By Alyssa Greenstein, RD, LD/N

If you’re thinking about switching from whole milk to low-fat or fat-free milk, here is some information that will help you decide.

There is the perception that, because certain types of milk are lower in fat than others, they contain fewer nutrients. This is simply not true. All milk contains calcium and vitamin D for strong teeth and bones, protein for muscle growth and calcium, and potassium and magnesium for healthy blood pressure.

Doctors and registered dietitians encourage drinking low-fat and fat-free milk because they have the same calcium, protein, vitamins and minerals as whole milk – except with less fat and fewer calories.

Now that you know why to make the switch, here’s how to do it. When moving to low-fat or fat-free milk, the key is to take your time. Start by switching from whole milk to two percent. If you’re content with two percent, stick with it for a while and then switch to one percent and gradually to fat-free.

Another easy way to switch is to incorporate low-fat milk into your normal diet. Add low-fat milk to whole-grain cereal with fresh fruit, or use low-fat milk instead of water when making oatmeal or scrambled eggs.

Another way to make the switch and have fun with the kids is to have them help you make pudding with low-fat milk. You can also have them make their favorite smoothies with low-fat milk or yogurt, fruit and ice. Getting your kids involved in the kitchen will teach them important healthy habits at a young age.

Try making this peanut butter banana shake with low-fat or fat-free milk.

There’s more than one reason Santa loves milk with his chocolate chip cookies. In addition to its great taste, low-fat and fat-free milk provide nine essential nutrients. This holiday season, serve your family the gift that keeps giving—nutrient-rich milk.

Here are three gifts you can give your family this year in just one glass of milk:

1. Calcium. An 8-ounce serving of milk provides 30% of the Daily Value of calcium, which helps build and maintain strong bones and teeth and reduces the risks of stress fractures and osteoporosis. It also plays an important role in promoting normal blood pressure, nerve function, muscle contraction and blood clotting. Just one glass of milk has the calcium equivalent of eight cups of spinach.

2. Protein. The protein in milk is high-quality, which means it contains all of the essential amino acids or “building blocks” of protein. Protein builds and repairs muscle tissue, and serves as a source of energy during high-powered endurance exercise. An 8-ounce glass of milk provides about 16% of the Daily Value for protein.

3. Vitamin D. A glass of milk provides about 25% of the Daily Value for vitamin D, which helps promote the absorption of calcium and enhances bone mineralization. Milk is one of the few dietary sources of this important nutrient. One glass of milk has the vitamin D equivalent of 3 ½ ounces of cooked salmon.

During the holidays, money always seems to be tight. But at just 25 cents a glass, milk is the best value and the most nutritious beverage you can find at the grocery store. And thanks to hardworking dairy farmers in Florida, you can be sure that your milk is safe, fresh and delicious!

By Alyssa Greenstein, RD, LD/N

Lactose intolerance is often mischaracterized as an allergy that generally requires completely avoiding dairy. However, lactose intolerance is actually the body’s inability to digest lactose (a natural sugar mainly found in dairy products) and it’s not an all-or-nothing condition.

Low-fat and fat-free milk, cheese and yogurt provide a unique nutritional package. Dairy foods supply four of the seven “nutrients of concern” for which Americans have low intakes. Those who decide to limit their diets before knowing the facts about lactose intolerance may actually be putting their health at risk.

Most people with lactose intolerance are receptive to dairy solutions if they can avoid the discomfort associated with consuming them. The following tips provide ways to incorporate and keep nutrient-rich dairy in your diet.

Sip it!
Lactose-free milk is regular milk, but the sugar (lactose) is already broken down. Anyone can enjoy lactose-free milk because it provides the same unique package of nine essential nutrients found in regular milk. Look for reduced-fat, low-fat, fat-free, chocolate and whole-milk options in various sizes at your local supermarket.

Stir it!
Add small amounts of milk, cheese and yogurt to your normal diet. Solid foods slow digestion and allow the body more time to digest lactose, which helps prevent intolerance symptoms.

Slice it!
When milk is made into cheese, most of the lactose is removed. Aged, hard cheeses such as Cheddar, Colby, Monterey Jack, Swiss and Parmesan are naturally lower in lactose.

Spoon it!
Look for products like yogurt with live, active cultures. These products contain “friendly” bacteria that help make it easier for the body to digest lactose.

Size it!
Start by adding in small portions of milk, cheese and yogurt to other foods in your diet.  Gradually increase the amount of dairy foods you consume over time.

Switch it!
These tips may not apply to everyone. Before switching your diet, be aware that lactose intolerance is a very individualized condition. Many people with lactose intolerance can still consume dairy foods in various amounts or forms. Follow the advice of your doctor or see a registered dietitian for additional guidance.

Savor it!
Some people think that lactose-free dairy foods taste exactly the same as the traditional varieties, while others say they taste slightly sweeter. This additional sweetness is a result of the lactose neutralization process. Research shows that people prefer lactose-free milk to non-dairy alternatives.

By using a few of these simple strategies, the majority of people with lactose intolerance can still enjoy dairy foods every day.

Ten-year-old Liriette Schultzs from Kissimmee, Florida was chosen as the winner of Florida Dairy Farmers’ first-annual holiday art contest. More than 150 children around the state sent in their best interpretation of the contest theme: “Celebrating the Holidays on a Florida Dairy Farm.”

FDF staff judged each entry based on creativity, artistic skill and representation of the holiday theme. Schultzs, a fifth-grade student from Bethune Academy in Haines City, was excited to learn that her artwork would be featured on FDF’s holiday card, which goes out to more than 600 dairy industry contacts and friends of FDF nationwide.

The watercolor painting features Santa and his reindeer (cows in costume) flying over a dairy farm, dropping dairy treats such as milk, cheese and yogurt. The vibrant colors, detail and incorporation of dairy are what caught the judges’ eyes.

“We hoped that this contest would help kids learn about where their milk comes from, while having a little fun,” said Alayna Rivera, communications coordinator for FDF. “Liriette’s art captured everything we were looking for!”

Schultzs says she loves art because it allows her to “express herself on paper,” and in this case, her love for dairy. She thanks her art club teacher Raedell Coogler for encouraging her to enter the contest. As a part of her prize, Schultzs will be featured on FDF’s website and social media pages and she will also receive an FDF gift basket.

 Click here to see the other top entries on our Facebook page!

Thanksgiving is a time when people gather together and spend time with loved ones that they might not often see. This year, enjoy the holiday by making entertaining easier with these time-saving tips. Nutrient-rich foods offer the total nutrient package, including vitamins and minerals, with fewer calories from fats and sugars.

1. Slice up some cheese. Americans voted cheese as one of the top foods they can’t live without, second only to chocolate (survey in the Food and Wine magazine). Preparing a cheese board requires is a great way to spend less time in the kitchen and more time with your guests. It requires no cooking at all and takes less than 10 minutes to prepare. Cheese is best served at room temperature, so you can prepare your board well before your guests arrive. In addition to being a healthy and popular snack, cheddar and swiss cheese have been shown to reduce the risk of tooth decay.

2. Just Fondue It. You don’t have to sacrifice good taste to be healthy. Try making a fondue with light cheddar cheese and skim milk as the main ingredients. This will give the sauce a rich taste without the fat or high calories, while providing nine essential vitamins and minerals like calcium, protein and potassium. Dippers can include sliced apples, broccoli and carrots.

3. Stuff your turkey, not yourself. Research shows the average holiday meal can add up to as much as 3,000 calories with 225 grams of fat (American Council of Exercise). That’s a day-and-a-half’s worth of calories all at one sitting. By focusing on nutrient-rich foods, during and after the holidays, you can help avoid unwanted pounds.

4. Got milk? When you’re sitting down to eat your Thanksgiving feast, think about your drink. Instead of soda or juice, reach for a cold glass of milk. Most adults don’t realize that their bones continue to grow until about the age of 35. One glass of milk contains 30 percent of your daily requirement of calcium. And don’t forget about the little ones. Serve them up some low-fat chocolate milk with a fun straw and they’ll be sure to ask for more.

5. Savor what’s left.  Make your leftovers healthy. Build your own nutrient-rich sandwich with whole-grain bread, low-fat cheese, cranberry sauce and leftover turkey.

This Thanksgiving, let’s not forget to thank Florida’s dairy farmers. They work hard all year long to ensure we have these delicious holiday foods on our tables!

By Alyssa Greenstein, RD, LD/N

Preparing for flu season is top of mind for moms this time of year. Bottles of hand sanitizer, disinfectant spray and cold remedies fill store shelves leaving many of us feeling like we are prepping for the perfect storm.

But the battle against annual germ warfare is not one that’s fought merely on hands, faces and in spaces between sneezes. Health experts say it begins with what you put in your body.  A number of foods and associated nutrients have been shown to actually boost your body’s ability to fight off the common cold and worse. The good news is they are all foods that show up on the “healthy” list for any diet, so feel free to enjoy for year-round health:

• Oatmeal contains a type of fiber with antibacterial properties. It appears to help speed wound healing, and may help antibiotics work better.

• Fish, which is already recommended for its heart health properties, is also rich in a mineral that helps white blood cells clear flu viruses out of your body. Many types of fish are rich in “omega-3” fats, which may help protect your lungs from respiratory infections.

• Beef and Milk are both rich in zinc, a mineral that aids in the development of white blood cells, which destroy bacteria and viruses in your body. Zinc is one of the minerals most commonly found to be deficient in people’s diets, providing even more reason to drink milk with meals.

• Yogurt is arguably the most well-known of all the flu fighting foods. As an excellent source of probiotics, yogurt’s “healthy bacteria” help keep “bad bacteria” in our digestive system in check.

• Sweet Potatoes are rich in vitamin A, which actually helps boost your body’s ability to fight germs from the outside, in. Skin is the body’s first line of defense against germs and requires plenty of vitamin A to maintain its integrity. In addition to orange-colored vegetables such as sweet potatoes, vitamin A can also be found in milk and chocolate milk.

1. Why should parents carve out a healthier Halloween?

Most children don’t get enough of the key vitamins and minerals they need each day, so teaching children to select nutrient-rich foods is more important than ever. That includes creating healthier holidays, and I think we’d all agree Halloween is a great place to start!  Halloween should certainly be about having fun, and there are lots of fun, healthy snacks kids can make with their parents, like Muenster Monster Kabobs.

2. How can parents help kids prepare before they go out trick-or-treating?

One of the most important tips to remember as a parent is to make sure your children are filled up with nutritious foods before they leave the house to go trick-or-treating.  The more nutrition they have in them the less likely they’ll be to fill themselves up with candy while trick-or-treating.

Fun-shaped sandwiches are going to help you sneak in nutrition and have fun at the same time.  It’s as easy as cutting up sandwiches, made with nutrient-rich foods, with Halloween-shaped cookie cutters. On the sandwiches, use whole grains, lean turkey, cheese, lettuce and a little bit of yogurt to take the place of ranch dressing.

Flavored milk is another great way to make sure your kids are getting proper nutrition.  Chocolate milk, the official drink of Halloween, is nutrient-rich and packed with bone-building nutrients – including calcium, vitamin D, protein, phosphorus and potassium.  You can also have fun with your kids and have them add food coloring to white milk to make Halloween-colored milk.  It’s important that your family get their three servings of dairy a day to ensure that they’re getting the nutrients that they need.  A very spooky fact is that 90 percent of teenage girls and 70 percent of teenage boys do not meet their daily calcium requirement.  This fun-flavored milk is going to ensure that they build strong and healthy bones.

3. What about the morning after Halloween?

For the morning after Halloween, make sure you start the day with a nutritious breakfast so your kids won’t head straight for their candy bags.  Try some delicious pumpkin pancakes that you and your family can enjoy.

If you’re in a rush the morning after Halloween and still want a nutritious breakfast, try a great-tasting Pumpkin Yogurt Cheesecake Shake.  It takes less than 10 minutes to make and is easy to take with you on the go.

4. What should parents do with all of the candy?

A lot of Mom’s ask what they can do with all of the extra candy their kids have lying around the house.  Start by talking to your children about sharing their extra candy. Identify a couple of favorites to keep and then agree to give away the extra to a local food pantry. Then, take their favorites and make them healthier. One idea is to use some of the chocolate to make your own healthy trail mix.  Simply take the candied chocolates, like M&M’s, and add it to a bag of raisins, nuts and whole grain cereals.

By Alyssa Greenstein, RD, LD/N

As you walk down the aisles of your local grocery store, you’ll notice more and more foods advertising health benefits because of added ingredients. With so many food options, it can get really confusing.

Yogurt has long been associated with health because of the nutrients it provides. You also may have heard a lot of talk about probiotics in yogurt.  But what exactly are they and what do they do?

What are probiotics?

Although there is no regulatory definition, probiotics are generally described as live microorganisms that provide a health benefit when consumed in adequate numbers.  Think of probiotics as friendly bacteria or “bugs” with health-promoting benefits.

However, it is important to recognize that the health benefits of probiotics depend on the particular genus, species and strain of bacteria used, as well as the amount.

What are the health benefits?

A growing body of research suggests that certain types of probiotics in adequate amounts can help maintain digestive health and have beneficial effects on different intestinal functions (e.g., intestinal transit, immune function) and disorders (e.g., constipation, bacterial infections, diarrhea, irritable bowel syndrome, inflammatory bowel disease).

Individuals with low levels of the intestinal enzyme lactase have a limited ability to digest lactose (milk sugar), which can result in gastrointestinal symptoms or lactose intolerance.  Studies demonstrate that intake of yogurt and some probiotics can improve lactose digestion and alleviate symptoms of lactose intolerance.

Preliminary studies also report that specific probiotics can help treat food allergies, decrease the risk of colon cancer and tooth decay, treat Helicobacter pylori (a common cause of peptic ulcers) and help keep you healthy.

What foods contain sources of probiotics?

Fermented dairy foods such as yogurt and cheese are the most common conventional foods marketed with probiotics. In fact, dairy products are ideally suited for probiotics because they contain nutrients important to the survival of probiotic species. In addition, dairy foods buffer stomach acids, increasing the chances that probiotics will survive the journey through the digestive tract. 

How often should I eat foods with probiotics?

Most studies suggest that probiotics must be consumed daily (or more often) to receive health benefits.  To know which foods contain probiotics, look for the “live, active” seal on the container.  Check out the National Yogurt Association’s “Live Active Cultures” seal at www.aboutyogurt.com.  The seal provides consumers with assurance that the product contains a certain number of starter culture bacteria.

For more information on the health benefits of probiotics, visit to www.usprobiotics.org.

National Hispanic Heritage Month is a time for us to celebrate the culture and traditions of Spanish-speaking countries all around the world and runs from September 15 to October 15.  

With more than 4.1 million Hispanics in Florida, they represent about 24% of the state’s population and that number is growing six times faster than any other group in the Florida. In fact, it’s the largest and fastest growing ethnic minority group in the entire country. Hispanics account for 24% of all K-12 students in Florida and, while most students speak English, their parents might not be as fluent. About 86% of Hispanic families speak a language other than English at the home.

On average, Hispanics consume less than the current recommended 3 to 4 servings of low-fat milk and dairy foods a day and, instead, consume whole milk. Research has found an association between the consumption of low-fat or fat-free milk and other dairy foods and a reduction in chronic disease risk. This includes several of the conditions for which Hispanics have increased risk, such as cardiovascular disease and osteoporosis.

Florida Dairy Farmers (FDF) has long valued the importance of the Hispanic community in Florida. That’s why FDF actively reaches out to the Hispanic community to remind them that milk is packed with vitamins and minerals that are crucial to bone health. Low-fat and fat-free milk also have the same nutrients as whole milk, including protein for muscle growth and potassium and magnesium for healthy blood pressure.

Celebrate this Hispanic Heritage Month with a tall glass of nutritious Florida milk and try these healthy dairy recipes:

Avocado-Mango Smoothie

Mango Yogurt Smoothie

By Alyssa Greenstein, RD, LD/N

How many times have you heard that breakfast is the most important meal of day, yet you don’t have enough time in the morning to get everyone fed and where they need to be? No matter what age, children and adults need to eat a nutrient-rich breakfast to ensure that they feel and perform their best at work, school or play.

Why is Breakfast so Important?

Breakfast is linked to many health benefits, and studies show that eating a healthy breakfast (as opposed to high-sugar options) can help give you:
• A more nutritionally complete diet that’s higher in nutrients, vitamins and minerals
• Improved concentration and performance in the classroom or boardroom
• More strength and endurance to engage in physical activity
• Lower cholesterol levels
• Improved weight control

What to Eat for Breakfast

Eating a mix of nutrient-rich foods is the key to a healthy breakfast and to preventing a mid-morning energy slump. Eating these foods allows you to get the most vitamins, minerals and other nutrients (without too many calories) from the foods you choose. Nutrient-rich breakfast foods include low-fat or non-fat dairy, fruits, vegetables, whole grains and lean protein. Some quick and healthy choices include:
• A veggie omelet with cheese and a piece of whole-wheat toast,
• A whole-wheat English muffin with low-fat cheese, a scrambled egg, and a slice of tomato or lean ham,
• A smoothie made with fruit and low-fat yogurt,
• Salmon on a 1/2 whole-grain bagel with light cream cheese,
• Whole-grain cereal with fresh fruit and low-fat milk,
• Oatmeal made with skim milk, raisins and nuts, with 4 ounces of orange juice,
• Low-fat yogurt and a piece of fresh fruit,
• A yogurt smoothie with low-fat peanut butter and a breakfast bar,
• A glass of low-fat chocolate milk, a hard-boiled egg and a banana.

What Breakfast Means for Kids

Breakfast is important for everyone, especially children. Eating breakfast every day can help children succeed in academics and extracurricular activities, while improving their overall health. Students who regularly eat a nutritious breakfast can experience better school attendance, decreased disciplinary problems, improved test scores and improved weight maintenance.

No Time for Breakfast?

If time is truly not on your side in the morning and you’re tired of the drive-through routine, remember a great alternative is breakfast at school. School breakfasts offer a healthy meal that is portioned and nutrient-appropriate for the student’s age, meeting 1/4 of their nutritional needs for the day. Kids enjoy breakfast at school because it gives them the opportunity to eat and socialize with their friends at the same time. About 99 percent of Florida schools offer a breakfast program and all elementary schools offer breakfast because it’s required by law.

Eating a healthy, nutrient-rich breakfast is the best way to begin your day. You’ll notice how much better you feel, look and perform when you’re properly fueled for the day.