Lighten Your Summer Meals with Fish

There is something about the summertime that makes many of us crave seafood. Maybe it's the time spent at the pool, lake or ocean. Maybe it's the smell of the grill after a long winter. Or maybe it's the desire to eat fresh, healthy and seasonal foods. Regardless, seafood is a delicious summer food and provides a great source of nutrition.

5 Reasons You Should include Fish in Your Summer Meal Plan:

1. Fish is a good source of omega-3 fatty acids which can lower blood pressure, boost immunity, improve arthritis symptoms and, in children, improve learning ability.
2. Omega-3 fatty acids found in fish are believed to reduce depression by raising serotonin levels in the brain.
3. Fish is high in protein but lower in fat and calories than other meats.
4. Some dermatologists say a salmon rich diet is like a facial - smoothing out age lines.
5. Some fish are rich in selenium, which is known for its cancer-fighting properties.
   (Sources: Omega-3 in fish: How eating fish helps your heart, Mayoclinic.com; The Benefits of Eating Fish, CNN.com)

Fish is one of the many foods incorporated into our clients' meal plans to increase their ability to effectively manage the symptoms of their illness and mitigate side-effects of treatment.

Check out the recipe for Baked Salmon Cakes with Citrus-Cilantro Sauce, which is an actual dish delivered to our clients.

From Our Kitchen to Yours: Baked Salmon Cakes with Citrus-Cilantro Sauce

Food & Friends recognizes the role nutrition plays in helping individuals facing life-challenging illnesses. Salmon is one of the many foods incorporated into our clients' meal plans to increase their ability to effectively manage the symptoms of their illness and mitigate side-effects of treatment.

Check out the recipe below for Baked Salmon Cakes with Citrus-Cilantro Sauce, an actual dish served to clients.

The original recipe serves 6. Take a peak at how many ingredients we need to serve the same meal to 600 clients.

Serves 6 24 oz. fresh salmon 12 oz. cooked brown rice 3 tbsp. whole grain mustard 5 tbsp. reduced fat mayonnaise 2 whole eggs ½ cup fine Italian bread crumbs 1 tbsp. dried chives Salt and ground white pepper to taste

Serves 600 80 lbs. fresh salmon 40 lbs. cooked brown rice 2 qts. whole grain mustard 4 gals. reduced fat mayonnaise 15 doz. whole eggs 2 gals. fine Italian bread crumbs 6 oz. dried chives Salt and ground white pepper to taste

Method and Preparation:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Cut salmon into 3 inch size fillets.  Coat the salmon pieces lightly with olive oil and season lightly with salt and ground black pepper.  Place on a sheet tray lined with parchment paper.  Bake in oven for 8-10 minutes. 

Once the salmon has cooled to room temperature, break apart pieces of fish into a large bowl.

Add to salmon: cooked rice, mustard, eggs, bread crumbs, chives, salt and white pepper.

Mix thoroughly until all ingredients are incorporated.  Form into cakes of desired size.

Heat a non-stick sauté pan over medium heat.  Add cakes and sauté until golden brown, about 3-4 minutes on each side.  Place in the oven and heat throughout, about another 3-4 minutes.

Meanwhile, to make the sauce, place lemon juice, orange juice, cilantro, and sugar in a sauce pan.

Place the corn starch and water in a cup and mix thoroughly.  Once the liquid in the saucepan has come to a boil, slowly add the corn starch “slurry” and whisk into the liquid.  Reduce the heat and simmer until liquid thickens slightly.  Season sauce with ground cumin and salt to taste.

To serve, place the salmon cake on a plate and spoon the sauce over the cake.

At Food & Friends we serve these salmon cakes over a bed of black bean ragu, with a side of seasoned turnip greens.

Find out how you can help us turn a recipe serving 6 people into a meal that will support hundreds of clients in their fight against life-challenging illnesses.

Urbana Executive Chef Adds Charity to the Menu

John Critchley, the Executive Chef of Urbana Restaurant and Wine Bar, has done it all. He kicked off his 19-year culinary career washing dishes in high school and has since helped to open and lead several high-profile restaurants in Boston, San Francisco and Miami. In 2008 he took over the helm at Urbana where he combines Western Mediterranean influences emphasizing sustainable seafood with creative but simple techniques.

John’s passion for feeding people also gives him a deep respect for giving back to the community.

This year, we are proud to have him serve as Celebrity Chef Chair for the 22nd Annual Chef’s Best Dinner & Auction presented by the NACDS Foundation. As Chair, John is raising awareness for Food & Friends’ services and has helped to recruit more than 50 area chefs who will share tastings at Chef’s Best to showcase their culinary expertise.

“As a chef, it is refreshing to see many of my colleagues join together for this cause. I feel honored to be a part of raising funds for men, women and children who are facing severe illnesses . . . [and] I am in the business to feed people so I want to give back to a community that has supported me . . .”

For John, the decision to work with a cause addressing hunger relief and illness is a natural one.

“I have been lucky personally to never have anybody suffer from HIV or cancer but it makes you feel good when you are able to support the community by using your skills,” says John.

John is very excited for this year’s event but admits that only one night of support is not going to solve the issue of nutrition and illness in the community.

“Look at all the effort, support and enthusiasm that goes into this one night, imagine if all of us continued this support throughout year – we’d make an even bigger impact on people living with life-challenging illnesses.”

Mingle with John and 55 of his closest culinary friends on June 26th at Chef's Best Dinner & Auction. Purchase sponsorships, tables and tickets at www.foodandfriends.org/chefsbest.

Delivering Duo: Mom and daughter make a difference with just a couple hours a week

Your support helps to deliver more than 3,700 nutritious meals every day. Delivery volunteer Lisa Anbinder and her 4-year-old daughter, Celia, see firsthand the effect these meals have on clients.

 

Lisa and Celia deliver meals to clients every Friday. 
Lisa adopted a route that fits her busy schedule.

When Lisa was facing thyroid cancer six years ago, she was fortunate to have a husband, close friends and children who were able to care for her. Without such a support system, her story might be told a little differently.

Motivated by her past illness and desire to serve others, Lisa and her husband have been major donors to Food & Friends for many years. Recently Lisa found a new way to make an impact as a delivery volunteer. Now, every Friday, Lisa and Celia bring companionship and delicious meals to clients throughout Arlington.

“It’s really nice to see the other side of Food & Friends. We’ve been in the kitchen and we’ve given money but I’d never been in touch with the client side,” explains Lisa. “It’s interesting to see the end of the process, where the prepared meals go.”

As a busy stay-at-home mom, Lisa appreciates the flexibility of the work. Specifically, she was looking for a volunteer activity she could do with her young daughter. Food & Friends was the perfect fit.

“I like the fact that she can come along and be exposed to this kind of volunteering,” says Lisa. “My deliveries take a little bit longer having Celia with me, but in the long run it’s a nice thing for her to know that it’s a normal part of what we do.”

Whether donating, volunteering or attending events, Lisa looks forward to continuing her family’s involvement with Food & Friends. Join Lisa and adopt a route in your neighborhood. Once you adopt a route, you will always deliver to the same area. Be prepared to build bonds and friendships that last a lifetime.

Sign up for our ChopTalk newsletter to read stories like Lisa's and other outstanding individuals and groups whose generous spirit, like yours, allows us to have an ongoing and tremendous impact on the lives of our neighbors facing serious illness.

We Need You to Deliver Hope

Volunteers are at the heart of Food & Friends’ mission. Thanks to the generosity of more than 12,600 volunteers, 14% more meals were delivered in 2011 than in 2010.

This year, we plan to increase meal production by 7.5% and we need volunteers to deliver more than 630,000 of the 1,268,000 nutritious meals heading to the homes of men, women and children facing life-challenging illnesses. Help us meet this need and make a special commitment by joining us as a delivery volunteer.

“The need in our community for Food & Friends’ services continues to increase. The solution to this challenge relies on the community stepping forward and giving time on a regular basis,” says Don Pitz, Volunteer Coordinator at Food & Friends. “Although we were able to serve everyone that was referred to us last year, it’s becoming difficult to deliver to additional clients when the number of delivery volunteers is not keeping pace.”

Food & Friends’ services are free of charge thanks to the generosity of volunteers and donors. To minimize expenses, our goal is to have at least 50% of all meals delivered by volunteers and the remaining 50% by staff drivers. To make this a reality, we need an additional 20-25 delivery volunteers each week for the rest of the year. Without the help of volunteers, Food & Friends will pay an additional $127,000 for delivery drivers.

Delivering is fun, easy to do and can fit into your schedule. We are looking for people to deliver in Washington, DC, Maryland and Virginia on a regular basis—once a week or once/twice a month depending on your schedule. Routes take approximately 1.5 to 3 hours to complete and we provide a map taking you from door to door. No matter how busy you are, we can find a delivery route that is perfect for you!

Become a delivery volunteer today by contacting Don Pitz, Volunteer Coordinator, at dpitz@foodandfriends.org or at (202) 269-6835.

THE WEIGHT OF THE NATION: HBO Presentation, 5/14 & 5/15

Bringing together the nation’s leading research institutions, THE WEIGHT OF THE NATION is a presentation of HBO and the Institute of Medicine (IOM), in association with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and in partnership with the Michael & Susan Dell Foundation and Kaiser Permanente.

The centerpiece of THE WEIGHT OF THE NATION campaign is the four-part documentary series, each featuring case studies, interviews with our nation’s leading experts, and individuals and their families struggling with obesity.

Kaiser Permanente is a valued and appreciated supporter of Food & Friends' mission. Their generosity makes it possible for us to provide healthy and nutritious meals, daily, for adults and children facing HIV/AIDS, cancer and other life-challenging illnesses. Watch THE WEIGHT OF THE NATION on HBO: Parts 1 & 2, May 14th at 8:00pm, Parts 3 & 4, May 15th at 8:00pm.

'The Weight of the Nation' review: Obesity crisis 
Courtesy of David Wiegand, SFGate.com 
Posted: Thursday, May 10, 2012

We've all seen the TV news reports on obesity in the United States, fresh statistics from the latest study, read with professional detachment, while images of pudgy bodies cross the screen, their faces blurred or heads just out of the camera frame. It's been going on for years, as much a staple of TV news as the weather report.

Unlike the weather, though, there is a lot Americans can do about weight problems, and every minute we delay is not only critical but both deadly and expensive - expensive as in billions of dollars taken from the pockets of taxpayers and businesses. Obesity is an epidemic and perhaps America's biggest health problem.

That's the message pounded home with singular effectiveness in HBO's four-part, multidisciplinary documentary "The Weight of the Nation." Produced by Sheila Nevins and John Hoffman, "Weight" pulls no punches, spares neither the multibillion-dollar food and advertising industries nor public officials for not only failing to fix the problem but actually making it worse, and essentially writes a prescription for the nation's health and economic future that we ignore to our peril. . . .

. . . How fat are we? Plenty. More than two-thirds of adults are overweight and one-third are obese, while one-third of our children and adolescents are overweight and 18 percent are obese. Obesity contributes to five of the 10 leading causes of death in America, costs business more than $73 billion a year, adds $150 billion to health costs now and may hit $300 billion by 2018.

How did we get this way? Beginning in the late 20th century, we moved to a food industry based on what Dr. Kelly Brownell of the Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity calls "a cheap-food model." The cheapest food is also the least healthy. The category not only includes all kinds of packaged, processed foods, but, of course, fast food offerings, which have become the plaque-building lifeblood of the American diet. . . .

Some 40 to 50 percent of food eaten by kids is consumed at school, and school cafeterias, which have to be financially self-sufficient, push unhealthy, packaged food at kids. . . .

Read the rest of David Wiegand's review.

Celebrate Super-Moms this Mother's Day

Motherhood can be an exhausting, life-changing, unpredictable and messy job. Whether it is feeding, teaching, transporting or just playing with children, mothers spend their days tending to the needs of others.

Now, imagine being a mom facing a life-challenging illness such as cancer or HIV/AIDS. In addition to taking care of the daily responsibilities of motherhood, these moms have to spend extra time and energy fighting to stay healthy.

Our mothers do so much for us. Your support makes it possible for Food & Friends to be there for them when they need it most. We help mothers put healthy, nutritious food on the table for their families, giving them one less thing to worry about. The words of this mother best express the impact Food & Friends' services have had on her life:

"There have been so many times when I was too tired or weak to do the things I normally do as a Mom. That’s where you have come to the rescue. There are days when I am just too tired to cook and all I have to do is take something that you have graciously prepared, and my family and I have a nice meal."

As we celebrate moms this Mother's Day, we invite you to honor the Super-Moms in your life:

• Donate in honor or memory of your mother. Your gift will help support programs that benefit mothers and their children.
• Commit to delivering meals. Each route takes less than two hours and the rewards are immeasurable.
• Tell us why your mother is special. Share on Facebook why you celebrate your mom. On Twitter, tweet in your mother's honor and use the hash tag #f&fluvsmoms.

Thank you for helping us take care of the Super-Moms who selflessly put the needs of others in front of their own.



Help Us Thank Teachers!

Few other professions touch as many people as teachers do. Teachers make a lasting impact on their students' lives and inspire the next generation through their work. This week is National Teacher Appreciation Week and Food & Friends and our supporters want to recognize the importance of educators and say thank you!

Our Service Learning Program uses community service to bring learning to life. We work with dozens of teachers and school administrators to give students the opportunity to engage in meaningful service projects integrated with curriculum-based workshops. We are truly grateful to the teachers who engage their students in helping the community.

What role has a teacher played in your life? What makes a great teacher? Who was your favorite teacher and why?

Students from Duke Ellington School of the Arts

Although this praise is deserved every day, join us in using this week to make a special effort to honor educators and acknowledge the crucial role they play in ensuring every student receives a quality education.

Join Food & Friends in paying tribute to the teachers in our lives by commenting on our Facebook page or by tweeting a thank you message to teachers -- include @foodandfriends.

A Step in the Right Direction: Food & Friends Supports Those Fighting Breast Cancer

When I think of our commitment to clients living with breast cancer, I first think of our beginning as an AIDS service organization. Food & Friends was founded twenty-four years ago as a response to the needs of men and women battling AIDS. Too often, they were alone. Too often, their needs were unmet. Too often, the community looked away. We began with AIDS. Twelve years ago, we served our first clients living with breast cancer and ten years ago, we participated in our first Avon Walk for Breast Cancer.

Food & Friends staff member, Pam Giller, and
Executive Director, Craig Shniderman accept
gift from Avon Foundation during 2012 Walk.

The Avon Foundation has been a dedicated supporter of Food & Friends. In 2001, they made it possible for us to create the Pink Ribbon Delivery Program. This year, thanks to their generosity, Food & Friends will deliver 178,000 specialized meals to nearly 500 women living with breast cancer and their loved ones.

Everyone has a personal reason for participating in the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer. It may be a sister, mother, brother or even yourself. This Saturday, I’ll do my tenth walk in support of our work supporting the nutritional needs of survivors and future survivors. When we are all out walking together, we are walking toward the same goal. Those affected by this disease are not alone because Food & Friends will never look away and we will never neglect to serve these men and women and those who care about them. It is our legacy and our future all wrapped together.

Ivanna Beat Breast Cancer
(aka. Craig Shniderman) cheering on
Avon Walkers

We are very proud to be a beneficiary of the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer and we look forward to greeting the walkers along the route. Food & Friends staff and volunteers will be handing out stickers and our famous chocolate chip cookies on Saturday and Sunday,and our kitchen will be providing an incredible lunch on Sunday afternoon.

I will be attending the walk on Saturday as my alter-ego, Miss Ivanna Beat Breast Cancer. The picture should be enough of an explanation. Be sure to come say hi!

See you on the road!!

Craig Shniderman
Executive Director