October is National Pizza Month. We celebrate pizza because of its limitless variety and crave-able taste. Originating in Naples, Italy as a staple for working-class citizens that was inexpensive and quick to throw together, after World War II, American soldiers returned home and brought their love for pizza with them. Today, one in eight Americans eat pizza on any given day.

But why is pizza craved by so many? The answer to that question can be found in chemistry. Glutamate is a naturally occurring food enhancer. When more glutamate is present in a food, we crave that food more. Both tomatoes and aged cheese are high in glutamate, as are animal protein sources. Another possible reason we are powerless in the presence of pizza - compatible flavor compounds pair well together. Tomatoes and mozzarella cheese both contain 4 ­methylpentanoic acid (a flavor compound), which makes this pairing unstoppable.

We can reduce the amount of salt and fat in a pizza by cooking it at home. Load on the veggies to increase the fiber and use meats such as turkey and chicken to cut down on saturated fat. Here's a tasty collection of 20 homemade pizza recipes from Bon Appetit. We'd love for you to try some of these interesting flavor combinations and let us know what you think!

October is also National Vegetarian month and October 1st was  World Vegetarian Day! There is no shortage of vegetarian recipes on the internet these days. Lauren's family has an extensive recipe board on Pinterest featuring mostly vegetarian meals. If you'd like some visual inspiration for your next vegetarian meal, try this pin board of 587 of the Best Vegetarian Recipe Images of 2019. To learn more about some good reasons to go vegetarian, check out the articles below.

Did you know that five percent of the world's population is vegetarian? That's roughly 375 million people.

Are you considering a fully vegetarian lifestyle? There are some things you should know about possible body changes that can occur when one turns to a purely plant-based diet. Click here to learn the pros and cons.

Not only does a vegetarian diet change your body, but there are significant environmental effects as well. Eating no animal protein can reduce the amount of methane that is produced by livestock. Less water and land are used in the production of vegetables than in supporting livestock. Here's more information about the benefits of vegetarianism on the planet. If an exclusively plant-based diet isn't for you, then try eating more fresh fruits, vegetables and grains while reducing the amount of animal protein. The animals and our planet will thank you!

On Point

Please remember to call or email Lauren if you are going to be absent from a shift. With just a little notice, we can make adjustments and everyone will be happy. No call, no show is a No-No!

Call if you won't be at a shift, so you don't stress out your co-workers

We always welcome new volunteers! Here are our current opportunities:

Delivery Drivers (4:30 - 6:30pm)

• Tuesday Driver, Route 17 (S. St. Francis Dr.)
• Thursday Driver, Route 11 (S. on Cerrillos Rd.)
• Friday Driver, Route 1 (every other week)
• Friday Driver, Route 7 (N. Rufina St.)

Substitute Volunteers

• Delivery Subs M-F (4:30-6:30pm)
• Delivery Prep M-F (2pm - 3:30pm)
• Delivery Coordinators (3:30 - 5:30pm)

Upcoming Volunteer Orientations

 

Monday, October 7th from 11:30 - 1:00 

Monday, October 21st from 11:30 - 1:00

 

Please tell people who may be interested to call Lauren at 471-7780. 

Ladies from the Church of the Holy Faith are consistent Kitchen Angels donors.

Caught Doing Good...

A big shout of gratitude to Marjie Kamine - Route 6 driver on Thursdays. Marjie handled a difficult situation with resourcefulness and grace. During her scheduled delivery to one of our disabled clients, when he didn't answer the door, she entered and found him on the ground, haven fallen out of his wheelchair. She remembered that another one of her clients who cares for her disabled husband uses a strap to help lift him. She borrowed the strap from the neighbor and got this client back up into his chair. Marjie phoned Kitchen Angels and we reached out to the emergency contact to follow up. It's this type of quick thinking and helpfulness that makes Marjie one of our outstanding volunteer delivery drivers. Our clients are living with many different types of chronic and acute medical conditions. Not only are volunteers improving lives by delivering nourishing meals, but sometimes they act as life-lines in crisis situations. Let's all be more like Marjie!

There's a special group of folks here at Kitchen Angels known as "the dotters." These detail-oriented

MaryAnn dealing out dots

volunteers know how to work off Joe's meal counts, set up the trays, dot the containers, and do it all with tremendous accuracy. We count on these afternoon kitchen folks to make sure we prepare the correct number of meals each day. You might think this would be an easy task, but there are a lot of ways to get the numbers mixed up. So a great big shout out to Lyndi Hubbell on Monday, Jane Shea on Tuesday, MaryAnn Hart on Wednesday, Nancy Jewell on Thursday, and Nancy Hammack on Friday. If you would like to learn the system and assist us with this very important task, please let Chef Joe know and he will make it happen. We need substitute dotters who can fill in when any of these key volunteers aren't here. Many thanks to our outstanding volunteers!