Keeping your family’s food safe is critical for our health – that’s why September is designated as Food Safety Education Month.
Foodborne illness can occur when we eat contaminated food. In order to keep our food safe, we must follow safe food handling methods when storing and cooking foods.
Following proper food handling principles helps keep our foods safe from the contaminants that can cause foodborne illness. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) recommends these 4 steps to protect your family from foodborne illness: Clean, Separate, Cook, and Chill.
Clean:Wash Hands, Utensils, and Surfaces Frequently
Wash your hands and kitchen surfaces before you prepare any food. Always wash your hands for at least 20 seconds, using soap and warm water.
Remember: Germs can survive on surfaces in your kitchen, including on your hands, counters, utensils, and on cutting boards.
Separate:Avoid Cross-contamination
Cross contamination is common in the kitchen. Cross contamination is caused by transferring dangerous bacteria from raw foods to other foods and surfaces.
Remember: Separate any raw meat, along with poultry, seafood, and eggs and use separate, individual cutting boards. Make sure to wash cutting boards with hot soapy water in between uses.
Cook:Make Sure to Cook All Foods to the Right Temperature
Cook food to the proper internal temperature to eliminate germs and bacteria that can cause foodborne illness. Use a calibrated food thermometer to get an accurate temperature reading.
Bacteria can rapidly multiply when food is held at room temperature.
Remember: The Temperature Danger Zone is between 40°F and 140°F. This is the temperature range that best supports the growth of microorganisms like bacteria.
Chill: Properly Refrigerate and Freeze Foods
Keep your refrigerator at 39°F or below and your freezer at or below 0˚F.
Perishable foods, especially frozen meat, should never be thawed on the countertop or in hot water. Leaving meat out on the counter or in the sink while it defrosts allows the meat to reach temperatures higher than 40 degrees, the Danger Zone.
Remember: It is important to refrigerate perishable foods within 2 hours, or within 1 hour if food has been held at 90˚F or higher.
Anyone can get foodborne illness; however, older adults, children younger than 5, pregnant women, and those with a weakened immune system may be more likely to get sick from a foodborne illness.
As summer is coming to a close and the kids are going back to school, National Watermelon Day is upon us! We have celebrated all of July as National Watermelon Month, but there is an extra day just for this sweet, juicy treat. This August 3rd, enjoy a slice, cube, ball, or spear of watermelon to celebrate National Watermelon Day!
With the name watermelon, you could assume that the fruit is made up of mostly water. “How much water?” you may ask. 92 percent of the fruit is water! This is a great source of water for individuals who do not like drinking water, like myself. Another benefit is that since the water content is high, it helps individuals feel full. The combination of water and small amounts of fiber in this fruit helps you feel full without all of the calories. Watermelon is also beneficial in terms of digestion. Water helps the digestive tract to continue moving while fiber provides substance for your stool. This combination promotes normal, healthy bowel movements.
Not only is watermelon a great source of water for hydration, but it also has a lot of nutritional benefits. Fewer calories and no fat mean less guilt when eating the delicious fruit. There are approximately 47 calories per cup of watermelon. Watermelon also provides vitamins such as A, B1, B5, B6, and C. It also offers magnesium and potassium, both important factors in your daily intake. Vitamins A and C are critical components of healthy skin, as they assist with the production and repair of skin cells. Skin tends to look dry and flaky when you do not have enough intake of these vitamins. Vitamin C helps create collagen. Collagen keeps hair strong and skin elastic.
Now that you know why watermelon is an excellent fruit to consume, how should you celebrate it on its national day? Eating the watermelon by itself, as is, is a great place to start! If you are feeling adventurous, try making a fruit salad, adding salt or sugar, or throwing it on the grill. Check out one of my favorite recipes below for watermelon ice pops!
Tools needed:
Blender
Ice pop molds
Ingredients (Yields 6):
1 ½ cups watermelon, seeded and diced
½ cup water
1 Tablespoon honey
1 Tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 Tablespoon white sugar
Directions:
Step 1: Blend all ingredients together in a blender until smooth.
Step 2: Pour mixture into ice pop molds.
Step 3: Place into freezer and freeze until solid. This takes about 2 hours.
Step 4: Run water over the ice pop mold for a few seconds to help release the popsicle and enjoy!
Blueberries were once known as star berries because of the pointy flower calyxes on top of the berries. Blueberries have grown in North America for thousands of years. Native Americans dried the berries in the sun and crushed them into a powder to be used as a rub on meats. Whole berries were added to soups, stews, and to other ingredients to make a pudding call sautauthig.
Blueberries from a Central Florida hobbiest farm. UF/IFAS Photo: Sally Lanigan.uthig.
Luscious, sweet blueberries have a nutrition profile. Blueberries are low in fat and a good source of fiber and vitamin C. Blueberries are very high in antioxidants.
Look for fresh blueberries that are firm, dry, plump, smooth skinned, and relatively free from leaves and stems. Color should be deep purple blue to blue-black; reddish berries are not ripe but may be used in cooking.
Blueberries will keep a day or two at room temperature. They will remain fresh in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks. Cover berries to prevent dehydration. Reddish berries will be sour but will ripen if placed in a container with a few ripe berries and left uncovered at room temperature for a day or two.
Fresh berries should be stored covered in the refrigerator and washed just before using. Use berries within 10 days of picking or purchasing.
Blueberries are easily frozen for later use. Freeze unwashed blueberries in airtight, resealable plastic bags. If thawed, keep refrigerated and use within 3 days.
Next time you are shopping in the produce department, add fresh blueberries to your shopping cart and enjoy the delicious flavor of the berries.
BLUEBERRY PANCAKE STACKS
Vegetable oil for cooking
1 cup milk
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 egg
1 cup all-purpose flour
½ teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup fresh blueberries
Dash of nutmeg
In a mixing bowl, stir together the milk, oil, and egg. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and nutmeg. Add dry ingredients to the milk and stir just until mixed (batter should be slightly lumpy). Gently fold in the berries. Spoon the batter onto a griddle or pan greased with vegetable oil and heated to medium-hot (dollops should be about the size of a silver dollar). Let the batter cook until the tops of the pancakes begin to bubble, then flip and cook until done.
Stack and serve immediately with softened margarine and warm syrup.
Makes about eighteen 2 ½” pancakes.
BLUEBERRY SYRUP
Combine 1 pint of blueberries and 1 cup of maple syrup in a saucepan.
Heat to boiling, then lower the heat and simmer until most of the fruit has burst. Remove from heat and use a fork to smoosh the berries. The syrup will thicken as it cools. Store in the refrigerator for up to 2 days.
July is one of my favorite months of the year. Summer is in full swing, school is out, temperatures are soaring, and we celebrate Independence Day, as well as my birthday! While all those things are great, my favorite part about the month is celebrating National Ice Cream Month all month long! Who wouldn’t love a cold, sweet treat on a hot, summer day?
Did you know that one 1/2 cup serving of regular ice cream is considered a good source of calcium and phosphorous, containing 10% of the recommended daily value? While ice cream can be part of a balanced diet, its high calorie and fat content are something to consider. Ice cream is good in moderation, something I know I struggle with.
Cold, Delicious, and so many flavors! Photo source: Lyndsey B.
One of my favorite things about ice cream is the options are endless. Not only are there numerous flavors to choose from, but there are other options for how it can be made or served. “Add-ins” such as berries, chocolate sauce, sprinkles, and whipped cream can change how the base ice cream tastes. Some of the most popular flavors, such as vanilla, chocolate, cookie dough, strawberry, butter pecan, etc., do not need any add-ins though.
Types of ice cream also can be broken down into different categories:
Regular ice cream is a frozen food product made from dairy products with at least 10% milk fat.
Light ice cream contains at least 50% less fat or 33% fewer calories than regular ice cream.
Low-fat ice cream contains no more than 3 grams of fat per serving.
Nonfat ice cream contains less that 0.5 gram of fat per serving.
Frozen custard, also known as French ice cream, contains a minimum of 10% milk fat as well as 1.4% egg yolk solids.
Sherbets have a milk fat content only between 1-2%.
Sorbet, also known as water ices, are similar to sherbet, but do not contain dairy.
Frozen yogurt has a mixture of dairy ingredients such as milk or nonfat milk that has been cultured, as well as other ingredients for sweetening and flavoring.
Enjoy a scoop of ice cream in honor of National Ice Cream Month. Photo source: UF/IFAS Northwest District
Since the kids are home from school, I am always looking for activities for them. Check out the recipe and instructions below for how to make your own ice cream in a bag at home!
Ingredients:
3 Zip-top bags: 2 quart-size and 1 gallon-size
¼ c. cream
¼ c. milk
1 Tbsp. sugar
3/4 tsp. vanilla extract
4-5 c. ice
1/3 c. salt (rock salt or large granules works the best)
Toppings of your choice (sprinkles, chocolate syrup, fruits, whipped cream, etc.)
Directions:
A cool and refreshing sweet treat Photo Source: Angela Hinkle
Bag it! In a quart Zip-top bag, combine cream, milk, sugar and vanilla. Push out excess air and seal. (Double bag it to avoid spillage)
Ice it! Add the ice and salt into the gallon zip-top bag. Then place the smaller, sealed bag into the ice.
Shake it! Seal the bag and shake vigorously, 7 to 10 minutes. Do this until the ice cream has hardened. The more you shake, the quicker it hardens.
Remove it! Remove the smaller bag from the big bag. Throw the big bag away.
Top it! Either eat the ice cream out of the bag or spoon it into a bowl. Add your favorite toppings and enjoy!
“Stressed is just desserts spelled backwards.” When I was younger, I took this saying to heart. If I was stressed, I reached for the sweets. That instant rush of sugar to my brain provided a feeling of happiness and contentment. But it was only temporary. Once the sugar high wore off, I went back to feeling overwhelmed with stress, which just made me reach for more sweets.
It took me much too long to realize this was an endless and unhealthy cycle. Stress eating, especially stress-eating junk food, was such an ingrained habit for me, I did not even think about it having negative consequences such as weight gain and high blood sugar, both of which can be exacerbated by stress itself.
More recently, I have taken an interest in healthier coping strategies. Stress is an inevitable and integral part of our lives. We cannot avoid it. But we can seek ways to deal with it that do not add even more stress (or calories) to our body. One of the most helpful strategies I have adopted to cope with stress is to strive to live more mindfully.
Spending time in nature has been shown to decrease feelings of stress, lower blood pressure, and increase feelings of calm. (Photo source: UF/IFAS File Photo)
Mindfulness has become a bit of a buzzword over the last few years, but do not let that trick you into thinking it is just a fad. Mindfulness and everything it entails has been around for decades (even longer!). Practices such as mindful breathing, tai chi, and meditation are all part of mindfulness, which is simply an umbrella term used to describe strategies for dealing with difficult emotions, managing stress, and staying present in everyday life.
One of the things I have found most valuable in my foray into mindfulness is the ability to better recognize the signs of stress in my body. Early recognition of stress signals allows me to put one of my new mindfulness skills into practice to combat their effects. This may include simply pausing for a few moments and consciously breathing or taking a short walk in the sunshine while allowing the sounds around me, and not my stressful thoughts, to become the focus of my attention.
Another good practice for stress reduction in general is to immerse yourself in nature whenever possible. Whether that is hiking one of the many local nature trails, kayaking in the springs, or relaxing at the beach while listening to the waves, spending time in nature has been shown to alleviate stress. Even watching a brief nature video online has been shown to lower blood pressure and elicit feelings of calm.
April is Stress Awareness Month. I challenge everyone to take some time this month to really think about what stress looks like for you and how it shows up in your mind and body. How do you usually cope with it? If the answer involves over-indulgence in a substance such as food or alcohol, I urge you to try a new, healthier way to cope. Go for a walk. Focus on your breath. Even try meditation with the help of a mindfulness mobile app. It may feel weird at first, but if you keep at it, it will soon become a new healthy habit that you will reach for instead of that bag of chips.
The holiday season is finally upon us. It’s a time for enjoying family, friends, and food!
You can make healthy habits this holiday season. It’s not only a single meal but rather an entire season of parties, events, gatherings festivities, and unhealthy choices that add up to that holiday weight gain we resolve to lose when January rolls around. As the holiday season begins its rapid approach, take time and consider those eating habits that set your new year off on the wrong foot. Why not make a resolution now to eat healthier this holiday season?
Just a few simple strategies can help make the difference and keep those unwanted pounds away. Here are some suggestions:
Don’t skip meals. Eating healthy on a regular basis will keep you from overindulging at holiday gatherings.
Use smaller plates for meals and gatherings and be mindful of portions
Choose more vegetables and smaller helpings of entrees and desserts
Drink more water and minimize alcoholic drinks and eggnog
Make healthier recipe ingredient substitutions when cooking and baking
Take a mindful approach to keeping your personal health goals in-check. We can all still experience the joy of the holiday season, without making food the focus. Make a resolution to be mindful and eat healthier this holiday season, and your waistline will thank you!
Clean: Wash Hands, Utensils, and Surfaces Frequently
