Registered Dietitian Kelly Vass, MS, RD, LDN, is Nutrition Services Coordinator for Friendship Trays.
Her entries cover a range of issues raised by her visits with Friendship Trays recipients
and her work helping to plan the nutritional content of Friendship Trays meals.

Reach Kelly at 704-333-9229 extension 4845, or e-mail her.

 

 

Aug. 6, 2010

 I made zucchini bread yesterday and wondered if others were having trouble using their abundance of zucchini. Although you can Google zucchini bread and find many recipes, my favorite comes from Better Homes and Gardens New Cook Book, 9th edition, 8th printing. My mother has an earlier edition of the cook book and the recipe is not present.

Zucchini Nut Loaf

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup sugar
1 cup finely shredded unpeeled zucchini, seeds removed prior to shredding
1 egg
1/4 cup oil
1/4 teaspoon finely shredded lemon peel
1/2 cup chopped nuts

In a mixing bowl stir together flour, cinnamon, soda, salt, nutmeg, and baking powder; set aside. In a mixing bowl beat together sugar, shredded zucchini, and egg. Add oil and lemon peel; mix well. Stir flour mixture into zucchini mixture. Gently fold in chopped nuts. Turn batter into greased 8 x 4 x 2 -inch loaf pan. Bake in a 350 oven for 55-60 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool in pan 10 minutes. Remove from pan; cool thoroughly on a rack. Wrap and store loaf overnight before slicing. Makes 1.

 

I typically double the recipe so I can enjoy a loaf and share the second. I use 1/2 all purpose flour and 1/2 white wheat flour for the flour measure. My favorite nut is pecans. The batter may be baked in smaller loaves or muffin tins but you need to adjust baking time.

 

 

 

June 28, 2010

I visited Mr. H recently. He had been experiencing issues with elevated blood pressure. He shared that he had a blood pressure cuff but no stethoscope. We pondered how he could obtain a reading, as he lived alone, and decided that he didn't have the correct equipment.

A Sunday School class from a supportive church offered to purchase a blood pressure device for Mr. H. Now Mr. H is able to take blood pressure readings by himself, thanks to friends of Friendship Trays.

 

 

June 17, 2010

Recently I shared information about the demonstration garden, Friendship Gardens, with Mr. C. His eyes lit up when I listed the vegetables that are grown in the garden. I shared a few garden vegetables with Mr. C. He was delighted to have green tomatoes for frying, squash and zucchini for sautéing, and cucumber for slicing as an addition to his evening meal.

 

 

May 31, 2010

Mr. P loves the food he receives from Friendship Trays, especially the fresh vegetables. He attributes part of his weight gain and improved physical status to the healthful preparation of the meals. Friendship Trays steams, sautés, roasts, and stir fries vegetables to preserve the nutrients as well as to improve the taste and texture.

 

 

Feb. 8, 2010

Mr. J says he enjoys receiving meals each weekday.

"I don't know what I'd do without them," he says. "I like the great variety and use of protein alternatives, like the beans and macaroni and cheese, each week."

Mr. J credits the nutritious meals with being behind his improved health and renewed interest in becoming more physically fit.

 

 

Dec. 18, 2009

Mr. P moved to Charlotte in May and began receiving Friendship Trays in June. He credits the food from Friendship Trays with being a key explanation for his improved health and well-being. "Thank you," he said, "for the fresh, nutritious foods that are healing me!"

 

 

 

Aug. 21, 2009

Mrs. S has been undergoing radiation and chemotherapy. After treatments, she's sometimes too tired to prepare a snack – much less a meal. She says she doesn't know what she'd do if she didn't have the Friendship Trays meals.

 

 

 

Aug. 21, 2009

Vegetables and fruits. Delicious vegetables and fruits. That's what Mrs. P says she enjoys the most in her Friendship Trays meals. Gentlemen, are you listening? Vegetables and fruits. Delicious vegetables and fruits. Mrs. P and your mother were right: Vegetables and fruits are not just delicious; they are GOOD for you.

 

 

 

 

Aug. 4, 2009

Although he loves the food that Friendship Trays volunteers deliver, Mr. M's appetite has declined lately. It's hot inside the two-bedroom apartment that Mr. M shares with his mother. An electric fan on a stand purrs in the room. But that is the only cooling that he and his mother have on this hot summer day.

 

 

 

 

Aug. 4, 2009

Mr. G's home goes beep, beep, beep, beep, beep, at persistent, regular intervals. It is not long before a volunteer delivering meals realizes that Mr. G has not replaced a dying battery in the home's smoke detector.

The volunteer runs to the store, then returns with two 9-volt batteries – one for the smoke detector, the other as a spare.  The volunteer replaces the battery in Mr. G's beeping smoke detector. And in this way too a volunteer has helped create a healthier environment for Mr. G.

 

 

 

 

Aug. 4, 2009

Ms. M praises her Friendship Trays drivers. Those drivers, she says, bring a huge smile to her face each weekday morning. I know, she says, all about my Monday driver's grandchildren and my Tuesday driver's recent vacation and my Wednesday driver's new job. It's like being a part of one big family.

 

 

 

 

 

Reach Kelly at 704-333-9229 extension 4845 or e-mail her.

 

 

 

Friendship Trays, Inc.
Meals-on-wheels in Charlotte-Mecklenburg, NC


2401-A Distribution St. Charlotte, NC 28203 voice 704-333-9229 fax 704-333-5947

Delivering, in a caring and friendly manner, balanced meals to individuals in this community
who are unable, because of age or infirmity, to obtain and prepare their own meal