October 2015 Make Peace with Food Newsletter

Personal Note from Sora

Hi!

October is a great month.  First, I got to visit out-of-town family and see my nieces and nephews and that’s always great!!!  Also, I found some new products and went to a fun Event Planner Expo where I was able to sample a lot of Oh, so yummy… foods…  And last but certainly not least, this month is Halloween, one of my all time favorite holidays which I can’t wait to celebrate…

So let’s start with the new food products that I tried and really liked.  When I was in Atlanta my girlfriend introduced me to Green Giant Steamers www.greengiant.com.  So when I got back to New York, I tried The Garden Vegetable Medley, The Broccoli and Cheese and The Roasted Potatoes with Garlic and Herbs. I found each to be very well seasoned and they were really hearty additions to whatever dinner meal that I was having it with. So check them out the next time that you’re at your supermarket’s frozen food department and see if you like them…

Then the other day I attended the 2015 New York City Event Expo where I was also to sample a lot of different kinds of catered food, each served at a different event venue.  It was fun!!! So first there was Sobo Noodle Salad from Spin (an event venue at www.newyork.wearespin.com) which was Asian inspired, vegetarian and gluten free.   Then there was a piece of chocolate from La Maison du Chocolat (a storefront shop at www.lamaisonduchocolat.com) which was a dark chocolate rum raisin ganache and which was unreal.  Then there was a coconut lime macadamia rice crispy treat from MaritimeParc caterers (www.maritimeparc.com).  Then I tried a lavender scented goat cheese croquette from The New York Academy of Medicine’s catering services www.nyas.org and from Butterfly Bakery www.butterflybakeshop.com (you can order online!) there was an oh so fabulous Chocolate Cappicino Buttercream mini cupcake.

So if you live in the New York area or just like to try new food and there is a storefront-I say go for it!  I think that it’s always fun to expand your palate and why not???

And yes, yeah! and yeah! again-Halloween is working it’s way to us on the calendar and it’s my very favorite holiday.

So keeping that in mind, the other dayLol, I found myself at Dylan’s Candy Shop www.dylanscandybar.com and OMG-talk about creative Halloween “fun” candy treats.

Not an easy choice, at any stretch…

So I finally decided that I wanted to treat myself to one Halloween treat and yes,-it was an “extremely” difficult decision!!!!!

However, I settled for a Hershey’s Candy Corn Bar.  I mean I love Halloween Candy Corns and chocolate that tasted that way—how could I say no-I couldn’t—!!!

So the month of October, thus far, has been a fun food tasting adventure.

I find that if I taste something new and use of one of the two eat and stop yourself techniques in Sora’s Weight Loss “Management” Program then I feel confident about being able to have an amount that will satisfy me and part of that is knowing that I can eat and stop myself as well.

So Happy Halloween, what’s your fantasy costume this year, and if you see new food-and it looks good-try it!!!!!

In Make Peace with Food,

 

 

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This month’s motivational quote:

Look for something positive every day, even if some days you have to look a little harder.

Food for thought:
When you’re having a tough day or a tough experience do you quickly become a negative thinker or do you think, “Hmm, what could be the lesson in this for me?” What can be the take away?

And yes, maybe the only lesson in it is to choose to stay as faith centered and as positive as possible and to Give Thanks in Everything.

So what is something that you can do when the going gets tough that you might not have done up until this point which can help you sit more comfortably with the challenge that you’re facing…

 

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Your Monthly Food Puzzle:

Food and Culture

National Popcorn Poppin Month

 

 

OK. Admit it. Walking into that movie theater you always think, “Hmm…should I get some popcornLOL.”  Well I do and so when I found out that October was National Popcorn Poppin’ Month how could I not share…

So for more than 30 years October has been celebrated as National Popcorn Poppin’ Month.

ThoughLOL-I couldn’t only have popcorn in October—it became an official food holiday month in 1999 by Dan Glickman who then served as our country’s Secretary of Agriculture.

Interestingly enough, the reason that October was picked to celebrate popcorn was because the popcorn harvest takes place in the Midwest each fall and so that’ s why we celebrate popcorn in the month of August.

So here are some fun popcorn facts:

1. Most popcorn consumption takes place in the fall.

2. Popcorn comes in two basic shapes when it’s popped, the snowflake shape and the mushroom shape.

3. The snowflake shape is used in movie theaters and ballparks because it looks and pops bigger.

4. The mushroom shape is used for candy treats because it doesn’t crumble.

5. Popcorn can “pop” up to 3 feet in the air.

So here are some nutritional facts about popcorn:

l. It is a whole grain and therefore a good food for you.

2. It gives you energy-producing complex carbohydrates.

3. It contains fiber which gives you roughage the body needs in your
daily diet.

So the next time you want to snack on “something”-why not have some “poppin” popcorn and add some fun to your day!

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Bite Size Fun Food News

 

National Pumpkin Day

What better month than to celebrate the pumpkin than October for Halloween.  So October 26th is officially declared as National Pumpkin Month!

So let’s learn more about the pumpkin.  The pumpkin is native to North America and the oldest evidence of pumpkin seeds dates back between 7,000 and 5500 BC and were found in Mexico.  The word pumpkin comes from the word pepon which is Greek for large melon.

Each year 1.5 billion pounds of pumpkins are grown in the US and nutritional pumpkins contain no saturated fats or cholesterol and it’s rich in dietary fiber, anti-oxidants, minerals and vitamins.  It’s also a rich source of the B-complex group such as niacin, vitamin B-6 and thiamin.

So whether you want to carve up a pumpkin this Halloween or have some pumpkin soup, cake, cookies or pie-Enjoy and Happy Halloween!

 

 

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