Incredible.  Can you believe that we can now keep our windows open and actually feel a cool breeze!  This is exciting.  I found myself baking cookies and making caramel the other day.  Just when you think it will be 100° in January, we finally see the light at the end of the tunnel.  With this new cooler weather, I am finding myself working on our holiday classes already, so if you smell Christmas cookies baking in Mesa….it’s probably at my house.  Samples, anyone?

In our recent Tofu class, we had a lot of discussion about healthy eating.  There were lots of questions about the role that soy plays in our lives.  There were just as many questions about the role that some unhealthy items play in our lives.  We started talking about high fructose corn syrup.  It is one of those ‘hidden’ dangers from which we need to be aware.  Read our article on High Fructose Corn Syrup.  It may just have you shopping and eating differently in the future.

October Classes – We are getting back to our ‘normal’ class schedule for the fall, with adult classes every week.  We’re also back to holding many weekend and evening classes.  Our Tuesday classes are all from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., our Thursday classes are from 6:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. and our Saturday classes are all held from 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. 

On Tuesday 10/2 & Saturday 10/6 we will hold our Pasta Party class.  Check out Pasta Party to see our 3 types of homemade pasta and 3 sauces.  Class is $63 per person. 

On Tuesday 10/9 only we will hold our Apples Galore class.  We will be making breakfast, lunch/dinner and of course dessert.  Our menu can be seen at Apples Galore.  This fantastic seasonal class is only $63 per person.

Plan on attending our Fall Casseroles class on Tuesday 10/16 and repeated again on Saturday 10/20.  In the class we will feature some great one dish meals perfect for the cooling weather.  See Fall Casseroles for menu details.  Cost is $63 per person. 

Our Hearty Dinner Soups class scheduled on Tuesday 10/23 and Thursday 10/25 offers several great soups.  See Hearty Dinner Soups Menu for details.  Cost is $63 per person. 

By popular demand, we added another Tofu class.  We will offer our Tofu for Meat Lovers Class on Saturday 10/27 only.  If you always thought that tofu was just little square ‘thingies’, you will just have to try this class.  There are no square ‘thingies’ in this class.  The menu is found at Tofu for Meat Lovers.  Cost for the class is $63. 

Finally we will wrap up October with our Healthy Eating – Vegetarian class where we will feature two vegetarian main dishes along with several great vegetarian sides.  This class will be held on Tuesday 10/30 and Saturday 11/3.  Cost is $63 per person. 

Upcoming classes for November – November is the start of our long holiday season.  We have lots of classes that will help you with entertaining and preparing a few of your holiday meals.  If you previously received our brochure, there were a few minor date changes on the classes so please note the dates here.  Our website has also been updated with the new dates.

On Tuesday 11/6 & Saturday 11/10 we will hold our Uptown Brunch class where we will make several simple yet upscale menus perfect for entertaining friends.  The cost is $63 per person.

On Tuesday 11/13 & Saturday 11/17 we feature a Holiday appetizers class.  This is a brand new class with exciting new appetizers.  If you have already taken our previous holiday appetizers class, you will know how great this class will be too.  Our appetizer classes always fill up early.  Make sure to call today to reserve your spot.  Cost is $63 per person.

On Sunday 11/18 we will feature our Thanksgiving Side Dishes for Families.  We will prepare simple and delicious accompaniments to your Thanksgiving meal.  See Thanksgiving Sides for the menu.  This class is great for those of you who have been asking me to schedule a class with your children.  Adults without children are also welcome to attend.  Adults $63; Kids $53

Tuesday 11/27 & Saturday 12/1 we will feature another appetizer class, but this time we are making Healthy Holidays Appetizers and Desserts.  Your friends and family will really appreciate that you are helping them keep their diets on track.  Cost for this class is $63 per person.

Kids Classes – As promised, kids’ classes are going to be added to the calendar.  We will be scheduling kids’ classes on intermittent Friday evenings starting in January.  And yes, the boot camps will be back in the summer.  Watch our calendar over the next few weeks for kids’ class information. 

Special Offers – For the month of October, sign up for 2 classes and receive $5 off your 2^nd class.  Only one discount may be applied to any class. 

Private Groups – If you want to schedule a private class for your group, we can hold classes at your place or ours.  For private groups we can customize a menu perfectly suited for your group.  We have had great feedback on our private group parties held previously, and we would love to hold one for you, too.  

Our website – Refer to our website often at www.simplyimpressive.com for the latest in class information.  We are days away from adding the January classes so keep watching.

In the media – We will be on AM Arizona Live at 9:00 a.m. on October 31.  Catch us live on Channel 13 here in the valley or watch for our recording on ‘youtube.com’ next month.  We will be making something very ‘fall-like’.

We will also be making 3 appearances on Sonoran Living this month, but as of yet I do not have the dates.  We will make soup, tofu and fall casseroles.  Watch our website for announcements.

Don’t forget to check out our recipes in The Groves Report and The View.   If you get either of those newspapers, our recipes are in the ‘Recipe Corner’ column. 

Gift Certificates – We offer gift certificates year round, so keep us in mind when trying to buy something for the person with everything.  The holidays are coming and gift certificates from Simply Impressive are a perfect gift or stocking stuffer.  We have some great classes scheduled and our 2008 schedule will bring even more fantastic classes.  Call or e-mail us for details on gift certificates. 

Mailing List – If you know anyone who would like to be on our mailing list, please forward this newsletter to him or her and let us know so that we can add them to the list.  I am also having problems sending e-mail to Hotmail accounts, so please forward your newsletter to all your friends so that they can receive a copy of this newsletter if they are on Hotmail.  Thanks.

Thank you for your continued support of Simply Impressive Cooking School and I hope to see you in a class soon.  Have a great October.

Healthy Eating

Many of you have heard me talk (okay, maybe I’m whining rather than talking) about this food allergy issue I am currently dealing with.  As part of this process, I have had to be vigilant about reading labels.  What I noticed was amazing.  High fructose corn syrup (HFCS) is in almost everything I buy.  I remember watching Oprah a while back and Dr. Mehmet Oz mentioned 12 items to remove from our diets now.  HFCS was one of them.

So what is it?  High fructose corn syrup is a sweetener initially introduced in the 70’s.  It can be found in many foods here in the US.  (For the most part, it is not used in other countries.)  It is a ‘natural’ sweetener and is considered safe by the FDA.  I started to notice its ‘overuse’ when I read ingredients on labels of ‘fat free’ foods.  I really took notice when I looked at a bottle of fat free half and half and HFCS was listed as a main ingredient on the label.  When I buy half and half, I want dairy, not sugar. 

You are probably asking ‘what’s the big deal?”.  If you think you’re eating a food that that your body processes like sugar, you are mistaken.  Preliminary tests show that the body uses fructose the same way it uses fat.  It raises cholesterol and triglyceride levels in the blood, and makes blood cells more prone to clotting.  Worse yet it may also accelerate the aging process!  A little high fructose corn syrup won’t hurt you.  The problem comes with the quantity of "hidden" HFCS we consume in our foods.  I found it interesting that some ‘health food stores’ do not carry products with HFCS because it goes against their ‘natural foods only’ principle.

Getting HFCS out of our diets is not going to be easy.  If you are really serious about limiting your use of HFCS, just stop drinking soda.  Then start looking at the nutrition labels of everything you buy.  You will be surprised at what products contain HFCS.  Things like ketchup, yogurt, and even bread have it.  Another easy way to limit your use is to buy organic products.  Because HFCS isn’t a natural ingredient, it isn’t approved in organic products!  Organic products are available at stores like Sprouts, Trader Joes and now even our regular grocery stores like Safeway and Fry’s.  I’ll bet that by making these few changes you will not even miss HFCS in your foods.

If you are like me, you enjoy a nice sweet snack every once in a while, but HFCS is also in a lot of the ‘sweets’ we eat.  You can always buy items without it….or…you may want to consider this radical move – gradually reduce the amount of sweetness enjoyed in foods.  Sweetness is an acquired taste.  We start by putting sweet things into a baby’s bottle.  Of course they are going to acquire this taste.  What is Christmas without Christmas cookies???  But remember I said ‘everything in moderation’. 

Some things to keep in mind – you should be eating unprocessed foods.  To get them, shop the perimeter of the grocery store.  You will find produce, dairy and meat on the perimeter.  When you do have to go to the middle aisles, remember to read labels.  Even things that may seem innocent can have ‘interesting’ ingredients in them.  It will take you longer to shop initially, but you will soon learn what products and brands to look for.  Organic products are a good source of unprocessed foods. 

I am not a doctor….I’m not a dietitian.  What I am is a consumer who is looking at eating more healthful.  If I can help even one person live a more healthy life, then I have done my part.  If you have any doubt about high fructose corn syrup, or require diagnosis and/or treatment, please consult your doctor.