This February saw Occupational Health Services host two lunch-hour activities to encourage employees to invest in cardiovascular health and healthy living. The 18th Chili Cook-off occurred on February 7, and a Heart Health Webinar occurred on February 12.
Both coincided with American Heart Month, an annual national observance established by the United States Code. The Chili Cook-off also coincided with National Wear Red Day, traditionally the first Friday in February, an observance that encourages people to wear red clothing as a gesture of support for awareness of heart disease in women.
The employees who attended the activities at NCI Frederick did so in an off-the-clock fashion, using meal breaks or personal leave to participate.
The Chili Cook-off was calm and cozy, with 15 competitors vying to be crowned the chili champion. Small throngs of employees bedecked in red braved the chilly weather to visit and vote for their favorite entries. To prevent bias, OHS continued the cook-off’s tradition of anonymizing entrants’ chilies so that attendees cast their votes solely on culinary merit.
Victory went to Werner H. Kirsten (WHK) intern and high school senior Bella Pressimone (entry 11), a first-time competitor, with a staggering 39 votes—a comfortable lead over the other top competitors.
“This is really special because this is my only year to win it. This is my one and only shot,” said Pressimone after winning. Pressimone’s internship at NCI Frederick concluded this month.
Attendees remarked that Pressimone’s chili was sweet, with OHS Manager Sarah Hooper jokingly calling it “dessert.” According to Pressimone, the secret ingredient was brown sugar. She said she had help from her father in getting the recipe right.
Other entries cleft more to savory or spicy approaches. Some came with jalapeños, rice, cheese, onions, or tortillas on the side. A few were marked as particularly spicy so that would-be voters knew what to expect.
Keeping with cook-off tradition, Pressimone received the grand prize of a reserved parking space on the NCI Frederick campus for two weeks.
The event was also a lighthearted nod to research suggesting a tentative link between chili pepper consumption and lower cardiovascular mortality, so the program fittingly included brain food amid the spread of dishes. OHS nurses were on hand with materials about heart health and related lifestyle changes. Between sampling the different chilies, employees could use their break to answer trivia questions about heart attacks, diet, exercise, stroke, and obesity—all related to cardiovascular health.
The Heart Health Webinar on February 12 offered a similarly educational opportunity. Mandira Mehra, M.D., spoke for approximately 30 minutes on a range of cardiovascular topics spanning blood pressure to diet to diabetes. It amounted to a comprehensive yet succinct review of ways employees can improve their heart health and avoid risk factors.
One of the most straightforward steps people can take is making small improvements to their diet over time as their circumstances and finances allow, according to Mehra—a fitting observation for the lunchtime presentation. These incremental adjustments let people ease into a balanced diet that they enjoy and reduce the likelihood of yo-yo dieting, in which a person repeatedly begins diets only to let them go later.
“Just put little things into place … that you can continue” and build on, Mehra said.
Mehra also dismissed the notion that any positive change is “too small” to make a difference in cardiovascular health. The small changes add up over time, she said. She compared the heart, a muscle, to the other muscles in the body: positive, responsible care, even when small, is more than zero—and that counts for something.
“We have to do everything we can to optimize the heart,” she said.
A recording of the webinar is available via OHS.
The top five competitors in the 18th Chili Cook-off and their entry numbers follow:
- 1st place: Bella Pressimone (#11)
- 2nd place: Tracey Higgins (#13)
- 3rd place: Ha Le (#16)
- 4th place (tie): Delilah Bedilion (#7), Greg Ragan (#5)
The recipe for Bella Pressimone’s winning chili is below:
(Mention of trade names, commercial products, or organizations does not imply endorsement by the U.S. government.)
- 2 packs of McCormick chili mix (1 regular, 1 hot)
- 1 lb. ground beef
- 1 lb. Jimmy Dean hot pork sausage (can substitute cubed sirloin if desired)
- 2 cans (14.5 oz.) petite diced tomatoes, undrained
- 2 cans (15–16 oz.) kidney beans, undrained
- 1 Vidalia onion, thinly sliced
- 1 bag (12 oz.) of frozen sweet corn
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 1/8 cup sriracha sauce
Brown meat and drain excess fat. Add all other ingredients and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
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Cups, napkins, and spoons awaited attendees at the Chili Cook-off. Hand sanitizer (not shown) was also provided. (Photo by Samuel Lopez.) | Image
OHS Nurse Mia Bjelogrlic (right) oversaw the heart health trivia that employees could enjoy during their break. (Photo by Samuel Lopez.) |
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Bella Pressimone’s winning entry, number 11, was mild on spice but big on sweet, according to its many fans. (Photo by Samuel Lopez.) | Image
Attendees kept returning to Pressimone’s chili, so much so that the slow cooker was nearly empty by the end of the event. (Photo by Samuel Lopez.) |
Samuel Lopez leads the editorial team in Scientific Publications, Graphics & Media (SPGM). He writes for newsletters; informally serves as an institutional historian; and edits scientific manuscripts, corporate documents, and sundry other written media. SPGM is the creative services department and hub for editing, illustration, graphic design, formatting, multimedia, and training in these areas.