Disclaimer:

All material on this website is provided for your information only and may not be construed as medical advice or instruction and should not take the place of health care or services you may need. No action or inaction should be taken based solely on the contents of this information; instead, readers should consult appropriate health professionals on any matter relating to their health and well-being.

Sunday, November 20, 2011

Let's Talk Turkey

Interesting Turkey Facts…
- 45 million turkeys are eaten each Thanksgiving, 22 million at Christmas.
- The heaviest turkey ever raised was 86 pounds, about as big as a large dog.
- Eating turkey doesn't make you sleepy; it's the carbohydrates in the rest of your holiday dinner that do.
- The average American consumes about 17 pounds of turkey a year.
- Turkey is low in fat and high in protein.
- White meat has fewer calories and less fat than dark meat.
- Only male turkeys (toms) gobble; female turkeys (hens) click.
- Minnesota, North Carolina, Arkansas, Virginia, Missouri, and California are the nation's top turkey producers.

(Sources: National Center for Health Statistics; National Turkey Federation; U.S. Department of Agriculture)

In my previous post, I provided links to safe food handling.  Make sure you check those out.  Here are some main points to keep in mind when preparing your holiday meals:

- Keep things clean.  Make sure you wash your hands frequently while preparing meals.  Also wash all surfaces and utensils touching food.

- Separate foods.  Make sure you use separate cutting boards and knives for cutting vegetables and meats.  It’s important not to cross-contaminate vegetable with the juices of meat or seafood.

- Cook thoroughly.  It is important to cook your food to the proper temperature to ensure that all the harmful bacteria are killed.  For a chart with cooking temperatures of all kinds of food, visit Safe Minimum CookingTemperatures from foodsafety.gov 

- Chill properly.  It’s important to store leftovers properly.  Refrigerate any leftovers immediately after the meal.  Refrigerators should be set at 37 degrees and freezers at 0 degrees Fahrenheit. 

Check out the links in the previous post for more on food safety.

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