November 2009

November 1, 2009 in 2009 by Webmaster

November: In this Issue

Special Days and Monthly Celebrations

Grandma really enjoys celebrations and special days; so each month she will share a few ideas that she thinks are interesting.

Good Health Can Be Yummy

Recipes and thoughts on making food taste good and build healthy bodies. Read more…

Pure and Simple News

Research summaries and what it could mean to us.

Making it Happen

Hints and recipes for applying nutrition to everyday life.

Special Days and Monthly Celebrations

Grandma really enjoys celebrations and special days.

A time of gratitude for the harvest – delicious autumn foods that warm us, nourish us and satisfy us… foods we can share and enjoy with friends and family.

November Happenings
Daylight Savings Time – November 1st

Farewell to the long days of summer! Welcome to the new crop of squash, apples and pears. Thinking like a dietitian, it’s time for soups, hot cereal, stews and baked recipes. It’s time for me to start a loaf of bread in the bread maker.

Veterans Day – November 11th
Aviation History Month

I can’t pass Veterans Day without remembering my grandfather (WWI) and my dad (WWII). My dad was a reconnaissance pilot during WWII. He loved flying and built model aircraft until his death in 1985. So many of you have loved ones who served our country at great cost.

Thanksgiving – November 26, 2009

November is a month to especially focus on gratitude; we have a national holiday, after all. I know that I’m not alone in my love of the ‘giving thanks’ holiday, because it is the most traveled holiday of the year. The airports are packed, and the hearts of families and friends are full. Thanksgiving is certainly a soul-touching time of year – I strive to keep it in my heart all year long, but sometimes I fall down.
I have a little pumpkin-shaped basket with a lid; some years ago I filled it with 30 little slips of paper, containing gratitude quotes, one for each day of November. Two of my favorites are:

Gratitude is the sign of noble souls. Aesop, ancient Greek author of fables, Gratitude is not only the greatest of all virtues, but the parent of all others. Marcus Tullius Cicero Roman statesman, lawyer, political theorist, and philosopher, generally perceived as one of the most versatile minds of ancient Rome.

This past year, Diana, a very dear friend of mine taught me a valuable lesson. She had terminal pancreatic cancer. While I was visiting her in California she showed me a picture in her home entitled ‘Dancing in the Rain.’ She explained that gratitude for blessings is a great blessing in itself. I’m grateful for the decades of friendship with Diana, and my other friends and family.

The following five November events all seem to fit with the Thanksgiving Holiday.

Family Gathering Month
National Family Week – November 22 – 28
National American Indian Heritage Month

My friend, Lorraine is a Native American; she is a humble teacher. That is, she has no idea how much she teaches in her humble ways. What a grateful, generous and loveable person she is!
Family Stories Month – yes, those crazy stories told at the Thanksgiving table.

National Game & Puzzle Week – November 22 – 28

When my family was a bit smaller, we used to always put puzzles together after dinner – a pleasant memory for me; maybe we should try that again.

American Diabetes Month

I have to wonder if November was chosen because it is so challenging for diabetics to navigate all the desserts, mounds of potatoes, sweetened yams, and other starchy vegetables, and the over-the-top varieties of rich foods. I know that it’s difficult for me to keep the calories and volume under control. Vic’s doctor says he’s no longer a diabetic, but he knows that too much eating could put him right back in that classification. One of the techniques that helps me is to take only a small taste of the foods that I really want to have. I end up with more than I would usually eat, even when doing that. A suggestion for a healthy Thanksgiving holiday is to make a plan for your eating before the day arrives. you may be surprised at your success.

National Peanut Butter Lover’s Month

With turkey available for sandwiches, you may wonder about this holiday too. But maybe everyone is ready for a non-turkey sandwich or the lunch-maker has had enough food prep after surviving Thanksgiving. Don’t forget legumes like peanuts, are a really healthy choice. I would strive to choose peanut butter without added palm oil or lots of sugar. I like the peanuts only variety, but that means mixing the oil because it separates.

Good Health Can Be Yummy

Autumn Harvest Recipes, thoughts on hints on making food taste good, while building healthy bodies.

Last month I shared a recipe called Just Plum Good; I’ve made it a couple of times because it has gone over so well. Once I used peaches instead of plums and gave it to a friend who is recovering from surgery – it’s sure an easy and delicious way to say ‘I care for you.’

Note: We’ve moved some of these recipes to the recipes section of the site.

Pure and Simple News

News that supports your goal of consuming a healthier diet.

Worried about High Blood Pressure or Kidney Stones?

Sometimes when you’re looking for one thing, you find another. That’s what happened with a group of researchers who were looking at the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH). The people in the sample (more than 240,000 men and women) whose diet was most like the DASH eating plan had not only less hypertension, but also fewer cases of kidney stones. The DASH plan emphasizes vegetables, fruits and whole grains; with a moderate intake of low-fat dairy. It also limits animal protein and sodium. Reported in the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology

The First Step in Goal Attainment Is Identifying the Goal

A survey of 1,000 US adults conducted for the International Food Information Council found that 55% of those surveyed are changing what and/or how much they eat in the interest of health. The most popular choices were eating more vegetables, fruits and whole grains.

Need an additional reason to cut back on French Fries and Potato Chips?

Acrylamide is a substance produced during the cooking of starchy foods at high temperatures. Acrylamide has been a known cancer-causing agent since it was reported by the Swedish Food Administration in 2002. The Canadian government has added acrylamide to the toxic list and has put pressure on its food manufacturers to come up with ways to cut the levels of acrylamide in foods. At this point the US government agencies have not taken action. They “continue to study it”.

Beginning to Answer the ‘Why’ and ‘What’ in The Whole Grain Question

Science is beginning to uncover why eating whole-grains is more beneficial than eating just fiber. This finding can be perplexing to those who want to believe that adding fiber to processed grains is nutritionally adequate. Now they learn that something in the entire grain is the main benefactor. In a new University of Scranton study reported in the Journal of the American Chemical Society it was found that whole-grain cereal and popcorn (another whole grain) contain a surprisingly high level of antioxidants called polyphenols. The researchers also compared processed snacks, such as tortilla chips with whole grain snacks like popcorn. The processed varieties came in a poor second on antioxidant benefits.

Harvard: Eat fruits, Vegetables, Whole Grains – Not Supplements

Harvard Medical School (HMS), one of the most respected sources of nutritional advise, urges consumers not to rely on supplements which do not contain all the other healthy food components. “There are likely many more beneficial components of healthy foods than the ones scientists have identified so far, as well as synergistic effects among them.”

I’m not Harvard, but have come to the same conclusion. Every year new nutrients are discovered. What would make us think that the few vitamins and minerals in a bottled supplement could possibly encompass all there are, or even the most important ones?. Just considering carotenoids there are over 600 types – far beyond the popular beta carotene. As related to whole grains, I’ve often thought of the possibility of some synergy between the different nutrients (again there are hundreds) that haven’t been discovered yet.

They (HMS) went on to say, “So it’s worthwhile to include antioxidants in your diet, but get them from foods – such as oranges, tomatoes, sweet potatoes, carrots, broccoli, whole grains, and nuts – and not from pills.” Healthy Eating: A Guide to the New Nutrition (Harvard Medical School)

Making it Happen

Hints and recipes for applying nutrition to everyday life