Here are the 5 best tips from our Label Reading Poster contest from the Food and Health Communications Blog:

LYNETTE KAISER: "I love the lesson on label reading and have found that my class participants get the best understanding of what they are eating by seeing it, instead of just reading the information. I use a king-sized Reese's Peanut Butter Cup and a participant to demonstrate what 40 grams of sugar looks like and what 12 grams of fat looks like. They are shocked to actually see what they are putting in their bodies, and after washing their hands they can still feel the film from the fat. It is easy for class members to understand how saturated fat gradually builds up in their arteries to cause clogged arteries and other heart disease. Reading labels has a new meaning. What suprises them the most that we are talking per serving amounts."

HOLLY says:
"- I like to take a label from a popular product that might not seem high in sugar (e.g. vitamin-enhanced water that’s made with sugar) and read through the label. I’ll get a participant to be my assistant. We’ll measure out the number of teaspoons of sugar in a bottle of that product into a clear jar.
- When leading a label reading class, I hand out actual food labels/empty packaging. I find that clients learn better from hands-on experiences. I ask them if they look at the label/nutrition facts panel, and if they do, what do they part do they look at? I also like to quiz the group (assess comprehension): e.g. how much fibre is in a serving of your product? How much sodium?
- We’ll often compare the nutrition fact panels of two related products, e.g. 1% milk vs. whole milk. I’ll ask the participants which product would they choose and why."

NANCY ROSA-MEJIAS says: "I use real labels to distribute among participants, I like the cereal labels, that way people can see how depending on their needs,(i.e., need less sugar, or less salt, some type of disease, like diabetis or high blood pressure), is the kind of cereal they should choose. Also it is interesting to see how the serving size varies on the different cereals depending on weight and not by cup. People emjoy having the label in front of them and discussing about which one is the best choice for them."

CARRIE TAYLOR says: "My favorite “ah ha” moment is teaching consumers how to interpret the added sugar content in terms they understand. Once they learn 4 grams sugar is equivalent to 1 teaspoon sugar, they simply don’t look at their favorite soda and candy bars the same way. It’s hard for them to ignore the fact that their 16-oz bottle for soda is simply water, coloring and 11 teaspoons of sugar. Learning this really opens their eyes for how the Nutrition Facts label can be helpful when shopping for their favorite foods."

From our contest at http://foodandhealth.com/blog/2010/06/5-mistakes-of-label-reading/

Thanks and congrats - we will be mailing you a Label Reading Poster Set soon!!

Our subscriber writes that she is making a food/cooking demonstration for a farmer's market. The good news is that she has plenty of wonderful fruits and vegetables. The challenge is that they only gave her a hot plate and an electric skillet.

"GREAT!" We tell her - an electric skillet is easy to use and it makes everyone feel like they can go home and cook just like you because almost everyone has a skillet and knows how to use it.

Here are our suggestions:

Warm salsa -

Summer's bounty of fresh peppers, tomatoes, onions, herbs and fruits lend themselves well to a warm salsa.

If I was going to make a warm salsa in the skillet, I would chop tomatoes (or use cherry tomatoes just as they are), peppers, green onions, cilantro and peaches/apricots. I would warm them gently - add cilantro and lime at the end and enjoy - this could go great with whole grain pita triangles, chips, veggies, fish, chicken, even fresh salsa or rice - the sky is the limit.

Skillet cobbler -

If you have berries and plums you can make a skillet cobbler. I would cut the plums in quarters and bring to a simmer with sugar and a bit of water plus cinnamon. Then when it is soft add the berries and stir and serve.

There are a few Farmer's Market handouts in our free section here.

And here is the link to a recipe for lower-calorie cheesecake, sorbet cake and a chart on the calories of these items compared to regular frosted cakes.