November was a marvelous month for Toward Wellness Tuesday, formerly known as Health Tip Wednesday. Our posts covered significant topics such as healthy cooking, food safety and stress management. What better way to prepare ourselves for the holidays? Let’s take a look at the text portion of each post.

Healthy Cooking Practices

Measure accurately.

Consuming the correct serving size of meat and carbohydrates like pasta and rice keeps calorie levels down. Additionally, make sure to accurately measure ingredients like oil, salt, and other items used for cooking or baking. 

Minimize added sugars and sweeteners.

Sugar adds empty calories. That means it may increase one’s weight without providing any useful nutrients.

Avoid margarine or cream-based sauces on veggies.

Fat and cream-based sauces will ramp up the calorie count of vegetables. For example, ranch dressing on a salad can make healthy greens less nutritive.

Try low-fat cooking by boiling or steaming.

If you boil or steam food, you can avoid the chemicals created by high temperatures and remove additional fat.

Managing Travel Stress 

Remember Routines
Consider your everyday tasks and needs. Plan for how to handle them throughout your trip. This might include having sufficient physical activity and maintaining hygienic practices. 

Prioritize Rest 
Be sure to get plenty of sleep both prior to and during the trip. Sleep deprivation can result in a lack of focus and good decision-making. 

Cuisine Control
To help yourself remain healthy, review your meal choices ahead of time. Consider avoiding risky food items such as raw or undercooked seafood or meat.

Tack on Time
If traveling to a destination with a different time zone, give your body enough time to adjust. This might mean scheduling major activities or appointments for the second day of the trip. 

Checking In

If traveling with others, discuss the itinerary, places you’re visiting, health requirements, emergency information, and anything else to help lessen anxiety and make the trip a smoother experience. 

Healthy Cooking Practices, Part 2

Toss in Fruits and Veggies

If you use fresh fruits and vegetables, including frozen produce, you can increase the amount of healthy nutrients in your meals, as these items may add beneficial antioxidants and phytochemicals.

Enjoy Olive Oil or Canola Oil

Research has shown that the consumption of olive oil may be linked to a lower risk for obesity and cardiovascular problems. If you prefer it, canola oil can be a good second choice.

Refined Grains instead of Whole Grains

Whole grains such as brown rice, instead of white rice, contain more fiber. Your body tends to digest it more slowly, which can make you feel fuller longer. Whole grains have been found to be an important in a balanced diet.

Add Herbs and Other Ingredients

Herbs, spices, onions, garlic, and citrus are ingredients that give your food additional flavor without some of the downsides from salt and vinegar, as many contain extra antioxidants.

Holiday Food Safety

Cooking

There are many ways to prepare a turkey, but one thing remains consistent: the turkey needs to reach a safe minimum internal temperature of 165° F , as measured by a food thermometer, in three places — the thickest part of the breast, the innermost part of the thigh, and the innermost part of the wing. 

Serving

When you are serving food, keep your hot food hot and cold food cold. Hot foods such as turkey, macaroni and cheese, stuffing, mashed potatoes and gravy should be kept at or above 140° F and you can do so by serving them in warming trays, chafing dishes, slow cookers, etc.

Leftovers

For leftovers to remain safe for consumption, they should be refrigerated 

within two hours of serving or have been kept hot at or above 140° F or cold below 40° F. Perishable foods that have sat out at room temperature for more than two hours may be unsafe, due to bacterial growth, and should be discarded.

That concludes our final Health Tip Recap. We hope you have enjoyed our recaps these past months and that you continue to check out our Toward Wellness Tuesday posts every week. Additionally, feel free to browse our previous Health Tip Recaps and other fascinating blog articles we’ve published.