Week of February 27, 2005

Committing to a healthier lifestyle means making some changes in our kitchens. So make it easier on yourself and your self discipline.

So yes, those bags of greasy chips, buttery cookies and boxes of real butter popcorn need to be tossed out of the pantry. That way you won't be tempted every time you open the pantry door.

The same goes for the refrigerator. Replace the real mayonnaise with low fat mayonnaise. Ditch the butter, sour cream, oleo, cream, whole fat milk and substitute with lower fat options.

If you remove most temptations to stray from just within arm's reach, you will be much more likely to follow your plan.

Week of February 20, 2005

If you are missing the taste of down home fried chicken - don't despair. Here is an unbeatable recipe for oven-fried chicken.

Use low-fat buttermilk instead of beaten egg when breading chicken, and for extra flavor, add a crushed clove of garlic. A good crumb mix: 3 cups fairly fine soft white bread crumbs tossed with 1/4 cup each freshly grated Parmesan and minced parsley, 1 tablespoon paprika, 1 teaspoon crumbled leaf marjoram, 1/2 teaspoon crumbled leaf thyme, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper. Roll skinless chicken parts in buttermilk, then in the crumb mixture. Place on a baking pan sprayed with cooking oil spray and bake in a 350° F. oven until richly browned instead of frying. Turn once during baking.

Feel free to experiment with the seasoning for personal preferences.

Week of February 13, 2005

Looking for a whole lot of flavor and a little bit heat - try chipotle chile peppers in adobo sauce, a spicy Mexican marinade made of chiles, herbs and vinegar.
"Chipotle" is a combination of the prefix chi (for "chile") and potle (Aztec word for "smoke"). The main ingredients are chipotle chiles which are dried, smoked jalapeños and adobo sauce which is a seasoned tomato sauce. The sauce's heat index is medium, with a smoky, slightly sweet, meaty, and savory flavor. The drying and smoking concentrates the jalapeño's heat. Be careful, some brands are hotter than others.

Use chipotle chiles to spice up chili, soups, sauces and salsas. They even are terrific added to low fat mayo for a spicy sandwich spread. You can find the chiles in adobo sauce canned, in the Latin foods section of most supermarkets and just the dried chilies at most Latin specialty markets.

Week of February 6, 2005

Food Safety and Your Health

So you have the stomach flu - or is it? Some of the "bugs" that cause symptoms like cramping, upset stomach, diarrhea or chills and fever are shigella, E. coli and lysteria. They can make you sick and are caused by bacteria. Learn the rules to keep you safe from harmfull bacteria. These four simple steps come from the Parnership for Food Safety Education.

1. Clean: Wash hands and surfaces often

• According to food safety experts, bacteria can spread throughout the kitchen and get on to cutting boards, knives, sponges and counter tops. Here's how to Fight BAC:
• Wash hands in hot soapy water before preparing food and after using the bathroom, changing diapers and handling pets. For best results, consumers should use warm water to moisten their hands and then apply soap and rub their hands together for 20 seconds before rinsing thoroughly.
• Wash cutting boards, knives, utensils and counter tops in hot soapy water after preparing each food item and before going on to the next one.
• Use plastic or other non-porous cutting boards. Cutting boards should be run through the dishwasher - or washed in hot soapy water - after use.
• Consider using paper towels to clean up kitchen surfaces. Or, if using cloth towels, consumers should wash them often in the hot cycle of the washing machine.

2. Separate: Don't cross-contaminate

• Cross-contamination is how bacteria spreads from one food product to another. This is especially true for raw meat, poultry and seafood. Experts caution to keep these foods and their juices away from ready-to-eat foods. Here's how consumers can Fight BAC!:
• Separate raw meat, poultry and seafood from other food in the grocery shopping cart.
• Store raw meat, poultry and seafood on the bottom shelf of the refrigerator so juices don’t drip onto other foods.
• If possible, use one cutting board for raw meat products and another for salads and other foods which are ready to be eaten.
• Always wash cutting boards, knives and other utensils with hot soapy water after they come in contact with raw meat, poultry and seafood.
• Never place cooked food on a plate which previously held raw meat, poultry or seafood.

3. Cook: Cook to proper temperatures

• Food safety experts agree that foods are properly cooked when they are heated for a long enough time and at a high enough temperature to kill the harmful bacteria that cause foodborne illness. The best way to Fight BAC is to:
• Use a meat thermometer, which measures the internal temperature of cooked meat and poultry, to make sure that the meat is cooked all the way through.
• Cook roasts and steaks to at least 145°F. Whole poultry should be cooked to 180°F for doneness.
• Cook ground meat, where bacteria can spread during grinding, to at least 160°F. Information from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) links eating undercooked, pink ground beef with a higher risk of illness. If a thermometer is not available, do not eat ground beef that is still pink inside.
• Cook eggs until the yolk and white are firm, not runny. Don't use recipes in which eggs remain raw or only partially cooked.
• Cook fish until it is opaque and flakes easily with a fork.
• Make sure there are no cold spots in food (where bacteria can survive) when cooking in a microwave oven. For best results, cover food, stir and rotate for even cooking. If there is no turntable, rotate the dish by hand once or twice during cooking.
• Bring sauces, soups and gravy to a boil when reheating. Heat other leftovers thoroughly to 165°F.

4. Chill: Refrigerate promptly

• Food safety experts advise consumers to refrigerate foods quickly because cold temperatures keep most harmful bacteria from growing and multiplying. So, public health officials recommend setting the refrigerator at 40°F and the freezer unit at 0°F and occasionally checking these temperatures with an appliance thermometer. Then, Americans can Fight BAC by following these steps:
• Refrigerate or freeze perishables, prepared food and leftovers within two hours.
• Never defrost (or marinate) food on the kitchen counter. Use the refrigerator, cold running water or the microwave.
• Divide large amounts of leftovers into small, shallow containers for quick cooling in the refrigerator.
• With poultry and other stuffed meats, remove the stuffing and refrigerate it in a separate container.
• Don't pack the refrigerator. Cool air must circulate to keep food safe.