School Spirit Week, WDSD and Slow Cooker Veggie Meals!

Hello everyone!  I believe spring is in the air, and we are celebrating Pathfinder School Spirit Week too!  During this colorful and fun time at Pathfinder Village, Monday is Pajama Day, Tuesday is school color day (green and white), Wednesday is WDSD-Crazy Sock Day (or wear blue and yellow), Thursday is Mismatch Day, and Friday is Dr. Seuss Day.

If you’d like to join us in the celebration for World Down Syndrome Day, please wear the craziest socks you have on Wednesday, March 21, to join with people around the world in recognizing how people with Down syndrome make our lives richer.  Take a picture of your crazy socks and send them along to us … we’ll share them as part of our Facebook celebration!  We’ll be posting some pictures of all the fun goings-on here too.

Last week’s fifth anniversary celebration of the market was fabulous, and we thank all our tremendous customers who came out to shop.  We enjoyed all the extra special treats, prize drawings and sales prices too.  Our Adult Day Services folks really pulled out all the stops … they were even featured in the local newspaper! 

We were also pleased with the

number of online orders we received through our new ordering option for the Edmeston and Morris communities.  Our ordering site will now be open Friday at 10 a.m. through Wednesday at noon; you can access the markets using this link:  http://pathfindervillage.org/our-village/pathfinder-produce/.  Pick-up for both locations is on Thursday:  Edmeston, at the Village Commons from 1 to 5 p.m.; in Morris at the UMC, 17 Church Street, from 3 to 6 p.m.

Looking ahead, we’ll be starting up our free Dash to the Splash program on April 9, and the training program will run for six weeks, with participants meeting for group training sessions at Pathfinder Village on Mondays at 4:30 p.m.   Contact Monica Clark at (607) 965-8377, ext. 107, if you’re interested in enrolling in this fun fitness program in preparation for our fifth annual Splash Path 5K and Fun Walk, which is set for May 19, 2018.

Below, my colleague Martha Spiegel shares some of the recent slow cooker recipes she’s discovered that present some delicious possibilities for cooking veggie-rich dishes.

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I love my crockpot. I love throwing some ingredients together in the morning and coming home to dinner all ready and smelling delicious. We use our crockpot all year long—in the colder months it’s wonderful to sit down to a bowl of chili or stew. In the warmer months, it’s nice to have a way to cook that doesn’t heat up the kitchen.

This week I researched healthy vegetarian recipes for the crockpot, and found there are a LOT to choose from. Even if you are not a vegetarian, it’s nice to have recipes that don’t require meat sometimes, since it helps keep the grocery budget in line. These recipes can help you add more vegetables to your diet in creative ways.

Here is a Skinny Lasagna recipe for the crockpot that calls for lots of chopped leafy greens. The author of the recipe blog used kale, but spinach, chard, or maybe arugula would work. See what’s available at Pathfinder Produce when you are ready to try this. You could even use more than one kind of greens.

If I’m going to eat vegetable soup, I want it to be thick and filling, and this recipe from the blog Flour On My Face fills the bill. It’s loaded with beans, tomatoes, corn, and spinach, not to mention a good amount of garlic. The blog even gives you a great idea for making your own vegetable stock from peels and scraps that you collect in a freezer container until you have enough for a pot full. This is also a great way to cut down on food waste!

For something really different, try this Slow Cooker Vegetarian Curry. It calls for ghee, which is a form of clarified butter from India, but if you don’t have that on hand, celebrity chef Alton Brown gives a simple way to make your own from regular butter. This curry sounds like it would have a very full flavor and would be a nice change of pace.

Don’t forget dessert! According to the food blog Coastal Girl Food n Fitness, this Hot Apple Dump Dessert has the flavor of hot apple pie without all the fat from the crust.  It’s not fat- or calorie-free, however, so eat it in moderation. Remember, if you share it with lots of your family or friends, portion control becomes easier!

Until next time, eat well and be well,

Martha (and Lori)

Rooted in Community!

Hello everyone, we hope you’ll join us this week for our FIFTH ANNIVERSARY celebration at Pathfinder Produce.  This Thursday, March 15, at our Edmeston Market, from 1 to 5 p.m., we are pleased to share some great market specials, with all our tasty produce items marked down 5%.  We also will have some fun giveaways, drawings, and some special blue-and-yellow decorated baked goods as part of our pre-celebration of World Down Syndrome Day, which will take place on Wednesday, March 21.

I’d also like to announce that our Adult Day Services has held a market slogan contest, as part of our fifth anniversary celebration.  ADS members Ted Ratcliffe and Joe Kirshoff were the winners with this great slogan:  Pathfinder Produce: Rooted in Community.  Ted and Joe were presented Pathfinder Produce gift certificates by ADS Program Assistant Kristy Turner for their winning entry.

I don’t normally highlight our baked goods that we offer at the market, but our wonderful Pathfinder Baker Gary Gelatt has been doing some historical research that’s really rooted in the community too.  Working with the staff of the Edmeston Museum, Gary discovered a label for FREEDOM-Peet Hook Bread, baked by the Edmeston Bakery.  In the town’s published history, he learned that the bakery was making up to 250 loaves of bread each day in 1901.  In tribute to our local baking traditions, Gary’s come up with his own recipe that has simple ingredients: honey, yeast, salt, very little shortening, and white flour (no preservatives or high fructose corn syrup).  We’ll have these tempting loaves for sale on Thursday too.  (The bread is great for toast, grilled sandwiches, and French toast, and freezes well).  These loaves will go fast, I’m sure!

A historical note:  Many Edmeston traditions reference the name “Peet Hook.”  This recalls the influence of Dutch settlers in the late 1700s in our area: ‘Hoek’ (meaning corner) was at times used to describe a hamlet or settlement.  ‘Peet” refers to Benjamin Peet, a tavern keeper who operated the town’s first hotel at the site of the present Firehouse, at the turn of the 19^th century.   We hope to share more research on the Edmeston Bakery with our readers in a future post.

This week we’re also pleased to share that our online market ordering is now up and running.  If you would like to try this option, please go to this link on Monday or Tuesday (through 11:59 p.m.) and select the location you would like to pick-up your produce order at, either in Edmeston or Morris: http://pathfindervillage.org/our-village/pathfinder-produce.  Enter your order and pay securely online with your credit card; SNAP orders should be telephoned into our market staff at the SNAPline, (607) 965-8377 ext. 187.   Our friendly ADS staff will select and bag your produce on Thursday, and will have it ready for pick-up at the Edmeston market (from 1 to 5 p.m.) or at our Morris location at the UMC, 17 Church St., after 3 p.m. Talk about convenience.

We hope you’ll join us for our extra special market this week, and we thank everyone for their continued patronage and support.  Pathfinder Produce:  Rooted in Community!

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Healthier Broiled Tilapia Parmesan

This week, our newest blogger, Jared O., is enthusiastic on sharing another healthy recipe with our market fans.  He discovered this dish at the website All Recipes.com; he wants to try this quick meal soon to share with his friends. 

Like many people, Jared wants to follow a healthy diet.  He did some research on selecting fish as a healthy meal option, and learned that “(Both) chicken and fish have less saturated fat than most red meats. The unsaturated fats in fish, such as salmon, actually have health benefits.  These omega-3 fatty acids are also found in some plant sources, and may reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease.”  (Jared found this information at the website of the American Heart Association. 

To present a nutritionally balanced meal, Jared said he would serve the tilapia with fresh, steamed broccoli, seasoned with garlic.  “I would also make a spinach salad on the side.”  (For those of you who are really trying to cut down on fats, you may try the following recipe, but just cut back on the amounts of cheese and mayo, and on the butter just a tad.)

Prep: 5 min.; Cook: 10 min.  Serves 8.

Ingredients

1/2 cup Parmesan cheese

1/8 cup butter, softened

3 tablespoons light mayonnaise

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1/4 teaspoon dried basil

1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

1/8 teaspoon onion powder

1/8 teaspoon celery salt

2 pounds tilapia fillets

Directions:

1. Preheat oven broiler. Grease broiling pan or line with aluminum foil.
2. Mix Parmesan cheese, butter, mayonnaise, and lemon juice together in a small bowl. Season with dried basil, pepper, onion powder, and celery salt. Mix well and set aside. Arrange fillets in a single layer on prepared pan.
3. Broil a few inches from the heat for 2 to 3 minutes. Flip fillets over and broil for 2 or 3 minutes more. Remove fillets from oven and cover with Parmesan mixture on top side. Broil until fish flakes easily with a fork, about 2 minutes.

Nutrition Facts

Per Serving: 180 calories; 7.7 g fat; 1.1 g carbohydrates; 25.3 g protein; 56 mg cholesterol; 231 mg sodium. 

Five Years & Growing!

Hello, everyone! We hope that you are doing well after last Friday's “bombogenesis” nor'easter.  We also hope that you’ll be able to come down and shop for your fruit and veggie favorites at our next delicious Pathfinder Produce market, Thursday, March 8, from 1 to 5 p.m.

I have a few upcoming Pathfinder news notices to share:

• Our OVER 21! Community Classes are getting underway this week with Yoga Sessions and ZUMBA, and our arts & crafts classes are starting up in April. Check out the downloadable registration form for more information.
• We'd also like to encourage everyone to sign up by April 1 for our upcoming DASH TO THE SPLASH sessions, starting on April 9.  This year's Dash program will feature meetings each Monday at 4:30 p.m. (for six weeks), to motivate you and help you train for the FIFTH annual SPLASH PATH at Pathfinder Village on Saturday, May 19. More information is available at our website. This year's Splash Path will be raising funds to start a new Mobile Market to help make fresh and tasty produce more available in our neighboring communities.
• Also, in celebration of World Down Syndrome Day on March 21 (3-21), everyone at Pathfinder Village will be showing off their crazy socks; it's part of a global movement to celebrate the contributions and talents of people with Down syndrome. We invite everyone to take part by wearing their craziest socks on Wednesday, March 21.  If you take a picture of you and your friends wearing your crazy socks, and send it by messenger to our Pathfinder Village Facebook Page, we'll share it with our fans and friends. It will be a lot of fun to see how creative and colorful everyone can be on this growing celebration of our brothers and sisters with Down syndrome.

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One thing I've loved about my work at Pathfinder Village is the “can do” attitude that everyone shares in making our Village a vibrant, responsive, inclusive community. That "positivity" shines through every day as residents and students discover new skills and access more opportunities, and as staff and senior leaders work together to build meaningful programs that reflect and amplify our mission: Pathfinder Village will promote a healthy, progressive environment that respects the individual, supporting a life of value and independence.

That mission is our anchor and has led us to some amazing places …  like our upcoming Splash Path 5K, which will celebrate its fifth anniversary this year on May 19. Another “can do” project that has been incredible has been Pathfinder Produce.

Last week, as I was doing my shopping, I took some time to visit with my friends from Pathfinder's Adult Day Services, who do a great job in organizing and running the market each week. Brandy was at her station, handing out shopping baskets and greeting customers. Jared, now one of our bloggers, was running the produce scale. Daniel, a 2017 graduate of Pathfinder School, was learning the finer points of how to tally purchases on the register (something I'm not able to do, fumble fingers that I am). My good friend Chris, our anchor man at the check-out, was helpful in bagging my purchases. As I was getting my purchases together, there was a lot of friendly talk and smiles … something I look forward to on Thursday afternoons.

In the summer months, my friends at ADS also contribute to the market by growing fresh items at the three hoop houses and the Button Greenhouse. By having some locally grown items on sale, it nicely balances out the other produce items we feature at the market. This addition, which started back after we built our first hoop house through the proceeds of one of our first Splash Paths, is another way that synergy has taken root at Pathfinder.

Contrary to what Shakespeare opined about the Ides of March, this March 15 will be a red-letter day at Pathfinder Produce as we celebrate our FIFTH ANNIVERSARY; it’s quite a milestone to have created a reproducible solution to local fresh food desert dilemmas. As it has on each anniversary, the market will offer special 5% discounts on produce purchases, spotlight some prize drawings and give-aways, and start Pathfinder's official observance of World Down Syndrome Day, which officially is celebrated on March 21 – the 3-21 numerical representation of the date symbolizes the three copies of the 21^st chromosome, which is the genetic coding of Trisomy 21.

That week will also signify a new growth phase for the market: On Monday, March 12 and Tuesday, March 13, we will officially introduce our new secure online ordering platform and drop-off service for our loyal customers. Each week, we will post our market offerings online and customers can place orders up through 11:59 p.m. each Tuesday.

On Thursdays, as we're getting our Edmeston market ready, our ADS members will fill online orders and have them ready for pick-up by our patrons who appreciate healthy produce but may not have time to shop. Our “premium picked produce packages” will be available at two locations, either at the Edmeston main market (1 to 5 p.m.) or at our satellite location at the United Methodist Church, 17 Church Street, Morris (from 3 p.m.). Payment will be made online through major credit cards; those who use the USDA's Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program cards may telephone in orders at (607) 965-8377, ext. 187, on Mondays and Tuesdays during regular business hours.

We will continue with our weekly “veggie blog” and Facebook posts to share our market headlines, and will keep you posted as we work toward creating the new Mobile Market, a project that we're working on with area 5-2-1-0 Committee members, the Bassett Research Institute, private donors and other community partners who appreciate how important a healthy diet can be for everyone.

In closing, everyone at Pathfinder Produce and Pathfinder Village thanks you for a tremendous five years of the market, for your steady patronage and support, and for believing in “the little market that could!”

Until next time, eat well and be well,

Lori (and the entire Pathfinder Produce All-Star Team)

Big News & A New Recipe to Try!

Hello, we hope everyone is having a wonderful Tuesday, especially with today’s warm temperatures.  We also hope that everyone will come visit us at Pathfinder Produce at the Pathfinder Village Commons, this Thursday, March 1, from 1 to 5 p.m.  We’ve got some great produce items for you to share with your family.

WE HAVE SOME BIG NEWS:  To assist our busy families who enjoy shopping at Pathfinder Produce, we will be introducing an online ordering platform and local drop-off service starting on March 12, just in time for our fifth anniversary.  This will allow customers to go to our market ordering website, enter their order, pay for their produce with a credit card, and then have everything ready for pick-up at either our Edmeston location or at the UMC, 17 Church St., Morris, one of our community 5-2-1-0 partners.  The pickup times will be each Thursday afternoon.  Talk about convenience!

We will feature more about this important option for our loyal customers in next week’s “veggie blog.”  Below, enjoy a healthy recipe idea from our newest blog colleague, Jared Okun.

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This week, we add a new contributor, Jared Okun, to our “Veggie Blog.”  Jared is a recent graduate of Otsego Academy, and is a young man who is enjoying the responsibilities of his first apartment, one that he shares with his good friends. 

Mindful of his health, Jared tries to keep active, works out on the treadmill, and takes part in Special Olympics Basketball.  He is careful of his diet too, and tries to make gluten-free meals and watches his food portions.

“I love shopping and cooking is fun for me.  I like exploring and finding things to make, and I love cooking different kinds of meals,” he said.  “Sometimes, hitting on the food I want to make is challenging, because it depends what I am in the mood for that night.”

“I want to blog about gluten-free recipes to show people who are not gluten-free that they may like them as well,” he added.  “The recipe I’m sharing this week is one that I like, and I thought it would be a good recipe that everyone would enjoy making.”

Sesame Shrimp Stir-fry  (from http://allrecipes.com)

55 minutes - 4 servings, 395 calories

Ingredients:

·       2 cups water

·       1 cup uncooked white rice

·       1 pound medium shrimp, peeled and deveined

·       1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

·       1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

·       1 clove garlic, minced

·       1 tablespoon sesame seeds

·       1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

·       2 tablespoons sesame oil

·       1 red bell pepper, sliced into thin strips

·       3 green onions, sliced

·       3 tablespoons teriyaki sauce

·       1/2 pound sugar snap peas

·       1/8 cup cornstarch

·       3/4 cup chicken broth

·       1/4 teaspoon salt

Directions:

1.               In a medium saucepan, bring salted water to a boil. Add rice, reduce heat, cover and simmer for 20 minutes.

2.               While rice is simmering, combine shrimp, ginger, cayenne pepper, garlic, sesame seeds and black pepper in a large plastic food storage bag. Allow to marinate in the refrigerator.

3.               Heat sesame oil in a large wok or skillet. Add red bell pepper and green onions; saute 3 to 4 minutes to soften slightly Add teriyaki sauce. Add peas and shrimp with seasoning; saute 4 minutes or until shrimp are opaque.

4.               Stir cornstarch into chicken broth and add to wok; cook, stirring until mixture boils. Sprinkle with salt. Spoon shrimp mixture over cooked rice.

Editor’s Note:  Here are some additional links to help you as you prepare Jared’s
shared recipe:

·       Hints on cooking perfect rice:
http://www.finecooking.com/article/how-to-cook-rice-perfectly

·       Health benefits of sesame oil: 
https://www.livestrong.com/article/17951-health-benefits-sesame-oil/

·       More thoughts on shrimp: 
https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/is-shrimp-healthy#section4

Until next time, eat well and be well,

Jared (and Lori)

Blueberry Booster Smoothies!

Hello everyone, we invite you to our next delicious Pathfinder Produce Market, which is set for tomorrow afternoon at the Pathfinder Village Commons from 1 to 5 p.m.  The “little market that could” will be celebrating its FIFTH ANNIVERSARY on Thursday, March 15, and we will feature fun and innovative ways to celebrate this important milestone … stay tuned! 

On that day too, we’ll also be joining our global families and partners to kick-off the observance of World Down Syndrome Day – all of us at Pathfinder will be wearing our CRAZY SOCKS to celebrate the ways that Down syndrome adds beauty and reveals a deeper understanding of humanity in our lives.  World Down Syndrome Day is a growing global event, held each year on March 21^st – the 3-21 date is a numerical representation of three copies of the 21^st chromosome, which is the genetic cause of 95% of instances of Down syndrome (Trisomy 21). 

If you would like to join us by wearing your Crazy Socks, please feel free to take some pictures of your “neat feet” and share them to our Pathfinder Village Facebook page.  The crazier the better!   We’d love to see how flashy and special your socks can be, and you can include messages on how you embrace all the ways that our brothers and sisters with Down syndrome enrich our lives.

Below, my colleague Sally Trosset shares a favorite healthy smoothie recipe, which can help keep everyone at their best during these days of lingering colds, vastly changing temperatures, and way too hectic schedules.  Enjoy!

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As expected, the cold and flu season arrived on schedule this year and by all measures, it has been a bad one.  Thankfully, it appears to have peaked and doctor’s visits appear to be on the decline. According to a recent New York Times article,  experts at the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) are calling it one of the worst flu seasons in years.

If you’re like me, you want to fend off the flu and nasty winter colds for your family. At my house I get pretty militant about clean hands, clean sheets, sneezing/coughing into our elbows, and a can of Lysol in every room.  Fluids, fluids, fluids (!!!) are very important, but also adding more immune-boosting recipes to our meal plan is critical. To help my family stay healthy this season, I’ve been pushing our summer favorite-- a wild blueberry smoothie – which is packed full of antioxidants and Vitamin C.  A staple of our summer diets, we’ve pulled out the blender this winter to get our healthy smoothie fix.  It has also curbed my girls’ hunger when they return home from basketball practice; usually they’re starving and dinner is not always quite ready.

This family favorite is made with one cup of wild blueberries (I use Wyman’s fresh frozen wild blueberries from the grocery store during this time of year), a splash of orange juice, one cup of spinach, one cup vanilla-flavored unsweetened almond milk, and 2-3 ice cubes (add more ice, almond milk or water for your desired thickness).  It blends into a tasty treat with the perfect amount of natural sweetness.

According to a recent article in Readers Digest, wild blueberries have twice the antioxidant capacity of larger, cultivated blueberries.  Research suggests that the secret is in the skin.  That is where the highest concentration of the antioxidant anthocyanin is found.  Pound for pound, wild blueberries have more skin than regular blueberries.   Antioxidants are important not only to immune health, but also for boosting brain, heart and gut health, and may prevent diabetes and some forms of cancer. With their anti-inflammatory properties and disease-fighting compounds, antioxidants keep your body strong and can give you an edge when you need to fight off bacteria and viruses.

Wake each morning and enjoy this delicious smoothie or enjoy it at the end of the day to hold you over until dinner. The citrus flavor pairs nicely with the sweet wild blueberries, which have a more intense berry flavor.  A crowd pleaser in our house, it’s refreshing, sweet and healthy too!

Stay Well!

Sally (and Lori)

Have a Heart Healthy Valentine’s Day!

Happy Valentine’s Day, everyone!  We hope that all our friends and neighbors will stop by Pathfinder Produce this Thursday afternoon from 1 to 5 p.m. for some lovely treats and tempting deals at our friendly produce market at the Pathfinder Village Commons.

This week, we continue to be focused on matters of the heart; over the weekend our Otsego Academy students attended the Foxcare Center Walk in Oneonta in support of the Greater Utica Area American Heart Association.  The students successfully completed the three mile walk and enjoyed learning about hands-free CPR and other topics.  The FoxCare walk was a preliminary event for the Greater Utica Area Heart Walk & Run; there’s still time to register for that event at their website.

Also, in association with the American Heart Association, this Friday, our Pathfinder School students will be holding their HOOPS FOR HEART finale; the students are about halfway to their fundraising goal for the Heart Association.  To help them reach their goal, you can donate online at this link.  We hope to share pictures on our Facebook Page of all the fun at Friday’s celebration!

Below, my colleague Maura Iorio, who is the Senior Director of Education at Pathfinder School, shares some thoughts on heart health.

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Treat yourself this Valentine's DAy without all the guilt that a box of chocolates can bring.  Stick to your New Year’s Resolution to eat more fresh fruits and veggies while still having some holiday fun with these creative fruit pun print-outs!  (Think of Necco’s Sweethearts, but far healthier!)

The U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) also has some tips to keep your heart pumping this Valentine’s Day. They recommend staying active—taking a walk, hitting the gym, or doing some ZUMBA (held on most Wednesday nights at Pathfinder Gym at 7 p.m.)! Exercising regularly, along with a healthy diet, will keep your heart strong all year round!

Are you looking to do something extra special for your health? The CDC encourages people to “treat themselves” and their heart—quit smoking! Monitor your blood pressure! Learn the most common signs of a heart attack so that you can be prepared to call for emergency assistance if you notice these symptoms in yourself or others:

·       Pain or discomfort in the jaw, neck, or back,

·       Feeling weak, light-headed, or faint,

·       Chest pain or discomfort,

·       Pain or discomfort in arms or shoulder, and

·       Shortness of breath.

(We also recommend that people learn the FAST signs for strokes …
EVERY minute counts when faced with a potential stroke emergency!).

We hope you have a happy (and heart healthy!) Valentine’s Day this year!

Maura (and Lori)

Common Sense Flu Precautions

Hello everyone!  We hope everyone will come down to our next Pathfinder Produce market at the Village Commons this Thursday, February 8.  Our friendly staff will be showcasing a great variety of fruits and veggies … the “little market that could” is your place for the freshest tastes around!

Kudos go out to our Otsego Academy students, who will be doing their part to support the American Heart Association this Saturday, Feb. 10, by participating in the Heart Walk at FoxCare in Oneonta.  The students are looking forward to this indoor 3-mile walk, where they’ll be learning about heart health, CPR, and other ways to lead healthy lives.  If you’d like to sponsor our students go to their Otsego Academy Team Page !

More and more, we’re hearing news items about the H3N2 flu strain. Below, my colleague Martha Spiegel shares some tips to prevent getting sick.

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Common Sense Flu Precautions

The flu has hit the country hard this year, and our area is no exception. Doctors are reporting more than double the cases from last year, and it has been classified as an epidemic. Flu is a virus-caused respiratory disease that is typically mild and requires no medical intervention. However, it can be more complicated for the very young, very old, pregnant women, and people with respiratory conditions such as asthma.

Here at Pathfinder Village, our entire staff completes yearly training in Universal Precautions, steps to take to prevent the spread of disease, and since flu typically peaks in February, it seems like a good idea to share some of this helpful information.

The best prevention against the flu is a vaccination. However, the flu vaccine only prevents certain strains of flu, so it is still important to protect yourself as well as others. Also, the flu can be contagious a day before symptoms appear. Here’s what you can do:

• Wash your hands! It seems like a no-brainer, but it’s important to wash with plenty of soap, being diligent to clean between fingers as well as the fronts and backs of your hands, and to wash for at least 20 seconds. After drying, be sure to use a paper towel to turn off the faucet—remember, your unwashed hand turned it on.
• Cover your cough/sneeze. Use a tissue or napkin if possible. If not, sneeze into your sleeve, covering your mouth and nose with your elbow.   (The best offense is a good defense! Don’t sneeze into your hands!)
• Clean up. The virus can be killed with bleach, hydrogen peroxide, soap, iodine-based antiseptics, and alcohol (such as hand sanitizer). Don’t forget to clean doorknobs, keyboards, and faucets. The flu virus can remain on a surface for up to 24 hours.
• If you are careing for a family member with the flu, keep your distance as much as you can.  Wear a mask. Wear gloves if you are cleaning up dirty tissues, etc., and wash your hands immediately. 
• Practice other good health habits.  Getting enough sleep, drinking plenty of fluids and maintaining a healthy diet can all help keep you and your immune system strong.

All of this information and more is available at  www.cdc.gov/flu .  Until next time, stay well and fight those germs!

Martha (and Lori)