In my family, while growing up in the Midwest, I considered a good meal to be plenty of it. And my idea of fine cuisine was a sliced banana topped with peanut butter and mayonnaise on a piece of lettuce.
That may not appeal to you – or may not appeal to anyone, but eating healthy nutritional meals can be tasty and simple. So during the rest of March, National Nutrition Month … It’s not March? Okay, let’s imagine it is March – enjoying those cool spring days I now miss!
So whether it’s March or June, if you are looking for good healthy meals and even gardening tips to grow your own healthy foods, you’ll find them online at Food Hero.com. Food Hero is an initiative of the Oregon Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Education (SNAP-Ed) program promoted in collaboration with Oregon State University Extension Service and the Oregon Department of Human Services.
Whether you are a new or experienced cook or gardener, Food Hero has resources for everyone. You’ll find healthy recipes that are tasty, quick, and easy; low-cost gardening tips that are simple and timely; recipes from different cultures; a Food Hero Monthly with tips about featured foods; and seasonal blog posts on nutrition and gardening topics.
The recipes include the ingredients, prep and cook time, plus directions and helpful notes. What I particularly like about Food Hero is that, unlike most recipes, these recipes include nutritional information, as you would find on the label of any packaged food, to see if it fits your nutritional needs.
I’ll guarantee you’ll find something you like whether it is a recipe for Breakfast Burritos, Banana Berry Smoothie, (which I’m drinking now), Applesauce French Toast, or Slow Cooker Pulled Pork. And they’re healthy. It’s like a guilty pleasure without the guilt! So sometime next week, go online to FoodHero.com and start exploring!
We all have a story to tell – and many of those stories have been featured in this paper’s monthly column “Through the Eyes of an Elder”. The Aging in the Gorge Alliance is looking for more stories from older adults about their life experiences. Maybe it’s about meeting Bob Wills at a honkey-tonk bar, knocking down outhouses on Halloween, or falling in love again at 80 and never feeling happier in your life – wonderful stories I’ve heard but were never written down.
For more information about sharing your story for “Through the Eyes of Elder” or even help writing it, contact Grace Wesson at Grace.Wesson@OregonState.edu.
Even if you decide this is not your cup of coffee, still consider writing about those special moments in your life to share with your children and grandchildren. When remembering your parents or grandparents, how often have you thought, I wish I had known more?
BRAIN TEASE: This one is for the music lovers in the audience.
A pregnant lady named her children: Dominique, Regis, Michelle, Fawn, Sophie, and Lara. What will she name her next child? Jessica, Katie, Abby, or Tilly?
The name of the “Queen of Disco” who “works hard for the money” was Donna Summer. I received correct answers from Judy Kiser, Tina Castanares, Dave Lutgens, David Liberty, Doug Nelson, Rebecca Abrams, Lana Tepfer, Donna Mollet, and this week’s winner of a quilt raffle ticket, Jess Birge.
And I knew I would miss someone and this week the honor goes to Rebecca Abrams.
If you are under 50, you may have always known the capital of China as Beijing. But before the Western world converted to the Pinyin romanization system in the mid-70s, the West used a different spelling and pronunciation. For this week’s “Remember When” question, how was the capital of China previously spelled in the Western world? Email your answer to www.mcseniorcenter@gmail.com, leave a message at 541-296-4788, or send it with the top 10 most used Chinese characters.
Well, it’s been another week trying to stay within the boundaries – if I only knew where they were. Until we meet again, as with eating, it is often best to keep your mouth shut.
“When the waitress asked if I wanted my pizza cut into four or eight slices, I said, ‘Four. I don’t think I can eat eight.’”—Yogi Berra
Nutritious home-delivered and in-person meals are available at noon Monday through Friday unless otherwise noted.
Seniors of Mosier Valley (541-980-1157) – Wednesdays with music on 2nd and 4th Wednesdays; Mt. Hood Townhall (541-308-5997) – Tuesdays; Hood River Valley Adult Center (541-386-2060); Sherman County Senior and Community Center (541-565-3191); The Dalles Meals-on-Wheels (541-298-8333).
For meal sites in Washington, call Klickitat County Senior Services: Goldendale office (509-773-3757) or the White Salmon office (509-493-3068), and in Skamania County call Senior Services (509-427-3990).
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