Get Healthy

LeeAnn Schreiner, left, Jean Jannasch and Pam Uhrina are co-owners of Nature’s Remedies in Valparaiso. The business opened Sept. 15, six weeks after the closing of the former health food store in the same location. (Photograph by John L. Hendricks/The Times.)

Organic foods, herbal supplements and natural vitamins are among the products stocking the shelves of store whose name explains its function. Nature’s Remedies opened Sept. 15, six weeks after the closing of the former health food store in the same location. The new shop is owned and operated by Pam Uhrina, Jean Jannasch and Leeann Schreiner.

“We took over the location, but not the business,” Uhrina said. “It’s a brand new everything.” The three Valparaiso residents worked in the closed health food store and now help staff Nature‘s Remedies.

“We share the stress, and that’s the good thing,” Uhrina said.
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Healthy recipes, positive role model spice lesson for Chicago students

Julian Coleman, a sophomore at Gary Comer College Prep in Chicago, eats a meal of low-fat macaroni, baked chicken, and salad Sunday at the U-Cook program in Merrillville. The program focused on the importance of healthy eating.
(Photograph courtesy of Kyle Telechan/The Times.)

A couple of healthy dishes, nine interested students and one positive role model proved the perfect recipe last Sunday.

Chef Glennard Brooks spent the afternoon talking to students from Chicago’s Gary Comer College Prep, a charter high school, about healthy eating habits and how he became executive chef at the Hilton Garden Inn in Merrillville.

“He talked about what I want to go to school to learn how to do,” said Jamani Jones-O’Bryant, 15, a sophomore who said he watches cooking shows and cooks at home.
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The holiday season’s busy pace and easy access to unhealthy food can make these merry times dreary for diabetics.

“Sometimes you have to attend parties and gatherings, and you find food that you are not supposed to eat. You end up taking a little of everything and then soon enough your sugar level gets too high,” said Roberto Moldonedo, 68, of Highland Park, who has battled diabetes since his youth.

Lewis Landsberg, dean emeritus at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine, said that to get through the next months diabetics will “require a little more discipline.” He added that “the holidays are hard for everybody, but it’s harder for people who need to stay on an appropriate eating regiment.”
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Ingredients

Applesauce:
1 tablespoon butter
3 apples, peeled, cored, and coarsely chopped (about 4 cups chopped)
1/2 cup water
3 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/8 teaspoon salt

Pork:
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
4 (5-ounce) center-cut pork chops
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons canola oil
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This photo taken Oct. 12, 2009 that this holiday season you can bypass the typical fat and calorie laden fare and tempt your guests with this Pork Tenderloin with Roasted Red Grapes and Thyme. The pork can be served hot or warm from a chaffing dish, making it perfect for a buffet. (AP Photo/Larry Crowe)

Keeping your holiday buffet healthy doesn’t doom you to celery stalks and carrot sticks. There are plenty of options that are indulgent without leaving your guests feeling buffet-grazing remorse.

Shrimp are always popular and a healthy choice (unless you wrap them in bacon, of course). They are inexpensive, come ready to serve, and are low in both fat and calories.

Healthy dips such as hummus are great, but even sinful choices like a creamy blue cheese dip can be made better by avoiding the chips and serving them with veggie sticks.
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Native to East Asia, konjac has been used in Chinese cuisine for 2,000 years. Its reputation as a dependable weight-loss ingredient, owing to high amounts of fiber while boasting almost zero calories, reaches far back in time.

WHAT DOES IT DO?

Dutch researchers discovered that adding konjac and sesame seed extract to the diet may lessen the severity of food poisoning. It appears that E. coli and Salmonella bacteria bind to these foodstuffs rather than to our gut cells. Konjac also contributes to lower blood glucose levels when made into shirataki noodles. Its soluble fiber content more impressive than even oat bran, konjac helps maintain a healthy intestinal tract and brings benefits into the lives of people coping with type 2 diabetes.

ABOUT THE HERB

This perennial plant rises from a large corm or root that can measure 1/4 meter across. Konjac is also called devil’s tongue owing to the unique appearance of a long, purple spike that bears the plant’s flowers.
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This May 5, 2009 photo released by Sesame Workshop shows first lady Michelle Obama, third from left, with Big Bird, Elmo, Muppets & cast in ”Michelle Obama Plants A Garden” in Astoria, N.Y. (The Associated Press/Sesame Workshop, Richard Termine)

She’s hanging with Elmo and Emeril Lagasse, Big Bird and Bobby Flay.

Michelle Obama appeared on Sesame Street Tuesday and recently taped an episode of Iron Chef America, just two of the varied platforms she’s been using lately to get her healthy-eating message out to the masses.

And while the first lady herself didn’t appear on The Biggest Loser last week, her staff invited NBC’s popular weight-loss show into its kitchen and into Mrs. Obama’s famed White House Kitchen Garden.
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Men may protect more than their hearts if they keep cholesterol in line: Their chances of getting aggressive prostate cancer may be lower, new research suggests.

One study found that men whose cholesterol was in a healthy range—below 200—had less than half the risk of developing high-grade prostate tumors compared to men with high cholesterol.

A second study found that men with lots of HDL, or “good cholesterol,” were a little less likely to develop any form of prostate cancer than men with very low HDL.
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Ingredients

4 (4-ounce) boneless sirloin steaks, trimmed (about 1 inch thick)
3/8 teaspoon black pepper, divided
1/4 teaspoon salt, divided
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 (8-ounce) package sliced mushrooms
1/2 cup dry red wine
1/2 cup water
2 teaspoons all-purpose flour
4 Idaho potatoes
1/3 cup chopped chives
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
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By taking control of the amount of sodium and oil, a home-made Chinese dinner will give you the enjoyment of take-out with a healthier twist. (Photograph by Larry Crowe/The Associated Press.)

Chinese takeout is always a treat, but it can be hard to sort out whether it’s a healthy one.

Of course, with egg rolls, spareribs and fried rice, there’s not much guessing. But when it comes to the vegetable stir-fries and noodle dishes, the answer isn’t as obvious as we’d like.

In principle, most Chinese stir-fries and noodle or rice dishes should be nutritionally sound. Lots of vegetables and carbohydrates and smaller amounts saturated fat from meat. But those ingredients usually are accompanied by plenty of oil and sodium in the wok.
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