Bedford- The national beef checkoff, thanks to the Iowa and Pennsylvania Beef Councils, sponsored the annual Pennsylvania Academy of Family Physicians CME conference, in Philadelphia, March 2-4.
The academy’s annual meeting drew nearly 200 family physicians, residents and students from across Pennsylvania, for the three-day educational event. The conference allowed the checkoff to engage directly with this influential group of health care professionals to share the positive benefits of lean beef in the diets of their patients. Attendees enjoyed the Smart Start recipe collection, encouraging physicians to recommend beef as a nutrient-dense option for infants and toddlers through flavorful and nutritious beef meals the whole family can enjoy. Physicians also learned the importance of lean beef in the diets of variety of patients they counsel and how simple lean beef meals can be, with the new American Heart Association Heart Check-approved recipes. During the exhibition portion, nearly 60 attendees engaged with staff at the beef booth and 100% of those polled had a positive opinion of beef, stating either “The positives of beef strongly outweighed the negatives,” or “The positives of beef somewhat outweighed the negatives.”
After two full days of educational sessions, the physicians had the chance unwind at the Checkoff-sponsored, 2nd Annual Chili Cook-Off competition, with upwards of 50 physicians in attendance. Six different chili recipes were entered and featured at the evening reception on Saturday, March 3, where physicians could try each one and vote on their favorite. The ‘Killer Beef Chili’ submitted by Tammy Bonawitz of Geisinger Medical Center took first place. The recipe is featured below. Coming in second place was Kurt Ehrenfeuchter, defending his champion title from last year, with his “Knock Your Socks Off- Texas Chili’.
KILLER BEEF CHILI
- ¾ pound ground beef
- 1 onion, chopped
- 1 green pepper, chopped
- ¼ tsp pepper
- 1 can Bush’s ‘Mild Chili Magic Chili Starter’
- 1- 40 oz can kidney beans, drained
- 2-15 oz cans pinto beans, drained
- 1-28 oz can petite diced tomatoes
- 1-15 oz can tomato paste
- 1-15 oz can tomato sauce
- ½ cup brown sugar
- 1 tsp chili powder
DIRECTIONS
- Brown together ground beef, onion, chopped green pepper and pepper. Drain fat.
- Stir in Bush’s ‘Mild Chili Magic Chili Starter’, kidney beans, pinto beans, tomatoes, tomato paste, tomato sauce, brown sugar and chili powder.
- Bring mixture to a low boil, reduce heat to low, and simmer for at least 30 minutes and enjoy!
The checkoff is thankful for our continued partnership with the Pennsylvania Academy of Family Physicians and opportunities to build beef demand with their members. “Hosting engaging events like the Chili Cook-Off demonstrates that when our nutrition influencers are more comfortable preparing beef themselves, they are more likely to recommend it to their patients as a nutrient-dense protein source,” states Jennifer Orr, Director of Nutrition Education with the Northeast Beef Promotion Initiative.
The Pennsylvania Academy of Family Physicians currently works on behalf of 5,000 family physicians, family medicine residents and students as a professional member-driven association. The Academy serves state physicians through acting as the leading resource for training of family physicians, being the primary voice of physicians on health care issues, setting standards for organized medicine and being a leader in the community on health care issues.
For more information, questions or photos, please contact Jennifer Orr jorr@pabeef.org. For more information about your beef checkoff investment, visit MyBeefCheckoff.com. Internal links within this document are funded and maintained by the Beef Checkoff. All other outgoing links are to websites maintained by third parties.
# # #
The Beef Checkoff Program was established as part of the 1985 Farm Bill. The checkoff assesses $1 per head on the sale of live domestic and imported cattle, in addition to a comparable assessment on imported beef and beef products. States may retain up to 50 cents on the dollar and forward the other 50 cents per head to the Cattlemen’s Beef Promotion and Research Board, which administers the national checkoff program, subject to USDA approval.
Source: Pennsylvania Beef Council
