Come experience a healthy taste of German Lam's culinary creations.  He is a chef with a passion for healthy cooking.
German Lam, chef, owner and founder of Glam Foods, LLC, will be at the Boston Home Show this weekend providing cooking demonstrations, along with other chefs from the Stonewall Kitchen Cooking School.

Boston Home Show
January 29-31, 2010
Bayside Expo Center
200 Mount Vernon Street
Columbia Point
Boston, MA 02125 
http://www.thebostonhomeshow.com/show-highlights/default.asp

Now I remember why I love blueberries so much....
Blueberries are one of the richest sources of anti oxidants and other phytochemicals and now, possibly memory boosters!

Scientists performed a study, one group of volunteers in their 70s with early memory decline drank the equivalent of 2-2 l/2 cups of a commercially available blueberry juice every day for two months. A control group drank a beverage without blueberry juice. The blueberry juice group showed significant improvement on learning and memory tests, the scientists say. "These preliminary memory findings are encouraging and suggest that consistent supplementation with blueberries may offer an approach to forestall or mitigate neurodegeneration," said the report. The research involved scientists from the University of Cincinnati, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and the Canadian department of agriculture.

I am not sure who the sponsor of the study was; but what more reason to love blueberries.

Krikorian et al. Blueberry Supplementation Improves Memory in Older Adults. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, 2010; 100104141245097 DOI:

Any Northeastern University staff, students, alumni, contractors in need of an energy recharge?
Do you want to learn a little bit about nutrition before you jump on the bike for a workout that will work up a sweat, burn calories and work your muscles?
Be sure to bring your lunch that day to fuel after your workout.

Come take a Nutrition and Spinning class at Northeastern University NU-OPPS in the Squashbusters fitness center.
When?  Mondays at 12pm until 1pm.
Classes start January 25th, Mondays 12pm - 1pm.
Classes end Monday, March 22nd.

Visit:
www.campusrec.neu.edu
Click on instructional programs for class descriptions.
You must have a valid NU ID (alumni, students, faculty, staff and contractors).
Contact Colleen Fritze at c.fritze@neu.edu

Hope to see you there!

New year.  New you?  Resolutions made, how is it going? Is the same goal you had last year?
How about small changes you can deal with for life instead of making the same goal every year?
Nothing drastic.  Every little bit adds up.
Here are a few ideas, pick one:
-One more glass of water each day for a month, 1 1/2 more the next month, 2 glasses the next month.
-Change one item you eat that is not whole grain and make it a whole grain.
-Add one more vegetable or fruit to your day.
-Get up from your desk once an hour.
-Switch from whole milk to 2%.
-Eat breakfast.

What was your new year resolution?  Is it the same one you had last year?

Did you know there is a substance called Pink Slime found in hamburgers you buy at McDonalds and even some school lunch programs?
Did you know that Pink Slime is a product made from beef scraps including fatty trimmings that were once relegated to pet food and cooking oil?

Beef Products, Inc came up with an idea to inject beef with ammonia to kill E.Coli as well as salmonella so the processed beef could be sold and used in hamburgers.  McDonalds, Burger King, grocery chains, and federal school lunch programs used the beef.  What will they think of next?  Is the savings worth the potential health risk?  What do you think?


To read the full article by the New York Times, December 30, 2009
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/31/us/31meat.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1

http://www.webmd.com/diet/features/eat-what-you-love-love-what-you-eat

A recovering yo-yo dieter, Michelle May, MD, writes a common sense approach to eating.
"No one eats perfect all the time, when you pay attention to the taste of food, you can be satisfied without going overboard.  And when you do overeat, compensate by eating a little less at your next meal or doing more physical activity."

Healthy back to basic foods, less processed pre-packaged foods.  Fruits, vegetables, whole grains, beans, healthy fats, lean meats and low fat dairy are the foundation of eating healthy.  Alcohol, sweets and treats are not eliminated but in small quantities.

Don't deprive.  Everything in moderation.  Taste your food.  Enjoy it.  Slow down when you eat.
Practical information about healthy eating strategies.
Stop dieting.

Do you have someone or something that inspires or motivates you?  I know in past road races when someone younger or for that matter, older than me ran past me, that motivated me to push harder.  What is age anyway?

Check out these pictures for inspiration.

Etta Clark has captured many portraits of talented senior athletes.  Amazing.
Certainly a way to age gracefully. 
http://ettaclarkphotography.com/
Sissies II 

Helen Zachmeister
Helen holds eight national age-group power lifting records, including the deadlift at 245 lbs. They are not recognized as world records by the International Power Lifting Federation only because its age classifications have Helen competing against women in their 30s. Once she competed in a men's 35 years-and-older bracket because there were no other women entrants. She won.

Ada Thomas
Ada started jogging at age 65, shortly after she retired. Now she runs five miles every weekday and plays tennis on the weekends. She ran her first marathon at age 68, and the following year she finished first in her age group in the women's division. She says, "When I look in the mirror I like what I see."

John Turner
A psychiatrist, John leads a sedentary professional life ("I sit and listed to people all day"), so he compensates by weight-lifting, jogging and taking long walks.  He is 67 years.

Or how about these folks who are certainly not sitting in their rocking chairs, an article in the Washington Times, May 2009,  http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/may/06/making-a-splash/.

Suzie Barnes, 82, in 2007 won two gold medals for track events at the World Masters Athletics Championships.   And John Tatum a 90 year old competitive swimmer who started swimming 2 decades ago.

Who inspires or motivates you?

You buy a package of chips which looks like perhaps a single serving and eat the entire bag.  I wonder
what I just ate while I was reading my emails.  (mindless eating another topic for another day)

Wait let me read the label, wow, it was in fact a bag for 2 servings.  It looked small enough for 1.

Always read the labels.  Check the serving size and the number of servings
per package. 

If you eat all the servings you need to multiply everything by the number of servings you
ate.

130 calories for one serving x 2 = 260 calories
380 mg sodium x 2 = 760 mg
2g saturated fat x 2 = 4 g
and so on.

Read those food labels.  You will know what you are putting in your body.