Lifestyle

Spice It Up

My sister has a severe allergy to gluten.  This has caused a real issue in the family with finding things she can actually eat.  I am not saying this because she makes it difficult; I say it because there are a surprising number of things that have wheat in it, many that you wouldn’t even think do.  Ingredient lists have to be checked and we can’t use most prepackaged seasonings, like taco seasoning or Cajun seasonings, etc.  There are almost always one or two ingredients she can’t have.  Plus did you know sugar is listed as an ingredient in almost all seasoning packets-including taco seasoning?!  I have found it easier to just make the seasonings myself, plus it’s cheaper!  It’s easy to make a container of seasoning yourself out of spices on hand.  I am going to share the benefits of some popular spices this week and some of the seasonings we make at home.

Author Linda Hight is guest of Okmulgee Lions Club

By DEAN CRAIG

Okmulgee Lions

Tuesday's Lions Club meeting was another program with a local flair, even though it was presented by Broken Arrow author Linda Hight, but it was about a book she has written, "How We Served (Volume II)", profiling the military service of 29 Okmulgee Countians.  The periods of service covered World War II, the Cold War, the Korean Conflict, Vietnam, the Gulf War and Desert Storm, and Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom.  

If you are interested in purchasing the book, it is available from any American Legion member for a donation (there is not a set price) and all proceeds go to the two posts in Okmulgee.

Foundations are the structures we build the rest of our buildings upon.  As it relates to this article, what are the beginnings, the experiences, the life happenings that our local ministers have lived through that led them to be pastors or priests?  Finding out what those foundations are for the ministers of our community is the focus of this series of articles.

By Dale Fillmore

First Church of the Nazarene, Okmulgee

“I just feel the Lord is calling me to preach”, were the words of Jordan Kanuho to a youth camp preacher at Falls Creek Indian Camp.  They are the words that Jordan spoke in response to an experience that laid a heavy burden upon his heart.

Representatives share important information with Okmulgee Lions

By DEAN CRAIG

Okmulgee Lions

Once in a great while you stumble across a program that can almost literally touch nearly everyone--directly or indirectly, family or friend--and that all-encompassing disease is Dementia, of which Alzheimer's disease is a symptom.  This program was brought to the Okmulgee Lions Club by Toni McGee, Director of Development, with the Oklahoma Chapter of the Alzheimer's Association, and assisted by Justine Mulanax, Community Events Coordinator. 

 There was so much information shared with us in her seemingly short 30 minutes (plus) program that it will be virtually impossible for me to cover everything in the space allotted.  But the most important part of this very informative and fact-filled program is the belief that there is HOPE!

I have a friend whose husband was recently diagnosed with cancer.  It got me thinking and doing some research.  Because it has been on my mind lately, I want to use this week’s column to help share a few tips and some recipes that are recommended for people undergoing chemo treatments.  Of course, this is just a general guide.  You should always check with your doctor if you aren’t sure about whether or not you should be taking something.   Also, the person undergoing treatment will have their tastes change throughout the treatments and something that might be great at the beginning, might not be so good in the middle or towards the end.  So always check to see what they are craving or what might be just not right for them at this time.  

Easy Meals Kids Can Make

Growing up, there came a point where my sister and I started cooking dinner for the family.  Back then, I’ll be honest, it wasn’t my favorite thing to do.  I would much rather be reading than worrying about what to cook.  Mom had a paperback cookbook for kids I loved to use though.  I pulled it out last week in preparation for starting this week’s column.  Many of the pages are stained and the spine is in bad shape, but it brought back so many memories.  There are simple recipes that kids can cook for themselves for breakfast and snacks and even some desserts, but it includes a section for cooking dinner that I used more than the other pages.  My family enjoyed those dinners and I got a sense of pride for completing them and having everybody like what I made.

By DEAN CRAIG

Okmulgee Lions

After several non-local programs for our Lions Club meetings, we are back on schedule for a local program, and it was a “doozy.”  Local resident Beatriz Hodge, a former Okmulgee teacher now teaching third grade at Henryetta Elementary School, was the program, with assistance from her daughter Laila, highlighting the benefits of a relatively new program called Bal-A-Vis-X.

Bal-A-Vis-X was developed in 1999 by Bill Hubert, a previous teacher and martial arts instructor, who connected rhythm and balance with academic success.  According to testimony provided on his website, Hubert stated, “Slowly I became aware that, of all my students, the ones most deficient in these three basic skills often were the same ones who struggled the most academically.”

Former NFL player working to help others fight addictions

By DEAN CRAIG

Okmulgee Lions

I remember as a sixth-grader attending Horace Mann Elementary in Alva, Oklahoma, the school being located on the campus of Northwestern State College (now Northwestern Oklahoma State University), using their gym for our basketball team to practice.  There was a sign on the wall that said, "When that great scorer comes, and writes against your name.  It's not whether you won or lost, but how you played the game".  And we all try to succeed at our most important game--the game of life.  

This was the theme of Tuesday's Lions Club meeting by Jim Riley (Jim Riley Outreach in Edmond) in winning his battle with alcohol/drug addiction. 

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Budget Meals

We all have times where money is tight.  Whether it be an unexpected trip to the hospital, car repairs or a leaky roof, life happens to us all and causes us to pay more than expected putting us in a bind in other areas.  Let’s be honest though.  No one really wants to go to the store at any time and spend a couple hundred dollars on groceries.  Even on good days, we look for ways to save money.  One of the best ways to save money is by cooking at home instead of eating out.  Even then sometimes, groceries can be expensive and make it hard to cook a good meal.  There are ways to save money though.  

By DEAN CRAIG

Okmulgee Lions

We broke the "local" cycle of programs for Tuesday's Lions Club meeting with a re-scheduled program by James Keith, duck caller extraordinaire, who lives east of Nowata overlooking Lake Oologah. 

 However, he grew up in western Oklahoma, Sayre, where his adoptive father was a girls basketball coach, finally ending up in Oologah.  Coach's kids, much like preacher's kids, get to experience a lot of different cities because it is just the nature of the jobs.

Lion Beth Flud was curious to know who his father was because she, too, was a basketball coach for the Lady Bulldogs (winning a state championship in 1991), and had coached against his father.  An interesting side-note: Keith's uncle, the late Harold Keith, was Oklahoma University's first Sports Information Director from 1930-1969.