About 1 in 26 children had food allergies last year, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported Wednesday. That’s up from 1 in 30 kids in 1997.

Could it be that parents are more aware and quicker to have their kids checked out by a doctor and therefore more allergies are being reported because the report says that about 3 million American children are being affected by allergies which is higher than years previously reported? ……

Find foods that will cut our appetite and you will find a true weapon against obesity.

The buzz is out…scientists are experimenting with foods that can trick our bodies into thinking we are full. Foods are being developed that not only slow down our digestive systems but will send a signal to our brains that suppresses our appetites and fool us into thinking we’ve stuffed ourselves and over eaten. ……

It’s been found that inner city children benefit in positive ways to an environment of greenery in their neighborhoods and it doesn’t necessarily mean just parks and play areas. One benefit is on the children’s weight over time. It is reported that the higher the greenness in the neighborhood the slower the increases in body mass over a two-year period. And this is regardless of the density of the residential area. ……

Salmon is not only a delicious fish but is rich in Omega 3 fatty acids (which are good for the cardiovascular system). Here’s a delicious recipe I found to cook Salmon with a different twist.
Ever heard of Mojo? Well, check below for instructions. It can also be served with a delicious Radicchio Salad. Enjoy your meal!

Salmon with Herb Mojo:

· 1 to 1 ½ lbs fresh salmon filets
· Salt and pepper
· ¼ cup orange juice + 1 Tbl.
· 1 Tbl. maple syrup
· 1 bunch cilantro
· 4 scallions
· ½ cup Thai basil (or basil)
· 1 large jalepeno pepper
· 2 Tbls. extra virgin olive oil

1. Prepare the salmon. Season both sides of salmon liberally with salt and pepper. Pour ¼ cup orange juice and maple syrup over each filet. Let sit for 5 minutes.

2. While salmon is marinating, prepare mojo.
Roughly chop cilantro, scallions, basil, and jalapeno pepper (include the seeds for extra heat) and place in food processor. Process until herbs and pepper are uniformly chopped in small pieces. Scrape from processor and place in small bowl. Stir in olive oil and remaining 1 tablespoon of orange juice. Set aside.

3. Cook the fish. Preheat oven to 350ºF. Coat large saucepan with olive oil. When oil is hot, place fish in pan, skin side down. Once skin becomes crispy, remove from heat and finish cooking fish in oven, for about 10 minutes (depending on thickness of the fish).

4. When fish is done, remove and top with mojo.

Radicchio Salad:
· 1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved
· 2 Tbls. olive oil + 2 Tbls. for dressing
· Salt and pepper
· 2 heads radicchio, cut into sixths
· ½ cup crumbled feta cheese
· 4 Tbls. red wine vinegar
· 3 tsps. honey
· 1 Tbl. orange juice
· 1 large avocado, diced

1. Preheat oven to 375ºF. Toss halved tomatoes in olive oil and liberally salt and pepper. Place tomatoes on baking sheet and bake for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, prepare salad. Spread radicchio on a platter and sprinkle with feta cheese.

2. Make dressing: whisk together red wine vinegar, remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil, and honey. Season with salt and pepper. Whisk in one tablespoon orange juice. Place diced avocado in dressing and coat well. Remove avocado and sprinkle it on salad. Place cooked (but still warm) tomatoes on salad. Pour dressing over salad and serve immediately.”

From the beginning of human history, the apple was a celebrated, sought after fruit. The story of Adam and Eve is the first ever mention of the apple in our history. Apples were the symbol of love and beauty in Greek and Roman mythology and around the first century B.C, the Romans conquered England and
they brought apple cultivation with them. Invaders of Switzerland captured William Tell, then gave him fame by promising his freedom if he could shoot an apple off his son’s head with an arrow.

Apple seeds and trees were being brought to the New World because The Massachusetts Bay Company had been requesting apple seeds and cuttings from England. They were brought over by early settlers on later voyages of the Mayflower. Records from The Massachusetts Bay Company indicated apples were being grown in New England as early as 1630. It was recorded that the early Europeans also brought apple stock to Virginia and the Southwest.

John McIntosh, a Canadian from Ontario, discovered a variety of apple in 1796 that is one of today’s favorite apple varieties by people around the world. We are all familiar with the McIntosh Apple!

A favorite American story tells about a pioneer apple farmer named John Chapman, from Leominster, Massachusetts. Chapman, became famous in the 1800’s when he distributed apple seeds and trees to settlers in the American states of Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois. He is now known to us as “Johnny Appleseed” and legend has it that “Johnny Appleseed” travelled barefoot wearing old torn clothes and used a tin pot for a hat! He is celebrated in American folklore as a symbol of the westward-moving expansion of the European settlers.

And a London sea captain was given seeds from an apple in 1820 that are now considered to be the origin of the largest apple crop in the U.S. in the State of Washington.

Apples are the most popular fruit in the world. Each day, people in every country enjoy eating apples.

Try this easy Pumpkin Ice Cream recipe…

1 1/2 cups light cream
6 eggs, yolks only (you can save the whites for egg sandwiches for breakfast)
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
3/4 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice.
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
1 1/2 cups canned pumpkin

Instructions
Before you get started, freeze a stand-up mixer freezer bowl for at least 1 hour, but for the best results freeze the bowl the night before.

In a heavy saucepan scald light cream. Separate 6 eggs and then in a medium bowl whisk the yokes with sugar and vanilla. Gradually whisk in the cream. Add pumpkin pie spice into the yoke, sugar, and vanilla mixture.

Stir over medium heat for about 10 minutes, but do not boil. Now whisk in heavy cream and canned pumpkin meat. Pass the mixture through a coarse strainer into a bowl to remove any cooked egg pieces. Refrigerate until it’s well chilled.

Assemble the freezer bowl and dasher and turn to speed 1. Pour in the chilled mixture and churn for about 15 to 20 minutes until it is at the desired consistency. Transfer the ice cream to serving dishes or freeze in an airtight container.

(If you’re cooking for a diabetic, try using a sugar substitute.)

Want to live healthier life and weigh less?  When eating here are two simple rules you need to follow:

1) eat slow – avoid eating your meals quickly

2) eat less -  don’t eat until you’re full.

A study by the British Medical Journal shows that eating fast and eating until full triples your risk of becoming overweight.

The study from Osaka University in Japan tracked the cardiovascular risk from the eating habits and body mass indexes of 3,287 Japanese men and women between the ages of 30 and 69 from 2003 to 2006.

For both men and women who reported that they ate quickly or ate until they were full doubled the risk of being overweight. Those study also showed that those with both bad eating habits were 3x as likely to be overweight.

And research shows being overweight puts you at a higher risk for such diseases as heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, cancer and other illnesses.

Though more research needs to be done on this matter, the study show a correlation between bad eating habits and weight issues.

So if you want live a healthier lifestyle and help control your weight, eat your meals slower and don’t chow down until you’re full.

Here’s a recipe I found to give a little twist on the traditional way
we’ve been cooking our Thanksgiving turkey all these years:

Butter-Rubbed Turkey with an Apple Cider Glaze and Gravy

1 large yellow onion, quartered
4 cloves garlic
2 Golden Delicious apples, cored and quartered
4 sprigs fresh thyme
4 leaves fresh sage
1 brined turkey (12 to 16 pounds) made with apple cider brine
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
turkey giblets (neck, tail, gizzard, and heart only)
1 cup chicken stock or canned low-sodium chicken broth
2 cups unsweetened apple cider or juice
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons kosher salt
freshly ground pepper

Instructions
This turkey, cured with Apple Cider Brine and then basted with apple cider the last hour of roasting, has a sweet and beautiful bronze-glazed finish-perfect for showcasing on a buffet table. I like to garnish the serving platter with lady apples and kumquats nestled in a bed of fresh herbs. Pair this turkey with the Chestnut Bread Stuffing with Apples, Bacon and Caramelized Onions, and your guests will be returning to the buffet in seconds.

Position an oven rack on the second-lowest level in the oven. Preheat the oven to 500 F. Have ready a large roasting pan with a roasting rack, preferably V-shaped, set in the pan.

Place the onion, garlic, apples, thyme and sage inside the chest cavity of the turkey. Truss, following the directions for an unstuffed turkey. Use a pastry brush to brush the turkey with the butter. Season the turkey with salt and a few grinds of pepper. Place the turkey, breast-side down, on the roasting rack. Add the giblets, stock, and 1 cup of the apple cider to the pan. Roast for 30 minutes.

Lower the oven temperature to 350 F. Baste the turkey with the pan juices, and roast an additional 30 minutes. Remove the turkey from the oven. Use oven mitts covered with aluminum foil or wads of paper towels and turn the turkey breast-side up. Baste with the pan juices then return the turkey to the oven.

Continue to roast the turkey, basting occasionally. After it has roasted for 2 hours, begin basting every 30 minutes with the remaining 1 cup of apple cider. The turkey is done when an instant-read thermometer registers 165 F when inserted into the thickest part of the thigh. When the internal temperature of the turkey is 125 F, the turkey is about 1 hour away from being done.

When the turkey is done, transfer it to a carving board or serving platter and cover the breast loosely with aluminum foil. Allow the turkey to rest for 15 to 20 minutes before carving to let the juices set.

To make the gravy
While the turkey is resting, make the gravy. Place the roasting pan over medium-high heat. Discard the giblets. Skim any fat from the surface, and bring the liquid in the pan to a simmer. Using a wooden spoon, scrape and loosen any brown bits sticking to the bottom and side of the pan. Place the flour in a 1 cup measure, add a small amount of the simmering liquid, and blend until smooth. Slowly pour this into the simmering liquid and whisk until thickened, about 3 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Transfer to a small bowl or sauceboat to serve.

Carve the turkey. Serve, accompanied by the gravy.

NOTE:
Roasting times will vary depending on the size of the bird, its temperature when it went into the oven, whether or not it is stuffed, and your particular oven and the accuracy of the thermostat.

Thanksgiving Turkey

If it’s true, this one thing could help millions of American kids to grow up healthier and it could teach them to listen to their bodies and determine when they have eaten enough food. Thus, they are able to ward off obesity later in life.

“Breastfeeding has a number of positive health benefits for baby: it can prevent ear infections and allergies, and lowers the risk of developing respiratory problems. It can also help prevent against obesity later in life, but the reason for this still isn’t known.”

“They found breastfed children could more easily determine when they were full. Children who were bottle-fed with pumped breast milk were less likely to respond to the feeling of being full by the time they were preschool-aged…”Mothers who bottle feed often focus on a set amount of ounces per day or time schedule for feeding,” …”This could lead mothers to rely more on the bottle for feedback than on the infant’s cues of fullness and hunger.”

Breastfeeding & Lower Risk of Obesity

Does someone have a cold in your home? A new study suggest that we should watch out for commonly touched areas like refrigerator doors and handles, TV remote controls, door knobs, light switches, bathroom faucets, phones, and dishwasher handles: even your salt and pepper shakers, to name a few. All these areas are frequently touched in our daily living at home and can easily be contaminated and are areas where we can pick up germs that cause colds and flu. Half of all colds are caused by the virus, rhinovirus which is able to live for two days or longer.

The University of Virginia is well known for its virology research and scientists from its department conducted a study in the home. They reported the results of their findings at the nation’s premier conference on infectious diseases.

Doctors have long advised frequent hand-washing to avoid spreading germs. Wearing surgical masks and using hand sanitizers also can help, a study found from the University of Michigan.

How often people catch colds from touching surfaces with germs as opposed to shaking a sick person’s hand for instance is not known.

A study conducted a couple of years ago showed that germs survived in hotel rooms a day after guests left. And were just waiting to be picked up by the next person checking in.

Drs. Diane Pappas and Owen Hendley, also from the university, conducted a study on toys in the offices of five pediatricians in Fairfax, VA during last year’s flu season.

Tests showed fragments of cold viruses on 20 percent of all toys tested — 20 percent of those in the “sick child” waiting room, 17 percent in the “well child” waiting room, and 30 percent in a sack of toys that kids are allowed to choose from after being good for a shot.

“Mamas know this,” Hendley said. “They say, `We go to a doctor for a well-child checkup, the kids play with the toys and two days later they have a cold.’”
There is no proof that the remnants themselves can infect, but their presence suggests a risk, said Dr. Paul Auwaerter, an infectious-diseases specialist at Johns Hopkins University. He was familiar with the study but had no role in it.
The conference was a joint meeting of the American Society for Microbiology and the Infectious Diseases Society of America.