Who doesn't enjoy a picnic or barbecue on a beautiful summer day surrounded by friends, family, delicious food, cold beverages and lots of bacteria?
Well, yuck, maybe not that bacteria part.
You may not have invited them to your party, but the bacteria may be there anyway. Every year, more than 76 million cases of foodborne illness occur just in the United States. The number of people suffering from "food poisoning" in the United States and other industrialized countries increases 30% every year.
Foodborne illness usually results in nausea, vomiting, diarrhea or fever caused by bacteria that are lurking on foods and dining surfaces. Symptoms can be fairly mild or quite severe, and they are more likely to affect babies, pregnant women and elderly people.
When food safety is ignored at a picnic or barbecue by leaving perishable food out in warm weather, the bacteria flourish and threaten to make everyone sick.
Keep unwanted microscopic bullies from crashing your outdoor party by following basic food safety practices. Make sure foods are kept cold or hot, and raw meats are separated from cooked or ready-to-serve foods. Everyone needs to wash their hands and use clean serving utensils.
You also need to pay attention to how long your dishes sit on the picnic table. Bacteria grow best between 40 and 140 degrees. Most of the food you serve at your picnic will only be safe on the table for two hours and, if the air temperature is over 90 degrees, food becomes unsafe after only one hour. Once leftovers have been on the table that long, don’t keep them -- throw them away.
Use the same basic steps of food safety and cleanliness with outdoor cooking and eating that you would follow in your kitchen to keep foodborne illnesses from spoiling a lovely summer day:
* Keep cold foods cold until they are served. If you are at home, you can use the refrigerator. But for a picnic in the park, bring coolers with plenty of ice or freezer packs. Use one cooler for ready-to-serve foods and beverages and another for any uncooked meat for the grill.
* Pasta salads and potato salads are picnic staples. Contrary to common thought, mayonnaise is not the culprit that causes spoilage. The bacteria prefer the eggs, potatoes or other ingredients. Make sure salad is kept cold until it is time to eat. Serve only the amount of salad that will be consumed within one hour, and keep the rest in the cooler. If you need more, make sure to use a clean serving dish and spoon; don’t reuse the ones that have been sitting on the table.
* Fresh fruits with thick coverings, such as watermelons and apples, will keep for several days at room temperature. Once they are cut, treat them like other perishable foods. If they are not eaten within one to two hours, discard them.
* Casseroles should be cooked to an internal temperature of 165 degrees and held at 140 degrees. Use insulated containers that will maintain that temperature, or keep foods warm in the oven or slow cooker.
* Hot fried chicken should be served and eaten within one or two hours after cooking or purchasing. Cold fried chicken needs to be kept below 40 degrees until it is served, just like other cold foods.
* Rare beef can be cooked to 140 degrees, however hamburgers should always be cooked to 165 degrees. Ground meat has more surface area than steaks or chops and should always be cooked to a higher temperature. Poultry should be cooked to an internal temperature of 160 degrees. Hot dogs and other pre-cooked meats should be grilled to 165 degrees. Bring a meat thermometer along to test as you cook.
* All raw meat and poultry should be thawed and kept cold until you are ready to grill. Meat can be partially cooked beforehand to decrease grilling time. However, it needs to be treated just like raw meat because bacteria will still be present until it is fully cooked. Don’t grill frozen meat or poultry as it is difficult to cook evenly and safely.
* Not all foods need special handling for a picnic or barbecue. Cookies, breads, rolls and crackers can safely be kept at any temperature -- just keep them covered for freshness. Condiments such as ketchup, mayonnaise and mustard are acidic, so they are really not a problem for a picnic. Keep jar covers on, or use squeeze bottles.
* Pack clean platters and utensils for serving grilled meats. Bring a separate box or plastic bag to hold dishes that have held raw meats until you bring them back home for cleaning. Better yet, use disposable trays and plastic containers to transport your raw meats, and throw them away after the barbecue.
* Bring spray cleaners, soap and water (or hand sanitizer), paper towels, cloths, and napkins. Wash tables or use fresh tablecloths. Clean the grill before cooking.
* If you need to use insecticides to kill mosquitoes, flies and other unfriendly pests, spray the picnic area before you bring the food, plates and utensils. Spray downwind from yourself, and let the spray settle before you unpack.
* Don’t let guests serve themselves with the forks and spoons that they have used for eating. Keep clean serving utensils for each dish.
* Have guests wash their hands or use hand sanitizers and wipes to reduce the spread of bacteria from person to person. This is very important if you are serving foods that are easy to grab by hand.
Sources:
"Barbecue and food safety." United States Department of Agriculture. Updated July 2, 2007.
"Food safety and foodborne illness.World Health Organization." Updated July 2, 2007.
Graves LM, Hunter SB, Ong AR, Schoonmaker-Bopp D, Hise K, Kornstein L, DeWitt WE, Hayes PS, Dunne E, Mead P, Swaminathan B. "Microbiological aspects of the investigation that traced the 1998 outbreak of listeriosis in the United States to contaminated hot dogs and establishment of molecular subtyping-based surveillance for Listeria monocytogenes in the PulseNet network." J Clin Microbiol. 2005 May;43(5):2350-5.
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About the author:
Shereen has been the About.com Guide to Nutrition since 2004.
Experience:
During her practice as a nutritionist and as a chiropractic physician for 16 years, Shereen saw how eating healthy foods (or not-so-healthy foods) impacted her patients' well-being every day. She decided that she wanted to reach a larger audience so she left practice to become a health and nutrition writer as well as the nutrition guide for About.com. Shereen is a member of the American Dietetic Association.
Education:
Shereen has a master's degree in human nutrition from the University of Bridgeport in Connecticut and she was certified as a Certified Nutrition Specialist. She also has a doctor of chiropractic degree from Northwestern College of Chiropractic in Bloomington, Minnesota.
From Shereen Jegtvig:
Thanks for stopping by About.com Nutrition. There is a lot of nutrition information available with just the click of your mouse. Allow me to keep you updated with the best information on foods, dietary supplements and other nutrition issues.
Great article with Shereen Jegtvig. Yes, as she says the cold foods should stay cold and make sure the hot foods stay hot. Keep all utensils clean and I would keep plenty of ice on hand. Always good to carry a thermometer on hand to make sure the beef is cooked at 140 degrees and the hamburgers are kept at 165 degrees. I never thought about this quote". Contrary to common thought, mayonnaise is not the culprit that causes spoilage. The bacteria prefer the eggs, potatoes or other ingredients." I always thought mayonnaise would go bad because of the dairy in it. Do you agree with this statement or not. I would like to know your opinion on this subject, So don't forget to leave a comment below. Thanks. Until next time, Ray signing out
By Ray Gollis
P.S. I recommend you check out this ebook titled: "Cravings Secrets" in PDF format.
Here are a glimpse of what you see in the book:
Discover How To Beat The 14 Different Cravings In This eBook:
Here are some chapters in the book
1. What causes the cravings?
2. Is Low Blood Sugar one cause?
3. Hormones
4. Allergies
5. Emotional Triggers
are just some causes.
To pick up this great book, click on the link below:
Cravings Secrets
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
Thursday, August 7, 2008
Fish For Preventing Heart Disease By Shereen Jegtvig
A study just published by the Journal of the American College of Cardiology shows that Japanese men are much less likely to have clogged arteries than American men (or even Japanese men living in the United States) even though all of the groups studied had similar cholesterol levels and rates of smoking.
What was the difference? The men in Japan ate fish every day while the men in the United States ate fish one or two times per week. Fish contains omega-3 fatty acids, which are considered to be the key nutrients in fish that keeps your heart and arteries healthy.
Shereen has been the About.com Guide to Nutrition since 2004.
Experience:
During her practice as a nutritionist and as a chiropractic physician for 16 years, Shereen saw how eating healthy foods (or not-so-healthy foods) impacted her patients' well-being every day. She decided that she wanted to reach a larger audience so she left practice to become a health and nutrition writer as well as the nutrition guide for About.com. Shereen is a member of the American Dietetic Association.
Education:
Shereen has a master's degree in human nutrition from the University of Bridgeport in Connecticut and she was certified as a Certified Nutrition Specialist. She also has a doctor of chiropractic degree from Northwestern College of Chiropractic in Bloomington, Minnesota.
From Shereen Jegtvig:
Thanks for stopping by About.com Nutrition. There is a lot of nutrition information available with just the click of your mouse. Allow me to keep you updated with the best information on foods, dietary supplements and other nutrition issues.
Great article about why Fish should be in everybody's diet, But you should bake or broil the fish, never deep fry the fish. Because deep frying is bad. Go check out this and learn a way to diet without even trying.
Check it out! Click on the link below!
The Diet Solution Program
What was the difference? The men in Japan ate fish every day while the men in the United States ate fish one or two times per week. Fish contains omega-3 fatty acids, which are considered to be the key nutrients in fish that keeps your heart and arteries healthy.
Shereen has been the About.com Guide to Nutrition since 2004.
Experience:
During her practice as a nutritionist and as a chiropractic physician for 16 years, Shereen saw how eating healthy foods (or not-so-healthy foods) impacted her patients' well-being every day. She decided that she wanted to reach a larger audience so she left practice to become a health and nutrition writer as well as the nutrition guide for About.com. Shereen is a member of the American Dietetic Association.
Education:
Shereen has a master's degree in human nutrition from the University of Bridgeport in Connecticut and she was certified as a Certified Nutrition Specialist. She also has a doctor of chiropractic degree from Northwestern College of Chiropractic in Bloomington, Minnesota.
From Shereen Jegtvig:
Thanks for stopping by About.com Nutrition. There is a lot of nutrition information available with just the click of your mouse. Allow me to keep you updated with the best information on foods, dietary supplements and other nutrition issues.
Great article about why Fish should be in everybody's diet, But you should bake or broil the fish, never deep fry the fish. Because deep frying is bad. Go check out this and learn a way to diet without even trying.
Check it out! Click on the link below!
The Diet Solution Program
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
Main Benefits of Exercising By Matthew Green
We have always been told that exercising keeps us fit and healthy. But what does it specifically do to our body which results in weight loss? Any physical activity light or heavy, results to burning calories. When you simply do your household chores you are already burning a lot of calories and even running up and down the steps.
Sometimes when the diet and exercise plan does not work the way want it to or it simply stops working we tend to stop. But think of it this way maybe it stopped working because I am not exerting enough effort. So give your exercise a little push and from there you will see the changes in your weight. Building muscle through strength training helps your body burn more calories.
Metabolic rate increases when doing exercise and sometimes it stays at an increased rate. This might be the reason why people who are very active can eat a lot and not gain weight.
The best way to do exercise is in the morning because it helps you sleep better. Doing your exercise at night might result to difficulty in sleeping. If you want to exercise at night just do a brisk walk and do it at least three hours before your bed time.
Exercise helps release endorphins in the brain which in turn helps in improving our mood. And of course exercise lessens the risk of different disease such as heart disease, hypertension, breast cancer, colon cancer, high blood pressure and osteoporosis.
Dr. Matthew Green is a weight loss expert and health nutritionist. He has helped hundreds of people to lose 5 pounds a week through conventional and unconventional methods.
You can look at his websites to learn how to lose five pounds in one week.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Matthew_Green
Sometimes when the diet and exercise plan does not work the way want it to or it simply stops working we tend to stop. But think of it this way maybe it stopped working because I am not exerting enough effort. So give your exercise a little push and from there you will see the changes in your weight. Building muscle through strength training helps your body burn more calories.
Metabolic rate increases when doing exercise and sometimes it stays at an increased rate. This might be the reason why people who are very active can eat a lot and not gain weight.
The best way to do exercise is in the morning because it helps you sleep better. Doing your exercise at night might result to difficulty in sleeping. If you want to exercise at night just do a brisk walk and do it at least three hours before your bed time.
Exercise helps release endorphins in the brain which in turn helps in improving our mood. And of course exercise lessens the risk of different disease such as heart disease, hypertension, breast cancer, colon cancer, high blood pressure and osteoporosis.
Dr. Matthew Green is a weight loss expert and health nutritionist. He has helped hundreds of people to lose 5 pounds a week through conventional and unconventional methods.
You can look at his websites to learn how to lose five pounds in one week.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Matthew_Green
Saturday, July 19, 2008
Tuesday, July 8, 2008
How to Prevent Diabetes
Some of the complications of diabetes can be just as life threating as diabetes itself. The complications include: heart attacks, strokes, blindness, deafness, amputations, kidney failure, foot syndrome and many other problems.
Some of the preventive methods to combat diabetes is learning to avoid food that will make your blood sugar rise.
The foods to avoid are basically anything is white. So the saying white is right is wrong. The white flour products include:white bread, any type of white pasta, bagels, rolls, white flour, white rice.
What should you eat you ask? Well that would have to be anything that has whole grains in it, oats, wheat, beans, seeds, nuts.
People think eating vegetarian pizza is health. Well it is not. If it has white flour and cheese. Guess what you are deluding yourself. Stay away from foods that have any white flour or breads that look like wheat bread but are not. Eat a lot of fruits and vegetable.
You can go to CVS or Walgreens and buy a diabetes kit to know what your blood sugar level is. This is the best way to determine if you have diabetes or not.
If you have diabetes you might have to contact your doctor to see what can be done. Whether it is prescribing the individual insulin or changing their diet habits.
But remember eat sensible, don't overeat. Overeating is one of people's problems with this disease. The eat a whole box of donuts or 3 pounds of white rice.
The best way to prevent diabetes is don't overeat, stay away from white foods such as bread, pasta which I have mentioned earlier. Exercise for at least 1/2 hour a day.
I have a great book to offer you. That teaches these benefits. Here there are:
1.There is an easy way to eliminate 23 pounds of fat by making one simple change in your life.
2.Did you know that some vegetables can make you fat?
3.Did you know that there is a quick and easy way to tell how healthy a fat is? Did you even know that there are different kinds of fats? Some fats will kill you, others will protect your heart.
4.Do you know when the best time to exercise is? There is a big debate over this question and this program puts it to rest.
5.There is only one way you can drastically speed up your fat burning metabolism! This program will share the secret with you!
6.Do you have a problem eating out of the house at restaurants or at work? This program addresses that problem and provides a solution!
7.There is a special formula to eating that I have developed that has worked for thousands! This program will take you step by step through this amazing fat burning formula!
If you want to lose weight. Grab this book Now! This tells you what you should and shouldn't do on a diet. As a Bonus, I will throw in a healthy recipe book.
Ultimate Weight Loss Secrets
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Ray_Gollis
Some of the preventive methods to combat diabetes is learning to avoid food that will make your blood sugar rise.
The foods to avoid are basically anything is white. So the saying white is right is wrong. The white flour products include:white bread, any type of white pasta, bagels, rolls, white flour, white rice.
What should you eat you ask? Well that would have to be anything that has whole grains in it, oats, wheat, beans, seeds, nuts.
People think eating vegetarian pizza is health. Well it is not. If it has white flour and cheese. Guess what you are deluding yourself. Stay away from foods that have any white flour or breads that look like wheat bread but are not. Eat a lot of fruits and vegetable.
You can go to CVS or Walgreens and buy a diabetes kit to know what your blood sugar level is. This is the best way to determine if you have diabetes or not.
If you have diabetes you might have to contact your doctor to see what can be done. Whether it is prescribing the individual insulin or changing their diet habits.
But remember eat sensible, don't overeat. Overeating is one of people's problems with this disease. The eat a whole box of donuts or 3 pounds of white rice.
The best way to prevent diabetes is don't overeat, stay away from white foods such as bread, pasta which I have mentioned earlier. Exercise for at least 1/2 hour a day.
I have a great book to offer you. That teaches these benefits. Here there are:
1.There is an easy way to eliminate 23 pounds of fat by making one simple change in your life.
2.Did you know that some vegetables can make you fat?
3.Did you know that there is a quick and easy way to tell how healthy a fat is? Did you even know that there are different kinds of fats? Some fats will kill you, others will protect your heart.
4.Do you know when the best time to exercise is? There is a big debate over this question and this program puts it to rest.
5.There is only one way you can drastically speed up your fat burning metabolism! This program will share the secret with you!
6.Do you have a problem eating out of the house at restaurants or at work? This program addresses that problem and provides a solution!
7.There is a special formula to eating that I have developed that has worked for thousands! This program will take you step by step through this amazing fat burning formula!
If you want to lose weight. Grab this book Now! This tells you what you should and shouldn't do on a diet. As a Bonus, I will throw in a healthy recipe book.
Ultimate Weight Loss Secrets
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Ray_Gollis
Tuesday, July 1, 2008
Working out in my Basement
Just working out in my basement. Bad lighting though. Just doing basic spin kicks, jab, cross, hook punchs in the air, Hope you like it!
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