SAVE THE DATE! On Sat. March 10th, we are hosting another class in our Lynnwood home, this time we will be doing wine tasting paired with savory small plates (Tapas). We will focus on Washington wines, and you will learn how to select, taste and appreciate our wonderful Northwest wines (some from little-known but fabulous local wineries), how to pair wine (whites and reds) with food, and receive a cooking demonstration and sampling of several small plates that will be paired with each wine. Time is 1-4PM. Cost will be between $40 and $50.00. Email me to reserve a spot, which are limited.

Comfort Food Makeover, Sat. Jan. 27th, Boys and Girls Club Community Room, Arlington.
Winter calls for hearty comfort food that gets you through those cold evenings but will also nourish and support your health and immunity. In this class you’ll sample lighter, healthier versions of classic comfort foods you can feel good about enjoying any time of the year such as Updated Mac and Cheese, Meatloaf Florentine, Sweet and Spicy Chili, and Tortilla Pie Casserole.
Registration: 360-403-3448

15 Minute Meals, Sunday Jan. 28th, 4:30-7:30 PM. U. Village
Learn how to make healthy and delicious meals in under 15 minutes.
Registration: http://www.DiscoverU.org or 206-365-0400

Gluten-Free Transition, Tuesday, Jan. 30th, 6:30-9:30PM, Discover U, Northgate
Have you been told to give up wheat and/or gluten for your health? Wondering how on earth you can do it? This class shows you how to transition to a gluten- free lifestyle. Topics covered include: *Converting your kitchen to gluten-free *Choices when eating at restaurants *Being a gluten-free dinner guest *Making your own breads, pizza, desserts and treats and *How to shop for a gluten-free lifestyle. Materials fee cover hand-outs and gluten-free treats.
Registration: http://www.DiscoverU.org or 206-365-0400

Comfort Food Makeover, Thursday, Feb. 1st, Everett Senior Center, Pacific and Lombard.
See above description.
Registration: Registration: 425-257-8300 or http://signmeup.everettwa.org

Comfort Food Makeover, Monday, February 5th, 7-9PM, Spartan Gym Kitchen, Shoreline.
See above description.
Registration: 206-418-3383

15 Minute Meals, Thursday, Feb. 8th, Frances Anderson Center, Edmonds.
Learn how to make healthy and delicious meals in under 15 minutes.
Registration: 425-771-0230

New Year’s Resolutions

It's that time of year again. Almost every American makes a New Year's resolution of some kind or another. But the trouble with resolutions is that by February or March, we've broken many of the promises we've made to ourselves.

It may help to envision your goal as a recipe. By making a plan and breaking things down to small components, it’s easier to meet your goals.

When working towards goals, it's important to take things one step at a time.

• To succeed, recipes must be precise. Think of goals this way, too.
• Recipes are measurable. To reach a goal, there must be measurable road marks along the way.
• Every good recipe has a time frame, as should every goal.

For example, most people who wish to lose weight focus on just that one goal: weight loss. In order to succeed at this very broad goal, you must focus on creating the smaller dietary and exercise changes that will lead to that long-term weight change. Successful weight managers select two or three goals at a time that they are willing to take on and that meet the following criteria of useful goals:

Useful goals are:

· Specific
· Attainable
· Forgiving (less than perfect)

"Exercise more" is a commendable idea, but it's not specific.

"Walk five miles everyday" is specific and measurable, but can you do it if you are just starting out?"

"Walk 30 minutes every day" is more attainable, but what happens if you're delayed at work one day, or if a thunderstorm takes place during your walking time another day?

"Walk 30 minutes, five days each week" is specific, attainable, and forgiving. In short, it's a great goal!

The Steps to Establishing Diet, Exercise and Behavior Goals:

1. Specify your long-range or "outcome" goals. These goals are very broad and do not involve the specifics of how you will achieve them:

· Exercise goal: To finish a 3-mile race
· Weight goal: To lose 60 pounds
· Behavioral/Psychological goal: To deal with unpleasant emotions effectively without using food to cope

Keeping a food diary helps a lot. After maintaining it for several days, review it and try to identify some very specific problem areas. Identify several small, specific eating, behavior, or exercise problems that might keep you from achieving the goals above.

Find some very specific, measurable solutions to each of your problem areas that will help you to achieve your big goals above. These are known as short-term goals:

Examples:

• Exercise: I started out too hard and then gave up on exercise. This time, I will take it more moderately and pace myself. I will start by walking 20 minutes, 3 days a week.
• Diet: Instead of buying high-calorie, sugary snacks from the vending machine, I will take the time each day to pack some healthy, protein-rich snacks to eat when I feel hungry.
• Behavior: I overeat at night after a long, hard day. I eat because I'm still stressed. I will learn to identify when I'm reaching for food because I'm stressed. I will then go do something that really does make me feel better and less stressed, such as meditation, a long walk or writing in my journal.

2. Learn to pace yourself and give up perfection. Choose only a few goals to work on at once. Don't set yourself up for failure by overdoing it or trying to take on everything at once. Changing behavior is a long process. After all, you took a lifetime to learn the behaviors you do now! You must unlearn them just as slowly. Do not punish yourself or feel you are a failure if you do not achieve your short-term goals immediately or each day. Realize it is a long slow process open for re-evaluation at any time. Don't ever give up on yourself and your ability to achieve your big goals. You can do it!

3. Reward yourself when you accomplish your short-term goals, but not with food. Take time to write down some things that would be a great reward for you. Perhaps you'd like a new book, a manicure, a magazine, or a massage. Establish a reward for each goal you will accomplish, and make the reward's size consistent with the achievement.

4. Monitor your progress at regular points in time. Ask yourself how far you've come towards accomplishing your initial short-term goals. After things are going well, say in a month, you might not have to put as much effort into the goals you selected. If things aren't going well, you might need to rethink the strategies you are using and try something different.

5. Set new short-term goals. When you feel you've mastered the previous short-term goals you set for yourself, create some new ones. Remember this is a journey, not a destination. Accomplishing any goal, whether it's weight loss or anything else in life, requires a lifelong commitment. You will always have to set new goals and work on new areas even when you accomplish your big long-term goals. For instance, after you lose the 60 pounds, what goals do you have to work on to maintain your weight?

Behavior Modification Strategies that Can Help You
Note: These are only suggestions. You must determine what works for you.

· Don't engage in other activities while eating such as watching T.V. driving, reading, or talking on the phone
· Concentrate on the pleasures of the food you eat - the sight, the smell, and the taste. Don't allow eating to be a mindless, unconscious behavior.
· Choose one room for eating, and don't eat while standing or walking around. Sit at a table and make it attractive.
· Spend at least 20 minutes eating your meals to allow your brain to trigger a fullness sensation to your stomach. Take small bites or even try chopsticks!
· Don't always leave a clean plate. Pay more attention to your hunger. It's OK to leave something if you feel satisfied before you’re finished. Put it away for tomorrow if you want.
· If you can't eat "just one" of certain foods, don't buy that food.
· Don't go grocery shopping on an empty stomach, and shop from a prepared list.
· Buy foods that require preparation. Ready-to-eat foods that you desire will constantly call your name.
· Incorporate small bouts of exercise into your daily routine. Try taking the stairs, parking far away, walking to the grocery store, or hand-washing your car.

Corporate Agribusiness is Behind our Deadly Food Supply
First it was spinach. Now it's green onions at the Taco Bell. What's next? The growing anxiety over our nation's food supply is enough to make you chew your nails - unless of course they're contaminated with E. coli as well. Is nothing safe? This is a great article about globalization of the food supply vs buying local organic food. http://www.truthout.org/issues_06/121806HB.shtml

Mushrooms for Cancer Prevention

New Year’s resolution: eat more mushrooms. In fact, new research suggests that eating the right varieties every day might prevent breast cancer. A study published in the December 15, 2006 issue of Cancer Research shows that consuming 100 grams (about 3.5 ounces) or, perhaps, even a bit less daily could be protective. Investigators at the Beckman Research Institute of the City of Hope in Duarte, Calif. tested seven mushroom extracts in the lab for their effect on the action of aromatase, an enzyme that helps the body make estrogen. They found that white button mushrooms had the strongest effect, and that other types, including portobello, crimini and shiitake, also interfered with aromatase activities. Extract of white button mushrooms reduced the proliferation of breast cancer cells in a lab dish, and when the researchers fed the extract to mice implanted with breast cancer cells, it suppressed tumor growth. Other experiments showed that linoleic acid, usually found in meat and dairy products, was probably responsible for the extract’s anti-cancer effects. While theoretically, eating mushrooms might help women prevent hormone-dependent breast cancer, the strategy hasn’t been tested on humans, and white button, portobello and crimini mushrooms also contain natural carcinogens that may drive other cancers.

Source: Drweil.com

Mushrooms

Mushrooms have been used for thousands of years both as food and for medicinal purposes. They are often classified as a vegetable or a herb, but they are actually fungi. While there are over 14,000 mushrooms, only about 3,000 are edible, about 700 have known medicinal properties, and fewer than one percent are recognized as poisonous.

Mushrooms are an excellent source of potassium, a mineral that helps lower elevated blood pressure and reduces the risk of stroke. One medium portabella mushroom has even more potassium than a banana or a glass of orange juice. One serving of mushrooms also provides about 20 to 40 percent of the daily value of copper, a mineral that has cardioprotective properties.

Mushrooms are a rich source of riboflavin, niacin, and selenium. Selenium is an antioxidant that works with vitamin E to protect cells from the damaging effects of free radicals. Male health professionals who consumed twice the recommended daily intake of selenium cut their risk of prostate cancer by 65 percent. In the Baltimore study on Aging, men with the lowest blood selenium levels were 4 to 5 times more likely to have prostate cancer compared to those with the highest selenium levels.

Here is a healthy vegetarian burger that is very tasty.
Shiitake mushrooms have been used for centuries by the Chinese and Japanese to treat colds and flu. Lentinan, a beta-glucan isolated from the fruiting body of shiitake mushrooms, appears to stimulate the immune system, help fight infection, and demonstrates anti-tumor activity.

Quinoa and Mushroom Burgers

3 Tbsp olive oil
½ cup finely chopped onions
6 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup tightly packed chopped shitake mushroom caps
2 cups cooked quinoa
½ cup rolled oats
½ cup almond or hazelnut meal (Trader Joe’s), or whole wheat flour
¾ cup grated carrot
1 cup grated mozzarella cheese
2 large eggs, beaten
1 Tbsp soy sauce
1 Tbsp Asian chili garlic sauce
¼ cup tightly packed chopped fresh basil or cilantro leaves

Heat 1 Tbsp of the oil in a medium sized skillet over medium heat. Add the onions, mushrooms and garlic and cook, stirring constantly, until softened, 1-2 minutes. Transfer to a large mixing bowl. Add the quinoa, oats, almond meal or flour, carrot, cheese, eggs, soy sauce, chili sauce, and basil or cilantro to the mushroom mixture. Using your hands, combine well. Form into 6 patties, each 1 inch thick. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes to firm up.

Heat 1 Tbsp of the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add 3 of the burgers, and cook until a golden brown crust forms on the bottom, 3-4 minutes. Flip and continue to cook for 5 minutes more.

Serve on whole wheat hamburger buns with avocado slices and Dijon mustard.