SIX Healthy Tips for July 4th

It must be “human nature” but even those who do a good job of healthy eating at other times seem to resort back to “traditional” foods on holidays. These foods are typically chocked full of empty calories, fats and sugars.

Rethinking the menu and “tweaking” your shopping list a little can take your 4th of July meal from calorie overload to healthful.

July 4th Healthy Holiday Tip #1—Lighten up. Can you substitute some ingredients when making favorite recipes? Gotta have potato salad?  Use non-fat plain Greek yogurt, nonfat sour cream or low-fat mayo for part of the regular mayo in the dressing. Or look for a new kind of veggie salad that uses a light vinaigrette instead of one that is bathed in high fat mayo or salad dressing.

July 4th Healthy Holiday Tip #2- Double or triple-up on veggies. Set out a series of vegetable platters or arrangements instead of cheese or antipasto plates.  Make sure you have lettuce and tomatoes as sandwich toppers. Try roasted vegetables or vegetable kabobs on the grill. Corn-on-the cob (roast with olive oil and seasonings and forget the melted butter).

July 4th Healthy Holiday Tip #3 – Pick some whole grain products.  Select whole grain buns, whole grain tortillas or whole wheat pita bread for sandwiches.  Whole grain chips and salsa can be an alternative to fried potato chips and dip.

July 4th Healthy Holiday Tip #4—Look for lean protein. How about fish patties or crab cakes instead of burgers?  Grill salmon instead of steak. Instead of brats or hog dogs on the grill go for grilled skinless chicken. For a fun and colorful entrée put hunks of chicken on skewers with the vegetables—this also helps reduce portion sizes and cooking time—and adds even more vegetables to the meal.

July 4th Healthy Holiday Tip #5—Burn those calories. Don’t forget to pack games and balls. Start a new tradition of a family softball or volley ball game. Walking and/or throwing Frisbees are also great activities that can involve family members of all ages.

July 4th Healthy Holiday Tip #6—Enjoy the company of family and friends.  Remember what we’re celebrating at this holiday. Don’t just focus on food and eating. Be mindful of the non-food intangibles like music, games and fireworks.

Cheryle Jones Syracuse, MS

Professor Emeritus, The Ohio State University

Summer Food Safety Quiz

Summer just seems to scream “let’s eat outdoors!” It’s important to remember that these opportunities for picnics, patio dining, and special summer foods also bring different problems and situations into the food safety picture. Here’s a quick quiz that can be used as a refresher for food safety in the summer.

Summer Food Safety QuizAre the following questions true or false?

  1. The safest homemade ice cream is made with a cooked custard.
  2. It’s safe to eat hot dogs that have been stored unopened in the refrigerator for up to ten days.
  3. Because it’s in a picnic cooler, it’s safe to leave food on the picnic table in a sunny location for over five hours.
  4. This is a great time to marinate meat for the barbeque. Since most of these marinades contain acids, which slows bacteria growth, it’s OK to allow the meat and marinade to “steep” at room temperature like the recipe indicates.
  5. Since it’s already been cooked, it’s OK to leave fried chicken set out all afternoon at the family reunion picnic.

Are you ready for the answers? Here they are!

1. TRUE. If you’re making homemade ice cream, look for a recipe that uses cooked custard. If you must use a recipe that calls for uncooked eggs, get pasteurized eggs or egg whites. Why? Well, there can be salmonella bacteria in raw, uncooked eggs and just because a food has been kept cold or frozen doesn’t eliminate the risk.
2. TRUE. Check the expiration date on those hot dogs. Hot dogs should be used or frozen within three days of the sell-by or use-by date on the package. An unopened package of hot dogs can stay safely in your refrigerator until the expiration date (or two weeks if there is no date). An opened bag of hot dogs should be eaten within a week of opening. Never eat hot dogs that have a cloudy liquid in the bag.
3. FALSE. The “two hour rule” changes to the “one hour rule” when temperatures creep up above 90 degrees F. This means that you should not allow food to sit out at room temperature for longer than one hour. Hot temperatures are just right for allowing the bacteria in food to multiply to numbers that could make people sick. When everyone is done eating, get that food quickly into coolers or a refrigerator.  When storing food in coolers, use lots of ice. It’s hard to keep the temperature of food in coolers below 40 degrees. Five hours may be too long to ensure that food is safe. In that case, don’t eat or save those leftovers! It may seem a waste to throw out half a bowl of potato salad or sliced fruit, but there may be several problems with it in addition to the uncertain temperatures (i.e. bugs, lots of people around — did they double dip?). Unless you are absolutely sure of the safety of the food, pitch any leftovers.
4. FALSE. Marinate your meats in the refrigerator. Yes, most recipes for marinades contain an acid. This may slow but does not stop bacteria growth. Just because the recipe says to allow it to “steep” at room temperature doesn’t mean that it’s safe. Remember, not every celebrity chef or recipe developer has had a food safety or food science class.
5. FALSE. Remember that “one hour rule” for large buckets of fried chicken or plates of burgers and hot dogs. Just because a food item has been cooked does not make it immune to bacteria growth.

While the living can be easy in the summer months, food safety takes a little more effort and planning.

By Cheryle Jones Syracuse, MS, Professor Emeritus at The Ohio State University

There are lots of other amazing summer resources in the Nutrition Education Store! We’re here to help you look your very best, right now!

PowerPoint: Healthy Vacation How-Tos

Food Safety Poster

Summer Food Safety Tips

Be Safe at Summer Picnics!

The temperatures are creeping up outside, and this nice weather means that lots of people will want to have outdoor barbecues, picnics, and pot lucks. These can be a total blast, but I often worry about the extra food safety concerns that accompany these rising temperatures.

Here’s what you and your clients can do to combat foodborne illness this summer…

  • Remember, the “two hour rule” changes to the “one hour rule” when temperatures creep up above 90 degrees F.
    • This means that you should not allow food to sit out at room temperature for longer than one hour.
    • Hot temperatures are just right for allowing the bacteria in food to multiply to numbers that could make people sick. This includes foods on picnic tables, buffet lines at family reunions, and bag lunches.
  • Double check the temperatures in your refrigerator and freezer.
    • Refrigerators should be below 40 degrees F and freezers below zero.
    • This helps to prolong the life and the quality of the food.
  • Put a cooler and some ice blocks in the trunk of your car when you go grocery shopping.
    • Even 20 minutes in a hot car eats into that “one hour” rule.
    • Refrigerate all perishable foods immediately upon getting home.
  • When doing errands, make the grocery store your last stop.
    • Pick up frozen and refrigerated foods just before you hit the checkout lines.
  • If you’re going to a farmers’ market, farm stand, or pick-your-own field, take a cooler along too. Don’t store fresh produce in the trunk of your car.
  • If you don’t finish your meal at a restaurant, make sure there’s a cooler in the car for any food you bring home. The “one hour rule” goes into effect here too!
  • Don’t get careless with picnics and other outdoor food events. Unless you are absolutely sure about the safety of the food, throw away any leftovers.

Living can be easy in the summertime, but food safety takes a little more effort and planning. Have a wonderful and food-safe summer!

By Cheryle Jones Syracuse, MS, Professor Emeritus at The Ohio State University

At the Nutrition Education Store, we’re here to help you look your very best, right now! Check out these bestselling summer resources…

Food Safety Presentation: PowerPoint and Handout Set

How Much Fat is in That? Poster

Display Kit: Real Food Grows

Thank you for scrolling all the way through today’s post! Here’s a free handout with the top summer food safety tips!

Summer Food Safety

Got Mayo?

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A couple weeks ago while traveling I saw a billboard with the words “Got Mayo?”  It was accompanied by a photo of potato salad and the address and phone number of a local hospital.  Obviously they were hinting (if a billboard that size can hint) that if you have food poisoning while in this area you should go to that hospital.

Apparently the advertising person from this health establishment did not talk with someone who knows anything about food borne illness before they put up this sign.  They were perpetuating the “old wives tale” that says mayo is the bad guy when it comes to food borne illnesses.

I’d like to set the record straight about a common food safety belief about foods like macaroni salad, tuna salad and deviled eggs.  These are all foods made with mayonnaise or salad dressings. Folks seem to worry a lot about them. Yes, they can be potentially risky and care should be taken to keep them at the proper temperatures—but don’t blame the mayonnaise. 

I’m not sure how this belief got started; perhaps it was a holdover from when people made their own “real mayonnaise” with raw egg, lemon juice and oil.  That product would be exceptionally risky when left unrefrigerated.

But, let’s be honest. When was the last time you made your own mayo for a cookout?

Commercially-made mayonnaise and salad dressings do not have some of the same food safety concerns as their homemade counterparts.  All commercial dressings are cooked, eliminating the raw egg problem. Most also have a high acid content—usually vinegar.  Acids tend to inhibit the growth of pathogens that cause a foodborne illness or food poisoning.

OK. So you may think to yourself,  if mayo isn’t the problem can I just throw “caution to the wind” and not worry about these foods any more? No.  Usually the foods that we mix with mayo and salad dressings are highly susceptible to bacterial growth themselves. Think about it…eggs, cooked and chopped vegetables, cooked meats and seafood…these are all on the list of “potentially hazardous”  foods…whether mixed with mayo or not.

The general rule-of-thumb is that food (mayo added or not) should not be left at room temperature for more than two hours and this goes down to one hour when it’s one of those really hot over 90 degree summer days.

While I was ranting and raving about the stupidity of a hospital putting up this sign, my husband calmly said, “well it did what it was supposed to do”.  It might not technically be correct, but it did get my attention.

Cheryle Jones Syracuse, MS
Professor Emeritus, The Ohio State University

For great salad recipes, see our Salad Secrets Book: