Food Safety for Summer 2011

Food Safety for Summer 2011

As the summer approaches, the weather is getting warmer, and many of you will be planning summer barbecues and picnics with family and friends. Summer outings can be enjoyable, but it is always very important to remember safe food handling practices to reduce your risk of food borne illnesses. The tips below can help.

When you are food shopping

• Read the “use by” date and “sell by” date.
• Select refrigerated and frozen foods right before checking out.
• Place raw meat, poultry, and fish in separate plastic bags before placing them in your shopping cart to prevent the juices from dripping onto other food.
• Take food straight home; do not let it sit in the car. If perishable items will be in your car for greater than one hour, store them in a cooler with ice or an ice pack (frozen juices will also work).
• Do not buy cans of food that are swollen or dented.

When at home and storing food

• Your refrigerator should always be set at 40ºF or lower.
• Your freezer should always be set at 0ºF or lower.
• Put all packages of raw meat, poultry, and fish on a plate before placing them in the refrigerator to prevent juices from dripping on other food. Store raw meat, poultry, and fish in the coldest part of the refrigerator.
• Store eggs in their original carton.
• Clean your refrigerator regularly. Throw away spoiled food to prevent bacteria from spreading to other food.
• Never leave perishable food out of the refrigerator over two hours.

When preparing food

• Wash your hands with hot soapy water for 20 seconds before and after preparing your food.
• Wash towels, sponges, and cloths often. Sponges can be sanitized with one tsp. of bleach in one quart of water. Replace sponges every few weeks.
• After cutting meat, fish, or poultry wash your hands, the cutting board, and knife with hot soapy water before using the cutting board for other ingredients.
• Thaw food in the refrigerator or microwave (defrost). Do not leave food on the kitchen counter to defrost.
• Thoroughly wash fruits and vegetables. Scrub them well.

On picnics and barbecues

• Bring an insulated carrier with a cold pack or ice.
• In the car, keep the carrier in the coolest place in the car; avoid placing food in the trunk.
• While picnicking, if possible, keep the carrier in the shade, and keep the lid on when it is not being used.
• Surround perishable foods in a large bowl of ice.
• Keep food at appropriate temperatures. Avoid the danger zones 40-140º F. This is the temperature when most harmful bacteria can grow.
• Keep cold foods cold – less than 40ºF.
• Keep hot foods hot – above 145º F.
• Cook foods thoroughly. Bring a meat thermometer to be sure food is cooked through.
• Red meat should reach 165º F. When cooked, it should be brown or gray inside.
• Poultry should reach 185º F. When cooked, the juices should run clear.
• Never eat raw or undercooked eggs. Cook eggs until the yolk and white are firm.

Leftovers

• Store leftovers immediately after eating. Use small shallow containers for quick cooling of leftovers in the refrigerator.
• Discard any perishable food that is left out for over two hours.
• “Remember, when in doubt, throw it out”.

Cool off this Summer with Berries

Summertime will soon be here, but it is already hot outside. What better way to cool off then with a cold bowl of berries. Most berries are easy to prepare, are sweet, and provide an abundance of nutritional benefits. They are often referred to as “nature’s candy”.

There are a variety of berries to choose from including the more commonly known - strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, cherries, and cranberries. For variety you may also want to try some of the less known berries including mulberries, goji berries, and acai berries.

Benefits of Berries

Berries are rich in a variety of antioxidants which are shown to lower your risk of many cancers. Berries may also protect against stroke, heart and vascular disease, and may slow the signs of aging. They are loaded with vitamins and minerals and are lower in calories than many other fruits. Try eating a variety of berries to obtain all of the health benefits.

 

Where to get berries

If you have ever gone strawberry picking, it is easy to remember the great taste, smell, and color of the berries. Other good places to get berries are at a local fruit stand, growing them in your yard, or getting them from the supermarket.

Ways to enjoy berries
The simplest is to cut off the stem, wash them off, and enjoy!

Add them to a bowl of cereal

Add them to a salad. They add great color and taste.

Add them to a cup of yogurt
Make a smoothie with a variety of berries, milk, and yogurt.

 

Enjoy the Recipe Below!

Triple Berry Smoothie Recipe

(Recipe from: smoothie-recipes.com)

This berry smoothie is great for several reasons. It contains high level of antioxidants, vitamins C&E, and other nutrients. Great healthy snack.

Ingredients
1/2 cup strawberries
1/2 cup blueberries
1/2 cup raspberries
1 banana
1/2 cup yogurt
1 cup milk
1/2 cup ice cubes

Directions:
Blend the banana, ice, yogurt, milk, and other berries together until a smooth drink is formed. Pour into a cup and enjoy a very fruity, healthy smoothie.

The warmer weather is here and summer is soon approaching. It is the start of barbecues, picnics, and outdoor parties with friends and family. Food often is at the center of these celebrations. Planning ahead can help you to make healthy food choices. Below are some great healthy recipes to keep feeling good this summer.

Healthy Makeover: Turkey Burgers
Recipe: From Good Housekeeping

4 servings

Ingredients
•1/2 cup(s) plain fat-free yogurt
•2 tablespoon(s) plain fat-free yogurt
•2 green onions, green and white parts separated and thinly sliced
•1/2 cup(s) packed fresh mint leaves, finely chopped
•1 pound(s) lean ground turkey
•1 1/2 ounce(s) feta cheese, finely crumbled
•1 1/2 teaspoon(s) ground coriander
•2 whole wheat pitas, cut in half
•2 tomatoes, thinly sliced

Directions
1. Prepare outdoor grill for covered direct grilling on medium.
2. In small bowl, combine 1/2 cup yogurt, white parts of green onions, and half of the chopped mint.
3. In large bowl, with hands, combine turkey, feta, coriander, 1/8 teaspoon salt, 1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, green parts of green onions, remaining mint, and remaining yogurt. Mix well, then form into 3 1/2-inch-round patties (each 3/4 inch thick).
4.Place turkey patties on hot grill grate; cover and cook 12 to 13 minutes or just until meat loses its pink color throughout, turning once. (Burgers should reach an internal temperature of 165 degrees F.) During last 2 minutes of cooking, add pitas to grill. Cook 2 minutes or until warmed, turning once.
5. Open pitas. Divide burgers, tomato slices, and yogurt sauce among pitas.


Healthy Coleslaw
Recipe from: Diabetes Meals in 30 minutes or less. American Diabetes Association.

6 servings

Salad Ingredients
3 cups of shredded green cabbage (1/2 of a medium head)
2 cups of red cabbage
1 cup shredded carrots
½ cup golden raisins

Dressing Ingredients
1/3 cup reduced fat mayonnaise
¼ cup plain reduced fat yogurt
2 Tbsp apple juice concentrate
2 Tbsp poppy seeds
2 Tbsp red wine vinegar

Directions
Combine the cabbage, carrots, and raisins in a large bowl. Toss well.

Combine all the dressing ingredients. Add the dressing to the cabbage mixture and toss well. Refrigerate until ready to serve.


Watermelon Slushies
Recipe Courtesy of Food Network Magazine

Serves:4-6 servings.

Ingredients
Watermelon

Directions
The night before your picnic, puree 6 cups chopped seedless watermelon in a blender until smooth, pour into a shallow airtight container and freeze. Bring the frozen watermelon on your picnic (it'll double as an extra ice pack) and let thaw slightly, then mash with a fork and spoon into cups. You can add some lemon juice or sugar to provide additional flavor.

Supermarket Tour

Supermarket Tour

We will be having our second Supermarket tour next Wednesday, May 25, 2011 at 12:00PM.

Let our Registered Dietitian teach you how to get the most out of your Grocery Shopping.

Learn how to:

Read Food Labels

Shop the perimeter of the store

Choose lean meat, fish, and poultry

Choose low fat dairy products

Choose healthy snacks

And a lot more...

Join Monika Kraus, RD for a Supermarket Tour

When: Wednesday, May 25, 2011 from 12pm-1pm

Where: Harris Teeter 120-100 St Albans Drive, Raleigh NC 27609

Please Contact Sarah Saba at 919-232-9436 to sign up.

There are only 5 slots available. Don't miss out, sign up today.

Monthly Support Group

Join us for our support group meeting

Please join us this Wednesday, May 11, 2011 at 5:30pm at the Center for Medical Weight Loss

for our monthly support group meeting.

We will be discussing:

“Emotional Eating, how to turn it into mindful eating"

This is a great meeting to talk with other participants in the weight loss program, discuss your success and challenges, and have your nutrition questions answered by Monika Kraus, RD.

If you have any questions or would like to sign up to attend, please call:

Sarah Saba

Program Manager

Center for Medical Weight Loss

919-232-9436

Healthy Supermarket Choices

This past Saturday, we had our first supermarket tour at Harris Teeter at North Hills. It was a great success. We shared shopping tips and compared various foods to find the healthiest options.

We will plan for another supermarket tour soon, so please look on our website and/or the blog for further details.

Below is a list of healthy food options when shopping at the market.

Breads

• Whole wheat bread with 3 or more grams of fiber and no more than 80 calories a slice
• Sandwich Rounds
• Flat Out wraps
• Tumaro’s low carb tortillas
• Natures Own double fiber whole wheat bread
• Thomas’s whole wheat bagel thins

Cereals

• Cereals with at least 3 grams of fiber, no more than 10 grams of sugar, and no more than 150 calories per serving.
• Post Shredded wheat and Kellogg’s mini wheat’s (nonfrosted), Kellogg’s All bran, Cheerio’s, Special K

Cheese

• Pre-sliced cheese
• Hard Cheeses including Swiss, provolone, American, mozzarella

Yogurt

• Plain yogurt
• Fat-free and low fat yogurt (look for yogurts with no more than 150 calories and less than 20 grams of sugar)
• Greek yogurt (Stonyfield Farm Oikos, Fage plain yogurt)

Milk

• Skim or 1%

Rice

• Brown rice

Pasta

• Whole wheat pasta
• Try: Dreamfields pasta and Barilla Plus pasta

Mayonnaise

• Low fat
• Mayo made with olive oil

Meats/Poultry

• Lean cuts of meat including round, sirloin, loin
• Lean or extra lean ground meat or turkey
• Chicken breast

How to become a savvy supermarket shopper

Most of us go to the supermarket with good intentions of buying healthy food. But, many of us leave the market with “not so healthy” food items that we never planned on purchasing. So why does this happen, and how can you prevent this from happening again?

 

Before going to the Market

• Try to view the market as a place to go to keep yourself healthy, rather then viewing it as a chore.
• Make a list of what you are going to purchase, and stick to the list.
• Gather coupons and savings cards (it is always nice to save money).
• Eat a healthy meal or snack before going to the market (you do not want to go the market hungry).
• Try not to go the market when you are rushed (it leads to more impulse purchases).

 At the Market

• Shop the perimeter of the market.
• The healthiest foods tend to be on the walls (not the middle aisles). The produce, meats, dairy, and seafood tend to be on the outside of the market, while processed, canned, boxed, packaged, bagged foods tend to be on the inner aisles.
• Look on the top and bottom shelves on the aisles. Food companies pay a lot of money to have their products strategically placed at eye level for both you and your children. Many smaller ‘healthier brands” are therefore placed on the top and bottom shelves and easily passed by.
• Try to buy less packaged items and more fresh items. Choose a fresh apple instead of applesauce, use a potato instead of French fries, buy fresh or frozen vegetable rather than canned vegetable, etc.
• Be careful about the “catchy words” on a product. ‘lite”, “multi-grain”, “low fat”, etc.
• When comparing products, look at the food label and pick foods with easy to understand ingredients. Remember, products with fewer ingredients are often less processed.
• Be careful about purchasing “impulse” buys which are often placed near the check-out aisles.
• Purchase one new healthy food at each shopping trip, and enjoy the new healthy food in your fridge, freezer, and food pantry.

 And remember, we are having our first Nutrition Supermarket tour this Saturday at Harris Teeter.

Please call Sarah Saba at

919- 232-9436 to find out more and/or sign up for the class.

Supermarket Tour

Let our Registered Dietitian teach you how to get the most out of your Grocery Shopping.

Learn how to:

Read Food Labels

Shop the perimeter of the store

Choose lean meat, fish, and poultry

Choose low fat dairy products

Choose healthy snacks

And a lot more...

Join Monika Kraus, RD for a Supermarket Tour

When:   Saturday, April 30, 2011 from 10am-11am

Where:  Harris Teeter 120-100 St Albans Drive, Raleigh NC 27609

Please Contact Sarah Saba at 919-232-9436 to sign up.

There are only 5 slots available. Don't miss out, sign up today.

The cost is $25 per person.

No Such Thing as Failure – Motivation and Weight Loss

Please join us tonight from 5:30-6:30pm for our monthly nutrition support group.

We will be discussing motivation and weight loss. Below is an article that I posted previously. This article can help you focus on how to stay motivated and get a good undersanding about where you are in your weight loss journey.

The Stages of Change

When you choose to begin a weight loss program your level of success will depend on how motivated you are to change - that comes from inside of YOU. Getting focused to lose weight requires a lot of planning and persistence for long term success. Dr. James Prochaska, a psychologist at the University of Rhode Island, recognized that not all individuals that want to change their lifestyle can do so with equal ease. He developed a model, termed The Stages of Change, that reflect the differences in motivation that people have for change. This motivation can fuel change or limit your success. Understanding this model can help you to determine what stage of change you are at, how to get to the next stage, and how to potentially keep the weight off for the long term.

Stage #1 - Precontemplation: There is n plan to make a change. Many of you know other people (or have been there yourself) who would benefit from losing weight, but are not interested. There is almost no chance of success for a sustained behavioral change in this stage. But, happily for you, you are not at this stage, as you are motivated to take the weight off.

Stage #2 - Contemplation: Most of you were probably here at one point. You realized you needed to lose weight, but were not ready to make a change. You were not ready to start a diet plan, the holidays were coming up, there was a party next week, you were to busy to exercise, etc., but again, you are here at the Center for Medical Weight Loss blog, so you have definitely contemplated making a lifestyle change and are certainly past this level of change.

Stage #3 - Preparation: This is the stage when you are ready to make a change. Many of you were at this stage when you started to research the weight loss programs available in the area. This is a great stage to start talking with nurses, doctors, and dietitians about weight loss options because you are clearly a motivated individual, interested in potential weight loss strategies. This stage really represents research.

Stage #4 - Action: You have decided on a weight loss strategy and are engaged in the program. This includes changing your eating habits, learning coping mechanisms, exercising, attending support groups and seeking support from family, friends, and health professionals. The greater your engagement in the path you have chosen for weight loss the more likely you are to become even more motivated – adding to your potential success at changing bad habits and leading you to a healthier and happier lifestyle. Although reaching the action stage is fantastic (you are clearly motivated) there are challenges at hand! Going out to dinner with family or friends, boredom, or just constantly thinking about the foods you shouldn't eat are all common and difficult situations to deal with as you are making a real lifestyle change. Keeping a journal, talking with family or friends, and participating in a weight loss support group can help tremendously with these obstacles. At this stage, it is important to focus on the emotional side of eating and understanding what motivates you to overeat. By understanding these food cues, you can develop coping strategies that do not include food.

Stage #5 - Maintenance: After reaching your weight goals you now need to focus on maintaining this targeted weight. This is one of the most important and often forgotten stages. It is often easy to fall back into old habits. It requires a continued commitment to making a lifestyle change for the long term. Continue to follow the skills you learned in the action stage -keep a food journal, continue to attend to your support system, exercise, weigh yourself on a regular basis, and follow up with your physician or dietitian on a regular basis. These are all essential elements to maintaining your success.

Stage #6 - Relapse: Failure in maintaining your new habits that support your new targeted weight is considered relapse (you don’t need to regain all the weight you lost, just lose the wonderful habits you fostered along the way!). Unfortunately, it is a part of the stages of change that many people experience, but the reaction to the stage will lead to either a further Relapse or bring you back into the Action and Maintenance stages. The most important thing to remember is that it is alright to relapse. A relapse is like falling off of a bike. The best thing to do is get right back on the bike and continue riding to where you were heading (action and maintenance) instead of focusing on the fall (relapse). Whether you ate something off of your eating plan for a meal, a day or a week, you can start again new the next meal or day. Focus on why the relapse occurred and use it as an opportunity to improve your habit formation during both the Action and Maintenance stages. Support groups, visits to the doctor or dietitian, and keeping a food journal are very important in preventing a relapse. Sometimes, you may experience a day of overeating and worry that you failed and you want to throw in the towel – DON’T. It is important to start the next day anew, and go back to the Planning, Action and Maintenance stages realizing that whether you had a hard day, week, or month, you can always remedy your situation with greater insight and motivation than you had the first time around.



Join us for our support group meeting

Please join us next Wednesday, April 13, 2011 at 5:30pm at the Center for Medical Weight Loss

for our monthly support group meeting.

Please note the new time: 5:30-6:30pm

 

We will be discussing:

Emotional Eating

How to turn it into mindful eating

This is a great meeting to talk with other participants in the weight loss program, discuss your success and challenges, and have your nutrition questions answered by Monika Kraus, RD.

 

If you have any questions or would like to sign up to attend, please call:

Sarah Saba

Program Manager

Center for Medical Weight Loss

919-232-9436