Start Simple with MyPlate

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Vegetables on a cutting board

The USDA has two new resources designed to help you personalize your health: Start Simple with MyPlate tip sheet, www.myplate.gov/tip-sheet/start-simple-myplate (available in 21 languages); and Start Simple with MyPlate app, www.myplate.gov/startsimpleapp.

These “Start Simple with MyPlate” resources offer practical tips, ideas, and inspiration based on the five MyPlate food groups—Fruits, Vegetables, Grains, Protein Foods, and Dairy—that can easily fit into busy lifestyles. The suggestions provided cater to different food preferences, health goals, and budgets.

By starting simple, you can make realistic, positive changes that support your overall well-being and health. The Start Simple with MyPlate app makes these ideas interactive, helping users build healthy habits.

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Free Tax Help for Iowans

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Two people looking at financial records

The IRS Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program offers free tax help to low- and moderate-income Iowans. This program makes filing taxes simple while ensuring you claim all eligible credits.

Certified volunteers use secure software to assist with tax returns and help you claim important credits like the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), Child Tax Credit, and Credit for the Elderly or Disabled. The service is available to working families, older adults, people with disabilities, and those with limited English skills.

Tax help is offered in person or online, depending on location, through partnerships with organizations like Iowa State University Extension and Outreach. To find a nearby site, visit the IRS Free Tax Prep website, irs.treasury.gov/freetaxprep/, or call 1-800-906-9887.

How It Works:

  1. Verify your ID and fill out an intake form.
  2. Your tax documents are scanned and sent for preparation.
  3. Your return is ready in two weeks.
  4. Review and sign your return.
  5. Your returns are filed electronically, for free.

Source: Iowa State University Extension and Outreach, go.iastate.edu/HVJRMJ

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Overnight Oats

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Serving Size: 1 container | Serves: 1

Overnight oatmeal and ingredients

Ingredients:

Peanut butter variety:

  • 1/3 cup old fashioned or quick cooking oats
  • 2 tablespoons peanut butter
  • 1/3 cup nonfat milk
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 teaspoon honey

Tip: Pumpkin and yogurt varieties also available at Spend Smart. Eat Smart., go.iastate.edu/VZIE31.

Directions:

  1. Pour all ingredients into a small container (1–2 cup size) with a lid that fits tight.
  2. Stir until all ingredients are combined.
  3. Seal container with a lid. Store in the refrigerator overnight.
  4. Serve for breakfast in the morning with chopped fruit or nuts, if desired.

Nutrition information per serving:
190 calories, 2.5g total fat, 0.5g saturated fat, 0g trans fat, 0mg cholesterol, 40mg sodium, 39g total carbohydrate, 6g fiber, 16g sugar, 7g protein

This recipe is courtesy of ISU Extension and Outreach’s Spend Smart. Eat Smart. website.
For more information, recipes, and videos, visit Spend Smart. Eat Smart., spendsmart.extension.iastate.edu.

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Celebrate National Nutrition Month® in March!

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Group of adults sitting at a table

This year’s National Nutrition Month® theme is “Food Connects Us.” Food is more than just a way to fuel the body—it brings us together. It connects us to our families, friends, and cultures. Sharing meals is an opportunity to learn about the food, who made it, and where the ingredients come from. Our food choices are shaped by health, traditions, seasons, and where we live, but the food we eat also affects our health.

This month, celebrate all the ways food can connect us:

  • Involve everyone in planning meals and choosing recipes to try together. Check out the Iowa State University Spend Smart. Eat Smart website, spendsmart.extension.iastate.edu, for low-cost, healthy, and easy-to-make recipes.
  • Make time to eat together with family or friends without distractions like phones or TV. Try out these conversation cards, store.extension.iastate.edu/product/6605.
  • If you have a spouse, children, or friends nearby, invite them to help with food prep and to enjoy a meal together.

Small changes can lead to big improvements in health. Celebrate National Nutrition Month® by involving family and friends to make meals more engaging and fun. Make one healthy change today! Check out 50 Ideas to Get Involved in National Nutrition Month, www.eatright.org, for more ideas.

Let’s fuel our bodies for a healthier future!

Source: EatRight.org, www.eatright.org

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It’s All about Handwashing!

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Washing hands

Simple but true: Handwashing keeps us healthy by removing germs that cause respiratory and stomach/gastrointestinal illnesses.

How to wash hands:

  1. Wet hands with warm water.
  2. Lather with soap.
  3. Scrub hands for 20 seconds. (That’s where singing Happy Birthday comes in!) Don’t forget wrists, backs of hands, between fingers, and under nails.
  4. Rinse with running water.
  5. Dry with a clean towel or air dryer.

When to wash hands: Before, during, and after preparing food; before and after eating; after using the restroom; after caring for someone who is sick; before and after treating a cut or wound; after changing a diaper or helping a child use the toilet; after blowing your nose, coughing, or sneezing; after handling an animal or animal waste; after touching garbage.

Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, go.iastate.edu/SLEVAQ

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SNAP for Health!

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One in four adults is at risk of poor health due to a lack of money to purchase healthy foods. Nutrient-rich foods like produce, dairy, grains, and lean meats contain a variety of nutrients for health. Not having enough of these foods can lead to increased health problems, hospitalizations, and loss of independence due to disease.

The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) helps eligible adults afford nutrient-rich foods to supplement their food supply. SNAP can be used to buy any food that will be prepared and eaten at home. It can also be used to purchase plants and seeds to grow vegetables, herbs, and fruit. SNAP cannot be used for hot foods, in-store dining, or nonfood items. If you or someone you know would benefit from SNAP, use the following connections:

Online—Department of Health and Human Services portal, https://hhsservices.iowa.gov/apspssp/ssp.portal, to fill out an application.

By Phone (with assistance)—SNAP Hotline: 855-944-FOOD (3663); 8:00 a.m.–5:30 p.m. Monday–Friday.

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Frozen Fruit Cups

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Meal of scrambled eggs, toast, asparagus, fruit cup

Serving Size: 1/2 cup | Serves: 6

Ingredients:

  • 2 cups fresh strawberries, sliced
  • 2 teaspoons sugar
  • 1 medium to large banana, sliced
  • 2 kiwis, peeled and sliced

Directions:

  1. Mix strawberries with sugar in a bowl and let sit 20–30 minutes while strawberries make juice.
  2. Add banana and kiwis.
  3. Scoop 1/2 cup of mixture in each of 6 muffin cups lined with paper.
  4. Freeze. Remove from freezer about 20–30 minutes before serving.

Nutrition information per serving:
50 calories, 0g total fat, 0g saturated fat, 0g trans fat, 0mg cholesterol, 0mg sodium, 13g total carbohydrate, 2g fiber, 8g sugar including 1g added sugar, 1g protein.

This recipe is courtesy of ISU Extension and Outreach’s Spend Smart. Eat Smart. website.
For more information, recipes, and videos, visit Spend Smart. Eat Smart., spendsmart.extension.iastate.edu.

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Be Sugar Savvy

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Measuring spoons with sugar

The current Dietary Guidelines recommend limiting added sugars to 10% or less of daily calories. This would be 200 calories (50 grams or about 4 tablespoons sugar) if eating 2,000 calories a day.

Sugars can be naturally occurring or added. For example, a can of peaches in syrup contains natural sugars from the fruit and added sugars from the syrup.

Watch for added sugars in foods like cereal, crackers, flavored oatmeal, granola and protein bars, pasta sauce, flavored yogurt, and condiments such as ketchup and barbeque sauce.

Read ingredient lists on labels for cane sugar, corn syrup, high-fructose corn syrup, raw sugar, honey, and brown sugar. The higher these sugars appear on the list, the more is in the food.

Nutrition Facts labels show total and added sugars. For example, chocolate milk has 26 grams of sugar per 8 ounce serving, including 15 grams of added sugar and 11 grams of natural sugar (lactose). In comparison, white milk does not have added sugars.

To eat less added sugar, avoid or reduce sugar-sweetened beverages such as soda, energy drinks, and sweetened coffees, which account for one quarter of added sugars in the American diet. Desserts and sweet snacks make up 19% of the added sugars. Make small changes each day to reduce added sugar intake.

Source: Dietary Guidelines for Americans, go.iastate.edu/BW0AZJ

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Live Healthy Iowa 10-Week Wellness Challenge? Bring it on!

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People exercising

It can be hard to feel motivated to exercise during the long winter months. The Live Healthy Iowa 10-Week Wellness Challenge may be the answer! This 10-week challenge includes tracking activity minutes and/or weight loss with a team (2–10 people). The challenge occurs January–March 2025 and costs $25 per participant. This is an affordable and simple way for all Iowans to boost their health while enjoying fun and friendly competition with others. Participants receive a t-shirt, a personalized online dashboard, a free magazine subscription, weekly motivational messages, discounts on the Live Healthy Iowa 5K, and a chance to win prizes! Grab your family, friends, or coworkers and register today, livehealthyiowa.org/10-challenge!

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Just Keep Swimming

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Woman swimming in pool

Water-based exercises have low impact and can improve physical and mental health. Many people find water exercise to be more enjoyable and easier on their joints than working out on land. In addition, you do not need to be a strong swimmer to enjoy being active in the water. Try these water exercise ideas the next time you find yourself at your local pool:

  • Group water aerobics class
  • Water walking
  • Deep-water walking or treading water
  • Arm exercises using hand webs or water weights
  • Leg exercises with a noodle
  • Resistance exercise with a kickboard or water weights

Get active in the water to improve your health while having fun at any age or fitness level!

Sources:
CDC, go.iastate.edu/KP3AUV
Mayo Clinic, go.iastate.edu/6JQTPC

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