Jessica Rieper

Occupational Therapy for Autism Spectrum Disorder

99 Restaurant Campaign Promotes Food Tourism in Iowa

Jessica Rieper has a strong interest in food and travel. A dedicated foodie, Jessica Rieper shares her love of the culinary world through her Facebook-based food blog, Central Iowa Foodie, which highlights eating establishments across the Hawkeye State.

In an effort to push Iowa’s food scene into the spotlight, the Iowa Tourism Office launched the initiative “99 Counties, 99 Restaurants.” The resulting list features one outstanding restaurant option from each county. In addition to encouraging food-focused tourism, the campaign hopes to raise awareness of Iowa’s culinary diversity.

The list includes steakhouses, pizza places, cafes, and bistros. Many of the restaurants also fall into trendy niche categories, such as farm-to-table, comfort foods, and gastro pubs serving locally made brews.

The campaign also includes award-winning suggestions, such as the Cobble Hill Eatery and Dispensary headed by James Beard Award semifinalist Andy Schumacher, and James Beard American Classic recipient Archie’s Waeside Cafe. Diners have been documenting and sharing their meals on social media using the campaign’s hashtag, #ThisIsIowa

What Are Fidgets, and What Are They Used For?

When not working at Co-op Financial Services as a project manager, Jessica Rieper spends her time blogging. Jessica Rieper writes on “Issac’s World” about autism and autism awareness.

Fidgets toys gained popularity over the past decade (particularly fidget spinners), but began as tools for children with conditions like autism and ADHD. Fidgets work by offering an additional form of stimulation. This stimulation is often tactile, but can also be auditory or visual, as different people operate best under different conditions. They have many benefits, including helping increase focus and assisting in teaching impulse control.

The classification of fidgets is also relatively new. People have been clicking pencils and keeping smooth stones in their pockets since long before the first dedicated fidget toys were made. While the fidget spinner is the most well-known of the toys, they can take many forms, including slime, putty, textured pencil grips, and stress balls.

The increased popularity of the toys helped destigmatize the use of fidgets, and growing demand improved the variety offered. However, fidgets aren’t technically toys. They are tools, backed by studies and reviews, and can provide benefits to specific populations. To have them classified as toys is worrying to parents and others who rely on them.

Tips on How to Make Tasty Salads at Home

Jessica Rieper is a project manager with Co-op Financial Services where she leads complex data conversion initiatives for various clients. Outside of her professional work, Jessica Rieper enjoys food and has a Facebook food blog called Central Iowa Foodie Chic.

One of the major menus covered in food blogs is how to prepare a salad. Most people admit restaurant salads are extremely delicious and would wish to also recreate salads at home which are full of flavor and high quality. If you plan to make interesting restaurant-quality salads in your home, the following tips will be of great use.

1. Make your salad dressing at home as it only requires a bit of work but is worth the effort. As opposed to purchasing a salad dressing from the store, buy fresh ingredients that will give your dressing extra flavor that you might not find in a bottled salad dressing.

2. Cut all your ingredients into small sizes to make each bite tasty and manageable. Nobody enjoys having thick cucumber slices or huge tomato wedges in their salad.

3. Toss the salad before serving it. If each person puts their dressing, some bites are well-coated while others will be flavorless. Add the salad dressing and toss a few minutes before serving to ensure the dressing flavors the vegetables properly.

4. Use a variety of vegetables in your salad to have a varied flavor and texture. Nowadays many grocery stores have mixed vegetables but you can do this on your own at home.