National BBQ Month: Meat Safety

We all know that with summer comes the risk of E. coli or other foodborne illnesses due to improper food handling. All meats have different temperatures that the internal environment of the meat should reach before cooking is stopped. Here is a quick guide for you to look at when you are preparing meats.

Hamburgers: 160°F

Hot dogs: 165°F or until steaming hot

Chicken: 165°F

Bratwurst: 160°F

Pork (Ribs, Chops, or Roast): 145°F

Sausage:

     Precooked: 165°F

     Uncooked Ground beef, Lamb, Pork, or Veal: 160°F

     Uncooked Turkey, Chicken: 165°F

These can be measured easily with a food thermometer by placing it into the deepest or thickest part of the meat. 

Other quick tips for meat safety:

     Wash your hands before and after handling foods

     Use different plates and utensils for uncooked and cooked foods.

Tips to Maintain Healthy Eating on Vacation

Summer is coming and you know what that means for many of you? Vacations! One thing many people have trouble with is keeping a healthy diet while on vacation. Many individuals let loose and end up falling off the wagon, something that can be hard to come back from for some people. Cole Millen, an avid traveler and foodie, has provided this article to share the tips and tricks that he has learned in his experiences of traveling and staying healthy on the road. 

Enjoy!

Critical Tips to Maintain Your Diet on Vacation

When a dream vacation is planned, the motivation to get fit is definitely increased. With all the hard work that accompanies dieting and weight loss, maintaining a healthy diet while on your vacation is critical. As you read this article, you'll obtain tips about how to maintain a healthy diet while traveling.

When Flying 

One of the main issues dieters will face when traveling is airplane food. Airplane food is meant for convenience, is generally low in nutrients, and is often loaded with preservatives, sodium, and fat. Avoiding these foods is essential in maintaining your weight loss. Ideally, eating a healthy meal before flying is best. Packing light, healthy snacks that are lean and protein-rich, like nuts and turkey jerky, will provide energy and keep you fuller longer. Most airports also contain restaurants that offer fresh food options, like salads and fruit. Exploring the airport for the most nutritious food options will also keep you active and energized, as opposed to staying seated while waiting for your flight.

At Your Hotel 

Another obstacle many jet set dieters face is hotel cuisine. While hotel food is convenient and quick, continental breakfasts and room service items are often comprised of sugary cereals, pastries, and other options that are not diet friendly. To avoid hunger spikes that will lead you to order hotel food, be sure to stop by a local grocery to load up on healthy foods. Picking fruits, like apples and bananas, that won't spoil quickly and can be eaten in a pinch, is best. Oatmeal and soup are also great options because they only require hot water and can be made quickly. Traveling with a small container of whey protein powder is also recommended because it can be mixed with milk, water, or into yogurt to provide quick, tasty protein without a hassle. 

Finding a Healthy Restaurant

A third problem traveling dieters often encounter is locating a healthy restaurant. Because you may be unfamiliar with the area, finding a healthy place to eat can be challenging. Researching options online from your hotel room is the best method. If you're already on the move, one easy step in narrowing down the choices is avoiding buffets and fast-food joints, which generally don't offer a wide array of healthy dishes. Instead, opt for places with a varied menu that utilizes fresh, local ingredients. Generally, the best places will advertise their "farm-to-table" ingredients. In the past I had struggled finding nutritious restaurants as well as hotels and it showed in my waistline. But on my most recent trip to Sin City I found a great site that listed reviews for Las Vegas hotels not only regarding the amenities and services for the hotel, but for the restaurants in the surrounding area as well. This made it easier than ever to plan ahead and not only eat right in the hotel, but outside of it as well.

At the Restaurant

Menus often feature a plethora of tricky words that can lead you to believe unhealthy meals are actually healthy. To preventing falling victim to menu trickery, avoid items with words like: fried, buttery, basted, bottomless, jumbo, smothered, drenched, creamy, loaded, stuffed, sweet, etc. Safer menu options will generally be accompanied by words like: fresh, grilled, baked, boiled, sautéed, seared, steamed, marinated, high fiber, vegetarian, stir fried, multi-grain, whole wheat, etc. Taking vitamins with your meals is also suggested because it can increase absorption of nutrients in the food.

Hope all these tips help! Feel free to revert back to this last throughout the summer as a reminder!

Kayt

Chicken Stir Fry

A couple Sundays ago I had my first bridal shower. We played a fun little game where all the ladies had to answer random, silly, and quirky questions about me. One of the questions was what is Kayty's favorite thing to make? The correct answer is Chicken stir fry and I realized i have yet to share this wonderful recipe with you all!

The recipe is quite simple and I love it because you get your protein, whole grain, vegetables, and healthy oils all in one! So good! The only thing missing is some fruit and you could add that as a side dish. This dish is sure to fill you up because its packed with fiber from the veggies and rice. And the protein from the chicken gives you an extra boost of fullness.

So without further ado I give you chicken stir fry

CHICKEN STIR FRY

1 lb. Chicken (grilled, pan fried, oven baked, just make sure it's cooked)
1 bag frozen stir fry veggies (you can choose fresh if you want I just prefer frozen when I'm in a pinch for time)
Brown rice

The directions couldn't be simpler:
Cook the chicken. Set aside in a bowl
Either steam or fry the the veggies with a little olive oil
Prepare the rice

Mix it all together, if you wish to add your favorite stir-fry sauce please do! But I prefer it just plain with a bit of salt and pepper :)

Hope you enjoy one of my favorite go to recipes!

Kayt

Honey Goat Cheese Frosting

If you have allergies or need/want to avoid dairy or any other food, you know that sometimes it can be hard to find/make substitutes for the things you love to eat. For a while now, I have been searching for a good dairy and soy free substitute for cream cheese to make cheesecake and cream cheese frosting for cinnamon rolls (yum!).

I have the fortunate ability to eat goat cheese. Some people with dairy allergies can tolerate goat cheese. The proteins in goat's milk are much smaller than that in cow's milk, making it easier to digest.

I had found a great goat cheese at Costco about a year ago, but over the winter they stopped stocking it. I had totally taken it for granted and never wrote down the name of the brand. It was a perfect substitute, it tasted exactly like regular cream cheese...it was a sad day when I looked for it and they didn't have it.

Anyways, I was at Costco recently and saw they had a new goat cheese they were selling. Since my family was making cinnamon rolls to celebrate the holiday, I decided to buy it and see if it met my standards.

IT WAS DELICIOUS! It didn't taste exactly like cream cheese, but it had a sweet, slightly tangy taste to it. I would highly suggest making it. I think I might actually like it more than the regular recipe we use with cream cheese.

Here's the recipe, feel free to try it out, you won't be disappointed. :)

Honey Goat Cheese Frosting

1 C butter
3 C powdered sugar
4 oz. honey goat cheese
2 t vanilla
1 T milk
1 pinch of salt

Beat all ingredients together until fluffy. Spread frosting on whatever you want!

Food for thought, or for Exercise in this Case

How would you feel about knowing how long it would take to run/walk off the food you ate at a restaurant?

After the health care bill was upheld by the Supreme Court last year, one of the requirement was for all restaurants with more than 20 locations to post the calorie content of all of their menu items.

To me, I was thinking "Hey that's great! Maybe people will start paying more attention to what they are eating, and rethink that 900 calorie sandwich."

Unfortunately this isn't what happened. In the past year since the calories have been posted on the menus there has been no real change in what people are choosing.

CNN reported this week that TCU has been researching if people would choose foods differently if the amount of time it would take to burn off the foods were posted on the menu. According to their research, this decreased the amount of calories the individuals ordered and the amount of calories they ate.

Personally I think this is a phenomenal idea and might be a better way to start getting people's attention at how many calories are in their fast food choices. Rather than saying 1800 calories in a side of french fries and hamburger, which some people a little nutrition education may be able to make sense of in the grand scheme of what we eat everyday, almost all of us can comprehend 6 hours of brisk walking to walk off that amount.

Have you chosen foods differently since the calories have been posted? What do you think about posting the time it would take to burn off the calories?

Yummy Bran Muffins

BRAN MUFFINS

How to Make:

15 oz. box 100% all bran flakes

5 cups flour

5 tsp. baking soda

2 ¾ cup sugar

1 tsp. salt

4 eggs

1 cup vegetable oil

1 quart buttermilk = 4 cups

Makes about 48 muffins

Mix cereal, baking soda, sugar , flour, and salt

Add egg, oil, buttermilk

Mix well

Fill muffin tin ⅔ full (use greased muffin tins or cupcake tin liners)

Bake @ 375 degrees F for 15-18 minutes or until tops are golden brown.

You can freeze these simply by putting them in a freezer bag.
*Hint this is what we will be doing as 48 muffins will last us quite a long time!

Enjoy!

Spring Rolls--A Wintery Treat

A few weekends ago while we were bundled into my apartment because of the blistery weather outdoors Josh & I decided to make something delicious and fresh to remind us of warmer, sunnier days. Hence, spring rolls came to Josh's mind. So we hopped on YouTube to find out about making our own and realized its quite simple! And quite healthy as the majority of the ingredients are delicious vegetables of your choosing, some protein (crab, chicken, lobster, etc.), and some rice noodles. If you decide to use sauce, be careful as many sauces are quite high in their sodium content. Here's our very own Sheard recipe..

Spring Rolls

1 cup shredded carrots
1/2 medium cucumber (skinned & shredded)
1 cup crab meat (sliced thinly)
1/2 avocado (sliced thinly)
2-3 cups rice noodles
1 package tapioca, rice, or spring roll wrappers

Instructions:
1. Prep rice noodles as directed on package
2. Prep vegetables as directed above
3. Fill a bowl that is slightly larger than the size of your wrappers with warm water
4. Place 1 wrapper in bowl of water and hold it there for 10-15 seconds or until completely moist.
      **The wrapper should look clear at this point instead of opaque.
5. Take wrapper out & place on flat surface
      **We used a cutting board
6. Starting at the top of your wrapper place the ingredients you wish to have, you should have no more than a small handful to ensure there is enough room
7. To wrap: Fold over the top closest to the fixings. Then fold the two sides over. Then roll it the rest of ways rather tightly

Enjoy & think of spring!

Madras Shrimp Curry

I have never like shrimp until today... I've tried it multiple times, breaded, un-breaded, in many different recipes, but could never like it, until today.

I'm taking a Multicultural Foods class this semester & one of the great benefits of it is we cook traditional foods from different cultures around the world. Today we cooked foods from Indian cultures & heard from one of our fellow professors in the food department who immigrated to the U.S. from India.

Another thing I love about this class? I get to learn how to cook with foods I've never cooked with before. For example, ginger. This recipe called for peeled ginger which I didn't know how to do, but a lovely friend in the class taught me a neat trick on how to. Simply take a spoon and scrape at the peel and it will peel right off. Genius!

The dishes we had were delicious so I want to share my favorite with you & it is the one which led me to like shrimp.

The flavors in this recipe burst and you can taste the garlic, ginger, etc. with ever bite. Not to mention the heat of the sauce, a tad spicy, but just the right amount!  My last favorite thing about this dish is the shrimp is a great way to get away from your nightly chicken or beef meal but its still packed with protein! Yum!

So here you go!

MADRAS SHRIMP CURRY

3 tablespoons canola oil
1 medium onion, coarsely chopped
1 tablespoon grated peeled fresh ginger
1 1/2 teaspoons minced garlic
1 1/2 tablespoons Madras curry powder
1 cup unsweetened coconut milk
1 cup chicken stock or chicken broth
1 1/2 pound shelled and deveined medium shrimp
Salt
Cayenne pepper
2 tablespoons finely chopped mint
1/2 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
Steamed rice, for serving

1. Heat the oil in a large, deep skillet until simmering. Add the onion and cook over moderate heat, stirring occasionally until softened and just beginning to brown (about 7 minutes)
2. Add the ginger, garlic, and curry and cook, stirring until fragrant (about 2 minutes)
3. Add the coconut milk and stock, and simmer over moderate heat until reduced by one-third and thickened (about 8 minutes)
4. Add the shrimp, season with salt and cayenne pepper and simmer over moderate heat until the shrimp are pink and cooked through (about 5 minutes)

*Note: The cayenne pepper is what is gonna give you a kick and some heat in the recipe so be sure to sample the sauce. You can always add more at the end too.

5. Stir in the mint and lemon zest and serve in deep bowls over steamed rice.

Enjoy!

OLD CHICAGO Sicilian Pizza Rolls

Have you ever been to Old Chicago? Well they have these DIVINE Sicilian Pizza Rolls there! However, living in a small little town, we have to drive over an hour to get to one. So, when we got a hankering for some of these delicious rolls, I scoured the web looking for a CopyCat recipe....well guess what?!? I found one.

You can follow the link to the recipe we used here or below I'm going to post the recipe & some AWESOME suggestions on how to make this a little more healthier!

First, the dough. We are poor college students with very little working space in our teeny tiny apartment so we simply used Pillsbury pizza dough. When we make this again & we have more room, we will use our Whole Wheat Pizza Dough recipe. This will increase the fiber and decrease the amount of refined grains in the recipe. So much healthier.

We also didn't have any yummy pizza vegetables on hand because grocery shopping day didn't come until today. However, some great vegetables to add to this would be mushrooms, bell peppers (any color!), onions, spinach, or any other vegetable!

One other great way to make this recipe healthier is to use a lean meat, make sure you aren't buying the high-fat kind of pepperoni, sausage, etc. If you can, choose turkey versions of these meats as it is healthier and a lean meat.

Now onto the recipe:

OLD CHICAGO SICILIAN PIZZA ROLLS

- Pizza dough (enough for 1 pizza) -The original blogger recommended not using Pillsbury tube pizza dough; however, we didn't have anything else, & we found no problems with it.
- 1 package pepperoni or other protein option
- Shredded Mozzarella or Pepper Jack Cheese
- 6 green onions, sliced
- Ranch dressing
- Your favorite marinara sauce for dipping

Preheat oven to 425.
Mix the dough according to the directions, (again, we used the pre-made Pillsbury) roll it out into a thin rectangle/oval and spread ranch dressing over the dough as you would pizza sauce.
Cover with cheese, pepperoni, and green onions & tightly roll into a long "tube". 

*Note if you wish to cut after baking that is totally ok too. Right now, put it in the oven! Otherwise, keep reading for how to cut it & THEN bake it.

Slice into 2" pieces.
Place a pepperoni on the bottom of each roll (this helps  and put them on a greased cookie sheet or baking dish. Top each roll with a little more cheese. Bake for 18-20 min at 425 (or until dough is golden brown).
Before serving, I sprinkle with garlic salt and parmesan cheese and serve spicy marinara sauce for dipping.

Enjoy!