Brian:  Joining me now is Susan Allen, program coordinator for Dairy Max.  So Susan, we just finished watching some stories on dairy economics.  How important is June dairy month for Oklahoma?
Susan Allen:  Well, June dairy month is a very important time for us.  It’s a time to celebrate Oklahoma’s dairy farmers.  Our theme for this month is Our Land, Our Cows, Our Passion.  We talk about how they treat the environment well; how they treat their cows well.  And then our passion is the high quality dairy products that we put on our tables every day, our tables and yours.  Milk, cheese and yogurt, all of those have about a third of the calcium that you need every day.  So, if you get three of those, you’re pretty much getting your RDA, recommended daily allowance, for calcium.  But in addition to calcium, you get eight other essential nutrients in dairy, making it a nutrient rich food, which is very important.  It’s important for us to choose nutrient rich foods first in our diet, and then fill in with other things as we go along.
Brian:  Well, and we’re a rush, rush, rush society; so, how can we make sure that our family is getting all the dairy requirements that they need?
Allen:  If you start your day off with breakfast with a dairy product, you’ve got one down.  All you have to do is do two more during the day.  And some of these grab-and-go quick serve things, you know, my daughter is just two years old and she loves gogurt, you know, because you just squeeze it in your mouth and ready to go.  They’re easy to pack into lunches, you know, with ice, a blue ice and that kind of thing.  It’s, like I said, what we want, when we want it.
Brian:  It’s a matter of thinking of it first.  For those of you interested in a healthy recipe involving dairy products, head to OkHorizon.com to see Susan and me whip up a peanut butter banana breakfast smoothie.