Her Puzzles

Puzzles

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Health & Recipe

NEW HOLIDAY FLAVORS

BY CHEF LAISHA PONDER

As the holidays approach, our traditions will be a little different this year. The Covid-19 pandemic does not have to ruin the fun; it can provide a new set of rules while creating new memories!

Strong immune systems are essential and your food choices matter. When planning your menu, choose foods that will represent the rainbow. Instead of replacing family favorites, add in some healthy new dishes. A delicious side dish that goes with most Holiday entrées is Garlic Herb Vegetables. You can use any vegetable that you prefer to make the dish your own.

Bring out your inner Chef and use herbs, oil and spices of your choice to make this immune boosting side dish amazing. Herbs like basil, parsley, dill, chives, or rosemary work well with most vegetables. Spices such as red pepper flakes, cumin, and smoked paprika can enhance the natural flavor. Vegetables that are naturally sweet pair well with mild and fragrant flavors like cinnamon, ginger, garlic, sage and thyme. Mild tasting vegetables such as cabbage and cauliflower combine well with tarragon, fennel, mint, oregano, and coriander. Get creative and make your vegetable side dish taste unbelievably delicious!

Chef LaiSha Ponder, MPH CLC is a Breastfeeding Coordinator and WIC Nutritionist at the Pitt County Health Department.

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Photo By Nick Nice

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GARLIC HERB VEGETABLES 8 ounces Asparagus 8 ounces Yellow squash 8 ounces Bell pepper 8 ounces Mushrooms 8 ounces Onion 8 ounces Miniature Carrots ¼ cup of Olive oil ¼ cup of Fresh Minced Parsley 3 Tablespoon fresh Lemon Juice 2 Tablespoons fresh minced garlic ½ teaspoon of Sea salt ¼ teaspoon Black Pepper

SOUTHERN HONEY MUSTARD ½ cup Yellow mustard ¼ cup Honey 1 teaspoon Smoked paprika 1 teaspoon Garlic Powder 2 teaspoons Creole seasoning A pinch of Sea salt

VEGETABLES

Garlic Herb Vegetable Nutrition Facts Serving Size ½ cup Servings: 12, Calories: 90, Total Fat 4.6g, Saturated Fat .7g, Cholesterol 0mg, Sodium 101mg, Total Carbohydrate 12g, Dietary Fiber 2.9g, Total Sugars 6.8g, Protein 2.5g

DIRECTIONS 1. Wash all vegetables and pat dry. Set aside. 2. Mix all ingredients for Southern Honey Mustard sauce in a bowl, whisk until it combines smoothly. Set aside. 3. Pre-heat Grill or Skillet. 4. Mix Olive oil, Parsley, Lemon Juice, Garlic, salt and pepper in a bowl. Toss vegetables to coat with marinade. 5. Place coated vegetables in grill basket on the grill or heated skillet. Cook approximately 5-7 minutes. Vegetables should be tender but not mushy. 6. Serve and enjoy.

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Shopping Give A

That Keeps Giving All Year Long

Vintner Collection

Cabernet Sauvignon

ONEHOPE Wines, $25

This bottle of cabernet helps fund Applied Behavioral Analysis (ABA) therapy for children with autism. Enjoy a wine with bold and beautiful complex aromas and textures with flavors of dark berries and toffee with hints of vanilla.

www.onehopewine.com Mini Stars Of Haiti O rna m en ts

Give The Gift Of Three Ducks World Vision, $30 Give ducks to a hungry family today, and they’ll benefit from hundreds of large, protein-rich eggs all year long. Extra duck eggs and hatched ducklings can be sold to buy medicine or help send a child to school. A duck also offers valuable down-feathers, famous for their thermal insulation and padding — great for use in bedding materials and warm clothing, or to provide much-needed income at the market. www.donate.worldvision.org

Trades of Hope, $36 This collection features artisan’s skilled craftmanship through upcycling materials – these Mini Stars of Haiti Ornaments are made from upcycled cereal box beads. These ornaments create jobs for women in Haiti, where their mission is to help mamas keep their babies. www.tradesofhope.com

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Heifer International, $30 Make-A-Wish Quilt Set Lush Decor, $68 This colorful reversible quilt is perfect for any child’s bedroom. For every item sold from the Make-A-Wish collection, Lush Décor donates a portion of sales to Make-A-Wish America. The company will also grant bedroom makeover wishes to families with a child battling a critical illness. www.lushdecor.com Give The Gift Of Honeybees

Farmers that keep bees are able to harvest honey during the non-growing season to earn extra income, producing 60 pounds or more of honey each year. A Heifer honeybee gift donation includes a bee package, hive, box and training in beekeeping techniques.

When you buy bees for a family in need, your gift increases the global honeybee population to support the environment, boosts income through sales of honey, wax and pollen, and stimulates growth of the family’s crops through pollination. www.heifer.org

Want to donate money or get involved and volunteer your time at local organizations in Pitt County? Below is a list of some that have multiple opportunities to get involved. Visit their websites to find out more.

JOY Soup Kitchen www.joyssoupkitchen.org

Ronald McDonald House of Eastern Carolina www.rmhenc.org

Literacy Volunteers of Pitt County www.pittliteracy.org

Saving Graces for Felines www.savinggraces4felines.org

Food Bank of Central and Eastern Carolina www.foodbankcenc.org

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Local Restaurant Gives Back To First Responders

BY CHRISTINA RUOTOLO

Yordanys Bastardo is no stranger to giving For Bastardo, his mission is simple: stay true to who you are back to the community. He is owner of Villa with Jesus at the core, always have your finger on the heart Verde restaurants, 2601 E. 10th St. and 2247 W. of the community and give back when you can. During the Arlington Blvd. Bastardo gives back in a variety COVID shutdowns, he partnered with other restaurants in the of ways, and many tend to stay under the radar. If you know him, community and started a “We Believe in Greenville” campaign. you know he has opened his heart and kitchen by feeding the Restaurants taking part included Luna Pizza, Villa Verde, Basil’s, homeless, provided meals after floods and hurricanes, and made Dap House, Christie’s Euro Pub, Uptown Nutrition, Angus Grill, sure migrant workers in the fields during sweet potato harvest Molly’s Cafe, Nino’s, Marabella and Sup Dogs. The goal was were fed daily. He has even, along with his wife, Eri offered up to send a message to the community that they were there to prayers, encouragement and handed out thousands of Bibles support and feed them. It was a small-business effort and they and meals throughout the years. connected with the community through social media videos,

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sold over 3,000 T-shirts, and lifted each other up. Small businesses are the heart and soul of our community and this campaign was a success and showed when people come together for a cause, they can prevail through any adversity.

Recently, Bastardo, his friend, Scotty Dixon, and community members came together to introduce a new charitable effort benefiting first responders. "Sometimes our only interaction with first responders is when we are in crisis or a tragedy strikes and they are in go-mode helping restore peace and balance in the community. We tend to only see them as “badges” not “people,” Bastardo said.

Villa Verde on 10th Street decided to open up Saturday's from 11 p.m. until 8 a.m. allowing on-duty fire, rescue, EMS, police officers or sheriff’s to come in, grab a bite to eat, re-group, and take a break ensuring that their food is on the house. This will allow them to sit down, complete their paperwork in a safe environment, ensuring they can continue to provide safety and assistance to the community as needed, Bastardo said.

First responders go above and beyond every day putting themselves in danger, saving lives and many times do not get the recognition they truly deserve, Bastardo said. Opening his doors provides a safe haven and allows them to interact with volunteers and staff on a non-emergency level. “If they can sacrifice every day in the field to keep us safe, we can sacrifice one night for

them,” Bastardo said. He wants the community to see them as people, not uniforms or workers. They are more than responders, they are our neighbors, our friends and part of the heartbeat of the community.

This will be on an ongoing effort, and Bastardo hopes that other restaurants in the community will do the same. His goal is to see at least seven restaurants a day out of the 404 licensed restaurants in Greenville taking part. The community response so far has been phenomenal and positive. Villa Verde is seeking volunteers who wish to assist in this effort and give their time by giving back to first responders. “Our 911 operators feeling like they matter by something as simple as a hot meal that they were sent, not microwave hot, but a hot meal. I personally spent a night recently getting to know a couple dozen officers who protect me for a living as I served them. We watched their cars while they were inside, and just let them know we stood beside them. I want to thank then for letting me do this for them. When we break bread together, it does something. We lower our guard. We get to the heart of who we are as people when we share a meal together. I want to continue to be a Platform For Good for the community any way I can.” Bastardo said. If you would like more information on this project or you would like to volunteer, call Villa Verde at 252-689-6005.

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Solutions

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HER PANEL CONTRIBUTORS

SUSAN MAY LAVETTE LANG FORD CONNIE COREY NATASHU TURNAGE VICKIE JOYNER

“During the holidays, my family always sponsors a child for Christmas. We look for those who have had a hardship and we bless them with gifts of their choice. What I love most about this time of year is to see the look on a child’s face when they get to open their gifts.” - Susan May, 44 Tarboro

“I give back in service. Last year, we served during Thanksgiving at the Greenville Community Shelter with my church, Cornerstone Missionary Baptist Church. Also, our local chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. (Iota Kappa Omega Chapter) adopts children on the Angel Tree.”. - LaVette Lang Ford, 50 Greenville

“Pitt County Social Services has two holiday programs I support. One is the Adult Services Holiday Cheer program, where you can donate items, money or adopt an adult (that we are guardians of) to buy presents for. The majority of these adults live in adult homes, group homes or nursing homes and range in age from 18 and up. A good portion of these adults don’t have family to receive presents from and most of the time their wish list are items we take for granted such as socks, soap, toothbrushes, etc.. The other program is the Foster Care Holiday Cheer which is along the same lines except this is for the children in our Foster Care program, who wouldn’t receive Christmas presents otherwise.”. - Connie Corey, 65 Greenville

“Christmas and Thanksgiving are really my favorite times of the year. I have been doing a donation in honor of friends to the Salvation Army for years at Thanksgiving. Christmas is a little more like an elf. There are several families that Santa's Elf drops off to. We have a facility that we provide Santa and gifts for the children each year. Seeing their faces makes working all worth while. We help with the purchase, wrapping and delivery to over 100 children each year. And folks wonder why my grands, nieces and nephews are so spoiled! Children are my weak spot!” - Natashu Turnage, 44, Winterville

“My goal is to find a family/individual/group to assist with money, food, clothing and/or just to give some encouragement in particularly during the holidays. Everyone is not necessarily in need of money. Often times, folks simply need an encouraging word/ message, particularly during the holidays.” - Vickie Joyner, 58 Greenville

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SHERRI HILL-COIDAN 44, Washington, NC

Who is your style Icon? I still remember being five years old, growing up in Canada, watching Princess Diana walk down the aisle in that puffy dress and long train! She and Prince Charles visited my hometown 5 years later which was exciting to wave to a real princess! Her fashion and style were legendary and I often wonder what and/or who, she would be wearing these days!

Current job title and duties? Owner of Beauty Bar Medispa & a Nationally Board Certified Family Nurse Practitioner by the ANCC. I provide a vast array of medical aesthetic services.

Are you a member of any organization or volunteer for events during the

year? Greenville Pitt County Chamber of Commerce, NC Stop Human Trafficking

Tell me a little bit about your family (husband,

children)- I have been married to my loving husband, Marc, for 17 years and we are the proud parents of our two wonderful boys, Nick (6) and Nate (9), as well as our 105lb black lab, Bolo!

If you could have dinner with any famous person dead or alive, who would it be and

why?- Eleanor Roosevelt! As an avid book reader with a warm place for teachers in my heart, I find it remarkable that this First Lady developed a traveling library to deliver books via horseback to rural communities. I admire her mission to share the joy of reading with those who would otherwise not have had the opportunity to do so. I would love to hear her book recommendations as well as discuss her passion in fighting against segregation, fighting for women’s rights and her leadership in the

UN’s Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Signature scent- Pleasures by Estee Lauder

Favorite beauty service and why? Botox to maintain a youthful appearance free of fine lines & wrinkles and Chemical Peels to manage my skin tone and texture!

Favorite beauty product and why- I love Beauty Bar Medispa’s very own Transformation Serum because it hydrates the skin in addition to having several other peptides to further help tighten and tone my skin. Plus, it helps with my rosacea and does not irritate my sensitive skin.

What is your anthem (song that represents

you)? I love the song “Where is the Love?” by the Black Eyed Peas – I believe the song’s message is one that can speak to all generations. Favorite Motivational quote- “You must be the change you wish to see in the world”-Gandhi

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