What wonderful news!  Chocolate is good for you.  It can even help you age healthier.

Yes, it’s true.   Chocolate is full of antioxidants which help in preventing cardiovascular diseases.  However, it is dark chocolate that has the most antioxidants. – The darker the chocolate, the healthier it is.

Chocolate is also known to be an anti-depressant because it emits  chemicals in the brain which make you feel good and happy. If you are feeling down, have a piece of chocolate.  As in everything, it should be eaten in moderation because some consensus is that it is addictive!

Dark chocolate has a bitter taste. Now  chocolate can be found with nuts, of course, but also with raspberries, liquors and even chili and pepper.  The choice is yours.

Chocolate Mousse
For 2 people:
2 ounces dark chocolate
2 large eggs, separated
A few drops of rum (optional)

Put chocolate in a small basin with 1 spoon water. Melt.  Beat egg whites separately until they form stiff peaks.  Add egg yolks to chocolate mixture and rum and mix while heating on low flame. Let cool.  Fold in egg whites.
Chill for 3 hours.
NOTE:  Nowadays it is extremely important to be careful about eating raw eggs. Buy the very freshest eggs and refrigerate immediately.

Grandma Nature

In French there is a term of endearment, « mon petit choux », which literally translated means « my little cabbage ».  Does this come from the fact that cabbage has such a positive effect on our health?

Cabbage may be boiled, stuffed, made into coleslaw or sauerkraut.  It is a powerhouse of vitamins for the cold months, which is the season when cabbage is eaten most often.

• Cabbage is full of vitamin C and folic acid, which maintains the arteries.
• It is an anti-ulcer drug and has antibiotic properties in killing bacteria in the intestines.
• Cabbage juice is very efficient in treating ulcers and today with modern juice makers easy to prepare.
• It is known that cabbage has a substance which lowers the estrogen level which in turn prevents breast cancer in women.

There are various types of cabbage and the cabbage family includes broccoli and cauliflower among others.   If you are at an outdoor market notice the fluffy leaves and various shades of green and purple on some types of cabbages. They are a feast for the eye as are cabbage patches.  Walk by one on a cold autumn day and inhale the earthy scent. It will envigorate you. Cabbages are even sold in flower shops to use as decorative arrangements.

Rainbow Coleslaw
1 red apple cut in pieces
6 cups shredded cabbage
1 cup canned sugarless pineapple-cut in pieces
1 cup sour cream
1 teaspoon lemon juice
3/4 walnuts-in pieces
Mix all together and refrigerate until serving
Contains vitamin A, C, calcium and iron
Enjoy!!!ther healthy vegetables such as broccoli and cauliflower.  When you are at an outd

Grandma Nature

Lavender for Age Esteem

Do you remember the song, “Lavender blue dilly, dilly, lavender green…”?

The lavender plant usually blooms in June-July with the vibrant purple flowers covering fields.  Carpets of lavender blooms highlight areas of Provence in southern France, England and in many other places adding dashes of color to gardens and backyards.

This lovely plant also has a sweet fragrance and calming effect on the nervous system.  Lavender has many uses in treating medical conditions as well as in making cosmetic products and even in food!

Aromatic oils are extracted from the various parts of the plants to use in aromatherapy.  –  A way of healing which utilizes the scent and medicinal properties of the plant. Forms of aromatherapy have existed since the very beginning of civilization.

Lavender essential oil is the most versatile of all the essential oils and is very beneficial for high blood pressure, stress, bronchitis and muscular pains.  These conditions can be treated by soaking in a warm bath of lavender oil or lavender bubble bath, or with a massage using the essential oil.

Lavender is also used in perfume and in beauty products. Even in this way the perfume can be beneficial for medical conditions as well as giving off  a beautiful scent.

Finally, the lavender flower may enhance a delicious crême brulée or even a cake.
So enjoy this aromatic plant and look and feel wonderful at the same time.  It can help to enhance your age-esteem.

Grandma Nature

Walnuts for AgeEsteem

Most people love walnuts, either in brownies or cookies or other delights. Did you know that walnuts are very healthy as well as being delicious? Next time you’re hungry and feel like a snack, eat a handful of walnuts.

Walnuts are healthy for your AgeEsteem.  They contribute to the prevention of health factors associated with aging.

Walnuts are rich in the omega-3 fatty acids which lower LDL, the “bad” cholesterol, thus reducing the risk of heart disease. Walnut oil is obviously good for cardiovascular health as well. In addition walnuts are rich in iron, protein and magnesium which is necessary for strong bones.  They are a very versatile food which can be added to vegetables as well as to desserts. So, when next baking or cooking, add some walnuts!

Waldorf Salad
Equal amounts of red apples, celery and walnuts, cut into small pieces.
Add one cup of sour cream and mix together.
Refrigerate and serve when needed.

Grandma Nature

World Day for Water – March 22

Our daily lives depend on and are shaped by water. Without the water that surrounds us – the humidity of the air, water from rushing rivers and the kitchen tap – our lives would be impossible.  Eighty percent of our bodies are formed of water, and two thirds of the planet’s surface is covered by water.   Water is our life.

Water is a basic nutrient that is also important for our age-esteem.  It is basic to our level of energy.   Healthy levels of hydration in our body influence how we feel about ourselves.  It is recommended that we drink 1.6 liters or quarts of water per day to maintain healthy levels of hydration, something that is not easy in many parts of the world.

Recent research indicates that AgeEsteem begins when we are children.  The relationships we have with older people, the language we hear adults use to describe older people, and the images that we see illustrating older people begins in childhood.  It impacts our attitude about aging throughout our life – and even contribute to our longevity.

Those who are raised with a positive image of aging and who embrace it with AgeEsteem will live longer, happier lives.

How do you feel about growing older?

Research is showing that our attitude towards aging strongly influences how we actually age – and the confidence, or lack of confidence, that we have.

What kind of relationship did you have with older people when you were a child?  Our attitude towards aging and being older apparently takes root in our childhood.  Did you have old people in your life?  How did those around you refer to old people?

All of this influences how we feel about ourselves today and will continue to color our attitude as we grow older.

Having AgeEsteem and seeing our present age as a happy, fulfilling stage of life adds 7 years to our life.

Sharon Horton Nason

I have a dear friend and neighbor named Sharon Horton Nason. She is an amazingly creative person with a passion for people – especially family – and she enjoys cooking for them. Her now-grown family-of-five often visits – and one adult daughter is temporarily living with Sharon and husband David. Two of Sharon’s siblings and her mother all live in the same city of Baton Rouge, Louisiana. They connect frequently, and Sharon enjoys making her own comfort food of spaghetti with a delectable sauce (recipe to follow).

Daughter Kelly Surace writes the following about the recipe:

This is Mom’s spaghetti sauce. Everyone loves it! She makes it in huge pots and then freezes small servings of it for later use.

It works great as there is always a good, home-cooked meal ready to be served.

My husband had been bugging me to try and make my Mom’s spaghetti ever since we got married.

I wasn’t sure if I was going to be able to recreate it as she doesn’t really have a “set” recipe. So I called her up and she walked me through it. Lo and behold, it turned out like hers! My first time cooking this was in June 2004.

Deborah Joy Phelps

Sharon Horton Nason’s Spaghetti Sauce

Ingredients:
Approximately 3 lbs. of ground meat (Sharon uses ground turkey)
1 extra large can of tomato sauce (1 lb. and 13 oz. = 822 grams)
¼ of a large can of water
1 medium can of whole tomatoes
1 to 2 onions to taste
About ¼ cup of sugar (or Splenda/sugar-free sweetener)
A few pours of Worcestershire sauce
Cajun Seasoning (to taste)

1.Combine ground meat and chopped onions in large pot and brown them. (This will take some time with so much meat).
2.Once entirely browned, pour in tomato sauce and container of whole tomatoes.
3.Add the water.
4.Mix together completely. Let this cook on medium to high heat until bubbling.
5.Turn the heat down to medium low and cook for about an hour.
6.At this point, add the Worcestershire sauce and other seasonings to taste. (The sauce should have thickened some by now but should continue thickening.)
7.Let pot sit on the stove and cook until there’s a true sauce consistency.
8.NOTE: Keep your pot covered and check it periodically. Left uncovered, you will have a mess on your stove top.
9.Time: Ranges from 1½ to 3 hours depending on the cook’s preferences.

Sharon uses thin spaghetti as her pasta of choice.  Of course you can use whatever you prefer.  She notes that the little bit of sugar takes the tang away from the tomato sauce.
“Cajun seasoning” is a combination of onion powder, garlic powder, white pepper, and paprika. In southern Louisiana there are several varieties available in the grocery store including Tony Chachere’s.

Sharon likes to make two pots of her sauce – one with onions and one without. This way everyone in the family is happy and eats lots of the spaghetti!

I asked my friend what her definition of Age Esteem was. She said it meant   “More time to relax, travel, and be by myself to do more things I enjoy.”  Among other things, Sharon is a talented embroiderer and has the amazing machine needed to create so many special items like religious stoles for preachers and baby caps for newborns with their names on them. She “makes magic” with this talent.

Hooray for Sharon’s special spaghetti sauce and for Age Esteem, too…

Bravo!  And Bon Appétit!

Deborah Joy Phelps

The American Heritage Dictionary has a short and cozy definition of comfort food: “Food that is simply prepared and associated with a sense of home and contentment.”
One online source listed “the top ten comfort foods” in the following order from Number 10 up to Number 1.  These were (with many recipe variations):
10.  Chicken pot pie
9.  Mac and Cheese
8.  Fried Chicken
7.  Meatloaf with Gravy
6.  Hamburgers
5.  Apple Pie
4.  Ice Cream
3.  Lasagna
2.  Mashed Potatoes
1.  Pizza

Obviously “Aunt Christine” may have a different Fried Chicken recipe than you or I.  And how much and what type of cheese mixed with the macaroni would make it your own preferred favorite.  In this list, it’s interesting to note that there are at least two pastas (the lasagna and the mac and cheese) and there are two chicken recipes (pot pie and fried.)  With all of its ways to prepare, no wonder pizza is way up at the top of this particular list! Note that there are three “Italian” items on the list with “German” hamburgers and meatloaf.  And what can be more “American” as apple pie?  Top that with a la mode ( French words meaning “with ice cream” here in the United States) and oh boy! We really have quite a global list here.

Deborah Joy Phelps