Newspaper Page Text
HOUSTON HOME JOURNAL
Peggy's Pointers
Peggy
Bledsoe
Houston
County
Extension
Coordinator
Food Allergies
Millions of Americans have
allergic reactions to food each
year. Even though most food
allergies cause rather mild
or minor reactions some can
cause severe reactions and
be life threatening. There
is no cure for food allergies
so avoiding the allergen is
the key to controlling a food
allergy.
The most common allergens
are milk, eggs, peanuts, tree
nuts, fish, shellfish, soy and
wheat. These particular items
account for over 90 percent
of allergic reactions to foods.
Reactions in allergic individu
als can vary depending on the
severity of the allergy and
may include hives, tingling
in the mouth, swelling of the
tongue and throat, difficulty
breathing, abdominal cramps,
vomiting or diarrhea, eczema
or rash, coughing or wheez
ing, loss of conscientious,
dizziness, anaphylactic shock
and death. These symptoms
usually appear within a few
minutes to two hours after an
individual has eaten the food
to which they are allergic.
Food allergy is more com
mon in children than in adults.
Recent estimates indicated
that as many as 4 percent to 8
percent of children and 2 per
cent of adults suffer from food
allergies. However, a recent
report from the National
Center for Health Statistics
at the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention indi
cates that the prevalence of
food allergy may be increas
ing in the United States and
in other countries as well.
Some of the findings from this
report include: approximate
ly 3 million children under
age 18 were reported to have
a food or digestive allergy in
the previous twelve months;
from 1997 to 2007 the preva
lence of reported food allergy
increased 18 percent in chil
dren under age 18; children
with food allergy are two to
four times more likely to have
other related conditions such
as asthma and other aller
gies, compared with children
without food allergies; boys
and girls had similar rates of
food allergy.
Since avoiding the food
allergen is the best way to
prevent a reaction, take time
to read food
labels. Now labels are
required by law to clearly
identify the source of all
ingredients that are, or are
derived from, the eight most
common food allergens. The
Food Allergen Labeling and
Consumer Protection Act of
2004 was passed by Congress
to help people avoid health
risks from food allergens. The
law applies to all foods regu
lated by FDA, both domestic
and imported, that are labeled
on or after Jan. 1, 2006. For
your information, FDA regu
lates all foods except meat,
poultry and certain egg prod
ucts. Food products labeled
before Jan. 1, 2006 were not
required to be re-labeled
under the new law. Yet these
foods may still be on store
shelves, so be cautious when
shopping and reading labels.
People who believe they are
suffering from a food allergy
should be tested. Most chil
dren outgrow food allergies as
they get older. In some cases,
however, food allergy can
remain a lifelong problem.
Peggy Bledsoe is the
Houston County Extension
Coordinator wording in the
area of Family and Consumer
Sciences with the University
of Georgia Cooperative
Extension. She can be
reached at 478-987-2028 or
at pbledsoe@uga.edu.
FOOD&HOME
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Audrey Evans, Leta’s Manager.
LETA'S on the SQUARE
Popular downtown gathering place has loyal
• following for dining-in and catered events
By CHARLOTTE
PERKINS
Journal Staff Writer
Imagine you’re going
out to eat with a
crowd of friends.
One wants Crown Royal
and another wants sweet
tea.
One wants pizza.
Another wants prime rib.
One’s in the mood for a
chili dog. Another’s in the
mood for salmon baked
in a bag and served over
angel hair pasta.
One is yearning for
“Death by Chocolate,”
and another wants Canoli
Crema.
Where to go? That’s
easy.
Leta’s on the Square.
Leta’s has just passed
its first anniversary, but
based on the crowds and
the camaraderie, you’d
think it had been on that
downtown Perry corner
for a half century.
It’s that kind of place,
with outgoing and friend
ly staff, a well-stocked
bar that offers “specials”
according to the night,
quiet booths for private
talks, long tables for
groups, and a menu that
keeps on growing, and top
scores of 100 on health
inspections as well.
The latest addition to
the menu is fresh-baked
pizza, in individual or
group sizes.
This builds on the clas
sic Italian menu that is
Chef Jimmy Swiger’s
speciality, outstanding
salads and desserts, and
an expansive offering of
burgers, sandwiches and
hot dogs, all prepared and
HALLOWEEN at HOME
Candy com makes a quick and easy cake decoration
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Taking the family out on a Wednesday night?
Head to Leta’s for “Italian where a plate of
spaghetti and meatballs is just $8.95.
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Jeremy Allmond and Tabitha Vaughn get drinks ready for Leta’s customers. On
Tuesday night, Crown Royals are two for the price of one, with the same rule for
all beers on Wednesday nights. On Thursday night, customers get $1 off Leta’s
specialty drinks, and select appetizers at half price.
served with tender loving
care.
Where else can you get
stuffed mushroom cpps
for a lunchtime appetizer,
a Scramble Dog topped
with chili, cheddar cheese,
chopped onions and oys
ter crackers, or a com
plete Italian meal from
homemade Minestrone to
Manicotti to Tiramisu, all
on the lunch menu?
From the start, the
Evans family approach was
to offer a menu that would
combine Swiger’s already
popular Italian fare, with
all-American favorites,
and to shift the mood from
casual at lunch to candle
light in the evening.
While there’s Italian food
on the menu at every meal,
those who want to make a
family outing of it should
remember that Wednesday
night is “Italian Night” at
Leta’s, with spaghetti and
meatballs for $8.95 and
spaghetti with meat sauce
for $6.25.
You can also get take
out orders, and according
to Leta’s manager, Audrey
Evans, catering from Leta’s
is a growing business.
“We’ve got bookings
through March,” Evans
says, noting that the res
From staff reports
Friday is Halloween, and time to remember that the best
and safest thing for trick-or-treaters is pre-wrapped goodies.
However, that doesn’t mean that you can’t cook up some
magical treats for your own family and friends and have your
own little Halloween festival.
The Halloween cake shown here didn’t need a recipe. It’s a
bakery cake decorated with a little canned chocolate frosting
and some Halloween candy, and you can turn out your own
in a matter of minutes.
Crescent Mummy Dogs
Fom Pillsbury, hot dogs are all wrapped up in a classic
recipe for Halloween, and they taste good, too. Serve them
with baked beans and cole slaw and you’ve got your main
course.
1 can (8 oz) Pillsbury® refrigerated crescent dinner rolls or
1 can (8 oz) Pillsbury Crescent Recipe Creations ™ refriger
ated flaky dough sheet
2 1/2 slices American cheese, quartered (2.5 oz)
10 large hot dogs
Cooking spray Mustard or ketchup, if desired
Heat oven to 375°F.
If using crescent rolls: Unroll dough; separate at perfora
tions, creating 4 rectangles. Press perforations to seal. If
using dough sheet: Unroll dough; cut into 4 rectangles.
With knife or kitchen scissors, cut each rectangle length
wise into 10 pieces, making a total of 40 pieces of dough. Slice
See HALLOWEEN,Page3B
A
Leta’s Chef Jimmy Swiger.
taurant delivers catered
meals for 15 or more.
Popular items for group
events right now range
from chicken fingers with
all the fixin’s to Italian
classics like lasagne.
Lunch is served from 11
a.m. to 2 p.m. at Leta’s,
and the restaurant opens
again at 5 p.m. for the din
ner crowd.
Drinks are served at your
table or at the bar.
For take-out orders or
to talk with Audrey Evans
about catering your next
big event, call 988-3337.
SECTION: B
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 29, 2008
Notes from AFarr
i
Well today I tend to be in
a foul mood. I was out sur
veying my fall garden and
gathering the remainder of
summer garden fas old tim
ers would say, the scrapping
of the garden! and stepped
in hole made by one of
my un-invited yard guest (o
possum on a half shell) and
sprained my ankle.
As I type, it is strapped
with an ace bandage and ice
pack. Know before any of
you get any ideas about the
size of my garden, let me
tell you about my postage
stamp garden.
I took the Japanese
Tomato Ring, that I had
used to plant the tomatoes
and basil around, cleaned up
and planted 6 lettuce plants,
6 collard plant, 1 large pars
ley plants and a few onions
that were sprouting.
On the outside, I am going
to plant turnips. I rooted a
tomato limb and put it in.*
That is my fall garden. I
can cover it if I need to. For
the remaining summer veg
etables, I gathered the small
green tomatoes and one egg
plant. The four okra plants
See FARR,Page jB
All Saints
Marketplace
Nov. 15
Editor’s note: This event
was announced in the Oct.
25 Journal with the wrong
date. Please note that the
correct date is Nov. 15. We’re
sorry for the error.
The annual Episcopal
Church Women Marketplace
will be held at All Saints
Episcopal Church in Warner
Robins Nov. 15, 9 a.m.-l
p.m. This is a big event with
something for everybody.
Breakfast and lunch will be
sold - biscuits and coffee for
breakfast and homemade
soup and sandwiches for
lunch.
There will be 19 vendors
displaying their wares in
the Parish Hall.
These include: Antique
Mall collectors, Treasured
Memories, Retail Therapy,
Simply Tasteful, Atlanta
Candles, Discovery Toys,
and individuals with chil
dren’s appliqued items,
Christmas decorations and
flower arrangements, soy
candles, wood turning items
including bowls, candle
sticks and more, children’s
and teacher gift items.
. There will also be inflat
able games from Cathy Rock
for the children to enjoy.
Proceeds support ECW
Outreach projects. These
include donations -to the
principal’s discretionary
funds at eight local schools,
Phoenix Center, NAMI and
Gateway Cottage.
The group also provides
TV cable for a local group
home and donates to the
Food Pantry and the Rector’s
Discretionary Fund which
both help families in need.
This year they will also
help purchase some new
robes for acolytes, new lin
ens for the altar guild and
some furnishings for the
ECW room. ,
Linda Christie says, “We
are very proud of the fact
that the majority of our
funds go out to the com
munity.”
For more information,
contact Elsie Laßoche, 922-
9739 or Linda Christie, 953-
4046.
Agn«s
Farr
Columnist