Eat Out Eat Well

Let’s Talk Turkey – How Long Can It Safely Stay On The Table And In The Fridge?

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Turkey, the centerpiece of most Thanksgiving meals, is a low in fat and high in protein nutritonal star. A 3 and 1/2 ounce serving is about the size and thickness of a new deck of cards. The fat and calorie content varies because white meat has less fat and fewer calories than the dark meat and skin.

Calories in a 3 and 1/2 ounce serving (from a whole roasted turkey):

  • Breast with skin: 194 calories; 8g fat; 29g protein
  • Breast without skin:  161 calories; 4g fat; 30g protein
  • Wing with skin: 238 calories; 13g fat; 27g protein
  • Leg with skin:  213 calories; 11g fat; 28g protein
  • Dark meat with skin:  232 calories; 13g fat; 27g protein
  • Dark meat without skin:  192 calories; 8g fat; 28g protein
  • Skin only:  482 calories; 44g fat; 19g protein

Once The Turkey Is Cooked, Does It Matter How Long It Stays Unrefrigerated?

Yes, yes, yes! According to the Centers for Disease Control the number of reported cases of food borne illness (food poisoning) increases during the holiday season. Food shouldn’t be left out for more than two hours.

If you’re saving turkey leftovers, remove all of the stuffing from inside the turkey, cut the turkey meat off the bone, and refrigerate or freeze all of the leftovers.

The Basic Rules For Leftovers

According to the March 2010 edition of the Nutrition Action Healthletter (Center for Science in the Public Interest) the mantra is: 

2 Hours–2 Inches–4 Days

  • 2 Hours from oven to refrigerator: Refrigerate or freeze your leftovers within 2 hours of cooking. Throw them away if they are out longer than that.
  • 2 Inches thick to cool it quick: Store your food at a shallow depth–about 2 inches–to speed chilling.
  • 4 Days in the refrigerator–otherwise freeze it: Use your leftovers that are stored in the fridge within 4 days. The exceptions are stuffing and gravy.They should be used within 2 days. Reheat solid leftovers to 165 degrees F and liquid leftovers to a rolling boil. Toss what you don’t finish.

How Long Can Leftover Turkey Stay In The Freezer?

Frozen leftover turkey, stuffing, and gravy should be used within one month. To freeze leftovers, package them properly using freezer wrap or freezer containers. Use heavy duty aluminum foil, freezer paper, or freezer bags for best results and don’t leave any air space. Squeeze the excess air from the freezer bags and fill rigid freezer containers to the top with dry food. Without proper packaging, circulating air in the freezer can create freezer burn – those white dried-out patches on the surface of food that make it tough and tasteless. Leave a one-inch head space in containers with liquid and half an inch in containers filled with semi-solids.

Is Food The Main Focus Of Your Holiday?

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Is your holiday mindset:  lots of food = good time; not so much food = bad time? Can you possibly revel in holiday spirit without accompanying gluttony?  You bet you can – but often the celebrations themselves become intertwined with the need or obligation to cook and/or eat not just because we’re hungry, but because of other reasons that are important to you.

The point of the holidays – any holiday – is not exclusively food.  Nonetheless, we wrap our holiday thoughts around food – after all, Thanksgiving originally was a harvest celebration and many cultures and religions have special foods to signify a special holiday.

Food Has Meaning

Food does have meaning–which may have different interpretations by people of varying religions, ethnicities, and cultures. Food acts like a cloak of comfort – something many of us look for and welcome around the holidays.

Nowhere is it written that food has to be eaten in tremendous quantity – or that a meal has to include stuffing, two types of potatoes, five desserts, or six types of candy.  That idea is self-imposed.

So is the opposite self-imposed idea: trying to diet during the holidays.  Restriction and overeating are both difficult – and often equally counterproductive. Winter holiday eating  comes during the cold and dark seasons in many parts of the world.  Warm comfort food just seems all the more appealing — whether you’re dieting or not — when it’s somewhat inhospitable outside.

Is Overeating Part Of Your Holiday Meal Plan?

Unconsciously, or perhaps habitually, a lot of us actually plan to overeat during the holidays.  Be honest:  do you know that you’re going to overeat?  Do you think it wouldn’t be normal or non-celebratory to overindulge and eat three desserts at Christmas or raid your kid’s Trick or Treat bag?

It’s all too easy to do that.  Food is absolutely everywhere.  It’s there for the taking — and most of the time, holiday food is free (and in your face) at parties, on receptionist’s desks, as sample tastes while you shop.  How can you pass it up?

On top of it all, it’s sugary, fatty, and pretty.  How can you not try it?  Of course, sugary and fatty (salty, too) means you just crave more and more.   Do you really need it?  Do you even really want it?  If you eat it, will you feel awful later on?

Eating And Tradition

Are you eating because of tradition – because you’ve been eating the same food at Christmas or Hanukkah or Kwanzaa since you were a kid?  Maybe you don’t even like the food anymore.  Maybe it disagrees with you or gives you acid reflux.  So why are you eating it?  Who’s forcing you to?

Do you think you won’t have a good time or you’ll be labeled Scrooge, Grinch, a party pooper, or offend your mother-in-law if you don’t eat everything in sight?  Get over it.  Do you really think you’re Scrooge?

You can still love the holidays and you can still love the food.  No problem.  In the grand scheme of things overeating on one day isn’t such a big deal.  Overeating for multiple days that turn into weeks and then months, is.

Do You Really Want To Overeat?

The question is:  do you really want to overeat?  If you do, fine.  Enjoy every morsel and then take a nap.  Tomorrow is another day.  Just know that you don’t have to.  You control the purse strings – and the decisions about what goes into your mouth.  Make thoughtful choices, the best choices for you, and enjoy them along with everything else the holiday represents.

Do You Eat Something You Don’t Want Just To Be Polite?

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Do you think you need to eat to be polite – even if you don’t want the food or you’re totally stuffed – because you don’t want to be rude or hurt someone’s feelings?

You really don’t have to feel obliged to eat out of courtesy – especially if you don’t want the food or you’re full.  Ditch the guilt – the calories are going into your mouth, not your host’s, your Mom’s, or your friend’s.

Who Are Food Pushers?

Food pushers pile your plate high with food and act insulted if you ask them to stop. Food pushers, despite your protests, insist that you try every kind of food.  Food pushers look at your plate and loudly ask why you’re not eating, if you don’t like something, or if you’re on a diet.  Food pushers are thorns in your side and don’t necessarily have your best interest at heart. Food pushers can be your partner, friend, parent, or sister. They may or may not realize what they’re doing.  What’s important is that you do.

What’s Your Game Plan?

You need to have a game plan for how you’re going to deal with food pushers.  A plan sounds clinical but it doesn’t have to be. It could be your saving grace.  Think about how you want to handle yourself in the face of food, family, someone’s special stuffing, your family’s traditional sweet potato casserole (which you may hate but always feel obliged to eat), and the array of desserts staring at you from seemingly every table and counter.

One size – or one plan – does not fit all.  You need to choose the plan of action and strategy that works best for you and your circumstances.

What are you going to do or say to the food pushers?  Are you going to stand firm and say you don’t want to eat the stuffing because you’re watching your carbs – and then steel yourself for the snarky look?  Are you going to say that you really need to watch your weight – or that you can’t eat that much – or that you get sleepy when you overeat and, unfortunately, you really have some work that you have to finish and you need to be alert?

Are you going to say that you really don’t care for pie – pumpkin or otherwise – and that your favorite dessert is fruit? If someone really hounds you about trying certain foods you can always claim an allergy or that you’re eating heart healthy (claiming an upset stomach might buy you an early exit or other guests avoiding you like the plague).

You’re In Charge

It’s so easy to default to shoving food in your mouth when faced with food pushers and potentially annoying family members, some of whom seem spend the entire time carping at one another.

Nothing is engraved in stone but if you have an idea about what you want to accomplish and how to go about it you’ll be far less likely to nibble and nosh all day and night. You’re the one in charge of what and how much food goes into your mouth. Take charge and remain in charge of you.

You’re Invited To My Teleseminar — Thanksgiving Eating: Challenges And Solutions

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Does someone in your family always insist that you have to have seconds of everything – and then send you home with more? I hope you’ve gotten some tips on how to handle this from my book for your kindle or kindle reader — The Sensible Holiday Eating Guide:  How To Enjoy Your Favorite Foods Without Gaining Weight.

Free 1/2 Teleseminar

You can still sign up to get more tips and strategies on how to handle these challenges.  Join me for a free bonus ½ hour teleseminar tomorrow, Thursday, November 15th at 12 noon (Eastern).

During the teleseminar I’ll give some tips and strategies for handling Thanksgiving eating challenges whether they’re from eating an extra meal while you cook, overeating during the big meal, or non-stop gobbling of leftovers for days afterward.

To access the free teleseminar  click HERE and  enter your name and email address in the sign-up box.

Once you submit your information, you’ll receive an email asking you to confirm your interest in participating.

Click the confirmation link and that’s it – you’ll be given the phone number for you to call in and participate.  If you can’t participate at the time of the teleseminar, no worries – it will be recorded and you’ll be sent the link to the recording by email.

10 Turkey Stuffing Tidbits You Want And Need To Know

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Stuffing – most of us love it, eat it, go back for seconds (thirds?), and then eat the leftovers.

But did you ever really think about stuffing – like why it’s called stuffing (or dressing) and what makes it taste so good?

Ten Stuffing Tidbits

  1. There’s some difference of thought about stuffing vs. dressing.  For a lot of people, stuffing is stuffing whether it’s cooked inside the bird or in a separate baking dish. Some people call stuffing the stuff that is stuffed into the bird and they call dressing the stuff that is cooked separately, even if it’s made from the same recipe.  Others go a bit further and maintain that dressing is pourable therefore stuffing is stuffing regardless of how or where it’s cooked.  People in different parts of the country favor different terms. The Amish often call it filling.
  2. Although there are some historical references about the use of stuffing in Ancient Italy, according to Bonappétit.com, stuffing comes from “farce,” which is the word for stuffing in French.  In the 16th century,  the term “stuffing” replaced farce. Farce, the stuffing and farce, the form of comedy, both started out as the Latin farcire, which means “to stuff.” The farce made to be eaten was a filler for a roast. Initially, the theatrical farce was a theatrical improvisational padding of French religious dramas and the actors, for laughs, were expected to ham it up.
  3. Semantics! Cookbook authors favored “dressing,” in the 19th century, but used stuffing and dressing interchangeably or wrote recipes that called for cooked birds with the dressing stuffed inside.
  4. In 1972 when Stove Top introduced an instant stuffing mix that could be made without the bird, was cooked on top of the stove, and was cheap and easy to make, “stuffing” became the go to word.
  5. Stove Top sells 60 million boxes of stuffing every Thanksgiving. When prepared according to box directions and with no additional additives, a ½ serving has: 105 calories, 4.2g fat, 14.7g carbs, 336mg sodium, 2.1g protein.
  6. Stuffing is a seasoned mix of vegetables and starches and sometimes eggs or other protein. Stuffing recipes vary regionally. Southerners usually use cornbread while people from other parts of the country generally use white or wheat bread as the base. Often celery or other vegetables, chestnuts, apples, cranberries, raising, oyster, sausage, turkey giblets, sage, onion, or pecans can be added.
  7. Stuffing is extremely porous. If it is “stuffed” into a turkey, as the turkey cooks the turkey juices that may contain salmonella get into the stuffing. To be safe and prevent salmonella problems, the stuffing must be heated to 165 degrees Farenheit. Cooking the stuffing to 165 degrees usually means the turkey will be overcooked and dry.
  8. If you’re putting the stuffing in the turkey, do it just before roasting – not the night before — so the juices with possible salmonella don’t have all night to soak into the stuffing. Allow 1/2 to 3/4 cup of stuffing per pound and don’t pack it in too tightly which might cause uneven cooking and not all of the stuffing reaching 165 degrees.
  9. If you’re cooking your turkey on an outdoor grill, or in a water smoker, or you’re using a fast-cook method, don’t stuff it because the turkey will be done before the stuffing reaches 165 degrees.
  10. There’s no historical evidence that stuffing was served at the first Thanksgiving.  Stuffing is really thought of mainly as a Thanksgiving food. Before the advent of Stove Top many home cooks wouldn’t have made stuffing for the holidays.  Stove Top, cheap, quick and easy helped stuffing become very popular.

If you’re beginning to get antsy about holiday eating, download my book, The Sensible Holiday Eating Guide: How To Enjoy Your Favorite Foods Without Gaining Weight, http://www.amazon.com/dp/B009VOFIK8 on Amazon.

Then sign up for a free ½ hour teleseminar on Thanksgiving Eating: Challenges and Solutions, https://eatouteatwell.com/thanksgiving-teleseminar-signup.  It’ll be recorded if you can’t make it, but you still need to sign up so I know where to email the link to the recording.