3.31.2011

Goya Gives Campaign

On March 16th, Goya Foods, in partnership with United Way, donated 1,000,000 pounds of Goya products to emergency food providers in communities across the country - in honor of Goya's 75th Anniversiary.


Now they’ve launched the Goya Gives campaign, which encourages people to join in the fight against hunger and promote better nutrition through social media. For 75 days, from March 16th to May 29th, the public can contribute recipes, photos and stories of sharing low-cost, nutritious meals with friends or neighbors in need. 
  • Participants can also share their Goya Gives status on Facebook and Twitter. Use the hashtag #goyagives when posting your recipes, stories and pics! 
  • Check out www.GoyaGives.org for healthy cooking recipes and other ways to get involved. 
  • You can make monetary donations to United Way to help fund the organization’s mission to prevent hunger and promote better nutrition in communities across America.
You can support Moveable Feast through payroll deduction at your workplace's United Way Campaign. Our donor option number is #6574. Check with your employer for more information!

3.25.2011

THIS WEEKEND ONLY: Chewpons Deal at the Milton Inn

"The Milton Inn, a 270-year-old fieldstone building in Sparks in northern Baltimore County, is counted among Maryland's historic treasures. Chef Brian Boston continues to exceed his guests' expectations nightly with refined ambiance, decadent food and a wine cellar which features over 200 handpicked selections.  The Milton Inn has been featured in books published by Life and Time magazines, and the wine cellar is considered one of the best on the East Coast."

One of the Milton Inn's many dining rooms.



Moveable Feast has been presented with a great opportunity. Starting today, Friday, March 25th, through Sunday, March 27th, the Milton Inn and Moveable Feast will be featured on Chewpons.com. 

This limited-time deal is a $40 Gift Certificate for just $20 (savings of 50%). Through the charitable Chewpons coupon company, the Milton Inn will be donating a portion of every Chewpon sold to Moveable Feast. This deal will be available ONLY online this weekend, so get yours today! 


Chewpons.com is a local company which offers daily deals on Food & Beverages in the Baltimore Metro area that are delivered to your e-mail in-box each day. All of the deals on Chewpons.com are anywhere from 50%-90% off of the normal prices! Proceeds from every deal go to a local charity of the merchant's choice. Please sign up today at www.Chewpons.com and start receiving deals to many area merchants and look out for The Milton Inn deal starting this Friday the 25th!  Great savings for you, and donations to Moveable Feast and other charities as well!  Please sign up today.

THANK YOU CHEWPONS.COM & THE MILTON INN!


Chef Brian Boston

"Going the extra mile for a wonderful meal. The Milton Inn, has long been Baltimore's favorite destination restaurant. Executive Chef Brian Boston and the rest of the staff are to a man (and woman) young, energetic, enthusiastic and quite glad to have you there. There's none of the superciliousness you might expect at a restaurant so weighted down with history and reputation for haute cuisine."
– Elizabeth Large - The Baltimore Sun

3.24.2011

Diabetics and Breast Cancer

Researchers contributing to the Journal of Clinical Oncology have found that breast cancer patients with pre-existing diabetes had a higher mortality rate

In fact, they were 50% more likely to die than patients without diabetes. 


Researchers have not yet figured out exactly why diabetes contributes to breast cancer mortality, but they have some ideas: 
  • Women with Type-II diabetes tend to have their breast cancer diagnosed later than women without diabetes.
  • Diabetes weakens the body, making it more susceptible to bad side effects of chemotherapy.
  • Doctors are less willing to use aggressive cancer treatments on diabetics because they are apt to have negative health effects overall.
  • Type-II diabetes often causes obesity and elevated insulin levels, which may have an impact on the breast cancer.

Here at Moveable Feast, we see and understand the health complications that our breast cancer clients can face. We are glad we can help provide nutritious meals and dietetic advice to improve their health and ability to battle cancer. 

3.22.2011

Starter Plant Update!

How are our starter plants doing? In the office, we are currently growing:
  • Prizetaker Leek
  • Yellow of Parma Onion
  • Long Red Florence Onion
  • Beams Yellow Pear Tomato
  • Winningstadt Cabbage
  • Tequila Sunrise Pepper
  • Hot Pepper
  • Aji Crystal Pepper

Starter plants in the beginning - mid-February 2011.


Mid-February 2011.
Mid-March 2011. Look how much they've grown!

We are still in need of volunteers to grow starter plants in their homes for our Garden Program. Click here for more information and put your green thumb to good use!

3.17.2011

Happy 3rd Birthday to our HQ!

Today we celebrated the 3rd anniversary of being housed in our permanent headquarters, located at 901 N. Milton Avenue.

After years of location-hopping throughout Baltimore, on March 17th, 2008, we were overjoyed to finally settle in to our permanent home in the Harry & Jeanette Weinberg Community Center.


Our building had been completely rehabilitated and refurbished by the Historic East Baltimore Community Action Coalition (HEBCAC), beginning in 1997.

Today we celebrated with some pizza and cupcakes!

For more information about our building, please click here.

3.16.2011

Eat Right With Red!

This month is National Nutrition Month, and we are "Eating Right With Color." Lots of colorful ingredients not only improve the visual appearance and appeal of your food, but also can make it a whole lot healthier! 

According to the ADA, red-colored fruits and vegetables can "help maintain a healthy heart, vision, and immune system." 

Some red fruits include cherries, cranberries, pomegranates, red grapefruits, pink grapefruits, red grapes, and watermelons.


Ruby red grapefruit
Some red vegetables include beets, red onions, red peppers, kidney beans, rhubarb, and tomatoes.


Kidney beans
These are easy to incorporate into daily eating habits. For example, you could:
  • Make a fruit salad and throw in some cherries, grapes, and cranberries.
  • Try making a beet pork roast - it's delicious, and has a rich red hue.
  • Cooking up some chili? Spice it up with some red peppers, red onions, and kidney beans. 
  • Take a grapefruit on-the-go by bringing a knife and spoon. Slice it in half, scoop out the insides, and you've got a tasty, healthy snack!

3.15.2011

Ride for the Feast Events & Opportunities

It’s not too late to get involved as a Rider or Crewmember for Ride for the Feast 2011, taking place on May 14-15th, 2011.

Riders commit to raising $1,300 for Moveable Feast by the day of the Ride. During the two-day bike ride, Riders travel 140 miles, commemorating the distance to our farthest client. Crewmembers assist throughout the Ride by working pit stops, serving as a support & gear (SAG) driver, assisting at overnight stop areas, and sharing their expertise in our bike technician or medical assistance teams.

To learn more about the Ride for the Feast 2011, and to get involved and register, please visit the RFTF website.

Riding through Baltimore on Day 2 of the Ride for the Feast 2010.
We have over a hundred Riders and Crewmembers signed up so far. Support them by attending team fundraisers and events. In March, you can expect to see:
  • Wednesday, March 23rd: Team Diet Tribe at a dinnertime fundraiser at Noodles & Company in Owings Mills. 
  • Sunday, March 27th: Team Bike Curious and Fierce Chicks Rock at their Third Annual 80s Roller Disco at Dundalk Skateland.
  • Monday, March 28th is the last day to enter the raffle to win a brand-new Fuji 3.0 Absolute Hybrid bicycle. Raffle tickets are $10 and benefit Team DragonFLY. For more information, click here.
  • Tuesday, March 29th: Team Diet Tribe at a dinnertime fundraiser at Baja Fresh in Fairfax, Virginia.
For more information and to see all upcoming RFTF fundraising events, please click here.

Start with a Starter Plant: Calling All Green Thumb Do-Gooders!




City life doesn’t mean that you can’t spy a bit of green here and there. Amid the concrete, brick, and asphalt, Baltimore City has gardens all around – you just have to know where to look.

And if you’re having trouble, consider growing some green in your own home.


Moveable Feast began its Garden Program last year, with a two-fold purpose: to grow fresh produce for use in our nutritious meals and grocery bags, and to engage people in their local community gardens. With Year 2 of the Garden Program now swinging into full gear, we’ve obtained even more acreage, and it’s an ideal time to get involved.


Duncan Street Miracle Garden, where Moveable Feast has a plot.

An easy way is by growing a starter plant. Choose from our extensive list of produce options, plant some seeds, and tend to the seedling as it grows and matures. If you need help along the way, you can always contact any of our three dietitians for advice. In May, when the last frost has passed, you can transplant your seedling into our gardens. Summer rains and heat will help your plant to grow and yield produce for our clients!

We kick-off the spring planting season at the end of March, after which you can volunteer in our gardens anytime. Right now, we’re looking for volunteers to help set up the garden. In particular, this involves rehabilitating the garden by weeding and adding soil and compost.


Pepper and tomato starter plants - easy to grow at home.

For more information about growing a starter plant and volunteering in our garden, please visit our website.

3.14.2011

Debbie's Garden

Moveable Feast receives fresh produce from a Baltimore City community garden tended by longtime volunteers at Moveable Feast. This is the story of the Lake Garden, written by one of our volunteers.

It was a very sad day on our block when it filtered out that our neighbor, Debbie had succumbed to her cancer. Debbie had just had her first child, a beautiful girl named Anjolie, a year earlier.

Months later we watched as Debbie's cherished garden grew wild, choked with weeds and fell apart.

Paul, her husband – an emergency room doctor attempting to raise their child – had no time for such trivial matters.

I approached him and asked if perhaps I could help out and clean the garden. Not being a gardener, I asked another neighbor to assist so that I would not pull out the wrong plants. She suggested that we give the garden purpose and plant some vegetables.

With Paul's permission, we proceeded.

The Lake Garden in 2010.

As we worked, other neighbors gravitated to the garden, making suggestions or digging right in to help. People that had previously done little more than wave in passing…became fast friends.

When our crops began to flourish one of the gardeners suggested donating some of our food to Moveable Feast, and it was well received by your chef.

That was our first year.

This year we are donating the majority of our crop to Moveable Feast . Of course, a few tomatoes or lettuce may end up in a neighbor's salad bowl, but the bulk will go to your worthy cause. Paul was quite gracious about this.

Last year we made a plaque for the garden: "In Memory of Debbie.” We watched proudly from our window as Paul showed off the plaque and garden to his friends.

This year the garden will have a dual purpose. To sustain the memory of a wonderful lady and to support your exceptional cause.

The Lake Garden in its current state, getting ready to be planted in the springtime!
Written by Sue and collaborated by Jeanne, neighbors to Debbie and Paul and current tenders to the Lake Garden in Baltimore City.
 

3.13.2011

Moveable Feast Heads to the Big Apple!

Get Ready for the Ride of Your Life
 

"PRISCILLA, QUEEN OF THE DESERT: THE MUSICAL is the feel-good theatrical experience of the year! Based on the smash-hit movie, PRISCILLA is the heart-warming, uplifting adventure of three friends who hop aboard a battered old bus searching for love and friendship and end up finding more than they could have ever dreamed of. With a dazzling array of outrageous costumes and a hit parade of dance-floor favorites, this wildly fresh and funny new musical is a journey to the heart of FABULOUS!







Hop aboard the Moveable Feast bus for a trip on November 5th, 2011 to see Priscilla, Queen of the Desert. Tickets are $200 if purchased before June 1st and include roundtrip transportation, continental breakfast, mezzanine seats for the musical, and a few other surprises! ;)

To reserve your spot on this "journey to the heart of fabulous," please contact John O'Brien at 410-935-0143
or at jeobrienjr@gmail.com.



click to enlarge

3.12.2011

Yes, Real Men Wear Pink.

Moveable Feast partners with the Maryland Affiliate of Susan G. Komen for the Cure to feed women and their families living with breast cancer.

But men can get breast cancer too. On Sunday, March 20th, join brothers, fathers, husbands, sons, etc. as they gather at Max's Taphouse for the REAL MEN WEAR PINK fundraiser, complete with drink specials, cool guy raffle prizes, and lots of male bonding.

All funds raised will be donated to Komen Maryland.

Click to enlarge

3.11.2011

Baltimore's Best Grilled Cheese Sandwich

When March - National Nutrition Month - ends in a few weeks, it will be high time to kick back and enjoy some delicious comfort food.

April is National Grilled Cheese Month - who knew?! - and we're inviting everyone to Mt. Washington Tavern's 1st Annual Grilled Cheese Sandwich Cook-Off!

From 2:00-4:00PM on Sunday, April 10th, see local top chefs and home cooks battle it out for the best grilled cheese sandwich, live at Mt. Washington Tavern. You'll even get to enjoy a tasting of each of the competing sandwiches.

There will be two competitions - one among the top chefs, and one among the layman home cooks. 

Six (6) top chefs have been secured, and include:
Home cooks are invited to submit their original recipe for a chance to be one of three (3) to compete in the finals on April 10th.



Judging categories include Best Professional, Best Home Cook, Crowd Pleaser, and Kid's Choice. 

Moveable Feast will receive all proceeds from the $10 entry fee (children ten years and under are free), which includes the cook-off, tasting, and one complimentary signature cocktail designed especially to be paired with grilled cheese. A match made in cheese heaven.

Tickets to this event are sold online (click here) and will likely sell out online. Any remaining tickets will be sold at the door for the same price. Buy yours today to ensure you can get in!

Click here to add yourself to the official Facebook event

For more information, visit Grilled Cheese Sandwich Cook-Off Details or contact Mikey Monaghan at mam@mikeymonaghan.com.

3.10.2011

National Women & Girls HIV/AIDS Awareness Day

National Woman and Girls HIV/AIDS Awareness Day (NWGHAAD) is a nationwide initiative recognized on March 10th each year. It raises awareness of the increasing impact of HIV/AIDS on women and girls. 

Approximately 1 in 4 Americans living with HIV are women. 

Here at Moveable Feast, 46% of our clients are female. We see firsthand the impact and prevalence of HIV/AIDS on women and girls.

In Maryland, 
  • The proportion of new HIV diagnoses among women in Maryland has more than doubled since 1985: from 15% to 35.3%.
  • In 2009, 36% of Marylanders living with HIV/AIDS were women, mostly in their middle ages between 30 and 49.
____________________________________


This week, the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DHMH) has partnered with numerous community agencies and organizations to raise awareness of females and HIV/AIDS. Here are some of the HIV awareness events taking place this week:

On Thursday, March 10th:
On Friday, March 11th:
  • 3:00PM-5:30PM. The White House will hold a panel in the Eisenhower Executive Office. IDEHA director Heather Hauck will be present!

3.09.2011

Recognizing our Dietitians on Registered Dietitian Day

Wednesday, March 9th, 2011 is Registered Dietitian Day, created by the American Dietetic Association. Today is a day to recognize and celebrate the commitment of RDs across the nation. Their efforts go a long way in improving the health, nutrition, and quality of life for their clients. Here at Moveable Feast, we have a great team of three dietitians. Jinee Burdg, Sara McClean, and Betty Simon-Ogan are committed to helping our clients on an individualized basis.


Sara, Betty, and Jinee

March is also National Nutrition Month, themed this year as “Eat Right With Color.” Our dietitians this month are encouraging and helping clients find colorful fruits and vegetables that are easily integrated into their diets.

Each year, Moveable Feast services more than two thousand Marylanders living with HIV/AIDS, breast cancer, and other conditions. Health complications, poverty, and other circumstances often push proper nutrition out of reach for our clients. Our clients may be too weak to make trips to the supermarket or to even prepare meals at home alone. Clients may manage multiple diseases at once, potentially pose conflicting and stringent dietary requirements. And when money is tight, eating right may simply be too expensive. That’s where Moveable Feast steps in. Our nutritious meals and groceries enable our clients to become healthier and thus better equipped to overcome their illnesses.

And the efforts of our excellent dietitian team are visible in every aspect of Moveable Feast services. Supervisory dietitian Jinee Burdg and chef Damon Hersh work together to carefully construct menus for different client populations. This can get quite complicated! Some clients have special dietary needs due to their medical history, such as diabetes, renal failure, lactose-intolerance, or insufficient teeth (requiring a soft-foods diet). Clients who have extremely low body weight are put on our high protein diet, which helps them to gain weight quickly. We also serve clients of varying religious or philosophical beliefs, who may choose a vegetarian, non-pork, no-seafood, or all-seafood diet. We even offer a Buena Comida meal plan, designed to be more Latin-friendly.

It’s easy to see that designing the perfect menu takes meticulous and careful effort. Jinee and Damon collaborate closely to come up with the most nutritious menu possible. For instance, Damon composes the general menus for the frozen meals, which are used in our Daily Home Delivered Meals program, Groceries-To-Go/Meals For A Week program, and also “dropped” at community centers in Baltimore. Jinee evaluates the menus, making comments and substitutions for different client populations, using her dietetic expertise.

Part of the evaluation includes a nutrient analysis on the menus. The dietitians look at the amount of calories, protein, fat, carbohydrates, vitamin D, potassium, phosphorus, and sodium in the meals, among other nutrients. Sodium, or salt, levels are especially important when evaluating the renal menus. And vitamin D is thought to be important in fighting HIV.

Yet Jinee, Sara, and Betty are never confined to the offices at Moveable Feast. Each week, they make home visits all across Maryland to visit clients one-on-one in a free nutritional counseling appointment. Each client benefits from a home visit one or two times a year, though appointments can be more frequent if more in-depth assessment is vital. Each home visit kicks off with the simple question of “what did you have to eat yesterday?” and then delves into a thoughtful conversation about the client’s eating habits. The dietitian takes the client’s weight, and also performs a quick BIA (bioelectrical impedance analysis), which is used in a useful body fat analysis. Afterwards, the client works with the dietitian to set nutrition goals, and even receives personalized diet advice.

Yet home visits mean so much more to our clients than simply a routine nutritional appointment. Many clients lead isolated lives, and our dietitians may be the only people they interact with that day. By sharing stories and enjoying conversation with our dietitians, our clients are happier people. And by enabling them to take control of their health through their eating habits, our clients feel more empowered to fight their illness. It is truly in these home visits that our dietitians embody the Moveable Feast mission – to feed people, fight disease, and foster hope.


For more information about Moveable Feast meal delivery and nutritional counseling services, please visit our website.

For more information about National Nutrition Month and Registered Dietitian Day, please visit the American Dietetic Association website

3.08.2011

Expanding Our Services

Moveable Feast reaches out to more and more Marylanders each year. In 2010, recall that we formed a relationship with There Goes My Hero to provide meals to patients living with blood cancers (leukemia). 

On Wednesday, March 2nd, we signed a small food service contract with the DRU/Mondawmin (DRUM) Healthy Families organization. DRUM provides neo-natal services to women who are at high-risk for miscarriage due to drug use and/or HIV. We will now begin providing nutrition to DRUM clients via a congregate meal for 32 people each Wednesday.

Last week, we also received authorization from the Department of Health & Mental Hygiene to provide services to homebound adults with disabilities. This would cover a wide range of people, not excluding those with HIV or other life-threatening conditions.

3.07.2011

Moveable Feast at the Komen Appreciation Reception

On Thursday, March 3rd, Moveable Feast development staff attended the annual appreciation reception for the Maryland Affiliate of Susan G. Komen for the Cure. The event was held at the Marriott in Hunt Valley, MD. It was great to see all the supporters and representatives of partner organizations all gathered in one location. We enjoyed the evening very much.




3.04.2011

Bottom Line: Smoking is Unhealthy


The researchers looked at data for nearly 150,000 women over 30 years. The research was lauded for its large size, which made the results quite reliable.

Robert Pattinson smoking an electronic cigarette, which is not associated with any health risks. (c) Examiner.com
The researchers found that "pre-menopausal heavy smokers had a 6% increase in breast cancer malignancy."

Light or moderate smoking and second-hand smoke were not found as significant factors for cancer, however.

In the past, studies have suggested that smoking can help reduce levels of estrogen a hormone that can stimulate the onset of breast cancer. In fact, women have been known to smoke after menopause, thinking that it reduces the risk of breast cancer!

Research results about breast cancer and smoking have a long history of being conflicting and confusing. What's Moveable Feast's final conclusion about the topic? Not much is definitively known yet about how smoking affects breast cancer, and overall, it's better to not smoke.


P.S. Save the date for the Race for the Cure on Sunday, October 23rd, 2011, sponsored by the Maryland Affiliate of Susan G. Komen for the Cure. 

P.P.S. Looking for something sooner to partake in? Consider going to Komen's "Many Faces of Breast Cancer 2011," on Saturday, March 26th. Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake, whose own mother was affected by breast cancer, will be the keynote speaker. 

3.03.2011

HopeSprings: The Journey

Moveable Feast partners with HopeSprings, a Christian organization that dreams of restoring hope and healing to those affected by HIV/AIDS' through awareness initiatives and education, community engagement, & partnerships with organizations and churches. 

click to enlarge
HopeSprings has a new volunteer opportunity called The Journey, which equips people to serve at partner organizations, completing vital work for the HIV/AIDS community and supporters. 

The Journey consists of a 6-week volunteer training held at Gallery Church (1407 Fleet St.) on Thursday evenings, beginning next week.

HopeSprings is an important partner agency with Moveable Feast. Help us spread the word about this great program!

For more information about The Journey, please contact lferland@hopesprings.org or 443-212-5354. 

3.02.2011

Colorful, Healthy Salads

As mentioned yesterday, this month is National Nutrition Month, with a theme of "Eat Right With Color."

It can be all too easy to boil your diet down to the same old colors. Interestingly, psychology has shown that Americans associate shades of reds and yellows with more "delicious" foods than greens and purples. You could even call them the "McDonald's" colors. Unfortunately, diets that are not varied can also be unhealthy. 

A great way to introduce more color and better nutrition into your meals this month is to eat more salads. Here are our tips for creating better salads:
  • Instead of consuming a salad of iceberg lettuce, consider adding darker leaved greens such as spinach or romaine. Darker hues mean higher levels of important nutrients.
  • Always add salad toppings like kidney beans, tomatoes, broccoli, carrots, etc. to boost the nutrition levels AND the color factor!
  • When picking a salad dressing, avoid creamy dressings and opt for the vinaigrette. When available, always choose a light version!
  • Don't use too much dressing! A good way to evenly distribute a small amount of dressing on your salad is to put it in a tupperware and shake it up.
(c) Michael Werner graphics

Choosing a healthy salad dressing can often be the hardest part, with so many choices in the supermarket. Here are some tips for making your decision:
  • A good rule-of-thumb is to look for dressings that contain < 8 grams of fat and < 300 mg of sodium per serving. These are typically "lighter" dressings.
  • Check out the ingredient list - use dressings with canola or olive oil, which contain healthier fats.

3.01.2011

March is National Nutrition Month

Happy March!

Did you know that March is also National Nutrition Month? The theme this year is "Eat Right With Color." 

Look out for high-powered, ultra-useful Weekly Health Tips from our dietitians on Wednesdays, starting tomorrow!

March 9th is Registered Dietitian Day. We'll be taking a closer look at what our dietitians do for our clients!