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No. 2050 March 24th, 2008 |
POSITIVE ATTITUDE ENHANCES OVERALL HEALTH
People who have high levels of "emotional vitality" and are able to effectively manage their emotions, are less likely to develop coronary heart disease, according to a study in the December 4 issue of the Archives of General Psychiatry.
"Emotional vitality is being psychologically healthy," says Laura D. Kubzansky, PhD. Associate professor in the Department of Society, Human Development, and Health at Harvard School of Public Health and lead author of the study.
The study evaluated 6,265 men and women over a 20-year period to determine their risk of coronary heart disease. At the start of the study, the mean age of participants was about 48.
Participants were given a "General Well-being Schedule" test to measure mood, vitality, emotional self-control and other factors. The results showed that those who had the highest scores for emotional vitality were 20 percent less likely to develop coronary heart disease.
To enhance positive psychological functioning:
Write down your strengths and make a point to focus on them. Reach out and help someone else on a regular basis. Take up hobbies or join groups that will get you involved and out of the house. Exercise to help your heart as well as your mind by improving blood flow. Do things you enjoy, whether it's sewing, cooking a pot of soup, reading or taking a walk.
Source: Duke Medicine HealthNews, March 2008.
PUDDING, A COMFORT FOOD
A butterscotch pudding recipe in the January/February Cooking Light magazine was the first to catch my attention, mainly because homemade butterscotch and chocolate pudding are so much better than the box mix or ready-to-eat kind. When the ready-to-eat one is on sale I see customers buy it in quantities. Granted, it's handy to send in packed lunches but lacks the flavor of made-from-scratch puddings. I made pudding often when our children were little. They also liked baked custard and I wasn't above serving a vegetable they didn't care for when I had pudding or baked custard for dessert. They didn't have to eat a full serving but I insisted that they taste the vegetable of the day or they didn't get dessert. I'm sure modern psychologists would frown on my approach but it worked for me and didn't warp their personalities.
A week ago I made butterscotch pudding from a recipe in the latest Betty Crocker basic cookbook. It was made with regular brown sugar. Yesterday I tried the Cooking Light one made with dark brown sugar. After tasting both, I prefer the dark brown sugar pudding because the butterscotch taste is more pronounced. I skipped the reduced-calorie whipped topping although if you're serving it to company, you may want to top it with a dollop. Talk about a comfort food, butterscotch pudding certainly qualifies! |
BUTTERSCOTCH PUDDING
1 cup packed dark brown sugar
- 1/4 cup cornstarch
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 3 cups 1 percent milk, divided
- 1 large egg, lightly beaten
- 1 egg yolk, lightly beaten
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Combine dark brown sugar, cornstarch and salt. Gradually whisk in 2 cups milk; stir with whisk and cook on medium heat until mixture registers 180 degrees or mixture bubbles around the edge. DO NOT BOIL. Combine remaining cup of milk and eggs. Gradually add 1 cup hot milk mixture to egg mixture. Stirring constantly, return blended mixture to saucepan and continue cooking until mixture boils 1 minute. Remove from heat; stir in butter and vanilla. Spoon 2/3 cup into each dessert dish or ramekin. Cool and refrigerate. Recipe makes 6 servings.
Source: Cooking Light magazine recipe, January/February 2008 issue.
ENTREE FROM CAMPBELL KITCHEN.COM
Monday through Friday via e-mail I get a daily recipe from Campbell's Kitchen. Yesterday it was a dinner-in-a-dish type entree called Citrus Chicken and Rice. Rachel Ray isn't the only one with 30 minute recipes. Here again, it was made with 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts and I replaced them with 8 boneless, skinless thighs (2 thighs per serving). I used the entire 16-ounce carton of Swanson Chicken Broth although the recipe called for 1 3/4 cup. For a cup of whole grain rice, I didn't think it would be too much and it wasn't. Although the recipe doesn't say so I recommend salt and pepper to taste on the browned thighs.
CITRUS CHICKEN AND RICE
- 8 boneless, skinless chicken thighs
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 16-ounce container (2 cups)
Swanson Chicken Broth
- 1/2 cup orange juice
- 1/2 cup chopped onion
- 1 cup regular long grain rice (I use Uncle Ben's)
- 3 tablespoons minced fresh parsley
Cook chicken in 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat 10 minutes or until browned. Salt and pepper to taste. Set chicken aside. Add broth, orange juice and onion to skillet and loosen any particles from bottom of skillet. Heat to a boil, cover and cook on low heat for 10 minutes. Return chicken to skillet. Cover and cook an additional 10 minutes or until chicken and rice are done. Stir in parsley. Recipe makes 4 servings. |
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