Here’s some good news about something sweet to eat.

WebMD reports that: “One cup of pineapple has only 74 calories and provides 94% of your RDA of vitamin C. It’s also high in manganese, an important mineral for the body’s muscle tone and nerve and bone health.”

Of course, cutting pineapple is no easy task. Here are a few steps that we find useful:

1) Use a sharp knife and a cutting board.

2) Remove the stalk first

3) Cut the bottom and the tops off

4) Remove all the prickly skin by slicing it off in thin pieces (leaving a cylindrical sphere of the native fruit)

5) Then cut the fruit in small or large slices

by Farmers Almanac Staff
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Tired of paying top dollar for toothpaste made with baking soda? Try this recipe to make your own.

You’ll need to purchase vegetable glycerin from a drug store. If you can’t find it on the store shelves, ask the pharmacist to order it for you.

In a small container measure 10 T. baking soda and 5 to 6 T. glycerin and stir. Add 1 to 2 t. of peppermint flavoring and combine.

Spoon out as needed and apply to toothbrush. To ensure good oral hygiene, give family members their own little jar and baby spoon.

~Toothpaste recipe excerpted from Deborah S. Tukua’s book: Pearls of Country Wisdom: Hints from a Small Town on Keeping Garden and Home.

Technorati tags: toothpaste, Farmers’ Almanac TV

by Farmers Almanac Staff
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According to Valentine’s Day legend….

Some people used to believe that if a woman saw a robin flying overhead on Valentine’s Day, it meant she would marry a sailor. If she saw a sparrow, she would marry a poor man and be very happy. If she saw a goldfinch, she would marry a millionaire.

What happens if she saw a pigeon?

by Farmers Almanac Staff
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While I truly enjoy red roses (and the meaning behind them) I have learned that there are different and just as powerful messages conveyed by other flowers.

According to Flowers for Valentine’s Day,

• Apple Blossoms convey good fortune
• Daffodils convey joy and happiness
• Orange blossoms convey eternal love, marriage and fruitfulness and fertility.

At this stage of my life, these are messages that are equally important to me. So let’s see what my husband turns up with this Valentine’s Day.

Jennifer Dlugozima, VP Marketing, Farmers’ Almanac TV

by Farmers Almanac Staff
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I have never been one to sleep well during the holidays. I always worry about something: whether it’s getting to the plane on time, or cooking the right dish, or finding time to buy gifts, or reigning in my spouse’s spending… The list goes on.

So to help readers like me, we spent some time collecting ideas to “de-stress” the holidays. You will find a collection of holiday stories that include tips and hints for decorating, gift ideas, recipes and more on FarmersAlmanacTV.com.

In the meantime, here are a few guidelines for surviving the holidays:

Keep It Simple. The biggest reason for out-of-control holiday stress comes from trying to overdo it. If you’re planning your own party, or sorting out gifts for your extended family, don’t feel obligated to make it to every single party, or buy for the whole office.

Plan in advance. Buy staples, paper goods and liquor well ahead of any dinner or event. The week leading up to the get-together, polish silverware and serving pieces, wash crystal and china, and launder and iron table linens. The day before, set the table and get flowers or greenery for decoration. Give the house a final swift cleaning.

Try to do one thing a day. Make a list of holiday-related errands and try to knock out one errand a day. Scratch it off your list as you complete it. By breaking everything down into bite-size chunks, your tasks will not seem so enormous.

Accept offers of help. If someone volunteers to bring a dish, entertain the kids for a few hours while you cook or help clean up, say yes! And don’t be shy about asking for assistance. When everyone pitches in, it’s everyone’s party. Share the duties and share the fun.

By Jennifer Dlugozima, VP of Marketing

Technorati tags: holiday stress, Farmers’ Almanac TV

by Farmers Almanac Staff
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If you haven’t had a chance to catch up on the FFA lately, you may want to read this article from the New York Times. It clearly articulates the changes in the FFA, which in many respects, has echoed the changes in farming. It states:

A new face has emerged on this old-fashioned tradition. More FFA members now come from towns, suburbs and city neighborhoods, including Queens and the South Side of Chicago, than from rural farm regions, FFA officials say. The largest chapter in the country? At W. B. Saul High School of Agricultural Sciences in Philadelphia.

Mainly, the FFA, created to build pride among young farmers-to-be, is drawing students who say they do not in the least wish to become farmers, but rather food industry scientists, seed bioengineers, florists, landscapers and renewable fuels engineers.

When we attended the FFA convention in October, this evolution was readily apparent. While we talked to quite a few students who lived on a farm, many did not. They totally understood, though, the value of agriculture in American society.

For many, the convention was an opportunity to learn about agricultural sciences, meet others with like interests as well as take lessons in leadership. Overall, they said it was a very positive experience, even if they had to spend 18 hours on a bus to get to the Indianapolis convention.

The staff at Farmers’ Almanac TV found the whole event very inspiring. The students we met clearly were “good kids” with their hearts in the right places.

Technorati tags: public television, Farmers’ Almanac TV FFA

by Farmers Almanac Staff
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Not all Thanksgiving meals go swimmingly well. Sure, the turkey or one of the side-dishes can burn. But the biggest challenge - for many families- is making sure everyone gets along.

As the New York Times puts it:

Family grudges buried by time and distance resurface. New girlfriends meet ex-husbands. Prius drivers make small talk with S.U.V. owners. And vegans spend the meal defending themselves. It’s enough to break a cook’s heart.

The article gives some good advice about how to manage conflict, as well head it off. In particular:

1) Assign everyone a job; idle time often enables bad behavior.

2) If you suspect potential trouble or inappropriate conversation, have a pointed conversation with the perpetrator before the meal starts.

3) The host should try to steer a conversation away from dangerous subjects. If a guest says something designed to anger others at the table, acknowledge the guest’s opinion, then make a joke about it and ease the conversation in another direction.

4) Regarding conflict over when to watch the game: the article suggests that hosts set expectations upfront. Announce that the tv will remain on during appetizers but shut off during the main meal and dessert.

Of course, these guidelines don’t guarantee a harmonious meal, but they are a start.

Please tell us your tips for making holiday dinners easy to digest.

by Farmers Almanac Staff
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Over the past month or so, I have been pulling together pumpkin stories for a special pumpkin section for FarmersAlmanacTV.com (scheduled to run Oct. 16-Oct. 31).

And, while I’m no expert on pumpkins, I now have a thorough appreciation for this fruit, which I learned is actually a squash, whose name originated from the Greek word “pepon”, or large melon.

I’m also amazed at pumpkins’ nutritional value: Just one cup of cooked, boiled pumpkin has 2 grams of protein, 1.4 mg of iron and 21 mg of folate, for all of 49 calories.

And, I’m appreciative of all the great food pumpkins create, from pies, to pancakes, to soups and more.

But what tickles me the most is how large pumpkins can grow: the record is over 1400 pounds!

In fact, we are featuring a video in our public television show, as well as our special pumpkin section on the web, about what it takes to grow one of these big ones. It’s a lot more than hard work, according to Al Berard, who is featured in the video.

Anyway, what I’m leading to is that pumpkins are pretty amazing. I’m fascinated by them. And, when Cinderella turned a pumpkin into a coach, she made a mistake. She should have walked to the castle, and cooked pumpkin pies, pancakes and soup for the prince. That would have not only won his heart, but provided many nutritious meals, and plenty of great topics of conversation.
By Jennifer Dlugozima, VP of Marketing, Farmers’ Almanac TV

Technorati tags: pumpkin

by Farmers Almanac Staff
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Colds - they happen every year. And, once they get started, they make the rounds through families and workplaces. As sure as winter is approaching, so is the COLD season. In the 1886 Farmers’ Almanac our medical advise was to “smell a dirty sock.” This effectively cleared one’s sinuses.

120 years later and there is no cure for the common cold. But we are a little smarter in how to prevent and control it. Colds last from 2 to 14 days. The average hangs around for a full week. Did you know that there are actually 250 different viruses that lead to colds. Because of the sheer number, it is hard to find a vaccination that works.

Here are the symptoms:

• Mucus build up in your nose
• Difficulty breathing through your nose
• Swelling of sinuses
• Sneezing
• Sore throat
• Headache
• Slight fever

Common Treatments:

• Rest
• Chicken Soup (yes it does wonders)
• Use petroleum jelly around the nose
• Spray saline in your nose
• Gargle with warm water
• drink plenty of clear decaffeinated fluids
• Increase your intake of vitamin C and zinc

Prevention:

• Wash your hands multiple times each day
• Avoid people with colds (no hugging them
• Keep surfaces shared by others clean - yes, carry a can of disinfectant with you.
• Cover your nose and mouth when sneezing.

There is now a technique that is preferred. It is called Coughing into your Sleeves. Check out a website that discusses and demonstrates the proper way to accomplish this. By way of this blog, we are going to make Coughing into your sleeve fashionable…. the preferred method to stop cold germs. Check out www.coughsafe.com. The title is “Why Don’t We Do It in Our Sleeves?. Good question. this video may not save your life but it might help stop the spread of the common cold.

I know it will take awhile for me to cough into my sleeve instead of the socially acceptable hands. But, I will learn and teach others. And, if you are wearing a strapless gown or swimsuit, be sure to have a smell sock close at hand. It still does the trick.

For our full story about Colds, check pages 78 - 79 of the 2007 Farmers’ Almanac.

Technorati Tags Cold Cures

by pgeiger
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Over the years the Farmers’ Almanac has championed a number of “Campaigns.” It started in 1995 when my dad realized the US Post Office eliminated the city and state on a letter being canceled and replaced it with part of the zip code. Apparently, people collected postmarks much as they do stamps.

Two years later and hundreds of thousands of letters, postmarks were returned.

We have avoided “political issues.” In fact the last time we made a political statement was in 1828 when we said “Congress spoke too much and spent too much” and have not made an utterance since. But, we have done a few things that we think are fun and speak to what “really bugs folks.” I won’t discuss all of them, but a few that were great to discuss and get feedback include:

by pgeiger
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