Prevent foodborne illness with these four simple steps to prepare food safely at home

Let’s practice our heart-healthy fat knowledge by modifying a brownie recipe.

Did you know that proper hand washing is the single most important way to help prevent the spread of illness? Clean your hands thoroughly to help prevent germs from spreading from person to person and throughout a community.

Keep washed, ready-to-eat vegetables on hand and easy to find. How many times does someone in your family open the refrigerator door to see what there is to eat and take one of the first foods he or she sees? So let the cleaned vegetables be seen first. Also, set them out when meals and snacks are eaten. On the run? Cut up some veggies and put them in zip-top bags. Stop in the produce department to see if some vegetables are cut up and ready to eat for a snack. If you do not have a cooler or refrigerator nearby, remember to eat cut-up produce within two hours for safety.

Most adults and children need 2 to 3 cups of vegetables per day, but the amount varies depending on age, gender and amount of physical activity.

Vegetables are versatile, nutritious, colorful and flavorful. Not only are they naturally low in calories, fat and sodium, but they also are good sources of important vitamins, minerals and dietary fiber. Vegetables do not contain cholesterol. Increasing vegetable consumption can replace foods higher in calories and fat. Vegetables are rich sources of vitamins, particularly A and C. The value of a vegetable as a source of a nutrient is affected both by the amount of the nutrient present and by the amount of the vegetable eaten.