Recently, the risks of Salmonella, in particular from cooking chicken, have been discussed so often in the media most people would have thought that infection from Salmonella to have reduced to almost zero. Sadly this is not what has happened. For people who eat chicken, the risks of getting ill or heaven forbid, dying are still there, and thousands of people are infected every year.

Knowing exactly what Salmonella is will help chicken consumers eliminate the risks and avoid dangerous illensss.

So what is Salmonella?

Put simply, it is a form of food poisoning caused by a specific bacteria that lives in people, poultry and other animals used for meat. For those who get salmonella, you can expect fever, looseness of the bowels, being physically sick (ie regurgitating) and severe stomach cramps. These symptoms can commence within half a day after eating the problem food and can last up to 3 days. Normally, sufferers make a full recovery after a few days rest, but in some cases, it can take a nasty turn, resulting in a hospital visit and in a few sad cases, can lead to death.

Reducing the Risks of Salmonella

The advice given to cooks is :

* Wash your hands AND the chicken before before cooking.
Salmonella can be present on your hands and also on the hands of anybody else how has touched the chicken. Cleaning thoroughly reduces the risks.

* Keep uncooked chicken away from anything on the kitchen counter.
When preparing a chicken meal, cross contamination is a major danger. To reduce the risk, do not use the same cutting utensils for uncooked chicken as is used for cutting vegetables. It is also wise to have two chopping boards – one for the meat and another for your veggies.

If you take the advice show here, your chicken will be 100% safe and healthy

Assuming you are now feeling a little more upbeat about buying and cooking chicken, here are a few other things to consider to make your chicken meals more healthy and tasty.

Nowadays there are many benefits to buying ‘free-range’ chickens or even 100% organic chickens. Even the high street grocery stores are starting to sell ‘organic’ or ‘free-range’ chicken, so gettiing hold of it is easier than ever. This is a good thing because many of us are unhappy that the larger chicken producers are more or less just trying to make more money and not looking out for the health and wellbeing of their chickens, or the end consumers. The name, ‘free-range’ is usually more familiar to people seeking to have a healthier eating lifestyle – it needs the chickens to have access to the open air and be allowed to walk around and eat naturally instead of being confined in a small pen, or stuffed into a barn with thousands of others. Free range chickens live a happier and stress free life, and this results in a taster meat, and a cleaner conscience for the consumer.

If you want to add more chicken to your diet, you can easily discover a wide variety of chicken recipes by taking a look at one of the free recipe collections online or by making use of the local library. Poultry recipes are generally healthy recipes, providing you use the food safety advice detailed here.

Organic chickens, which may also be ‘free range’, have the extra restriction that they are not subjected to antibiotics, hormones, herbicides or pesticides. Many people think that both Free-range and organice chickens taste better and are juicier.

Did you know that organic chicken breasts have only 10 fat calories, 110 thigh calories and a whole chicken only has 130 calories?
If you are trying to lose weight, that has to be a major plus point, right? Chicken is is a very important ingredient in many low fat recipes.

If you are an athlete or body builder and are trying to increase protein levels, free-range chicken breasts have 22 grams, thighs have 19 grams and the whole chicken has 21 grams – all of that from a meat that is also delicious!

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The nutritious little seed tastes great and is fast and easy to prepare. If you want to eat healthy foods try cooking quinoa. Quinoa is very nutritious. It tastes great and is fast and easy to prepare.

With a taste somewhere between rice and lentils with a nutty flavor it is a very good replacement for rice, pasta, couscous or potatoes.

Quinoa is very nutritious and a good source of:

• vitamin E
• vitamin B
• vitamin C
• calcium (contains more than milk)
• phosphorus
• iron.

Since quinoa contains all essential amino acids it is a complete protein. But it is still much easier to digest than proteins from meat and dairy.

Want to lose weight? Then quinoa is perfect for you. Quinoa is gluten-free and has a low Glycemic Index (GI) which makes it prefect for anyone with diabetes or anyone who would like to lose weight.

How To Prepare Quinoa:

To bring out the great nutty flavor prepare it like this.

1. Most quinoa needs to be rinsed before you boil it.
2. Boil the quinoa according to instruction on the package. Usually you need 2 cups of water for 1 cup of quinoa . Boil until the water has been absorbed (10-15 min).
3. Alternative to bring out the nutty flavor: Take the boiled quinoa and fry it gently with sliced garlic in wok or frying pan.

Other spices that work really great with quinoa are cumin and coriander and fresh herbs.

Quinoa is prefect to add to soups, stews and chili.

When you make a quinoa salad cook the quinoa according to step 1 and 2 above. Let it cool. Then simply add your favorite salad ingredients. Truffle oil and basil makes your quinoa salad absolutely fabolus.

Or why no start you day with hot quinoa cereal.

Ingredients (serves 4)

2 cups water
1 cup quinoa
1/5 cup raisins
1/5 cup dried apricots
2 teaspoons of chopped almonds

Bring the water to boil. Add quinoa and boil at low temperature for 5 min.
Stri in the other ingredients and heat gently until all the water is gone.

Another way to get a really healthy breakfast is to drink a Loaded Quinoa Smoothie. The protein is prefect to kick start your metabolism in the morning. It is also a great drink before and after exercise.

For more healthy cooking ideas with quinoa, try for example Quinoa Paella.

The Incas worshiped quinoa and referred to is as mother of all grains . The seed is seen as one of the reasons that the Incas became so powerful. When the Spanish came they banned quinoa to weaken their opponent.

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Gelato is the Italian form of ice cream.

While it is very similar to American ice cream, there are a few differences.

Gelato, plural Gelati, is made from milk and sugar which are combined with other flavors. The ingredients are stirred while freezing in order to break up ice crystals as they form.

As in high-end ice cream, gelato is very dense and is less than 35% air.

Typically, gelato is made with fresh fruit or a variety of other ingredients.

Some common flavors include chocolate, nuts, small cookies or candies, or biscuits. When chocolate is included, it is typically pure chocolate in a flake or chip form.

If gelato is made with water and not dairy products, it is known as sorbetto, or sorbet.

Historically speaking, milk-based gelato was common in Northern Italy while the fruit-and-water based sorbetto was common in the warmer climes of Southern Italy.

American style ice creams typically contain between 10% and 18% butter fat while dairy gelato contains between 5-8% butterfat. The variation depends on the ingredients used. As in high-end ice cream, good gelato combines milk and cream, soy milk, or water with high quality ingredients. Unlike in other forms of ice cream, gelato is not homogenized. This means that gelato melts more quickly than regular ice cream.

Historically, some gelato recipes have called for the use of eggs. This practice, however, is being phased out though as the Italian gelato culture becomes more homogenized. In addition, mixes and stabilizers are readily available, pre-made, and already in use. As a result, eggs are being phased out as emulsifiers.

Because the word “gelato” is so similar to “gelatin,” many people are of the belief that gelato is related to gelatin. They think that gelatin is an ingredient in gelato. This belief, and its spread, chases away vegetarians and other people who try to avoid having gelatin in their diets. While some rogue gelaterias may actually use gelatin, traditional gelato recipes do not require gelatin. The majority of gelato is not made with gelatin. In actuality, gelato comes from the word for “freeze” or “frozen.”

Like many other treats, the best gelato is made fresh daily. Gelato in the United States is served from a different type of freezer than American ice cream. Forced air freezers keep the gelato at between 0 and 6 degrees Fahrenheit. This permits the gelateria to serve the gelato immediately after the gelato is extracted from the gelato machine. The “forced air” blowing around the gelato keeps the gelato at a consistent temperature.

When served, it is typically scooped from a special freezing tray that ensures a thicker, more flavorous consistency. It is possible to serve ice cream out of a gelato freezer but not gelato out of an ice cream freezer – the gelato would become too frozen.

Author: Joseph Devine

For more information on gelato and other Italian desserts, please visit http://www.cdkitchen.com.

Joseph Devine

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Joseph_Devine

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