What's Cookin? Tuesday - Turkey Stuffed Cabbage

Kareen Patterson, Nutrition Program Assistant

Eat Your Colors

Fruits and vegetables come in a rainbow of colors. Eat a variety of colorful fruits and vegetables every day-red, yellow/orange, white, green and blue/purple. These may lower your risk of some cancers. Cabbages come in a variety of colors including green, white, yellow, red and purple. However, their nutritional content classifies them in the green and blue/purple color groups.

GREEN helps maintain vision health and strong bones and teeth. Examples of GREEN fruits and vegetables are: Green, Chinese and Savoy cabbages; kohlrabi; kale; broccoli; Brussels sprouts; cherimoya; avocados; chard; mustard greens; green beans; peas; collard greens.

BLUE/ PURPLE helps maintain healthy aging, memory, function and urinary tract health. Examples of BLUE/ PURPLE fruits and vegetables are: Purple and red cabbages; eggplant; plums; figs; raisins; blueberries, purple grapes.

Try out this fantastic Cabbage Recipe, and Eat Your Colors!

Turkey Stuffed Cabbage

Ingredients:

1 head cabbage

1/2 pound lean ground beef

1/2 pound ground turkey

1 small onion, minced

1 slice stale whole wheat bread, crumbled

1 Tablespoon lemon juice

1/4 cup water

1/8 teaspoon black pepper

1 can (16 oz) diced tomatoes

1 small onion, sliced

1 cup water

1 medium carrot, sliced

1 Tablespoon lemon juice

2 Tablespoons brown sugar

1 Tablespoon corn starch

Instructions:

1. Rinse and core cabbage. Carefully remove 10 outer leaves, place in saucepan, and cover with boiling water. Simmer 5 minutes. Remove and drain cooked cabbage leaves on paper towels.

2. Shred 1/2 cup of raw cabbage and set aside.

3. Brown ground beef and turkey and minced onion in skillet. Drain fat.

4. Place cooked and drained meat mixture, bread crumbs, water, and pepper into mixing bowl.

5. Drain tomatoes, reserving liquid, and add 1/2 cup of tomato juice from can to meat mixture. Mix well; then place 1/4 cup of filling on each parboiled, drained cabbage leaf. Place folded side down in skillet.

6. Add tomatoes, sliced onion, water, shredded cabbage, and carrot. Cover and simmer about 1 hour (or until cabbage is tender), basting occasionally.

7. Remove cabbage rolls to serving platter; keep warm.

8. Mix lemon juice, brown sugar, and cornstarch together in small bowl. Add to vegetables and liquid in skillet, and cook, stirring occasionally, until thickened and clear. Serve over cabbage rolls.

Cost:

Per Recipe: $ 5.32

Per Serving: $ 1.06

Science Specialists!

Katie O'Looney and Nicole Lafreniere, Supervising Teachers

On Thursday, February 18th, the CalSERVES Science Specialists met for our 2nd meeting of the school year. At the meeting, each specialist shared a lesson plan that worked extremely well for them and troubleshooted through challenges they've had this year. Across all sites, the primary grades love learning about animals, the solar system, scientific physical activity games, and bubbles. The upper grade students have been learning about friction, the human body, the life cycle, and different habitats.

At our next meeting we'll have the mentors teach each other a fun quick science experiment. They received a new resource from the California Coastal Commission called "Waves, Wetlands and Watersheds" that they're all excited to use. It was a great time and we're looking forward to seeing some more amazing science lessons from the mentors!

Fieldtrip to Chops Teen Club

Natashia Suka, AmeriCorps Team Leader at RAMS

Roseland Accelerated Middle School (RAMS) had their first field trip of the year; we walked to the Chops Teen Club in downtown Santa Rosa!! Yay!! Between the "Are we there yet?!”, the "ugh... why didn't we take the bus", and the "Ms. Tashia! I hhaaaatttteee walking," our walks to and from Chops were amusing to say the least.

All the griping slowly came to a stop as we got closer to the building, the kids were getting excited to get in and explore the different rooms and activities that Chops had to offer! As an incentive and encouragement to get into extra curricular activities, we opted to sign the kids up for a Chops membership so they can go back whenever they want as opposed to just going with after school.

Even though we were only there for a short time, the kids still had fun! They got a chance to hang out, surf the web, shoot hoops, learn a little pool, do some art, and listen to music! What a fun experience for our RAMS kids!

To learn more about the Chops Teen Club, visit their website: www.chopsonline.com

What's Cookin? Tuesday - Rainbow Coleslaw

Kristen Mowers, CalSERVES Nutrition Coordinator

St. Patrick’s Day is coming up, which means corned beef and CABBAGE for many people. Instead of boiling it, which is delicious, why not try it a different way?

Rainbow Coleslaw

Ingredients

2 cups thinly sliced red cabbage

2 cups thinly sliced green cabbage

½ cup chopped yellow or red bell pepper

½ cup shredded carrots

1⁄3 cup chopped red onion

½ cup fat free mayonnaise

1 tablespoon red wine vinegar

¼ teaspoon celery seed (optional)

½ cup lowfat Cheddar cheese, cut into bite-size cubes

Preparation

1. In a large bowl, combine all the vegetables.

2. In a small bowl, mix mayonnaise, vinegar, and celery seed (if desired) to make a dressing.

3. Pour the dressing over the vegetable mixture and toss until well coated.

4. Toss salad with cheese and serve chilled.

A serving of cabbage is one cup raw shredded leaves (about two cupped handfuls). When cooked, this is about one-half cup. Eating a variety of colorful fruits and vegetables each day will help you reach your total daily needs.

Enjoy!

AmeriCorps Members Make A Difference

Kathleen Chosa, CalSERVES Program Coordinator 

It’s hard to believe but we are already at the mid-point of the program year for most of our AmeriCorps members! Before we know it this program year will be done and we will be looking back at how our members measured up and the goals they accomplished.

We currently have 230 members serving in numerous locations across our state, north from the Sonoma and Napa County areas to the south of San Diego County. As of the end of January our members have served over 177,000 hours, making tremendous strides forward in serving the needs of children and families in some of California’s economically hardest hit communities. They have done so in a wide variety of ways such as developing and organizing on-going volunteer bases for non-profit organizations, offering one-on-one literacy tutoring to elementary school age children struggling to read, and providing 1st-8th grade at-risk students with safe educational/ enrichment/ mentoring after-school programs to attend, free of charge, Monday - Friday. 

Our AmeriCorps members in the CalSERVES, the California’s Promise, or the Volunteer Infrastructure Project (VIP) programs are truly measuring up, really "Making a Difference" in the communities in which they’ve dedicated their service.

Deeply Rewarding

Adam Kaufman, Wright School Volunteer

Beginning in October of 2009, I began volunteering at Wright Elementary School two days a week, helping with classroom activities and assisting students with their homework. Since this was my first time working with kids I didn’t quite know what to expect when I showed up the first day. Would the kids benefit from my help? How do I go about interacting with them? Would they even like me?

My doubts were quickly dispelled over the first few weeks. The kids were responsive and enthusiastic about having another adult around to play games with and to help them with their homework. And as far as wondering how to interact with them, observing the great example and standards set by the after school leaders were an invaluable training tool for me.

This experience has proved to be deeply rewarding. Having another adult around to provide help with their homework is extremely valuable to the kids. Seeing both their understanding of the material and their grades improve is proof that my time is being well employed. So far, I have developed great relationships with many of the kids, and I look forward to seeing them every week.

What's Cookin'? Tuesday - Cinnamon Baked Goldens

Kristen Mowers, Nutrition Coordinator, CalSERVES 

Reasons to Eat Dried Fruits 

One serving of most dried fruits provides:

1. A source of dietary fiber
2. Potassium, which the body needs to maintain muscle contractions and a healthy nervous system
3. Iron, an essential mineral for maintaining the delivery of oxygen throughout the body
4. A source of calcium, Vitamin A, Vitamin C, B-complex vitamins and magnesium.

 Have fun trying this healthy dessert idea.
 

Cinnamon Baked Goldens

Serve alone or with vanilla frozen yogurt and a sprinkle of lowfat granola.

Makes 4 servings. 1 apple per serving.

Prep time: 10 minutes Cook time: 10 minutes

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

Ingredients

4 large golden delicious apples, cored

¼ cup raisins

½ cup 100% apple juice

2 tablespoons brown sugar

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1 teaspoon grated lemon peel

½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

1⁄8 teaspoon nutmeg

Preparation

1. Place apples in a microwave safe baking dish.

2. Fill each apple with an equal amount of raisins.

3. Combine all remaining ingredients in a small bowl and pour over apples. Cover with plastic wrap and microwave on high for 5 minutes or until apples are tender.

4. Carefully remove apples from dish with a slotted spoon and set aside.

5. Place baking dish back in the microwave and cook on high, uncovered, for 3 to 5 minutes more or until mixture has thickened to a glaze. Drizzle over apples and serve while hot.

Nutrition information per serving: Calories 156, Carbohydrate 41 g, Dietary Fiber 3 g, Protein 1 g, Total Fat 0 g, Saturated Fat 0 g, Trans Fat 0 g, Cholesterol 0 mg, Sodium 5 mg

What's Cookin'? Tuesday - Trail Mix

Kristen Mowers,  CalSERVES Nutrition Program Coordinator

Have you ever wondered "How do fruits dry?" Fruits become dry when their moisture content drops below 20 percent. Dried fruits are the result of either natural or mechanical processes. California’s grape growers happened upon raisins accidentally when an early heat wave dried the grapes on the vine. California plums, by comparison, are dehydrated by machines that lower the moisture content to about 15 percent.

Try this easy recipe for a quick, healthy snack:

For more healthy recipes explore http://recipefinder.nal.usda.gov/