What's New in Natural Foods

October 2008

Hello Everyone

I'm getting this newsletter out a little earlier than usual, so that you'll have time to consider attending Women's Wellness and Adventure Weekend at the Audubon Center of the North Woods. This is a fabulous weekend and I encourage you attend if at all possible--see details below.

Also, in this issue, I'll fill you in on the magic of mushrooms-a truly nutritious, healthy and versatile food. And if you're in the Twin Cities area, check out the classes I'll be teaching at the Wedge (see the sidebar of this newsletter)-you'll learn how to eat well despite being busy, and how food can affect the moods and behavior of children and adolescents.

And let me take a moment to toot my own horn -- The September 11 edition of the Minneapolis Star Tribune featured Dinner with Jennette in its popular weekly Taste section. I hope you enjoy a beautiful and bountiful fall!

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Wonderful Women's Weekend of Wellness

The Audubon Center of the North Woods, near Sandstone in east-central Minnesota, is hosting its annual Women's Wellness and Adventure weekend October 3-5th, and there is still time to register. I apologize for the short notice, but if you can arrange to get away - by yourself or with a group of friends or family, it'll be well worth the trip. Located in a beautiful setting of woods and prairie, on the shore of Grindstone Lake, this is a weekend that can be filled with relaxing or exciting activities of your choice: yoga, massage, hiking, reiki, scrap booking, raptors, beading, canoeing, nutrition classes (that's where I come in) and more. I've been teaching at this event for four years and I'm really excited to be going back. The chef, who uses local and organic ingredients whenever possible, creates outstanding meals.

The Audubon Center of the North Woods is a nonprofit residential environmental learning center, offering a great variety of environmental experiences for people of all ages, with programming in natural history and science, team-building, adventure programming, and outdoor/environmental education. Whether you're involved in teaching or simply have a personal love of the outdoors, you should be acquainted with the center. Wildlife, energy and weather, Elderhostel, and youth and family programs, plus occasional dinners and brunches make the Audubon Center a very special place to visit.

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Marvelous Mushrooms

Mushrooms have been valued for their healing properties and used medicinally for over 6,000 years in Asia. Western medicine has been slower to recognize their powers, but scientists are finally "discovering" some of the reasons for mushrooms' remarkable health enhancing abilities. One of them is a complex sugar called lentian, which is primarily found in shitake, maitake and oyster mushrooms. Lentian is a powerful cancer fighter that boosts the immune system and inhibits tumor growth. Also found in the mushroom's bag of healing tricks is L-ergothionine, an antioxidant (again, most concentrated in shitake, maitake and oyster mushrooms) that helps prevent heart disease.

What about the more common grocery store mushrooms? It turns out the humble button mushrooms are one of the best sources for free-radical scavenging compounds that protect our cells. And all mushrooms, including button mushrooms, are impressive when it comes to helping to lower blood pressure. Cremini and portabella mushrooms are loaded with nutrition as well as disease-fighting properties. They're an excellent source of B vitamins, especially riboflavin (vitamin B2), which helps with energy production in the body; copper, which helps keep blood vessels and joints flexible; selenium, an antioxidant that works with vitamin E; and zinc, the most important mineral for the immune system.

Always Available
Cultivated mushrooms (button, cremini, portabella) are available year-round, and are grown in a wide variety of locales, including the chilly upper Midwest and northeast, which is a boon to locavores. Wild mushrooms are harder to come by, but are intermittently available at Farmer's markets, co-ops and specialty groceries. Look for chicken-of-the-woods, puff ball, and chanterelle mushrooms this fall.

If you're the outdoors type, you can forage for wild mushrooms yourself. The Minnesota Mycological Society has classes that teach people how to identify and use wild mushrooms. A few cautionary words: "There are old mushroom hunters, and bold mushroom hunters, but there are no old, bold mushroom hunters!"

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Savory, Scrumptious October Meals

Now that fall has settled in, it feels good to get back into the swing of cooking and enjoy the season's produce. Dinner with Jennette will inspire you to continue eating as locally as possible with seasonal fare such as "Butternut Squash Soup with Browned Butter and Garlic," "Apple, Cheddar and Bacon Quesadillas" and "Curried Lamb and Root Vegetable Stew."

And as you might guess, I'm featuring mushrooms this month. "Stuffed Portabella Mushrooms with Gruyere and Hazelnuts," "Peppered Pork Chops with Mushroom Gravy" and "Turkey Meatloaf with Walnuts and Shitake Mushrooms" will make your taste buds as happy as your immune systems.

If you want balanced, healthful meals that taste good and aren't fussy to make, subscribe to Dinner with Jennette. Beginners and experienced cooks alike will appreciate the time-saving service and delicious variety.

As always, I'd love to hear from you. And please use the forwarding option to send this newsletter to anyone who might be interested in healthful food. Thank you.

Best, Jennette