Go Further with Food- Plan ahead to save money and reduce waste!
Mar 1, 2018 Education, English, Financial, Health, Local
HEALTH
CCE Onondaga Eat Smart NY- March 2018
March is National Nutrition Month! A perfect time to celebrate the healthy and wholesome meals that bring us together with the people we care about. Healthy family meals can be low cost and easy to prepare. First, check out the food that you have on hand. Then make a list of additional ingredients needed to prepare recipes with foods that are readily available and best yet, in season. Bring family and friends around the table to create meaningful memories over a nourishing meal.
The theme for this year’s National Nutrition Month is “Go Further with Food”. The message reminds us to be mindful to choose health promoting foods and to reduce the amount of food we waste. Reducing food waste saves money, protects the environment and saves valuable nutrients that our body needs for energy, growth and to repair itself.
Wasting food is expensive. Not all food that is wasted can be saved and eaten, but a lot of food waste could be prevented. One of the obvious reasons to reduce food waste for many people is that it costs money. However, wasted food also results in wasted nutrients. Fruits, vegetables, dairy products, and seafood are often the foods that are wasted.
We are faced with higher food prices and lose money when food spoils at home or gets thrown out as plate waste. In addition, much of the food that is tossed out winds up in landfills, and over time this can cause negative changes in the earth’s climate.
Did you know that about 1,200 calories of food are wasted daily in the United States? When we think of the nutrition these foods provide, that amounts to losses of protein, dietary fiber, and vitamins and minerals, such as calcium and vitamin D.
Ways to help prevent food waste:
• Buy only the amount of food that can be eaten or frozen within a few days.
• Place foods that spoil quickly within sight.
• Store produce properly.
• As with other foods, to prevent spoilage only buy the amount of fresh fruits and vegetables you can use within a few days.
• Produce should always be washed before using, but some produce may spoil more quickly if it’s washed too far in advance.
• Refrigeration is recommended for a lot of produce, especially fruits and vegetables that are conveniently packaged or already cut up. Plus, some produce will last longer when refrigerated, such as apples and oranges. Whereas, other produce like onions and potatoes are best stored outside of the refrigerator.
• Because some produce, like apples can cause other fruits and vegetables to ripen more quickly it’s best to keep them in a separate crisper drawer.
• Regardless of the date stamped on the food or drink packaging, don’t risk eating or drinking anything that you suspect has spoiled. In some cases a food will not look or smell any different. That’s why it’s important to eat leftovers within 3 to 4 days (or freeze for up to 3 to 4 months).
• Always remember to practice good food safety!
• For more food safety information, visit www.homefoodsafety.org or check out the “Is My Food Safe” app.
• The USDA’s FoodKeeper app is another good resource. It helps you determine how long items may be kept in the refrigerator, freezer, or pantry. Knowing this information will help you identify what needs to be used up when planning meals or deciding what to do with leftovers.
Save money and reduce food waste by:
• Planning meals based on foods you already have.
Look in the refrigerator, freezer, and pantry first for foods that need to be used up. These items will give you ideas about what recipes to make for the week.
Find recipes that use those ingredients.
Write a list of the food items you still need.
• Planning meals and snacks in advance is a good place to start and will help you use the foods you already have on hand.
• Another way to prevent food waste is to get creative with leftovers.
• A meal doesn’t always need to be eaten in the same way as a leftover. A lot of times, it can be transformed into another meal, a soup, salad, or even a sandwich.
• Roast a whole chicken or turkey for dinner. The leftovers could be shredded, reheated and added to a soup on Monday night or wrapped in a whole wheat tortilla with low-fat cheese and veggies for lunch.
• Other ways to Go Further with Food include being mindful of portion sizes. Over the years, portions of most foods and drinks have increased in size.
• Choosing smaller portions will not only help to reduce food waste, but it will also help you stay within your calorie needs, as MyPlate recommends.
• If it’s not possible to request a smaller portion when eating out, just ask for a to-go container at the start of a meal. This will help you eat less. Plus, you’ll have a leftover to enjoy the next day.
For tasty, low cost recipes, tips and more go to www.eatsmartnewyork.org.
Southern Tier Eat Smart NY is funded by USDA’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program- SNAP. SNAP Provides nutrition assistance to people with low income. To find out more go to www.myBenefits.ny.gov or contact 1-800-342-3009. This Institution is an equal opportunity employer.
Using select text from Shakespeare
Mar 1, 2018 Culture, Education, English, Entertaiment, Local
R.Evolución Latina and Pregones/Prtt’s Raul Julia Training Unit Partner in an Interdisciplinary Professional Training workshop
by Katie Rosin
The Beyond Broadway Workshop Series (BWS), an interdisciplinary (acting, dance, music) professional development workshop and outreach program with professional teaching artists from Broadway, Film and TV, was started by Luis Salgado and R.Evolución Latina (RL) an organization that utilizes the arts to empower the Latino community. Now in their tenth year, RL is partnering with Pregones/Puerto Rican Traveling Theater (PRTT) and their historic Raúl Juliá Training Unit for this year’s BWS, offering excellent, affordable training, combined with rehearsal and performance opportunities, training students to face challenges, building their self-confidence while cultivating the leadership skills necessary to unite and inspire.
Using select text from Shakespeare, integrating music and dance, the BWS will culminate in a devised piece of theatre, developed by the RL creative team supported by PRTT’s Raul Julia Training Unit, and will be performed at the Harlem School for the Arts. In order to constantly grow as artists and activists, those selected to be members of BWS’s Class of 2018 will have performance and outreach events throughout the workshop and throughout the year.
Luis Salgado, RL director, states, “This year’s thematic focus is “language”, “going beyond” and “embracing your tribe” through the words of Shakespeare.” He is excited that “participants will not only move beyond their fears and the realities of society as artists and/or immigrants, but they will also share their truth, their humanity, and their own artistic contributions. We believe that it is opportunities like this one that build a greater community. We seek artists that are dedicated to growing and giving back through their art.”
“Partnering with R.Evolución Latina’s Beyond Workshops Series is a coherent, exciting step for our Training Unit. We have a common goal and commitment to rigorous arts training, and to creating exciting opportunities for growth and impact in our communities,” states Rosalba Rolón, Artistic Director Pregones/PRTT.
RL has provided approximately 30 scholarships between Mexico, Colombia, Argentina and beyond, to continue to inspire young professionals and expose them to an overall artistic experience in NYC.
Press Release provided by Media Representative: Katie Rosin / Kampfire PR. For more information go to
http://revolucionlatina.org/
Emotional Intelligence for Men
Mar 1, 2018 Culture, Education, English, Health, Local, Spiritual
Eight Emotionally Intelligent things Men can do Immediately to End Abuse
by Tyrone Dixon
Copyright © February 2018 / All rights reserved.
Recently, I had the pleasure of attending a Workshop with some extremely intelligent gentlemen. The workshop centered on what we as men can do to help end domestic and sexual violence, as well as address the issue of “toxic masculinity.”
At the end of the workshop each of us made a commitment, my commitment was to advocate on behalf of both men and women and not sit back and watch abuse take place rather physical, emotional, or verbal.
As a first step in the keeping my commitment, I present the following 8 tips, adapted from Author, Educator Jackson Katz’s 10 Things Men Can Do To Prevent Gender Violence:
1. Understand that this is not only a women’s issue! We as men can be advocates by speaking up, and confronting abusive peers. 90% of domestic and sexual violence is committed by men; chances are you know/have hung out with someone who was physically or verbally abusive. Speak up!
2. If you associate with individuals (friends, brother, coworker, etc.) who are disrespectful or abusive to females, don’t remain silent. Stop the abuse, and then recommend they seek professional help with dealing with unaddressed trauma in their lives.
3. Have the self-awareness to look at the way you live your life. Question your beliefs and attitudes towards women, without becoming defensive. How might the way we live inadvertently perpetuate sexism and violence? When you are able to take an introspective look at yourself, you can begin to change bad habits.
4. If you suspect someone you know is being abused or has been sexually assaulted, kindly ask them if there is any way you could help. Please don’t become aggressive/threaten to assault the perpetrator, this is not the support the person close to you needs in the moment.
5. If you are emotionally, psychologically, physically, or sexually abusive to women, or have been in the past. I invite you to seek professional help because you may have suppressed trauma that is preventing you from being your true self.
6. Be an ally to women who are working to end all forms of gender violence. Attend rallies and other public events to show your support. On March 23rd, 2018 Vera House Incorporated will be holding its “24th Annual White Ribbon Campaign” to raise awareness about domestic and sexual violence, this would be a great way to get involved and become an ally.
7. Educate yourself and those around you by attending programs, watching videos online, and reading articles about causes of gender violence. Understand that larger social forces affect the conflicts between men and women.
8. Mentor the next generation of young men about how to be a man in ways that don’t involve degrading or abusing women.
Peace and Love,
Tyrone Dixon works as a Certified Professional Coach in the Syracuse Community through his business ArozeThrough Concrete Coaching. He was born and raised on the South and West Sides of Syracuse. He has a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration from SUNY Buffalo. It is his pleasure to be a “writing contributor” for CNY Latino, and write about the topic of Emotional Intelligence (EI). He loves the City of Syracuse and believes that exposure to Emotional Intelligence can help change the direction of the individuals living in some of our “high poverty” areas. Can you imagine how much better our city would be if people were taught how to manage their feelings without hurting someone? Or if we could teach people to be proactive in identifying situations they are not comfortable in?.
Science, Tango, Hugs: a Profile of Joaquin Canay
Mar 1, 2018 Culture, Education, English, Entertaiment, Local
by Maximilian Eyle
Joaquin Canay is a professional tango instructor turned biotech-engineer. He hails from Buenos Aires but has lived in New York State for more than 15 years. He is very tall, with lots of curly brown hair and a bubbly personality. Joaquin sat down with me to discuss what he has learned living in the United States and what he feels the United States could learn from Argentina.
You were born in Buenos Aires, how did you come to live in Buffalo, NY?
When I was 18 years old I moved to New York City. I didn’t speak any English but I spent 3 years there. I taught a little tango, took some English classes, and worked odd jobs as a bouncer and promoter in the music scene. Eventually I found an opportunity to teach tango in Ithaca. I did that for 11 years full time. Back in Argentina I had taken one year of med school, so I decided to get my associated degree at Tompkins County Community College in Biotechnology. The teachers were incredible – some of the best I have ever had. I was then accepted into the biotech program at University of Buffalo where I earned by bachelor’s degree.
What type of work do you do now?
I work now for Thermo-Fisher in the research and development group where I help design new products. Right now we are working on developing mediums for cell growth in the lab. When scientists have to growth cells in a petri dish, they have to put the cells in a substance so they grow. We make that substance for laboratories across the world, it’s very exciting.
What do you miss most about life in Argentina?
I miss my friends and family the most, of course. Argentina is a gorgeous country but people are what you miss the most. They have a different attitude toward life. People are much closer in Argentina, in terms of physical space. They touch, they stand closer. Here, they are not used to such contact. When I came here, people were bothered by how close I would stand when I talked to them. In Argentina, we hug and kiss all the time. Here, people are much more distant.
For example, you can just stop by a friend’s house without warning back home. If they are feeling bad, you can just go and take them out. Here, you need to call first. Friends are an extension of the family. In America, the term doesn’t mean quite the same thing. It is hard for people to form those stronger friendships without feeling comfortable being open and close with each other.
I also miss dancing. I used to dance every day but now it is once every week or two. Tango was always my salvation to help me adapt to this culture much faster. In tango, you have so much personal contact, you are hugging the person for the duration of the dance. It grounded me and made this foreign land seem familiar. It is hard to describe the feeling you get when you dance, but I miss it. Even though I like my job very much, after a year of working there, I haven’t touched any of my coworkers. It is a very strange feeling.
What could Americans learn from Argentineans?
We are all animals, and our lives are short and pointless. For this reason we must enjoy it. The “time is money” philosophy reduces people’s ability to enjoy their lives. They have coffee with a friend for an hour but are in a rush because they have to be somewhere else rather than enjoying the moment. Americans need to learn how to enjoy the small moments better, to live within the community and with less pressure.
Maximilian Eyle is a native of Syracuse, NY and a graduate of Hobart and William Smith Colleges. He works as a media consultant and writes each month about a variety of issues for Spanish-language papers across New York State. Maximilian has a love of Hispanic culture and learned Spanish while living in Spain where he studied and worked as an English teacher. He can be contacted at maxeyle@gmail.com.
“Milk Hurts”
Mar 1, 2018 Education, English, Environmental, Health, Helping Animals
by Teresa Melnick
Translated into Spanish by Rob English
From California’s “Happy Cow” campaign, to the catchy “Got Milk?” celebrity ads, dairy product advertising is relentless in its efforts to convince consumers that its products are wholesome, nutritious, and support the iconic family farm. We are surrounded by images of contented cows, lazily munching grass in glorious green pastures. The truth is a far cry from this idyllic pastoral scene. Unfortunately, most consumers don’t know the ugly facts about the dairy industry’s treatment of cows as disposable milk producing machines. Animal activist Ashely Capp is doing something about that with the creation of a new website Milk Hurts, and her campaign, “Mothers Against Dairy.”
Capp, a writer and editor for the website A Well Fed World, explains her upcoming Milk Hurts website: “Essentially Milk Hurts is intended to become the ‘go to’ comprehensive anti-dairy resource and database with ‘Mothers Against Dairy’ as one of its campaigns and ongoing web features.” The site will be a place where people can go to find the most current, comprehensive, fact-based research on the dairy industry’s harmful effects on animals, human health, and the environment, she says.
Capp started the campaign, “Mothers Against Dairy,” when she learned of a new direction the dairy industry was taking in its advertising.
“Mothers Against Dairy was launched as a way to directly counter the aggressive surge in pro-dairy messaging from female dairy farmers (most of them mothers) that I have encountered in my dairy research over the last several years,” Capp says. “I believe this trend is no coincidence, rather, in a climate of increased criticism of dairy farming practices, it represents a strategic industry shift to put more female faces on dairy farming, and to deceptively reframe the industry as a maternal nurturing one.”
Maternal and nurturing are not adjectives Capp would use to describe the dairy industry. Calves are removed from their mothers soon after birth and fed artificially, while the mother’s milk is harvested for human consumption. This is emotionally and physically damaging for both the cow and the calf, who visibly grieve the separation. The mother is again impregnated and the whole cycle begins again.
Capp has collected compelling first- hand accounts from women who realized, after giving birth themselves, that they could no longer support an industry that callously exploits the motherhood of cows.
(The Milk Hurts website will launch later this year, but for now you can follow them on Instagram and Facebook, or go to A Well Fed World for a link to “Mothers Against Dairy”).
Teresa Melnick is a member of People for Animal Rights (PAR). You can contact PAR at P.O. Box 15358, Syracuse 13215-0358, (315)488-PURR (7877) between 8 a.m. and 10 p.m., people4animalrightscny@gmail.com. You can also contact Linda DeStefano who is the President of People for Animal Rights or find more information at peopleforanimalrightsofcny.org.
Insurmountable wall
Mar 1, 2018 Education, English, Spiritual
A Moment Of Reflection
by Lilia M. Fiallo
The holiday afternoons of my father’s hand kept me delighted watching the fish and the pure and crystal clear water that ran through the stream that passed by my grandparents farm, everything is in memory as if it were yesterday, like his love, his nobility and the nights when we fell asleep on the sofa listening to the beautiful stories that my mother or he read to us and ended saying: “they were happy and ate partridges”.
So many memories of my childhood will last forever: “says Martha” we never went to bed without eating, his teaching made us grow spiritually and although we went through difficult times, we went ahead and like all human beings, each of my parents had their characters, but, what do I know, if I did not live with them is childhood? I´m not to judge them. I built an insurmountable wall in my mind and when I want I bring to my memory all the beautiful things that we live as a family.
I on the other hand, says José I enjoyed very little the presence of my father. He died when I was ten years old and his absence marked my life to a large extent, but I got over it when I stop at the memories of the moments we share as a family; for being so small, I did not have the opportunities that my older brothers had, his death took us by surprise. My mom was static, and to top it off, her fragile character was for my brothers a constant stumble who took advantage of her weakness until her death. They did not have the capacity to understand her, to love her and to value her. She was tried, sentenced and punished without reason. We all knew that her childhood who harder than my uncle’s, among other things, because my grandmother did not love her. My mother was tall, a golden spike, her beauty and elegance as well as her pure white soul made her unique. “I also took advantage of her love for being the youngest, how much I regret it, but, for what? Exclaims José. Why do we judge without having the right? Only God knows how much she suffered”.
For my brothers and for me, “say Juan”, we had a childhood with all the comforts; now that I am a father I still remember his faults, because parents are still parents and although their children are adults they did not ask to come to his world.
Why do not, you build starting today, (says Bob, the group’s panelist) an insurmountable wall, as Martha says? So that the past does not torment you, because you did not know, nor lived the childhood of your parents, it is a matter of reasoning and analyzing, he says. Juan was thinking, maybe reflecting, he accepted the truth and he did not say anything else.
My sister and I do not recognized what my father faced with his divorce and the task of obtaining parental authority for Kelly and me, we always enjoy his love, his affection and his tenderness, “Julia says”. He married again a good woman and I have two more sisters for that reason. Everything I’ve had in the life an maybe that’s the reason why I valued late my father’s unconditional love, who is no longer, nor will he be the same with me for the damage I did to him. I would like to reunite the family.
Luisa says vehemently: “Kelly judges my father because according to her she is right in everything she says when she remembers the past”. What she is interested in is pretending, social position and money, far from helping him economically or calling him on the phone, much less to visit him.
Eugenia uses her strategy to cover her perfection. Since she got married, we all became simply acquaintances or friends of the occasion. When she invites us to her house, she serves us in the living room, or long before our arrival she calls us to have coffee nearby. In her soul there is resentment, she does not talk to my father, while materially she seems the best. She likes everything brand and every year she changes all the lingerie in her house, say Luisa.
Kelly says, if someone delves in to the heart of each one, the only one who is really attentive to my father since he was widowed, is Luisa, although she judges him mercilessly, humiliates him and how many time she can, she brings to his memory silly mistakes of past, well, me too.
Julia, Kelly, Eugenia and Luisa, are sisters, married, have children, and financially established. They just do not know God, they do not know how to performance their role and they are the other group participants, who have spoken interrupting the conference since it began three hours ago and I think it ends at any time. Without the rest being able to participate, say Jose.
When there were ten minutes left until 5 o’clock Bob spoke harshly and here is a part of the end: “I have not met with infants, I think we are all adults enough to be here. I watched in amazement at the immaturity of some and the poise of other. I am surprised that many of you ignore honoring father and mother, one of the commandments of the law of God. Who are we to judge our parents?
What can we give our children if we do not know how to value our parents and what God has given us? I still do not believe the rawness and coldness with which some people area able to treat their parents. There is so much arrogance and human poverty in their hearts. Ask God to give you humility and simplicity to move forward, because many of you do not know how to love nor value the effort of your parents to give you the best. Do not expect good fruits from children, even more if you please them in everything and do not watch their steps.
I want an impassable wall made with love, humility and simplicity in their hearts. I want that from this moment on you leave behind the past and start to build the insurmountable wall that you need. The past is gone, the future is uncertain and what counts is the present. Let’s worry about ourselves and to solve our weaknesses so that our children tomorrow do not disrespect us, educate ourselves and educate them. “Let’s do the chore well”.
Thus ended an endless afternoon, says Jose when leaving…
Lilia M. Fiallo was born in Bogotá, Colombia, where, between tasks and free time, she found a place to write about subjects, somehow forgotten by others. With gold letters engraved in her memory, she began her working life, in the heart of the technical part, of the air traffic control of her native country. In the midst of aeronautical phraseology and codes, the world of aviation gave her one of the highest experiences, because of the precision required by this craft, where a single mistake could cost many lives. It is there, where in her concern to communicate her ideas, she begins to write with dedication, themes a little relegated by society, the Church and the State. Discovering a truth that nobody wants to talk about, but much more real and everyday, than it seems. It is thus, as it appears, her first work, “Parir por palir”.
You can find her book at www.laovejitabooks.com/autora-lilia-m-fiallo/
The Power of Lying
Feb 1, 2018 Education, English, Political
by Miguel Balbuena
In a column written on January 8 for the London-based newspaper Financial Times, John Thornhill seemed to suggest that having the capacity to lie is what distinguishes humans from non-human animals.
Furthermore, In his piece he made it sound as if lying is not such an easy game to play.
“Lying is a complicated business involving the masking of intention, an understanding of context and human psychology, and the coexistence of two versions of reality, one true, one false,” Thornhill wrote.
Then, he went on to quote Max Tegmark, a professor of physics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, as having said, in his book “Life 3.0,” that consciousness enables meaning, and meaning is tied to the ability to appreciate subjective experiences, which this scientist called sentience. From here Tegmark postulated changing the categorization of the human species from Homo sapiens to Homo sentiens.
“Truth, it has been said, is the first casualty of war,” wrote the 1st Viscount Snowden in 1916, when he was a member of the British House of Commons. Later on, the Nazis even established a government agency, the German Ministry of Public Enlightenment and Propaganda, which perfected lying to an exact science in World War II and its run-up. It was headed by Joseph Goebbels between 1933 and 1945. Another Nazi politician, Hermann Goering, the creator of the Gestapo, said: “The people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked.”
But even in peacetime, it is alleged that lying in a massive scale can be encouraged.
“Lie, lie, that something is left.” This quote was on the blackboard when I came into my classroom after lunch break, during my senior year in high school, for what was supposed to be a religion lecture. The professor, Luis Fernando Figari, who wrote it, said authoritatively that the French Enlightenment philosopher Voltaire had penned this quote.
Voltaire was one of the major figures of the French Age of Reason – along with Montesquieu, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Denis Diderot and Jean-Baptiste le Rond d’Alembert. It seemed incongruous to me that Voltaire, having been an advocate for reason, all of a sudden would have started promoting lying as a way of life; as a general, systematic principle.
I had been sympathetic to Voltaire since my junior year when my world history professor, Humberto Arredondo, told my class that this philosopher had used humor in his writings to undermine the oppressive Bourbon absolutist monarchy to the point that King Louis XVI blamed him for having “destroyed” the royal dynastic rule over the masses.
Figari went on to suggest that students’ parents had complained about him to the school’s principal. He didn’t disclosed the nature of the grievances against him nor the specific identity of his accusers. The funny thing is that Voltaire never said verbatim what Figari attributed to him.
In fact, in his letter to Nicolas-Claude Thieriot on Oct. 21, 1736, Voltaire literally wrote, “Lie, my friends, lie; I will repay you one day.’
But the context of the letter explained everything. Earlier on, Voltaire had produced the play “The prodigal son.” As he wanted its audience to appraise it on its merits, not being biased by knowing who its author was, he sent letters to his best buddies Berger and Thieriot, who were in the secret, asking them to keep concealed the playwright’s name from the public.
By distorting Voltaire’s explicit text and hiding its context, Figari – while claiming to be defending himself from parents’ defamation – was himself defaming Voltaire either consciously or by gross negligence by not having verify his sources.
After he was done with Voltaire, he did the same thing to Spanish novelist Miguel de Cervantes.
“They bark Sancho, sign that we move forward” was the second quote that Figari had chalked on the blackboard to respond to his unnamed critics. He attributed it to Alonso Quixano, the main character of Cervantes’ book “Don Quixote de la Mancha”.
It turns out that this phrase is not in any of Cervantes’ publications.
About the author: Miguel Balbuena is a writer in the academic, scientific, journalistic and literary fields (in the fiction and non-fiction genres).
