The Why is in the My

Donna Fryman helps Deana O’Bannon mix up the cheese sauce for baked ziti during the February session of Cooking through the Calendar.

At the beginning of 2016, the Fleming County Extension Program offered a new class called Cooking Through the Calendar where anyone who wanted to participate took part in creating healthier meals.

But, the class wasn’t just about how to cook with less salt or sugar, it was more of an individualized plan that gave each person the ability to develop their own healthier lifestyle by using the My Plate

Food chart.

Why did our government decide to change the food chart?

Well, most of us are familiar with the food pyramid and the major food groups, but that chart was rather confusing so the USDA took those dietary guidelines and created a chart that is not only more colorful but much simpler to understand.

The newer chart is a picture of a plate, with sections for vegetables, fruit, grains and protein; a visual we can all understand.

With each session that takes place on the fourth Monday of each month, participants learn to create a healthy recipe like the homemade baked Ziti that was pictured for the month of February.

The class also offers a wealth of information for planning meals, tips to save money at the grocery store and how to increase physical activity.

Cooking Through the Calendar is part of the Nutrition Education Program that focuses on improving the lives of Kentuckians with limited resources and is implemented in all 120 counties.

The program has proven to be successful in Fleming County, not only with adults but with school children too.

To help address obesity at a young age, fifth grade students at Ward Elementary started a garden project last year with the help of agents from the Fleming County Cooperative Extension Service and assistants from the Expanded Food and Nutrition Program.

The students learned gardening skills, soil types and testing, weed control and fertilizing needs, how to identify their favorite vegetables and how to determine which would grow best in their garden.

A raised garden bed was constructed by the students using cinder blocks, which they painted, and once the bed was in place, they learned how to use newspapers for weed prevention and the benefits of composting.

Each student learned to water and weed a garden filled with tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, onions, zucchini and strawberries, while school was in session.

The school staff tended the garden during summer vacation then harvested and froze the the vegetables and used the bounty for the kids to enjoy in breads and salads when school started back.

Along with the gardening skills learned at Ward Elementary ,those students will also learn how to develop a healthy eating plan using the My Plate concept to fill their own plates with more fruits and vegetables.

The program is being offered again this year and participation continues to grow with each session.