July 2017 Garden Update: Jesse Crouch, Garden & Wellness Coordinator

Summer is coming and going quickly in the Alliance Community Garden. With the warm temperatures, our cool season crops like swiss chard, beets, kale, collards, and lettuce have made their way out and made room for our flourishing tomatoes, okra, beans, cucumbers, watermelon, and peppers.

The garden has been an invaluable resource in our latest Cooking Matters classes. It has been a tremendous pleasure and privilege to introduce patients to healthy food just as it comes out of the ground and help forge a strong connection with food!

We are grateful to volunteers from groups including Crossroads Fellowship and Edenton Street United Methodist, and to those faithful individuals who lend their hand to harvest, weed, and water.

The award for biggest plants is a tie between our okra and tomatoes, both of which are stretching 7 feet up toward the sky and growing. I'll be needing a ladder soon to grab them!

My personal favorite vegetable to grow in the summer is okra. You'll find beautiful yellow and red flowers all over!  Once they are pollinated (by our very own honey bees!) they develop into the okra pods.

Although our tomatoes are a bit sick with 'early blight', a common fungus affecting the plant's leaves, we've already harvested about 230 pounds and anticipate another 200 before the season is done! So far this July we've harvested about 440 pounds of fresh, organically grown produce for our patients, pushing us past the 1,000 pound mark for the year! We're looking forward to a productive rest of the summer and fall.

Come dig in our garden!

Join us for our regular Garden Work Days. Learn a thing or two about our garden and bees and help provide fresh produce for our patients. RSVP or just drop in! garden@alliancemedicalministry.org

Second Saturdays, 9 am to 12 pm
August 12 / September 9 / October 14 / November 11

Fourth Wednesdays, 5 pm to 7 pm
August 23 / September 27 / October 25

Patient Spotlight: Maryse Joseph

L to R:  Volunteer Cooking Matters instructor Lindsey Miller, Alliance patient Maryse Joseph, and Garden and Wellness Coordinator Jesse Crouch at Cooking Matters graduation.  

Maryse Joseph moved to Wake County, and like many, did not have health insurance. In 2008, WakeMed referred her to Alliance Medical Ministry after a brief hospitalization. She has been a regular patient of Dr. Sheryl Joyner since.

A few years ago, Maryse became critically ill and was hospitalized again.  After release, she met with Dr. Joyner and says her life changed as a result of Dr. Joyner's compassion.  

"Dr. Joyner told me that every day while I was in the hospital, she checked up on me.  She encouraged me, telling me, 'Maryse, if you can leave the hospital, you need to survive and keep fighting.  You can make it!'  That changed my life."

Maryse works as a CNA at a nursing home, and translates Dr. Joyner's compassion into her work.  "Dr. Joyner taught me to do everything with my heart. At Alliance, I've felt like I'm an important person. The way you talk to people can change so much.  So many people see your skin color and hear your accent, and may not want you. Dr. Joyner takes time to listen to me.  She sees the human being."

Maryse won second place in the Million Step Challenge, receiving FitBits for her family members. 

Last year, Maryse discovered that she was pre-diabetic and at risk of developing diabetes. Dr. Joyner invited her to participate in the Million Step Challenge program in partnership with WakeMed Hospital. 

Through this initiative, Maryse received a FitBit, and walked 1,785,204 in 112 days, taking second place in the Million Step Challenge!  Even since the MSC ended, Maryse continues to exercise, waking up between 4:30 and 5:00 am daily to walk.  "I've lost nine pounds! And I'm keeping it off with healthier eating."

This summer, Maryse has participated in the summer Cooking Matters classes, offered in partnership with the Inter-Faith Food Shuttle.

“Everyone can participate. Families come with their kids. We learn we don’t need a lot of money to eat healthy."

Maryse dicing a fresh zucchini from Inter-Faith Food Shuttle for a delicious breakfast dish.

Support patients like Maryse today with a gift:

Raleigh Orthopaedic Surgery Center makes $250,000 gift to AMM

We are deeply grateful to Raleigh Orthopaedic Surgery Center for their June 2017 gift of $250,000 to Alliance Medical Ministry's clinic and programming.

Thank you to our supporters, volunteers, and friends in the medical community for believing in our mission and supporting the uninsured in our community!

Support our mission with a gift today.

Cooking Matters @ Alliance Class 6: Natalie Holdstock, Intern

During our final Cooking Matters class, we discussed how smoothies are an easy and delicious way to incorporate more nutrient dense food in your everyday diet. Leafy greens, like spinach and kale, are an excellent source of vitamins. Spinach and kale are mild in taste, and can be added without changing or taking away from the sweetness of the fruit in the smoothie. 

Our second meal featured during our last class was an amazing salad bar. The class discussed how salads can be delicious without having to douse them in salad dressing.

Our volunteer instructor, Lindsey Miller, had some great salad dressing recipes that were light but also added some great flavor!

Salad Dressings

#1 Rule: 2 parts oil, 1 part acid, salt and pepper

Balsamic Vinaigrette:

3-4 tbsp. olive oil

2 tbsp. balsamic vinegar

1 tbsp. dijon

Salt and pepper 

Greek:

2 tbsp. olive oil

2 tsp. red wine vinegar 

1/2 tsp lemon juice

Garlic powder

Oregano

Basil

Salt and pepper

Asian:

2 tbsp. olive oil

2 tsp. balsamic 

2 tsp. honey

Splash of soy sauce

*Add: ginger

*Add: sesame seeds

The "Lindsey":

2 tbsp. olive oil

2 tsp. AVC

2 tsp. honey

1 tbsp. dijon

Congratulations to the graduates!

We wrapped up our last session with a class graduation. Each participant received a certificate of completion as well as their last produce bag provided by the Inter-Faith Food Shuttle. We enjoyed having everyone so much and hope that our participants learned a lot over the course of this class.

Cooking Matters @ Alliance, Class 3: Natalie Holdstock, Intern

We were back in the kitchen Wednesday, for our third Cooking Matters class at Alliance. This week’s class focused on choosing fresh fruit, vegetables, and whole gains. The meal featured this week was a Thai Noodle Salad dish but, of course, with a healthy twist. This dish incorporated spaghetti squash as a substitute for pasta noodles. 

This week’s class discussion covered a range of topics such as the importance of buying produce in season, the difference in buying fresh, frozen, and canned produce, and the importance of buying nutrient dense food with no added sugar or salt. One particular topic the class had several questions about was the difference between organic and non-organic.  Our instructor, Lindsey Miller, educated the participants on the “Dirty Dozen” and “Clean 15” (see list below). These refer to the fruits and vegetables that are most and least contaminated by pesticide use, according to the Environmental Working Group. This is great guide to use when deciding to buy organic or non-organic foods!

The Clean 15 (in order of least contamination)
Onions
Sweet Corn
Pineapples
Avocado
Cabbage
Sweet peas
Asparagus
Mangoes
Eggplant
Kiwi
Cantaloupe
Sweet potatoes
Grapefruit
Watermelon
Mushrooms

The Dirty Dozen (in order of contamination)
Apples
Celery
Sweet bell peppers
Peaches
Strawberries
Nectarines
Grapes
Spinach
Lettuce
Cucumbers
Blueberries
Potatoes

Moving to the kitchen, the class was split into groups for each part of the meal. The participants loved using spaghetti squash to create the noodles. Once the vegetables were cooked and the dressing was mixed, the meal came together and tasted just as wonderful as it smelled!

As the class came to an end, the participants left with their bag filled with a variety of produce provided by the Interfaith Food Shuttle and this new recipe to try again at home. Stay up-to-date with our posts to see what fun meal we will be making next week!

Thai Noodle Salad

Noodles:

1-2 cups spinach

1 red bell pepper, chopped

Bean sprouts

3 scallion, diced

2 carrots, shaved

1 spaghetti squash, cooked

Coconut oil

*Tip! Add cilantro for extra flavor!

Dressing:

2 Tablespoons soy sauce or tamari

2 Tablespoons almond butter or natural peanut butter

2 Tablespoons sesame oil

2 cloves garlic, minced

Juice of 1 lime

1 Teaspoon pure maple syrup

1 Teaspoon fresh ginger, grated

Directions:

How to cook spaghetti squash:

Prepare spaghetti squash: Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Cut the tip of the spaghetti squash off with a sharp knife. Place the cut side down on your cutting board to give you balance and stability. Cut the spaghetti squash in half, lengthwise. Scoop out the seeds. (Toast the seeds if you like) Place the cut spaghetti squash face down in a baking dish with 1-2 inches of water. Cover with tin foil and bake squash for 30-40 minutes… until outer shell is soft.

Let squash cool a little, then scrape with a fork to make “noodles”.

Put dressing ingredients in a jar and shake to mix or whisk in a bowl. Add a dash of water to thin it out to desired consistency.

2017 Farm to Table Dinner: Kathryn Holding, Director of Development

On Thursday, May 11th, Alliance Medical Ministry hosted over 350 of our donors, volunteers, corporate sponsors, board members, friends, and ambassadors for our third Farm to Table Dinner, raising over $159,000!

All photos taken by Furnished Photography by Katherine Fallis.

The evening began with a cocktail hour in our Community Garden, where attendees enjoyed Lynnwood Brewing Concern craft beer and hand-mixed cocktails prepared by Camp Cocktail.  Featured cocktails were "The Prescription" and "The Doctor's Orders", prepared with local spirits from TOPO Distillery and Lassiter Distilling Company.  

Our Community Garden was in full bloom, with Garden & Wellness Coordinator Jesse Crouch offering garden tours and education on the benefits of our Garden & Wellness Program.  The clinic was open for tours, with staff sharing about the care and services provided onsite and the community partners providing off-site care to our patients.

Before dinner began, all attendees had the opportunity play a "Game of Chance" at our Wine Wall, sponsored by Janet Clayton, CCIM, Healthcare Real Estate Group of Avison Young.  Many thanks to our Wine Wall volunteers, including Rebecca and George Edwards, Carrie McMillan and David Boaz, Sheridan Howie,Farah Raymond, and Hannah Wilson.

Cocktail hour was enjoyed by all!

As the sun set, guests headed under the tent for a delicious family-style dinner prepared by partner and event sponsor Irregardless Cafe.  The dinner menu included a garden salad (including greens from the Well-Fed and Alliance gardens), barbeque salmon, short ribs, baby potatoes, and mixed vegetables.  Dessert was homemade vanilla ice cream and blueberries, prepared by our friends at Andia's Homemade Ice Cream.

The evening's program kicked off with testimonials provided by Alliance patients Angela, Kathy, Jan, Pablo, and Maria.

Auctioneer Benjamin Farrell kicked off the live auction portion of the evening announcing a $10,000 matching gift from the Alliance Board of Directors.  The live auction raised $64,000! Auction packages included a BBQ for 50, a long weekend on Bald Head Island, a chef dinner at Raleigh favorite Standard Foods, an in-home dinner prepared by Chef Jonathan Ballard, a rooftop cocktail party at Form & Function, and a trip to Barcelona.

A special thanks to our event co-chairs, Colleen Blondell, Julie Hardesty, and Sherri Henderson for their tireless work on the event.

We are especially grateful to our sponsors for making this event such a success:

Cooking Matters @ Alliance, Class 2: Doha Medani, Summer Intern

The Cooking Matters class reconvened this past Tuesday for more fun in the kitchen! The theme of this class was incorporating whole grain, vegetables and fruits into breakfast, lunch and dinner! This week showcased three different recipes: quinoa egg muffins for breakfast, quinoa and spinach salad for lunch and a yummy quinoa porridge for dinner! 

Class began by reflecting on the progress towards the challenge presented last class: how to incorporate at least one serving of fruits and vegetables a day. Participants discussed the importance of reading food labels, especially when identifying whole grain products. They practiced reading through labels of food items in the Alliance kitchen. Of course, knife and oven safety skills were reviewed and then the fun started! 

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The instructor for the course, Lindsey Miller, decided to switch things up this time! The class was split into groups so that each group prepared a recipe while the other group had the opportunity to explore the community garden! The conversations in the garden centered around the pros and cons of preparing various vegetables to ensure nutritional quality. 

Participants found some okra, peas and other yummy snacks while they were waiting to cook!

The instructor emphasized that a great way to save money is substituting expensive foods in recipes with cheaper ones that have similar tastes and nutritional value. For example, the source of grain in this class was quinoa but Lindsey mentioned that brown rice, whole wheat couscous, whole grain pasta could all be great, cost-effective substitutes. Also, the pecans in the salad could be substituted for peanuts, cashews or almonds. In the salad recipe, swiss chard from the Alliance community garden was harvested and used instead of spinach! It's important to use what's available to you!

Just like last class, everyone went home with a bag produce. Interfaith Food Shuttle provided 70 pounds of produce! This week's bag had mushrooms, green bell peppers, Swiss chard, spinach, tomatoes, onions and peppers! 

Next class promises an interesting lesson on organic versus conventional foods along with skills to prepare more meals and snacks at home! Stay tuned.

Egg and Quinoa Cups

Ingredients

2 eggs

1/4 cup cooked quinoa

1/4 cooked sweet potato

1/3 cup mixed vegetables of choice

Veggie ideas: broccoli, spinach, onion, squash, peppers, carrots  

1 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon pepper

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease muffin cups 

2. In a bowl, whisk eggs and add cooked quinoa and the remaining ingredients

3. Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes

Quinoa and Spinach Salad

Ingredients

1/2 cup uncooked quinoa (you can substitute couscous, brown rice, whole wheat pasta) 

6 cups spinach 

1 large apple, thinly sliced 

optional: 

1/2 cup raw pecans 

1/2 cup dried cranberries

4 ounces goat cheese 

Dressing

1/4 cup lemon juice 

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

2 tbsp. honey 

1 1/2 cup Dijon mustard 

Directions

1. Bring 1 cup water to a boil. Rinse and drain quinoa and add to boiling water. Reduce heat to a simmer, cover, and cook for 12-15 minutes. 

2. Make dressing by whisking ingredients together

3. Place spinach in a large bowl and add cooled quinoa, apple slices, and additional ingredients 

Quinoa Porridge with Apples

Ingredients

2 cups cooked quinoa 

1 apple 

1/2 honey 

1 tsp cinnamon 

Directions

1. Add quinoa, almond milk, cinnamon, and honey to a pan and cook over medium-low heat.

2. Peel and dice the apple and add to pot 

3. Mix well, bring to a boil, and reduce heat to low and stir. 

4. Cook for 5-10 minutes