Dinner Tonight

Dinner Tonight

Healthy Cooking for a Healthy Texas

Grilling Safely

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How to Grill Safely

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Food poisoning peaks in the summer months when warmer temperatures cause foodborne germs to flourish. Follow these steps for a safe and enjoyable grilling season.

Separate

When shopping, pick up meat, poultry, and seafood last, right before checkout. Separate them from other food in your shopping cart and grocery bags. To guard against cross-contamination, put packages of raw meat and poultry into indiv

idual plastic bags.

Chill

Keep meat, poultry, and seafood refrigerated until ready to grill. When transporting, keep below 40°F in an insulated cooler.

Clean

Wash your hands with soap before and after handling raw meat, poultry, and seafood. Wash work surfacesExternal, utensils, and the grill before and after cooking.

Check your grill and tools

Use a moist cloth or paper towel to clean the grill surface before cooking. If you use a wire bristle brush, thoroughly inspect the grill’s surface before cooking. Wire bristles from grill cleaning brushes may dislodge and stick into food on the grill.

Don’t cross-contaminate

Throw out marinades and sauces that have touched raw meat juices, which can spread germs to cooked foods. Use clean utensils and a clean plate to remove cooked meat from the grill.

Cook

Use a food thermometerExternal to ensure meat is cooked hot enough to kill harmful germs. When smoking, keep temperatures inside the smoker at 225°F to 300°F to keep meat a safe temperature while it cooks.

  • 145°F – whole cuts of beef, pork, lamb, and veal (stand-time of 3 minutes at this temperature)
  • 145°F – fish
  • 160°F – hamburgers and other ground beef
  • 165°F – all poultry and pre-cooked meats, like hot dogs

After Grilling:

  • 140°F or warmer – until it’s served

Refrigerate

Divide leftovers into small portions and place in covered, shallow containers. Put in freezer or fridgeExternal within two hours of cooking (one hour if above 90°F outside).

Learn more from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention here. 

Grilling Safely

When the warmer weather hits, there’s nothing better than the smell of food on the grill.

Seven out of every 10 adults in the U.S. have a grill or smoker*, which translates to a lot of tasty meals. But it also means there’s an increased risk of home fires.

In 2011 – 2015, fire departments went to an annual average of 9,600 home fires involving grills, hibachis or barbecues per year, including 4,100 structure fires and 5,500 outside or unclassified fires.

Watch this video below for safety tips!

https://youtu.be/65RCHLNIKa8

Learn more from the National Fire Protection Association here. 

Safely Storing Food

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For most, grocery shopping is the easy part.  However, storing and putting your food away, that can be tricky! Here’s an excellent resource provided by the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.

  • FREEZER (0°F or below):
    • Wrap and label meat, fish and poultry that you plan to freeze.
  • FRIDGE (34°F – 40°F):
    • Dairy and eggs should be stored in the coldest part of the fridge, usually near the back and away from the door.
    • Put meat in the meat drawer or on the lowest shelf of the refrigerator.
    • Use the crisper or produce drawers for veggies!
    • Olive oil and nut oils go rancid quickly when exposed to light and heat, which puts the kibosh on their healthful qualities. Refrigeration may cause these oils to become cloudy, but they’ll clear up when they return to room temperature.
    • Cheese may be best served at room temperature — but, like all animal-derived food, still needs to be stored in the fridge. Take it out a short time before serving for the best flavor. Perishable foods, including cheese, should be thrown out if they are kept out of the refrigerator for two or more hours. In the warmer months, that amount of time will be less.
    • Butter should be kept cold. Your grandma may have kept her butter in a crock on the counter to keep it nice and spreadable. However, keeping butter refrigerated avoids risky bacterial contamination. If you want soft butter, remove it for a little while before serving to let it soften.
  • PANTRY  or COUNTERTOP (50°F – 70°F):
    • Canned goods last 2+ years but can be damaged by temperatures above 100°F.
    • Mayo and similar condiments can be stored in the pantry; move them to the fridge when it’s been opened.
    • Honey is very shelf-stable and will last a long time.  Also, if you chill honey it becomes hard to pour, so keep it in your pantry.
    • Tomatoes fare better when kept out of the fridge, where they can become mealy. It’s true that they spoil faster when stored on the counter. If you won’t be eating them within 1 to 2 days, store  ripened tomatoes in the refrigerator for 2 or 3 days. However, keep in mind that once you cut into a tomato (or any fruit or vegetable), it needs to be refrigerated to slow the growth of harmful bacteria.
    • Potatoes and Onions like the same conditions, but they should not be stored together. Potato starch turns to sugar when refrigerated. Potatoes and onions should be stored in a cool, dry place such as the bottom of your pantry. Remove any potatoes and onions that go bad in the pantry from the rest.
    • Bread can stale quickly in the fridge due to the dry circulating air. If you’re afraid your bread will become moldy because your kitchen is hot or humid, or because you won’t be eating it quickly, freeze it. You can remove only what you need and thaw it on the counter or in the toaster on the “defrost” setting.
    • Peanut butter becomes difficult to spread when it’s cold, so store it in your pantry if you will use it within 2 to 3 months. Store in the refrigerator for 4 to 6 months. However, if you buy natural peanut butter, check the label; some brands recommend refrigeration to keep the natural oils from separating.
    • Fruits with pits, like peaches and plums, should be placed in a closed paper bag until ripe — then refrigerated. Keep tomatoes in the pantry only if they’ll be eaten within 1-2 days — otherwise, they go in the fridge.

Learn more from the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.

Visit eatright.org for more information on healthful eating or to find a registered dietitian nutritionist.

Click here for a handy printable chart on Storing Fruits and Veggies from Purdue Extension.

 

No Double Dipping

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Share the dip, not the germ!  Although the temptation to dip again is normal…Don’t double dip!  Research has proven and science suggests that double dipping can be hazardous to your health.  Double dipping contaminates the dip with bacteria from your mouth and hands.  Check out these options to keep in mind when dip is the center of attention!

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How to Remove Strings from Peas

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Tough strings on the backs of peas can be unappetizing. Safely remove the strings from the peas by using a small paring knife to gently make a small cut on the end, but not all the way through. Then simply peel the strings off. Do not use your finger nail to cut the peas, this can cause dirt and bacteria to contaminate the peas.

Check out some of our recipes that feature peas!

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All About Shrimp

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Shrimp as part of a healthy diet:

  • A 3 ounce serving of shrimp…
    • contains 84 calories, 20.4 grams of protein, 0.2 grams of fat, and 94.4mg of sodium.
    • Shrimp are low in saturated fat and are a good source of protein, phosphorus, and vitamin B12, and choline.

Selecting your Shrimp:

  • shrimp you purchase should look firm and translucent, and their shiny shells should still be intact. The shells should have no visible flaws or unusual characteristics.
  • shrimp should always smell fresh, mild and like the ocean. Do not purchase shrimp exhibiting a strong fishy or ammonia-like scent, as this indicates decomposition.
  • Avoid any shrimp package that appears abused, torn or unsealed. Ice crystals or signs of frost on the product may indicate that the package has been frozen for an extended period of time, or that it has been thawed and refrozen.

Storing Shrimp:

  • Frozen shrimp that will be used within two days of purchase can be thawed and kept in the refrigerator.
  • T hawed shrimp can be stored in the refrigerator for two to three days, if placed in a leak-proof plastic bag or plastic container with a lid. You should cover the bag or container with ice to ensure optimum quality.
  • If storing longer than two days, shrimp should remain frozen and wrapped in foil, moisture-proof paper or plastic. Every time you freeze and thaw any seafood and then repeat the process, you are diminishing its flavor and texture.
  • When freezing shrimp for longer storage times it is best to separate into meal-sized amounts and freeze in freezer safe containers or plastic bags.

Clean your shrimp the easy way with our simple tips. How to Clean & Devein Shrimp:

  • Devein the shrimp by peeling the shell from it.
  • Use a pairing knife to make a shallow slit along the back from the head end to the tail end.
  • Look for the black sand vein that runs along the center of the back. If the vein is there, use the tip of the knife to carefully remove and discard it.
  • Rinse the shrimp under cool running water.
  • The vein is actually the shrimp’s digestive tract and is generally removed on larger shrimp. The vein is perfectly safe to consume once the shrimp is fully cooked.

Avoid Cross Contamination:

  • Clean your utensils and kitchenware before and after it comes into contact with any raw protein, including raw shrimp.
  • Make sure to keep your shrimp separate from any other ready-to-eat food during preparation.

Preparing Shrimp:

  • Shrimp should be cooked to a minimum internal temperature of 145 Degrees F.
  • A good indicator that your shrimp are ready to be checked for temperature is when it curls into the shape of the letter “C” and the flesh becomes pearly and opaque.

Try Shrimp in our delicious recipes!

Learn a little bit more from our partners at the Texas Farm Bureau about Texas Shrimp

 

Sources:

Texas Department of Agriculture Shrimp Guide for Texans

National Agriculture in the Classroom

From Pond to Plate | Texas Shrimp from Texas Farm Bureau on Vimeo.

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