Calorie Counter: Chicken Parts

Now that you are aware of the calories (fat and protein). Which part of the chicken do you enjoy?

Grain Confusion Part 1: Gluten-Free Grains

The Grain Series:

 Refined Grains, Whole Grains, Gluten-Free Grains, Ancient Grains and Grains with Gluten

Thinking about going gluten-free? 

Regardless the reason for going gluten-free, the first place to start is by knowing the grains that naturally (or via contamination) contain this protein.

Below are two posters illustrating the grains commonly consumed that contain gluten (poster 1: Avoid) and those without gluten (poster 2: Safe to eat, unless contaminated with gluten).

Grains Containing Gluten (Avoid their by-products as well)

These gluten containing grains can be found in pastas (macaroni, elbows, spaghetti etc.), cous cous, bread, crackers, pastries, cookies, breakfast cereals, biscuits, cake mixes, instant sauces, frozen foods etc. Always read the food label and ingredient list of all packaged products.

Grains without Gluten (Safer to eat, unless contaminated with gluten)

It should be noted, these grains are free of gluten but many of them cannot be used as a direct replacement for wheat in many recipes.

Here are some meal ideas using these gluten free grains: Pinterest Board: Grain-Free Haven and Porridge Ideas

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Steps to Healthier Eating

9 Simple Steps to Healthier Eating

Changing your lifestyle to eat healthier may take less willpower than you think. Research has zeroed in on some simple changes people can make to avoid what happens to most adults – gradual weight gain over time. In studies, each of the following had just a small impact on weight-gain. But together, they can add up.

• Focus on every bite. This helps you recognise when you are full, and stop eating sooner. Try chewing slowly and putting down your fork between bites.

Source

• Use a smaller bowl or plate. In studies, people ate a lot more from larger containers.
• 
  
• Use a skinnier glass to help control portions. People poured more into short, wide glasses than into tall, skinny ones that held the same amount.
  
• Move healthier foods to eye-level in the cupboard and refrigerator. Move unhealthy foods out of sight.
  
• Eat in the kitchen or dining room. Skip dining in front of the TV.
  
• Quit or cut down on chips and fries. Chips and fries were linked to a gain of about a pound each year.
  
• Stop drinking sugar-sweetened soda. These drinks were tied to ¼ pound gained each year.
  
• Eat more vegetables, whole grains, fruits, nuts, and yoghurt. Eating these foods was actually linked to a small weight loss over time.
  
• Sleep between 6 and 8 hours a night. Those who did gained less weight than those who slept less than 6 or more than 8.
  

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Source:

American Cancer Society. '9 Steps to Eating Healthier.'
 Available at: http://acs.informz.net/admin31/content/template.asp?sid=41082&ptid=1250&brandid=3343&uid=773469285&mi=4792582&ps=41082 

Last Accessed: 28-nov-2015

Lose Weight Now! Get Jogging!

Thirty minutes of jogging can burn 300 calories. Do that five days every week and you could lose almost two extra pounds per month (Source:How Many Calories? ‏@HowManyCaloriee )

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❹ Unhealthy Food Safety Practices

Over 30% of food poisoning cases occur within the home environment due to risky food handling, storage and preparation practices.  In fact, food safety in the home is one of the issues many individuals take lightly and as much as 90 % of home cooks and home chefs unknowingly contaminate food. (1) 
Poor food safety practices not only compromise food but leads to contamination all around the kitchen, including on handles, counter-tops, faucets and trash cans. (1)

However, research shows that getting individuals to change poor food safety habits can take longer than simply exposing them to food safety messages before cooking. (2) 
Habits are often hard to break especially when they have been passed on from generation to generation or done out of convenience. This does not mean educators should stop trying to get the message of food safety out there but should seek out innovative ways to  present the message. (3)
Nevertheless,  listed below are ❹ unhealthy food safety practices. Accompanying each point is a video from USDAfoodsafety.com explaining how to these practices can be improved. 

①  Washing meat and poultry before cooking -70 %of consumers rinse or wash raw poultry before cooking it (1)

② Relying on the colour of meat/poultry/seafood to indicate when it is fully cooked- Less than 10 % of food thermometer owners actually use it to check for done-ness of all types of poultry (1)

③ Putting raw meat/poultry on the top shelf in the refrigerator - only 18 % of consumers correctly store raw poultry products in the refrigerator (1)

④  Defrosting frozen meat/poultry at room temperature- only 11 % of consumers who thaw raw poultry in cold water do it correctly (1)

Bottom-line, habits are hard to break but that should not stop anyone from at least trying their best every day to practice good food safety practices (see poster below). 

Be Food Safe!

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References:
1) Kansas State University. "Food safety fumble: Research finds 90 percent of home chefs contaminate food." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 29 January 2015. .

2) Katherine M. Kosa, Sheryl C. Cates, Samantha Bradley, Edgar Chambers IV, Sandria Godwin. Consumer-Reported Handling of Raw Poultry Products at Home: Results from a National Survey. Journal of Food Protection, 2015; 78 (1): 180 DOI: 10.4315/0362-028X.JFP-14-231

3) North Carolina State University. "Food safety social media guide developed by researchers." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 4 August 2014.