Smart lunchroom program changes kids’ eating habits one meal at a time | Health, Medical, and Science Updates

Smart lunchroom program changes kids’ eating habits one meal at a time | Health, Medical, and Science Updates

Women's History Month

On Saturday March 10th I had a wonderful time attending and presenting at The Elizabeth Cady Stanton Women's Symposium. This year's theme was "Renew! Revitalize! Foster Your Resiliency and had a focus on Schohairie County's recovery from Tropical Storm Lee. My presentation focused on beginning with small changes towards becoming more independent through creating a sustainable lifestyle. The small changes included growing more of our own food, composting your household waste, adding easy to build passive solar additions to your home, collecting rain water from your roof or out buildings and sharing and exchanging food with your community.

(For more about the Elizabeth Cady Stanton and the Women's Symposium please follow this link:EBS)

Without the comments and natural flow of conversation that happened that morning,  the following copy of my presentation notes that went  along with the Power Point presentation is pretty dry. I always write these notes and then don't use them because what comes to me spontaneously usually is much more "enthusiastic" as one of my attendees put it. Anyway, here it is
Fostering Resiliency in Your Own Backyard

To be truly free, we need to create a more sustainable living environment where by growing our own food, harvesting rainwater and capturing energy from the sun we become more independent of the corporate giants that take less care of our planet then we would like.

 

“Every morning I awake torn between a desire to save  the world and

an inclination to savor it.

This makes it hard to plan the day!”

(E. B. White)

 

When I was younger I was mostly concerned with saving the world but now I seem to spend a lot more time savoring the day. I’ve taken a break from the savoring to share some ideas that might help you to take more time to enjoy yourself why gaining independence and doing something good for the environment and your health.

 

nCommunity

nHealth

nEnvironment

nEconomy

Being a locavore is all about improving you and community’s health by growing and consuming local produce. This is better for our environment and our economy

1.    

Justification for Local Produce and Sustainable Living

•  Rising cost of food, fuel and water
• Food quality, safety and nutritional value declining
• Loss of variety and diversity of the food we eat
• The financial pressure on individuals

High gas prices are added to the price of our food and everything else we purchase from distant vendors. Foods grown on industrial farms are grown in nutrient poor soils and lose many more vitamins as they travel hundreds of miles to our supermarkets. Companies like Monsanto actually own certain seed crops, like corn, and fine farmers for not using them! All of these things impact our health, our pocket books and our sense of control over our lives.

Today, 58 million Americans spend approximately $30 billion every year to maintain over 23 million acres of lawn. That’s an average of over a third of an acre and $517 each. The same size plot of land could still have a small lawn for recreation, plus produce all of the vegetables needed to feed a family of six. The lawns in the United States consume around 270 billion gallons of water a week—enough to water 81 million acres of organic vegetables, all summer long. Lawns use ten times as many chemicals per acre as industrial farmland. These pesticides, fertilizers, and herbicides run off into our groundwater and evaporate into our air, causing widespread pollution and global warming, and greatly

 

Goals for Re-Energizing Your Life and Community

• nMake your Community a friendlier place by sharing your excess produce 
• Improve your Health and save money by growing your own food (or buying local) 
• Save heating Expenses by adding solar collectors to your home 
• Improve your Environment by saving roof rain water run off 

The downspout that supplies this barrel is fed by about 600 square feet of roof, so has the potential of about 300 gallons per inch of rainfall(allowing for some losses in the collection process). Rain water collection can be as complicated as you like so that you can use it for everything from drinking and cooking to bathing and watering your garden. I am just recommending baby steps to get you started and feeling independent of some rules and regulations. If you collect rainwater, you can water your garden and wash your car even during a drought.  

An example of a raised bed garden supported by cedar boards. They were 16 by1 foot and were cut into 4 foot and 12 foot lengths to make the box. This particular year my woodchucks took a little more than their share so we simply staple stock fence to the board and no more damges was done to any of the beds. Behind this bed is an uneclosed raised bed growing potatoes.  

Schematic for raised bed

 (some pictures and schematics would not load so lets load the actual picture of the built Sun Grabber designed by the Maine Solar Energy Association)

 

This is a schematic for an easy to build and install solar collector. It can be used as an area to start seeds or even as a season expanding greenhouse. Another idea in this vein is to fill black plastic barrels with water and use them to keep the temperature up in your greenhouse of enclosed porch or deck

Examples of solar add-on

And last here is a a great way to do composting as a garden from the Food Not Lawns movement in Santa Barbara, California

Follow this ink: www.foodnotlawns.com

Please feel free to e-mail me if you want any more information or would like me to address your group on any or all of these topics. jrnutrition@gmail.com

Healthy Habits to Help Reduce the Pain of Arthritis

A friend of mine is going to a conference in NYC to learn about being an Ambassador for the Arthritis Foundation and asked that people support their favorite organizations to help find a cure for this painful condition. I said I would help with some nutrition advice.

Healthy eating habits can help the body in its efforts to heal itself, and in some cases, particular foods can lessen symptoms. To address the pain and inflammation commonly associated with arthritis, try the following:

· Decrease animal proteins toward 10 percent of daily caloric intake. Replace animal protein as much as possible with plant protein (whole grains, nuts, seeds, rice, beans and tofu and other soy products).

· Eliminate milk and milk products, substituting other calcium sources (soy milk and leafy green vegetables like kale, spinach, escarole, and broccoli).

· Eliminate polyunsaturated vegetable oils, margarine, vegetable shortening, all partially hydrogenated oils, and all foods that might contain trans-fatty acids (such as deep-fried foods). Use extra-virgin olive oil as your main fat.

· Increase intake of omega-3 fatty acids (eat walnuts, wild caught salmon, mackerel, sardines and flax).

· Eat ginger and turmeric regularly, both of which are natural anti-inflammatory spices.

· Reduce your consumption of foods made with wheat flour and sugar, especially bread and most packaged snack foods (including chips and pretzels). Actually, most packaged and/or processed foods contain ingredients that can exacerbate inflammatory conditions. READ THE LABELS!

· Eat more whole grains (not whole wheat flour products), beans, winter squashes, and sweet potatoes.

· Cook pasta al dente and eat it in moderation. (Half a cup serving size)

· Avoid products made with high fructose corn syrup and MSG-style additives

Add regular exercise to these tips and you should reduce the inflammation of arthritis.

Wishing you a pain free holiday season—Jamie Risedorph

You Say Potato and I Say Yam…

Okay, a little too much poetic license was taken in the title but I have to take up this discussion about yams vs. sweet potato as it was brought up on two occasions at the co-op last week while I was present. I decided to do some research because I was not really very clear on the difference as being something like all yams are sweet potatoes but all sweet potatoes are not yams and where they grow best or don’t grow at all.

As a nutritionist I have always recommended sweet potatoes as one on the most nutrient dense and delicious yet low calorie foods you can eat. They are packed with fat-soluble vitamin A and compared to yams, sweet potatoes contain significantly higher amounts of calcium, iron, and vitamin E, and twice as much protein per serving. However the yams come out the winner in the fatty acid category. Sweet potatoes contain less omega-3 fats than yams, and have nearly twice as many omega-6 fats, which are known to inhibit the body's ability to make use of the omega-3's..

However, those of you who suffer from arthritis, gout or IBS should take note that the sweet potato wins as it is packed with anti-inflammatory compounds. Yams can actually aggravate these conditions.

Both are low on the glycemic scale (16-17) and offer benefits for diabetics.

What about the botanical differences of the yam vs. the sweet potato?

Apparently the yam encompasses a very large variety of species and the sweet potato is only distantly related and is actually a member of the morning glory family. Other botanists say they are not related at all and that the yam is from the tuber of a tropical vine, Dioscorea batatas. The yam is popular in South America, Africa and the Caribbean while the sweet potato is the North American choice and grows well throughout the United States.

So are we all happy with this explanation? Let me know!

Bittersweet October

October is a bittersweet month for gardeners. The cool crisp air and brilliant sunshine lighting the glorious colored leaves and deep blue skies are the sweet part. The freezing temperatures and frosts that result from those brilliant cloudless skies with stars popping out like living beings causes the bitter part—dying vegetation that has sustained you as you nurtured it through spring and summer and early fall.

Of course the beauty of the season is not really the only sweet part. The fall vegetables not only taste great, they are amazingly nutritious. Oddly, the vegetable that we use more as a decorative symbol of the season or for pies, the pumpkin, is one of the most nutritious in the squash family.

Pumpkin is rich in the anti-oxidant beta-carotene and this makes it a great anti-inflammatory food that boosts the immune system and slows the aging process. The zinc present in pumpkin also boosts the immune system and promotes bones density. The high levels of potassium present help lower the risk of hypertension and if that is not enough to make you want to eat pumpkin as a food instead of just in pie, pumpkin has been found to reduce the risk of macular degeneration!

Pumpkin is also rich in calcium and magnesium, two of the three vitamins and minerals needed for bone health. The third is vitamin D and we should all be taking that as a supplement this time of year.

If you need more reasons to enjoy this delicious squash, here is a complete list of the nutrients present in one cup of boiled pumpkin:

• Calcium - 37 mg
• Carbohydrate - 12 gm
• Dietary Fiber - 3 gm
• Folate - 21 mcg
• Iron - 1.4 mg
• Magnesium - 22 mg
• Niacin - 1 mg
• Potassium - 564 mg
• Protein - 2 grams
• Selenium - 0.50 mg
• Vitamin A - 2650 IU
• Vitamin C - 12 mg
• Vitamin E - 3 mg
• Zinc - 1 mg

Calories - 49 

You say Tomato and I say Potato..

What a bountiful year for the nightshade vegetables! Beautifully red tomatoes and potatoes abound in my kitchen, and lets not forget the zucchini and beans! Now is the time of the season when we start to say, “How do I use all of this?”

A great topping for pasta or rice is simply chopping tomatoes and zucchini into bite size chunks, sauté them together with a clove or two of garlic in olive oil, add a couple of chopped basil leaves when the zucchini is tender and spoon over your pasta. (Adjust garlic and basil according to the amount of servings you are preparing)

An uncooked version would be to chop tomatoes and mix with minced garlic and chopped basil leaves and spoon over hot pasta—yum!

Salsa is the ultimate summer concoction. Chop up tomatoes, jalapenos, onion, garlic and cilantro and add some limejuice. AWESOME!

I love to boil the new potatoes, drain them and then just toss some Earth Balance (butter) and fresh garden peas in and serve. Add mint leaves if you have them. If not, basil is good here too.

If you still are at a loss of what to do with this abundant squash, freeze it! Grate it up and freeze in quart size freezer bags to extend the taste of summer into winter. Warm the house up making zucchini bread and you’ll wonder how you could have ever despaired of using all that zucchini!

Tomatoes also do not have to be jarred but can be frozen whole in freezer bags to use in the darkening winter days anyway you chose.

Celebrate abundance!

Foods for Healthy Summer Skin

Not only is the skin our largest organ, it is also the most visible indicator of our health. Keeping our skin healthy and young looking can be aided by healthy eating. Let me share 10 foods with you that you should eat more of not only for a glowing complexion, but also for improved overall health.

In general fruits, vegetables, whole grains and nuts have so many beneficial phytonutrients that they are all powerhouses of health. Studies have shown that vitamins and nutrients received from food sources are much more effective than those derived from supplements. Here’s my “skin specific” list:

1.      Avocadoes are excellent sources of vitamin E and lutein Vitamin E can help reduce the sun’s harmful effects and combat collagen breakdown. Lutein, a carotenoid found in leafy greens, increases skin hydration, improves skin elasticity, and protects against deterioration of beneficial lipids that keep skin plump and firm

2.      Berries, of all colors but particularly raspberries, cranberries, and strawberries, are excellent sources of ellagic acid, an antioxidant that helps protect skin against sun damage.

3.      Carrots and other bright-orange foods, such as sweet potatoes, are excellent sources of vitamin A, which is vital for skin maintenance and repair.

4.      Dark chocolate can help skin maintain a youthful appearance and its flavonols act like antioxidants, which help protect skin from harmful UV light. The most effective dark chocolate contains 85% cocoa or a minimum of 75%. CAUTION! No more than 1 ounce a day! High in sat fats!

5.      Flaxseed oil contains omega-3 and -6 essential fatty acids, both of which decrease skin roughness and scaling, In addition, omega-3 fatty acids build the cell membranes and reduce inflammation.

6.      Kiwis have one of the highest vitamin C concentrations of any fruit. Vitamin C is a powerful antioxidant that quenches free radicals, which cause skin damage and is crucial to the production of collagen, a protein that helps maintain skin firmness and prevent sagging. Two kiwis a day keeps wrinkles away!

7.      Red grapes contain citrus flavonoids and vitamin C that help to build and repair collagen. If you prefer your red grapes turned into wine, go for it!

8.      Spinach (my personal favorite!) has one of the most impressive nutritional profiles of any vegetable, with more than 80 distinct nutrients. One cup of fresh spinach provides almost 200 percent of your daily vitamin K, which inhibits calcification that causes hardening of the arteries and limits skin elasticity, leading to wrinkles. Because the body cannot store vitamin K for long periods of time or in large doses, benefits are best obtained through food. Spinach, along with other dark, leafy greens, is also a rich source of skin-enriching vitamins A, C, and E.

9.      White tea is sky-high in antioxidants, fights cancer, boosts heart health, and protects skin! Because white tea is less processed than other teas, it contains higher levels of antioxidants that help block enzymes that break down collagen and elastin.

10.  Tomatoes are one of the best sources of lycopene—a plant pigment with strong antioxidant properties. Because lycopene is better absorbed when heated, tomatoes’ nutritional value increases when they’re cooked.