South Beach Cold Cuts

Choosing the Best Cold Cuts
Presliced deli lunch meats provide protein and make for handy on-the-go eating. But before you stop at the deli counter, check out this shopping guide to learn which meats are South Beach Diet-recommended and which ingredients you should avoid:
Choose lean meats that are low in saturated fat. Fresh turkey breast, boiled ham, and chicken breast are all great choices. Lean roast beef is also fine.
Avoid processed meats with fillers. Fillers are carbohydrate additives that are used to hold the meat together and reduce production costs. Look for modified food starch, wheat starch, and corn starch in the ingredient list, and avoid products made with these fillers unless they appear near the end of the ingredient list. If this is the case, the amount of starch is minuscule.
Steer clear of meats with added sugar like honey-baked ham or honey-roasted turkey. If you'd like to add more flavor to your deli meat, try spreading a little mustard or mayonnaise on it.

South Beach Shrimp Salad

Shrimp Salad With Herb-Dill Dressing
Herbs are a must when it comes to cooking full-flavored, delicious meals — and fresh dill is no exception. It's often used for creating summery main-dish salads and seasoning seafood and lean meats. Here is a delicious recipe flavored with dill for your recipe box.
Shrimp Salad With Herb-Dill Dressing (Phase 1)
Serves 2
Ingredients Shrimp 1/2 cup dry white wine1/2 teaspoon mustard seeds1⁄8 teaspoon red-pepper flakes1 bay leaf1/2 lemon, sliced3/4 pound large shrimp, peeled and deveined
Herb-Dill Dressing 1 1/2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil1 1/2 tablespoons red-wine vinegar1 tablespoon water1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil1 tablespoon chopped fresh dill1/2 teaspoon finely chopped garlic1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard1/4 medium onion, sliced1/2 large head romaine lettuce2 ripe tomatoes, cut into wedges3 fresh mushrooms, slicedFresh dill sprigs (optional)
Instructions To make the shrimp: Combine the wine, mustard seeds, pepper flakes, bay leaf, and lemon in a large saucepan. Add water to fill the pan two-thirds full. Bring to a boil over high heat. Add the shrimp, and cook for 3-4 minutes or until the shrimp have turned pink and are no longer translucent in the center. Drain and cool. Discard the bay leaf.
To make the herb-dill dressing: In a screw-top jar, mix the olive oil, red-wine vinegar, water, basil, dill, garlic, mustard, and onion. Shake well.
Place the shrimp in a large bowl and add the dressing. Toss well, cover, and refrigerate until well-chilled.
Serve the shrimp mixture on romaine lettuce leaves and surround with the tomato wedges and mushroom slices. Garnish with dill sprigs, if using.
Nutritional Information 382 calories14 g total fat (2 g sat)260 mg cholesterol16 g carbohydrate38 g protein4 g fiber310 mg sodium

Parks Update

COMMUNITY AND RECREATION CENTER SERVICES

Ø Constitution Day - Puerto Rico: The Marion Diehl Recreation Center is partnering with the Puerto Rican Cultural Society of Charlotte and the Latin American Coalition to celebrate "Constitution Day of Puerto Rico". The event will take place on Saturday, July 26, 2008 from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. Come and enjoy traditional songs, food, music and dances from Puerto Rico. Featured Artist: Orquesta Mayor, Pleneros - Remembranza, DJ "El Nene" and Artist Lillian White.

PARK OPERATIONS AND ATHLETIC SERVICES

Ø Blythe Landing Dock Improvements: On Monday night the Lake Norman Marine Commission voted to approve the permit application to replace the boat docks at Blythe Landing. The new docks will have slips on both sides. The next step in the permit process is for the application to go to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) for approval. FERC is expected to review the plans and return the application in 45-90 days.

Ø National Softball Association (NSA) Tournament, July 21-23: The NSA World Series "B" tournament for Girls' Fastpitch Softball will be held Monday, July 21 through Wednesday, July 23 at Hornet's Nest and Nevin softball complexes. Athletic Services has worked very closely with Park District and Park Services staff in planning for a great event this year!

Ø Free Football Clinic: Park and Recreation and the Carolina Panthers have teamed up to offer a free one-day football clinic for boys and girls ages 7-14 on Wednesday, July 30, 2008 from 10 a.m. – 3 p.m. at Tuckaseegee Park. Derichard McCoy, recently promoted to the position of Recreation Coordinator/Supervisor over the county's youth football initiative, will be leading the county's involvement in this event.

Ø National Recreation and Park Association Conference Scholarships: Mecklenburg County Park and Recreation is honored to have three employees receive scholarships to attend the 2008 National Recreation and Park Association Congress and Exposition in Baltimore, MD. October 14-18. Park and Recreation Manager Andra Eaves was awarded a diversity scholarship, Athletic Coordinator Atuya Cornwell won the Southern Region young professional fellowship and Jason Tryon had the winning essay and was awarded the Department scholarship.

Ø Free Dog Parks: Effective July 1, all dog parks were opened up free of charge. On Thursday an interview was held with PS&I at Ray’s Fetching Meadow (McAlpine Park) that will be placed on the website. Greg Jackson and a park patron were interviewed. Among the 7 or 8 park patrons using the dog park all but one were previous pooch pass holders. All admitted they were opposed to the dog parks being free, however agreed that it is working just fine. Several even commented that they had made a couple new friends (both canine and human) from new dog park visitors.


CAPITAL PLANNING AND ALLIANCE DEVELOPMENT

Ø Friendship Sportsplex Community Meeting: The July 17 community meeting at Friendship Missionary Baptist Church (FMBC) was well attended great input and positive feedback was received. 35 community members were present with great comments and suggestions. This project is an exciting partnership between the FMBC and Mecklenburg County Park and Recreation. Wirth & Associates, Inc. is the consulting firm being contracted to design phase I. The principal for the project will be Gary Wirth.

Ø First Ward Park: Staff attended a First Ward Park planning meeting with city officials.

Ø Independence Boulevard Corridor Charette: Staff participated in the Independence Boulevard Corridor master planning charette with the City to provide input relative to parks, greenways and open space needs

Ø Mint Hill Town Board: A presentation on future park plans was made before the Mint Hill Town Board.

Ø Planning Charette: Staff participated in a planning charette with Charlotte Housing Authority (CHA), CPCC and CMS regarding CHA’s plans to redevelop Boulevard Homes as a Hope VI project.


GREENWAY PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT

Ø Independence Boulevard Land Use Study: Planning staff met with the City's consultants to provide input into a plan to redevelop the area surrounding Independence Boulevard. The existing and future greenway and park amenities that staff identified within the study area will be incorporated into the land use plan.

Ø Elmwood Cemetery Pedestrian Connection: Staff met with CDOT representatives to discuss opportunities to increase pedestrian connectivity around Elmwood Cemetery. This effort could improve access to Ray's Splash Planet, existing Irwin Creek Greenway, and future Irwin Creek Greenway north of I-277.

Ø Little Sugar Creek Greenway - CSX Underpass: A flagman has finally been assigned to the construction site of the CSX underpass. The contractor will be coordinating schedules, and will be spending the next two weeks clearing and testing under the tracks. The contractor's design solution for the embankment stabilization has been submitted to DMJM Harris (CSX's engineering consultant) for review. Work on the soil nail wall and retaining wall cannot begin until these plans are approved by DMJM Harris, which should be in the next week or two.

Ø Little Sugar Creek Greenway - 10th to 7th Connector: Staff met with representatives from CDOT to discuss the 10th to 7th overland connector. CDOT through their consultant, HNTB, is conducting a feasibility study, structural and traffic analysis on the 7th Street Bridge over 277. The results of the study will determine the appropriate design options for the bridge. Mecklenburg County Park and Recreation’s consultant has also drawn a design solution to the McDowell Street, 10th Street and 11th Street intersections. Staff will take this to their next coordination meeting with CDOT to get conceptual approval and commitments from CDOT.

Ø Little Sugar Creek Greenway - 7th to Elizabeth: A ground breaking ceremony was held this week for the CPCC Culinary Arts Facility. CPCC president Tony Zeiss, donned in a chef's hat, directed the mixing of pancake batter and talked of the importance of this new state-of-the-art facility and its relationship to the greenway. Everyone had chef hats and confetti flew. A delicious breakfast was provided, of course. Construction has already begun on the site. Building construction will begin soon to be ready for Fall 2009 classes.