Turkey

Thanksgiving is fast approaching and many are preparing for a special feast.  According to National Turkey Federation, 88 percent of Americans surveyed will be eating turkey next Thursday. Here are a few tidbits you might not know about this bird.  Those grown for consumption in the US are given absolutely no steroids or hormones and reach maturity between a mere 4-9 months of age.   The average weight of turkey purchased for Thanksgiving is 15 pounds (70 percent white meat and 30 percent dark) and possesses more protein than beef or chicken.   And did you know only the Tom can gobble, hens make a clicking noise.

Turkey can be one of the least expensive protein sources (as low as $.33 per pound). So how big a bird should be purchased? First-do you want leftovers and how many adults will be served for the holiday dinner? www.csgnetwork.com/turkeydinnercalc.html  If serving ten adults, plan on a 20 pound turkey.  If there are children or plans for leftovers adjust accordingly.

If you plan to brine your bird, select a fresh  or thawed bird that has not been basted or self basted.  A pre basted or self basted is injected with broth, spices and may contain some salt.  This could result in too much salt and the salt draws the moisture out of the flesh defeating the whole purpose of brining!

As for that wonderful stuffing (try rice as the base if you are gluten intolerant), please do not stuff the bird the night before!  This can cause food poisoning even though the stuffed bird is refrigerated.  Stuffing can be prepared in advance and refrigerate separately.  If you want the stuffing in the bird rather than as a side dish, stuff the bird just prior to popping it into a preheated oven.

Chose one of the many options  for cooking as long as the oven temperature is not below 325 degrees. Some use a high temp roasting method to yield a crisp breast skin.  Works well for birds that are 8-12 pounds though there is often a great deal of smoke produced from the burning drippings!  Regardless of method used, check the innermost part of thigh to be sure it reaches at least 165 degrees also check the wing and thickest part of the breast.  Cooking time will vary depending on size – a 13 pound thawed bird will typically take about 3 ½ hours.  Add 15 minutes for each additional pound.  Allow turkey to set 20-30 minutes before carving to allow juices to saturate the meat evenly.

Leftovers will taste better and be safer if refrigerated as soon as possible after the feast (before two hours). Remove the stuffing from cavity of the bird, cut the meat off the bone and refrigerate or freeze all leftovers for later use.  The bacteria that can make one sick does not cause food spoilage so turkey looks and smells perfectly fine and the nausea might not appear for several days to a select few who ate the contaminated food.  Did you know that influenza or flu is typically an upper respiratory illness and doesn’t cause stomach and lower GI upset?  Food poisoning does.

Have a great dinner and enjoy those special to you.  Happy Thanksgiving.

Nutrition for Kids

Nutrition for Healthy Kids!





Children have different nutritional requirements than adults because of their smaller body size, rapid development during growth periods, and continuing development of bone, muscle and other tissues.  During the first year of life, an infant triples their body weight, with most of the dramatic growth happening in the first six months.  After one year, children continue to grow and develop, but at a more steady rate through adolescence.

An infants energy requirements are much higher than an adults - a newborn requires about 450 calories per day, which is the equivalent of a 170 pound adult requiring over 7000 calories a day!  The best and most nutritious food for infants is breast milk – it’s high energy density supports the rapid growth of early infancy.

The single most important nutrient for growth is protein – infants need one and a half times as much protein per pound of body weight than adults.  Most other nutrients are also required in higher amounts per pound of body weight – almost five times the vitamin A, ten times the vitamin D, five times the vitamin C, and three times the vitamin E for infants vs. adults.   Because of the rapid growth from birth to two years, it is not recommended to restrict the amount of fat for an infant or young child.  That is why there isn’t fat information on infant’s food labels – fearing their child may become overweight, a well-meaning parent may limit fat and unintentionally malnourish their child.  Fat is essential for proper growth and development and is needed in higher amount from birth to two years.  Breast milk or a fortified infant formula will provide all of these nutrients until the infant starts eating solid foods.

Between the ages of one and the start of adolescence, a child grows two to three inches and gains five to six pounds per year.  Muscle and bone increase in mass and density and the long bones (arms, legs and spine) lengthen and strengthen to support the child’s weight.

Toddlers are notoriously picky eaters, but providing them with new foods slowly and consistently and letting them choose when to include it is essential to creating healthy food habits.  Most children start to loose their appetite around one year of age, which is consistent with slower and steadier growth.  They may spontaneously eat more and be hungrier during growth spurts, and are usually able to recognize their own hunger and regulate their food intake to the appropriate calories, if offered the appropriate, healthy choices of foods.  Sugary foods should not be given as rewards for finishing healthy foods and should be kept to a minimum.

Energy needs vary depending on growth and physical activity – for an active one year old, 800 calories a day is needed; for an active six year old, 1600 calories a day; and for an active ten year old 2000 calories is appropriate.

During adolescence, calorie needs can increase if the child is active in sports, up to 2500 to 3000 calories per day for an active boy (a little less for a girl who has less lean body mass).  In general, total energy need increases slightly with age (and activity level) but energy need per pound of body weight actually decreases with age.

Starting kids off with healthy food choices and limiting their access to sugary, fast and “junk” foods will ensure our children grow and develop into healthy young adults.

Homework:   Do the right thing!  The best way for children to learn healthy food habits and get the nutrition they need is to watch what their parents eat.  Being a healthy food role model may not be easy, but it shows our kids that making the healthy choices most of the time can lead to better health and fewer chronic disease issues as they, and we, age.

Eating for Two

Eating for Two



Starting with this article, for the next few months I will be writing about nutrition as it affects our life cycle, starting with eating for a healthy pregnancy.  Next month I will focus on infancy, childhood and adolescent nutrition, and finishing in December with adulthood and senior nutrition needs.

Each life cycle has different nutritional needs based on how our bodies are changing physiologically during that time period.  Although this article on pregnancy focuses on women, both a man’s and a woman’s fertility is affected by nutritional status.  So if you’re a couple trying to get pregnant, remember you both need to eat a healthy diet.

Good nutrition for pregnancy should begin before you ever get pregnant.  There are a few guidelines to follow in preparation for a healthy pregnancy:

• Maintain a healthy body weight – both underweight and overweight are associated with infertility.  Overweight and obese men have low sperm counts and hormonal changes that reduce fertility.  Excess body fat (and very low body fat) in women disrupts menstrual regularity and ovarian hormone production.


• Eat a balanced and adequate diet – malnutrition reduces fertility and impairs the early development of an infant.

The current nutritional guidelines from the American Dietetic Association for pregnant women are to eat foods high in iron and folate, take in adequate calories, and increase protein and essential fatty acids intake.

Pregnancy increases a woman’s metabolic rate, or how many calories are needed over the course of the day.  The increase is about an additional 340 calories per day for the first and second trimester, and an additional 450 per day during the third trimester.  Nutrient-dense foods are recommended, such as fruits, vegetables, whole grains, low fat dairy and lean protein, since the additional nutrients are needed more than the calories to support the developing fetus.

Pregnancy also demands additional iron to support the added blood volume, growth of the fetus, and blood loss during childbirth.  Iron-rich foods include lean meats (only animal protein provides heme-iron, which is most easily absorbed), and plant foods (plants contain nonheme iron, which isn’t as readily absorbed by our bodies).  Iron from plant foods should be eaten with foods containing vitamin C, such as tomatoes or citrus fruit , which increases the absorption of nonheme iron.  Recommendations for iron intake are 27 milligrams per day (18mg/day for nonpregnant women).

The B vitamin folate, which is critical in reducing the risks of neural tube defects, such as spina bifida, is also crucial during pregnancy.  Folate supplements taken one month before conception and continued throughout the first trimester of pregnancy can help prevent neural tube defects.  Before pregnancy, women should take 400 micrograms of folate daily, and during pregnancy 600 micrograms are recommended.  Fruits and vegetables are the best sources of folate in the diet, so increasing your intake of plant foods while also taking a supplement is the best way to ensure an adequate supply.  Most multivitamins for women contain 400 micrograms of folate, and prenatal vitamins contain 600 micrograms.

Homework:  Nutrient recommendations for pregnant women;

• Calories                                  +340 per day (first/second trimester)                                                                   +450 per day (third trimester)


• Protein                                   +25 grams per day (include protein from plant                                                   foods, such as legumes and whole grains, and                                                      from lean meats and low fat dairy)


• Essential fatty acids              +Omega-3 & omega-6 (eat a wide variety of                                                         foods and include flaxseed, canola, olive or                                                          walnut oils and cold water fish)


• Iron                                         27 mg/day


• Folate                                     600 mcg/day


• Vitamin B12                           2.6 mcg/day (B12 activates the folate enzyme)


• Zinc                                         11 mg/day (required for DNA/RNA synthesis)

Johnny Appleseed

Last year, my Master Gardener Volunteers bestowed upon me a plate. Unbeknownst to me, this wasn’t a plate that one would eat dessert off of, but instead one that you display on a shelf. The plate had a photo of a man, with a tin pot on his head and rags for clothes, smiling at a little girl holding a perfect apple.

That man, John Chapman, aka Johnny Appleseed, has become a legend for planting apple trees throughout the country (see, now you see why I didn’t think it was a bad idea to eat apple crisp off that plate). Some stories have him walking, or even skipping, around sprinkling apples seeds as he went; others have him dressed in nothing but rags.

In actuality, Mr. Chapman, while being very giving, caring, and thrifty (he didn’t wear shoes in winter to save money on leather, he was also quite the businessman. See, he didn’t plant apple seeds but rather orchards in advance of the westerly-moving population. He quickly realized that as the new frontiersmen and women staked their land they would most likely need a fruit tree. And lo and behold, once they reached their destination there was a nursery nearby full of trees ready to transplant.

It is true that he planted all his trees by seed rather than by grafting (he felt that grafting was against his religious of tampering with the natural world), which is the way 99.5% of trees today are grown.

Quick horticultural lesson: apple trees grown from seed do not pass on the genetic traits from their parent plant – it is literally a crapshoot as to what you would get. Similarly, they frequently lack in taste compared to anything you would get – even a store-bought apple in June – today. But Johnny, in his infamous wisdom, didn’t really care about taste, nor did the new landowners. See, folks were interested in one use of these bitter apples: hard cider.

Life on the plains was rough and up until the end of the 19^th century, hard cider was their only choice for alcohol. This imbibing continued until Carrie “Hatchet” Nation and her followers vilified the immoral apple.  The bad rap continued until the early 1900’s when growers and researchers cloned the sweetest apples by grafting and started the resurgence of the apple as the ultimate healthy food.

So, here in Durango, this Sunday, we will celebrate the apple, and to a certain extent, Johnny Appleseed, with the 3^rd Annual Home Grown Apple Days Festival.

Garlic

As a garlic lover it is hard for me to resort to the ordinary garlic found in most grocery stores.  Growing your own garlic is not only a surefire way to culinary delights throughout the year, but it is also a simple addition to your garden that is easy to plant, maintain and harvest.

There are two kinds of true garlic:

• softneck (Allium sativum var sativum); and


• hardneck (Allium sativum var ophioscorodon).

Softneck garlic can be stored for up to a year or more and is more productive than hardnecks.  Recommended cultivars for Colorado include:

• Inchelium,


• Kettle River Giant, and


• Polish White.

Hardneck garlic does not have as long of a shelf life as softnecks, but offers a wider range of flavors.  Hardneck cultivars recommended for Colorado include:

• Chesnok Red,


• German White, and


• Polish Hardneck.

A great place to source garlic that grows well in our environment is our local farmers markets.

Plant garlic 4-6 weeks before the ground freezes in well drained amended soil.

• Break apart bulbs, using the largest cloves for planting.

• Plant cloves root end down, 2”deep and 4-6” apart in full sun.


• Add a deep layer of compost, leaf or straw mulch on top to maintain moisture and protect the soil during the winter.

In mid-summer, after removing the flower stalk, often called the scape (utilize its wonderful flavor), and once about ½ to 2/3 of the foliage has died back, it is ready to be harvested.  Dig up the entire bulb, being careful to not damage it.  Dry the bulbs in a dry, shady place with good air circulation for a few weeks.  You can then clean the bulbs and trim the hardneck stems or braid the softnecks.  Remember to save some bulbs for next years planting.

Estella Moore was a Colorado Master Gardener in 2010.  She lives in La Plata County.