Keep Your Food Safe This Grilling Season
It’s that time of year! The sounds of laughter and smells of grilling fill the air, as we spend more time outdoors with family and friends.
As we gear up for our Memorial Day weekend plans, be aware that bacteria enjoy grilling too! The warm weather is the perfect environment for bacteria to rapidly multiple. Bacteria can lead to food poisoning and cause us to be really sick. Here are helpful tips on how to keep the bacteria and foodborne illness at bay.
- Wash hands with soap and water frequently
- Marinate foods in the refrigerator rather than counter top.
- Keep raw meats, poultry, and seafood separate from raw produce and prepared foods.
- Do not use the same platter and utensil for raw and cooked meats.
- Cook food thoroughly by using a food thermometer to check.
- Keep hot food hot and cold food cold. Avoid the danger zone of 40F-140F.
- Leftover meat and poultry should be refrigerates promptly (within two hours; one hour if the temperature is above 90F).
- Safely refrigerated leftovers can be eaten up to 3-4 days after cooking.
Jasmine
Source: http://www.foodsafety.gov
It's Strawberry Season!
Strawberries are grown year round, but the peak season is right now – April through July. Strawberries are delicious and nutritious. One cup is only 50 calories, has 3 grams of fiber, and contains 100% of the recommended daily allowance of vitamin C.
I enjoy the natural sweetness of the strawberries by themselves. They make a quick and healthy snack and don’t need to be refrigerated. Strawberries are also delicious added to fruit smoothies and yogurt and who doesn’t like strawberry shortcake? I even add strawberries to pancakes and waffles instead of maple syrup. They are also a great addition to salads, especially ones made with spinach.
For a fun activity, locate a strawberry farm in your area, and take your children strawberry picking. Choose the strawberries that have a deep red color and are firm and plump, as strawberries do not ripen once picked. Of course, avoid any that have mold. If you pick too many, don’t worry, as you can always freeze the strawberries.
Here are some suggestions for freezing. Wash and gently dry the strawberries. Remove the stems and any berries that are spoiled. Place the berries on a baking sheet, not touching each other and freeze until solid. Transfer to storage containers or plastic freezer bags and store up to six months. Now you can enjoy your strawberries for several more months!
For more information about choosing and storing strawberries, check out our video below.
Resource: http://www.healthyeating.org
More Recipes
Judy
It's Screen Free Week!
It’s Screen-Free Week! What does this mean for you and your family? It’s time to get out of the house and have fun! Try to spend less time in front of the television and more time enjoying each other’s company. Planning fun activities for children can give them something to look forward to and keep them occupied.
Excessive use of electronics can be harmful to a developing child and can lead to health problems later in life, such as obesity, behavioral issues, and irregular sleep patterns. Screen-free week is a great opportunity to teach children the importance of spending time with family, as well as developing healthy habits that will be valuable throughout their life.
Here are some tips that can help you and your family have a successful screen-free week:
• Encourage everyone in the household to commit to going without electronics. This will make it easier for the whole family to get involved in fun activities and spend time together, without the distraction of electronics.
• Make plans so that there is scheduled time to spend with one another. Dedicating a certain amount of time to planned activities can help bond with friends and family. Farm tours and other child-friendly events in the community are a great way to keep the family occupied while learning new things.
• Eat dinner together and talk about what’s been going on throughout the week. It’s a great way to stay involved in each other’s lives and keep one another motivated.
• Involve family and friends in fun activities so that no one is left out from the excitement! Planning a neighborhood cook out is a great way to get to know families in the area.
Summer is right around the corner, which gives us the opportunity to engage in physical activity and enjoy the warmer weather. Farmers markets and local farms are starting to open and crops, such as strawberries, are ready to be harvested. Have some fun with family and friends during screen-free week!
For more information on screen time and screen-free week, check out the following resources: https://www.screenfree.org
Susan
Plan for a Healthy and Active Summer Break
It seems the most anticipated time of year for my kids is summer break. I get it…no more waking up at the break of dawn, no teachers, no school work, and no homework. But it can also mean no healthy school meals, PE or recess, or afterschool sports…and this may lead to unnecessary weight gain during the break. Research suggests that kids can gain up to three times as much weight over the summer as during the entire school year.
As a parent, I have to find ways to keep my kids active and healthy during the summer months. Keeping a pantry stocked with healthy snacks is probably the easiest for me. (I tend to make healthy snack bags for each child so they know what to eat when they’re hungry). However, ensuring my kids are physically active while I’m at work is a bit more challenging. I certainly can’t afford to keep them in day camps all summer. One solution I have used is to keep a schedule so the kids know what they should be doing at all times. I noticed that without this schedule my kids don’t know what to do with themselves and end up mindlessly eating in front of a screen.
Below are other ways to keep kids healthy and active during summer break.
- In honor of the 2016 Summer Olympics, introduce your own family Olympics. Use a chart to document weekly activities. Whoever did the most activity wins.
- Take a walk with your kids at the nearest trail or play at the nearest playground or play space. Use discovertheforest.org to locate one closest to you.
- Don’t forget to include chores as part of summer physical activity.
- Limit screen time to a maximum of 2 hours a day.
For more ideas, click here http://blog.uvahealth.com/2011/08/05/8-great-ways-to-keep-your-kids-fit-during-the-summer/
-Lisa
Celebrate the Earth and Stretch Your Food Dollar!
Today is Earth Day and what better way to celebrate than by saving some green by going green with your grocery shopping. These tips adapted from Alice Henneman, Extension Educator at the University of Nebraska will take you beyond recycling the various packages that your food comes in and will help you save money, adding a little extra green in your pocket!
- Size matters. – Buy the biggest container that you can afford. Do you really need to purchase individual containers if you eat them all at home?
- It’s in the bag. – Carry reusable shopping bags when possible. If you don’t, reuse plastic grocery bags to line small wastebaskets and make trash disposal easier.
- Gotta have a plan! Reduce fuel consumption by planning ahead and shopping less often.
- Practice the 3 Rs. Reduce, Reuse and Recycle
- Reduce the amount of food thrown away by serving smaller portions of food. You can always go back for more if needed.
- Reuse leftovers by planning to serve them again within two days or freezing for future use. Be sure to label and date your container.
- Recycle leftovers into a different meal; for example – leftover roasted chicken can be turned into chicken salad, soup, casseroles or tacos.
- Don’t be a “spoil”-sport. Throwing away spoiled food is just like throwing away leftovers. Follow these practices to reduce the amount of spoiled food you toss:
- Read labels for “use by,” “expiration,” or “best if used by” dates.
- Refrigerate and freeze your food at the proper temperatures—0 degrees F or lower for freezers and 40 degrees F or lower for the refrigerator. Use an appliance thermometer for accuracy.
- Follow recommended storage times for foods to maintain quality and safety of food products.
- Avoid buying too much food in bulk especially if it can spoil before you use it.
- Drink to this. Buy a reusable water bottle and fill it with tap water. Think of the savings to your wallet and the reduction of water bottles in the landfill.
- Bulk it up. Many household products such as hand soap can be purchased in larger bottles and used to refill a smaller bottle. This will reduce cost and also save landfill space.
If all these ideas seem overwhelming, choose one or two to work on for this month. Then add another one or two next month. Keep adding new practices until you are doing all of them. Soon you will see those extra dollars adding up. Take that extra money and start a fund for something special for yourself or the kids. You’ll be surprised at how fast it adds up!
Suzanne