March is Irish American Heritage and National Celery month. Yes, you read that correctly, a month dedicated to celery! Well, it is green, so I guess it fits in with Irish American heritage… It’s also my birthday month and I’m having a Facebook fundraiser for the No Kid Hungry Program. Click this link if you’d like to help.
I chose this program because I teach adults about healthy foods, simple work outs, etc., all the time, but most of today’s adults eating habits date back to childhood. As my brother Joe is fond of saying – “Who DIDN’T love Freihoffer’s chocolate chip cookies?!” Childhood treats like that were meant to be a convenience for busy parents who didn’t have time to cook. In order for them to have a “shelf life,” however, those cookies had lots of stuff added to them that our moms and grandmas didn’t put into their chocolate chip cookies. Things like, artificial flavors, bleached wheat flour, palm oil, Guar Gum, Carob Bean Gum, Potassium Sorbate, and Whey.
I would love for all kids to have nourishing food and I would love to help kids learn more about healthy options that taste good. Anything I can do to help achieve this, I will do.
Now, as far as Irish American food that’s healthy – well, cabbage is really good for us! Research over the past 30 years has consistently shown that consuming cruciferous vegetables, like cabbage, lowers our risk of some cancers.
More recently, researchers have been able to pinpoint that the sulfur-containing compound that gives cabbage a bitter taste — sulforaphane — is also what appears to provide the cancer-fighting power.
As for the corned beef that is normally cooked with that cabbage… Corned beef, a salt-cured, seasoned beef brisket, is a favorite in Irish-American culture. Corned beef is extremely high in fat and sodium, so save it for St. Patrick’s Day only. The total fat content in a single serving is 19 grams, which is more than a quarter of your recommended daily value. And salt – WOW!, a whopping 973 milligrams per serving!
Another, healthier, favorite dish of mine is Irish Stew, and, in fact it also contains celery – so happy National Celery Month! Here’s a link to my recipe if you’d like to try it this year!
I use lamb when making this stew as it’s more readily available than the mutton in traditional Irish stew.
In case you missed the note in my last newsletter, I have started a private Facebook group for women 50+ who want to “Rock” their 2nd act. We will be learning and discussing lots of tools designed especially for WOMEN, in or post menopause, to lose weight, best work outs, etc. and we’ll be supporting each other on this adventure. Come join in the fun – here!
Today’s good news share is a medical advance that I find like something out of Star Trek! Scientists can now print bones with live cells in a 3D printer. Wow. Let’s hear it for science! Check it out HERE!
We all know that stress isn’t good for you and that we need a good night’s sleep to function well in life. Many of you have mentioned that this epidemic is taking a toll on your sleep patterns. A year of physical distancing has not been easy for most of us and the vaccine is still months away from being available to all. Living in the pandemic has been very stressful. Acknowledge that and then take action to keep yourself healthy. The following video is a short, guided meditation to relieve stress and improve sleep.
Please take five minutes for your own self-care and do this meditation every day this week. Breathe deeply as often as you remember to do so each day, and take care of YOU!
Best of Health,
Kathi
