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Show The Emery County Review, Tuesday, December 16, 2008 AT YOUR LEISURE Casey’s Pockets Swell Book Reviews Swell Recipes B3 Entertainment SWELL RECIPES Colleen Diamond Shares a Healthier way to Eat Kathy Ockey Twenty-nine years ago Richard and Colleen Diamond, lived in Mapleton, moved to Huntington to a home that has a wonderful view of Huntington North Reservoir. Richard came to the area for employment, and they have lived and raised their family here. Their family of nine children are now scattered all over the United States. Colleen said they had a big change in their lives when they found out her husband had diabetes. “You have to do a lot of things and learn to cook for a diabetic,” she said. Colleen has researched and found a lot of different ingredients to use and ways to cook to make meals healthier. She said a diabetic diet is good for everyone, and if you don’t eat a healthy diet you will pay for it eventually. “You have to think twice about what you eat.” Colleen said the artificial sweeteners most people use are not good for you and she has found “Stevia powder” that has no side effects and is healthier to use. She uses this ingredient to make jams and it only takes 1/8 of a cup per batch. Another natural sweetener she has found is “Agave.” It looks like honey and is a natural sweetener from the blue agave cactus plant. She said it has a full, sweet flavor and a low glycemic index that is absorbed slowly into the body so it doesn’t spike the blood sugar like other sweeteners. Colleen said it is a little expensive but you don’t use very much because it is sweeter. She shops for these ingredients in health food stores. “There are natural ways to get your sweetening that are healthier for everyone, not just diabetics,” she said. Another way to cook healthy for diabetics is to use turkey and chicken because they have less fat than beef, and fat turns to sugar, but protein naturally helps slow down the carbohydrates. The exceptions are olive oil or coconut oil, which is healthy to use. Colleen said raw or baked nuts are a good snack for diabetics if they control how many they eat, and also suggest a whole apple or any kind of fruit for a good snack. “You can find foods that are healthy for you, and you can stay on a diet because the food is good and you don’t feel deprived because of the foods you can’t eat.” Following are some of Colleen’s delicious recipes she is suggesting to help you start the New Year eating healthier. SWELL BOOKS No Flour Muffins (This is one of our favorite snacks) 1/3 cup buckwheat 1/3 cup millet 1/3 cup kamut or spelt Soak in separate bowls overnight. Drain water off of the kamut and millet. Pour the buckwheat and water with the millet and kamut into a blender. Blend the three into a puree. Add: 1 egg 2 tablespoons coconut oil 2 tablespoons Agave Mix together well then add: 1 tablespoon flaxseed powder for flour 1 tablespoon chia seed powder for flour (use the magic bullet to make the flour) 2 teaspoons baking powder 2/3 teaspoon sea salt It needs to be very moist. Put in muffin pans and bake at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes. Be careful to not over bake. Basic Cooked Jams Recipe 4 cups prepared fruit 1 cup unsweetened white grape or apple juice Lemon juice, if listed in recipe 1 1.75-ounce package Ball No Sugar Needed Fruit Pectin A small amount of Stevia sweetener (optional) Combine prepared fruit with fruit juice and lemon juice in a 6 or 8 quart pan. Gradually stir in Ball no Sugar Needed Fruit Pectin. Add up to 1/2 teaspoon butter or margarine to reduce foaming, if desired. Bring mixture to a full rolling boil that cannot be stirred down, over high heat, stirring constantly. Put jam into jars leaving ¼ inch headspace. Put lids and rings on jars and place filled jars in canner. Process jars for 10 minutes. Pumpkin Pie 4 eggs, slightly beaten Colleen Diamond 1 29-ounce can of pumpkin 2 tablespoons white powder Stevia 1/2 teaspoon salt 2 teaspoons cinnamon 1 teaspoon ginger 1/2 teaspoon cloves 1 cup milk 2 9 inch unbaked pie shells Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Mix ingredients in order given and pour into unbaked pie shells. Bake 15 minutes and reduce temperature to 350 degrees. Continue to bake for 45 minutes or until knife inserted in center of pie comes out clean. You can use Stevia sweetener with any pie – taste to check for sweetness. Annalee’s Corner Books on the Ture Meaning of Christmas Writing the Green River and the Gunnison Valley book Kathy Ockey My writing career began when James Davis and Jo Anne Chandler met. James wanted monthly coverage of John Wesley Powell River History Museum happenings and Jo Anne happily volunteered me because she knew that I liked to write. After I had written a few articles, an unanticipated trait began occurring, Jeffrey and Lisa Brower and their family of five children have a wonderful Christmas tradition each year. They purchase a book with a good Christmas theme and read and discuss it as a family throughout the holiday season. They also re-read the books from previous years they have received through Lisa Brower this ongoing tradition and recall memories of each Christmas. Jeffrey’s great-great-grandfather lived in Emery County when he was a small child and he remembers visiting him. It was such a good memory he dreamed about living here someday. He now works for the Bureau of Land Management as a hydrologist and lives in Huntington with his wife and five children, four boys and one girl. They select books for their Christmas reading that relates to the “reason for the season” and a Christ centered Christmas. “The economy is bad, people are struggling and we need to get back to what is important and why we celebrate Christmas,” Lisa said. Lisa said her children get toys in their stockings and some clothes but their family focus is on the holiday and why we celebrate it. “The Miracle of the Wooden Shoes,” by Deborah Pace Rowley, is the book they selected for this year to read. It is the story of a young man, Walter, whose father is very sick, had lost his job and times were hard for this family. It was the tradition for the children to put their wooden shoes on the doorstep for Santa to fill with toys, but Walter didn’t put his shoes out because he knew they would not be filled. On Christmas morning his shoes were there with a small gift and a scroll with a scripture on it. For many nights, his wooden shoes are filled and much needed gifts continue to appear, each one with a scroll and a scripture. Then one morning, Walter and his family receive the best gift of all. Lisa said this is a touching story about pure love, service, and sometimes unexpected gifts we receive from the Savior, who always knows what we need. Other books that the Brower family has read and recommends for Christmas reading are: “A Christmas Ball for Anya,” by Chris and Evie Stewart; “A Christmas Dress for Ellen,” retold by Thomas S. Monson; “The Christmas Miracle of Jonathan Toomery,” by Susa Wojciechowski; “He Took the Lickin’ for Me,” retold by Timothy Robinson; “Christmas Oranges,” retold by Linda Bethers; “The Christmas Box,” by Richard Paul Evans. Their favorite book is “The Little Red Buckets,” by Lynda M. Nelson. Annalee Thayn I could not keep my opinion to myself. This, as most journalists know is a big no no, and I didn’t mean to, it just kept happening. James, in desperation, frustration, or wisdom, gave me my own column. Yikes, now the pressure is really on. I can have an unintentional opinion, but to have to have one regularly is a challenge. Thus began my writing career. Green River and the Gunnison Valley began when Jo Anne went to a conference and met a representative of Arcadia Publishing. She saw samples of books already written and knew that Green River and the surrounding areas were interesting and should also have a book. We had plenty of pictures and materials. The first step was to submit a proposal, which was accepted. Green River and the Gunnison Valley was off and running. Writing the book was a challenge. There was a deadline for each stage of the process. One of the first deadlines was for the synopsis; another was for the first two chapters. There is a limited amount of weeks to have the book back to Arcadia for printing. Each picture required 50-70 words of text. I learned very quickly where to find the word count feature on the computer. We wanted the book for Melon Days 2008. We missed the deadline. We worked hard and diligently, but there were just not enough hours in the day to get the book done. On Friday, the day the book was due Jo Anne had to call Arcadia and tell them we just could not have it to them in time. They told us they would call us back on Monday and either tell us the book was cancelled or else we would be granted an extension. Thankfully we were granted the extension. There are mistakes, but we caught many of them. Now I can proudly say that I helped co-write a book. Would I do it again? Probably, but I would like a few years break first. CASEY’S POCKETS ACT: A Crummy Test Casey D. Wood ACT, if you’re wondering, is no longer an acronym and does not stand for anything, despite what the heading of this article may lead you to believe. The ACT is a college admissions test that includes English, Mathematics, Reading, and Science Reasoning, with an optional Writing test. It is required by many colleges that an applicant has taken either the ACT or the SAT, so millions of students do every year. I recently took the ACT examination, not for the first time either, but the fourth. Over all of my experiences taking the ACT I have learned a few very important things about how to prepare for and how to actually take the test. Unfortunately, I never really put that knowledge to use. First I will explain how I have been taught, by various educators, books, and reputable test-takers, to take the ACT, and then I will explain to you how I, along with many other high school students, actually do. Possibly the most important thing, according to many sources, is to study often, daily if possible. It is recommended that you take at least a few practice tests and do a couple of practice exercises each week. It is also recommended that you study each section of the test (English, Math, Reading, and Science), but particularly study those sections that are weak points. If you haven’t taken the test before, you have three options: 1) Study everything a lot; 2) Study the subjects you have the most trouble with; or 3) Don’t study anything and just see how you do. Most do not advise option 3. Another important thing to remember is how to take the test. There are certain strategies given to you, such as when there is only five minutes left to test, if you aren’t close to finishing guess on the remaining questions and then go back and correct as many wrong answers as you can of those you guessed on. Another strategy specifically for the Reading portion is to read the questions first and then read the section and answer the questions, or search the section for the answers. Some advise that when doing the Math section, answer the last 10 problems in the section and then go back to the beginning. Another advisement is to wear layers, so that if it’s cold you’ll be warm, and if it’s hot you can take off a layer. It is also recommended that you “get a good night’s sleep,” and “eat a hearty breakfast.” For many, the most important test taking strategy is to have almost nothing to do with the test the day before. Prepare your materials (pencils, erasers, calculators, admission ticket, photo id, etc) the day before, but do not study at all. Now I will explain to you how I, and I have learned many others, prepare for and take the ACT. First off, I get an ACT book from the library to study and promise myself that I am going to do so this time. I take the ACT book home and flip through it and then set it aside to use the next day. The book sits on my bed, desk, or floor for the next two to four weeks until the ACT, and then the last three or four days before I read a small section of the book, generally the “How to Take the Test” section, and fail to get much, if any, studying in at all. Next I break just about every rule in the “How to Take the Test” section. I usually do follow the five minute guessing rule and the layers rule, but apart from those two, I waste my time reading the “How to” section. I have never in my life read questions before a section in a test. I always go from 1-60 on the Math test. I don’t even skip the hard ones and come back to them. I guess on them or work on them until I figure the answer out. I rarely, if ever, get a good night’s sleep or have time for breakfast, and that doesn’t change for the ACT, and I have studied the night before, right before bed, every time I’ve taken the test. On the other hand, I don’t have too bad of an ACT score, so perhaps all the educators, books, and reputable test-takers, are off their rockers. If I know one thing for sure about the ACT, it is that despite what ACT, Inc. may believe, ACT is an acronym to a majority of high school students in the U.S. That acronym is: A |