NJDA to NJAND logo selected #eatright @EatRight_NJ

NJDA to NJAND logo contest

New Jersey Dietetic Association to 

New Jersey Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics

 
Today, the new NJ Dietetic Associations logo was revealed. I am proud that mine was among the 6 logos that were submitted and featured for voting at the NJDA annual meeting. My design was not chosen by their Executive Board. Instead, they selected a submission that suddenly appeared (late due to an email error..?...). It was not any of the featured logos at the meeting that were voted on by the members.

About me  

My background includes owning a health food store and restaurant for over 10 years and working for many years as an entrepreneur in the printing and advertising business. I’ve created many corporate logos and designs in the past, including my own logo for Emco Printing and Advertising, Inc that featured a seagull in the center of EM and CO, which stood for Mehl Company, my maiden name. An EM is a unit of measurement in type. I loved that logo; we featured it while serving the tri-state region of NJ, PA and Delaware for over a decade. I always felt flattered when people asked us if we were a franchise (because of our professional corporate image). 

MY NJ Dietetic Association DESIGN SUBMISSIONFor the NJAND logo I initially wanted to bring in an image featuring abundant produce to convey The Garden State. 

My first rendition included a photo taken in our garden featuring an abundant harvest of Jersey veggies and sorghum grain. NJ is a national top 10 producer of fruits and vegetables (top 5: cranberries, bell peppers, spinach, peaches, blueberries). Fruits and Vegetables are under consumed by Americans and as dietitians we encourage eating adequate portions from all the food groups. In my submission, the 1, 2, 3 in the NJ State outline represent NJAND’s 3 Regions.

As much as I really like rainbows it didn’t seem to represent the Association. The text didn’t seem to be strong enough so I reversed it to white and brought back the apple theme from their original logo (which, was established and unique with a bite off to the right side in the shape of the state of NJ; I really liked it and wonder why they wanted to abandon it). An apple is always a winning symbol for dietitians.My final version was to outline and enlarge the letters in NJAND so they were not lost in the apple. I used Photoshop 13. NJAND text: Century Regular. NJ text: Cooper Standard Black 

Attendees at the NJAND annual meeting voted on their favorite logos. 

Several weeks later, I received an email from the Association President informing me that the board received another design from someone who had email trouble getting it submitted by the deadline. Turns out the Board (not the members) voted on that one as their final selection. I like it too. Their new logo features a stock photo of a tomato - perhaps an heirloom Jersey tomato.

I wonder what logo the members voted for?

To see the new NJAND logo visit their Facebook page, website or Twitter.
Blog post and photos Copyright (C) Wind. All rights reserved.
Note: above designs were for 2016 logo contest submissions only. They are not the logo being used by NJAND.

Savor the Flavor of Eating Right #NNM #GardenCuizine Tell me your favorite Flavors to Savor

Mark your calendar for National Nutrition Month^® (NNM) 2016, which is sponsored by the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. NNM is held every year throughout the month of March to focus attention on the importance of Eating Right. 

In South Jersey, Inspira Health Network will be offering a public cooking class at the Fitness Connection in Vineland, NJ on March 10, 2016. Watch for the details from Inspira's PR department to be released soon!

Help us in planning our specific tastes and recipes for this fun cooking class: What does Savor the Flavor mean to you? What are your favorite flavors?
 
I look forward to hearing from you. Thank you!

Diana

Logo Copyright (C) EatRight.org Academy of Nutrition - used with permission.

Dietitian Savors Sicily #GardenCuizine @FabriziaLanza @FCPDPG

Anna Tasca Lanza Cooking School

S I C I L Y, Italy

Sicilian Culture and Cuisine Case Vecchie - day 4
 
I'm savoring the memories of our 10-day excursion to Sicily with the Food and Culinary Professionals Dietetic Practice Group of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.

Our Sicilian journey began in Palermo. We traveled  around the western coast and through central Sicily as we toured our way around the island. Our fourth day was a full day of sightseeing and cooking at the Anna Tasca Lanza School - surrounded by prickly pear cactus, vineyards and rolling hills in north central Sicily. 

The Cooking School, located near the Regaleali Winery, was named after its late Sicilian founder, “Anna Tasca Lanza”. Her daughter, Fabrizia Lanza, has carried on the tradition of teaching Sicilian cooking at the family estate.

We watched Fabrizia prepare classic Sicilian foods - from appetizers to dessert - using local ingredients such as herbs from her garden and fresh-made ricotta that arrived still warm! Her menu featured: Panelle (Chickpea fritters), Stewed Lamb with Mint (Spezzatino di Agnello alla Menta), Saffron Stewed Potatoes, and Cassata - a famous Sicilian dessert.  

Fabrizia demonstrated and showed us how to prepare the select menu, including the preparation of Cassata using layers of sponge cake and ricotta cream, encased with green (must be green!) marzipan (made from almonds and ground pistachios) and finished with white icing and candied fruits.

Her foods were paired with the appropriate award winning wines from her family's Regaleali Winery. Fabrizia took us for a private tour of her absolutely spectacular kitchen gardens, complete with chickens for fresh eggs and a breath taking view of the Sicilian countryside.

At the end of our fantastic day, we all gathered around a large farmhouse table to enjoy the meal that Fabrizia prepared for us. 
    ~ Grazie Fabrizia!

Watch for my Dave's Garden article "Gardens of Sicily" - coming soon!
Related Links
Fabrizia's book: Olive - A Global History of olive trees, olives and olive oil
A Warm Welcome to Case Vecchie
Photos and blogpost Copyright (C) 2012 Wind. All rights reserved.

Tucked away from the #FNCE frenzy in Philly; Today in Our Garden #GardenCuizine

 click on the photo to get a full view 

Today In Our Garden

South Jersey
USDA Zone 7a (formerly zone 6b)

October 7, 2012

The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics Food and Nutrition Conference and Expo (FNCE) in Philadelphia is now underway (October 6-9), drawing more than 10,000 Registered Dietitians - myself included. You can follow updates about the conference on Twitter. Everyone is quite eager to Tweet their updates and as a result several hash-tags have emerged: #FNCE, #FNCE2012 and  #FNCE12. 

I was in Philly before the FNCE frenzy - for a 2 1/2 day Weight Management training certification course, which no doubt benefited my nutrition counseling skills. I was sorry to miss the FNCE food photography class and the excursion to Hershey PA though. Proud to be a qualifying participant in a Hershey cocoa focus group, I look forward to going back to Philly this week.

Philadelphia is in our backyard so to speak; it's not a far drive away. But, what's really in our back yard? A fabulous garden. Backyard gardens provide food, physical activity and fun for the whole family. I highly encourage you and your family to try growing your own vegetables and herbs. And, even if you don't have a backyard - plants can be grown in a neighborhood community garden or grown in pots and put out on a balcony or porch. Here is today's spotlight of a few of our select October blooms and foliage.
 
Photo clockwise from top left to right:

• Chiltepin Peppers (Capsicum annuum var. aviculare) - one potted plant produces literally hundreds of tiny round hot peppers; also known as bird peppers. We just took our plant indoors last night. Peppers grow best in warm climates. Chiltepin peppers require a longer growing season than sweet banana peppers or more commonly grown bell peppers. From a culinary perspective, they are well worth the wait. Once red, they can be pulled off the plant and allowed to dry on plates. When dry, the hot peppers can be stored in a spice jar and used as needed in cooking.
• Swiss Chard (Beta vulgaris var. cicla) - what more can I say about Chard? I've blogged often about Chard's healthy nutrition profile and how easy it is to grow. Chard comes in many vibrant colors and varieties. The Chard in our garden (Northern Lights Mix) has been amazing - producing greens for our family all Summer long and even now into the Fall.
• Tomatoes are running out of ripening time! Still, so many new flowers with hopes of growing more tomatoes. Knowing how tomatoes dislike cool temperatures - at this time of year, we start picking them green and allowing them to ripen inside on a sunny windowsill.
• Job's Tears (Coix lacryma-jobi) - are now black in color and will be picked and saved as seed or used as beads - a fascinating plant.
• Garden Mums are ablaze in Fall colors!
• Purple Beauty Berry (Callicarpa dichotoma) - these berries feed the birds.
• Inky Fingers Coleus (Solenostemon scutellarioides) - my absolute favorite Soleno. I took cuttings last night and have about a dozen plants started under grow lights indoors for new plants that will be for outdoor garden planters next year. If you find your local garden centers do not offer some of your favorite coleus, this is something you can do to propagate hard-to-find cultivars.

Happy and Healthy Gardening!
And, have fun at FNCE if you're an RD headed to, or in, Philadelphia
Related Links
Backyard Gardening: Grow your own food, Improve your Health 
Related Articles by Diana Wind, RD
Ayurvedic Herb: Coleus forskeolii  
Homemade Ground Pepper Spices
Job's Tears - A Fascinating Plant
Chiltepin Peppers Garden Spotlight
Photo collage Copyright (C)2012 Wind. All rights reserved.

Day-by-day tour of Sicily * Erice, home of famous Sicilian Pasticerrias! #FCPDPG #GardenCuizine * Marsala Wines

S I C I L Y

Sicilian Culture and Cuisine
Marsala and Erice, Sicily - day 3

Our 10-day excursion to Sicily with the Food and Culinary Professionals Dietetic Practice Group of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics gave us an insider's look at Sicily's wine production and cultural heritage. 

We began our tour in Palermo and started making our way counter clockwise 3/4 of the way around the island. Our third day was a busy day, as all our days were. We visited the western coast of Sicily, touring the Salt Pans and the Florio Winery in Marsala in the morning, then traveled to Erice, a medieval town - said to be the ancient birthplace of Venus - in the afternoon. Being a trained pastry chef, I especially enjoyed visiting Erice - known for its pastry shops.

Salt Pans of Sicily

 

 

The Salt Pans in Sicily are located on the coastline, between the cities of Trapani and Marsala. In this area, salt is extracted from the seawater using windmills that move the salt through the pans - a procedure that the ancient Greeks and Phoenicians once used when they colonized that part of Sicily.

Migratory birds like herons and flamingos stop along the Sicilian coast on their way to Africa in the autumn, but in spring, our timing did not coincide with the birds migration. 

Florio Winery - Marsala, Sicily

What was not to like about taste testing Sicilian wines! Florio Winery was founded in Marsala in 1832 by Vincenzo Florio Sr.* Their wines have improved over the years and were not nearly as sweet as expected. 

*The Florio family sold their winery to the Cinzano family in 1924. World War II resulted in severe damage to the winery. A major renovation was completed in 1984. In 1988 the winery changed hands again, and is now owned by ILLVA Saronno Holding company, which is breathing new life into their wine sales.

Erice, Sicily
Our tour bus could get almost to the top of Mt. Erice, but motor vehicles could not go the entire way. We put on our walking shoes and enjoyed some exercise. Once in Erice, the view overlooking the city of Trapani was spectacular!  

Sicily has several castle remains. Two castles are located in Erice: the Pepoli Castle (now a hotel), which dates to Saracen times, and the Venus Castle, which dates back to the Norman time period. We were near the Venus Castle.

Wild Borage along the walk to Erice

 

We walked along the cobble-stoned streets and really enjoyed visiting this area. Erice was a highlight for me because I had the opportunity to meet famous pastry chef Maria Grammatico, who is featured in the book Bitter Almonds, written by Mary Simeti. Chef Grammatico has an interesting story of how she learned Sicilian pastry art after World War II in the convent of San Carlo in Erice.

As soon as we got back to the States, I ordered her book in English. In Sicily, Maria only had her book available in Italian. I'm inspired by her classic Sicilian pastries and hope to make some of her recipes.

Maria Grammatico's baked goods and confections were truly works of pastry art. I could have spent the whole day there. Her shop was welcoming and she was super nice too.

While there, I took a sneak peak at her kitchen and took many mouth-watering photographs of her amazing Sicilian pastries, including dolci di Badia, Sicilian cassata, tortina paradiso, frutta martorana and biscotti di fichi. Her pasticceria uses classic Sicilian ingredients, including figs, honey, almonds, citrus and ricotta cheese.

Watch for our Day 4 culinary adventures at the Anna Tasca Lanza Cooking School. Every day was better than the next in Sicily!

Related Links

Pasticceria Maria Grammatico Erice

The Vendacari Nature Reserve, Sicily

Cantine Florio 
Sicilia Wines

Blog post and photographs Copyright (C)2012 Wind. All Rights Reserved.