FOR RELEASE THE WEEK OF MARCH 4, 2001:
My mother was recently diagnosed with osteoporosis, so I’ve been trying to get more calcium into my diet. Are those calcium-fortified energy bars better for you than skim milk?
If you’re watching your weight, skim milk beats calcium-fortified energy bars, says Martha Raidl, University of Idaho extension nutrition specialist. Both the typical energy bar and an 8-ounce glass of skim milk will give you about 300 milligrams of calcium, but the energy bar comes at twice the caloric price.
Not only does the average energy bar contain 180 calories–compared with skim milk’s 80 to 90–but the ingredients in many of these bars also include sugar and unhealthy "trans-fats" (another name for partially hydrogenated oils).
"Try to get your calcium from low-fat dairy products," Raidl advises.
When I was putting his clothes in the washer the other day, I found a steamy love note from a girl in my 10-year-old son’s pocket. I’m really shocked that 10-year-olds today are exchanging these kinds of X-rated messages! What should I say to my son?
Harriet Shaklee, University of Idaho extension family development specialist, sympathizes with your experience. "It’s pretty shocking when children are showing romantic interest so much sooner than we thought they would," she says. "But we are living in a really sexualized environment and kids are surrounded by advertising and television shows that promote highly sexualized images." Consequently, Shaklee’s not surprised that your son and his pen pal have "reached the conclusion that steamy notes like this should be part of their lives."
Your challenge is to teach your son your family’s values and persuade him that yours are the values that he should adopt. "Emphasize guidance rather than punishment," Shaklee says. "Your son is a young person finding his way. Tell him that he’s in over his head and that, while romance will someday be a sweet part of his life, it’s not something to jump into–either now or later."
By focusing your comments on what lies ahead for him, you can use this early-warning signal to discuss how adults form healthy relationships with the opposite sex, Shaklee says. "Remind your son that we want to treat all people with respect and care and that the opposite sex are people just like us who deserve our concern and thoughtfulness."
We had a bad problem with cabbage root maggots last year. They killed a number of our cauliflower, radish and broccoli seedlings. What can we do to stay ahead of them this year?
Cabbage root maggots are "fairly prevalent" in Idaho gardens, where they work their ways down into the soil and attack the roots of beets, broccoli, cabbages, cauliflower, radishes, turnips and other crops. Their root girdling can kill your seedlings and transplants.
"Don’t plant these vegetables where you had them last year," says Bob Stoltz, University of Idaho extension entomologist. The reddish-brown, quarter-inch, football-shaped capsules that harbor the pests through the winter are lying in wait in the soil. Instead, grow these vegetables in another part of the garden this year, then use floating row covers or screens to keep the adult flies from laying eggs at the base of the young plants. Individual screen cones or other barriers will also work.
In his garden, Stoltz mixes a tablespoon of diazinon with a gallon of water and sprays it on the base of the seedlings, saturating the ground directly around them. "Diazinon will still be legal for another four years, and there aren’t too many soil insecticides left that a person can use," he says. Insect-attacking nematodes have been "fairly unsuccessful" against cabbage root maggots.
Can I use a pre-wash stain remover to spot-treat my dry-clean only skirts and jackets? I’d like to save on dry-cleaning costs.
We’d all like to save on dry-cleaning costs, but using a pre-wash stain remover won’t do the trick, says Beverly Healy, University of Idaho extension educator. When you apply a pre-wash stain remover, you always need to launder the treated garment before you wear it again.
Instead, look for stain-removal products in your supermarket’s laundry aisle that have been formulated specifically for treating dry-cleanable garments.
[READERS: Do you have a question about your home, yard or garden? Send it to HomeWise, University of Idaho Ag Communications, Moscow, ID 83844-2332 or e-mail it to homewise@uidaho.edu. Mention of proprietary products or firms does not constitute endorsement by the University of Idaho Cooperative Extension System or imply approval to the exclusion of other suitable products or firms.]