The Healthy Cooking class offers instruction for those who are open to new and better eating habits. This class incorporates vegetables from the community garden as well as new ingredients, and provides nutritional values for every dish. Recipes: Healthy Spring Rolls & Turkey Taco Wraps. Instructor Angela Ho: “Healthy spring roll wraps were introduced to the residents to expand their selections of healthy eating alternatives. These spring roll wraps are extremely easy to make, low in carbs, calories, and are cost efficient. Many residents had never seen or heard of this dish before and most seemed to enjoy it. We also made a healthy turkey lettuce wrap taco. This recipe was intended to give residents an alternative in choices for flavoring their foods instead of relying on prepackaged seasonings that may be laden with MSG or sodium. The addition of wrapping the taco meat inside lettuce greatly reduced the amount of sodium and carbohydrate intake that you would get from a taco shell. The reactions of the residents were overall positive. They loved the spring rolls and everyone went for seconds. They said that the turkey tacos needed more salt!”
Gardening Club Instructor Doreen Lamothe: “This month, we grew our first peanut! I’ve never grown peanuts in my life! It seems everything we plant in San Bernardino is always a success. I think this is due to Sandra’s love and attention! We are winding down on our summer garden and we have planted quite a few things for the fall – we are going to be planting a lot of greens, like sugar snap peas, and are going to try winter tomatoes, broccoli, kale, lettuce, and a few other assorted vegetables.”
Art Club Instructor Robyn Holt reports that, last month, the group finished the Senior Olympic Banner; completed the design and decoration of their Senior Olympic T-shirts; explored the basic elements of art, including lines, form, color, values, and use of space; worked on miniature canvasses with acrylic paint; and made decorative String Balls. “Residents were so excited about the Senior Olympics and were very proud of the banner and t-shirts they decorated. They said other residents loved the banner and asked to take pictures of it; they were so honored and delighted by the whole process. We are planning an Art Show, and they are really proud of our Club and the camaraderie we have established in our group. I really am pleased with all of them and their positive attitude and team work towards the projects in class.”
A new musical opportunity: Volunteer Instructor Genevieve Brown now offers private 30 minute piano lessons for beginners, with emphasis on reading music and playing simple pieces. Her new students are enjoying their private lessons, and even come out to practice when she’s not there. She reports: “One student is determined to play the Christmas song, ‘Silent Night,’ by the Christmas season. He has purchased a keyboard. That tells me he is committed. He is very enthusiastic and eager to learn in every lesson.”
~ Alma Wright, Regional Programs Director
EngAGE offers a variety of classes, workshops, and special programs at each of our communities. These posts highlight just a small sample.
