Tag: Lifestyle

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SoFlo Gardening: October 2020

What to Plant

Annuals/Bedding plants: Even though temperatures are still warm, begin planting for the cooler months ahead. Impatiens, alyssum, and dianthus are good plants for the fall/winter garden.

Bulbs: Plant agapanthus, rain lily, and Clivia lily now for blooms next spring or summer. Add organic matter to the planting bed for the best results.

Herbs: A wide range of herbs can be planted from seed or transplants this month. Some to try include dill, fennel, parsley, and cilantro.

Vegetables: Easy crops that can be grown now include beans, broccoli, carrots, collards, lettuce, green onions, peppers, radishes, spinach, and tomatoes.

What to Do

Lawns: Control winter weeds in lawns before they appear. Pre-emergence herbicides must be applied at the right time to be effective. Apply when nighttime temperatures are 55°F–60°F for 4–5 days.

Ornamental trees and shrubs:
Fertilize plants that are not performing as desired. This is the last month of the year to fertilize shrubs and trees. Controlled-release fertilizer provides nutrients over a longer period of time.

Lawn fertilization: Fertilize lawns if needed.

Strawberries: Prepare beds and set strawberry plants this month. Strawberries also make colorful and tasty container planting. Either way, water daily until plants are established.

Palms: Palms have unique nutritional needs. Select a fertilizer that contains controlled-release nitrogen, potassium, and magnesium.

Oleanders: Control the oleander caterpillar, which is a year- round resident in South Florida, without harming beneficial insects by pruning off infested leaves or spraying with BT (Bacillusthuringiensis).

Twig girdlers: Control twig girdlers by cleaning up and destroying fallen branches that young twig girdlers can use for harborage.

Source: University of Florida IFAS Extension

 

 

 

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Organize your pantry

Pantry organization is necessary and essential to keep your kitchen in order. By adding a few simple things into your home, you can achieve this with ease and consistency.

Here are a few organizational tips…

#1 Adding bins, baskets, and clear containers will help to keep your pantry clean and organized.

#2 When purchasing dried goods or snacks like chips, nuts, seeds, crackers, rice, pretzels, or granola bars, be sure to decant and store these items in clear containers. Not only will your pantry look more satisfying without all of those mismatched boxes, you will also be able to see what you have and when you need to purchase more.

#3 Use lazy susans to keep similar items together. Corral all of your oils, vinegars, and condiments to easily find what you need with a simple spin.

#4 Get in the zone. Identify the food and cooking categories that suit you and your lifestyle. Here are a few to consider: baking, breakfast, and snacks. Also make sure to label each zone with their appropriate category.

#5 Place your daily staple items on eye level shelves.

#6 Your pantry can be kept clean and organized by ALWAYS placing newly purchased items in the zones you have created. Consistency is key.

#7 Using the right storage essentials to keep everything in order and looking great will help you have an organized and functional pantry.

Remember, you don’t need to spend a lot to make your pantry look great and function well.

Once your pantry is set up properly, taking inventory before going to the store will be a breeze! This will save you time, money, and lessen the amount of expired food in your pantry.

Lisa Haubenstock is a Professional Organizer and owner of LisaTheOrganizer, LLC. servicing Broward, Miami-Dade, and Palm Beach counties. She is a member of NAPO and serves on the board of the South Florida chapter. She holds certificates in household management and residential organizing. Email Lisa at Lisa@lisatheorganizer.com.

By Lisa Haubenstock 

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SoFlo Gardening: August 2020

What to Plant

Annuals/Bedding plants: The hottest days of summer limit planting to heat-tolerant vinca, gaillardia, bulbine, and coleus.

Bulbs: Aztec lily, butterfly lily, walking iris, and spider lily can be planted any time of the year, even late summer.

Herbs: Herbs that can be planted from plants (not seeds) include bay laurel, ginger, Mexican tarragon, and rosemary.

Vegetables: Many cool-season crops can be started now as well as a final crop of warm-season vegetables such as lima beans, cucumbers, eggplant, and peppers. Tomatoes can also be planted for the fall garden.

 

 What to Do

Lawns: Determine the cause of any damage to the lawn so the proper remedy is used. Damage from insects, disease, or irrigation failure can produce similar symptoms. Use a sharp mower blade and only remove a third of the grass blade to reduce stress on the lawn.

Palms: Check older palm fronds for yellowing as it may indicate a magnesium or potassium deficiency. Apply an appropriate palm fertilizer.

Poinsettias: Pinch back poinsettias and mums before the end of the month to allow time for buds to form for winter bloom.

Ornamental plants: Rapid growth and leaching rains may result in nutrient deficiencies in some plants. See Nutrient Deficiencies (Landscape Plants): edis.ifas.ufl.edu/topic_ nutrient_deficiencies_landscape_plants

Annuals and Perennials: Remove spent blooms, cut back, and fertilize flowering annuals and perennials to extend the season into the fall months.

Source: University of Florida IFAS Extension

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Parkland Life: Time to recreate myself again

Whenever I look at my Apple Watch it says No More Events Today! As the pandemic accelerates in Florida, and since I am in the age group that is considered the most at risk, I remain sequestered at home. I go into stores for necessities, sometimes a couple of times per week, but most of the time not at all. My hair, as I have said before, is still
the one thing that I feel is important enough to make me risk exposure. I have returned to the salon to have my hair colored, cut and for a keratin treatment. Silly, but true. I no longer have manicures and pedicures, but do my nails myself. My nails aren’t nearly as pretty, but it does suffice. Shopping, game playing, volunteering, classes, social events, travel and all other daily excursions are gone. I recently said to a friend that I feel as if life is simply passing. Besides looking at the time on my watch, I check the day and date and am constantly amazed that the months have steadily passed.

I am not complaining (much). I am lucky to have Mickey Booboo growing daily as he fills our home with joy, love, and laughter.
I am lucky to have friends that I speak with regularly and sometimes have socially distanced, outside get togethers. I am lucky to have family that I FaceTime with daily. I am lucky to have Neil to share this strange and scary time with. But with all of that, I still see my life going by with days that are the same and often lack focus and purpose.

At 69, I expected the next few years to be filled with travel while I am healthy and agile. I expected to go back and forth to New York to see my family and share in all of our grandchildren’s small and large milestones. I expected to enjoy my volunteer work, theater, and daily activities. All of these things have been put on hold.

Younger people are continuing their lives more completely. Some are able to go to work, or work at home. Some choose to still travel and enjoy outdoor activities. While stymied by the virus, they are able to weigh their risk/reward ratio more leniently than I do.

When can I change my risk/reward decisions?
After another month? Few months? After a year? I am not sure if there is an answer to this, but if no vaccine or effective treatment is created, how long can I live in this pleasant but boring limbo? I know I am lucky, but my optimism is running thin.

I need to create a way, beyond Mickey, to be productive enough to be happier. There have been a number of times in my life when I felt the necessity to recreate myself to achieve a fuller and happier life.

I changed careers mid- stream. I got divorced and remarried in my mid-fifties. I retired and started a whole new life in Parkland in my sixties. Each time it took thought, faith and hard work to begin again. But each time the daily life that followed was far happier than the one before I made changes. I now recognize that this is a time to do it again, this time in my seventies. Life will never return to what it was before the pandemic, but I have the power to think this through and work hard to achieve a change for the better. Stay tuned, I am working hard on this and hope to find my way soon.

By Jill Vogel

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Well-balanced diet promotes healthy immune system

There is a strong correlation between a healthy immune system and a nutritionally well-balanced diet. Every day we are exposed to living microorganisms that may cause an infection
in our body. These living microorganisms are called pathogens
or antigens. These can be bacteria, viruses, parasites, or other microbes. Our immune system protects us against these harmful pathogens with systemic pathways and organs throughout our body that create barriers to fight and prevent the spread of the harmful microbe.

There are two parts to our immune system. The innate part uses barriers to stop the threat of the pathogen. This system uses our skin to keep the majority of the microbes from entering our body; mucus is used to trap microbes; the stomach destroys the pathogens with acid; and sweat and
tears reinforce the skin barrier by creating additional antibacterial coverage on the skin surface. The acquired part utilizes the spleen, thymus, lymph nodes, and bone marrow to produce antibodies that attack and destroy antigens.

When antigens enter the body, these substances trigger
an immune response where antibodies and white blood cells
are created to fight the harmful microbe. Once an antigen has entered the body and antibodies have been created to fight it, the innate system has the ability to ‘recognize’ the antigen if it enters the body again, thus being able to fight it even better when it is reintroduced. The acquired part also utilizes inflammation as an effective immune response. Inflammation causes swelling, fluid accumulation, and pain. White blood cells are produced and rush to the area of the harmful microbe surrounding it in the swollen area and flushing it out with the excess fluid. All of these parts work in tandem to fight off unwanted, harmful microbes.

What can depress our immune systems includes any or all of the following: the process of aging where parts of the system may not work as effectively or efficiently as they should; disregarding environmental toxins can impair the system; obesity or excess weight strains the immune system; malnutrition by not providing the necessary nutrients that support the system’s response, and chronic diseases, chronic stress, and lack of sleep can all put a strain on the system.

Anyone who is poorly nourished has an increased risk for infection. Additionally, the severely or chronically ill suffer from malnutrition due to a depletion of macro and micronutrients due to the disease state. During this COVID-19 pandemic, those that are at higher risk include the elderly and those with chronic conditions such as diabetes, kidney disease, cancer, cardiac disease, and obesity.

A healthy diet includes fruits, vegetables, grains, meats/beans, dairy, and fats. The fresher, the better. A diet that is diverse provides all of the macro (protein, fat, and carbohydrates) and micro (vitamins and minerals) nutrients that are needed to support a healthy immune system. The nutrients in our diet support immune cell growth and antibody production, both which are used to fight an infection.

If you feel you are nutritionally compromised, it may be beneficial for you to take a multivitamin supplement that provides the recommended dietary allowance for your age. This will be on the label. The COVID-19 virus key micronutrients for immune support include Zinc, vitamin C, and vitamin D. Zinc has been shown to reduce the rate of respiratory infections and reduce flu symptoms. It plays a critical role in skin healing and in most of our enzymes. Zinc is found naturally in most of our protein sources. Vitamin C is another key agent that is known for its role as an antioxidant, in cell repair by reducing tissue damage, and in immunological response. Fruits are a plentiful source. Vitamin D has been shown to reduce the chance of developing acute respiratory tract infections. Make sure the MVI you choose contains these three nutrients.

To maintain a healthy immune system, eat a well-balanced diet, do not smoke, no alcohol or consume in moderation, exercise regularly, get eight hours of sleep each night, and manage your stress level.

DIETITIAN’S VIEW

By Nancy M. Ouhib, MBA, RDN, LDN

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Sourdough Passion

 

Microbes that we cannot see live around us. One newcomer, COVID-19, has caused all of us to huddle in our homes. This allowed me to reconnect with my sourdough starter, which consists of a combination of yeast and probiotic bacteria.

I love bread. In the world where you are often told to go light on carbs, what was once my go-to food item has become an indulgence. When I was researching healthy bread, to justify eating more of it, I found sourdough.

Only in the past hundred years has fast rising yeast and store bought bread became a norm in our lives. For thousands of years before that, making bread was a daily activity, where master artisan bread makers used what we now call the sourdough process to make bread.

The rapid rise yeast, which is used for most of the bread we eat, allowed us to make great looking bread quickly. The sourdough starter, a living culture of many microbes, requires patience to work with, and doesn’t often give as consistent a result as fast rising yeast.

A homemade sourdough bread, with its tangy flavor, along with the satisfaction of seeing it rise (when you are successful), is very gratifying. It’s also one of the healthiest bread choices you can have.

For many years, I had been nursing a sourdough starter, supposedly from a San Francisco bakery. Oftentimes, when life got busy, I neglected it in my fridge, as you only need to feed it once a week in the chilly climate. But when you let it thrive on your countertop, it comes alive with a ferocious appetite, requiring usually twice a day feedings.

During the shutdown, when all the local fine establishments were closed, I reconnected with my love for making sourdough bread, like many in the country, to satisfy my taste buds.

Making sourdough bread is simple. Feed your starter to keep it active and happy. Combine it with your dough in the evening, and an overnight rise will allow you to make a fresh loaf in the morning.

My starter loves the whole wheat flour I source from the prairies of Montana and the Dakotas. Within hours of feeding, large bubbles are created, like magic. It’s these air bubbles that will give your dough the bulk, and when healthy can double or triple your original dough size.

The special flavor that you don’t find in non- sourdough bread, comes from the bacteria that lives in the starter, symbiotic with the yeast. These organisms convert the
simple sugars and carbs in your flour into gut-friendly prebiotics, and lowers the glycemic index of the resulting bread.

Quick advice on sourdough starter

It takes time and luck to create your own reliable sourdough starter. After trying unsuccessfully several times, I found that a starter sourced from a bakery is best. You can usually request it from your local baker, or order them online.

Once you have your starter, you need to maintain it. You will need to regularly discard 1⁄2 of your starter, then add equal amounts of flour and filtered water by weight to replenish. This is best done with a digital scale and a mason jar. Filtered water is required to remove the chlorine in tap water, which inhibits the yeast and probiotics in the starter.

This process needs to be done every 12 hours if you are keeping your starter at room temperature. If you are refrigerating your starter, every 7 days is enough to keep your starter fed and happy.

Happy fermenting.
By Curiously Hungry
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