Celebrating National Nutrition Month with Beef
The month of March marked National Nutrition Month, an annual campaign created by the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics to share tips for making informed food choices and developing healthy eating habits. When it comes to healthy dietary patterns, there are a lot of benefits to incorporating protein- and nutrient-rich beef into a variety of lifestyles, and the Beef Checkoff has created a number of ways to share that with health and nutrition audiences.
Now available on BeefItsWhatsForDinner.com, the Beef Nutrition Hub provides an educational portal tailed to support the needs of the health and nutrition community. On the hub, health and nutrition professionals are able to access on-demand courses and earn complimentary continuing professional educational credits, which are approved by the Commission on Dietetic Registration and the American College of Sports Medicine.
There are also a variety of resources available for dietitians who work in the retail sector. Health and nutrition are top of mind for consumers and can be a barrier when deciding to purchase beef. With more dietitians working in retail grocery, there’s an opportunity for meat departments and dietitians to work together to help consumers understand the meat case, the nutritional benefits of beef, enhance food safety and provide meal solutions.
The Beef Checkoff provides ideas and resources for educating consumers about beef’s positive health, nutrition and taste attributes.
Here locally, the Nevada Beef Council’s own Kori Dover, Director of Food and Nutrition Outreach, participated in the annual meeting of the Nevada Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (NvAND) during National Nutrition Month, offering the group some exposure to the NBC and the resources it has available for this audience.
“I think it’s important for beef producers to know just how many ways the Beef Checkoff and Nevada Beef Council are working to reach and engage those in the health and nutrition community,” notes Dover, who is also a Registered Dietitian. “Encouraging the incorporation of beef and its nutritional benefits into any well-balanced diet is something we want everyone in this community to feel comfortable doing.”
To learn more about the nutrition resources available, visit:
BeefItsWhatsForDinner.com/nutrition.
Advanced Education Tools Available for Cattle Producers
To further support cattle producers across the country the Beef Checkoff-funded Beef Quality Assurance (BQA) program has released the first in a series of Advanced Education Modules. This initial module on biosecurity details the basics of disease transmission and prevention.
These resources were developed so that anyone who is involved in raising cattle – from the operation manager to personnel to family members – has the opportunity to understand how biosecurity principles are integrated into their farm or ranch and plan for continuous improvement in the future. Learners will walk through sections that build on each other, starting with basic principles of biosecurity and understanding its importance on the cattle operation. Interactive and real-world best practice examples are provided for a variety of topics such as new bull or replacement purchases and manure management to reduce feed contamination, among others.
As a part of the training, producers are able to fill out the Daily Biosecurity Plan for Disease prevention, another biosecurity tool recently released by BQA, and tailor the information to their specific operation. Producers are then introduced to the USDA supported Secure Beef Supply to better understand the necessary biosecurity measures in the event of a foreign animal disease (FAD) outbreak and to prepare an enhanced biosecurity plan in preparation for such an event. Learners can compare details between the daily biosecurity plan and the enhanced biosecurity plan to view the changes they would need to address in the occurrence of an FAD outbreak.
“Introducing these advanced education modules has been a major goal of the BQA team,” said Dr. Julia Herman, Beef Cattle Specialist Veterinarian at NCBA. “With this Beef Checkoff-funded tool, beef cattle producers can enhance their biosecurity education, help train their teams, and continue to keep their cattle safe and healthy.”
For more information about BQA, to access the Advanced Education Biosecurity modules, or download the BQA Daily Biosecurity Plan, visit: BQA.org
Mongolian Beef
This dish is packed with flavor and nutrition, and takes just 20 minutes to make – a slam dunk for those busy spring evenings. Serves 4.
Ingredients
- 1 beef Top Sirloin Steak, cut 1 inch thick (about 1 pound)
- 2 tablespoons minced garlic, divided
- 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoons crushed red pepper
- 1/2 cup chopped green onions
- 1/4 cup oyster sauce
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh ginger
- 2 cups bamboo shoots, edamame, baby corn or water chestnuts
- 2 cups hot cooked rice
Preparation
- Cut beef Top Sirloin Steak in half lengthwise, then crosswise into 1/8-inch strips. Toss beef with 1 tablespoon garlic and red pepper.
- Heat non-stick skillet over medium-high heat until hot. Add half of beef; stir-fry 1 to 2 minutes or until outside surface of beef is no longer pink. Remove from skillet. Repeat with remaining beef. Remove from skillet.
- Add remaining 1 tablespoon garlic, green onions, oyster sauce, sugar and ginger to same skillet; cook for 1 to 2 minutes or until sauce is hot. Return beef to skillet. Add bamboo shoots; cook and stir until bamboo shoots are hot. Serve over rice.
By Nevada Beef Council Staff