Saturday, December 17, 2011

Adding Eyefoods to Holiday Meals

During the holiday season, we often indulge in food and drinks that may not be the healthiest.  However, a great celebratory meal can be filled with delicious nutritious food.  Tonight, I'm hosting a Christmas dinner for friends and the menu is filled with Eyefoods.  This meal is loaded with lutein, zeaxanthin, vitamin C and zinc.

Christmas with Friends

Clams Casino (Baked clams with red peppers and whole grain bread crumbs)

Roasted Beef Tenderloin with Carmelized Onions
Sauteed Orange, Red and Yellow Peppers
Carrot Fries
Kale Chips

Mixed Berries and Pineapple

Monday, October 10, 2011

October is Eye Health Month

October is Eye Health Month and we'll be promoting Eyefoods to optometrists across North America throughout the month.

October 12-14:  American Academy of Optometry Meeting - Boston  October 12-14.

If you're attending the meeting, come and visit us at booth 1862.

October 21-22:  CNIB Perspectives Conference - Toronto, Ontario

Dr. Capogna is giving a lecture on October 21 and Eyefoods has a table in the exhibit hall on the 21st and 22nd.  The exhibit hall is open to the public.

October 22-23:  Le Salon Vision - Montreal, Quebec

Aliments pour les yeux will be launching in Quebec.

October 29:  Alberta Association of Optometrists Conference

Thursday, September 8, 2011

Eat Your Orange Peppers

A new generation of parents will start to tell their children to "eat your orange peppers"!  Orange peppers are loaded with zeaxanthin.  Zeaxanthin is a carotenoid that is found in the macula, the center part of the retina, that is responsible for our reading and sighting vision.  Orange peppers are also high in vitamin C.

Eating orange peppers regularly will nourish your body with the nutrients necessary to help prevent age-related macular degeneration.

Give these orange pepper boats a try.

Monday, September 5, 2011

Powerful Peach Smoothie

To take advantage of the bountiful harvest of peaches, I'm going to make a new Eyefoods smoothie today. Give it a try!

The spinach will give you your lutein boost!  (Lutein helps prevent age-related macular degeneration.)

2 ripe peaches
2 kiwi
2 handfuls spinach
juice of 1/2 lime
water

Mix all ingredients in a blender.  Adding water until the smoothie reaches your desired consistency.  Enjoy immediately or store in the fridge in an airtight jar for 3 days.


Wednesday, August 3, 2011

Eyefoods Book Review

Dr. Barb and I would like to thank Dr. Ron Melton and Dr. Randall Thomas, two of the most respected speakers in optometry for their great review of Eyefoods on their website.  We encourage everyone to check out their website - we can learn a lot from these inspiring optometrists.  Just follow the link below...
http://www.eyeupdate.com/home.html

Wednesday, July 27, 2011

Dr. Barb's Top Five - Tips on Choosing High Quality Sunglasses

1.  UV 400 treatment
2.  Polarized lenses
3.  Anti-glare coating on the back surface of the lens
4.  Lenses with a selective blue filter
5.  Sunglasses that have a full coverage fit

www.eyefoods.com

Thursday, July 21, 2011

Cool Off With an Eyefoods Juice Creation

In this extreme summer heat, try this refreshing Eyefoods juice creation.  It's quite a beta-carotene blast!

In a juicer mix 1 cantaloupe, 4 carrots and 1 lemon.  This should make between 4-6 servings.  Enjoy immediately or store in an airtight jar for 1-2 days.

Wednesday, July 13, 2011

Tuesday, July 5, 2011

Une salade Aliments pour les yeux délectable

Avec la saison estivale qui commence, plusieurs aliments pour les yeux seront tour à tour en vedette.  Ces jours-ci, un légume vert succulent, que l'on ne peut déguster frais que pour quelques semaines à chaque année: les petits pois.  Ils sont tellement délicieux qu'on peut les manger en collation, sans autre chose.  Voici la salade que j'ai crée pour ce midi:  laitues mélangées de mon jardin (provenant du mélange aliments pour les yeux à planter que j'ai reçu de Capogna flowers en mai), petits pois frais crus, saumon en boîte, poivron orange, tomates, tomates séchées au soleil, croûtons de pain de blé entier et noix de pin grillées.

Cette salade n'a rien à envier à celles que l'on retrouve dans les bistros branchés!

Friday, July 1, 2011

New Recipe - Spinach Salad with Fresh Berries

The fresh local strawberries have been tasting great after a long winter.  Even though we do enjoy strawberries as a treat for dessert with low fat frozen yogurt or dark chocolate, they also make a great addition to a healthy Eyefoods salad.

Try this new recipe.  Thanks to our Facebook Fans for suggesting their favorite ingredients on a spinach salad.  

2 handfuls baby spinach
1 cup fresh strawberries, sliced
1/4 cup slivered almonds
1/4 cup low fat goat cheese or feta cheese

Optional:  1 grilled wild salmon fillet


Serves 2

Sunday, June 12, 2011

Dr. Laurie's List - The Basics

Eye Health Facts


Things to know about Cataracts

·      Most of us will develop cataracts at some point in our life
·      A cataract is a clouding of the lens in our eye
·      Eating foods high in certain antioxidants and omega-3 fatty acids can reduce the risk and progression of cataracts
·      Wearing good quality sunglasses can help prevent cataracts or slow their progression
·      Cataract surgery, a very safe procedure, is the treatment for cataracts

For a more in-depth explanation of cataracts click on the link below.




Thursday, June 9, 2011

Eyefoods Update

We're back to blogging!  Our new Locations page is up on the website.  It can be accessed from our home page with a listing of all the locations where the Eyefoods book can be purchased.  It's been a busy 2 months as we've been traveling across Ontario spreading the message of Eyefoods and introducing the book to other optometrists at various conferences.  If you check out the Locations page, you'll see that many optometrists across the province have Eyefoods available for their patients and the public to purchase.  We appreciate the support from our colleagues and we're all having a great time spreading the message of the importance of nutrition and lifestyle in the prevention of eye disease.

Remember, visit your optometrists regularly.  At least every 1-2 years if you don't have any eye health problems and more frequently if you have an eye condition or are at risk of an eye condition.

Stay tuned to further blogs - Dr. Laurie's List, Dr. Barb's Top Five and the Grocery List Eyefoods Challenge are to come.....

Wednesday, June 8, 2011

Hot Summer Dinner for Healthy Eyes

It's going to be a scorcher today as the hot summer weather is giving us a taste of what's to come.  What a great day to have a refreshing dinner.  Try the Turkey and Mango Orange Pepper Boats along with a fresh salad tonight.

Click below for the recipe

Turkey Mango Orange Pepper Boats Recipe

Saturday, May 7, 2011

Eyefoods Book Available at the Following Optometrist Offices

Ontario


Akrona
Dr. Ralph Teeple
8462 Townsend Line
N0M 1B0
519-828-3858

Bolton
Bolton Optometry Clinic
12-12 Parr Blvd
L7E 4H1
905-857-2020
www.boltonoptometry.ca

Brampton
Dr. S. K Mahil & Associates
123 West Drive
L6T 2J6
905-454-4749


Brooklin
Dr. Pui-Yee Ho
5959 Anderson Street, Unit 1-D
L1M 2E9
905-655-6200
http://www.brooklineyecare.ca/index.html

Burlington
Dr. Victor Nalywajko
2050 James Street
L6H 2A1
905-681-2264

Essex
Dr. Julie Ricci
113 Talbot St S, Suite 3
N8M 1B3
519-776-8211

Etobicoke
Dr. Stelios Nikolakakis
4225C Dundas Street West
M8X 1Y3
416-237-0630

Rexdale Eyecare
123 Rexdale Blvd, Suite 4
M9W 1P1
416-743-4426
www.rexdaleeyecare.com

Fonthill
Dr. Ann Volk
1405 South Pelham Street
L0S 1E5
905-892-5191

Fort Frances
Dr. Bruce Lidkea
221 Scott Street
P9A 3M7
807-274-6655
http://wwwlidkea.com/index.html

Freelton
Dr. Janice VanWyngaarden
853 Regional Road 97
L0R 1K0
905-659-3937
http://www.doctoreyes.ca

Kingsville
Dr. Richard Mastronardi
Dr. J O'Connor
59 Main Street East
N9Y 1A1
519-733-7644
http://www.kingsvilleoptometry.com/

Kitchener
MacKenzie Heslip Eyecare
901 Victoria St. N
Kitchener, ON
N2B 3C3
519-742-2715
www.mheyecare.com

Leamington
Dr. Julie Ricci
225 Erie St. S, Ste 1
N8H 3C1
519-326-6631

London
Dr. Christina Schropp
393 Wharncliffe Road South
N6J 2M3
519-672-0998
www.oldsouthoptometry.com

Niagara Falls
Peninsula Vision Associates
Dr. Laurie Capogna
5400 Portage Road, 5th Floor
L2G 5X7
905-356-8363
www.eyefoods.com

North Bay
Dr. John Peroff
101 McIntyre Street West
P1B 2Y5
705-474-3937

Oakville
Dr. Amanda Sanghera
118 Cross Ave
L2J 2W6
905-844-2798
http://www.oakvilleoptometrist.com

Orangeville
Dr. Robert Orr
Dr. Patrick Brodie
230 Broadway
Orangeville, ON
L9W 1K5
519-941-3770

Orillia
Dr. Shawn Moore
319 Laclie Street
L3V 4N9
705-326-3121
www.drshawnmoore.ca

Oshawa
Dr. Janet Hruska-Schill
Dr. Rebecca Horner
Dr. Patricia A Campbell
109 Colborne St West
L1G 1L8
905-723-2721
http://oshawaeyes.com/Home.html

St. Marys
Dr. Carol Venn
151 Queen St E
519-284-4144
www.facebook.com/dr.venn

Stouffville
Dr. J. M McDowell, Dr. C. A Genin and Associates
6058 Main St
L4A 3R4
905-642-3937

Sudbury
Drs. Filippone, Cousineau and Schryer
428 Westmount Ave, Unit 1B
P3A 5V8
705-560-2020

Tecumseh
Manning Road Optometric Centre
13330 Lannoue Street
N8N 5EQ
519-979-0030
http://www.mroceyecare.ca/

Timmins
Dr. Bill Chisholm
212-38 Pine Street North
P4N 6K6
705-264-8338
http://www.2020eyedocs.ca

Toronto
Spadina Optometry
Dr. Kristin Heeney
127 Spadina Ave
416-703-2797
www.spadinaoptometry.ca

Dr. Rifat Jafer-Sivjee
777 Bay St, Lower Level

Dr. Areef Nurani
1260 Lawrence Ave East
M3A 1C4
416-759-6060
www.eyesightforlife.com

Dr. Mike Rotholz
151 Bloor St West, Suite 480A
M5S 1S4
416-923-8439
http://www.vieweyecare.com/View_Web_Page.html

Dr. Pat Leo
1 Eglington Ave East
M4P 3A1
416-488-4904

Welland
Iris
Dr. Barbara Pelletier
Dr. Christian Nanini
199 East Main St
L3B 3W7
905-735-0680
www.eyefoods.com

Windsor
Dr. Janice Bellemore
1720 Howard Ave, Plaza 400. Suite 168
519-252-5556
http://www.bellemoreoptometry.com/index.html

Dr. Justin Chan
The Med-Cen Centre
1883 Turner Road
N8W 3K2
519-253-1207
http://www.drjustinchan.com/

Thursday, April 14, 2011

Eyefoods Book Available at the following Retail Locations

Eyefoods: A Food Plan for Healthy Eyes is available at the following locations:

Ontario

Essex
Unique Books and Gifts
54 Talbot Street
Essex, ON

Niagara Falls
Commisso's Fresh Foods
6161 Thorold Stone Road, Unit 14
905-357-6600
http://www.commissosfreshfoods.com/


Peninsula Vision Associates
5400 Portage Road, 5th Floor
905-356-8363


Pharmashield
5400 Portage Road, Main Floor

St. Catharines
Chapters
Near Fairview Mall
285 Geneva

Coles
Penn Center
Glendale Ave


Welland
Healthwise
Seaway Mall

Windsor
Chapters
Devonshire Mall
Howard Ave


Indigo
St. Clair Shore Shopping Center

Sweet Potato and Orange Pepper Soup

It's early spring and mother nature is keeping us guessing on the weather.  What a great time to make a large pot of this fresh, tasty soup that is loaded with beta-carotene and zeaxanthin. With a hint of ginger and orange, it makes a great meal after a day of yard work or while enjoying the early spring sun. Get the Sweet Potato and Orange Pepper Soup recipe for your eye health!

Wednesday, April 13, 2011

Dr. Laurie's List - Things To Do To Keep My Eyes Healthy

In the hustle and bustle of everyday life, we often forget the most important thing in life.  Taking care of ourselves.  Our body is our temple and our eyes are the windows.  Let's not take our vision for granted.


Things To Do To Keep My Eyes Healthy

·      Visit my optometrist every 1-2 years
·      Bring my children to the optometrist once by age 6 months, by age three and then yearly once they start school
·      Know my family history of eye health and eye problems
·      Eat eyefoods to nourish my body with antioxidants and omega-3 fatty acids
·      Wear good quality sunglasses to protect my eyes from the harmful effects of UV light

Tuesday, April 12, 2011

Dr. Laurie's Shopping List - Eyefoods Dinner

Dr. Laurie's Shopping List will provide you with 5 ingredients that are part of The Eyefoods Plan.  We challenge you to create a tasty meal that are based on  these 5 ingredients.  Of course, you can add other necessary ingredients.  (Just make sure they are healthy!)

Please let us know your creations.  Share it on this blog or on our Facebook page.

Shopping List - Eyefoods Dinner
  • Baby spinach
  • Orange peppers
  • Boneless turkey breast
  • Black beans
  • Oranges

Sunday, April 10, 2011

Dr. Laurie's List

Welcome to the first installment of Dr. Laurie’s List.  I’m known for making lists for everything in my own life.  Shopping lists, honey-do lists,  Eyefoods work lists.  I’ve even transformed those around me into list-makers.  Dr. Barb and I have been working on Eyefoods together for 3 years now and just last month, Dr. Barb started making lists too.

Dr. Laurie’s List will include Shopping Lists for eyedfoods dishes that you can create and To Do Lists for your eye health.  It will also provide you with interesting and important facts about your eyes and vision.   

We’d love to hear your questions.  Let us know if there are any questions about your eyes in general or about eyefoods, that we can answer – and I will create list for you! 



Eye Health Facts

Things to know about Age-Related Macular Degeneration (AMD)

·      Age-related macular degeneration is the leading cause of blindness in the western world
·      A family history of age-related macular degeneration can increase your risk of developing AMD
·      Food and lifestyle choices can help reduce the risk of age-related macular degeneration
·      Age-related macular degeneration can lead to loss of central vision and affect your ability to read and to drive
·      Antioxidants such as lutein and zeaxanthin, vitamin C, vitamin E, and nutrients such as zinc and omega-3 fatty acids are important in the prevention of age-related macular degeneration




Friday, April 8, 2011

Eyefoods at Chapters, St. Catharines

We're thrilled to announce that we're on the bookshelves!

Eyefoods:  A Food Plan for Healthy Eyes is now available at Chapters in St. Catharines and Coles at the Pen Center in St. Catharines.  

Stay posted as we become available in a location near you.  

Thursday, April 7, 2011

Eyefoods Book Release

Dr. Barb and I both have a passion for books, especially nutrition books and cookbooks. The decision to write Eyefoods: A Food Plan for Healthy Eyes came pretty quick after we had compiled all of the research and created the plan. Even in this digital age, we wanted to hold the final product in our hands. (And we also wanted another beautiful book to add to our collections)

Writing and publishing Eyefoods was one of the greatest learning experiences that either of us has had. We are thankful for the professionalism and creativity of our team. Every person that worked on Eyefoods has added their own touch to the book. We recognize this and thank you all.

Dr. Barb and I are thrilled to present to you Eyefoods: A Food Plan for Healthy Eyes. The book is easy to read and understand, and it is filled with beautiful photos (many of which were taken by Dr. Barb). It is also filled with meal ideas and tips on how to include eyefoods in your life.
We hope that this book will teach many people the power of nutrition on eye health.

Saturday, April 2, 2011

The Eyefoods Plan

How much kale can one person actually eat in a week? Kale is such a powerful eyefood that it is tempting to include it in every one of our eyefood recipes and meals. In fact, if you made a point of eating kale every day you would be nourishing your body with a high amount of lutein, a very powerful eye nutrient. However, we wanted the eyefoods plan to offer enough variety that it could be followed for a lifetime.

Dr. Barb and I are quite passionate about nutrition, both for ourselves and our families. For us, eating kale every day actually sounded like a great challenge. However, our husbands, Kris and Chris, reminded us that eating, even healthy eating, should be fun. And fun includes variety. So, thank you, Kris and Chris for inspiring us to develop a plan that every person will enjoy following - and that doesn't make you eat kale everyday.(Although we'd love it if you did!)

Friday, April 1, 2011

Eyefoods - Choosing our Team

After months of research we had all of the food information at our fingertips. Now we had to choose our team. Which foods would make the cut?

To become an eyefood, a food had to contain either a very high amount of a specific eye nutrient, or a balance of all of the eye nutrients. We set our standards, and then after days of chart making and analysis we had our team. These foods would become the basis of the eyefoods plan.

In our book, Eyefoods: A Food Plan for Healthy Eyes, we explain why each food made the cut to become part of the eyefoods team and we offer meal ideas and tips on how to include eyefoods into a busy lifestyle.

But there is more. Dr. Barb and I have always said "It is one thing to know which foods to eat to keep you healthy, but it is another thing to consistently include these foods into our diets." Our next goal was to create a plan to solve this very problem.

Sunday, March 27, 2011

Eyefoods-The Foods

Green vegetables, orange vegetables, red vegetables, fruit, meat, fish.......

The list went on to include many more categories and over 300 whole foods that we researched. The goal was to determine which foods stood out with the highest content of our "target nutrients", which we had now aptly named "eye nutrients".

And the winner is......

Kale.

We had a sneaky suspicion that kale would top the list of our foods, but this project confirmed it. And this would lead to our love affair with kale - kale chips, kale salad, kale brownies....I'm sure Dr. Barb will add to this list and I'm sure she has many more ideas with kale up her sleeve. (And by the way, thank you Chris and Kris for being good sports in all of the experiments with Kale.)

As great as kale is, it isn't the only food that we found to be full of eye nutrients. Actually we found 13 categories of food that will help support eye health. This was a great discovery for us as it would allow us to create some delicious recipes and meals loaded with eye nutrients. However, before we could spend all of our time creating recipes and meal plans, we had to rate our foods. Which ones would make the cut?

Saturday, March 26, 2011

Eyefoods - The Beginning

Two optometrist friends with an idea.

To create a system to educate people on the benefits of nutrition and eye health. The system will be based on the results of scientific studies. It will be presented in a format that is visually appealing, simple to follow and user friendly.

That was the goal that we set for ourselves at our very first meeting - and we went back to it many times along the road to remind ourselves of the purpose of our "project" and to keep us on track when the road ahead of us seemed so long.

The work involved in the first few months of the Eyefoods project was not very glamourous or exciting. We each spent countless hours examining all of the research that had been published on eye disease and nutrition - and believe me, there were a lot of studies to read, and summarize! We both felt like we were back in school, giving each other homework with deadlines. It felt like it would never end,(and our husbands thought we were crazy), however, after a long summer we had met our first goal. We had summarized all of the important studies and had created a list of the most important nutrients to reduce the risk of each eye disease.

I can remember that day clearly, the day we looked at our summaries and set our "Target Nutrients". This would form the basis of The Eyefoods Plan. It was a big step for us and led us to our next task. Find the foods that contained high amounts of the target nutrients. We were excited about this part of the project because we both loved food - now it shouldn't feel like homework anymore.

Friday, March 25, 2011

The Creation of Eyefoods

By Dr. Laurie Capogna, OD

Three years ago, my good friend and colleague, Dr. Barbara Pelletier and I, decided to use our common passion about healthy living and optometry to create a tool to educate our patients and the public about what they could do to help preserve their vision. We didn't know what form this tool would take, or for that matter, exactly what information it would include. However, we did know that new studies were continually emerging regarding the connection between nutrition, lifestyle and the prevention of eye disease. We also knew that in order to pass this information along we'd have to present it in a simple, practical and fun way.

As we await the release of our new book Eyefoods: A Food Plan for Healthy Eyes, I will share with you the story behind Eyefoods. Follow our blog over the next few days to read about how Eyefoods was created.

To us, the release of our first book represents the beginning of a lifetime of Eyefoods. We have so much to share with you - we hope you will join us on our journey.

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

Dr. Barb's Green Smoothie

As spring comes upon us we often crave new, fresh flavors in our diets. It's a great time of year to renew good eating habits. Smoothies are an excellent and tasty way to get the well needed healthy boost that are bodies often need after a long winter. Dr. Barb's Green Smoothie will delight you with it's freshness. It is loaded with lutein and zeaxanthin, two of the most important nutrients for eye health. Give it a try today!

Get Dr. Barb's Green Smoothie Recipe HERE!

Thursday, March 17, 2011

Eyefoods Website Launched!

We're excited to announce the launch of our website eyefoods  The website will answer many questions you may have regarding eye health and nutrition.  We've included mouth-watering recipes filled with the nutritious eyefoods.

www.eyefoods.com Let us know what you think.

Thursday, January 6, 2011

Welcome to our First Post!

We are testing things out and getting all of our Social Media Accounts and Website ready for 2011! We are very excited to share our knowledge with you on the road to better Eye-Health!



Happy New Year Everyone!