By MARY ANN LIENHART CROSS Extension Educator Purdue Extension GOSHEN — Happy New Year! I know many of you have had enough holiday food. I also know that many of you are tired of preparing it, cleaning up, and making the most of all the extra food. I am sure many of you are like …read more.

By Mary Ann Lienhart Cross Extension Educator Purdue Extension GOSHEN — I am sure many of you would agree that the holidays are one of your favorite times of the year for many reasons. I am confident that on your list of holiday favorites is the different kinds of holiday foods. The challenge that many …read more.

By MARY ANN LIENHART CROSS Extension Educator Purdue Extension KOSCIUSKO — As I am teaching in the community and answering phone calls and emails I often receive suggestions for my column. This week’s subject of sodium is one of them. The 2015-2020 dietary guidelines for Americans made the following recommendations that Americans consume less than …read more.

By MARY ANN LIENHART CROSS Extension Educator Purdue Extension GOSHEN — Many foods come to mind when it comes to cooler weather and cooking. I know with our unseasonably warm weather traditional fall foods may not be at the top of your list. A food that should not be thought of as just a fall …read more.

By MARY ANN LIENHART CROSS Extension Educator, Purdue Extension GOSHEN — My column this week is about Flavonoids. This topic is the result of answering questions about flavonoids and the suggestion from those questions to write about them. One of the many bonuses to working as a Purdue Extension Educator in Health and Human Sciences is …read more.

By Mary Ann Lienhart Cross Extension Educator, Purdue Extension GOSHEN — As I have been presenting programs and participated in meetings I have been a part of conversations asking, “What are you making for dinner?” This often leads to a variety of conversations and comments. This question provides me with the opportunity to talk about …read more.

By MARY ANN LIENHART CROSS Extension Educator Purdue Extension GOSHEN — When most of us think of Autumn, or as we like to call it: Fall, we think of apples, pumpkins and squash. The pumpkin is a fruit of the vine, marketed as a vegetable, and rich with legend and lore. Remember Cinderella being chauffeured …read more.

By MARY ANN LIENHART CROSS Extension Educator, Purdue Extension Elkhart County GOSHEN — I wrote earlier about apples and I am writing about them again for a number of reasons. One of the most important is that they are so good for you and we all should be eating more of them. That old saying …read more.

By Mary Ann Lienhart-Cross Extension Educator, Health & Human Sciences, Purdue Extension Elkhart County GOSHEN — Fall is a great time of year to continue your healthy eating! Peppers are foods of color and they are nutrient dense foods. Now is the time and all through the fall to put more peppers in your healthy eating …read more.

By MARY ANN LIENHART CROSS Extension Educator, Health & Human Sciences, Purdue Extension Elkhart County As I write this column the cooler temperatures bring to mind so many great tasting locally grown foods. This time of year there are late grapes and cabbage with unlimited meal possibilities. Next is America’s favorite: potatoes; and I know …read more.

By MARY ANN LIENHART CROSS Extension Educator, Health & Human Sciences, Purdue Extension Elkhart County Late summer is a great time for you and your family to eat more vegetables and an easy way to enjoy them is in a stir fry. So you may ask, “What is or what does stir fry mean?” To …read more.

BY MARY ANN LIENHART CROSS County Extension Director, Purdue Extension Elkhart County WARSAW — This week I am writing my weekly column on food preservation safety because you need to understand the science behind canning vegetables, fruits, pickled products, jams jellies, fruit spreads, fruit and vegetable sauces, and meat products. I have had several phone …read more.

By MARY ANN LIENHART CROSS Extension Educator Health & Human Sciences, Purdue Extension Elkhart County GOSHEN — It has been hot and humid for several days, but I am not going to complain because I know the weather will change – we live in the Midwest. I think it is extra hot and humid in Indiana …read more.

Mary Ann Lienhart Cross Extension Educator, Health & Human Sciences, Purdue Extension Elkhart County Herbs are probably heartier than any vegetable or fruit that you grow. I say that as I know that some herbs can easily take over where you have planted them. Summer is a great time of year to use herbs in …read more.

By MARY ANN LIENHART CROSS Extension Educator-Health and Human Sciences, Purdue Extension Elkhart County GOSHEN — Last week I wrote about the health concerns of drinking too much pop because of all the sugar and acid and the negative effects on the body. From the emails and phone calls I know many of you were shocked …read more.

By MARY ANN LIENHART CROSS County Extension Director, Extension Educator Health and Human Sciences, Purdue Extension Elkhart County GOSHEN — Spring has been long in arriving. The cold of spring has a different feel than the cold of winter, I have often been told it is the dampness, but the bottom line is if you …read more.

By MARY ANN LIENHART CROSS County Extension Director, Purdue Extension Elkhart County GOSHEN — Spring is a great time of the year for special foods, one of which I wrote about last week — dandelion greens. Another specialty food that many of us enjoy a variety of ways is rhubarb. Although botanically a vegetable, rhubarb …read more.

By MARY ANN LIENHART CROSS County Extension Director, Extension Educator Health & Human Sciences, Purdue Extension Elkhart County GOSHEN — As I share programs in the community I often teach MyPlate and food safety. I encourage participants to eat a variety of foods and in the process also a rainbow of foods. Many of our locally …read more.

By MARY ANN LIENHART CROSS County Extension Director GOSHEN — Real winter has arrived and that means it is good and cold. Winter is a great time to get back to healthy eating and that usually means meal planning and cooking at home. It takes much discipline to eat healthy when eating out. I believe …read more.

By MARY ANN LIENHART CROSS County Extension Director, Extension Educator, Health and Human Sciences, Elkhart County I am not sure what first comes to mind when you think about holiday treats. Is it candy or cookies or are you like me and you can’t choose? I grew up in a home where it was all …read more.

By MARY ANN LIENHART CROSS Extension Educator, Health And Human Sciences, Purdue Extension Elkhart County  The holidays are so much about food and family traditions that have special foods in them. There are just certain foods that family members always expect someone to prepare. There is all the extra stress and many times the only time of …read more.

By MARY ANN LIENHART-CROSS County Extensions Director, Purdue University I sure am enjoying all of the fresh locally grown fall foods, especially apples. Living in this part of Indiana we are blessed that we can have fresh-made cider. One of the first fall foods that comes to mind is apples. Apples just provide unlimited recipe …read more.

By MARY ANN LIENHART CROSS Extension Director and Extension Educator, Health and Human Services, Elkhart County Extension I am not sure when the best time of year for cooking with local foods is. Yes, spring and summer are great with all of the fresh fruits and vegetables, but there is nothing like the fall. Fall …read more.

By MARY ANN LIENHART CROSS Elkhart County Extension Educator, Health and Human Sciences Bacon is such a flavorful food – probably more flavorful than most foods. One piece of bacon can go a long way. Since more people are further removed from the farm, the question of what bacon is, or where it comes from, …read more.

By MARY ANN LIENHART CROSS County Extensions Director, Purdue University I know fall is really in the air and soon cooler temperatures will help to make for some great home cooking. The cooler temperatures bring to my taste buds so many great tasting local foods. This time of year there are late grapes and cabbage …read more.

By MARY ANN LIENHART CROSS Extension Educator, Health and Human Sciences Purdue Extension Elkhart County September has been national food safety month for a long time. Each year, a special topic is chosen to focus on and this year it is refrigeration. So, the first question I ask you, “Do you know how cold your refrigerator …read more.

By MARY ANN LIENHART CROSS County Extension Director, Extension Educator-Health & Human Sciences, Purdue Extension Elkhart County May was National Osteoporosis Month followed by June as National Dairy Month and they could really be celebrated together. I am sure your mother told you to do many good things like, eat your vegetables and fruits, drink …read more.

By MARY ANN LIENHART CROSS County Extension Director, Purdue Extension Elkhart County For many of you, warmer weather means grilling. Nowadays, there are so many varieties of grills to choose from, including wood pellet, gas grills, and charcoal grills. We all have our favorite method of grilling, but no matter the preference, food safety is …read more.

By MARY ANN LIENHART CROSS Extension Director, Purdue Extension Elkhart County With spring we begin to think more about locally grown foods. The first food of spring that I see and enjoy is dandelion greens. The last few days I was out walking, enjoying the spring flowers, and picking up the trash from fall and …read more.

By MARY ANN LIENHART CROSS County Extension Director, Purdue Extension Elkhart County Eggs are probably one of the simplest foods to prepare and most importantly enjoy. There is no other food that can be enjoyed all by itself yet helps to create so many other foods. Although the eggs of ducks, geese, and other poultry …read more.

By MARY ANN LIENHART CROSS County Extension Director, Purdue Extension Elkhart County When I teach nutrition I often encourage people to eat a rainbow of colors and to eat more foods of color. You know that vegetables and fruits are where you are going to find the colors. The colors make for flavor, texture, and …read more.

By STEPHANIE FAROH Extension Educator, Purdue Extension Kosciusko County A friend of mine who lives alone, recently asked me about healthy cooking for herself. She said, “It hardly seems worth it when it’s just me.” The Mayo Clinic offers many ideas for healthy cooking for one or two. Instead of settling for leftovers or frozen …read more.

By STEPHANIE FAROH Extension Educator, Purdue Extension Kosciusko County Don’t forget to wear your green for St. Patrick’s Day next week. With all the green clothes and decorations, remember to eat your greens too. Try planning green foods on your menu for the whole week. Green fruits and vegetables contain many health-promoting phytochemicals. They can …read more.

By STEPHANIE FAROH MA, RD CD Purdue Extension Educator, Kosciusko County, Health and Human Sciences Thanksgiving is just over a week away, so it’s time to get your menu ready to go and make the final preparations for your holiday. When it comes to preparing healthy holiday meals, having the right ingredients is important, but …read more.