Infant Welfare Society of Chicago

In a recent NPR story about a writer of Spanglish poetry named Gustavo Perez Firmat, IWS can find a certain similarity in his confusion between which language is the native language.

The article is good but his poem is even better:

“Bilingual Blues”

Soy un ajiaco de contradicciones.
I have mixed feelings about everything.
Name your tema, I’ll hedge;
name your cerca, I’ll straddle it
like a cubano.

I have mixed feelings about everything.
Soy un ajiaco de contradicciones.
Vexed, hexed, complexed,
hyphenated, oxygenated, illegally alienated,
psycho soy, cantando voy:
You say tomato,
I say tu madre;
You say potato,
I say Pototo.
Let’s call the hole
un hueco, the thing
a cosa, and if the cosa goes into the hueco,
consider yourself en casa,
consider yourself part of the family.

Soy un ajiaco de contradicciones,
un puré de impurezas:
a little square from Rubik’s Cuba
que nadie nunca acoplará.
(Cha-cha-chá.)

After 100 years of operation, IWS can identify with this poem but in fact it must also factor in the third and sometimes fourth language for which we provide services to – Polish and Russian. As we add to the melting pot, we continue to find more “native” languages as we widen the breadth of language we provide.

Cheers, Na zdrowie, Будем здоровы, Salud to 100 more years of multi-lingual service.

Ever wish you could keep eating like you do and still lose some massive weight? Well a recent study done in China may be the cause for some celebration. It actually proves an age-old notion that if you chew each bite that you take an average of 40 times, you will be more satisfied with less food.

The study informed that those who chewed each bite of food 40 times consumed 12 percent fewer calories than those who chewed only 15 times per bite. If you play those numbers out over a hypothetical 265 days, you may lose 25 pounds! When tested for the “hunger hormone” – better known to scientists at Ghrelin – in participant’s blood, the 40x chewers came out under the 15x chewers. This all means that the hunger hormone is suppressed with more chews!

Now that you know how to chew appropriately, take a look at this delicious recipe from www.eatingwell.com

Ingredients:

• 3 tablespoons plain dry breadcrumbs
• 1 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/4 teaspoon paprika
• 1 16-ounce or 10-ounce package frozen spinach, thawed
• 1 3/4 cups low-fat milk, divided
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 2 cups shredded extra-sharp Cheddar cheese
• 1 cup low-fat cottage cheese
• 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• Freshly ground pepper, to taste
• 8 ounces (2 cups) whole-wheat elbow macaroni, or penne

Cooking/preparation:

1. Put a large pot of water on to boil. Preheat oven to 450°F. Coat an 8-inch-square (2-quart) baking dish with cooking spray.
2. Mix breadcrumbs, oil and paprika in a small bowl. Place spinach in a fine-mesh strainer and press out excess moisture.
3. Heat 1 1/2 cups milk in a large heavy saucepan over medium-high heat until steaming. Whisk remaining 1/4 cup milk and flour in a small bowl until smooth; add to the hot milk and cook, whisking constantly, until the sauce simmers and thickens, 2 to 3 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in Cheddar until melted. Stir in cottage cheese, nutmeg, salt and pepper.
4. Cook pasta for 4 minutes, or until not quite tender. (It will continue to cook during baking.) Drain and add to the cheese sauce; mix well. Spread half the pasta mixture in the prepared baking dish. Spoon the spinach on top. Top with the remaining pasta; sprinkle with the breadcrumb mixture.
5. Bake the casserole until bubbly and golden, 25 to 30 minutes.

*Side note: Everything can be made up to step 4 and saved in the refrigerator for 2 days or freezer for 3 months.

Nutrition Facts:

576 calories; 22 g fat ( 11 g sat , 2 g mono ); 69 mg cholesterol; 63 g carbohydrates; 37 g protein; 9 g fiber; 917 mg sodium; 403 mg potassium.

As one of the most widely observed holidays around the world passes, we at IWS would like to share a brief celebratory exclamation of some research findings.

**Speaking of research and findings…did you know Columbus’ voyage was sponsored by the King and Queen of Spain?

As Columbus set sail to the land unknown, he had the forethought to bring some gifts and plenty of food for his crew and anyone who they may run into. Among these were gold, parrots, spices, human captives and citrus fruit seeds.

To discuss one of those items in particular as it may pertain to you, let us talk about some research completed in 2007 by Stefanie Sausenthaler, a German researcher. She determined that during the last 4 weeks of pregnancy, high maternal intake of citrus could lead to eczema or later development of food allergies (in addition to citrus, an excess of margarine, vegetable oils and celery could also lead to the aforementioned results).

You may read more at Medscape.

The study went on to conclude that overall, diet during pregnancy is important to the health throughout the life of your newborn. As implied by this scientific paper, all things in moderation when you’re pregnant – and always.

Especially today, we hope that you have some citrus and ponder the existence of a world before Columbus.