Nutrition Bites 2020 Vol. 22:0

Staying Safe

Cook meat safely.

With colder weather upon us, many comfort meals include various cuts of meat. Use these tips for cooking meat safely, since you cannot tell when meat is safely cooked, by sight, smell, or even taste.  

• Use a food thermometer to determine when meat is done. Insert the thermometer into the thickest part of the meat.
• Whole cuts of pork, beef, lamb, and veal should be cooked to 145° F. Remove from the heat and let the meat rest before carving.
• Ground pork, beef, lamb, and veal should be cooked to 160° F.
• Chicken, turkey, duck, and goose should be cooked to 165° F.

Remember to keep food hot after cooking (140° F or above). A warming tray or slow cooker are good to use. Reheat meat thoroughly to 165° F before serving. Follow local guidelines on social distancing, mask wearing, and the size of indoor gatherings to reduce the spread of COVID-19 during this holiday season. 

Recipes and Nutrition Tips

Searching for a festive side dish for your holiday celebrations?

Try Glazed Carrot Coins. This recipe provides a serving of vegetables full of vitamin A for your body’s immune system and uses 100% juice for sweetness without added sugars. Fruits and vegetables provide fiber to keep you feeling full, which helps avoid overindulging in heavier foods. Try to fill half your plate with fruits and vegetables at your next celebration.

Check out this video for a  Simply Roasted Carrot recipe. 

Physical Activity Tips

Here are some ways to stay active inside during the winter months.

• Find a workout partner to help keep you motivated and hold each other accountable. You could do this virtually through social media or on an app.
• Use free online workouts or check with your local library to download or borrow or  a workout video.
• Do some squats or lunges while watching television or playing video games.  
• Try exercises that use your body weight such as, push-ups, planks, mountain climbers, and high knees.

Gardening indoors can relieve stress. Try regrowing garlic sprouts from scraps.

While you may not be able to regrow garlic bulbs, you can regrow garlic sprouts from leftover cloves. Garlic sprouts are the stalks that grow out of garlic bulbs. They are tasty and have a milder flavor than garlic.

• Plant three or four cloves with the root end down in a container filled with indoor potting soil. There should be about 1 inch of soil between the top of the clove and the top layer of soil.
• Place the container in a sunny spot, like a windowsill. Add water to keep the soil damp. Once the garlic has produced shoots that are 4 to 6 inches tall, trim them off and use when you want to add a garlicky flavor. For more information about growing garlic, visit http://warren.cce.cornell.edu/gardening-landscape/warren-county-master-gardener.

Food Access Resources in Massachusetts

Food pantries provide free emergency groceries to individuals and families in their local communities.

For the latest information about pantry hours and operations across Massachusetts, please visit:

Greater Boston Food Bank: https://www.gbfb.org/  

Worcester County Food Bank: https://foodbank.org/  

The Food Bank of Western Massachusetts: https://www.foodbankwma.org/