Need some inspiration in the kitchen?

The Church Health Center can help.

The organization commited to health and wellness in the community offers free regular cooking classes year-round that anyone can take.

"During December, they will be demonstrating a variety of dishes, many of them holiday dishes made healthfully," said the center's Sharon Tagg.

Here is the schedule. The classes are limited to 24 participants, on a first-come, first-served basis, and are held in the Demonstration Kitchen at the Hope & Healing Center, 1115 Union.

Classes are: Wednesdays at 9 and 10:30 a.m. and Thursdays at 9, 10:30 a.m. and 2 and 5:30 p.m. For more information, call Hope & Healing at 259-4673 or check out the Web site at churchhealthcenter.org

The Memphis Shelby County Humane Society has created a lost/found service on its Web site. You can scroll through and see pictures and info about lost and found pets and post your information. When your pet is lost, you need to become as focused as a battlefield general in trying to get it back. Here are the things I would do. If you have other suggestions, please send them to me.

1. Place a lost/found ad in The Commercial Appeal. It's the largest circulation paper in the region and thousands of eyes will see your notice. Pet lovers pay attention to that and will look for your pet while they are driving around. I look all the time.
2. Go to http://www.memphishumane.org and post your information and upload a picture. Not computer savvy? Find a friend. We are out there.
3. Create fliers with your pet's picture and brief information. I see some fliers that look like someone wrote an essay on them. You need something that people can see in the time it takes to pass by in their car. Lost, red, female dog, black lab, golden retriever mix. And put your phone number, your cell number in big letters. But, leave off an identifier that you can ask them about. Some unscrupulous people may try to con you. If your dog or cat has a interesting coloring or one paw is white, ask them about that. Ask them if all the paws are white? If they say yes, it's not your pet.

4. Put fliers up all over your neighborhood. Go to grocery stores within a 5-mile radius and put your flier up on the community bulletin board. Try to keep track of where you put your flier so you can go take it down once your pet is found. Take your flier door-to-door in your neighborhood and ask your neighbors if they have seen your pet. Tell them to show the picture to their kids and ask the kids to keep a look out. Kids are great at helping.
5. Offer a reward and pay it. You can put reward on your flier but don't tell them the amount until you are sure they have your pet. It doesn't have to be big. $50 is a good reward. People aren't going to look harder for more money, unless your pet was stolen. Then they might.
6. Call the emergency vets and take them a flier. Take your flier to local vets within a 5-mile radius and ask them to post. Find out if there's any sort of message board or something that you can send out the information to all vets in the area. When I find a lost animal, I take it to my vet, not to the closest vet. My vet isn't anywhere near my home. But it helps to start with the closest vets.
7. Take a flier to the local animal shelters and go there every other day to look through the cages for your pet. You may think your dog is a retriever mix, but others may see it as a chow mix. Don't take any chances. Some shelters euthanize strays after their third day there. Check, check, check. Talk to the staff there and enlist their help.

Tomorrow, I'll talk about things you should do before your pet becomes lost. Please send me comments with other suggestions.

Here's another take on a holiday standby from the Baptist Diabetes Education & Management Center. My Thanksgiving dessert offerings didn't include pumpkin pie, which is probably why this caught my eye. I'll be looking for an excuse to try it.

Incredible No-Crust Pumpkin Pie

Cooking spray
1 15-oz. can pumpkin, not pumpkin pie filling.
2 eggs or 1/2 c. low cholesterol egg substitute
2 t. canola oil2/3 c. Splenda Granular
1/2 c. reduced-fat Bisquick
1 12-oz. can evaporated skim milk
2 t. pumpkin pie spice
1 t. vanilla

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 10-inch pie pan with nonstick cooking spray.

Mix canned pumpkin, eggs and oil at low speed until well blended.
Add Splenda, Bisquick, evaporated milk, spices and vanilla. Mix until well blended.

Pour into a prepared pie pan and bake for 55 minutes or until a knife inserted into the center comes out clean.

Serve warm or let cool, cover and refrigerate for up to two days.

Yield: 8 servings
Nutritional facts: Calories,120 calories, carbs 17 g, protein 6 g, fat 3 g, including 1 g saturated fat, fiber 2 g and sodium 160 mg.