Thanksgiving is here in just a few days. The weather has been so nice, that it is sneaking upon us. While the holidays can be stressful, don’t let the holiday meal stress you out! Take time to plan ahead to ease the stress and have success.
If buying a whole turkey, plan for one pound per person.
Plan for about one week to thaw a frozen turkey in the refrigerator safely. Do not wash the turkey before cooking.
Use a food thermometer to determine doneness; all poultry products should reach a minimum 165°F. I for one, love to cook my stuffing in the turkey-Love the moisture of the stuffing and the flavors are over the top, but that inside stuffing needs to reach 165degrees F.
Deer-hunting season is up and running, so your freezer should be filling up with venison very soon. Now is time to plan meals that call for the season’s best red meat and learn how to cook the best recommendations with venison. The problem with eating and cooking venison, is if you have never cooked it or ate it, where do you begin? I came upon this article several months ago when I was trying to learn more about the meat myself. This article and these recipes-I feel would make a good starting point for a beginner.
Nutritious oatmeal has been known to lower bad cholesterol levels and even help folks lose weight. Research shows it’s definitely worth eating!
Oatmeal’s mega force is its fiber content Oats contain two types of fiber: soluble and insoluble, and both are great for our health.
Soluble fiber absorbs and dissolves in water, and as it does, it thickens up. Imagine what this does to our stomach. Once it hits that moist environment, it expands and becomes very filling. This is why oatmeal has been reputed to help aid with weight loss. As it thickens up, it also becomes sticky. Think about oatmeal and how naturally gooey and sticky it becomes when you cook it. This stickiness helps latch on to cholesterol that’s floating in our guts and carries it through our digestive system and into the toilet thus aiding in lowering our cholesterol and helping to prevent heart disease. The stickiness of soluble fiber also sticks to our intestinal lining creating a protective layer that helps block or slow the absorption of sugar in our bodies, and this helps to lower our blood sugar.
Oatmeal also has insoluble fiber which does not dissolve in water, but it will absorb it and bulk up and kind of acts like a scrub brush for your gut. This aids in digestion and helps rid the intestines of toxins that can fester in our bodies and deplete our immune system.
Bodies need BOTH types of fiber, and the fact that oatmeal has both is one reason it’s considered a superfood. Also, it’s cheap! One container of oatmeal is only a couple of dollars and can last up to two years in your pantry past its printed “best by” date on the package.
Choose the right oatmeal But keep in mind, not all oatmeal’s are created equal. The instant varieties may often have added sugars or preservatives that can lower its nutrient content. Instead, choose the rolled or steel-cut oats, and always check the ingredients listing to know what you’re really eating. Another thing to keep in mind is the importance of staying hydrated when digesting fiber. Remember, oatmeal contains both soluble and insoluble fibers, and both fibers absorb water, so you’ll want to keep the water flowing to help your body process this superfood.
Finally, another great thing about oatmeal is that most, depending on where they’re processed, are gluten free. For those who are sensitive to gluten products, like me, finding whole grains can be a challenge, but oats are a great source of grain power.
So… it looks like oatmeal is worth a try after all. If you don’t like oatmeal, let us help you develop a taste for oatmeal.
I am so excited for fall. I love the weather, the colors, the clothes, the promise of holidays on the horizon and, of course, the food. Not only does fall food bring cozy soups and comfy casseroles, it also brings the unique, pretty, and one of the few native American produce species, winter squash.
For many, the flavor of fall belongs to the ubiquitous pumpkin. But for me, fall is all about the apple, which is my first favorite fruit.
Most people are coming to realize we have a variety of apples not just red delicious. But there are 100 varieties of apples sold in the US, and they all vary in taste and suggested use; some are good for eating but terrible for cooking and vice versa. It can be overwhelming!
