Food, Health and Fitness
Pahrump Valley Gazette, Thursday, September 25, 1997 13
I I I I
The Chopping Block
On October 2, Jews around the world will
begin their celebra-
tion of Rosh
Hashanah, the New
Year. The feasting
lasts until sundown
October 10 and is
followed by Yore
Kippur, a day of
strict fasting. Dur-
ing the Rosh
Hashanah obser-
vance, Jews wish
each other a "sweet
New Year" and
honey is prominent in their cuisine for family
and friends.
Today we offer a baked chicken that' s basted
with a sparkling honey and orange juice glaze
laced with a touch
of vinegar, mustard,
ginger and thyme.
Following the
Honey-Orange
Glazed Chicken we
have grilled Honey-
Lime Glazed
Chicken Breasts.
Cook all 6 breasts
and serve for one
dinner, or reserve 2
cooked breasts to
make a Thai-Style
Salad for a second delicious meal. In typical
Thai fashion, the dressing is a blend of peanut
butter and honey with a spicy accent.
HONEY-LIME GLAZED CHICKEN
1/2 cup honey
2 tablespoons lime juice
2 tablespoons chopped cilantro
I tablespoon soy sauce
2 teaspoons minced jalapeno pepper
1 1/2 teaspoons minced garlic
6 chicken breast halves (about 3 lbs.)
In small howl, mix together honey, lime juice, cilantm,
soy sauce, jalapeno and garlic; mix until well blended. Pour
half of mixture over chicken; set remaining half aside.
Cover chicken bowl and reserved honey mixture and re-
frigerate 2 hours or overnight. To cook chicken, place on
grill over medium hot coals, 4 inches from heat. Cook,
turning and basting with reserved honey mixture, until
chicken is cooked through, about 15 minutes. Reserve 2
cooked chicken breasts for use in Thai-style With Glazed
Chicken, if desired. Makes 4 to 6 servings.
THAI-SrYLE CHICKEN SALAD
2 Honey-Lime Glazed
Chicken Breasts*
1 medium head
Napa cabbage
or Romaine lettuce
1 medium cucumber
2 medium carrots
2 small oranges
1/2 cup chopped cilantro
Honey-Lime Dressing **
I/3 cup dry masted peanuts, chopped
Remove bones hum Honey-Lin chicken (see lvious
recipe above). Shred cabbage (about 6 cups); peel, seed and
slice cuctanber (about 1 114 cups); peel and coarsely grate
carom (about 1 cup); peelorsnges and separate into segments.
In large bowl, combine chicken, cabbage, cucumber,
carrots, oranges and cilantro. Gently toss until well mixed.
Toss with Honey-Lime Dressing (recipe follows). Sprinkle
each serving with peanuts just before serving. Makes 4
servings.
** Honey Lime Dressing: In small bowl, whisk together 6 tablespoons honey, 3 tablespoons
peanut butter, 3 tablespoons lime juice, 2 tablespoons chopped fresh mint, 1 tablespoon minced
jalapeno pepper, 1 1/2 teaspoons soy sauce, I teaslxon minced garlic and 3/4 teaspoon grated lime
peel, until well blended.
Effects of and understanding cholesterol
by Karen Mooney
Many illnesses we contract are reversible and cured by just
changing your life-style, being responsible for your health
and caring enough about yourself to want something better.
One of these illnesses we frequently treat in our office is
arthemscelrosis. Artheroscelrosis is a thickening and loss of
elasticity of the medium and large arteries, due to deposited
plaque (atheroma). It is a form of the more general arterioscle-
rosis which effects smaller muscular arteries, arterioles.
Everyone is aware of cholesterol and realizes its role in
cardiovascular diseases. Labels on our foods say "low choles-
terol" and we feel safe consuming these. But do we really
know what that means?
Our bodies require some fats, especially linoleic and
linolenic fatty acids found in plants and fish. Some unsatur-
ated fats are necessary. What we don't need are saturated fats
found in animal fat, hydrogenated oils, and hardened fats, and
tropical oils (you know, like the movie theater popcorn
"butter"). When we ingest these, not cholesterol, our choles-
terol levels increase.
Cholesterol is produced by the body and studies show that
eating "cholesterol" does not effect the production. But what
is the difference between "good" and "bad" cholesterol and
where do we get it?
When we eat fats the body combines it with proteins,
lipoproteins, to be carried through the blood and lymph.
Lipoproteins are the substances we look at to determine
cardiovascular diseases and risks.
Lipoproteins are divided into two groups: high density
lipoproteins, HDL, which are denser clusters and carry fewer
fats; and the low density lipoproteins (LDL) which are
lighter, larger, and carry more fats. High levels of LDL are
associated with greater risks of cardiovascular disease. The
presence and production of HDL actually decreased LDL
levels. So HDL plays an important role in keeping us free of
cardiovascular risks.
If there is a high level of LDL in the body it will deposit in
the arteries. The arteries lose their elasticity and decrease the
opening size. Less blood flows through these affected arteries
which means the cells are not getting the required nourish-
ment and oxygen, the heart must work harder, and weak-
nesses occur within the vessel walls. If the low density
lipoprotein level remains high or unchanged, the process
continues until blockage occurs and problems result in the
cardiovascular system, including heart attacks. Other prob-
lems develop such as pain in the extremities, especially legs,
from poor circulation, or blood clots, narrowing of the aorta
(stenosis), or aneurysms. Often early signs are ignored or
unnoticed.
There are contributing factors to the production of choles-
terol that you can control. Do you smoke? Are you inactive?
Do you care what you eat? Are you overweight? Ate you
depressed? Are you inflexible? Eliminating these factors one
at a time can have tremendous effects on your well being.
No matter what standard treatment you select for cardio-
vascular problems, like surgery or drugs, these are only
temporary. You still need to make the changes in your life-
style to get well.
When we treat a patient with diagnosed artherosclerosis
we initiate a treatment that will stimulate passive exercise in
the body and increase blood flow. We encourage patients to
take charge of those areas in their life that sabotage their
health and cause personal suffering. Being informed is the
first step to better health. You are worth it.
Editors Note: Karen Mooney is a licensed massage
therapist now practicing in Pahrump with her husband,
Howard. She did her undergraduate work in rehabilitaion
education at Penn State University and graduate work in
psychology at Marywood College in Pennsylvania.
