situations. We can enjoy the

festivities and camaraderie of holiday

parties, events, and other social activ-

ities with co-workers, friends, and

families, yet stay on a healthy eating

plan.

Learn how to handle stress so you de-

stress without reaching for food.

Adopting behaviors that empower

and give you strength to resist temp-

tations is a huge step toward gaining

control over food.

Stress-related food behaviors can be

changed. Here are some tips and

techniques to help reduce stress and

avoid holiday overeating:

The American Dietetic Association

recommends you eat regular meals.

Skipping meals heightens stress. Eat

healthful snacks if low on time.

Get adequate rest.

Limit caffeine and alcohol.

Fit in regular physical activity.

Enjoy natural sunlight.

Keep a journal to become aware

of personal triggers.

Don’t deprive yourself. Include

small amounts of favorite foods

and eat slowly to savor the flavor

to avoid binge eating.

Be good to yourself with motiva-

tional sayings and positive affir-

mations.

Stay connected with friends and

family who encourage healthy

habits.

Set ground rules about eating

such as no second helpings, no

food after 9:00p.m., etc.

It may be humorous when an actor

turns to food for comfort in a sitcom,

but it’s not so funny when we experi-

ence weight gain in real life increas-

ing our stress level. Becoming aware

of our stressors and changing our re-

sponses to them will lead us down

the path of self-control and weighing

less making our holidays happier and

healthier.

Holiday Stress and Eating Less

Spring 4-H Volunteer Leader Forum

February 24-25

Marion County 4-H O’Rama:

May 30

4-H Conservation Day:

June 9 at Fred Berry

Conservation Education Center

Marion County Fair:

September 8-12

If you are interested in any of these up

coming activities and need more

information, please contact the

County Extension Office.

Coming Events

Mark your calendars for these coming

events:

Dine In Day:

December 3

Child Care Provider Training:

January 23 & 30

February 6 & 13

Pesticide Applicator Training:

February 7

Developing Markets for Small Farms:

February 23

The Marion County Extension office will be closed for these holidays: Thanksgiving and Day after—November 24 & 25 Christmas Holidays—December 23 through January 2 MLK Day—January 16 President’s Day—February 20

Page 3

Dine In Day – December 3

Soccer practice. Grocery run. Working late. We’ve all had that kind of family-on-the-run kind of day that makes sitting down to dinner together almost impossible.

However, on Saturday, Dec. 3, make an appointment with your family to all gather around the dining room table for “Dine In Day,” with the American Association of Family and Consumer Sciences and the Cooperative Extension Service.

There’s so much about dining together that’s good for all of us, researchers have found. A major reason for encouraging family meals is that children and adolescents who share family meals three or more times per week are more likely to be in a normal weight range and have healthier eating patterns than those who share fewer than three family meals together, but it is also an opportunity to strengthen family bonds.

The routine of family meals can generate feelings of closeness and comfort. Most research suggests that both parents and children value sharing a meal together. It offers time to talk and listen to each other. The simple act of regular mealtimes can provide your child with stability. And it's a great opportunity for parents to model healthy eating habits.

Take part in “Dining In Day” by planning a simple, healthy meal to cook with your family and eat at home on Dec. 3.

It doesn’t have to be fancy -- just a tasty meal prepared at home and eaten together. Take a selfie with your family cooking and post it to Facebook, Twitter, and/or Instagram using #healthyfamselfie and #FCSDay. Encourage your friends to do it too! Be sure to go online and commit to participating at www.aafcs.org/FCSday. When a family makes the commitment, a pin will be added to the “Dining In” map.

Here are 10 tips for making dining in easy and enjoyable:

Make family meals a priority and agree upon a schedule. Try to have regular family meals two to three times a week. If dinnertime doesn't work, have family breakfasts or snacks. Keep meals simple. Slow cookers save time in the evening. Double recipes and freeze food for a second meal. Set aside 30 minutes on the weekend for meal planning. Make family meals fun and include children in food preparation. Discuss neutral or positive topics at the table. Eliminate distractions such as TV and cell phones or other electronic devises. Eat slowly and enjoy your time as a family.

Almond Cranberry Muffins

Ingredients

3 cups flour ½ cup Splenda 2 teaspoons baking powder 1 teaspoon baking soda ¼ teaspoon salt 16 ounces reduced-fat sour cream 1/3 cup skim milk ¼ cup oil ½ teaspoon almond extract 2 eggs 1 cup dried cranberries ¼ cup slivered almonds

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375°. Grease and flour muffin pans, or use paper liners. 2. Mix flour, Splenda, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. In a separate bowl mix sour

cream, milk, oil, extract, and eggs until blended. 3. Stir sour cream mixture into flour mixture until just moistened. Stir in cranberries and

almonds. 4. Bake for 30 minutes until tops slightly browned.

Nutrition Facts

Servings per Recipe: 18 servings, 1 serving = 1 muffin Amount Per Serving Calories 182 Calories from Fat 72 Total Fat 8 g Cholesterol 33 mg Sodium 167 mg Carbohydrate 24 g Dietary Fiber 1 g Protein 4 g Exchange 1 starch, 1 fruit, 1 fat Carbohydrate Units 1.5

Crunchy Broccoli Slaw

Ingredients

½ cup non-fat plain Greek yogurt ½ cup light mayonnaise 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice ¼ teaspoon black pepper ¼ teaspoon salt 1 bag broccoli slaw (11 ounce) 2 green onions, sliced 1 red apple, cored and chopped 6 ounces dried cranberries 1/3 cup toasted walnuts, chopped

Directions

1. Mix together yogurt, mayonnaise, lemon juice, salt and pepper. 2. Chop broccoli slaw into slightly smaller lengths. 3. Mix broccoli slaw, cranberries, apple, and onions. Pour yogurt mixture over slaw mix and

mix well. 4. Sprinkle toasted walnuts over the top.

Nutrition Facts

Servings per Recipe: 12 – ½ cup servings Amount Per Serving Calories 121 Calories from Fat 50 Total Fat 5.5 g Cholesterol 3.5 mg Sodium 147 mg Carbohydrate 16 g Dietary Fiber 2 g Protein 1.5 g Exchange 1 starch, 1 fat Carbohydrate Units 1

Marion County Consumer News Page 2

es—Choose a multilayered secu-rity solution that includes firewall and anti-phishing to block at-tempts to access your infor-mation.

Protect Your Household—Haven’t changed your default ID and password? Do it now, and set your router’s security level at WPA2 or WPA—more secure than WEP.

As technology becomes more im-portant in our personal lives, so does securing it.

No matter how secure you are, soon-er or later, you may be hacked. What do you do then? First, be prepared ahead of time. Create regular backups of all your personal information. If your computer or mobile device is hacked, the only way you can recover all of your personal information may be from backups. If one of your online accounts has been hacked, immediately log in and change the password to a strong, unique password. If you no longer have access, contact the company.

Monitor your credit cards. If you see charges you do not recognize, call the credit card company right away. The Arkansas Attorney General has a website with more information: http://www.ag.arkansas.gov/programs/consumer-protection/

3. Prep meat and vegetables sepa-

rately. Don’t cross-contaminate.

If you prep your meat and vege-

tables ahead of time, store them

separately in your fridge.

4. DO NOT COOK FROZEN

MEAT or POULTRY! Defrost

to ensure meats cook all the way

through to the safe internal tem-

perature.

5. Temperature is important.

Make sure that your cooker

reaches a high enough tempera-

ture to kill bacteria. It is best to

start on the highest setting for

about the first hour and then

switch to the lower setting for the

rest of the cooking time.

6. Don’t overfill the pot. To be

sure your food cooks thoroughly,

It should not be more than two-

thirds full.

7. Cut up the meat. Large pieces

of meat may take too long to

cook thoroughly.

Slow cookers are a convenient way to

cook up a delicious dish with mini-

mal effort. Just throw the ingredients

in the pot, turn it on, head to work,

come home and dinner is ready to be

served. But wait. That is not all you

can do with a slow cooker. It is per-

fect for making overnight oatmeal,

game day dip or even winter stew.

Ahhh, a dream come true, but if you

neglect food safety rules, this dream

can quickly turn into a nightmare.

Keep your food safe to eat by follow-

ing these 10 tips:

1. Start clean. Make sure the cook-

er, utensils and work area are

clean. Remember to wash your

hands.

2. Keep perishable foods cold as

long as possible. Bacteria multi-

ply rapidly at room temperature.

To avoid this, keep your food

refrigerated until time to add to

the pot.

8. Don’t let the heat out. Only lift

the lid to stir or check for done-

ness.

9. Use a food thermometer. The

only sure way to know if the food

has reached bacteria killing temp

is with a food thermometer. This

web address will give you the

safe minimum cooking tempera-

ture for meat, poultry, seafood

and other cooked foods.

https://www.foodsafety.gov/

keep/charts/mintemp.html

10. Refrigerate within two hours

after cooking. Leftovers must be

stored correctly to be safe. They

also must be eaten in a timely

manner. Store leftovers safely in

shallow containers.

10 Slow Cooker Food Safe Tips

STOP THINK CONNECT

Volume III, Issue I Page 5

Do you look forward to the holidays,

but dread the decisions and details

that cause stress? Do the food and

beverage temptations everywhere

during the holidays increase your

stress and sabotage your healthy eat-

ing plan? Unfortunately, often when

the going gets tough, the tough start

eating.

Recognizing stressors and developing

coping strategies will help us handle

stressful situations. We can enjoy the

festivities and camaraderie of holiday

parties, events, and other social activ-

ities with co-workers, friends, and

families, yet stay on a healthy eating

plan.

Learn how to handle stress so you de-

stress without reaching for food.

Adopting behaviors that empower

and give you strength to resist temp-

tations is a huge step toward gaining

control over food.

Stress-related food behaviors can be

changed. Here are some tips and

techniques to help reduce stress and

avoid holiday overeating:

The American Dietetic Association

recommends you eat regular meals.

Skipping meals heightens stress. Eat

healthful snacks if low on time.

Get adequate rest.

Limit caffeine and alcohol.

Fit in regular physical activity.

Enjoy natural sunlight.

Keep a journal to become aware

of personal triggers.

Don’t deprive yourself. Include

small amounts of favorite foods

and eat slowly to savor the flavor

to avoid binge eating.

Be good to yourself with motiva-

tional sayings and positive affir-

mations.

Stay connected with friends and

family who encourage healthy

habits.

Set ground rules about eating

such as no second helpings, no

food after 9:00p.m., etc.

It may be humorous when an actor

turns to food for comfort in a sitcom,

but it’s not so funny when we experi-

ence weight gain in real life increas-

ing our stress level. Becoming aware

of our stressors and changing our re-

sponses to them will lead us down

the path of self-control and weighing

less making our holidays happier and

healthier.

Holiday Stress and Eating Less

Spring 4-H Volunteer Leader Forum

February 24-25

Marion County 4-H O’Rama:

May 30

4-H Conservation Day:

June 9 at Fred Berry

Conservation Education Center

Marion County Fair:

September 8-12

If you are interested in any of these up

coming activities and need more

information, please contact the

County Extension Office.

Coming Events

Mark your calendars for these coming

events:

Dine In Day:

December 3

Child Care Provider Training:

January 23 & 30

February 6 & 13

Pesticide Applicator Training:

February 7

Developing Markets for Small Farms:

February 23

The Marion County Extension office will be closed for these holidays: Thanksgiving and Day after—November 24 & 25 Christmas Holidays—December 23 through January 2 MLK Day—January 16 President’s Day—February 20

Contact Us for Your Educational Needs

The Marion County Cooperative Extension Service is here to provide you with educational information you need for your home, your farm, your family, and your future.

We are located at 313 West 7th Street in Yellville. Our business hours are weekdays: 8:00 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. If you need to contact us at other times, please use the email addresses listed on Page 1.

The University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture is an equal opportunity/equal access/affirmative action institution. If you require a reasonable accommodation to participate or need materials in another format, please contact us as soon as possible. Dial 711 for Arkansas Relay.

Sincerely,

Renee Myers

Renee Myers

County Extension Agent-Staff Chair

Happy Thanksgiving 2016

Volume III, Issue I

Marion County Consumer News

November 21, 2016

STOP THINK CONNECT

From homework and healthcare to banking, the Internet is an essential tool in U.S. homes. All these connected devices can ac-cess your personal infor-mation. Is your digital house in order? 97% of US households

have at least one inter-net-connected device. 58% are concerned about Web-related identity theft

63% say they bank online. 46% say they are still worried about financial info such as account or credit card numbers being stolen

Nearly 1 in 4 parents have never talk web safety with their kids.

Laptops are the most

connected devices at 75%, followed by PCs and smartphones. The top three in-home uses are social media, email and shopping. All can expose sensitive data.

Wireless routers, the gateway to the house-hold, are the targets for cyber attacks. Only 40% of users have ever changed the router’s default administrator password.

Here are some tips to help you get your digital house in order: Protect Your Identi-

ty—Password protect your hardware as well as your account. Use at least 8 characters and combine letters, num-bers and symbols.

Protect Your Financ-es—Choose an antivi-rus software that in-cludes automatic bank-ing and payment pro-tection for secure online transactions.

Protect Your Kids—Talk to kids regularly: for younger ones set access and screen-time limits, for older ones, discuss cyberbullying and appropriate behav-ior.

Protect Your Devic-

Stop Think Connect, continued

2

10 Slow Cooker Safety Tips

2

Dine In Day—

December 3

3

Healthy Holiday Recipes 4

Holiday Stress and Eating Less

5

Coming Events 5

Contact Us for Your Educational Needs

6

Inside this issue:

Marion County

Cooperative Extension

Service

Renee Myers

County Extension Agent-

Staff Chair

Brian See

County Extension Agent-

Agriculture

Lauren Milum

Administrative Specialist

313 West 7th Street

PO Box 386

Yellville, AR 72687

Phone: 870-449-6349

Fax: 870-449-4049

www.uaex.edu/marion

Fall finally arrived with

cooler temperatures and a

little moisture. Now, we can

sit by a cozy fire and sip a

cup of warm herbal tea to

help bring down the stress

level that usually rises this

time of year.

We stress about preparing

meals, buying gifts, clean-

ing the house for guests

and so many other things.

We stress so much that we

don’t get to enjoy the holi-

day events or the family

and friends that we are

stressing for.

How do you handle the

stress? Do you binge eat?

Do you binge shop? Do

you retreat to a quiet place

and meditate? Or do you

just let the stress build until

you explode?

Recognizing and develop-

ing coping strategies help

us handle the stressful situ-

ations. Be proactive. Make

a plan. Know your limits

and set some guidelines.

Read more on page 3.