Category: Food
I wanted to share this simple recipe with everyone, it's quick, healthy and delicious!
INGREDIENTS
12 ounces Tuna, drained and flaked
1 cup Artichoke Hearts, chopped
1 cup Green Olives
1/3 cup reduced fat mayonnaise
2 teaspoons Lemon Juice
1.5 teaspoons Oregano, chopped. Use fresh oregano it makes all the difference in the flavor and freshness
4 each Boston Lettuce, rinsed and dried
2 each Tomatoes, sliced into 8 slices
METHOD
Combine all the ingredients except the lettuce and tomatoes. Mix well.
Place two lettuce leaves on each of the two plates. On one side of the
lettuce place to slices of tomatoes. Using an ice cream scoop, place two
rounds of the tuna mixture on top of the lettuce leaves.
To make it even healthier, substitute non-fat Greek yogurt for the mayonnaise. Yum-O!
Makes several nice size lunches and the salad last for a couple of days. This recipe is good for two people for dinner or 4 for a small salad before an entree. Double the recipe if you want to make this a complete dinner for 4.
04/27/2010
Health Equity and the Social Determinants of Health
Courtney Boen, Rebekah Gowler and Meghan Patterson
Center for Health Equity and Social Justice, Boston Public Health Commission.
1. Objectives:
· Define health disparities, health equities, and the social determinants of health.
· Understand a health equity framework
· Identify the social determinants of health
· Articulate the impact racism has on shaping the social determinants of health
· Identify how to use community assessments to shape practice.
2. What are health disparities? / What are health inequities?
· Health disparities: differences in the incidence, prevalence, mortality and burden of diseases and other adverse health conditions that exist among specific population groups in the United States.
· Health inequities: differences in health status and mortality rates across population groups that are systemic, avoidable, unfair and unjust.
3. Disparities, Inequality and Inequity
DISPARITY= INEQUALITY and implies differences between individuals or population groups
INEQUITY refers to differences which are unnecessary and avoidable and, in addition, are also considered unfair and unjust.
4. Health Equity
The opportunity for everyone to attain their full health potential.
No one is disadvantaged from achieving this potential because of his or her social position or other socially determined circumstance
Distinct from health equality or health disparities
5. What explains these inequities in health? - A look at the social determinants of health
Segregation:
· Racial segregation concentrates poverty and excludes and isolates communities from mainstream resources.
· Segregation did not materialize naturally
· Today segregation is maintained by economic inequality.
Economic opportunity:
· ‘Poverty Tax”: residents in poor neighborhoods pay more for the exact same consumer products than those in higher income neighborhoods.
· Higher rates of asthma sleep disorders and lead toxicity are more likely in sub-standard housing.
· Food environment: Food desert are areas with no or distant grocery but with many choices of fast-food, convenience stores and liquor stores. Research show that residents in food desert suffer worse diet-related health outcomes, including diabetes, cancer, heart disease and premature health.
· Physical environment (fewer parks, recreational centers, swimming pools, and less walkable areas)
· Education: correlated with health outcomes and life expectancy.
· Social mobility, public safety,….
6. The stress of racism
· Creates structural barriers to health and well-being
· Stress associated with racism and discrimination takes a toll on the body: a study shows that Black women who reported they had been victims of racial discrimination were 31% more likely to develop breast cancer than those who did not. ( + reference to the movie “Unnatural causes: when the bough breaks”).
A health equity framework:
Social capital
Transportation
Education
Employment
Food access
RACISM <-------------- Socioeconomic Status --------------->HEALTH OUTCOMES -
Environmental exposure
Health behaviors
Access to health services
Housing
Public safety
Health and the built environment are inextricably linked: where you live impacts how you live.
- How do you work to eliminate health inequities?
We often say…. “I know my work is connected because….”
Degree of impact
Low High
We don’t We serve a We plan our work
Discriminate vulnerable in such a way to ensure it
Against anyone population addresses the factors
impacted by these leading to disparities
disparities
How can we all get here?
Low Degree of impact High
We don’t We serve a We plan our work
discriminate vulnerable in such way we ensure it
against anyone population addresses the factors
impacted by these leading to disparities
disparities
What can we do?
- Consider “upstream approaches”
- Aim for sustainable change in policy and practice: policy with long term consequences impacts the economic, social, physical and service environments.
- Engage staff and partners at all levels
- Ask questions differently:
Ex: How can we promote healthy behavior?
How can we target dangerous conditions and reorganize land use and transportation policies to ensure healthy spaces and places?
- Conduct a community assessment of the social determinants of health.
- Goal: Identify the key social determinants of health and racial disparities in the community, map assets and resources for addressing the identified needs, use results to shape and develop community-based strategies.
Proposed phases:
1. plan the assessment: review existing data, convene a team, develop tools, decide on methods.
2. conduct the assessment: utilize different methods as focus groups, listening sessions, interviews, paper survey, observations, windshield survey
3. document discussions and findings
4. develop an action plan,
5. organize the larger community
6. take action!
I can't tell you enough times how much I look forward to our weekly staff meetings...only for the food. My colleagues are wonderful but the food they create is astounding. I will start writing about the yummy things I eat during the meetings.
Sarah's Curried Split Pea Soup is a good place to start off. I don't like peas...actually I tend to loathe them from time to time and when I found out that I waited seven whole days for that as a staff lunch I was quite disappointed to say the least...until I ate it and it was heaven. Sarah even baked her own bread. Move over Martha Stewart the other Stewart is a serious contender for a cooking show. I can't wait for her to make it again. Well you don't have to go by my word that it's delicious. I've pasted below the recipe so you can try making and eating it yourself. If you feel like stopping by the Regional Center on staff meeting day with this dish you will certainly be welcomed with open arms and a spoon by me.
(I didn't get her bread recipe but that will be on my recipe-seeking mission)
Curried Split Pea Soup Recipe
- Prep Time: 15 min Inactive Prep Time:
- --
- Cook Time: 1 hr 0 min Level: Intermediate
- Serves:
- 4 servings
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 cup chopped onion
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1 tablespoon minced fresh garlic
- 12 ounces dried green or yellow split peas, picked over and rinsed
- 5 cups chicken broth
- 1 tablespoon curry powder
Directions
Place the butter into a large (4 to 6-quart) saucepan over medium-low heat. Once melted, add the onion and a generous pinch of salt and sweat for 2 to 3 minutes. Add the garlic and continue to sweat for an additional 1 to 2 minutes, making certain not to allow onions or garlic to brown.
Add the peas, chicken broth and curry powder. Increase heat to high and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover and cook at a simmer until the peas are tender and not holding their shape any longer, approximately 45 to 50 minutes. Taste and adjust seasoning as needed. Using care and a stick blender, puree the soup until the desired consistency. Watch out for hot splatters.
Recipe courtesy Alton Brown, 2005
And when I say fresh, I mean really fresh. Stacy, Emily and I have all joined a CSF, or a Community Supported Fishery. CSFs are based on the concept of Community Supported Agriculture, where people ‘subscribe’ to a farm, and receive fruits and veggies directly from that farm. In a CSA, you ‘subscribe’, but instead of fresh, local vegetables, you get fresh fish and shrimp from local fishermen.
There are some definite benefits to belonging to a CSF. It’s relatively inexpensive, and it supports the local economy. In fact, the fishermen who are part of the CSF get a higher price for their catch than they would at market. The fishermen also don’t have to go in search of a specific kind of fish, which means they can fish whichever waters are safest – making their job much safer. The fish don’t have to travel very far, making it a really ‘green’ option. This also means your fish is likely to have been caught the same day that you get it, so it’s really tasty. And we know that fish can be a great part of a healthy diet.
There was one thing I did not fully anticipate or understand when I joined. The first week, I rode the T to Harvard Square (my pick-up location) with a cooler in hand, and left with a WHOLE COD in my cooler. After joining the CSF, my husband and I have had to become proficient at filleting both cod and flounder. We’ve also learned how to de-head, de-roe and de-shell a whole pile of northern shrimp (which are delicious, but really small and delicate). At first this made me a bit queasy, but by the time I had filleted my fifth flounder, I was actually quite proud of myself. I think there’s something to be said for really understanding – and coming to terms with - where your food comes from. I’m posting pictures of the cod and flounder, and might post some of the shrimp when I get a chance.
Sadly, the current season for our CSF ends in a couple of weeks. The next season will not begin until May, and I hope to join again then. For more information about CSFs in the area, including Cape Ann Fresh Catch, the CSF we joined, visit http://namanet.org/csf/.
By Sarah Stewart... Welcome to the Regional Center’s food blog! Those of you out there who know the RCHC staff know that we LOVE food of all sorts. We also have a tradition of sharing lunch together once per week, coinciding with staff meeting days. We all take turns preparing food for each other. Luckily, we all cook pretty well. :) I’d be lying if I said that all the food we eat at our staff lunches is healthy. There are times when we eat things like cookies or ice cream. But much of the time, the food we eat is really good for you, AND it’s tasty – a great combination. So we thought we’d share our lunches, and the recipes, on this blog. We hope you enjoy it! We’d also love to hear your comments and suggestions, so feel free to send us an email or give us a call.
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Entry #1 –Orzo Super Salad, 7/28/09
I made this salad on my second day back from work after returning from my honeymoon. I was looking for something that would be relatively quick to make, and this one-bowl dish fit the bill. I served the salad with grapes and strawberries on the side. It was a great summertime meal.
The recipe comes from a website called 101 Cookbooks, which is a cooking blog written by a woman named Heidi Swanson. She generally makes vegetarian foods with natural ingredients, and most of her recipes are quite healthy. Bill and I both have made several recipes from her website, and all of them have been good. Neither of us is a vegetarian, but really, none of her recipes require meat to be both tasty and nutritionally balanced.
I made a few adjustments to her recipe. I skipped the sprouts, and I used bottled lemon juice (although fresh would have been tastier). I also used white orzo, because that’s what I had on hand. And I doubled the recipe – I had to buy double the ingredients (a whole cucumber, a bunch of asparagus, a whole head of broccoli), so I thought, why not? It made a ton of food (much more than 4 people could eat), but it also kept pretty well and made good leftovers the next day.
The nice thing about this recipe is that it offers a lot of flexibility. Here are some other modifications to consider:
- To make this recipe lower-cost, you could replace the asparagus with fresh green beans and skip the avocado.
- To make the recipe lower-fat, you could cut out the feta and the avocado, and you could use a small amount of toasted, sliced almonds in place of whole almonds. You could also cut back on the dressing.
- To make this recipe lower sodium, you could use salt-free almonds and cut down on the feta and added salt.
- For vegans or those who are lactose intolerant, you could cut out the feta.
