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Java-powered!

Next time you head out for a run or over to the gym, you may want to stop at the coffee shop first. Researches have linked caffeine consumption with improved athletic performance. The New York Times has the story, here. Remember, it’s not a perfromance enhancing drug, it’s a latte!

Meals With Love

Here at Open Hand, we often sum up our mission with the simple phrase, meals with love. We believe that the power of food extends beyond nutrition; we are firm believers in the power of healthy food but we also recognize that food plays a role in our lives that goes beyond simply nourishing the body. The Philadelphia Examiner has a great article on the role of nutrition food in cancer patient care:

Certified Master Chef Jack Shoop is a man who appreciates the health value of organic foods. In August 2008, the Culinary Institute of America’s honors graduate, educator, and restaurateur returned to his native Philadelphia to put his extraordinary culinary skills to work as Executve Chef, now also Director of the Dietary Department, at that city’s Cancer Treatment Centers of America facility, whose care model revolves around an individualized, integrated, patient-centered approach to treating advanced cases of cancer.

Charged with revitalizing the culinary and dining experience, one of the aspects of the Center’s whole-person treatment model, Chef Shoop is doing just that. A key ingredient he and his staff of 51 serve in every dish they prepare is that which comes from the heart: a deeply caring attitude. “Why am I doing this?” he asks. “For one reason, it’s going to give the cancer patients a better opportunity for them to get a second chance. What impact is it going to have on our patients, that’s what it comes down to.”

We applaud Chef Shoop and we encourage you to read the rest of the story, here.

In Good Company

We love food and we especially love fresh, local, nutritious food because it always seems to taste better. As it turns out, our first lady shares our passion! The NY Times has the scoop:

In her first weeks in the White House, Mrs. Obama has emerged as a champion of healthy food and healthy living. She has praised community vegetable gardens, opened up her own kitchen to show off the White House chefs’ prowess with vegetables and told stories about feeding less fattening foods to her daughters.

You can read the rest of the article, here. 

All Hail Kale!

We love kale. We love all greens, really but kale is…well, let’s just say that the NY Times has a nice little story on kale so for the moment, Kale is our favorite. We’ve been bringing in fresh, organic kale from The Garden Project’s 125 acre farm at the SF County Jail in San Bruno (along with chard, collards and broccoli) and when we stumbled across this little story in the NYT, we just had to share. Aside from great taste, here’s a compelling reason to give kale a shot:

kale is packed with health-promoting sulfur compounds, and it has been found to have the greatest antioxidant capacity of all fruits and vegetables. It’s an excellent source of vitamins K, A and C, as well as manganese, and a very good source of dietary fiber, calcium, iron and potassium. All of this nutritional value comes in a low-calorie package.

You can read ther rest of the article and get simple kale recipes, here.