Remember safe food-handling tips for July 4th

Lots of people will be touching lots of food this July 4th. So it;s a good time to review how to keep all the food you make and serve that day safe for people to eat, notes the Partnership for Food Safety Education. It’s created this flyer on using thermometers for grilling. It also has some general food handling tips, such as:

Not just the grill master, but everyone at the gathering should wash their hands with soap and water before and after handling food.
Always use a food thermometer to measure the internal temperature of grilled meat and poultry. Print the temperature chart (below) for your refrigerator.
Keep your cooler filled with ice, so picnic perishable foods stay chilled to 40 °F.
Never place cooked food on a plate that previously held raw meat, poultry or seafood. Be sure to have plenty of clean utensils and platters on hand.

Happy grilling and a happy 4th to all our readers!!!

Worried about your blood sugar? Here are some helpful tips to help control it

While this blog is called No Salt, No Fat, No Sugar, most of my efforts go to controlling my salt intake because I’ve seen how salt directly impacts my blood pressure. But I recently came across this piece that is directed at those worried about their blood sugar levels and thought it worth sharing.

Cutting sugar, as found in treats like this, is extremely tough work, confirms a new study.

6 Ways to Lower Your Blood Sugar With Breakfast has some tips that sounded obvious, like eating complex carbs. One tip that surprised me, though was to not exercise before breakfast. I routinely do that because I want to get the exercising done before I start my day. I’m also routinely hungrier after exercising. Continue reading “Worried about your blood sugar? Here are some helpful tips to help control it” →

April 10, 2019 0

Mushrooms get a memory boost from recent study

Mushrooms are a great add-in for salads and can make a great side dish for any meal. I use slices of large portobello mushrooms in my salads as a meat substitute because they give me something more substantial than lettuce to bite into. A recent study now is saying mushrooms also may aid with mental health as we age.

I’m not one to believe in so-called superfoods because we really still know so little about how eating impacts our health or how that impact varies from person to person. Someday doctors may be able to custom tailor healthy diets for us based on our genetic makeup, but that day is far, far away.

Still, it’s always nice to see something positive written about foods that I like and that are healthier than most. Continue reading “Mushrooms get a memory boost from recent study” →

March 27, 2019 0

Salt is salt, isn’t it? I say yes

Salt is my food arch-enemy, driving up my blood pressure and likely contributing to my need for two stents in the past seven years. That’s why I have an entire page devoted to low-salt recipes and another that looks at how to minimize salt when eating out. But some people like to distinguish between types of sale, saying the most highly processed kind we normally consume is worse that other, more raw products that have other minerals in them.

Himalayan pink salt, yes there really is such a thing, fits in that category of the supposed better-for-you salts. Or does it? This article recently caught my eye on the website care4you.com.

Is pink salt better for you than regular salt? Don;t count on it.

“Many ads for Himalayan pink salt claim that it contains 84 minerals. This appears to be true, based on spectral analysis of the salt. But, most of these 84 minerals are found in very trace amounts. Also, not all 84 are beneficial minerals. Himalayan pink salt also contains trace amounts of toxic and radioactive substances, such as arsenic, mercury, uranium and plutonium,” the article states. Continue reading “Salt is salt, isn’t it? I say yes” →

March 26, 2019 0

A crack is appearing in eggs’ healthy image

Food science is inexact at best. I’m constantly reminded that as different nutritionists or diet proponents say they know what’s healthy and it may not be what the other person is pushing. The humble egg is a great example of that. Once it was considered bad, then good, but now bad again, according to a new study.

Time to switch to egg white omelets, according to a new study saying eggs aren’t all they were once cracked up to be.

For years, doctors and nutritionists told people worried about their cholesterol levels not to eat eggs, or at least not egg yolks which contain relatively high levels of cholesterol. But then eggs started making a healthy comeback, spurred I’m sure by studies paid for by the egg industry.

The last few nutritionists I’ve heard from actually touted eggs for their protein content and their ability to make you feel fuller after eating them. Continue reading “A crack is appearing in eggs’ healthy image” →

March 18, 2019 0

What the dates on food actually mean

If you’ve ever felt confused about the dates on food products, you’re not alone. Roughly 84% of consumers toss a product if the date on the package, whether called “Use by” or “Sell by” or “best if used by” is reached or passes, found a study of 1,029 consumers done back in 2016, reports the journal Waste Management.

The problem is those terms are not regulated, so food processors are free to sue whatever language they want. And they say the dates just indicate “peak flavor” or when a store should stop displaying a product. None of the terms relates to food safety, reports a story on the survey in Time.

So how do you know when food is spoiled? Follow the old expression “The Nose Knows,” the article suggests. If something smells bad, it is. If it taste bad or looks bad (IE visible mold), toss it.

It’s still consumer beware.

March 11, 2019 0

Women may benefit more from low-salt diets than men

Women may benefit more from low-salt diets than will men when it comes to reducing their high blood pressure, a study published in the research journal Hypertension.

As all too often happens, past research has looked primarily at men and their reactions to salt, the study authors note.

The researchers worked with male and female rats and found It all has to do with levels of a hormone called aldosterone. If you want the scientific specifics, click here.

The point is women need to watch their salt intake, especially if they’re already dealing with high blood pressure. We have plenty of low-salt and salt-free recipes on our recipe page, start your efforts to dump the salt there.

March 5, 2019 0

Ever hear of the 80/20 Diet? It wouldn’t work for me

So many diet plans come and go, it’s always amusing to me how people think a specific plan could be the answer to all their eating and health problems. This piece I saw recently talks about the 80/20 Diet, which I hadn’t heard about before.

MY half slice of Junior's chocolate mousse cheesecake, Mmmmmmm. — MY half slice of Junior’s chocolate mousse cheesecake, Mmmmmmm.

Basically, it says it you eat healthy 80% of the time, you can splurge on junk food the other 20%, presumably on weekends which we tend to think of as rest and party time.

If you can be that mathematical about your eating, more power to you. I’m an all-or-nothing type of person, which means I either have to eat healthy all the time, or I eat junk food every single day. Continue reading “Ever hear of the 80/20 Diet? It wouldn’t work for me” →

March 3, 2019 0

Smart shopping in the frozen food aisle

Winter can be a tough time to find fresh fruits and vegetables at a reasonable price, depending on where you live (I’m in the Chicago are and its below freezing as I write this, so nothing is growing here right now except ice patches).

Frozen fruits and vegetables can be an acceptable alternative,m providing you don’t buy offerings that have any added salt, fat and sugar. avoid frozen veggies in sauces, for example.

The Food Network has a handy slide show of 10 Frozen Foods Nutritionists Always Buy. Continue reading “Smart shopping in the frozen food aisle” →

February 26, 2019 0

Category: smart shopping