By Christina Knoell | PREVIEW Columnist
The Community Café is now open to the public every Monday and Wednesday. We are still offering Grab-n-Go meals on the days of dining in. If dining in, please be prepared to show your vaccination cards. If you have COVID-19, have been exposed or are exhibiting any symptoms, please stay home.
Text us at (970) 264-2167. The Community Café is now accepting text messaging for meal reservations, cancellations and/or communication of any kind. When texting, please include your name, phone number and the days you want a meal. If you are canceling, please include your name, phone number and the days you want to cancel. Texting services is available for dining-in meal reservations, Grab-n-Go meals and Meals on Wheels recipients.
Mahjong
Mahjong is a 19th century Chinese tile-based game that is commonly played with four players. Each player receives 13 tiles with a goal to make matching sets and pairs (like poker). To win, a player must form four sets and one pair. Come to the Pagosa Senior Center to learn or play every Tuesday at 1:15 p.m.
Medicare Mondays
Medicare Mondays are for anyone who needs help enrolling and navigating Medicare plans, Parts A, B and D. We can also help you with fraud concerns and troubleshooting any billing issues you may be having. By appointment only. Please call our Medicare line at (970) 264-0501, ext. 4. Someone will return your call within 24 hours.
Zentangle
Zentangle is a form of relaxation using easy-to-learn patterns, drawn by focusing on single lines one at a time. The method focuses on simple, elemental strokes that anyone can draw, regardless of creative ability, and allows the mind and body to release stress while creating beautiful images. The instructor is Roberta Strickland, CZT. Call (970) 946-4582 or text us at (970) 264-2167.
Classes are every Wednesday at 1 p.m. at the Senior Center. For the safety of our participants, proof of vaccinations is required.
Bridge
Bridge is Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays at 1 p.m. Bridge is a four-player card game with partners sitting opposite each other around a table. It is a trick-taking card game using a standard 52-card deck. Come alone or bring a partner. Proof of vaccinations is required.
Kitchen and desk
volunteers needed
The Community Café at the Senior Center is requesting volunteers to help with greeting customers. Please call or text us at (970) 264-2167 to volunteer or for more information.
The Archuleta Seniors Inc. (ASI) Board of Directors has three vacant positions open for financial oversight and policy implementation for the organization and Senior Center staff. Terms are three years with an option to renew for an additional term. Potential candidates should be at least 55 years of age or older and must have a passion for adult and aging services.
Community Café menu
Thursday, July 7 — Chicken and mushroom crepes with broiled asparagus, milk, green salad and a roll with butter.
Friday, July 8 — Salmon with dill sauce, orzo pasta and broccoli with toasted almonds, a garden salad, milk and pistachio fruit salad.
July 9-10 — Closed.
Monday, July 11 — Barbecued chicken, baked beans, honey cornbread, milk and a garden salad, fruit for dessert.
Tuesday, July 12 — Beef cheeseburger, sweet potato fries, milk, a garden salad and brownies.
Wednesday, July 13 — Pork kielbasa, sauteed cabbage, German potato salad, milk, green salad, a buttered roll and fresh fruit.
Thursday, July 14 — Crispy catfish with tartar sauce, wilted spinach, milk, a green salad and cherry crisp cobbler.
Grab-N-Go meals
Reservations and cancellations are required. Please call by 9 a.m. the morning of the day you want to pick up a meal. A suggested donation of $5 helps to sustain our program. No one will be turned away for their inability to donate. For ages 59 and younger, the cost is $10. Please call or text us at (970) 264-2167 to make a reservation.
Fundraising need
ASI has an immediate monetary need of raising $100,000 from our community to strengthen a Round 2 state of Colorado grant opportunity. So far, $31,000 has been raised.
ASI is proposing a $2 million request to purchase a new senior center, including the cost of renovations for a large dining room, food storage, offices, a large commercial kitchen and ample space for activities.
Please consider donating to ASI by calling or texting us at (970) 264-2167. You may also mail your donation to P.O. Box 3444, Pagosa Springs, CO 81147. Donation checks can be written to: Archuleta Seniors, Inc. We are located at 451 Hot Springs Blvd., in downtown Pagosa Springs. For general information about ASI, please visit http://www.psseniors.org/.
Folate/folic acid
What are folate and folic acid?
Folate and folic acid are two forms of the same vitamin:
• Folate is the vitamin found naturally in food.
• Folic acid is the form of the vitamin that is added to foods such as cereal and flour. Your body absorbs folic acid better than folate.
What do folate and folic acid do?
Your body needs this vitamin to build new cells. It is important for the nervous system, which includes the brain and spinal cord. The vitamin also helps limit homocysteine levels, which may protect against heart disease and cancer. Women need folate before and during pregnancy to protect their babies from birth defects, such as:
• Spina bifida (the incomplete development of the spinal cord or its coverings).
• Anencephaly (a defect in the closure of the neural tube during fetal development).
• Certain heart problems.
• Cleft lip or cleft palate.
How much folate/folic acid do you need?
Most healthy teens (ages 14 years and older) and adults need 400 micrograms (mcg) of folate per day. Pregnant women need 600 mcg per day. Nursing women need 500 mcg per day.
Some medications can interfere with your body’s ability to use folate/folic acid. If you take these medicines, you may need more folate/folic acid. Check with your doctor or dietitian before taking folic acid supplements
How much folic acid is too much?
Teens between the ages of 14 and 18 years should not have more than 800 mcg folic acid per day. The safety limit for adults ages 19 years or older is 1,000 mcg per day.
Tips for getting enough folate/folic acid:
• Plan two or more meals per week with beans as the main protein.
• Eat a dark green vegetable on most days.
• Include one food from the grains group at each meal.
• Choose folate-rich foods for snacks.
• Instead of a soft drink, choose orange juice.
Medications that may interfere with folic acid:
• Antacids.
• Anticonvulsants.
• Aspirin.
• Methotrexate.
• Oral contraceptives.
• Pyrimethamine.
• Sulfasalazine.
• Trimethoprim.
• Trimetrexate.
Which foods have folate/folic acid?
Following are some foods, serving sizes and how much folate/folic acid they have, per the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.
• Cereal, ready-to-eat, 1 cup, usually 100-400 mcg.
• Cereal, cooked (oatmeal, farina, grits), 1 cup, usually 75–300 mcg.
• Turkey giblets, cooked, 1 cup, 486 mcg.
• Lentils or black-eyed peas, 1 cup, 358 mcg.
• Pinto beans, cooked, 1 cup, 294 mcg.
• Chickpeas (garbanzo beans), cooked, 1 cup, 282 mcg.
• Okra, frozen, cooked, 1 cup, 269 mcg.
• Spinach, cooked, 1 cup, 263 mcg.
• Black beans, cooked, 1 cup, 256 mcg.
• Long-grain white rice (enriched), 1 cup, 238 mcg.
• Beef liver, cooked, 3 ounces, 221 mcg.
• Enriched egg noodles, cooked, 1 cup, 221 mcg.
• Spinach, canned, 1 cup, 210 mcg.
• Collards, cooked, 1 cup, 177 mcg.
• Turnip greens, cooked, 1 cup, 170 mcg.
