Better Living for Texans

Grocery store food prices typically increase by about 2% each year, however, prices increased by 3.5% in 2020. As we continue through 2021 food prices continue to steadily rise. Our episode guest, Katie Sotzing, goes over some simple but effective ways to save money on food that will help you avoid the rising food costs from cutting too much into your wallet.

Eating a nutritious meal pattern is important for everybody, however, there are stages in life when nutrition makes an even greater impact on your health! One of those stages for women, is during lactation/breastfeeding. Episode guest, Jade Edgar, an Extension Agent for BLT, shares some excellent information on this topic! If you’re a breastfeeding mom, prepare to soak in some great tips and if you’re not a breastfeeding mom, consider sending this episode to someone who is or soon will be!

It is hot outside! While not everyone enjoys the heat, harmful bacteria found on food thrives in warm weather. On this episode we’re talking about important food safety practices to follow during these hot summer months. Tune in to find out how to prevent bacteria from growing on your food!

Guest: Natalie Knesek, Family and Community Health County Extension Agent.

Today's episode answers the question - how can physical activity improve joint health and mobility? Our joints allow us to run, walk, dance, play sports, pretty much everything we like to do that involves moving! Keeping our joints healthy will allow us to keep doing the movements we enjoy for a long time. So if you ever experience the occasional achy knees or shoulders, maybe your back seems like it's always a little sore...this is the episode for you! Even if you don’t experience issues with your joints, you'll learn a few things that will certainly help limit joint issues in the future. To talk about how physical activity helps our joints, we have Adan Ruiz, Extension Agent for BLT as a guest.

Is it okay to eat something if it is past it's use-by/best-by date? Do you really need to use those bins at the bottom of the refrigerator for meat only? If you have ever had these questions, you will want to listen to this week's podcast!

We are celebrating World Food Safety Day (June 7th) a little early by sharing some fantastic food safety tips on this week's podcast episode. To share these tips and answer some common food safety questions, we have AgriLife Extension's food safety specialist, Rebecca Dittmar as a guest today.

Today’s episode is the season 3 finale! Don’t worry though, we will be back in a few weeks. Today we’re answering the question - “What challenges and successes did Better Living for Texans (BLT) agents and educators experience during the past year?”. As we all know, the COVID-19 pandemic has made some significant impacts on the way go about our daily lives and the BLT program is no exception to that. As a guest today we have BLT Extension Agent, Bonny Mankin, here to tell us about some of the challenges she experienced as an agent as well as things she learned and successes that she saw during this less than normal year.

Check out Bonny's nutrition and physical activity video's by going to her BLT facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/bltpottercounty

Basil, parsley, mint, cilantro, rosemary, thyme, dill, and more! There are so many herbs you can grow and use when cooking. In this episode, we're talking all about how to successfully grow and cook with herbs! Better Living for Texans - Extension Agent, Christy Curran and Horticulture County Extension Agent, Jeanette Castanon, share a lot of great tips that will surely inspire you to grow some of your own herbs, you may even find yourself listening to this episode again.

Have you ever wondered what to do when you grow more fruits or vegetables than you or your family can eat? After all the effort of growing and maintaining a garden, the last thing you want to do is let the produce you have grown go to waste. In this episode we are answering the question – how do you preserve the produce from your garden? Or in other words, how can you make it last longer. To answer this question we have BLT extension agent, Andrea Torres-Barragon as a guest today.

Better Living for Texans (BLT) offers gardening programs to youth and adults. Participants of these programs have expressed improved accessibility to and intake of fruits and vegetables. Today we are joined by BLT extension agent, Amy Smith-Shively and returning guest, Greg Grant a county extension agent who specializes in horticulture. In this episode Amy and Greg talk about the youth gardening program they’ve been doing in Smith County and the benefits it has had on their participants and the community.

How do you grow a successful vegetable garden? To answer this question I have Greg Grant, a county extension agent who specializes in horticulture on the podcast today. Greg goes over the top 3 most important things you need to know when growing a vegetable garden. Whether you are planning on growing a garden or you’ve already started a Springtime garden, the tips shared in today’s episode will surely help you have a successful garden this season!