HEALTHY LIFE
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BREAK A SWEAT
Fergie’s “Fergalicious”
Looking for a song to add to your MP3 player that will getyour heart pumping while working out? It may or may not
be a new release, but it will certainly get you in the mood toburn some calories and get in better shape. What song getsyou ready to exercise? E-mail me and let me know.

NEWS TO USE

E-mail Healthy Life Editor
Sara Schwartz:
sschwartz@examiner.com

EPSOM SALT MAY CUT RISKOF INFANT CEREBRAL PALSYDoctors can cut the risk ofcerebral palsy in half for very
premature babies by giving
their mothers magnesium sulfate just before they give birth,
new research shows.
The mineral compound,also known as Epsom salts, isalready used to treat pregnancy-related high blood pressure
and to stop early labor. Doctors should consider giving
it to women about to deliver
an extremely preterm infant,said one of the researchers,
Dr. John Thorp of the University of North Carolina.
“It’s cheap. It’s readily available. It doesn’t harm anybody.
I think it will be widely adopted,” Thorp said.
The research was led by Dr.
Dwight Rouse at the University of Alabama at Birmingham,
who presented it Thursday at ameeting of the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine in Dallas. – AP

Friday, February 1, 200836

examiner.com

I’LL TAKE MINE TO GO, PLEASE

What, exactly, defines sushi?
Sushi originated as a way topreserve both rice and fish — theearliest examples of sushi, goingback to about the eighth century,
were layers of rice and carp aged
for up to a year.
This is far less common now
than it was at the time, and now
sushi rice is vinegared instead ofbeing allowed to ferment naturally, but sushi is still, in essence, thecombination of vinegared rice witheither egg, vegetables, or raw orcooked fish. Pressed sushi, madein a wooden box with a bottom layer of rice and a top layer of fish andweighted, is the original modernsushi. Nigiri sushi was invented
as a form of fast food sometime in the early 19th century, and gained popularity during WorldWar II as a resultof rice shortages
and food rationing. Raw or marinatedfish without rice is sashimi. – Food Network KitchensCOOKING WITH KERRY DUNNINGTON

Mediterranean dish is authentically Greek
By Kerry Dunnington
Special to The Examiner

As a family we ate together — wegathered around the dining room table, and enjoyed each other’s company and the delicious home-cooked
meals my mother prepared. I feel
fortunate to have carried on thiswonderful family tradition.
Happily, the tradition for many togather together as a family for dinner and other meals has returned
no matter the schedules of their daily lives. I’d be hard-pressed to thinkof a more appetizing recipe to lurefamily members to the table than
my Mediterranean meatballs withtomato sauce and couscous. Most
everybody loves meatballs, evenkids. This dish has every feature I’mlooking for when it comes to a complete and satisfying meal; it’s nutritious, colorful, balanced, and packed
with flavors and textures. To pull thebounty of flavors together, the combination gets a dollop of (in this order) Greek-style yogurt, Greek olives and feta cheese.
For this dinner, the tomato sauce
and meatballs can be prepared inadvance. Cook the meatballs andcouscous a few minutes before youplan to sit down for dinner. If you
want to add additional color andnutrition serve with a tossed green
salad or steamed leafy greens likeSwiss chard or kale.

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CLASSIlEDS DCEXAMINERCOMTOMATO SAUCE
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
Two 28-ounce cans whole tomatoes
In a large pot over moderate heat,
heat oil and saute garlic until slightly brown, add red pepper flakes andtomatoes, reduce heat, and simmer
for about a half hour.

MEATBALLS
2 eggs
1/4 cup breadcrumbs
1/4 cup fresh parsley, minced
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon dried oregano
Fresh ground black pepper to taste
1 1/2 pounds ground beef
1 tablespoon olive oil
In a large bowl, whisk eggs until
lightly beaten. Add breadcrumbs,parsley, salt, oregano and pepper,and combine until well-blended. Add
meat and with your hands combine
mixture until ingredients are wellcombined. Shape mixture into balls
using about 1/4 cup for each ball until you have 18 meatballs. In a large
skillet over medium heat, heat olive
oil and cook meatballs until brownon each side, about 3-5 minutes perside.

COUSCOUS
2 cups water
1 vegetable cube
1 tablespoon olive oil
One 10-ounce package couscous
1/4 cup fresh parsley, minced

What to pour» Grove Mill Pinot Noirfrom New Zealand;costs about $29

In a medium pot, bring water,
vegetable cube and olive oil to a boil,
stir in couscous and parsley, cover,remove from heat, and let stand for
5 minutes. Fluff couscous with a fork
before serving.

GARNISHOne 7-ounce package of Greekstrained yogurt
1 cup Greek olives, roughly chopped
1 cup feta cheese, crumbled
To assemble dish, spoon couscous onto rimmed plate, top withthree meatballs and top with tomato sauce. Serve with garnishes, buffet-style. Serves six.
Nutritional analysis per meal: 723
calories, 41 grams total fat, 14 grams
saturated fat, 1 gram trans fat, 158
mgs cholesterol, 1,633 mgs sodium, 55
grams total carbohydrate, 6 grams dietary fiber, 34 grams protein, 8 grams
sugar.
Catch Kerry Dunnington’s column
biweekly in Healthy Life. She can bereached at thisbookcooks@verizon.net.