What's New in Natural Foods
February 2008
We're All Heart
 Acknowledging
that February is "Heart Health Month," not to mention the month of
Valentine's Day, we're talking heart in this edition of the
newsletter. Your food choices go a long way toward keeping it is
good working order.
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Nourishing the Heart
It's easy to get caught in the habit of eating all the fun and tasty foods the holiday season has to offer. We begin to crave sweets and refined carbohydrates more than usual, and it's not always easy to rein it in. Try some of these easy ideas for getting out of the post-holiday food rut:
The Spectacular Omega 3s
Most
Americans don't get enough heart supportive omega-3 fatty acids! These
fats are anti-inflammatory, anti-clotting, and help lower blood
pressure. They also help to ensure a normal heart rate, and lower blood
triglycerides-an indicator of increased risk for heart disease.
Protective Nutrients
Vitamins
B6, B12, and Folic acid all help to prevent heart disease by lowering
the amount of homocysteine in your blood. Homocysteine is a biochemical
that damages blood vessel walls and contributes to heart disease,
stroke and Alzheimer's disease. People with high levels of homocysteine
have more than three times the risk of cardiovascular disease than those with low levels.
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Wedge and Lakewinds Nutrition Classes
 The Food Mood Connection
What you eat (and don't eat) has a significant impact on your energy levels and moods during the day. This class will teach you how foods affect the mind and how to recognize emotional symptoms caused by dietary imbalance. You'll learn how blood sugar levels work and how to manage them. We'll also discuss neurotransmitters including serotonin and endorphins and how they relate to food. Fats, proteins, vitamins, minerals, and water all have an affect on our moods. Come learn to make food choices that nourish your brain and support healthy moods.
Healthy Eating for Teens
Wednesday February 20th, 2008
The kinds of foods teenagers eat play an important role in helping them stay on top of the challenges they face: developmental, academic, social, athletic, to name a few. Learn about the role nutrition plays in facilitating learning, stabilizing moods, and keeping young bodies healthy during this time of rapid growth. You'll go home with information about which foods to include in the teen diet and how to prepare them. As always, there's time for your questions.
Making Peace with Food
Tuesday February 26th, 2008
Have you tried sticking to popular diets and eventually given up when cravings or boredom urged you toward "forebidden" foods? The truth is the perfect diet does not exist, and strict, one-size-fits all diets are not the answer. In order to meet your health and weight loss goals, you need to listen to your body! This calss will get you on your way to trusting yourself to eat well so you can change the health and shape of your body withough guilt, shame or dieting.
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Herbal wisdom
Herbalist Lise Wolff is a colleague and good friend of mine. She has studied herbalism for 18 years, with herbalists such as Susun Weed and Matthew Wood, with whom she apprenticed in 1995. She is a professional member of The American Herbalist Guild and is currently pursuing her MSc in Scotland. Her upcoming class will open your eyes to a whole new world. I highly recommend it.
Three Seasons of Herbal Wisdom is designed to teach students to view the plant world through the herbalist's lens. Fun and practical, this course gives students the opportunity to incorporate herbs into their everyday lives. Hands-on experiences include plant walks for identification; ethical wildcrafting; herbal preparations (including herbal oils, ointments and tinctures); wild food foraging and cooking; herbal first aid; flower essence preparation and uses; and herbal care for common conditions such as colds and allergies. Students will collect and prepare a nearly complete herbal pharmacy for home use. Those interested in herbal practice will find the instruction in diagnostics and case history taking invaluable. A certificate will be awarded upon completion of the program.
The course is a series of 16 classes that meet every third week, on Saturdays. The class begins mid-February. Please call or email Lise for more details: 612-819-9946; lisewolff@yahoo.com
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Fun February Food
Don't get stuck in a rut!
Kumquats are a February specialty. These zingy little fruits have a very short growing season, so try some soon! They're sour inside but have a delectable, sweet and slightly pungent skin. Pop one in your mouth raw for a burst of flavor or cook them to add brightness and flavor to heavier winter dishes. Dinner with Jennette'sFebruary meal plans feature this unique fruit in a tasty dish called "Chicken Tagine with Kumquats."
Another fun tropical fruit to enjoy in February is fresh pineapple.Raw pineapple is a great source of enzymes, and either raw or cooked, it's a great source of vitamin C and manganese, a mineral important for energy production in the body. We all need more energy this time of year, right? Dinner with Jennettefeatures pineapple in this month's "Tom Yum Soup," and "Caramelized Pineapple with Butter-Rum Sauce.
And for those of you looking to strengthen your heart health, may I recommend Dinner with Jennette's "Valentines Beef Stew," which has an option for adding chicken hearts or beef heart-the richest food source of CoQ10,a nutrient essential for proper functioning of the heart. Why buy expensive supplements when you can get the most bioavailable CoQ10 for pennies in heart meat? Other delicious Dinner with Jennette meals this month include: "Salmon with Lemon-Caper Sauce," "Mardi Gras Pasta"(it's really time to celebrate with that one!), "Chicken Satay with Peanut Sauce," and "Turkey Cutlets with Brandied Mushrooms."
Subscribe to Dinner with Jennette and you'll have 12 seasonally delicious balanced meals, along with a convenient shopping list. Keep your heart healthy and your palate happy!
Let me hear from you. Have a healthy, warm, active February.
Jennette |
