October Kitchen - B2C - February 2019

This is our way of saying that you are important to us and we truly value your business. Please feel free to pass this newsletter on to your friends and neighbors. ENJOY!

THE NOURISH LETTER

Meet the Team Behind Your Meals FEBRUARY 2019

www.OctoberKitchen.com | 860-533-0588 | 309 Green Rd., Manchester, CT 06042

THE VALUE OF TIME

Many Memories of My Grandparents

On my desk, there’s a small box full of handwritten recipes. This box belonged to my maternal grandmother and it’s something I cherish. At home, I have a Remington 1898 10-gauge shotgun. My grandfather shot his first deer with that gun and after his father passed away when he was just 11, my grandfather used that gun to get food for his family on their farm during the winter months. I feel very fortunate to have these family heirlooms and even more fortunate to have so many stories about the people who owned them. Growing up, I got to see a lot of my grandparents. Though my father’s parents moved down to Florida when I was 4, they came up to visit us every summer for a couple of weeks. I remember how much I looked forward to their visit because Grandma Clara always brought me grape Hubba Bubba bubblegum. After my grandfather passed away, Grandma Clara came back up here and lived with my parents for a few years before moving into an assisted living facility. I was in college at the time and my dad and I would visit her to play cards, watch “Jeopardy” and just talk. On my mother’s side, I only had Grandma Eleanor. My mom’s dad passed away when she was 18, but my grandmother lived in town and we got to see her all the time. We’d go over to Grandma Eleanor’s house every Sunday after church for pancakes. Each Christmas and Thanksgiving was spent in Grandma’s dining room. In fact, the very first Thanksgiving dinner I ever cooked was prepared using the tiny 24-inch stove in her kitchen.

Not long ago, I shared a photo on the October Kitchen Facebook page I’d taken of a “Dear Abby” letter from the local paper. The brief letter, signed just “Wise woman in North Carolina,” spoke of how valuable time is to our elderly relatives and how a call means more than we’ll ever know. That post has been shared over 340,000 times. The message deeply resonates with people because we’re all guilty of getting caught up in our own lives and forgetting to reach out to our parents and grandparents. Over a year ago, I lost my father and it’s a pain I’m still recovering from. I wish I spent more time with him when I could. Today, I’m trying my best to keep in close contact with my mom, visiting on the weekends and making sure she’s doing alright. I don’t want to have those same regrets with my mom. The memories I have of my grandparents mean so much to me today and I imagine those times meant a lot to them, too. It’s interesting to revisit these memories now that my wife and I are on the cusp of becoming grandparents ourselves. Audriana is about to get married and I imagine it will only be a few years before we get that phone call. When we do, Ali is going to be hard-pressed not to fly to her side immediately. Hopefully, we’ll be at a point where we can make those sudden departures, because we plan on being a huge part of that next chapter in life.

“I feel very fortunate to have these family heirlooms and even more fortunate to have so many stories about the people who owned them.”

1

860-533-0588

Published by The Newsletter Pro • www.NewsletterPro.com

After 50 Years Apart, 2 Love Birds Say I Do NEVER TOO LATE

family took on the challenge. There were struggles as Chi Chi learned to trust people again, but with time, Chi Chi found peace and joy with her new family. “She exemplifies resilience and forgiveness and willingly shares her love and compassion in abundance,” Howell has said. “Her sweet-tempered and gentle spirit opens people’s hearts and her perceptive spirit senses where her love is needed.” Chi Chi’s vet has called her a “miracle dog,” referring both to the fact that she survived losing all her legs and to the joy she brings to the world. Today, Chi Chi is a registered therapy dog, offering strength, love and support to those who need it most. She visits VA hospitals, assisted living facilities and children with disabilities. To celebrate her journey of survival, courage and love, Chi Chi was honored with the American Humane Hero Dog Award in 2018. You can follow the adventures of this brave, loving canine at Facebook.com/ChiChiRescueDog. knew she had to get her degree. Their relationship ended only months after it began. The two recovered from their heartbreak in time and went on to marry different people. Janice and Prentiss never forgot each other, but they went their separate ways. Then, after Prentiss’ mother passed away in the late 1990s, he found a newspaper clipping of his and Janice’s engagement announcement in his mother’s belongings. Unbeknownst to him, Janice found the same clipping in her mother’s wallet after her mother passed. The two women had never met each other, but they both knew Janice and Prentiss were meant to be. When Janice and Prentiss met again, they decided to get brunch. When Janice arrived, Prentiss looked at her and said, “Your pants are beautiful. They’re the same color as the outfit you wore at the Thanksgiving dinner in 1961.” And they picked up right where they left off. After 50 years apart, Janice and Prentiss were married at Occidental College just yards away from where they met for the first time. Though there were some obstacles, Janice and Prentiss proved it’s never too late to live happily ever after. A Quadruple Amputee Who Inspires the World

In 1961, Prentiss Wilson met Janice Rude in the

cafeteria at Occidental College in Los Angeles. When he saw her, Prentiss’

first thought was, “She’s much too beautiful for me.” But it turned out that Janice saw Prentiss too and they hit it off instantly.

When Thanksgiving came around, Janice didn’t like the thought of not seeing Prentiss for four whole days. She

traveled to Santa Maria and showed up at Prentiss’ house unannounced. Janice spent Thanksgiving with Prentiss’ family and they wandered around town together the next day. The couple shared their first kiss and by sunset, they knew they had to be married. Janice and Prentiss got busy planning their wedding, but everything changed when Prentiss met Janice’s father for the first time. Late that night, when Janice was back at her college dorm, her father called with an ultimatum: Either Janice would stop seeing Prentiss or her father would cut off her tuition. Janice was devastated, but she

CHI CHI THE RESCUE DOG

In our darkest moments, it can be hard to believe joy can be found again. But one amazing dog proves that no matter what happens, through love and patience, we can make the world a better place.

Chi Chi is a golden retriever who was found in a dumpster by an animal rescue group in South Korea. Badly injured and left in a garbage bag with her legs bound together, the only way to save Chi Chi’s life was to amputate all four of her legs. As she recovered, the call went out to find a family who could care for a dog with serious medical needs. As a quadruple amputee, just getting Chi Chi’s prosthetics on so she could go outside in the morning would be time-consuming. Fortunately, Elizabeth Howell from Arizona saw a video about Chi Chi’s plight online. “She stole my heart,” Howell said, taken by how Chi Chi was still wagging her tail despite her injuries. After seeing Chi Chi’s perseverance and her will to live, Elizabeth and her

2 www.OctoberKitchen.com

EATING SUNSHINE Vitamin D is the only vitamin the human body produces naturally when exposed to sunlight. This vitamin helps the body absorb calcium, keeps our bones healthy, boosts our immune system and may help improve mental health. Unfortunately, a study published in the journal Nutrition Research found 41.6 percent of Americans are vitamin D deficient. This number only increases in the winter, when short days and cold weather keep most people out of the sun. But sunlight isn’t the only way to get your daily dose of vitamin D. Here are a few great foods that you can add to the menu to help get your vitamin D this winter. Add More Vitamin D to Your Diet

great source of protein, egg yolks are also high in vitamin D. However, to get that vitamin D boost, you need your eggs to come from pasture-raised chickens who spent time in the sunlight. Mushrooms For vegan eaters, mushrooms are the best food source for vitamin D. Wild-grown mushrooms like chanterelles, maitake or morels tend to get more sun exposure, which means they have higher levels of vitamin D for you to enjoy. Vitamin D Supplements You should try to get all the vitamins you need from your diet, but if you’re still coming up short in the vitamin D department, you might want to consider taking a daily supplement. Just be sure to talk to your doctor before heading down the supplement aisle. “Due to health concerns, I can no longer consume fast food. So I’ve been picking up lunch here occasionally. The fare is wholesome and nutritious. And the young lady who waits on me, Stephanie, is friendly, knowledgeable and very helpful!” –Ron S. “I love it — so convenient. It gives me a quick healthy option when I’m not feeling like cooking. Otherwise, it’s overeating takeout. Great variety of tasty healthy food, though I admit I need to season it a lot as they intentionally hold back so as to cater to the highest variety of peoples’ tastes — everyone is different.” –Kevin B. At October Kitchen, our mission is to provide delicious, nourishing meals. In doing so, we hope to help our clients lead healthy and independent lives. Nothing fills our hearts more than knowing we’ve succeeded in our goal when we hear such kind words from our clients. TESTIMONIALS Vitamin D is very important for maintaining your overall health and well-being. Simple changes to your diet can help you enjoy the benefits of vitamin D even when the winter months keep you out of the sun.

Wild Salmon Fatty seafoods like tuna, herring and oysters are great sources of vitamin D. But if you want the most bang for your buck, enjoy a meal of fresh, wild salmon. Wild-caught salmon has 988 international units (IU) of vitamin D per serving. That’s 165 percent of the recommended daily intake (RDI). Though farmed salmon also has its share of vitamin D, the dose is far less at only 45 percent of the RDI per serving.

Egg Yolks Not a fan of seafood? You can still enjoy a helping of vitamin D from eggs. In addition to being a

_____________________________ Write your name here and fax the completed puzzle to 860-533-0585, send it via empty delivery box or bring it to the shop and receive 10 percent off your next order . Limit one per customer. Expires February 28, 2019.

AQUARIUS CHOCOLATE FEBRUARY LEAP

ROSES YEAR ARROW CUPID

FLOWERS LOVE

DATE HEART PISCES VALENTINE

SWEET CANDY

3

860-533-0588

Sponsored By:

24/7 Emergency Services www.O tob Kit hen.com 860-533-0588

PRST STD US POSTAGE PAID BOISE, ID PERMIT 411

309 Green Rd. Manchester, CT 06042 INSIDE More Than Heirlooms page 1

855-225-3227

page 2

What’s the Expiration Date on True Love?

page 2

3 Cheers for Chi Chi!

page 3

Food for the Winter Blues

page 3

Word Search

page 4

3 Ways to Improve Your Memory

Irish poet Oscar Wilde once called memory “the diary that we all carry about with us.” Of course, in Wilde’s time, the average life expectancy was less than 50 years old. As modern medicine continues to enable people to live longer, these “diaries” tend to become muddled. Fortunately, there are ways to counteract the natural dulling of our memory that comes with time. STRENGTH OF MIND Tips to Keep Memory Sharp and Improve Cognitive Function

the usual decrease in neurogenesis associated with aging, thus resulting in greater retention of neural matter — particularly in the hippocampus.” In short, exercises like swimming and running keep the part of our brain responsible for memory from shrinking.

exercise is believed to activate

processes that help maintain individual brain cells.” Activities like solving puzzles,

Spend Time With Friends and Family

learning a musical instrument or picking up a new hobby work wonders to keep your mind active and your memory sharp. These mental exercises are especially important after retirement, often to make up for the loss of stimulating challenges that work used to provide. Taking care of our physical health has also been shown to help brain function. According to a study by Sydney University in Australia, aerobic exercise is particularly good at jogging our memory. The researchers note that “aerobic exercise acts by preventing Get Physical

Humans are social creatures. Many studies have shown that being a part of a supportive social group can significantly benefit our physical and mental health. In fact, the American Journal of Public Health reports that people who have daily contact with friends and family cut their risk of dementia and mental impairment almost in half. Our mental diaries may be longer and fuller than they were in Wilde’s day, but if we fill those pages with hobbies, exercise and close friends, our memories will remain sharp and vivid for the rest of our days.

Puzzle Yourself

Just like any other muscle, our brain needs a workout in order to stay strong. As Dr. Celeste Robb-Nicholson of Harvard Medical School writes, “Challenging your brain with mental

4 www.OctoberKitchen.com

Published by The Newsletter Pro • www.NewsletterPro.com