What a fantastic site to learn basic cooking skills and great tips!! They are all videos so you can actually see how to do it!! just BRILLIANT!!!
Monthly Archives: May 2012
Jamie Oliver’s TED Prize wish: Teach every child about food
Why you should listen to him:
Jamie Oliver has been drawn to the kitchen since he was a child working in his father’s pub-restaurant. He showed not only a precocious culinary talent but also a passion for creating (and talking about) fresh, honest, delicious food. In the past decade, the shaggy-haired “Naked Chef” of late-’90s BBC2 has built a worldwide media conglomerate of TV shows, books, cookware and magazines, all based on a formula of simple, unpretentious food that invites everyone to get busy in the kitchen. And as much as his cooking is generous, so is his business model — his Fifteen Foundation, for instance, trains young chefs from challenged backgrounds to run four of his restaurants.
Now, Oliver is using his fame and charm to bring attention to the changes that Brits and Americans need to make in their lifestyles and diet. Campaigns such as Jamie’s School Dinner, Ministry of Food and Food Revolution USA combine Oliver’s culinary tools, cookbooks and television, with serious activism and community organizing — to create change on both the individual and governmental level.
D is for Dedication- by AIMEE C. KIMBALL, PhD. USA Swimming
Please find your latest installment in the ABC’s of swimming from USA Swimming.
This week is D is for Dedication
BY AIMEE C. KIMBALL, PhD//Special Correspondent
For many swimmers, their sport is more than just a hobby. It’s more than just something they do to get fresh air, meet people and get some exercise. There is nothing wrong if you swim just for fun, but if you treat sport as hobby, it’s hard for you to expect to swim your best. Anyone looking to perform to their potential needs to be dedicated to their sport.This article is for team leaders and individuals who want to take their performance and the performance of those around them to the next level.
Get on the Same Page
Athletes participate in sport for many different reasons. While individuals’ rationale for competing might differ, in order to be successful the whole team needs to be working towards the same goals. The first way to develop more committed athletes is to make sure they are all on the same page with what the team is trying to accomplish. Open and honest communication about team goals and about each individual’s contribution to the team’s mission is essential. At the start of each season, the team should discuss the answers to the following questions:
What do we strive to accomplish? How do we accomplish this?
- What drives us to be better? How does our motivation help us to reach our goals?
- What do you enjoy about swimming? How can we find balance between your enjoyment and what the team is trying to accomplish?
From this discussion, you can create a team motto and before each practice huddle as a team and say your motto to remind the team what they are working towards and what everyone has committed to. When members of a team have a shared goal, they will begin to demonstrate a greater dedication to their sport and team.
Relationships Are Key
Once everyone is on the same page and knows what is expected of them, it is important to interact with team members in a way that enhances their commitment to these goals. Leaders need to do more than just be role models, it is also essential that they demonstrate their respect for, interest in, and care for their teammates. Team leaders can use the following suggestions to help build a strong sense of mutual trust and support amongst teammates, which will ultimately improve dedication to each other:
Ask for input and constructive advice and be willing to listen
- Get to know individuals outside of sport
- Remove hierarchies. All members are equally important
- Encourage support for everyone’s success. Compete but cooperate
Dedication Starts with Motivation
Ultimately individual dedication hinges on individual motivation. The athletes who often demonstrate the most dedication are those who love the sport and work to see themselves improve. Getting athletes to focus on becoming their best can be difficult, but when leaders build a culture emphasizing pride in effort and daily improvement, team members become more dedicated to what they do in both practice and competition. By having athletes state goals for each practice and by rewarding the process of achieving those goals, athletes will take to heart the importance of individual improvement. This increases their sense of intrinsic motivation which will then enhance their dedication to the team.
Know Your Purpose
Another important aspect of dedication is sense of purpose. Athletes want to know that they are contributing something to their team. For athletes whose talent may not be as great as their effort, it can be hard to feel like they are important to those around them. Thus, team leaders need to be cognizant of each swimmer’s strengths and make a point of consistently acknowledging and thanking them for their contributions. Whether it’s their physical ability or their support of teammates, individuals want to know what they contribute is meaningful, and when they discover their purpose they will further dedicate themselves to bettering the team through their identified strengths.
What if I Won’t Dedicate 100%?
Knowing how to be fully dedicated to something is a very important life skill to have. If you don’t ever learn what it means to give 100%, how will you know if you can be successful outside of swimming? There are many reasons why athletes do not fully commit to their sport, some are completely understandable (involvement in other activities) while others need to be overcome (laziness, don’t want to make the sacrifices). Some athletes are at a stage where they just swim for fun rather than the competition, so giving 100% to swimming isn’t important to them. Whatever your current reason for not being fully dedicated, make sure you are still maximizing your commitment level given varying priorities. What I mean is, if you sign up for a swim team, know what is required and maintain that commitment. If you are not willing to put forth the effort that the team requires, there might be a better team for you because you are likely to end up unhappy if you are on a highly-competitive team but you aren’t a highly competitive person. If you find a team that matches your motivation, you will most likely enjoy the sport more and be able to match your dedication level to that of your teammates. I caution you not to sell yourself short though. Some people don’t want to be on a competitive team because they don’t believe the“extreme” swimmers can have any fun. However, the majority of people who give 100% love the sport and find most of it enjoyable. They find the fun in knowing they are getting better, pride in the hard work they put in and excitement in beating someone new or in getting a PR in a race.
Levels of Dedication
- No Dedication:Showing up at practice when I feel like it.
- Minimum Dedication:Showing up to mandatory practices.
- Moderate Dedication:Working hard at mandatory practices and some optional practices.
- High Dedication:Working hard at all available practices and doing a little bit extra outside of the pool
- Total Dedication:Working hard at all available practices and doing everything you can outside of the pool (mental training, nutrition, strength/flexibility training…)
If right now you are moderately dedicated to your sport but really want to become a better swimmer, you do not have to totally dedicate yourself to swimming and make your life revolve around it. In order to see some improvement, you just have to do a little bit more than you are now. Maybe you don’t have time for extra training, but you may be able to read the latest articles inSplashmagazine or watch an instructional video on YouTube . To become the best swimmer you can be and to truly reach your potential, you do need higher levels of dedication, which include out-of-pool activities. Ultimately, you have to choose your own dedication level, which should be based on your ultimate goals and willingness to make sacrifices. Olympic dreams require more than moderate dedication, while participating on a high school team may not. It’s up to you whether you want to see how good you can be, but your potential in the pool can only be met through consistent dedication. Dedicating yourself to a sport is about working to accomplish something and putting in the effort necessary to meet the challenge. It is much more disappointing to finish a race with a less-than-ideal time and think to yourself, “If only I did a little more” than to finish and say “I gave it all I had.”
Dedication Decoded
Someone once told me that “Dedication is when you are bent over, drenched in sweat, just about to pass out, and then you smile.”I think there’s some truth in the idea that dedication is about pushing your limits and still enjoying the process. If you can get yourself and your team to do that, you know they have the dedication necessary to succeed.
Make it Great!
Kind regards,
CBAC Coaching Staff
The Transit of Venus- a very rare event, which we won’t see again in our lifetimes. June 5th 2012
New from Pink Ladies Volunteer corps.
|
A warm welcome to our new members Luraine Wheatley, Denise Couch, Eileen Dodd and Cathy Kinch. These ladies are already volunteering in the Coffee Shop or with the Trolley Service. We bid farewell to Thelma Higgins who has retired from The Pines and returned home to Jamaica and belated birthday wishes to Janilee Clifford who was 80 yrs young last month.
The 2012 Christmas Bazaar is booked for Saturday 1st December at the ARC, Camana Bay and we are most grateful to Dart for sponsoring us once again. Plans are already well underway and Co-Ordinator Pam McDonough will be contacting volunteers for various tasks over the upcoming weeks. The format and stalls will be much the same as last year with the addition of a small stall for jewellery and any donations for this stall are more than welcome – costume jewllery of any type (broken items can possibly be repaired by the craft group), jewellery boxes for sale or display etc. In addition, ladies are asked to source any prizes for the grab bags and ballon pop whilst on their travels. Gifts in the range of $10-$15 are needed (items that might be cheaper outside of Cayman or interesting items from overseas).
Following on from the donations made earlier this year, Pink Ladies have been able to meet two more additional requests from local schools. First, the May General Meeting approved an additional donation of $1000 to Lighthouse School for continuation of the after school programme for “at risk” children. The Executive also approved a donation of $1000 to George town Primary as sponsorship of a nameplate at the school which is a fundraising project of the PTA to enhance the outside playground area and facilities. The new school building was opened recently (photo above).
Nine ladies recently completed the Department of Environmental Health Basic Food Hygiene Certificate. This is a requirement for anyone working in the Coffee Shop but is also a very interesting course to take even if you do not. Topics cover Bacteriology, Food Poisoning, Hygiene, Food Safety Control etc. It is a one day course 9am-4pm with a short test at the end for the certification. More details from the Dept of Environmnetal Health 949 6696.The Humane Society animal shelter needs your help!!
Morning all,
As you probably know the Humane Society animal shelter was badly flooded over the weekend. They have issued a wish list below. If you can help with any part it or pass this mail on it would be greatly appreciated. Thanks
Immediate needs:
• Money to replace damaged medication that has been lost
• There is a lot of kennel repair that needs doing by people who are handy. It includes plywood being replaced, wire fencing fixed, gates/doors/locks to be repaired, tarps being replaced, etc. It would be fantastic if people could come in and do it while there are no dogs in the kennels!!! There are lots of kennels with long screws sticking out and loose wires dangling which are hazardous to both people and animals
• Collars, leashes and slip leashes (all in one that loop over the dogs head and pull tight)
• Crates of all sizes for puppies/dogs/kittens/cats and carriers or pens for dogs
• A wheelbarrow
• Large plastic tubs with sealed lids for storage
• Torches, flash-lights and lanterns
• Batteries of all sizes – AA, AAA, C, D
• First aid kits
• Dog, cat, kitten and puppy food
• Metal food bowls for dogs
• Plastic double dish bowls for cats
• Cleaning products – Lysol spray, commercial “yarn” mops, buckets with a wringer, sweeping brushes, kitchen towels, clothes, squeegies on broom handle
• Towels – all sizes
• We have a volunteer who can donate a water pump but it needs servicing and new hoses – I will have to get further details but a new water pump would be fantastic When the weather calms down and the shelter is dry (longer term plan):
• A cleaning company to come to spray the whole shelter to decontaminate and fully sanitize
• Pest control spraying (and monthly/quarterly commitment thereafter)
• A new commercial washer and separate tumble dryer – ours appear to be working but got wet so will give up the ghost very soon
• Filing cabinets – stand up ones with 4 drawers
• If anybody has even a small bit of land (not necessarily for a new shelter although we need that too) that we could fence in, we could get some outdoor play area to bring the dogs to relieve them from the shelter and have a run around.
• Cayman Airways air-miles for transfers of dogs and puppies to new homes in the US – urgently required to get our numbers down
Thank you so much and any help would be so much appreciated. I have copied the relevant Board Members and volunteers to keep them in the loop.
We are very grateful for anything that can be done.
Justine Riseley Cayman Islands Humane Society volunteer
An unexpected Life- A mother and son’s story of love, determination, autism and art.
Seth Chwast and His mom Debra Chwast were in Cayman presenting the book about their life. A friend of mine lend me a copy and let me tell you this is a book worth reading. Seth’s Paintins have also been featured in Our National Gallery
From his Biography:
Seth Chwast, who was diagnosed with autism as a very young child, lived for years in a world of roller coasters, haunted houses and classical music. A dramatic change came in 2003, when at age 20 he took an oil painting class at the Cleveland Museum of Art. Seth, who rarely speaks, began describing his world in paint. He displayed an innate ability to mix colors and create amazing works of art that reflect his vision of his world and the world around him.
Seth began painting with artists willing to enter his world and a never-ending stream of creative, dedicated Cleveland Institute of Art (CIA) student/mentors. Out poured horses, auroras, whales and self-studies. His mother, Debra, produced an 8-minute documentary DVD titled A Different Kind of Journey, which was shown on WVIZ PBS many times. It was later seen by the staff of The Today Show, which led to a feature segment about Seth that aired on January 3, 2007.
In March 2007, Seth began to travel. After experiencing Costa Rica, Seth’s art exploded with the colors of the tropics. A trip to Galapagos was planned. Meanwhile, Seth had solo exhibits at University Hospitals of Case Western Reserve University and at the Cleveland Clinic. Both institutions purchased paintings. Seth received a second call from The Today Show, asking if he would like to be featured again on New Year’s Day 2008 as their most inspirational story of the year. By the time they returned to film him, in one year Seth had produced another 116 paintings.
Seth traveled to Galapagos in November 2007, where he scheduled his first international exhibition, opening on March 28, 2008. Filled with confidence and excitement, Seth went to the Cayman Islands and met with the director of the National Gallery of the Cayman islands, who scheduled a solo exhibition of his work for October 25 through February 25, 2009. Seth’s second trip to Galapagos included an opening reception for 150 people, including the mayor and the governor of Galapagos. Seth and the exhibition were featured on national television.
Seth regularly flies to New York to paint with Kip Jacobs, a world renowned artist, creating Manhattan cityscapes and mobiles. In July 2008, Seth participated in the Art Omi International Artists Residency in New York’s Berkshires. On opening day, he was seen by the Chelsea Art Museum’s Nicollette Ramirez, who reviewed for Whitehot Magazine and named Seth as one of three outstanding American artists of the residency. Seth and his mom returned to Cayman for three visits during his exhibition, to be on national television, to give gallery tours and to meet with special needs staff and families of the autistic.
Seth was invited by the Cleveland Museum of Natural History (CMNH) to participate in Visions of Galapagos, “a collaborative effort between the museum, painter Seth Chwast and the Dittrick Medical History Center,” part of the museum’s Darwin Year, running July 18 to October 11, 2009.
Seth was invited to exhibit in Kiev, in a group exhibition, Neurodiversity, curated by Koan Jeff Baysa at the Museum of Modern Art Ukraine.
Seth was invited to exhibit at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center from September to November 2011. He exhibited in Curacao from November 2011 to January 2012. He returned to CMNH in March 2012 to provide the companion exhibition of his art for Mythical Creatures, which traveled from the American Museum of Natural History in New York City.
Seth provided 124 paintings and artist statements for his mother, Debra Chwast’s book, An Unexpected Life: A Mother and Son’s Story of Love, Determination, Autism and Art. Seth is currently working on a children’s book of Mythic Creatures.
On January 25th, 2012, The United Nations announced the winning artists for the Autism awareness stamp. Seth’s mythic mural image will now be on a United Nations stamp. The launch party will be at the United Nations on April 3rd , 2012. Seth, his family, and friends, are invited to a ceremony at the United Nations, hosted by the secretary general, and then to a dinner at the Bangladesh Embassy.
On April 2nd, Seth will exhibit his art at the Strokes of Genius benefit, curated by Dr. Rosa C. Martinez, on the United Nations Plaza. Seth and his mom have started a series of inspirational presentations and book signings. They are scheduled to return to the Cayman islands and Curaçao, and to work with Autism organizations throughout America.
Top 10 Nutrient Dense Foods- by MyVega.com
Top 10 Nutrient Dense Foods
May 24 2012 | Nutrition
At Vega, we like to push things to the limit on the journey to finding our own inner superhero. From testing our physical limits with feats of endurance like Tough Mudder, to packing as many nutrients as we can into a smoothie, it’s pretty safe to say we strive to be the best we can be, powered by the best foods we can eat.
It’s time to introduce the superheroes of food. From tiny and mighty to mean and green, nutrient-dense foods stand proudly at the top of Vega’s hierarchy of good-for-you ingredients. Nutrient density is all about getting more bang for your buck. Nutrient dense foods provide vitamins, minerals, and other health promoting benefits in relatively few calories; unlike those kryptonite foods that are high in calories, low in nutrition. To keep you supercharged and ready to save the world (or at least feel like you can) here are the top 10 nutrient dense foods:
- Chlorella: Dubbed the ultimate green superfood, chlorella is a microscopic green algae, power-packed with nutrition. 68% complete protein, chlorella contains rich stores of vitamins, minerals, and Chlorella Growth Factor (CGF—a compound unique to chlorella). Boasting the highest concentration of chlorophyll of any known plant, chlorella is an antioxidant powerhouse that’s also abundant in eye-health-promoting beta-carotene and lutein.
- Kale: Delicious, versatile, and easy to prepare, kale is one of the most nutrient-dense foods readily available in an average grocery store, boasting vitamins, minerals, fiber, amino acids, and inflammation reducing antioxidants.
- Broccoli: Your mom was right for telling you to eat your broccoli! Especially for broccoli’s antioxidant properties, digestion-promoting fiber, as well as a whole army of vitamins and minerals.
- Spirulina: While not something you crunch into like the other greens, spiruliana adds superhero strength to your smoothies or your meal, providing all the essential amino acids, trace minerals, vitamins, and antioxidants in very (very) few calories.
- Spinach: Bundled in hearty leaves of green deliciousness, spinach is loaded with antioxidants, fiber, iron, protein, and calcium.
- Chia: A superior source of plant-based omega-3, as well as protein, chia is an excellent source of both soluble and insoluble fiber, making it a true friend of your digestive system.
- Berries: Lower in calories than most fruits, berries average much higher in free-radical scavenging antioxidant power. And did we mention they’re delicious?
- Cacao: Be still our chocolate-loving hearts! Did we hear nutrient-dense and chocolate in the same sentence? Before you go reaching for a candy bar, understand that the nutrient density of chocolate comes from the source—the cacao bean itself—so enjoy your chocolate fix as close to the whole bean as possible, in the form of cacao nibs or powder, which are rich in magnesium, potent antioxidants, amino acids, and bliss-boosting powers.
- Hemp Seeds:A dream combo of fiber, protein, amino acids, essential fatty acids, vitamins, and minerals, all neatly packaged in a highly digestible, versatile, and delicious seed.
- Collard Greens: Right up there with kale in the wealth of antioxidants fiber, collard greens also provide digestive support and are loaded with important vitamins and minerals.
Cayman Moms 