Wellness

@ Moraine Valley

Kelly Devine Rickert

10 Ways to Enjoy More Fruits and Vegetables This Summer!

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Put those fresh in season fruits and vegetables to use this summer. Below are 10 ways to boost your produce intake this summer!

  1. Stuff an omelet with vegetables. Turn any omelet into a hearty meal with broccoli, squash, carrots, peppers, tomatoes or onions with low-fat sharp cheddar cheese.
  2. “Sandwich” in fruits and vegetables. Add pizzazz to sandwiches with sliced pineapple, apple, peppers, cucumber and tomato as fillings.
  3. Wake up to fruit. Make a habit of adding fruit to your morning oatmeal, ready-to-eat cereal, yogurt or toaster waffle.
  4. Add grated, shredded or chopped vegetables such as zucchini, spinach and carrots to lasagna, meat loaf, mashed
    potatoes, pasta sauce and rice dishes.
  5. Make fruit your dessert: Slice a banana lengthwise and top with a scoop of low-fat
    frozen yogurt. Sprinkle with a tablespoon of chopped nuts. Or freeze some grapes for a quick evening snack.
  6. Grill colorful vegetable kabobs packed with tomatoes, green and red peppers, mushrooms and onions.
  7. Keep cut vegetables handy for mid-afternoon snacks, side dishes, lunch box additions or a quick nibble while waiting for dinner. Ready-to-eat favorites: red, green or yellow peppers, broccoli or cauliflower florets,
    carrots, celery sticks, cucumbers, snap peas or whole radishes.
  8. Make a veggie wrap with roasted vegetables and low-fat cheese rolled in a whole-wheat tortilla.
  9. Place colorful fruit where everyone can easily grab something for a snack-on-the run.
    Keep a bowl of fresh, just ripe whole fruit in the center of your kitchen or dining table.
  10. Variety abounds when using vegetables as pizza topping. Try broccoli, spinach, green peppers,
    tomatoes, mushrooms and zucchini.

Kelly Devine Rickert MS RDN LDN

Moraine Valley Wellness Coordinator

Two Easy Salad Recipes to Beat the Heat!

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Well summer is finally here and what better way to beat the heat in the kitchen than to prep some yummy salads? Below are two of my favorite go to summer salads. The bean salad pairs great with your favorite BBQ items and is a hit at family parties. The second salad makes for a quick lunch or as a side with dinner. Either way they are chock full of nutrients!

Quinoa, Brown Rice and Black Bean Salad!

2 c quinoa and brown rice, cooked and cooled
1 lemon juiced and zested
1 tsp minced garlic
1 tsp cumin
1 small can no salt corn, drained and rinsed
1 15 oz can black beans, drained and rinses
1 small onion, chopped
1/2 large green pepper, chopped

Mix together and enjoy!


Best salad EVER!
Ingredients:
1 English cucumber (seedless)
4 Roma tomatoes
3 ripe avocados (cut down to 1 if salad is for one)
½ red onion
¼ cup cilantro
Juice of 1 lemon
Salt and black pepper to taste
2 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
Directions:
1. Place sliced cucumber, tomatoes, avocados, onion, and cilantro in a large salad bowl.
2. Toss with olive oil, lemon juice, salt, and pepper.

Kelly Devine Rickert, Registered Dietitian, Devine Nutrition Inc

devinenutrition.com

Covid-19 Vaccine

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Benefits of Getting a COVID-19 Vaccine

Per CDC Website, 5/5/21

COVID-19 vaccination will help keep you from getting COVID-19

Once you are fully vaccinated, you can start doing more

  • After you are fully vaccinated for COVID-19, you may be able to start doing some things that you stopped doing because of the pandemic. For example, you can gather indoors without masks with other people who are fully vaccinated.
  • We are still learning how vaccines will affect the spread of COVID-19. Until we know more about how vaccines will affect the spread of COVID-19, people who are fully vaccinated against COVID-19 should keep taking precautions in public places like wearing a mask, staying 6 feet apart from others, avoiding crowds and poorly ventilated spaces, and washing your hands often.
  • People are not considered fully vaccinated until two weeks after their second dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna COVID-19 vaccine, or two weeks after a single-dose Johnson & Johnson’s Janssen COVID-19 vaccine. You should keep using all the tools available to protect yourself and others until you are fully vaccinated.

COVID-19 vaccination is a safer way to help build protection

  • COVID-19 can have serious, life-threatening complications, and there is no way to know how COVID-19 will affect you. And if you get sick, you could spread the disease to friends, family, and others around you.
  • Clinical trials for all vaccines must first show they are safe and effective before any vaccine can be authorized or approved for use, including COVID-19 vaccines. The known and potential benefits of a COVID-19 vaccine must outweigh the known and potential risks of the vaccine before it is used under what is known as an Emergency Use Authorization (EUA). Watch a video explaining an EUA.
  • Getting COVID-19 may offer some protection, known as natural immunity. Current evidence suggests that reinfection with the virus that causes COVID-19 is uncommon in the months after initial infection, but may increase with time. The risk of severe illness and death from COVID-19 far outweighs any benefits of natural immunity. COVID-19 vaccination will help protect you by creating an antibody (immune system) response without having to experience sickness.
  • Both natural immunity and immunity produced by a vaccine are important parts of COVID-19 disease that experts are trying to learn more about, and CDC will keep the public informed as new evidence becomes available.

COVID-19 vaccination will be an important tool to help stop the pandemic

  • Wearing masks and staying 6 feet apart from others help reduce your chance of being exposed to the virus or spreading it to others, but these measures are not enough. Vaccines will work with your immune system so it will be ready to fight the virus if you are exposed.
  • A growing body of evidence suggests that fully vaccinated people are less likely to be infected without showing symptoms (called an asymptomatic infection) and potentially less likely to spread the virus that causes COVID-19 to others. However, further investigation is ongoing.
  • Stopping a pandemic requires using all the tools we have available. As experts learn more about how COVID-19 vaccination may help reduce spread of the virus that causes COVID-19, CDC will continue to update its recommendations to protect communities using the latest science.

COVID-19 vaccines are safe and effective

We understand that some people may be concerned about getting vaccinated now that COVID-19 vaccines are available in the United States. While more COVID-19 vaccines are being developed as quickly as possible, routine processes and procedures remain in place to ensure the safety of any vaccine that is authorized or approved for use. Safety is a top priority, and there are many reasons to get vaccinated.

None of the COVID-19 vaccines can make you sick with COVID-19

None of the COVID-19 vaccines contain the live virus that causes COVID-19 so a COVID-19 vaccine cannot make you sick with COVID-19. Learn more Facts about COVID-19 Vaccines

Moraine Valley Covid 19 Vaccine Clinic!

Pfizer COVID-19 Vaccine Clinic offered by Osco
Monday, May 17, 9 a.m.-4 p.m. (first dose)
Moraine Valley Community College, Building M, Moraine Rooms
Link to register for an appointment: https://kordinator.mhealthcoach.net/vcl/1620140873290

Moraine Valley faculty, staff and students have priority registration through Wednesday, May 5. The link to register will open to the public starting Thursday, May 6, so save your spot today! You may share the registration link with your family and friends. A follow-up clinic for the second dose of the vaccine will be on Monday, June 7.

Any questions?

Kelly Devine Rickert

devinerickertk@morainevalley.edu

6 Easy Earth Friendly Nutrition Tips! #gogreen

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Wondering what you can do to minimize your impact on Mother Earth? Look no further!  These
are easy ways you can start to reduce, reuse and recycle more often!

  1. Make a grocery list and go shopping. Weekly!!! (Bring your reusable bags (when we can again) or opt for paper bags.) When you shop for your food, cook from home, pack your lunches
    and snacks to bring with you, you are reducing waste. In a HUGE way!
    Think about it. Every single time you dine out, whether it be at a fast food restaurant, food truck or grab and go’s like vending machines and gas stations, you are throwing out garbage, containers and wrappers.
    In most recent stats, 44% of Americans eat at a fast food restaurant each week… That is a lot of garbage!
  2. Buy in bulk
    Yes, 100 calorie packs and mini containers of pre-cut veggies save us time, but also increases our waste. Here are items to buy in bulk, to cut up and portion out at home, It’s cheaper and better for the environment!
    Fruits, Vegetables, Nuts/seeds, Beans, Grains, Rice, Oats, Yogurt, the list goes on.
  3. Ditch the water bottles ONCE AND FOR GOOD!
    Each day, people in the U.S. throw away more than 60 million plastic water bottles. Tap water is great or buy a water filter if desired but let’s ditch those plastic water bottles! Keep a BPA free, dishwasher safe water bottle on hand and refill it up! Some water bottles even
    have their own filtration system.
  4. Eat Local.
    By buying foods close to your home, you are reducing the distance your food must travel, thus the energy it takes to do so! Visit your local farmers market or at least shop for foods that are in season.
  5. Plant a garden
    Save the water for your lawn and instead it for a garden. Don’t have enough room? You can plant a few tomato, pepper and herbs in pots on a patio or porch. Great way to make fresh tomato sauce for pasta and pizza nights!
  6. Minimize leftovers
    Did you know the US throws away 80 BILLION pounds of food…. A year!!! Use those leftovers! Store them in freezer for use later or you can also add your produce, egg shells, coffee grounds etc to a compost. You can start a simple compost using a 5-gallon bucket and some
    grass and leaves from your yard.
    Even making 1 or 2 small changes can really add up over time!

We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children. ~Native American Proverb


Kelly Devine Rickert

Celebrate Earth Day All Month!

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earth-day

Wondering what you can do to minimize your impact on Mother Earth? Look no further! These are (in my opinion) easy ways you can start to reduce, reuse and recycle more often.

1. Make a grocery list and go shopping. Weekly! (Bring your reusable bags or opt for paper bags and recycle!) When you shop for your food, cook from home, pack your lunches and snacks to bring with you, you are reducing waste in a big way.
Think about it. Every time you dine out, whether it be at a fast food restaurant, food truck or grab and go’s like vending machines and gas stations, you are throwing out garbage, containers and wrappers.
In most recent stats, 44% of Americans eat at a fast food restaurant each week. That is a lot of waste!

Example Lunch from home:
Leftover taco meat from last night (in reused Brummel and Brown container)
Salad with veggies and cheese in Bento box
Salad dressing in mini container
Fork from home

All can be washed at home and reused!

VS.

Lunch from Panera
Salad and sandwich
2- Plastic/carboard boxes
plastic utensils
large brown paper bag

2. Buy in bulk!
Yes, 100 calorie packs and mini containers of pre-cut veggies save us time, but also increases our waste.
Here are items to buy in bulk, to cut up and portion out at home. It’s cheaper and better for the environment!
Fruits
Vegetables
Nuts/seeds
Beans
Grains
Rice
Oats
Yogurt

3. Ditch the water bottles ONCE AND FOR ALL
I have not bought a case of water bottles in probably over 9 years.
Keep a BPA free, dishwasher safe water bottle on hand and refill it up! Some water bottles even have their own filtration system.

4. Go Meatless once a week
Ditching the animal proteins once a week will save your pocketbook AND reduce your carbon footprint.
By reducing your animal protein intake just once a week you can decrease fossil fuel usage, water usage AND reduce greenhouse gas emmissions.
For my Meatless Monday (which will actually be today’s dinner in honor of Earth Day!)…
I am simply making homemade pasta sauce with whole grain pasta, side salad with fresh veggies and a side of whole grain garlic toast. Easy Peasy.

5. This one is obvious and you probably knew it was coming…. EAT. Local.

By buying foods close to your home, you are reducing the distance your food must travel, thus the energy it takes to do so!
Visit your local farmers market or at least shop for foods that are in season. To find a Farmers Market or CSA near you visit, visit this website: http://search.ams.usda.gov/FARMERSMARKETS/default.aspx

6. Plant a garden… or at least some pots of home grown veggies.
Save the water from your lawn and use it instead for a garden. Don’t have enough room? Join a community garden! Even making 1 or 2 small changes can really add up over time!

We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children. ~Native American Proverb

Kelly Devine Rickert, MS RDN CSSD

Moraine Valley Wellness Coordinator