A friend of mine talked to me about her plans for retiring soon from her teaching job. After three long decades of bratty, bored kids, unappreciative, complaining parents, miserly salaries and out of touch and indifferent administrators, she’s ready to be done. But she’s troubled by stories she keeps hearing about people starting new, exciting careers after finishing the old ones. She candidly admitted that she had no idea of anything else she’d like to do. Having worked long and hard for 30 years, she felt she’d earned the right to do absolutely nothing. But all these boomers recreating themselves after retirement were making her feel guilty. She asked me: “Do I really need to put on my list of New Year’s resolutions: lose ten pounds and reinvent myself?”

I responded that I wasn’t sure if ten pounds would be enough but, as to the reinvention part, I assured her that’s exactly what she would be expected to do. “You should feel free”, I told her, “to take a very brief intermission following the end of your first career. But after that the audience (i.e., family, friends and anyone else whose opinion you value) will fully anticipate you to re-emerge onstage with an exciting and meaningful second act performance.” I also explained that it doesn’t matter how long and hard you struggled in your “first act” or how successful you were, because if the second act’s a dud the whole play’s a bomb.

This advice applies to all boomers dreaming about retirement: Unless you’re willing to suffer the disdain of all you know, you’d better surrender your fond dreams of a future spent watching Seinfeld reruns, enjoying early bird dinner discounts and dodging your kids’ requests to babysit, and instead convert some frivolous hobby or pastime (i.e., your true passion) into meaningful committed work.

You see, just as the feminist movement succeeded in making stay-at-home-mothers feel inadequate, the “bonus years” that boomers supposedly get (because fifty is the new forty) translate into a whole new set of pressures designed to make the stay-at-home retiree also feel like a failure. Words like “reinvention” and “giving back” are all code for “get off the couch, and start trying to impress people again”. Even a doctor’s note indicating a terminal illness will not be considered an acceptable excuse. (Reference the “Bucket List” where Morgan Freeman and Jack Nicholson felt compelled to complete a lengthy to-do list of frightening and uncomfortable adventures even though they each had less than a year to live.)

Now let me be clear about a few things. As far as “giving back” is concerned, a few hours a week shelving books at your local library or volunteering at the community hospital isn’t going to cut it. In fact, anything short of single-handedly educating the female population of a small country or creating a new global food bank won’t even justify a line item on your new resume. And as for concerns about inadequate pay, no problem, you probably won’t get any at all. Nor should you, considering all the psychic rewards you’ll be receiving (not to mention the psychic medical and dental benefits).

But take heart. You’re about to discover that your career opportunities did not end with your last job. Far from it, because these new challenges will create opportunities to fail that will surpass anything you’ve experienced over the last 30 years. You see, this time you will be expected to succeed in a completely new venture without the benefit of education, training or youthful energy. And you will be delighted to learn that your new bosses and co-workers, tikes only slightly younger than your own children, will consider you (and your decades of experience) about as welcome and relevant as smoking in airplanes and instant coffee.

“But not to worry”, I told my friend, “just let your true passion for your work carry you through. And if you’re not sure what that might be, I can tell you that many people at your time of life take up teaching. Maybe that’s something you can consider.”

Tony Brown

Tony Brown celebrated his 50th birthday this spring with a featured reading at the Worcester Poets’ Asylum. This, however, is not unusual for a man who has been performing his poetry across the United States for over 30 years.

Brown is a three-time Pushcart nominee, has been published in numerous anthologies and journals including Worcester Review, World Literature Today, and 100 Poets Against the War, was named “The Poet Laureate Of The Blogosphere” by voters at thebloggingpoet.com for 2008 and hosts the popular GotPoetry Live reading series in Providence.

Tony became a published poet at the tender age of 9, but it wasn’t until the mid 70s that he dove into performing his work. “I’d given one featured reading of my work in 1977 for a local theatre group in my hometown,” Brown said, “but doing poems in front of local punk bands in Worcester in the late 70s and early 80s got me into a more dramatic style, and then finding the Poets’ Asylum and the national slam scene really gave me a home among like-minded writers and performers.”

Tony went on to become a member of several National Poetry Slam teams & continues to perform on a regular basis. This, according to Brown, is an essential part of his writing process. “I pay a lot of attention to sound in my work, and performing a poem for the first time is part of the editing process now.” Brown says that he never considers a poem finished “…until I’ve read it in public a few times, to get the sound and rhythm right.”

He also performs as half of Duende with musician Steve “Faro” Lanning-Cafaro. Brown says that it was a meeting of the minds. “We formed it because we met, hit it off, and enjoyed collaborating. Working with the rhythm of a poem to find the best musical setting for it, or writing a poem to match a piece Faro’s written, are good practices for both of us; he stretches me, and vice versa.” The duo has released two CDs and has begun work on a third.

Maturing, says Brown, has changed how he writes. “I think I’m more economical in terms of any one poem; I don’t write the overblown, heavy on the wordplay stuff I did in my earlier years. And in terms of content, I’m far more likely to play with ambiguity and ‘gray areas’ than I once was. I’m less certain of things, and more willing to accept contradictions and irrationality as part of life. So I don’t think my poems tie up loose ends as often anymore.”

The celebration of his 50th birthday has, if anything, rejuvenated Tony. Besides working on the Duende CD, he is also preparing his first serious manuscript for consideration by publishers and is continuing to write every day. “I’m always writing,” says Brown. “I can’t picture a time when I’ll ever stop writing.”

For more information on Tony Brown and Duende, go to radioactiveart.wordpress.com.

Photo by Stephanie Bottitta

Herbie Hancock’s The Imagine Project, the new CD from multiple Grammy-winning artist and musical pioneer Herbie Hancock, is an unprecedented international recording and film project featuring collaborations between music legend Herbie Hancock and over a dozen superstars from every region of the planet. Utilizing the universal language of music to express its central themes of peace and global responsibility, the musical collaborations combine Hancock’s genre-defying musical vision with the “local” musical identity of cultures from around the world. Additionally, noted Oscar-winning filmmaker Alex Gibney (Taxi To The Dark Side) is serving as one of the film’s producers with veteran music producer Larry Klein serving as one of the album’s producing consultants.  The Imagine Project has just been released via Hancock Records/RED.

Tracks include “The Song Goes On” with Anoushka Shankar (sitarist daughter of Ravi Shankar), Chaka Khan and Wayne Shorter which was recorded in Mumbai, India, along with a stellar group of Indian musicians, “Don’t Give Up,” a duet with guitarist extraordinaire Jeff Beck recorded in London featuring Seal and Pink, “Imagine” with Konono No. l, Jeff Beck, Oumou Sangare and Lionel Louke recorded in Paris and London, “Tamatant Tilay/Exodus” featuring Tinariwen, “Times They Are A Changin’,” featuring The Chieftains, Lionel Loueke and Lisa Hannigan recorded in Ireland, “Jackpot” with Dave Matthews and Marcus Miller, “Space Captain” with Derek Trucks and Susan Tedeschi, “Mi Tierra,” recorded with Latin superstar Juanes in Miami, and a track with Brazilian singer-songwriter Céu recorded in  São Paulo.
“Music truly is the universal language,” says Hancock, “The Imagine Project will explore that concept across the globe, uniting a myriad of cultures through song and positive creative expression.  My hope is that the music will serve as a metaphor for the actions taken by the inhabitants of this wonderful planet as a call for world harmony on all levels.”

A global musing on the power of song to bring people together, the recordings for Hancock’s The Imagine Project have taken place in each collaborator’s home territory whenever possible, and  embody the spirit, hearts, sounds, colors and flavor of each locale – a complete sensory musical experience.  The result is an album/film without borders, both a celebration and a call to action.

The Imagine Project is the next step in Hancock’s extraordinary ground-breaking career, and builds upon his recent successes and recognition (2007 Grammy for Album of the Year ~ “River/The Joni Letters,” Time Magazine’s 100 Most Influential People in the World, multiple award-winning album/film, Possibilities, Jazz Chair for the Los Angeles Philharmonic, amongst many others). It is anticipated that The Imagine Project will take numerous forms ~ from traditional album to potential “webisodes,” film/documentary, real-time performances, and special concert touring dates.

Award-winning producer Larry Klein (Joni Mitchell, Madeline Peyroux, Luciana Souza, Tracy Chapman, Melody Gardot and Hancock’s collaborator on River) has served as producer on a number of the album’s tracks.

While the CD and film will stand, on one level, as powerful testaments for the goals of world peace, humanity and tolerance along with respect for our planet,  Herbie Hancock’s The Imagine Project shall remain, at its core, entertainment content that is creatively and emotionally deeply fulfilling.

“We are open by chance,” states The Kamuda Gallery website. Carolyn Kamuda, whose lovely flower photos grace the walls of her home-based gallery at 400 Pleasant Street in Gardner, MA, finds spiritual solace in her art.

“I have a great belief that God runs my life,” she says. “I have had a serendipitous life, but it’s been quite interesting.”

Kamuda remembers how, as a child, a little luck got her started in photography. “I mailed in a bunch of Bazooka bubble gum wrappers to get a little camera as a prize,” she says. “My first photo was taken in the schoolyard at the Main Street School in Boscawen, NH, when I was in the second grade.”

Since then, Kamuda has found inspiration in Margaret Bourke-White, who, Kamuda explains, displayed chutzpah in photographing conditions at early twentieth-century steel mills.

“That took some guts, to be amidst the heat of molten steel,” says Kamuda.

It’s gut instinct, rather than technical expertise, Kamuda claims, that inspires her own work today. Apart from a week-long course she took at the New England Institute of Professional Photography during the ‘90s, she hasn’t had any formal training.

“I look at the finished product and if I like it, I’m fine with that,” she says. “It doesn’t matter what steps I took to achieve the result.”

Kamuda’s impact in photography began in 1988, when she founded the Greater Gardner Artists’ Association (GGAA) with a grant from the Massachusetts Cultural Council’s arts lottery. She also started two Gardner businesses as a means of support: Kamuda Real Estate, which has won numerous awards for condominium sales, and the Surroundings custom picture framing and art gallery.

No longer at the helm of Surroundings or the Greater Gardner Artists’ Association, Kamuda’s work recently took third prize among 31 photographs entered in the Digital Art Photography category at the GGAA’s 22nd exhibit. She now sells her photographs and photography services through her website at www.flowersinfocus.com. She also maintains her home-based Kamuda Photography studio, which serves as hub for local photographers.

“Since I’m not trained formally in photography, I don’t feel qualified to teach,” Kamuda says. “I hold a meeting once a month at my house with other photographers, to help inspire and challenge them to present their photos to the public.”

She’s planning spring, fall, and holiday shows to present those artists’ photos at her gallery, but Kamuda isn’t dabbling in other artistic media ~ though she says her mother and father had great drawing talent.

“I don’t think I got that gene,” says Kamuda, who dreams of one day publishing a photography book with a fine arts publisher. “I like taking pictures at my own pace,” she says. “My photos reflect who I am.”

Dr. Stanley Levenson

Dr. Stanley Levenson

Dr. Stanley Levenson has been practicing dentistry for more than 20 years and has been bringing smiles into people’s lives for at least the past 15. He earned his DMD degree from the University of Pennsylvania, did post-graduate work as a general practice resident at Worcester Memorial Hospital, and then began his private practice in 1987.

“I’ve always been interested in people’s appearance,” said Dr. Levenson, “We can help in a relatively short period of time and create beautiful smiles. We believe everybody deserves a beautiful smile.”

The impetus to get into cosmetic dentistry came from that feeling ~ helping other people ~ and is what makes his practice so fun and so rewarding, he said.

“People don’t enjoy getting a root canal,” he said. But they do enjoy procedures geared toward improving their smiles, which, in turn, improves their appearance.
“It is what people want, not what we tell them they need,” said Dr. Levenson.

Dr. Levenson, whose practice is located at on Linden Street in Worcester, straightens people’s teeth (yes, braces are not just for kids anymore, they are for people in their 30s, 40s and 50s) and whitens their teeth, among other procedures. He can put in crowns or dental implants and can replace fillings and broken-down teeth. In short, he can do whatever it takes to restore your teeth to what they should be: white, shiny and lined up in perfect order like little enamel soldiers.

“The easiest procedure we offer is whitening teeth,” said Dr. Levenson. “They get yellow and discolored over time. We offer that to almost every patient who walks through the door.”

Straightening teeth has a benefit beyond making a person proud of his or her smile, said Dr. Levenson. “When you straighten someone’s teeth, it can make them easier to clean and it can prevent gum problems.”

“The baby-boomer bracket wants to look better and maintain their health,” he said.

Dr. Levenson has followed that boomer philosophy. He is interested not only in improving his patients’ outlook through improving their smiles, he is also concerned with solving larger health issues. For example, sleep apnea is a significant health problem. People with this condition stop breathing while they are sleeping ~ sometimes for up to as long as 10 seconds. This can lead to fatigue, high blood pressure, and ~ possibly ~ heart attacks or strokes. One solution for sleep apnea is to use what is called a CPAP machine, an apparatus that some find extremely uncomfortable.

Dr. Levenson can offer a less intrusive solution. He can create an oral appliance that is designed to reposition the jaw and depress the tongue, thus creating an open airway during sleep. It can also help people who snore, but do not have sleep apnea.

“We give people quality, necessary care and we also make sure that they are healthy. We provide them with a beautiful smile and we contribute to their overall health.”

Dr. Levenson’s practice is located at 9 Linden Street, Worcester. His phone number is 508-753-3105 and he can be found on the web at www.levensonsmile.com.
Dr. Cynthia Poulos

Dr. Cynthia Poulos

When Dr. Cynthia Poulos was in medical school she was lucky enough to work with some very talented plastic surgeons during one of her rotations.

“They inspired me by what they did and knowing I wanted to be a surgeon all along anyway ~ the creativity and problem solving that they showed ~ that really kind of is, in a nutshell, why I became a plastic surgeon,” said Dr. Poulos.
“They were great examples of surgeons doing interesting work. I saw the opportunity to be creative and that is what clinched it for me,” she said.

Dr. Poulos received her medical degree from the State University of New York School of Medicine and did her general surgery residency in New Haven, Connecticut. She then continued her education by completing a residency in plastic surgery at the University of Massachusetts Medical School.

In 1994, she opened up her own practice. When she first started, she had one person working for her. Now, she has 10. She is the only physician at the practice, but there are several nurses on staff, as well as massage therapists. The Classique Medical Spa has two locations, one in Northborough and one in Milford.

“One of the things that I think really sets us apart is that we look at things from head to toe,” said Dr. Poulos. “Because we have so many different ways of looking at things and such a talented staff and because we really do the whole gamut [of options], I think we are truly what a medical spa is supposed to be.”

And just because she is a surgeon that does not mean an operation is the only solution.

“I love doing surgery, but I always look at non-surgical ways of addressing things,” she said. “Some people would rather not have surgery and so we evolve through the person’s needs to find answers.”

Among the non-surgical procedures at Dr. Poulos’s practice are laser treatments for hair or vein removal, facial peels, and dermal fillers such as Botox.

Most of her patients are females, but she does have some males come in for treatment.

“Men tend to worry about different things than women,” said Dr. Poulos. One thing that does concern them ~ as well as women ~ is gaining a bit of extra weight.

“When they hit 35, sometimes they can’t get rid of their love handles,” she said. A simple liposuction procedure takes care of that problem.

Other surgical options include eyelid surgery, face lifts, brow lifts, and rhinoplasty, which is the reshaping of the nose. She also does breast reduction, augmentation and breast lifts.

Sometimes people are concerned that surgical work will make them look fake and perhaps a little freaky, like some Hollywood stars do, said Dr. Poulos. That is not a worry at The Classique Medical Spa. She focuses on making people look better, but natural.
“I don’t even know how to do the ‘Hollywood’ facelift,” she said, talking about the kind of facelift that is painfully obvious.

Dr. Poulos’s practice is located at 17 South Street, Northborough and 14 Prospect Street, Milford. The phone number for both locations is 508-393-4544. She can be found on the web at www.drpoulos.com.

Pasquale Totaro, Sanremo Hair Center

Pasquale Totaro

Pasquale Totaro has been in the hair business for more than 30 years, getting his start in his home country of Italy when he was a lad of only seven.

He is now, along with his wife Barbara, the successful owner of Sanremo Hair Center, but it was not an easy road.

His first barbershop in Worcester was on Shrewsbury Street and opened in 1980. Customers were few and far between, recalled Barbara. In the first week of business, they made just $40.

“We would sit there and wait for someone to come in,” she said. One day, an acquaintance of theirs came by in his big, paneled station wagon. He, his wife, and their kids all piled out ~ a whole family of customers.

“It was like a bus had pulled up,” recalled Barbara with a laugh.

Eventually, Pasquale decided to get into the hair replacement part of the business. He was encouraged to take that direction by a man who already had such a studio on Park Avenue. He worked there for five years, learned the trade, and then decided to get his own place.

In 1990, he and his wife opened Sanremo Hair Center on Park Avenue across from Diamond Chevrolet. Seven years ago, they set up shop at their current location on Southbridge Street in Worcester.

Sanremo offers solutions to people who are losing their hair ~ because of male or female pattern baldness, alopecia (the loss of hair due to hereditary causes, hormonal imbalance and some diseases) or because of chemotherapy or radiation treatment. Sanremo is well-known and well-respected within the medical community, said Pasquale, and it gets a number of referrals from physicians whose female patients are desperate for their services. Overall (and excluding female cancer patients), their customers are primarily men, largely because most women don’t realize there are options out there for them as well, said Pasquale.

“We get people who are 18 years old all the way up to 90,” said Pasquale. Some customers have lost most of their hair. Other customers may have lost just enough of their hair so that their scalp is visible. Sanremo has a solution for everyone. They provide hair restoration for people at all stages of hair loss, as well as wigs and turbans ~ whatever the customers need to feel better about themselves.

Assisting women who have lost their hair due to cancer treatments is a particularly gratifying part of the business, said Barbara.

“I love being able to help the women,” said Barbara. “They come in here so upset with the thought of losing their hair.”

They are generally very nervous about the whole situation, but when the process is complete, they are happy and smiling, she said.

Pasquale echoed that sentiment. He enjoys helping his customers get back what they have lost.

“You should see their faces when we are done,” he said. “Hair makes a big difference.”

Sanremo Hair Center is located at 958 Southbridge Street, Worcester. The phone number is 508-755-5852 and the website is www.sanremohaircenter.com.

Dr. Stuart Bentkover

Dr. Stuart Bentkover

Dr. Stuart Bentkover has blended art and science in fashioning his career in plastic surgery.

“There is a technical side and an artistic and creative side [to plastic surgery],” said Dr. Bentkover, who has been practicing medicine since 1979. He has more than 30 years experience as a plastic surgeon and more than 20 years experience in cosmetic laser surgery.

“Surgery is how I find fulfillment for myself and my patients,” he said. “The reconstructive stuff that we do really involves thinking on your feet when you are faced with someone who has had part of their nose taken off from skin cancer.”

Reconstructing someone’s nose in that setting is “every bit as creative as cosmetic rhinoplasty,” he said. “The two procedures really go hand in hand.” Rhinoplasty involves the reshaping and restructuring of the nose, either for cosmetic or medical reasons. It is an extremely complex surgical procedure and a specialty for which Dr. Bentkover has a passion.

“Rhinoplasty is as much art and architecture as it is science,” he said.

Bentkover Facial Plastic Surgery & Laser Center is located at the Worcester Medical Center, 123 Summer Street in downtown Worcester. Dr. Bentkover also has a practice in Stoneham, MA. Originally from the Chicago area, Dr. Bentkover did all of his surgical training at Harvard Medical School and is on the faculty there, as well as at the University of Massachusetts Medical School. He received his medical degree in 1974 from the Mount Sinai School of Medicine.

He decided to make medicine his career for a couple of reasons.

“People go into medicine for altruistic reasons and for self-fulfillment reasons,” he said. “The altruistic side is that I clearly like helping people. The self-fulfillment side is I wanted to make a career doing something that I enjoy. I don’t think that is selfish, it is just realistic.”

In addition to rhinoplasty, Dr. Bentkover practices the entire specialty of facial plastic surgery, including face lifts, mini-lifts, facial rejuvenation, and eyelid surgery. He also offers various facial fillers, which help alleviate the effects of aging. Depending upon the procedure, a patient may find him or herself in Dr. Bentkover’s office or in the operating room at St. Vincent Hospital.

“I get quite a few people coming here from out of town and they are quite pleasantly surprised when they come to St. Vincent. It is a pleasant and comfortable place to have surgery.”

Staying current “is a key thing in aesthetic surgery,” he said. “You need to look at things in a healthy and skeptical way and not be so quick to jump onto the bandwagon.”

As a result, Dr. Bentkover is frequently analyzing scientific data regarding new techniques and procedures before deciding whether to add them to his practice.

“You need to look carefully before you make up your mind.”

He said his 30 years of experience in the field helps a lot in that regard.

Bentkover Facial Plastic Surgery & Laser Center is located at 123 Summer Street, Suite 675. The phone number is 508-363-6500. Dr. Bentkover can be found on the web at www.drbentkover.com.
Dr. Jean Keamy

Dr. Jean Keamy

Dr. Jean Keamy, an ophthalmologist with a practice in Westborough, took a rather circuitous route to medicine.

She started in science with an undergraduate degree in molecular biology from Princeton, then she veered into business with an M.B.A. from the New York University Leonard N. Stern School of Business Administration.

After graduation, she worked several years on Madison Avenue in New York City, but something was missing.

“I just got bored,” she said.

So she turned back toward science, getting her medical degree from the State University of New York Health Science Center in Brooklyn. Her return to science really wasn’t all that surprising, given her family pedigree.

“My father was an [ear, nose and throat] surgeon and a plastic surgeon of the head and neck,” she said. “He was probably the biggest influence on me.”

Dr. Keamy trained in ophthalmology at Tufts University School of Medicine/New England Medical Center in Boston. She followed that training with a fellowship in refractive surgery at the Gimbel Eye Centre in Calgary, Alberta, Canada.

She returned to Massachusetts in 2001 and opened her own eye center in August of 2004. Her practice, focuses on eye surgery and cosmetic surgery of the eye.

“We do LASIK surgery for a lot of people who just want to get rid of their glasses,” said Dr. Keamy of the patients who are seeking to improve their ability to see distances by undergoing laser surgery. Laser surgery is minimally invasive and the down time is minimal.

Laser surgery has improved so that patients don’t necessarily have to use reading glasses after undergoing the procedure, she said. Additionally, the side effect of night glare can be significantly reduced.

Even those people who wear very strong prescription glasses can be helped. They are not candidates for laser surgery, said Dr. Keamy, but there is a procedure where the ophthalmologist inserts a lens behind the iris and in front of the natural lens.

“It is like having an implanted contact lens,” she said. The end result: people who couldn’t see anything without their glasses have much improved vision.

Dr. Keamy also performs cataract surgery, which is a condition that strikes many people over the age of 65. The lens of the eye becomes clouded by the accumulation of protein, eventually disrupting clear vision.

“We now have the ability to put multi-focal lenses in the eye,” said Dr. Keamy, which means a patient’s vision has been corrected for both distance and reading.

Dr. Keamy also offers cosmetic surgery of the eye. The most popular procedure? Fixing drooping eyelids.

“It is even more popular than LASIK right now,” she said. “People look in the mirror and see dropping lids and it makes them feel old or tired.” It is a quick fix and one that can be done in the office, rather than a hospital.

Dr. Keamy also offers various therapies to improve the skin, including Botox.

Dr. Keamy’s practice is located at 24 Lyman Street, Suite 130, Westborough. The phone number is 508-836-8733. She can be found on the web at www.seemedrkeamy.com.

Playing Dress Up with Grandma

Grandmas, tie on your aprons, there’s no time like now to teach little girls how to stay clean and stylish. Miss Priss & Co., the one stop shop for adorable children’s gifts and accessories, has just released their Personalized Girls’ Aprons with Pretty Appliqués. Little girls can get into a lot of messes between cooking, coloring, gardening, and crafting, which is why this fashionable apron is the perfect solution for keeping clothes clean. She’ll love putting on an apron made just for her! Miss Priss & Co. uses only the most darling of designer fabrics, ribbons, and bows to create fun and girly patterns and monograms that will make her stand out and feel like a princess. Aprons are currently available in four different colors, but keep your eye out at www.missprissstyle.com for more coming soon!

How to Identify Healthy Snacks for Kids

Beloved food writer Michael Pollan recommends steering clear of foods that advertise their green attributes on their label. According to his line of reasoning, why give a child a fruit roll-up when you can give him or her a piece of fruit? Only processed foods need to advertise what’s natural about them, whereas an apple speaks for itself, providing wholesome nutrition without the need for marketing hype.

But most of us depend on the occasional packaged or processed food, so choosing between the lesser of two evils sometimes has to be the way to go. If a product lists natural ingredients on its label ~ anything from real fruits, vegetables and nuts to cereals, grains and other healthy foods you can recognize without a food dictionary on hand—it’s probably better than a food reliant on artificial flavors and sweeteners.

“One way for your kids to enjoy healthy snacks is to get them started on naturally sweet foods,” says Christine Steendahl of Kid Approved Meals, which sells menus and shopping lists to parents looking for guidance in meal preparation. “Since most kids crave sweets…naturally sweet foods such as fruits are perfect,” she says. Real bananas, oranges, apples, cherries, strawberries and other fruits are popular with most kids. “You can mix in yogurt or even make a fruit smoothie with some milk and a drop of chocolate or other natural flavors,” Steendahl suggests.

“One thing to recognize about children is that if they try enough types of natural and healthy snacks, they will find one that they enjoy,” says Steendahl. “The problem is that many times parents give up trying to find the snacks that their kids like and settle for popular junk foods instead.” She stresses the importance of teaching kids which snacks to eat and which to avoid early in life so that they can sidestep obesity problems altogether. Nuts and dry cereals, for example, are good alternatives to chips and other junk food.

According to CA-based pediatrician and author William Sears, who markets his own line of healthy kids snacks called Lunchbox Essentials, parents should make sure that any snack foods they give their family members provide both fiber and protein, which give the feeling of fullness, and taste good as well. He adds that parents should learn to read labels so they can tell which products contain hydrogenated oils, artificial colors, preservatives and high-fructose corn syrup ~ all of which should be avoided.

As a last resort for especially finicky kids, parents can find packaged snacks that might look like junk food but are actually healthy and nutritious, including certain brands of fruit roll-ups and granola bars. Look in the snack aisle of your local natural foods market for such items, and don’t be afraid to ask store personnel for recommendations. It’s important to take your child’s nutrition seriously. Whether he or she ever realizes it, you are setting patterns that will enable them to live healthier and longer lives.

Thanks to: www.michaelpollan.com; www.kidapprovedmeals.com; www.drsearshealthykids.com.

Thinking Green These Days? We’ve Got You Covered!

It’s easy to go green with Nico & Zoe Toys! Since their beginning in 2006, Nico and Zoe have been striving to find fun, engaging toys while supporting those companies that have always been able to ensure safe and environmental friendly practices. Check out their complete line of green, uncommon and artisan made ~ made in the US and abroad ~ at www.nicoandzoe.com. A few of our favorites? Plan Toys just put out its Eco House, complete with solar panels, a living roof, rain barrel, and turning wind turbine. Soy Rock Crayons are made from renewable soybeans grown in the USA and are colored with natural mineral powders, making color time bright and safe. Everyone needs a snuggly, and miYim’s got it with Storybook Victoria Bunny, a super soft pink, all certified organic bunny. Lastly, we’ve got the best baby teething rattles around, you’ll feel great about giving them to your little one. Using local hardwoods, dried in an energy-conserving solar kiln and left unpainted, Mossy Creek is as green as it gets!

She was complaining one day about the fact that, after drying her clothes with sheets of fabric softener, her cotton tops started to develop holes.

Mom:  “In all my years of doing laundry I never saw anything like it.  So I called the 800 number on the box and complained.  They said they would register my complaint. Big deal.  Did you ever read the box?  It has all kinds of warnings about hazards to pets and kids and flame resistance.  Go get a box and I’ll show you.”

[I, playing on this occasion the role of dutiful daughter, shuffle off to the laundry room and return with a box of fabric softener.  I read the box.]

Me:  “Mom, how many sheets do you use?”

Mom:  “Oh, I throw in 3 or 4.”

Me:  “But it clearly says on the box to use only one.”

Mom:  “But I use 3 or 4 because I reuse them, so it’s okay.”

Me:  “But it says on the box to use each sheet once and throw it away.”

Mom:  “Who reads the box?  Such a simple thing like fabric softener.  They should tell you that it will make holes in the fabric.”
Me:  “But you didn’t use the product right – you abused it. You used 3 or 4 times the recommended number and you reused them. You ignored everything they put on the box!”

Mom:  “They should tell you that if you use too much you’ll get holes in your clothes.”

Me: “But even if they said on the box ‘if you disregard all of our instructions you might get holes in your clothes’ it wouldn’t matter because you still wouldn’t read the box. Do you think they need to include a recorded message?”

Mom: “But don’t you think they should tell you about the holes?”…

Like I said, my mother and I can argue about anything.

Alisa Singer’s humorous essays have appeared in a variety of print and online newspapers and magazines across the country and in Canada. She is the author of the books I Still Wanna Be A…,  an illustrated collection of whimsical poetic fantasies in which she “morphs” herself into her childhood heroes, and My Baby Boomer Memory Album,  an album to memorialize the first grand child, social security check, chin hair and other milestones of the second half of the boomer’s life. You can learn more about her work by visiting her website: www.AlisaSinger.com or contacting her at ASingerAuthor@gmail.com.

By Rick Garner
On the heels of winning the Distiller of the Year Award at Whisky Magazine’s 2010 Icons of Whisky Awards, Suntory is proud to announce the introduction of two new Japanese whiskies for Father’s Day: Yamazaki 1984 and Hibiki 12 Year Old.

The perfect gift for the “whisky connoisseur,” Suntory’s Yamazaki 1984 is a way to give the distinct taste of Japan:

• With a limited bottling of only 300, Yamazaki 1984 a rare and luxurious whisky gift
• A perfect climate and pure water contribute to its unique flavor, but the key difference lies in the use of American, Spanish and Japanese casks
• Smooth and full-bodied, it displays a distinctive, cinnamon-like flavor, the result of its key malt
• At a price of $559.95, Yamazaki 1984 is the quintessential luxury whisky gift

And for the blended whisky drinker, there is Hibiki 12 Year Old, the pinnacle of the Suntory portfolio:

• A whisky that can be enjoyed both straight or “Mizuari” style (cut with water).
• Uses a signature blending process which combines bamboo charcoal filtering with aging in plum liqueur casks
• The bottle has 24 facets, which represent the hours in a day and the ancient Japanese calendar, in which a year was divided into twenty four parts.
• Priced at $55, Hibiki 12 Year Old is an attainable luxury gift

Maybe you’re retired, or quickly approaching that time of your life, but you haven’t really slowed down yet. There’s perhaps work, household duties, visits from grandchildren, and ~eventually ~ responsibility for the care of elderly relatives. With all that going on, sometimes it’s hard to remember to eat healthy.

And when day-to-day meals become too much to handle,

Javier

Javier Fuertes, a local personal chef known as “The Dinner Maker,” wants people to know that there are options for full-service home-cooked fare.

Fuertes, a Johnson and Wales University-trained chef, left the high-pressure world of restaurant and banquet cooking and started his own personal chef service about seven years ago. Based in Fitchburg, he travels throughout Central MA and southern NH to provide people with nutritious and flavorsome cuisine.

Fuertes’ services range from $310 for three entrees (with four servings apiece) to a package of six full meals, with sides, for $475. The fee includes personalized menu planning, grocery shopping, meal preparation, packaging and labeling. Fuertes does it all, even cooking the meals in the customer’s own kitchen and cleaning up afterward.

“There’s definitely a need out there for specialized cuisine like this,” he said. “Older people aren’t always aware that personal chef services exist.”

While preparing meals for older clients, he’ll choose good proteins like lean meats and fish for entrees, and will often substitute healthier ingredients ~ like Smart Balance spread instead of butter ~ without sacrificing flavor.

“Everything is freshly made, no preservatives, no additives,” he promised. Clients’ menu favorites include dry-rubbed baby back ribs and lasagna-wrapped salmon.

Having cooked for older clients, Fuertes is well-versed in the dietary needs of this age group, whether they’re dealing with diabetes, hypertension or other common ailments.
“I customize meals according to the client’s profile,” he said. “As a policy, I always adhere to customer needs.”

Fuertes stays current with health matters by conducting his own nutrition research, and he often consults other members of the American Personal and Private Chef Institute and Association. He is also a certified fitness instructor, bringing his knowledge of food and exercise together.

Beyond just dietary requirements, Fuertes is aware of other challenges facing his older consumers, who might live alone without family members nearby. He recently worked with a client whose adult children lived across the country. The siblings coordinated with each other to purchase a series of meals for their MA-based father.

“It’s difficult ~ the kids can only do so much [long-distance],” he said. “But they found it to be a saving grace.”

Fuertes also referenced a former client, now deceased, who found out about him through a newspaper advertisement. He cooked for her on a monthly basis until she passed away. She looked forward to the hours he would spend in her kitchen, he said.

“For me, it’s more than just a business, it’s a relationship,” Fuertes said. “I really do care about helping people. It’s such a great feeling to provide good food.”

Chef Javier Fuertes, “The Dinner Maker” can be reached at 978-343-8860 or chefjav@dinnermaker.com. Learn more about the business at www.thedinnermaker.com.

Oh yeah, the summer months… that fleeting time of year when we escape our four walls and head outdoors.  Some of us take this to such an extreme that we find ourselves making a sweep of the back yard to pick up all the kicked-off socks and shirts before doing our weekly laundry.

Meals go outdoors too, from the relaxed coffee and bagel on Sunday morning to some of our favorite restaurants, such as the Flying Rhino Café.  The Rhino has a row of tables along their Shrewsbury Street sidewalk where people meet to enjoy lunch.   Then, last year, they sacrificed a couple parking places to build a deck complete with metal patio furniture, big yellow umbrellas and a tiki bar that lend it a festive party atmosphere.

On a warm May evening a friend and I managed to snag the last unoccupied table out on the Flying Rhino’s deck and sat down for dinner.  I started with a glass of Sam’s Summer Ale.  Whether you’re in New England or Key West it doesn’t seem to matter; order anything from Boston Beer Company for a reliably tasty glass of beer.  Summer brew is one of their lighter offerings and has a spicy lemon flavor.

Naomi, our server, explained changes to the menu and pointed out that this is the Flying Rhino’s tenth year of operation.  They’ve reprised menu items from each of those years and given them a tweak or two to commemorate the anniversary.  The result?  An offering of distinctive entrees that exceed what one normally expects from the café dining format.  Still, I was relieved to find some of my personal favorites, especially the Tarzan burger and Ivory Tusk chicken sandwich, were still available.

The Rhino’s breadboard hasn’t changed either.  Soon after serving our drinks, Naomi brought a length of sliced warm bread with a bowl of their zesty garlic red pepper infused dipping oil.   The evening was so breezy I could see its freshness blowing away so I dipped fast and furious.

Summer’s warmth seems to take the edge off appetites, so we skipped right over appetizers and headed for the special entrees.  A tip from a reliable source led me to try the Lobster Ravioli.  At most places this is a pricey meal that’s just “good enough” ~ seemingly shipped in from some universal source.  Not so at the Rhino… here, five large round raviolis made with tomato pasta were stuffed with pure minced lobster meat and a sheen of tarragon which lent a slightly sweet flavor that complemented the pool of lobster sherry crème over which they were served.

The kitchen took this dish a giant step forward by topping it with tender lobster claw meat, sea scallops and large juicy shrimp ~  lots of them… easily enough for sharing.  Whilst this dish was packed with seafood and fresh flavors, it was also memorable for what it avoided:  all those mushy bready fillings and intrusive sherry flavor.  Keep it on the menu!

My friend’s Everything Tuna, was served over forest-green wilted spinach nestled against a scoop of fragrant jasmine rice and slices of lemon.  Gorgeous color contrasts; but how was the flavor?  The thick piece of quick-seared sushi-grade yellowfin tuna was encrusted with the seed-salt combination made famous by the “everything bagel.”  Then they flipped the flavor switch to “on” with a dollop of wasabi cream sauce.  Both entrees were very flavorful and very generous in size.

But I was still amazed that the Flying Rhino has been on the “street” for a decade.  With undeniably hard work and personal commitment they’ve maintained the freshness and high energy that makes it the place to go for fun and innovative cuisine ~ and in doing so, have epitomized why Worcester loves its indies.