Sweet Corn & Three Cheese Chowder

INGREDIENTS

(Serves 4) - Easy to double this recipe!

• 1 tablespoon of olive oil and 1/2 teaspoon of butter
• One 1/2 of both red and yellow onion
• 1 red bell pepper seeded and diced
• 2 large cloves of garlic minced
• 1/4 cup of baby portabella mushrooms (optional)
• 1 large potato
• 2 tablespoons of all purpose flour
• 2 cups of milk and 1/4 cup of cream
• 1 1/2 cup of vegetable stock
• 1/4 cup of fresh broccoli florets
• 3 cups of fresh corn off the cob (4 Ears)
• 1/4 cup of Colby cheese, 1/4 cup of sharp cheddar, 1/4 cup of parmesan, all grated
• salt & pepper to taste
• 1 tablespoon of fresh chopped Italian parsley to garnish

DIRECTIONS

1.  Heat olive oil and butter in a large pan.  Add the onions, red bell pepper, and garlic, mushroom and potato.  Saute over very low heat, stirring constantly, for 4-5 minutes.

2.  Stir in the flour and cook for about 30 second.  Slowly add the milk, cream and stock.

3.  Add the broccoli and corn, bring all to a soft boil, stirring constantly.  Lower heat and simmer for about 25 minutes or until all vegetables are tender.

4.  Add all cheese’s, stir until all is completely melted.

5.  Season with salt and pepper.  Spoon into bowls and top off with parsley to garnish.

One of the best ways to help your child is by knowing his/her teacher. In an ideal world, teachers would visit your home and get to know your family and community. In reality, teachers lead very busy lives, and unless schools allow time for this activity, it is unlikely to occur. There are mountains of studies that indicate when a teacher knows more about a child’s home life, the child can learn better.

When home visits are not possible, why not bring the home to the school? There are several ways you can do this: one is to have your child write a short letter introducing the family and community to the teacher. Another is to create a short video explaining your interests outside of school and brief family history. One other is to invite the teacher to your home or community festival. Finally, you can send a note to the teacher expressing positive thoughts about your child’s schooling. Teachers, like their students, like to know when they are doing well, not only when you are unhappy with their teaching. READ MORE

It’s January Girlfriends, have you kept your New Year’s Resolutions? If not, you are in good company. Most people keep resolutions less than six weeks. I challenge us this year to make a commitment to living happy, balanced, and fulfilled lives! How, you might ask? You gain this life by making some small simple changes daily.

Set aside some time this month to reflect over your life to date. Think about what makes you happy (activities, people, work, etc.) Review your accomplishments, challenges, and failures. Make incremental and necessary changes to achieve the life you really want to be living. As you begin this process, set aside some time to create a spa-like atmosphere. Begin with a luxurious bath with candles. Play soothing music. Get away from your everyday distractions. READ MORE

News about cancer is often times startling, but when it comes to cervical cancer, there is good news. While there’ll be just under 10,000 cases of invasive cervical cancer diagnosed in 2007, the past several decades have seen a steady decline in those diagnoses, specifically in African-American women. Still, the chance of getting cervical cancer is 30 percent higher in African American women and they will be twice as likely to die from the disease.

So, we are cautiously optimistic about our cervical cancer efforts, but how have we been successful,over the years, in lowering its numbers?

Screening.

The best way to screen for cervical cancer is to have regular Pap screenings. This test detects lesions on the cervix that have not yet spread to other areas. The Pap test is not perfect, however, and abnormal cell results can be detected even when there are none. Fortunately, most cervical pre-cancers develop slowly, so nearly all cases can be prevented if a woman is screened regularly. READ MORE

Working a hectic schedule is not easy, especially when you’re a woman. Now add the title of CEO to that equation and you’ve got an intense and demanding life. Pat Jerominski, CEO of iCare, knows all too well about being a woman of power and keeping it balanced. iCare is a managed care organization that offers both Medicare and Medicaid insurance benefits for people with disabilities.

Keeping it balanced is important. It’s so important that Pat focuses on it and every six to eight weeks, takes a trip. “I’ll go visit friends or go do something that takes me out of my environment, something that gives me a whole new prospective,” she explained. Going full circle by moving fast in a lot of directions is not uncommon for Pat, but she realizes that she has to still get the peace and relaxation that she needs.

Pat’s hectic day starts at 5am. She spends a lot of her day in meetings and networking, and usually doesn’t get home until after 7pm. With all the things that Pat’s on top of in her life, she admits that her eating habits could use some work. Juggling work and living alone cause this female CEO to eat out more than she’d like to. “When I do cook for myself, it’s a spiritual experience. I spend a lot of time giving thanks and really thinking about the energy I put into the food,” she said. She also confesses that one of her biggest challenges is not getting enough exercise to balance. Working a desk job and going to dinner, lunch or breakfast meetings takes a toll on your eating and exercise habits. “I don’t know who invented that, but quite frankly, that really isn’t the best thing to do – to have a meeting and eat at the same time,” she laughed.

As women, we naturally nurture and care for our families, friends and relatives. So many of us do this so much that we forget to do the same for ourselves. Even though Pat has a life and career with such an intense schedule, she still finds time for herself. Every morning when she wakes up at 5am, she meditates on what she needs to do to love herself, which she admits is very challenging for her. “The challenge of loving yourself to me, that really means taking care of myself,” she said. So when I asked Pat Jerominski for some ‘Girlfriend’ advice for our readers, she had this to say: “Take care of yourself. Women that I know don’t know how to take care of themselves because they love and take care of the world. There’s nothing wrong with taking care of yourself because if you don’t, you can’t take care of the world. So, instead of being an expert at that, turn that expertise onto yourself and the world will be a much better place to live.”

NaMia Moore

Alright Girlfriends – it is time to clear your clutter, change your color, and respond with wellness with some simple tips and tricks that you can use to create your own haven, even if you start with only one room.

Clear your Clutter!
We find that the emotional response to visual clutter is stress. Do you find yourself feeling visually assaulted when you enter a room of your home? If so, begin by organizing. Assemble all similar items. Remove anything that doesn’t absolutely lift your spirit! Take your remaining items and create small groupings in odd numbers to place on your dresser or inside of a bookshelf. Instead of having a consortium of mish-mosh throughout your home, you’ll have cohesive groups of collectibles that will instantly soothe your spirit and catch the eye of friends and family.
Color Your Way to Happiness!
Did you know that different colors, when used in interior design, have effects on us that we are sometimes not aware of? Certain colors soothe while others provoke aggressive emotions in us. I am a believer of the psychology of color for interior design, and the colors of your interiors play a large part in how your lifestyle and behavior is shaped. The psychology of color for interior design is used to determine which colors to use, depending on your needs and objectives. Here are two examples of how color can affect your emotions and mood.

Red - bold and provocative – awakens the senses, stimulates the appetite, and raises the blood pressure. Use this color in dining areas and theater rooms.
Blues and Greens (soft, muted color) - cool and calming, reducers of stress (such as celadon or sky blue). Use these liberally in bedrooms and bath areas. Go ahead and create yourself a spa!

So visit your local bookstore and pick up a book about color! Paint over those bland, white walls, and organize your way to creating a wellness retreat right at home!
Jennifer Payne

It’s a New Year, a time for change, renewal and to begin again. Patricia Jordan, a kidney transplant recipient received a life-saving organ on September 22, 2005. Patricia, age 38, waited 4 ½ years on the transplant list for a kidney. During this wait, she maintained kidney function through the use of hemodialysis. A dialysis machine and a special filter called an artificial kidney, or a dialyzer, were used to clean her blood. She needed dialysis because her kidneys no longer removed enough wastes and fluid from her blood to keep her healthy. Her treatments usually lasted about four hours, and were done three times a week.

Thousands of candidates are waiting for kidneys, 40% of them are African-Americans, who suffer from chronic kidney disease. African-Americans are disproportionately represented on the waiting list due to diseases such as diabetes, high blood pressure, polycystic kidneys and other inherited diseases.

Prior to Patricia’s diagnosis, she visited her primary physician several times complaining about unusual fatigue, low energy, mental cloudiness and joint pain. The doctor dismissed her complaints, stating she should just take better care of herself.

It was after being denied insurance that their blood tests showed that she was in renal failure. Her doctor finally followed through with testing. Afterwards, he diagnosed her with renal failure and found that she was in immediate need of dialysis and needed to be placed on the transplant list. Although she had all the classic signs of renal failure, her physician was unresponsive, not unlike many doctors who dismiss our concerns about our own bodies. Patricia encourages you to become your own advocate, to change doctors who will not work with you, diligently monitor your medication, and always do your own research!!! As Patricia waited for a life-saving organ, she continued to run and maintained a healthy diet.

She currently works at Alverno College as a computer lab assistant, and is also pursuing a degree in Business Management and Computer Science. Her goal is to start her own business. She now celebrates both days, one as her rebirth and the other as her birthday.

-April Sharkey

Everyday thousands of patients who need a life-saving transplant search for a donor. But only 30 percent will find a suitable donor within their family. The remaining 70 percent must find an unrelated donor whose tissue type matches theirs. Take the first step to save a life — join the National Marrow Donor Program* (NMDP) Registry.

When you become a member of the registry, you join the global movement of more than 10 million donors who stand ready to give someone a future. Even with a registry of millions, there are many patients waiting and hoping, unable to find a match. You could be that match!

Life, it’s in you. A marrow transplant is a life-saving treatment for people with leukemia, lymphoma and many other diseases. Patients undergo chemotherapy and/or radiation to destroy their diseased marrow. Then a donor’s healthy blood cells are transfused into the patient’s bloodstream where they can begin to function and multiply.

In order for a patient’s body to accept these healthy blood cells, the donor’s tissue type must match as closely as possible.. Human leukocyte antigen (HLA) testing determines whether a donor and patient are good matches. HLAs are found on most cells in your body. Your immune system uses HLAs to recognize which cells belong in your body and which do not. The closer the match between the patient’s HLAs and yours, the better for the patient. Because HLA tissue types are inherited, patients are most likely to match someone of their own race or ethnicity.

Donors of these backgrounds are especially needed:

For more information or an appointment contact.
BloodCenter of Wisconsin Marrow Donor Program
414-937-6388 or 866-702-HOPE.

Each year, 500,000 women worldwide get cervical cancer. Half of them die from it. In the US, nearly 11,000 women get invasive cervical cancer and 4,000 women die from it—yet cervical cancer is one of the most preventable and curable forms of cancer.

Several factors influence your cervical cancer risk, including: human papillomavirus infection; starting sexual activity at a young age; history of many sexual partners (or a partner with many sexual partners); multiple full-term pregnancies; lack of routine Pap smear screenings; history of sexually transmitted infections; and smoking. But, cervical cancer can be prevented by reducing these risk factors, getting a Pap smear regularly and vaccinating against HPV.

For the last 30 years, the Pap smear has been the best weapon in the fight against cervical cancer. Cervical cancer typically starts with precancerous lesions (abnormal cells that could become cancer if not treated, but that are not yet cancer). It could take 10-20 years for a precancerous lesion to become cancer. Pre-cancers and cervical cancer in its early stages typically don’t cause symptoms. Pap smears give doctors the chance to diagnose precancerous lesions before they become cancer. According to the American Cancer Society, up to 80% of cervical cancer deaths could have been prevented through routine Pap smears. READ MORE

Warrior two position. Bharadvajas twist. Cat tilt pose marjariasana. Three-part breath, finally something I think I can do. If you’re like me, you’ve entertained the notion of taking a yoga class. I went so far as to take a class or two. After all, I did get a yoga mat for my birthday. It sounds great too . . . “I’m off to my yoga class.”

Well, again, if you’re like me, you’re just a tad out of shape and some of those yoga positions are, well, challenging. I might be able to get down on the mat, but who is going to help me up? I might be able to knot my legs into the lotus, but again, who will unfold me? Beginning a position on all fours; manageable, doing the stuff that comes after; not so much.

What I have learned from my foray into the world of hatha yoga is that it’s mainly about centering your spirit through breathing. That I can do. So can you. Although yoga is something I would like to master eventually, it is more important for me now to just relax, calm myself, and center my spirit. I can do that by sitting quietly in my favorite chair with music playing softly. Sit with me a moment or two. READ MORE