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Buy pink, eat green to fight breast cancer

You can walk for two days or you can walk to the store to support breast cancer prevention and research.

During October, which has been Breast Cancer Awareness Month for the past 25 years, food manufacturers, clothing designers and even liquor distillers trot out their pink products with proceeds going toward breast cancer causes.

From soft rose to hot pink and hues in between there's a product for you. Maybe it's a new Trudeau water bottle, a Bialatti espresso maker or RedEnvelope's corkscrew, pictured. Even M&Ms and Dove chocolates come in shades of carnation to satisfy the culinarian and philanthropist in you.

If you want to fight breast cancer on a much more personal level, add green to your diet.

"Decades of breast cancer research have shown a strong link between diet and cancer," says Cancer Project dietitian Krista Haynes. The group's "The Cancer Survivor's Guide: Foods That Help You Fight Back" holds more than 130 recipes for healthful eating. "The colorful recipes we chose are chock-full of fiber and cancer-fighting chemicals that can help women reduce the hormones, carcinogens and toxins that contribute to breast cancer."

Increased fruit and vegetable consumption can reduce cancer risk, yet less than one-third of U.S. adults eat the recommended amount of fruit and vegetables every day, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In addition, the Women's Intervention Nutrition Study has shown that breast cancer survivors who cut their fat intake and increase their fruit and vegetable intake reduce their recurrence rate by 24 percent.

Try the book's Green Goodie Smoothie: In a blender combine 1 cup pineapple juice, 1 cup fortified vanilla soy milk or other nondairy milk, 10 frozen peach slices, 1 banana, 1/4 cup cherries or raspberries, 2 teaspoons maple syrup (if you want), 1 tablespoon spirulina and ice. Blend on high, adding more ice as needed to chill and thicken.

Fine time to buy wine: Cafe Pyrennes holds its Fifth Annual Wine Warehouse Sale 11 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 18, at the restaurant, 1762 N. Milwaukee Ave., Libertyville.

While you browse the collection of domestic and imported wines nosh on complimentary hors d'oeuvres prepared by chef Jean-Marc Loustaunau. More info at (847) 362-2233 or cafepyrennes.com.

Greek goodness: Greek chef and cookbook author Diane Kochilas is partnering with Louis Alexakis, owner of the newly opened Avil Estiatorio, to host a dinner featuring Greek wines at 6:30 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 18, at the restaurant, 566 Chestnut St., Winnetka.

The menu includes Polloponnesian Trahana Soup with pumpkin and onions, braised octopus wrapped in grape leaves and lamb shank kydonato and poached figs and will be paired with wines from the Domaine Skouras Winery.

The dinner costs $75; reservations required. (847) 446-9300.

That's my Guy: Tickets are on sale now to catch Guy Fieri, that larger-than-life host of three Food Network shows who's pictured above, in what's being billed as a rock 'n' roll culinary show Dec. 3 at the Rosemont Theatre.

Fieri, host of "Diners, Drive-in and Dives." "Guy's Big Bite" and "Ultimate Recipe Showdown." will share the stage with Hayden "Woody" Wood, an Australian-based flair bartender, and a local celeb chef who has not yet been announced. (Rick Tramonto comes to mind, but that's purely speculation.)

Fieri promises an unscripted performance, complete with interactive cooking stations, demos, behind-the-scenes stories from the road and more.

The show starts at 7 p.m. at the Rosemont Theatre, 5400 N. River Road, Rosemont. Tickets cost $25 to $250 and are available at ticketmaster.com.

- Deborah Pankey

• Contact Food Editor Deborah Pankey at food@dailyherald.com or (848) 427-4524. Listen to her discuss food and restaurant trends on Restaurant Radio Chicago, 5 to 6 p.m. Saturdays on WIND 560 AM.

RedEnvelope's pink corkscrew
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