Tag: Caregivers

This class is now full. Please call (202) 483-8600 for any inquiries.

with Chef Kara Garrett

A healthy diet doesn’t mean you always have to skip the dessert! Join Chef Kara to explore wholesome and nutritious holiday desserts to enjoy without the guilt. Learn about sugar’s impact on your body, how to make healthier sugar substitutes in your desserts, and participate in a hands-on baking class of delicious vegan recipes to share with your family & friends. This is a great introductory class for anyone interested in learning the basics of vegan and/or gluten-free baking recipes.

Topics we will cover:

  • Substituting refined sugar for more natural sources such as fruits, honey, maple syrup, succanat, and coconut sugar
  • Replacing eggs with flax/chia seeds, fruit puree, and other alternatives
  • Tips for selecting butter and dairy milk replacements
  • Tips for baking with gluten-free flour blends

Menu*:

  • Jam-Filled Rugelach
  • Cinnamon-Spiced Baked Apples
  • Gingerbread Cake
  • Cranberry-Walnut Scones
    *Menu subject to change based on ingredient availability and class size. All recipes will be vegan. Some recipes may contain gluten and/or nuts. Please alert us to any allergies when registering for the class.

Suggested Donation: $25

This class is limited to 12 participants. Please sign up early to reserve your seat!

About Chef Kara Garrett

Kara is a health-supportive chef based in Washington, DC. Following her breast cancer diagnosis in 2013, she embraced the challenge of finding a balance between her foodie lifestyle and eating well with cancer. She has adopted a flexible diet plan that focuses on plant-based, sustainable whole foods, but does not restrict indulgences of things she loves. She is passionate about working with others to encourage healthier food choices that energize the body and the soul.

Kara graduated in August 2017 from the Chef Training Program at Natural Gourmet Institute in NYC and spent one month as the sous chef at The Ananda Ashram Yoga Society of New York in Monroe, NY. She is currently enrolled in the Developing Healthy Communities: Nutrition, Behavior, and Physical Activity graduate program at Tufts University Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy.

with Priya Shamsundar, NP

Please join us for an engaging presentation that reviews palliative care medicine as a medical specialty that improves quality of life and helps to relieve symptoms at home for people of any age, at any stage of an advanced illness, whether that illness is curable, chronic, or life limiting. The underlying premise of this discussion is supported by the belief there should be a holistic and spiritual infusion with approach to conventional medicine.

About Priya Shamsundar

Priya Shamsundar is a Palliative Care Nurse Practitioner that works with Capital Caring. She received her Bachelor’s degree in Nursing from Stony Brook University and her Master’s degree from Pace University in 2013. Her specialties include Urology, Pain Management and of course Palliative Care. Her aim as a Palliative Care Nurse Practitioner is to provide holistic care with a collaborative approach to patients with chronic and long term illnesses such as cancer and end stage illnesses. She is well versed in initiating discussions that address advance care planning and insight to questions that may arise when dealing with any chronic or long term prognosis. She currently cares for patients in the community of the District of Columbia and is one of the only Palliative Care providers that makes home visits. She continues to show commitment to her patients with hopes that her expertise will ease the journey and anxieties that comes along with managing a chronic or life impacting illness.

This program is being offered virtually through Zoom. In order to participate and receive the Zoom link, register by clicking the RSVP button above or by emailing carla@smithcenter.org.

You will receive the Zoom information no later than the morning of your program.

with Rebecca Wilkinson, MA, ATR-BC, LCPAT

Mandalas for Managing Stress and Increasing Wellbeing

Mandalas – circular designs that communicate symbolic meaning – have been used for centuries as a form of contemplative practice in many spiritual traditions.

In this brief but focused workshop, we will use mandala imagery, writing, and meditative practice to bring creativity, healing, and an increased sense of grounding and balance into our lives. Absolutely no previous art experience is needed. The workshop is designed for all ranges of artistic experience–you need not consider yourself an artist to attend.

 

Suggested Materials:

  • Paper to draw on – can be any size or color that you like; we usually work with something between 6 x 6 to 12 x 12
  • Art supplies to draw or paint with – E.G. colored pencils, magic markers, chalk or oil pastels, watercolor paints, and/or acrylics
  • Plate or circular shape – to draw an outline of a circle on the paper
  • For those of you who do creative or art journaling, you are welcome to use your journal to create your mandala.

Suggested Donation: $10

About Rebecca Wilkinson, MA, ATR-BC, LCPAT

Rebecca Wilkinson

Rebecca Wilkinson, MA, ATR-BC, is a Registered and Board Certified art therapists with twenty years of experience in mental health and in facilitating training and workshops. She serves as adjunct faculty at George Washington University Graduate Art Therapy Program and provide continuing education and development through the Potomac Art Therapy Association. She facilitates supportive workshops for those affected by life threatening illness and the professional providers working with them. Co-founder of Creative Wellbeing Workshops, LLC, which provides training, consultation, and clinical therapy designed to reduce stress, prevent burnout and increase life satisfaction and wellbeing.