Eat Your Vegetables Day 2013

By Terry Orr

Eating our vegetables each and every day along with fruit - at least twice a day - preferrably at each meal makes good healthy sense and good for you! Let us not forget those healthy snack during the day as well.

Celebrating our health on Eat Your Vegetables Day - 

June 17, 2013!

(Photos from Google) 

Child Nutrition

By Nurse Diane

There has been a lot of information lately about childhood obesity, and the quality of school lunches, with the emphasis on more fresh fruits and vegetables and less junk foods.  However, there are some children in other parts of the world that don't have the option of fresh fruits and vegetables.  In some countries, they are fortunate just to have one meal a day.  I am sure you have seen the commercials asking you to send money to help the children, and if you are like me, you may be skeptical about these organizations.  Which ones are legitimate, which ones are not?

April is Global child nutrition Month.  According to gcnf.org, Global Child Nutrition Month is observed annually in April to heighten awareness of childhood hunger. In 2009, the World Food Program estimated that as many as 350 million of the world’s children suffer from poverty and hunger. The goals and ideals of Global Child Nutrition Month are to acknowledge that global hunger can be overcome by combining the will and resources of individuals and organizations. Freeing children from hunger allows them to become self-supporting and contributing citizens and is a step toward building a stable and peaceful world.

Their website offers several ways that you, or your community can raise money to help end this global problem, and feed the children.  Some of their suggestions include:

1. The Great Bottle Battle: Each class should decorate a container to be kept in their homeroom. During the contest period, classes will race to see which room can fill their container the fastest. The homeroom that collects the most money is the winner!
2. Help Serve: Every student has his or her favorite teacher. Students can “vote” on which teachers they want to help serve lunch on a specified day. Students can “vote” by placing money into jars decorated with participating teacher’s name/picture. At the end of the designated voting time, count the money and the top three teachers will help in the cafeteria, serving students.
3. World Food Day: Volunteer your time to prepare special foods from around the world and host an event in the cafeteria or at a school function. Students, parents, and staff can sample different foods from around the world.
4. International Night: Work with your local parent organization to host a “discover the world” party where a foreign film or a documentary on world hunger is shown. Parents can “buy” their tickets by making a donation.
5. Teachers vs. Students: Coordinate with a parent organization or student group to host teachers vs. student’s basketball game. Have the cafeteria staff and parents volunteer their time to host a concession booth to increase fundraising.
6. Community Milk Money: Wash empty milk cartons and band them with a creative Change Our World milk label. Take the containers to area businesses and ask them to place containers next to registers to collect change from customers during a set amount of time. Collect the change-filled milk cartons after the allotted time has expired.
7. Chain Builders: Have different classrooms and grade levels compete to see who can build the largest paper chain. Sell strips of paper for 25¢ each. Allow students to buy strips for a predetermined period of time. At the end of the donation period, count the links and display the chains to see which class wins bragging rights.
8. Pizza for the World: Have the students or staff build the largest pizza in your community by making a circle (chalk, rope, etc.) that they toss coins into, creating a “pizza” made with money that can be donated.
9. Car Wash: More than good clean fun, a car wash is a great way to spread the word. Work with student organizations or cafeteria staff to work the car wash and hand out information about your fundraiser, global hunger and GCNF’s vision.
10. Make A Match: Visit area businesses and ask them to match the funds collected at your school.

For more information about child nutrition and how you can help, visit this website http://www.gcnf.org/

(All images from Google) 

Sweet Potato Awareness Month

(Google Image) 

Chef Diane

My mother loves sweet potatoes.  When I was growing up she used to tell me that she take two hot sweet potatoes to to school every day, one in each pocket, to keep her hands warm on her long uphill walks to school each morning in the snow, then eat the potatoes at lunch. I should have realized that growing up in the south, on the beach, there were no hills or snow to hinder her daily walks, however it wasn’t until recently that my aunt, her sister, told me that she never had to walk up hill in the snow with sweet potatoes in her pockets to keep her hands warm.  But she does however love sweet potatoes.

Every year at Thanksgiving and Christmas she cooks them, puts them in a dish and tops them with marshmallows and bakes them until they are golden brown.  All she adds to the potatoes are butter, and the rest of the family is not as fond of that, but my mother isnt concerned, that means more for her.  I love them with pecans, brown sugar and cinnamon, they are delicious that way, and no leftovers.

(Google Image) 

Sweet potatoes are an excellent source of vitamins and beta carotene and antioxidants. They are also a good source of fiber as well.  Actually, the sweet potato is not a potato at all, but a root. I have noticed more use of the sweet potato, especially in the form of fries at local restaurants.  At thanksgiving when my father fries the annual turkey, he also uses the mandarin I gave him and slices up sweet potatoes and fries them as chips.  They are just like Lay's potato chips, only better!  I also have friends who will bake a sweet potato pie instead of pumpkin pie for their thanksgiving dessert.

November is Sweet Potato Awareness Month; this is a perfect time to celebrate with many different delicious dishes.  They are not only good, but good for you.  So this November, bake, fry, or make a pie out of some sweet potatoes.  Below is a recipe for sweet potato pie from southernfood.com to get you started in the month long awareness of this root.

Sweet Potato Pie

Ingredients:

4 ounces butter, softened

2 cups cooked and mashed sweet potatoes

2 cups granulated sugar

1 small can (5 ounces, about 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons) evaporated milk

1 teaspoon vanilla

3 eggs, beaten

1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon

2 prepared pie shells, unbaked

Preparation:

Mix butter, potatoes, sugar and evaporated milk until well blended.

Add vanilla, eggs, and cinnamon; mix well. Pour into the prepared pie shells.

Bake in a 350° oven for about 1 hour, until set.

Makes 2 pies.

American Diabetes Month

A Day in the Life of Diabetes

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By Terry Orr

I am a type 2 diabetic and try to follow my doctors’ advice by eating, exercising and taking my medications – key word of course it trying – although doing a better job these days.  For any of you who are, know family and friends or are a good candidate for having diabetes – help them anyway you can and talk with your doctor to get yourself on the right track.  This is the first of six diabetes-related articles we will be posting this month.

(Google Image) 

A typical day for a diabetic begins with:

• Checking your weight;
• Check your blood sugar;
• Check your blood pressure;
• Taking your medications;
• Morning exercises (always seems to brighten my day);
• Eating a healthy, diabetic-friendly breakfast;
• Walking and climbing stairs when possible;
• Have a small healthy snack mid-morning;
• Get up from your desk, stretch and walk a little (I used my normal restroom breaks to accomplish this many days);
• Eat a well-balanced and nutritionist lunch (Frequently, I would leave my desk and walk down several flights of stair to eat in the café and return the same way afterwards);
• Walk (when the weather was nice, a couple of my friends and I took a nice walk outdoors before returning to the office – a wonderful break in routine);
• Try and have a stress-free commute home (If you can use mass transit – it is very helpful);
• Exercise (frequently after getting home and checking on everyone – do some stretching and light exercise before dinner);
• Spend time with the family;
• Enjoy a light and healthy dinner;
• Walk around the block once or twice (often with the family and chat along the way – nice way to spend some family time); and
• Go to bed early enough to allow you to get eight restful hours of sleep.

Sounds simple – but totally unrealistic for most of us – but you would be surprised with a little effort how you can blend these activities into your daily routine.

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Here are just a few of the recent statistics on diabetes from the American Diabetes Association (ADA):

• Nearly 26 million children and adults in the United States have diabetes.
• Another 79 million Americans have pre-diabetes and are at risk for developing type 2 diabetes.
• The American Diabetes Association estimates that the total national cost of diagnosed diabetes in the United States is $174 billion.

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The Toll on Health (Fact Sheet)

• Two out of three people with diabetes die from heart disease or stroke.
• Diabetes is the leading cause of kidney failure.
• Diabetes is the leading cause of new cases of blindness among adults.
• The rate of amputation for people with diabetes is 10 times higher than for people without diabetes.
• About 60-70 percent of people with diabetes have mild to severe forms of nerve damage that could result in pain in the feet or hands, slowed digestion, sexual dysfunction and other nerve problems.

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From the good people at CDC they offer the following information on important steps to take to control diabetes:

• Talk to your health care provider about how to manage your blood glucose (A1c), blood pressure, and cholesterol.
• Stop smoking and do not use any other tobacco products.
• Get a flu vaccine. For those with diabetes, type 1 and type 2, it is important to ask for the "shot" version. Talk to your health care provider about a pneumonia (pneumococcal) shot. People with diabetes are more likely to die from pneumonia or influenza than people who do not have diabetes. CDC recommends that everybody aged 6 months and older get a flu vaccine, including family members of people with diabetes.
• Reach or stay at a healthy weight.
• Make sure you're physically active. Plan for 2 hours and 30 minutes each week of moderate physical activity, such as walking quickly or gardening, or 1 hour and 15 minutes each week of vigorous physical activity, such as jogging or jumping rope. Add muscle strengthening activities on 2 or more days each week. Physical activity can help you control your weight, blood glucose, and blood pressure, as well as raise your "good" cholesterol and lower your "bad" cholesterol.

Obesity is a Major Risk Factor.  Being overweight or obese raises your risk of developing type 2 diabetes.

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Other risk factors for type 2 diabetes include the following:

• Age 45 or older
• Developed diabetes while pregnant (gestational diabetes)
• Have a parent, brother or sister with type 2 diabetes
• Are not physically active
• Belong to certain racial or ethnic groups. African Americans, Hispanic/Latino, American Indians, and some Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders are at high risk for type 2 diabetes.

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People with diabetes are at high risk for serious flu complications. The best way to prevent the flu is by getting vaccinated each year. Fast Facts from CDC:

• People with diabetes are three times more likely to die from flu complications than people without diabetes.
• Death rates from pneumonia and influenza among African-Americans with diabetes are double the death rates among whites with diabetes.

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References and Links:

• http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0002194/
• http://diabetes.webmd.com/
• http://diabetes.webmd.com/glossary
• http://www.stopdiabetes.com/whats-happening/american-diabetes-month.html?cr=redcpcggdiabetesmonthgenhelptheamerican&gclid=CKLV3L7sprMCFYZM4Aod9S4AxA
• http://www.diabetes.org/in-my-community/programs/american-diabetes-month/
• http://www.diabetes.org/in-my-community/programs/american-diabetes-month/american-diabetes-month-2012-fact-sheet.pdf
• http://www.cdc.gov/Features/LivingWithDiabetes/index.html
• http://healthfinder.gov/nho/PDFs/NovemberNHOtoolkit.pdf

National Escargot Day

(Google Image) 

A man walks into a Cadillac dealer and buys a car...but before he gets it delivered,

he asks the salesman to put a large 'S' on the doors and roof.

"What do you want an 'S' on the doors and roof of a Cadillac for?"

The man replies: so as I pass people on the freeway they can say: "Look at that 'S' car go!"

By Diane Forrest

I remember watching the movie Pretty Women, with Richard Gere and Julia Roberts.  On her first evening out, he takes her to a business dinner at a fancy restaurant.  For the appetizer they are served escargot.  Julia picks up one with a special tool, and before she can grasp it, the critter flies from her hands, across the room, and is expertly caught by the waiting attendant.  She exclaims, "slippery little suckers" and he replies, it happens all the time.  In fact the same waiter or actor who played the waiter, Allan Kent also caught something accidently tossed by Anne Hathaway in the Princess Diaries.

(Google Image) 

Today is National Escargot Day.  Escargot is French for snails.  They are removed from their shells, cooked, the replaced in their shells and served.  They are appetizers, served in French restaurants.  Escargot can be considered a healthy food because snails are high in protein and very low in fat. However, not all species of snails are edible and the taste of the snails vary among species.

(Google Image) 

If you have never tried them before, below is a recipe from cooks.com.  Instead of placing them in shells, this recipe calls for stuffing them in mushroom caps.  Why not try your hand and your palate at some escargot today.

ESCARGOT

• 1 stick of butter, softened
• 1 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tbsp. chopped shallots
• 2 lg. cloves garlic, crushed
• 1 can escargot
• Mushroom caps

Rinse escargot: pat dry. Mix first 4 ingredients. Place 1 mushroom cap in bottom of escargot cup dish. Add 1 tsp. of butter mixture and escargot. Add butter and escargot until all escargot are used. End with butter mixture. Bake at 450 degrees for 10 to 20 minutes or until butter bubbles. Serve with thick slices of crusty French bread.

(Google Image)