March: 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. Read more…

Good Health Can Be Yummy

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

March Happenings

Special Days and Monthly Celebrations

Celebrations and special days for March are abundant; I’ve chosen a few to help us keep a sense of enjoyment and awe in our lives.

I didn’t find a holiday celebrating the defrosting of our bodies and souls – the dawn of spring was as close as I could get. Maybe National Spring Fever Week – March 21-27 will serve as no-more-winter week, hopefully equipped with seven defrosting days.

I realize that it’s not really spring everywhere during Spring Fever week. No matter, we’re dreaming of spring and the First Day Of Spring is March 20th. I’d be even more excited, if I knew that it would be really warm. What happens is that the sun reaches equinox, and this event has since prehistoric times been the great symbol that the sun in the Northern Hemisphere is coming back with all its warmth and power. Unfortunately, this symbolic start of spring doesn’t mean the earth and skies that day will be spring-like in any particular location in our hemisphere. I’ve lived in the mountain west for 10 years, so I know that the calendar spring and the warm weather, leaf popping and blossom-nudging-snow spring, are not necessarily the same event. The Mountain West weather has brought an appreciation for the swelling buds on the trees, and the crocus rising above the snow. This little anonymous poem expresses my anticipation.

“In tree and flower, meadow and air, It’s spring! “God’s love is everywhere!” Anonymous

Daylight Savings – March 14th

Springing forward on those first Daylight Savings mornings is challenging; but it is encouraging to welcome daylight back into the evenings .

Birthday Celebration – Dr. Seuss (Theodor Seuss Geisel 3/2/1904)

Last March I wrote about people who think they don’t like the taste of whole grains. They are so like Sam I Am in Seuss’s Green Eggs and Ham – and might prove to be like him when they finally try excellent whole grain foods. My affection for Dr. Seuss and fond memories of reading Dr. Seuss to my children and grandchildren has not diminished.

This year I thought that I’d mention Oh, the THINKS You Can Think! Dr. Seuss and his wife end the little book with:

Think left and think right
And think low and think high.
Oh, the thinks you can think up
If only you try!

What a great attitude. What do I think? I think that if we work together we can think, and share what we think. Maybe we can make some lives a little healthier and more flavorful too. Maybe we can think up new ways of cooking, new foods to include in our eating, new ways of thinking about healthy eating – if only we’ll try.

Dr. Seuss, we’re grateful for all the fun, the joy and the love you’ve brought to our homes over the decades.

1. Oh, the THINKS You Can Think!, Dr. Seuss, Theodor Seuss Geisel and Audrey S. Geisel, New York, Beginner Books a Division of Random House, 1975.

Even though I’m passing another year with no plans of serving Green Eggs and Ham for

St. Patrick’s Day, March 17th, you may want to put some green foods on your shopping list for the celebration. Here’s a list of a few that popped into my mind, to get your thinking started: asparagus, artichokes, avocado, green beans, green peas, spring greens, zucchini, cucumbers, celery, green grapes, and kiwis. Or you may want to consult the leprechauns for a jolly green idea. St. Patty’s Day Green Salad from last year.

National Agriculture Week: March 14 – 20

I think I’m not alone when I think about agriculture being the mega business that feeds our country. I know there is a growing movement of local farming – small gardens. We have a garden every year; I just used my last 2009 butternut squash last night; it was roasted with yam and turned into a delicious colorful menu item – I’ll post the recipe on the blog soon. I wonder if people would be more excited to try a new vegetable if it grew in their garden. Vic and I still have the awe and gratitude of a garden; the wonder of nature providing taste treats right from the ground. I don’t want to forget that the wheat we enjoy is a result of the agricultural sciences. They learned how to make the grains hard, resistant to disease and plump. I don’t want to forget the long line of wheat farmers who were my ancestors. I like honoring them – National Agriculture Week is a good time to do it.

International Brain Awareness Week: 15 – 21

Good nourishment really matters for our brains. Whole brains are nourished by whole grains (and many other nutritious foods), and Dr. Grandma’s strives to make it easy and yummy. Exercising and providing our brain with the right foods are two of the important things that we can do to keep it healthy. During the International Brain Awareness Week we will post an article on the Dr. Grandma’s Blog about brain health.

Academy Awards Party – March 7th

I’m definitely not a film critic, but Academy Award Parties are like the Super Bowl – a cause for gathering, eating, and talking, eating. So think about what healthy snacks to serve as you watch to find out how your favorite movies might fare in the awards. Some of my favorites are:

The Blind Side (I love ‘conquering disadvantage’ movies; and Sandra Bullock was great fun in this movie).

Julie and Julia (When I was young, I watched Julia Childs sometimes. I was amazed at how well Meryl Streep portrayed Julia’s voice and body language.)

Avatar (If Dr. Grandpa watches the awards, he’ll be applauding for the awards that the Blue People get.)

If you are gathering, consider the needs of your group for healthy snack options – there are so many people who are striving to eat less salt, sugar and fat; and to eat whole real foods – you’ll be an appreciated host/hostess, if you think about healthy snack food options. See the Blog Post for February 3rd called Snacks Can Be Healthy.

National School Breakfast Week – March 8 – 12

Whether breakfast is at school or at home the most important aspect is that it’s not skipped. Nip excuses for skipping breakfast in the bud. Plan ahead – make packets with sweetener; rolled oats, rolled wheat or cracked wheat; a little cinnamon; added dried fruit like raisins, apricots, dates, cherries, or cranberries. Add hot water from the tap and microwave for 5 or 6 minutes. You can do it if you try. Or make the muffins or pancakes the night before. Microwave for 20 seconds and you’re on your way with a hot wholesome whole grain breakfast.

National Nutrition Month

I embrace the opportunity to support the general public in improving their health through the consumption of nutritious and exceptionally tasty foods. This is our passion at Dr. Grandma’s. We seek to play a modest role in this big picture – to help consumers identify new foods and new ways of preparing them to support their goals of moving toward informed and improved food choices. What better time for me to refocus on these goals than the National Nutrition Monthâ. I will be posting about it in the Dr. Grandma’s Blog.

Registered Dietitian Day – March 10th

The following statement has been released by the ADA: “The American Dietetic Association proudly announces the third annual Registered Dietitian Day. As the nation’s food and nutrition experts, registered dietitians are committed to improving the health of their patients and community. Registered Dietitian Day commemorates the dedication of RDs as advocates for advancing the nutritional status of Americans and people around the world.” If I still worked at Children’s Hospital, Los Angeles, I would make a big party for my staff of RDs who work so hard to meet the needs of their patients. Celebrating RDs!!

I was proud to receive my 25-year pin as an RD this past October.

Good Health Can Be Yummy

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

The promise of strawberries and ‘shortcake’ tells us that spring is really on its way. Our ‘Shortcake’ was one of our first recipes published. Although the original recipe is still a winner, I’ll be publishing a new recipe in March for Colorful Shortcake. You could make it with Strawberries, like the original recipe, or with mixed glazed fruit – the new recipe. It makes a beautiful dessert; has no added sugar, 100% whole organic hard red spring wheat, and extra virgin olive oil. See the original recipe on our website: Strawberry Shortcake. No guilt is necessary for either recipe.

I’m sitting here looking out upon the world in white – the snow is falling fast; but my thoughts are on the coming spring. We’ll stay warm, at least in our hearts, with thoughts of the approaching warmer days. I’m sending my best wishes for Celebrating Nutrition, movies and Dr. Seuss and many other great spring events. Look for the many newly developed recipes coming in March on the Doctor Grandma’s Blog.