WATERLOO, Iowa — the orange juice concentrate that coats theapple and banana slices is intended to keep the fruit from gettingbrown.
But once the women standing around the counter finish chopping,the fruit salad doesn’t last long. the latest recipe introduced byIowa State University Extension educator Gail Forristall gets goodreviews from the group as they eat it.
Forristall meets twice a week with the group of seven women aspart of the Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program. Thefederally funded program allows her to work with groups and do homevisits to promote healthy living through proper diet and exercise.Participating families must have an income at 185 percent ofpoverty or less and be expecting a baby or have a child under 10.the program includes eight sessions.
Along with introducing participants to a recipe, she talks abouta food-related topic and gets them to do a physical activity.
Jill Weber, family nutrition and health specialist with ISUExtension’s Black Hawk County office, said the agency has workedwith families for 40 years through the program.
“Last year, we had 170 that were enrolled and 97 finished allthe lessons,” she said. Some may not have finished the programbecause they moved, or they completed the requirements thisyear.
At last week’s session, Forristall taught the women how to checktheir pulses, which they did before and after turning on some musicfor impromptu dancing. she emphasized the importance of getting atleast 30 minutes of moderate exercise on a regular basis. she alsotalked to them about planning meals and shopping.
“Does everybody have a plan before they go shopping?” she askedthe women.
Forristall threw out a few suggestions: “We need to eat beforewe shop, we need to look in our cupboards.” she added that themoney they use for shopping should be equally divided out over themonth for weekly trips.
“I get a meat bundle from Fareway,” participant Karin Monsonsaid. she then divides the meat into 30 meals for her suppers allmonth.
Participant Barbara Jones agreed that planning — and gettingas much as possible in one trip — is important to avoid impulsepurchases.
“Going to the grocery story every day is a bad thing,” shesaid.
Several of the women said the sessions have taught them how tostretch their grocery dollars through comparison shopping andbuying only what they need.
“It’s very informative,” participant Norma McKenzie said of thesessions. “Gail’s taught me a lot how to read those labels.”McKenzie noted before learning from Forristall, she didn’t realizethat milk was labeled to indicate how much fat content it has.
For more information about the program, call ISU Extension’sBlack Hawk County office at (319) 234-6811.
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