NEWS for North Dakotans
Agriculture Communication, North Dakota State University
7 Morrill Hall, Fargo, ND 58105-5665
September 7, 2000
I sent my 5-year-old son Thomas off to kindergarten last week. He was excited. I was a little apprehensive and heavy hearted -- more than a little actually -- as I left my firstborn to fend for himself in the real world. We had purchased, individually labeled and packed 12 pencils, two notebooks, eight crayons, 10 colored pencils, and all the other things from the official list in the treasured new backpack. As my husband and I left the school, I resisted the urge to press my nose against the classroom window and peer in until class ended at noon. The other parents must have been even more anxious than I, since I was the last one to arrive to pick him up -- at 12:03 p.m.
The only symbol of school that was missing from my son’s bag was a crisp apple for the teacher. But the kindergarten teacher did have a shiny red ceramic apple on her desk. According to a well-known book, all we need to know in life we learn in kindergarten. Not only is the apple an emblem of teaching and learning, it’s also a symbol of good nutrition, which can affect our long-term health.
Apples always rank high in fruit popularity contests. In fact, the Latin word for apple
is "pomum" which also is the Latin word for "fruit." These versatile
fruits are available in numerous varieties and can be used in countless ways on the menu
-- far beyond the all-American apple pie. Here’s an easy-to-make crunchy fruit salad
that features apples and another late-summer favorite, the pear. It’s adapted from
the official 5-a-day website: www.5aday.com.
Fall Fruit Salad
Makes 6 servingsIngredients:
2 Tbsp honey
2 Tbsp lemon juice
2 apples, cubed (Granny Smith preferred)
2 pears, cubed
1/2 cup dried apricots, sliced into thin strips (or substitute raisins)
3 8-ounce containers lowfat or nonfat vanilla yogurtProcedure:
Whisk together honey and lemon juice in a bowl. Wash fruit and cut up. Add fruit to lemon juice-honey mixture and toss well. For each person, spoon half a container of yogurt in a small bowl and top with 1/2 cup fruit mixture. Serve.
A serving of Fall Fruit Salad (one-sixth of the recipe) contains about 205 calories, 2
grams of fat, and 3.4 grams of fiber. A medium apple (about the size of a tennis ball)
contains about 80 calories and no fat. Apples also contain potassium, vitamins A and C and
pectin, a type of soluble fiber. Pectin is a gummy, indigestible plant-based material. In
combination with a diet low in fat, particularly saturated fat, soluble fiber like pectin
may help reduce blood cholesterol levels. So there’s more than a grain of truth to
the adage, "An apple a day keeps the doctor away."
Store apples in a cool dark place to extend their freshness. Since apples absorb odors, it’s best to keep them in a bag away from foods with strong aromas. Another reason to separate them from other produce is because they naturally generate ethylene gas, which promotes ripening of other produce.
This recipe features pears, too. A medium pear contains about 100 calories, 4 grams of fiber, 10 percent of the recommended daily vitamin C, zero fat and sodium, and one of nature’s sweetest sugars. About 40 percent of the dietary fiber in pears is in the form of pectin, the same material that promotes thickening of jellies and jams. Resist the urge to peel fresh fruits like apples and pears because many of the nutrients are near the skin, but do wash fresh produce carefully with plenty of water and a brush if necessary.
Produce safety has been in the news recently. A foodborne illness outbreak was linked to watermelon contaminated with E. coli O157:H7 bacteria and served in a Wisconsin restaurant. A three-year-old child died and dozens of others became ill. The currently popular produce washes do not have the stamp of approval from the Environmental Protection Agency at this point, and some research studies are in progress.
The dried apricots add flavor, color and a softer texture to this otherwise crunchy recipe. Apricots are so nutritious that NASA made them part of astronauts’ diets on long missions. Not only do they provide nearly 20 percent of the recommended amount of vitamin A, they also provide vitamin C and potassium. Store dried apricots in a cool, dry place.
As school season gets into full swing, here’s a lesson for all of us. Let the symbol of teaching and learning, the crisp apple, remind you of the importance of plenty of fruits and vegetables in your diet. Aim for five servings -- three vegetable and two fruit servings-- a day. A serving is one-half cup fresh, frozen or canned fruits or vegetables, one cup of leafy greens or three-fourths cup 100 percent fruit or vegetable juice.
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Source: Julie Garden-Robinson, (701) 231-7187
Editor: Tom Jirik, (701) 231-9629