Todays Menu - 2/17/12

Today we are serving Jerk Fish, Braised Collards and Coconut Rice. Please join us. Bon Appetit!

Coconut milk is extracted by grating mature coconuts and squeezing them by using cheesecloth or both bare hands.

Following are some of the health benefits of coconut milk:

1.Helps to maintain blood sugar places:
Glucose intolerance may cause manganese deficiency in your body. Coconut milk is a rich source of manganese. Whole grains, legumes and nuts are some excellent sources of manganese.

2.Aids in building strong bones:
Coconut milk is not rich in calcium, but it is rich in phosphorus. Phosphorus is an essential nutrient that body needs for strengthening bones. It is must to take phosphorus with calcium particularly to prevent bone loss because it supplies phosphate to the body.

3.Relaxes muscles and nerves:
Whenever you feel muscle cramps or muscle soreness, have some food along with coconut milk. It is rich in magnesium and can help you in relieving the problem. One of the functions of magnesium is it acts as a gate block in many nerve cells. If magnesium is not present in body, nerve cells become very active because of calcium that activates nerves. Excess contraction of muscles is caused by over active nerve cells.

4.Helps in Controlling Weight:
This can be a good news for people who are trying to reduce weight. Coconut milk makes you feel full very quickly because of high concentrations of dietary fiber.

5.Helps in lowering high blood pressure:
People who are concerned with their blood pressure will not face any problem for reaching the foods containing potassium. Potassium helps in lowering blood pressure levels in the body.

Coconut Milk and Lactose Intolerance
If you have lactose intolerance, the easiest way to manage your symptoms is to avoid foods with lactose, such as any products made with milk that comes from animals. Coconut milk is free of lactose, meaning that you may consume coconut milk if you are lactose intolerant, according to the DairyFreeLiving website. Although you can substitute coconut milk for animal milk in recipes, coconut milk has a different taste and consistency than animal-derived milk, so it may not be ideal for some recipes.

Whats for Lunch? Feb.1, 2012

For todays lunch we are having Hamburgers, Mashed Potatoes & Sauteed Spinach. Please join us.

Beef Facts
All of our beef is coming locally from NY and is grass fed. But what does that mean?
Many of us think of “corn-fed” beef as nutritionally superior, but it isn’t. A cornfed cow does develop well-marbled flesh, but this is simply saturated fat that can’t be trimmed off. Grassfed meat, on the other hand, is lower both in overall fat and in artery-clogging saturated fat. A sirloin steak from a grainfed feedlot steer has more than double the total fat of a similar cut from a grassfed steer.

Grassfed beef not only is lower in overall fat and in saturated fat, but it has the added advantage of providing more omega-3 fats. These crucial healthy fats are most plentiful in flaxseeds and fish, and are also found in walnuts, soybeans and in meat from animals that have grazed on omega-3 rich grass. When cattle are taken off grass, though, and shipped to a feedlot to be fattened on grain, they immediately begin losing the omega-3s they have stored in their tissues. As a consequence, the meat from feedlot animals typically contains only 15- 50 percent as much omega-3s as that from grassfed livestock.

Fun Facts about Burgers
Supposedly, the first hamburgers in U.S. history were served in New Haven, Connecticut, at Louis' Lunch sandwich shop in 1895. Louis Lassen, founder of Louis' Lunch, ran a small lunch wagon selling steak sandwiches to local factory workers. Because he didn't like to waste the excess beef from his daily lunch rush, he ground it up, grilled it, and served it between two slices of bread -- and America's first hamburger was created. The small Crown Street luncheonette is still owned and operated by third and fourth generations of the Lassen family. Hamburgers are still the specialty of the house, where steak is ground fresh each day and hand molded, slow cooked, broiled vertically, and served between two slices of toast with your choice of only three 'acceptable' garnishes: cheese, tomato, and onion.

New York Times Article: Health Sector Tackles Childhood Obesity

The percentage of overweight children in the United States is growing at an alarming rate, with 1 out of 3 kids now considered overweight or obese.

It's a stark statistic that has parents, educators, public health officials and policy makers scrambling to find ways to empower this next generation of young people to take control of their own future by teaching them how to eat healthfully, remain active and find a healthy weight that allows them to thrive and have a good quality of life.

Yesterday the New York Times published an article "Learning To Be Lean" by Reed Abelson highlighting how new federal health care laws are requiring more accountability from the companies and programs who work with young people (like their health insurers and employers) to screen for weight issues and provide preventative counseling. One of the interesting things that the article points out is the unique challenges that overweight children encounter:

"Children are still growing, and the goal of any program may be to help them grow into a healthier weight rather than to actually lose pounds. Experts also say that to be successful, programs need to focus on the family as a whole, changing what everybody eats and how much time they are all active, not sitting in front of a computer screen or television."

Several HCZ programs including the Health Living Initiative and Educated Eaters Project take on these issues and we're actually currently working to improve and expand the reach of our healthy eating, active living focus. What programs have you participated in? What have you found to be helpful interventions or preventative efforts in your own life or the lives of those you love?