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food facts

What To Do When Your Mouth’s On Fire From Red Hot Chili Peppers

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Recently, I was in a restaurant that specializes in chili – hot, hotter, and hottest.  Four large thirtyish guys were sitting at the table next to mine. One guy ordered, “hottest,” with a swagger.

Shortly after this big, burly guy dug into his chili – with gusto, I might add, he was sitting glassy eyed, rivulets of sweat dripping off of his bald head, practically unable to speak.  The waitress, obviously having seen this reaction before, came running over with a glass of milk with orders to, “Drink up.”

Have you ever had this reaction to very spicy food — maybe even from a dish from your own kitchen when you got a little too zealous with the chili powder? Or perhaps, like this guy, from being a little too macho and ordering “hottest” after assuring everyone that you love really hot and spicy food.  Perhaps when you accidentally grabbed the wings known as red hots at a recent party.

What Causes The Burn?

Capsaicin is mostly responsible for the “heat” in chili peppers.  To stop the mouth flames you need to neutralize the burning heat from the capsaicin that binds to your taste buds. Capsaicin is soluble in both alcohol and fat so full fat dairy and alcohol are possible solutions.

What To Do To Tame The Flame

What do you do as your mouth is sending a five-alarm signal, your face is on fire, and you are sweating enough to water every plant in the room?  Here are some solutions that are easy – even when you’re in a restaurant or at someone else’s home.

  • The most common flame relievers are full fat dairy, acid, and sugar – although some people also swear by nut and seed butters  (peanut, almond, tahini).  They may all have some degree of effectiveness.
  • Ice and water will feel pretty good, but only temporarily. The burning pain will come roaring back. Because capsaicin is soluble in alcohol and fat, sometimes beer is suggested as a solution. The alcohol helps neutralize the capsaicin molecules.  But beer is about 95% water and won’t really neutralize the capsaicin clinging to your tongue.
  • High fat dairy products like milk, cheese, sour cream, yogurt, and ice cream coat your mouth and can break the bonds capsaicin forms with the nerve endings – and, since they’re cold, they feel pretty good, too. Now you have an explanation for why spicy Mexican food is often served with sour cream.
  • Sugars bind to pain receptors more readily than capsaicin so sweet things might work, too.   Sugar, fruit, honey, molasses, even carrots have all been used.  Highly sweetened non-carbonated drinks may work.  Try some sweet tea.   Hoisin may work for Asian dishes or Lassi (sweet and dairy combination) if you are in an Indian restaurant.
  • Acid can cut through the heat so use vinegar, lemon or lime juice, or anything acidic that doesn’t mess with the taste.  Gives beer with lime new meaning, too, doesn’t it?

Kids Need To Learn About Food

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by FoodRevolution. Browse more data visualizations.
Food Revolution Day on the 19th of May is a chance for people who love food to come together to share information, talents and resources and to pass on their knowledge and highlight the world’s food issues. All around the globe people will work together to make a difference. Food Revolution Day is about connecting with your community through events at schools, restaurants, local businesses, dinner parties and farmers’ markets. The intent is to inspire change in people’s food habits and to promote the mission for better food and education for everyone.

 

Iced And Frozen Coffee Drinks: Refreshing But A Caloric Bomb

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The weather is heating up and the drinks are cooling down.  Unfortunately, some of those delicious iced and frozen coffee drinks that seem to be offered everywhere can really bump up your calories and fat grams.

Keep in mind that you can always order plain old iced coffee or even an iced Americano (almost no calories for 16 ounces) and doctor it with non-caloric sweetener and skim milk.  You’d even come out ahead if you use controlled amounts of sugar and a bit of half-and half. Or have an iced brewed coffee with classic syrup:  12 oz (tall), 60 calories.

Calories in Some Iced And Frozen Coffee Drinks

Note that despite the differences in names for various sized cups, all stats (with the exception of Burger King) are for a 16 oz. size cup.

  • Starbucks Mocha Frappuccino with whipped cream, 16 oz. (grande): 400 calories, 15 g fat (9 g saturated), 64g carbohydrates.
  • Starbucks Mocha Light Frappuccino with nonfat milk, 16 oz. (grande): 130 calories, 0.5g fat, (0 g saturated), 28g carbohydrates.
  • Iced Caffe Latte with nonfat milk, 16 oz. (grande):  90 calories, 0g fat, 13g carbohydrates.
  • Dunkin’ Donuts Coffee Coolata made with whole milk, 16 oz. (small):  240 calories, 4 g fat (2.5 g saturated), 50g carbohydrates
  • Dunkin’ Donuts Vanilla Bean Coolatta, 16 oz. (small): 420 calories, 6g fat (3.5g saturated), 92g carbohydrates
  • Dunkin’ Donuts Iced Latte made with skim milk, 16 oz. (small):  80calories, 0g fat,   13 g carbohydrates
  • Baskin Robbins Cappuchino Blast Mocha, 16oz (small):  400 calories, 13g fat (9g saturated), 65g carbohydrates
  • McDonald’s: McCafé Iced Caramel Mocha, 16 oz. (medium) made with whole milk and whipped cream:  300 calories, 14g fat (8g saturated), 36g carbohydrates
  • Burger King: Iced Seattle’s Best Coffee Mocha, 22 oz. (medium):  260 calories, 3.5g fat (2.5g saturated), 54g carbohydrates

Bottom Line:  Ways To Shave Calories From Iced Coffee Drinks

Try these:

  • Ditch the whipped cream.
  • Swap full fat milk for 2% milk, 1% or skim.
  • Watch the sugar:  ask for one pump instead of two, ask for sugar free syrup, add non-calorie sweetener instead of sugar, don’t sweeten at all.
  • Change the size of the drink that you order:  instead of a venti or an extra large order a grande or large – or drop down to a tall or a medium (or even a small) sized drink.
  • If you have a two a day (or more) habit – like a coolata in the morning and a frappuccino in the afternoon – substitute a plain coffee or iced tea (easy on the milk and sugar), or even a latte with nonfat milk for one of those choices.

How Big Are Your Dinner Plates — And Why It Matters

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Have you eaten in some restaurants where the plates are so big that the server can’t find room to comfortably fit everything on the table?

Maybe your plates are so big that you have trouble getting them into the dishwasher.

Does it make a difference other than for convenience?  You bet it does.

The Size Of Your Dinner Plate Can Affect Your Weight

We eat off of big plates. Since 1960 the overall surface area of an average dinner plate has increased 36 percent. The average dinner plate we commonly use today measures 11 or 12 inches across. A few decades ago plates measured 7 to 9 inches.

In Europe, the average plate measures 9 inches while some American restaurants use plates that are around 13 inches in diameter.

Portion Sizes Have Increased Along With Plate Size

1960 sized portions would look a little lost on today’s large plates.  Plop a small portion of spaghetti and meat sauce in the middle of a large plate and the temptation is to add more – usually pasta – to fill up the plate.  That’s how you feed both your eyes and your stomach.

The additional problem – aside from eating more food at the meal — is that with more food piled on your plate, the idea gets embedded in your brain that a larger portion is better and that it takes a larger amount to fill your plate. Your brain then figures that If you need that much food to fill your plate then it takes that large amount of food to make you feel good.

Some Easy Things To Do

When you switch to a smaller plate you eat a smaller serving.

Control your portion sizes by decreasing the size of your plate. Try switching from a dinner plate to a salad plate or look for vintage plates that are smaller in diameter. Research has shown that by switching to a 10 inch plate from a 12 inch plate you eat 22 percent less.

Incredibly, smaller dishes can also help you feel full even though you’re eating less. Studies show that people are more satisfied with less food when they are served on 8 inch salad plates instead of on 12 inch dinner plates.  But don’t go too small because eating too small a portion might send you back for seconds.

Keep This In Mind

We eat an average of 92% of what we serve ourselves. Since we pile more food onto larger plates, the larger plates means we eat more food. A two inch difference in plate diameter  — decreasing the size of our plates to ten inches from 12 inches — would mean a serving that has 22 percent fewer calories.  It’s a smaller serving but not small enough to leave you still hungry and heading back for seconds. For an average size adult who eats a typical dinner of 800 calories, the smaller portions that would result from using a smaller plate would lead to a weight loss of around 18 pounds a year.

Leftover Dilemma: Can I Eat It Or Should I Toss It?

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You know the feeling:  you’re standing in front of your open refrigerator. There’s a mess of containers in there. Move ‘em around. Discovery: A mystery plastic container all the way in the back; a couple of Chinese food take-out containers; some oddly shaped tin-foil packages. Don’t you wonder what’s in them?

With some trepidation you take a peek. Container #1: the leftover take-out chicken fried rice from five days ago. Container #2: the rest of your lasagna you brought home last night from a huge restaurant portion. Then there’s some of Mom’s really delicious stuffing from last weekend in that plastic container.  The tin-foil packages: grayish looking stuff that doesn’t smell so great.

Big question: Will you end up writhing in pain and spending the next day in the bathroom if you eat any of it?

How Long Can Prepared Food Safely Stay  Unrefrigerated?

According to the FDA, when you buy hot, cooked food, you should get it home quickly and eat it right away.  It shouldn’t sit out at room temperature. If the food is cold – not hot — and sitting out, it should be eaten within two hours of when it was prepared.  Otherwise, store it in the fridge, or freeze it.

Take-Out Food

When take-out food is delivered, you want to prevent any lurking potentially nasty and harmful bacteria from multiplying, so eat the food within two hours after it arrives. 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). Side dishes also should to be kept hot in the oven. 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 Food Temperature “Danger Zone”

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.”

The 2 Hour Rule For Leftovers

There is a 2 Hour Rule: toss 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.

The Center for Science in the Public Interest’s Nutrition Action Healthletter, expands on the Rules For Leftovers with what they call:

2 hours – 2 inches – 4 days

2 hours from oven to refrigerator: any 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 or freeze it: use refrigerated leftovers within 4 days — with the exception of stuffing and gravy which should be used within 2 days. Solid leftovers should be reheated to 165 degrees F and liquid leftovers to a rolling boil. Whatever you don’t finish, throw out.

What About The Doggie Bag?

If you leave a restaurant with a doggie bag – or a prepared food store with a container of food – and you’re not going to get home within two hours of having the order served to you, scrap the food. If you do leave with doggie bag or food container in hand, keep in mind that the inside of your car can get very toasty and bacteria can multiply very quickly. So, if the doggie bag contains tomorrow’s lunch or a late night snack, it’s a good idea to go directly home and get those still identifiable leftovers in the refrigerator right away.