Prairie Fare: Be tech-savvy throughout Nationwide Diet Month | House & Backyard

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“Please come upstairs,” I wrote to my 22-year-old daughter. “I need help!”

This was not an emergency. I sat with a pillow on my lap and four remotes with more than 100 buttons.

I was warned by my family not to press random buttons.

I found the movie I wanted to see. However, I couldn’t figure out how to play the movie on our TV.

Our television is a few years old, so technically it is not a “smart TV”. We had to buy a separate plug-in device to access subscription movies. That added a fourth remote control.

I think I heard a sigh as my daughter walked down the hall.

“Why don’t you check it out below?” She said. “It’s easy with the new TV.”

“I like my chair up here.” I answered. “I’m going to make popcorn and not stare at you.”

I thought back to my childhood when we had a TV without a remote control. I was a human remote control. I would turn the knob to get to one of the four channels we had available when the weather conditions were right.

When I was young we didn’t have cell phones or the internet. I had my first PC in college.

After all, I enjoyed my film thanks to my techno-savvy “digital native” daughter. She returned to the basement to video chat with her friends.

Technology has made life easier in many ways. We have more information at hand than ever before. During the pandemic, we can see each other through Zoom, FaceTime or some other technology even though we are not in the same room.

We can also vacuum our living room without lifting a finger with a robotic vacuum cleaner. We can push a button to lock and unlock our doors if we have the right apps and devices.

Who would have thought the Jetson animated series predictions would come true?

As we enjoy our technology, we may also be bombarded with advertisements. Advertisements may appear while scrolling through an online magazine or newspaper. We could check in with our friends on social media like Facebook (for those of us in the older generation, according to my kids).

As you browse the Internet, you may be attracted by a “click bait” that will lead you to an advertisement. By some estimates, we are exposed to at least 6,000 ads of various forms every day.

March is National Nutrition Month and also the beginning of the spring season. This has prompted many weight loss advertisements. People take off their sweaters and store their parkas. They may find that they couldn’t fit into their spring wardrobe because of the pandemic.

When reading information online or intersecting with advertisements that take you to websites, ask yourself the following questions to determine whether the information is legitimate:

What are the author’s credentials?

Is a credible sponsoring institution identified?

What is the purpose of the information?

Does the website advertise or sell a specific product? (Commercial websites often end with “.com”)

Is the information based on scientific research or opinions? (Government websites ending with “.gov” provide free information with no commercial bias.)

How up-to-date is the information? Is there a date listed?

Does the information have links to other sources of information? (This sometimes gives an indication of reliability, but not always. Anyone can link to another organization’s website.)

Are the facts documented with well-founded scientific references? Or is the information based solely on personal testimonials?

Does an editorial team oversee the content? What are your credentials?

Is the grammar and spelling information well written? What is the tone of the script? Is it taking a balanced approach?

Be a savvy consumer scrolling the information superhighway. Find out about ad-free extension resources from Land Grant universities. Please visit https://www.ag.ndsu.edu/nourishyourbody for information on “Dieting and Exercising Your Body” in the NDSU extension. From sleeping, coping with stress, to strengthening your muscles and heart, the website has a lot of information to help keep your health and well-being based on research.

Here’s a crispy snack to enjoy. Snacks can be high in fat, sodium, and cost, depending on what you choose. Here is a recipe courtesy of the Popcorn Board. Popcorn is a whole grain snack. Even with the addition of butter, this snack is low in calories and fat. Using “powder” versions of spices (like onion powder instead of onion salt) will reduce sodium levels. If you want to cut the calories down more, use less butter.

Crunchy Cajun popcorn

2 1/2 liters of popcorn (preferably air-dried)

Pour butter over warm popcorn. Combine the remaining seasonings and sprinkle them over popcorn. throw to mix.

Makes 10 cups of popcorn. Each cup contains 70 calories, 5 grams (g) fat, 1 g protein, 7 g carbohydrates, 1 g fiber, and 150 milligrams of sodium.

Julie Garden-Robinson, Ph.D., RD, LRD, is a food and nutrition specialist with the North Dakota State University Extension and a professor in the Department of Health, Nutrition and Exercise Sciences. Follow her on Twitter @jgardenrobinson