NEWS for North Dakotans
Agriculture Communication, North Dakota State University
7 Morrill Hall, Fargo, ND 58105-5665
March 23, 2000
Spring has just nicely arrived, yet I'm already thinking about summer and those hot, lazy days when a person's energy might best be used to search for some cool concoction to drink.
The hottest of those summer days seems to cause memories to flow out of my subconscious like so much melted butter. I'm often reminded of cold water and baling hay. Back when I was a kid, Mom would fill plastic containers about half full of water and then freeze it. When it was time to go to the field, she'd fill the container to the top with water, and even by early afternoon, the water would still be ice cold. I don't think water has ever refreshed me as well as when we were baling hay.
Of course times change. Not many people put up small, square bales of hay anymore, or engage in many other types of physical labor for that matter. And the beverage of choice among most Americans these days is carbonated soda.
In fact, the beverage choices we now have could serve as a metaphor for how complex life itself has become. Our world is not comprised only of white and chocolate milk. There are also the boiled-out blue, the glowing green, the revolting red and the yech-yellow shades of "juice" coming from extractors capable of transforming formerly fibrous fruits and other plant parts into something to sip. Many of these elixirs have a taste that matches appearance.
I've never been one to follow trends in lockstep, so the next time someone offers me a frosty glass of Echinacea-fortified kumquat-kiwi-cantaloupe-guava-passion fruit-watermelon-zucchini-spinach juice, I think I'll pass. Instead, the next time I develop a thirst that needs quenching, I might try the following recipe. It's not old-fashioned, but it doesn't require the "heavy artillery" to make.
Hawaiian Milk Cooler
Yield: 1 servingIngredients:
½ cup unsweetened pineapple juice
1 cup skim (fat-free) milk
¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
¼ teaspoon coconut extract
1½ teaspoons sugarProcedure:
Pour pineapple juice into ice tray and freeze as cubes. Combine all ingredients except pineapple juice cubes in a blender and blend on high speed until frothy. Add cubes and continue blending until mixture resembles a milkshake. Pour into a glass and serve immediately.
What's Your Take on This, Julie?
Do you need a cup (or more) of coffee or a can (or more) of cola to jolt your brain awake during the day? The good news is that caffeine in moderation hasn't been shown to have harmful effects, but there is more to a beverage than its ability to keep us alert or quench our thirst.
A large cappuccino made with whole milk, for example, brings with it 250 calories and 13 grams of fat. Topping it with a tablespoon of whipped cream adds another 60 calories and 5 grams of fat. Given enough time, that daily routine could give you the jitters as you attempt to squeeze into clothes that used to fit. If so, you might consider ordering a smaller cup and asking for skim milk--or you could take a walk on your "coffee break."
Other beverages contribute extra calories and fat to our diets--and no nutrients. A can of cola, for example, contains about 150 calories from the 10 or so teaspoons of sugar it contains--and no other nutrients. And while a can of diet soda contains no calories, it contains no nutrients either. Water is the ultimate calorie-free beverage; most nutrition professionals recommend that we drink at least eight cups a day.
Yet, substituting soda pop for other more nutritious or healthful beverages is common, especially among teens. Most teens, for example, drink less than 12 ounces of milk a day but guzzle at least 37 ounces of soda pop a day, which can leave them with a calcium shortage. About 86 percent of teen girls and 65 percent of teen boys fall short of their daily calcium goal of 1,300 milligrams (mg), an amount roughly equal to four cups of milk.
Adults are also falling short of their calcium goals. Among 20 to 29 year olds, the average intake is 700 mg, but their goal is 1,000 mg. On average, those 65 or older fall 600 mg short of their calcium goal (1,200 mg) every day. Besides milk, which contains 300 mg of calcium per cup, consider including other calcium-rich foods such as cheese, yogurt, broccoli, calcium-fortified juices and cereal.
All those foods will help avert long-term health consequences such as osteoporosis, which is the weakening of the bones over time. But remember, too, that vitamin D--the "sunshine vitamin"--is needed for the body to use calcium, and it's not always found in calcium-rich foods (with the exception of milk).
Juice products can also fill nutrient gaps in your diet. A serving (3/4 cup) of 100-percent fruit or vegetable juice counts toward the recommended five servings of fruits and vegetables a day--a goal only 23 percent of North Dakotans met in 1998.
So try sipping your way to 5-a-Day. Read the food label to learn about the juice percentage and other nutrients. You won't necessarily get all the fiber that you would from whole fruit, but citrus juices are especially nutritious. For example, a serving of 100-percent orange juice contains only about 90 calories and more than a full day's supply of vitamin C.
So set down your coffee cup or can of soda for a minute and think about what you drink. Then consider trying a milk-juice combination that's easy to swallow. A serving of Hawaiian Milk Cooler contains 185 calories and less than 1 gram of fat, plus about one-fourth of the daily recommendation vitamin C and one-third of the daily recommendation for calcium.
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Sources: Dean Hulse (701) 231-6136
Julie Garden-Robinson (701) 231-7187
Click here for a pdf version of this graphic. (32KB b&w recipe graphic)