In this report...

University of Illinois Extension is a busy place! Each month, this brief newsletter will highlight the accomplishments of one of the Ogle County Extension program areas. We encourage your comments and questions. This month, we are providing information about our Nutrition and Food Safety programs. Feel free to contact Vicky Broos, County Director, with any questions at broos@uiuc.edu.

Ogle County Extension offered its annual Heart Healthy Cooking class in February this year. This 2-session cooking class is open to anyone interested in healthy cooking, especially those wanting to shop and cook for heart health.

Topics included:

· Shopping for heart healthy foods and stocking a healthy pantry;

· Strategies to include more fruits and vegetables in your daily meals;

· Selecting and using healthy oils and fats; and

· Including alternative proteins such as fish, soy foods, legumes, nuts and seeds in meals.

At each session, participants receive recipes and shopping tips, fact sheets, and samples of recipes prepared right in front of them.

One Byron resident has attended the class twice and brought along friends the second time because she wanted them to benefit as she had. She felt the information provided, and being able to observe cooking techniques and taste modified recipes really made a difference in meal planning for her family. Many of those attending have a family member with heart disease, however, increasingly more attendees are simply interested in strategies for healthy eating.

Extension's nutrition classes are taught by Sarah Todd, Nutrition & Wellness Educator and Registered Dietitian from our Rockford Center.

Dining With Diabetes is a research-based Extension program offered through-out Illinois. The cooking schools consist of a series of three 2-hour sessions held over a three week period. The major purpose of the schools is to provide diabetes nutrition education along with easy-to-use recipes appropriate for people with diabetes.

The sessions are divided to cover main dishes, side dishes and desserts. In fact, an essentially complete meal is prepared each night of the class and participants are able to learn cooking techniques as well as sample recipes.

In addition, important information about food groups and their impact on blood glucose, meal planning, sugar substitutes and generally healthy eating is also provided. Participants receive a packet of information including a recipe booklet specifically designed for those with diabetes. This year, the class was held in Mt. Morris. Classes are held each year, generally in April.

Persons attending Dining With Diabetes classes receive a bi-monthly newsletter, "Diabetes Lifelines" giving current medical news, nutrition and wellness tips, recipes, and medication updates. Anyone interested in receiving this newsletter should call 815/732-2191.

For Licensed Food Servers–Licensed food handlers are present in any establishment serving or selling food to the public, including restaurants, schools, nursing homes and other businesses. In order to maintain their licenses, these food handlers must take a refresher course on food safety practices every five years. Ogle County Extension offers the 5-hour refresher course four times each year in March, June, September and December. The refresher course meets the requirements for the Illinois Department of Public Health recertification and meets the needs of food handlers in Ogle County and neighboring counties.

For Volunteer Groups–Food safety training for volunteers who sell food under temporary permits in Ogle County is another component of our program. The May 3rd "Serve It Safely" session covered event planning, food preparation, food storage, handling leftovers, and transporting and serving cooked food.

Each January, Ogle County Extension begins a five-part in-service training series on current nutrition topics for dietitians, home economists, and healthcare providers. The monthly sessions are conducted by audio-teleconference accompanied by Powerpoint presentations so that key speakers can address nutrition professionals around the state. Two CPE hours of credit for each session are provided for dietitians, and the training also qualifies for continuing education credits for professionals other than dietitians.

This year's topics included: Type 2 Diabetes; Food Safety and Labeling Issues With Locally Produced Food; Osteoporosis Prevention; Nutrigenomics; and the New MyPyramid Food Guidance System & Nutrition Facts Label.

Speakers include University of Illinois Professors as well as professors from other universities.