Calorie Tips, Healthy Eating, Food Facts

Leftovers: How Long Before You Have To Toss Them?

March 3, 2014 By Penny Klatell, PhD, RN Leave a Comment

When you open your refrigerator door, what do you see? A bunch of random takeout boxes? Wait – there’s a couple of storage containers all the way in the back, too. Wonder what’s in them?

Open them up. Container #1: the leftover takeout moo shu pork from five days ago. Kind of a nasty odor. Container #2: half of the pasta special you brought home last night because the portion was huge. And in the storage containers? Last week’s meat sauce and some stir-fried veggies from who knows when. They’re kind of stinky too!

Big question: Can you eat any of it without getting sick?

How Long Can Food Stay Out?

According to the FDA, when you buy hot, cooked food, you should eat it right away and avoid letting it sit out at room temperature. If the food is cold, eat it within two hours of preparing it or else store it in the fridge or freeze it.

When Your Food is Delivered …

When food is delivered, you want to prevent any potentially nasty and harmful bacteria from multiplying, so eat it within two hours after it arrives (hopefully it hasn’t sat in the delivery person’s bike basket or car for too long – especially if it’s really hot outside).

If you aren’t going to eat it within two hours, keep it hot in an oven set at or above 200° F (93° C). Cover the food to keep it moist while you’re keeping it warm. Don’t guess at the temperature of the food — use a food thermometer to check that the food is kept at an internal temperature of 140° F (60° C).

The Danger Zone and The Two Hour Rule

The FDA defines the “danger zone” as the range of temperatures at which bacteria can grow. It is usually between 40° and 140° F (4° and 60° C). To keep food safe, it’s important to keep it below or above the “danger zone.”

Rules For Leftovers: 2 hours – 2 inches – 4 days

The Two Hour Rule: Throw away any perishable food (the kind that can spoil or become contaminated by bacteria if left unrefrigerated) that has been left out at room temperature for more than two hours. When the environmental temperature is above 90° F (32° C), throw out the food after one hour.

2 hours from oven to refrigerator: leftovers should be refrigerated or frozen within 2 hours of cooking or they should be thrown away.
2 Inches thick to cool it quick: food should be stored in containers at a shallow depth of about 2 inches or less, to speed the chilling time.
4 days in the refrigerator: use refrigerated leftovers within 4 days with the exception of stuffing and gravy which should be used within 2 days. Whatever you don’t finish, throw out.
If you don’t think you’ll be able to eat leftovers within four days, freeze them immediately. Uncooked foods, such as cold salads or sandwiches, should be eaten or refrigerated promptly. Your goal is to minimize the time a food is in the “danger zone” — between 40 and 140 F (4 and 60 C) — when bacteria can quickly multiply.
When you’re ready to eat leftovers, reheat them on the stove, in the oven or in the microwave. Solid leftovers should reach an internal temperature of 165 F (74 C) and liquid leftovers should be brought to a rolling boil. Slow cookers and chafing dishes aren’t recommended for reheating leftovers because they don’t get hot enough.

What You Need To Know

Your fridge’s inside temperature needs to be between 33 and 40 degrees Fahrenheit (0.5 to 4.4 degrees Celsius). Not all areas of your fridge can hold these temperatures. It’s cooler in the back, so keep food like eggs, milk, cheese, and leftovers in the back and leave the warmer front area for things like sodas, water, and beer.
Even though you put all your excess food in the fridge it can still go bad. Bacterial growth slows in colder temperatures, but it still happens.
You don’t need to wait for hot food to cool before putting it in the fridge. When you leave food out to cool you give the bacteria the chance to multiply.
Use shallow covered containers, 3 inches tall or less and leave some air space around them to promote rapid, even cooling of the food. Large, deep containers allow the food in the center of the container to remain warm for a longer time.
When you store leftovers, cover them to keep in moisture and to prevent them from drying out. Covering hot leftovers and immediately putting them into a cold fridge can cause condensation so try letting them cool, uncovered, in the fridge for a few minutes before covering to minimize condensation. Or put the containers in an ice or cold water bath to cool them as quickly as possible before storing them in the refrigerator.

Forget the Sight and Smell Test

Bacteria don’t typically change the way food tastes, smells, or looks, so the sight and smell test most of us use to determine if food is good or not isn’t worth a hill of beans. Many foods might be rotten but still smell and even taste okay (unlike sour milk!). If you’re at all in doubt, throw it out!

Here’s The Original Girl Scout Cookie Recipe (circa 1922)

February 27, 2014 By Penny Klatell, PhD, RN 1 Comment

Thin Mints may account for 25% of Girl Scout cookie sales, but the thin chocolate wafers bear little resemblance (other than being cookies) to the original girl scout cookies.

The first Girl Scout troop was organized over a hundred years ago (March 12, 1912) in Savannah, Georgia. Selling cookies — a way to finance troop activities — began as early as 1917 when they were sold in an Oklahoma high school cafeteria as a service project.

Girl Scout cookies were originally baked in home kitchens with moms as the “technical advisers.” In July 1922, The American Girl Magazine, which was published by Girl Scout national headquarters, printed a cookie recipe that had been distributed to the Council’s 2,000 Girl Scouts. The approximate cost of ingredients for six- to seven-dozen cookies was estimated at 26 to 36 cents; the suggested sale price was 25 or 30 cents for a dozen.

In the 20s and 30s the simple sugar cookies baked by Girl Scouts and their mothers were packaged in waxed paper bags, sealed with stickers, and sold door to door.

Girl Scout Cookie Recipe (circa 1922, from GirlScouts.org)

1 cup butter

1 cup sugar

Additional sugar for topping (optional)

2 eggs

2 tablespoons milk

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 cups flour

1 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons baking powder

Cream butter and the cup of sugar; add well-beaten eggs, then milk, vanilla, flour, salt, and baking powder. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour. Roll dough, cut into trefoil shapes, and sprinkle sugar on top, if desired.

Bake in a quick oven (375°) for approximately 8 to 10 minutes or until the edges begin to brown. Makes six- to seven-dozen cookies.

Present Day Recipes

For present day cookie recipes, check out the websites of the two licensed Girl Scout cookie bakers: ABC Bakers and Little Brownie Bakers, and on www.pinterest.com/GSUSA. For a list of specific cookie ingredients go to Meet the Cookies.

The cookies, all of which are kosher, are sold by weight, not quantity. The size and number of cookies in the package varies with the baker, but is displayed on every package. The cookies are sold for different prices in different areas of the country with each of the 112 Girl Scout councils setting its own price based on its needs and its familiarity with the local market.

Some Really Sensible and Easy To Follow Dietary Guidelines

February 24, 2014 By Penny Klatell, PhD, RN Leave a Comment

The nutrition world seems to be filled with guidelines on what to eat, what not to eat, where to eat it, and at what time. That’s all well and good – except when the advice is contradictory or close to impossible to accomplish.

Want some straight-forward, sensible guidelines that focus more of how to eat rather that precisely what to eat?

According to Marion Nestle’s blog, Food Politics, Brazil has designed dietary guidelines to help protect against undernutrition and to prevent the health consequences of overweight and obesity. (You can find the guidelines here, but if you don’t read Portuguese, you’ll have a bit of trouble.) Fortunately, Food Politics provides us with a translation of the guidelines.

There are three “golden rules:”

“Make foods and freshly prepared dishes and meals the basis of your diet.
Be sure oils, fats, sugar and salt are used in moderation in culinary preparations.
Limit the intake of ready-to-consume products and avoid those that are ultra-processed.”

The ten guidelines:

“Prepare meals from staple and fresh foods.
Use oils, fats, sugar and salt in moderation.
Limit consumption of ready-to-consume food and drink products
Eat regular meals, paying attention, and in appropriate environments.
Eat in company whenever possible.
Buy food at places that offer varieties of fresh foods. Avoid those that mainly sell products ready for consumption.
Develop, practice, share and enjoy your skills in food preparation and cooking.
Plan your time to give meals and eating proper time and space.
When you eat out, choose restaurants that serve freshly made dishes and meals. Avoid fast food chains.
Be critical of the commercial advertisement of food products.”

It’s not always easy or affordable to find the freshest foods and to take the time to make them. But for the majority of the time, the guidelines sound downright sensible and pretty doable, don’t you think?

Love Pie? Did You Know There’s A Huge Variation In Calories?

February 16, 2014 By Penny Klatell, PhD, RN 2 Comments

George Washington: “I cannot tell a lie, father, you know I cannot tell a lie! I did cut it [the cherry tree] with my little hatchet.”

It’s President’s Day weekend in the US and in honor of George Washington, cherry trees, cherries, and the pie you can make with cherries – why not take a look at pies. What a segue!

Pies are anytime food – they come sweet and savory – but for many of us, “pie” conjures up sweet filling piled on top of – or in — a crust.

Some Pie History

Pie shells were originally just containers used for baking, storage, and serving — the crust was often too hard to actually eat. The first pies were savory meat pies, called “coffins” or “coffyns,” with tall, straight sides and sealed bottoms and lids. There were also open-crust pies, or “traps,” which served as casseroles for meat and sauce.

Early forms of pies, or galettes (essentially rustic free-form pies), can loosely be traced back to circa 9500 BC Neolithic Egyptians.

The ancient Greeks, who are thought to have been the originators of pie pastry, made a flour-water paste they wrapped around meat to seal in the juices as it cooked. After they conquered Greece, the Romans brought home pie recipes. From there, the idea and practicality of pie spread throughout Europe with different cultures creating pies that suited their customs and local food.

Pie Comes To The Colonies

In the 1600s, the Pilgrims brought English-style, meat-based pies to the colonies. Crusty pie tops helped to both preserve food and to keep fillings fresh and colonists cooked lots of pies, both sweet and savory, using local ingredients along with berries, fruit, cinnamon, pepper, and nutmeg.

As settlers moved westward, more pies with regional flavors and ingredients were developed using fruit, berries but vegetables and game discovered with the help of Indians. Pies were delicious and practical — they required less flour than bread and could be more easily and cheaply baked. Apple trees produced fruit that was easy to dry and store in barrels during the winter, and apple pie became a mainstay: “As American as apple pie.”

What’ll ya have? A cuppa joe and a piece of pie.

Today, no matter where you get your pie: the bakery, the local diner, or straight from your oven, the sweet treat can carry a big caloric punch. There is a huge difference in calories (and nutrition) between different kinds of pie.

To help you “have your pie and eat it, too” shown below are the calories in different kinds of pie. If you want to save a few calories:

choose the type of pie that has fewer calories than another kind.
Be aware of the size of the slice – some are huge, some are slivers
How many crusts, one or two – there are a lot more calories in a two crust pie
How much od the piece are you eating? No one says you have to eat all of a gargantuan piece and no one says you have to eat all of the crust.
What’s in the filling? Some pies have way more calories than others. Recipes vary significantly – the average numbers shown below can give you an idea of good, better, and best pie choices — not in terms of flavor or the artistry of the baker, but for a general comparison of calories. You’re going to be surprised!.

Pie Crust Facts (1/8 of a pie)

Tulip 60 calories
Ginger snaps 60 calories
Graham cracker 100 calories
Ready-made 120 calories
Homemade 149 calories

Average Calories in Popular Pies

Apple, commercially prepared, 1/8 of 9” pie: 296 calories
Apple, prepared from recipe, 1/8 of 9” pie: 411 calories
Banana cream, prepared from recipe, 1/8 of 9″ pie: 387 calories
Blueberry, commercially prepared, 1/8 of 9” pie: 290 calories
Blueberry, prepared from recipe, 1/8 of 9” pie: 360 calories
Cherry, commercially prepared, 1/8 of 9” pie: 325 calories
Cherry, prepared from recipe, 1/8 of 9” pie: 486 calories
Chocolate creme, commercially prepared, 1/6 of 8” pie: 344 calories
Coconut custard, commercially prepared, 1/6 of 8” pie: 270 calories
Lemon meringue, commercially prepared, 1/6 of 8” pie: 303 calories
Lemon meringue, prepared from recipe, 1/8 of 9” pie: 362 calories
Mince, prepared from recipe, 1/8 of 9” pie: 477 calories
Peach, 1/6 of 8” pie: 261 calories
Pecan, commercially prepared, 1/6 of 8” pie: 452 calories
Pecan, prepared from recipe, 1/8 of 9” pie: 503 calories
Pumpkin, commercially prepared, 1/6 of 8” pie: 229 calories
Pumpkin, prepared from recipe, 1/8 of 9” pie: 316
Vanilla cream, prepared from recipe, 1/8 of 9” pie: 350 calories

Memories Of Childhood: Heart-Shaped Candy With A Special Message

February 13, 2014 By Penny Klatell, PhD, RN Leave a Comment

Do you remember getting — or giving – those pastel candy hearts and secretly hoping that you’d get one with a special message? Maybe you still share them with those special to you – or help your kids pick the ones they want to share.

“Be Mine,” “Kiss me,” “XOXO”

The brightly colored hearts with familiar sayings — known as conversation hearts, motto hearts, and sweethearts — have been a Valentine’s Day treat since 1902. Their manufacturer, NECCO, the New England Confectionery Company in business since 1847, sells more than 8 billion candy conversation hearts a year.

How Did Candy Conversation Hearts Get To Be A Symbol Of Valentine’s Day?

Giving a gift of candy with an inscribed message can be traced back to the American colonists who shared homemade hard candy with messages etched into the surface with their sweethearts.

Years later after developing the process of printing red vegetable dye mottos on candy, the founder of NECCO and his brother turned this tradition into a business.

The candy’s original shape wasn’t a heart, but a seashell shape called a “cockle.” A message was written on a colored slip of paper that was wedged into the cockle’s shell.

NECCO started producing candy with mottos stamped on them in 1900, but the candy was shaped like horseshoes and baseballs that allowed for longer printed sayings like “How long shall I have to wait?” and “Pray be considerate.” The candy called Sweethearts wasn’t shaped as a heart until 1902.

The original candies with printed sayings were called “motto hearts.” The sayings and flavors have been updated over the years with new ones added periodically. Some of the newer flavors are strawberry, green apple, lemon, grape, orange, and blue raspberry and new sayings include “Tweet Me,” “Text Me,” “You Rock,” “Soul Mate,” “Love Bug,” and “Me + You.”

Candy Heart Facts

NECCO still uses the original recipe, process, and machines they used at the turn of the century to make the candy, producing 100,000 pounds a day. It takes about 11 months to produce the more than eight billion pieces — or about 13 million pounds – of colorful candy sweethearts that are sold in the six weeks before Valentine’s Day. The little hearts with messages account for 40% of the Valentine candy market, just behind – you guessed it – chocolate!

Although you’d be hard pressed to call them nutritious, the candy hearts are fat free, sodium free, and a caloric bargain at about 3 calories for each small heart and about 6 calories for each larger “Motto” heart.