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Is it ever okay to eat late at night?

Is it ever okay to eat late at night?

At some point in your life you’ve been told you shouldn’t eat after a certain hour in the evening. The idea is that the food will just sit in your stomach all night causing you possible stomach pain, constipation and weight gain. Yet, we’ve all done it. So how bad really is it to eat before bed? And if you’ve missed dinner and you’re hungry, is it best to skip the meal entirely if it’s too close to bed? Erin Jennings, MS, RD, CSO, CDN, a registered dietitian at NYU Langone Medical Center in New York, NY, told Real Simple that if you’re hungry, you should eat. “Your body is perfectly capable of digesting and absorbing your food at any hour of the day,” she said. But that doesn’t exactly give those high-sugar, high-fat foods like ice cream the green light. The real problem with eating late isn’t the hour necessarily…

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You can thank this woman for your convenient frozen dinner

The woman who brought us frozen foods and so much more

What’s for dinner tonight? If you’re considering anything that comes from the freezer, you can thank Mary Engle Pennington. Pennington, “The Ice Lady,” was a pioneer in food preservation. As the population of the United States shifted from the countryside into the city in the early 20th century, people began turning to grocery stores for their entire food supplies. The lure of the Industrial Age left families without the relative ease and safety of food they once had in their backyard farms. But there were no standards for safe food handling or storage at the time, and as a result, many frozen or refrigerated foods were rightfully deemed unsafe. Among other issues, people complained their foods arrived to their grocer spoiled, dried out and even moldy. Hundreds died and thousands became sick every year after consuming contaminated foods — particularly eggs, milk, fish and poultry. Pennington was a key scientist in the passage of the landmark…

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Keep milk out of the fridge door, and other storage tips

Fridge designers are toying with you. While you think the door shelf looks like it was custom fitted to your milk carton, it turns out, milk stored in the door may make you ill. Store milk on a middle shelf, and only use the door to store items that don’t need to maintain a cool temperature. A well organized fridge is important for safe food storage and also to help you minimize waste. Here are a few tips to from Good Housekeeping UK that will help keep your fridge foods fresher longer. Ideal temperature: Set your temperature gauge between 33ºF and 39ºF so your food items never warm above 41ºF. Avoid putting food that are still warm from dinner in the fridge as they can cause the temperature to rise and spoil other foods — leading to those unpleasant feelings of food poisoning. Storage tips: Keep open jars of jam, jelly or condiments refrigerated. Cooked foods should…

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9 unusual ways to use mayonnaise in your home

9 unusual ways to use mayonnaise in your home

I recently witnessed a friend stick her newly engaged finger in a jar of mayonnaise — much to my surprise. As I applauded her for worrying more about losing circulation than about getting a little grease on her shiny, new bauble, I got to thinking, what other little miracles could everyday mayo perform? It turns out, it definitely earns its shelf space in the fridge. Here is a list of 9 ways to maximize your everyday mayo: 1. Gets gum out of hair Forget the thick, gunky peanut butter. Take a bit of mayo and run through your strands of hair and around the gum. It will create a slick surface for you to gently slide the gum out. 2. Mini mayo manicure Mayonnaise can soften cuticles. Dip fingers in a bowl of mayo and let soak about about 5 minutes. Nails and cuticles will be soft and ready for shaping. 3.…

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This is why you should never defrost food on the kitchen counter or microwave

This is why you should never defrost food on the kitchen counterPixabay

We’ve all been there — the intention to cook a nice chicken breast for dinner only to realize we’ve forgotten to defrost. Rather than looking for an alternative, we attempt to speed up the process by tossing the meat in the microwave instead. So what’s the big deal? Well, defrosting at those warm temperatures puts you at serious risk of eating dangerous levels of bacteria. Yikes! According to Professor Costa Stathopoulos from Abertay University, defrosting meat in the microwave “is really not the best of techniques.” Stathopoulos appeared on BBC Two’s Inside the Factory earlier this month and showed the difference between turkey meat that had been defrosted in the fridge versus turkey meat defrosted on the counter. The latter had twice the amount of harmful bacteria, including ecoli microorganisms. And that’s not even considering the warm temps the meat reaches in the microwave. Cold temperatures slow down bacterial growth, so your chance of an upset stomach…

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Can you still eat freezer burned foods?

Can you still eat freezer burnt foods?Adobe stock

The freezer can be a lifesaver when it comes to food prep. Whether it’s that container of frozen mashed potatoes, a homemade pie or that slow cooker starter, frozen foods can be a lifesaver, but there’s always the risk of dreaded freezer burn. So what exactly is this icy crust composed of, and is the food still safe to eat? Freezer burn occurs when foods dry out in cold temperatures. Those icy crystals are a result of moisture escaping your pint of ice cream or bag of chicken breasts and turning to ice on the outside of the food. This means either the food wasn’t stored properly, or it has been frozen for too long — everything dries out eventually. But fear not, a little freezer burn never hurt anyone. It’s entirely safe to eat foods that have a little burn, though they might not be as tasty. Texture of freezer burnt foods…

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Modern coffee table perfect for mancaves, connected lifestyles

Modern coffee table perfect for mancaves, connected lifestyles by Everybody CravesImage credit: Sobro

If you have ever thought that your living room coffee table should be contributing more to your happiness, then you’ll jump at the chance to get in early on the new coffee table prototype currently raising funds on Indigogo. The Sobro is a coffee table designed with your connected lifestyle in mind. Sure, you likely already have charging ports, a refrigerator, bluetooth speakers and LED lights at your home, but isn’t America about innovation? Meat, bread and cheese existed already, but it took a California entrepreneur to see that the world needed a cheeseburger. The Sobro brings all of these features together in one place — meaning you never have to get up. The most prominent feature is probably the refrigerator drawer that keeps beverages and food chilled — and always in reach. Despite the bachelor pad design, the look is surprisingly sleek and could work in rooms…

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