Babies in Africa

PlusNews Global KENYA: Integration of maternal, HIV services shows results Kenya

I was reading this article and although it has nothing to do with my current position, it reminded me a lot of what I was doing in Ethiopia in 2009. We worked so hard to assess the pediatric HIV services in Addis Ababa that this kind of data does not surprise me at all. I wish that more people were more conscious of the stigma and the consequences that HIV positive status has on the lives of women and children.




But, how awesome would that be - prenatal care, HIV care, and social support, all in ONE PLACE? Magic. Easily done with just a little re-organization of medical systems. The thing is, that kind of all-in-one maternal health and support is not even present in the US. Think of your local community health center - you wait for an hour for your 10 minute meeting with a Nurse Practitioner, who sends you to the infectious disease department to get HIV treatment, and to the separate pre-natal clinic, and to separate social support services organization - all likely to be in different buildings accross town, with their own hour long waits. Why can't it be centralized? Not only women in Africa have issues with transportation access.

I wonder how many children are still being born with HIV in the US due to poor access to services?

Just food for thought.

Tasty Tuesday!

Spinach Salad

Ingredients:

1 bag spinach, chopped
1 1/3 cups fresh Clementine orange or grapefruit sections
1 cup grapes, and/or 10 strawberries, sliced
1/4 cup fat-free raspberry vinaigrette ( I use less)
1 tablespoon raw sunflower seeds
1 tablespoon chopped almonds

Directions:

Combine all of the ingredients in a bowl and toss gently to mix.

Serve immediately.

Tasty Tuesday!

Butternut Sage and Goat Cheese Ravioli with Hazelnut Butter Sauce

from epicurious.com


Ingredients:

• a 2-pound butternut squash, halved lengthwise and seeded
• 1 medium onion, chopped (about 1 1/2 cups)
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground sage
• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 3 ounces aged goat cheese, grated (about 2/3)
• 60 won ton wrappers, thawed if frozen
• 1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter
• 1/3 cup hazelnuts, toasted and chopped coarse

Directions

Preheat oven to 425°F. and lightly grease a baking sheet.

Make filling:
Put squash halves, flesh sides down, an baking sheet and roast in middle of oven 30 minutes, or until flesh is very tender. When squash is cool enough to handle, scoop out flesh into a bowl and discard skin. Mash squash with a fork until smooth.

While squash is roasting, in a skillet cook onion and sage in butter with salt and pepper to taste over moderate heat, stirring, 5 minutes, or until onion is golden brown. Stir in garlic and cook, stirring, 1 minute.

Cool onion mixture slightly and add to squash. Add goat cheese and stir to combine well.

In a 6-quart kettle bring 5 quarts salted water to a gentle boil for ravioli.

Put 1 won ton wrapper on a lightly floured surface, keeping remaining wrappers in plastic wrap, and mound 1 tablespoon filling in center. Lightly brush edges of wrapper with water and put a second wrapper over first, pressing down around filling to force out air and seal edges well. If desired, trim excess dough with a round cutter or sharp knife. Transfer ravioli to a dry kitchen towel. Make more ravioli with remaining wrappers and filling in same manner, transferring as formed to towel and turning occasionally to dry slightly.

In skillet cook butter with hazelnuts over moderate heat until butter begins to brown, about 3 minutes, and immediately remove from heat (nuts will continue to cook). Season hazelnut butter with salt and pepper and keep warm, covered.

Cook ravioli in 3 batches in gently boiling heater 6 minutes, or until they rise to surface and are tender (do not let water boil vigorously once ravioli have been added). Carefully transfer ravioli as cooked with a slotted spoon to a large shallow baking pan and add enough cooking water to reach 1/2 inch up side of pan. Keep ravioli warm, covered.

Transfer ravioli with a slotted spoon ( letting excess cooking liquid drip off) to 6 plates and top with hazelnut brown-butter sauce.

Care for your heart

By this point in our lives, all of us have heard about the Go Red for Women campaign that raises money for women & heart disease. But, why? Because there are 42 million American women (that's almost the population of Ukraine) who live with heart disease, and some didn't even know it until it was too late. Why? Because similarly to high blood pressure, heart disease is a silent killer. Many are unaware of the threats they face.



Here are some statistics that even I didn't know about until doing some research on American Heart Month.

• Heart disease is the number one killer of women in America. As many as a third of women die from heart-related issues.
  
• More than 200,000 women die from heart disease every year. That's 5 times as many as die from breast cancer.
• Smoking increases your risk for heart disease at least two to three times.
• Diabetes increases this risk 2.5 times. Obesity, and being overweight weighs in as well.
• Women are less likely than men to receive appropriate care after a heart attack, because it's commonly misdiagnosed as stress or a panic attack. Women are such drama queens and hypochondriacs, they can't possibly be having heart attacks.
• Women make up only 27% of all heart health clinical studies in the US.
• Prevention and early detection is key.

Know your risks

These are some of the things that put you at a greater risk for heart problems:

• Family history
• Age (55+)
• Race/Ethnicity (any non-white women, really. But, more specifically: African American, Native American, South Asian, and Hispanic)
• Being overweight and/or physically inactive
  
• Smoking
• High blood pressure or high cholesterol

Check with your doctor if you think that you may be at risk.

Tasty Tuesday!

Apple Oat Muffins

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
  
• 1 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1 1/4 cups quick-cooking oats or oat bran
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  
• 1/2 teaspoon grated nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 2 large apples, finely chopped
• 1 12-ounce can apple juice concentrate
• 1/2 cup raisins
• vegetable oil spray

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 325 F.
2. In a large bowl, mix flours, oats or oat bran, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, and baking soda. Add apples, apple juice concentrate, and raisins. Stir just enough to mix.
3. Spoon batter into lightly vegetable oil sprayed muffin tins and bake for 25 minutes or until tops bounce back when pressed lightly.

Nutrition Information:

Per muffin:

calories: 227
fat: 1.3 g
protein: 5.4 g
carbohydrates: 50.5 g
sugar: 17.2 g
fiber: 4.4 g