Believe in Yourself: April Events

April, the month where we play innocent pranks on April Fool’s Day; celebrate Springtime and Easter with egg hunts, brunches, and church; pay homage to mother earth on Earth Day; and welcome the return of America’s favorite pastime – Baseball. This month we embark on a new quarter in our Alive in All Seasons calendar where we celebrate Healthy Aging and will “Let Wellbeing Thrive”. Throughout April our focus is on the brain and honoring the theme “Believe in Yourself”. Did you know that activities that are good for your heart are also good for your brain? The American Heart Association tells us that protecting memory and brain health is a matter of keeping your heart and blood vessels healthy. Regular cardio exercise and a healthy diet not only keep your heart happy, but your brain too.

This month’s offerings include activities and events that will keep our bodies and brains healthy and renew our faith in ourselves. Educational opportunities will cover brain health topics such as brain booster activities and ways to keep fit. We will rejoice in our individuality and celebrate ourselves through life affirming reminiscent and creative activities while reminding each other to “Believe in Yourself”.

Please join us here at Juniper Village at the Shenango Inn for our Believe in Yourself Family Dinner on April 17^th at 5:00 pm; our Annual Easter Egg Hunt on April 19^th at 10:30 am; our Family Hospice Keeping Your Spirituality lecture on April 22^nd at 2:00 pm; and our Ask the Pharmacist discussion on April 29^th at noon. See our newsletter calendar for a complete listing of events and come visit us during any that suit your fancy!

H'Art and Soul of Dining - New Menus with Delicious Recipes!

We are proud to announce that on April 5th our revitalized spring/summer menus will begin for our H’Art and Soul of Dining Signature Program at all of our communities.  This new signature program will help us improve quality of life and whole person wellness for the individuals that call Juniper Village home.  We are very excited this season since the offerings will feature a delicious 5-week entrée select option featuring fabulous new choices using some of the fresh products available through our food vendors. Also, on our updated menus, we have added many lighter alternatives as well as recipes specific to each community that take into account special diets, regional tastes, food committee requests and our resident’s special needs and personal requests.  These changes to our meal plans significantly increase the variety of selections provided for our residents while focusing upon scratch made offerings and heart-healthy meals.  Furthermore, in celebration of our AIAS spring quarter “Healthy Aging,” our Grill Menus will be re-vamped to highlight healthier offerings throughout the season. In addition we will be implementing an innovative hydration assurance program served from our “Oasis Carts,” featuring a variety of flavored waters using citrus or mint or cucumbers, fresh brewed iced tea, lemonade, punch, smoothies and juices as well as nutritious snacks.

Below are some of the recipes featured on our new menu:

Carrot-Currant Muffins

2 cups all-purpose flour (to measure, spoon into a cup and level)
1/3 cup sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
1 large egg
1/2 cup milk

1/2 cup carrot juice
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 cup shredded carrots

1/2 cup dried currants
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line a 12 cup muffin tin with paper liners. In a large bowl whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. In another bowl whisk together butter, egg, milk, carrot juice and vanilla. Pour the egg mixture over the dry ingredients and gently fold just until moistened. Fold carrots and dried currants into the mix. Scoop batter into the muffin pan and bake until golden brown and firm to the touch, 20 to 25 minutes. Remove from pan (cool on a wire rack if you have one).

Yellow Squash Soup

Cooking Spray

1/2 cup diced yellow onion

1 cup diced zucchini

1 cup diced yellow squash

3 cups low-sodium vegetable stock

1/2 teaspoon dried Italian seasonings

1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper

1 (15 ounce) can Great Northern beans, drained and rinsed

1 (15 ounce) can diced no-salt-added tomatoes

Coat a large saucepan with cooking spray. Heat over medium-high heat. Add onion; sauté 3 minutes. Add zucchini and yellow squash; sauté 3 minutes. Add all other ingredients; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer 5 minutes.

LINK of Mercer County First Annual Lunch and Learn

The LINK of Mercer County held its First Annual Lunch and Learn at Juniper Village at the Historic Shenango Inn on March 20^th.  The purpose of the Lunch and Learn was to give the community an opportunity to learn more about the agencies in Mercer County who provide supports and services to seniors and adults with disabilities in our community.  Each presenter spoke on their agency and programs, giving the audience a unique chance to learn about several agencies in one day!  Juniper’s very own  Chef Nathan and his team prepared a delicious continental breakfast buffet; and a lunch buffet including a salad bar, a made-to-order pasta station and hand-crafted dessert! 

The Eli Ripple Effect: Honoring and Feeding our Election Day Volunteers at Juniper Village at Shenango

by Anne Gross

In a previous post on the Juniper Care Place blog, I introduced one of the signature features of Juniper communities, "The Eli Ripple Effect,"   where doing good deeds ripple throughout each of our facilities and out into the larger communities in which we live.  In today's post, I want to highlight some special employees from Juniper Village at Shenango. It was election year 2008, and voters throughout the country were expected to turn out in record numbers.  The leadership team at Juniper Village at Shenango could easily predict that long hours would be required   of those volunteer men and women manning the election centers from dusk to dawn.  And in the spirit of the Eli Ripple Effect, they decided to surprise them with sustenance as a way of recognizing their service to the community.

    

“We decided to show up with an unexpected treat” says Christa Cicuto, Director of Community Relations at Shenango.   Associates brought homemade sub sandwiches, along with drinks, sides and desserts, prepared by the culinary staff of Juniper Village at the Historic Shenango Inn.  As one Juniper Village associate said, “Given that our historic Inn has hosted the likes of President John F. Kennedy, it is very fitting that we are helping those who preserve our democracy.”

“The election workers were very surprised” said Christa, as the Juniper staff walked into the various polling places with abundant food in hand.  Poll workers’ jaws dropped as words of appreciation poured forth.  As one poll worker from the West Middlesex Borough later wrote in a thank you note, “Thank you so very much for the lunches that were delivered to us on Election Day.  We really appreciated your thoughtfulness.  We have never had anyone do this for us before!”   Volunteers also appreciated that the meals were packaged in reusable canvas lunch totes and included BPA-free water bottles and notepads and pens for jotting down important questions during polling.  One poll worker exclaimed as she finished the meal, “It is a very busy, hectic day and we appreciate being able to grab a good bite to eat.” 

Christa and the leadership team have been delivering meals to poll workers for the past six years, serving between 200-300 lunches each election.  “It’s neat when I go into the same polling place and people remember me and thank me for the lunch bag they received three years back.  We receive tons of thank you cards in the mail too from happy and thankful poll volunteers.  This is a very rewarding experience for our leadership team, it is our way to give back annually to our community.”

Your Treasure is Within: March Events

Our Alive in All Seasons program is alive and well at Juniper Village. This quarter’s seasonal theme is on Creative Expression: “Explore Your Creativity” and serves to promote our philosophy of encouraging an active body, an engaged mind and a fulfilled spirit. For March, we will turn our focus to Performance: “Your Treasure is Within”.

This month on March 2, 2014 we look forward to the 86^th celebration of the Academy Awards. As we watch popular comedian and talk show host, Ellen DeGeneres host the festivities while the beautiful stars dressed in their finery walk the red carpet we can’t help to stop, to pause and reminisce of all of the great performances of past years. Katherine Hepburn, Bette Davis, Marlon Brando, Robert DeNiro, Tom Hanks, Jack Nicholson, Vivien Leigh, Meryl Streep, Peter Ustinov and Dustin Hoffman; the list goes on! In addition to guessing who might win the Oscars for 2014, this month we will be learning about and experiencing all different types of great performance art, enjoying cultural events and trying our hand at acting in drama club.

It’s going to be a theatrical month at Juniper Village at the Shenango Inn filled with creativity, great experiences and memorable performances! You are cordially invited to attend our Creative Craft Shamrock Wreaths activity on March 4^th at 3:00 pm, our Happy Hour with “Z Praise” on March 14^th at 6:00 pm, our "Treasure is Within" Family Luncheon on March 20^th at noon, our March Birthday Bash on March 27^th at 3:00 pm, or any of our other activities (see our Newsletter for a complete listing).

So come in, and join in on the act to find that “Your Treasure is Within”.

40 under 40 Honoree

Juniper Village at the Shenango Inn is proud to announce that our very own Christa Cicuto will be honored as a 40 under 40 honoree this April.  Christa was nominated by one of her peers in the community that she works with through the Chamber of Commerce and Shenango Valley Professionals.  Being chosen, Christa is one of 40 other people that are under the age of 40 in the Shenango and Lawrence Counties that will be honored with an awards ceremony on April 10, 2014 at the Park Inn by Radisson.  The 40 that are being honored were nominated because they go above and beyond for the community that we live in and are successful business people.  Congratulations Christa!

Creativity and Care

The residents of Juniper Village at the Shenango Inn have kept busy this winter season.  Staying warm and cozy in their home, many have attended some of the many arts and crafts calendar events this month in February.  Seen below are a few residents that are decorating and cutting out musical notes for a recent scrap booking project.  Scrap booking is just one of the many events that are encouraged to our residents to help them document a life time of memories to remember and share with one another.  And check out how good our poinsettias are doing from the Christmas season!  With lots of tender loving care, our residents have kept our pretty seasonal flowers  looking beautiful.  We welcome the community to all of our scheduled events, to inquiry please call 724-347-4000.