Market Updates and Sweetness Strategies

We hope that everyone will join us for another delicious Pathfinder Produce fresh fruits and vegetable market, this Thursday, November 19, from 1 to 5 p.m.  We look forward to seeing you!

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This week, we’ll start by sharing a few important reminders:

First, our staff members and residents will host a free THANKS-FOR-GIVING gathering for community members, friends and families at the Pathfinder Village Gym on Thursday, November 19, from 6 to 7:30 p.m.  We invite all our regular Pathfinder Produce patrons to join in the fun and bring a non-perishable food item or gently used/new toy for local distribution during the holidays.

Secondly, in as much as next Thursday is Thanksgiving and we want our market staff to be home with their families, we will hold our weekly Pathfinder Produce market on Tuesday, November 24, from 1 to 5 p.m.  This is a great time to stock up on your Thanksgiving staples at our friendly and convenient market.  The market will also be open on Tuesdays during the year-end holidays too, as both Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve fall on Thursdays. 

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During the holidays, we all try to keep from over-eating, although it is challenging when tables and sideboards are packed with tempting fare, lovingly created by our moms, spouses, and other talented family members and friends who love to cook.

So perhaps it is good timing to share that the Food & Drug Administration has in the past week come out with guidelines about sugar consumption.  Many health advocates have long said that America eats far too much sugar; our national sweet tooth has been a chief contributor to our current endemic rates of diabetes and obesity.

According to a recent Wellness post at the New York Times by Roni Caryn Rabin, the FDA’s recommended goal is “for Americans to limit added sugar to no more than 10 percent of daily calories, according to the proposed guidelines. For someone older than 3, that means eating no more than 12.5 teaspoons, or 50 grams, of it a day.”

That limit is for total added sugars, not just the sugar you may add to your coffee or breakfast cereal.  This means consumers need to start tracking how much sugar is added in the manufacturing process of commercial foods they eat.  The FDA is proposing to change food labels to make this easier to track, but the Food Industries and lobbyists are already creating a fuss, so it is unknown if or when this additional information will be added.

So, what’s a health-concerned consumer to do?  An earlier Times’ Wellness Blog about a study that NIH carried out on obese children offers some helpful suggestions, but again focuses on knowing added amounts of sugar.  So, for what it’s worth, here are my two cents and five suggestions:

• Adopt a different guideline:  Earlier in 2015, the UN’s World Health Organization recommended that no more than 10 percent of one’s daily calorie intake be derived from sugar (added or naturally occurring sugars).  They state that if you can work down towards five percent (25 grams or 6 tsp.) that health benefits increase.
  
• Stop drinking sugar-laden beverages, like sodas, sugar-rich teas, energy drinks, and juices.  This is one of the most concentrated forms of sugar in our diets. (In 5-2-1-0 programs, the 0 means zero sugary drinks.) Likewise, learn to like lightly or unsweetened cups of hot beverages.
  
• Learn names the industry uses to denote sugar: Review this Prevention slideshow on how sugar is hidden on food labels.  If it ends in “-ose,” it’s sugar.  Also names like corn syrup, cane juice, dextrin, barley malt, carob syrup, malt syrup, etc. mean sugar.
  
• Reduce sugar content in home baked items and cooking.  I generally trim back the amounts of sugar in cakes and cookies to 2/3 or ¾ of what the recipe states. It may taste a bit off at first, but you will get used to it.
  
• Eat natural, unprocessed foods:  Although natural fruits and veggies have sugar, the amounts are known, and fruits and veggies offer other benefits to offset their sugar content.  So, instead of reaching for that gooey luscious corporate-baked cookie, grab a crisp, bright apple instead.

Until next time, savor the sweet things in life, but not the added sweeteners.

Lori

Lessons in Gratitude

Hello!  We hope everyone will come down to our next Pathfinder Produce market at the Village Commons, this Thursday, November 12, from 1 to 5 p.m.  We have the freshest produce and the friendliest staff … a winning combination!  We hope to see you there!

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Here at Pathfinder Village, we are mindful of the tremendous support we have from our friends, neighbors, families, board members and donors.  We know, during this season of reflection, that it is good to give thanks and to share in the bounty of camaraderie and good will that is found here.

To that end, our staff members and residents will be hosting a new THANKS FOR GIVING gathering for community members, friends and families at the Pathfinder Village Gym on next Thursday, November 19, from 6 to 7:30 p.m.  We invite all our regular Pathfinder Produce patrons to join in the fun!

There is no cost for this event, which will offer an evening of friendship and light refreshments.  In the spirit of giving and gratitude, we ask that guests bring a non-perishable food item or gently-used/new toy to be donated to share, either by our friends at the area’s food banks, or through the Edmeston Rotary’s annual gift program, which brightens the holidays for many families.

Speaking of giving thanks, everyone at Pathfinder Village is grateful to see the opening this week of the new $1.2 million William F. Streck Health Center at Pathfinder Village, which culminates several years of planning, fund raising, and really hard work by the dedicated folks at the Village and Bassett Healthcare Network.  For those who are hoping to see what a beautiful facility it is, there will be a special Open House at the Streck Health Center this Friday, November 13, from 4 to 6 p.m.

During a recent preview for key donors, the need for the new Health Center for our region was underscored by several speakers, including Senator Seward, NYCM President & CEO Dan Robinson, and Dr. Vance Brown, the current President & CEO of Bassett Healthcare Network.  There were also many expressions of thanks to our tremendous donors, who helped make this new facility a reality.  And during that event, there was a resounding expression of gratitude to Bill Streck, who for 30 years, aptly led Bassett Healthcare and expanded its reach into the community, and who served (and continues to serve) as the Chair of the Pathfinder Village Board of Directors.

Perhaps our Board of Director’s Vice Chair Doug Willies said it best when he indicated that the new health center represents the full circle of Dr. Streck’s love of Pathfinder and his advocacy for expanded healthcare.  He said, “Bill Streck has given his life to Bassett, but his heart and soul has been with his family and his professional family at Pathfinder. So I believe this is such an appropriate way to honor him, by building the successor to Bassett’s first health center, the cornerstone of the community network, here at Pathfinder.  It couldn’t be any more appropriate than to join these two very important aspects of Bill’s life.”

I guess, the upshot of all this, despite all the ill will and bad news we may hear, we must train ourselves to look for life’s gifts, to emulate the selfless, and to remember that we are not alone in working for the greater good.  Give thanks, and use that gratitude to color your world.

Gratefully yours,

Lori

"Ugly Ducking" Soup

We hope everyone will join us for our first market in November, this Thursday, November 5, from 1 to 5 p.m.  We cheerfully accept all types of payment for your purchases, and we have the freshest produce around!

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The following is a guest blog by Martha Spiegel, Development Assistant at Pathfinder Village:

Summer produce has come and gone, and soup season is here.  Despite the change in seasons, there are still many wonderful fresh vegetables available during fall. One which I recently discovered is celeriac, or celery root. 

When I pulled the celeriac bulb out of my farm share box, I could not fathom what that hairy orb was or what it was used for.  A quick sniff let me know it was related to celery, and a short time on the internet gave me some wonderful results.

According to the website Eat The Seasons, celeriac is derived from wild celery and has been used in Europe for centuries. In fact, it is mentioned as selinon in Homer’s Odyssey. Nutrition and You states that celeriac is an excellent source of dietary fiber, essential minerals, and vitamin K, which is good for bones and may limit neuronal damage in the brains of patients with Alzheimer’s disease. It also contains B-complex vitamins, antioxidants, and some vitamin C. All that for just 42 calories per 100g of root!

Give the root a good scrubbing under water and peel it with a good peeler or paring knife to prepare it for cooking. NPR’s website article The Vegetable World's Ugly Duckling gives recipes for mashed, boiled and even French fried celeriac. You can also eat it raw in salads.

I decided to use mine in a soup, as I had a fair amount of white beans which were soaked and ready to go. I can’t give you the exact recipe, as it was sort of my own adaptation of several I found on-line, but here are the basics and you can customize your souop according to taste and what you have in your kitchen.

1.     In one pot, cook 2-3 cups of pre-soaked white beans in 32 oz. of chicken stock.

2.     In another pot, cook some thinly sliced leeks (or onions) in a tablespoon or so of olive oil until they are translucent.

3.     Add to the leeks one peeled, cubed celeriac bulb and a couple of stalks of chopped broccoli (peel the thick stems). Add to that pot another 32 oz. of chicken stock, some thyme, and any other herbs which you think would be tasty (I think I threw in some savory leaves).

4.     When the vegetables in both pots are tender, combine the two into one large pot and use an immersion blender to make it smooth and creamy. (If you don’t have an immersion blender, you can blend it in small batches in standard blender, but just make sure to vent the lid to avoid steam build-up which can cause burns.)

The soup can be quite thick, depending on the amount of beans you used. You can blend it less for a thinner, chunkier soup, or add more stock to thin it out if desired. We loved the thick consistency, and only wished for bread bowls to eat it from.

So, as we hunker down for cooler evenings, and are looking for different meals to enjoy, experiment with soups.  You can find lots of fresh ingredients, along with bread to go with it, at our weekly Produce Market every Thursday afternoon.

Have a souper November!

Martha (and Lori)