New Tricks to escape Thanksgiving Cooking Disasters AND roasting a Low calories turkey

Avoid Thanksgiving Cooking Disasters AND roast a Low calories turkey

First of all I want to wish my readers a happy Thanksgiving Day. On occasion of this I want to share you with Low calories turkey recipe and some tips to avoid Thanksgiving Cooking Disasters.

 

How to avoid Problems in the First Place?

 

Here's the best piece of advice we can share to ensure your Thanksgiving dinner is a success: Plan. (Or more specifically, plan, plan and then double-check your plan.) Two weeks beforehand, plan the menu. From there, assemble all your recipes. Then, make a shopping list.

 Make as much ahead as you can. Plot out your cooking activities for the big day and—most importantly—the day before. Make yourself an hour-by-hour agenda that includes prep and cooking time for every recipe. What can be made ahead? Pies and cranberry sauce, for instance, can be completely prepared and baked the day before. Chop any vegetables for your stuffing, seal them in plastic bags (better than containers when space is at a premium) and refrigerate. If you're making stuffing with fresh breadcrumbs, prep those on Wednesday.

Give the turkey a head-start. You can roast the turkey earlier and keep it nicely warm for up to an hour: Remove the roasting pan from the oven and transfer the bird to a big platter or tray. Wrap very tightly with foil, and then cover with a heavy bath towel until you're ready to carve and eat.

 Whether you're a veteran of Thanksgiving meal preparation or this is your first big feast, here's one more sanity saver: Ask for help. Graciously accept any offers from friends or family members who want to contribute a dish to the meal. And when guests arrive on the holiday, don't hesitate to put folks to work in the kitchen. That's where people will want to hang out, anyway.

 

Common Thanksgiving Mishaps (and How to Fix Them)

So, despite your best planning, you run into a kitchen problem on Thanksgiving Day (we won't call it a disaster). Here's how to resolve some common issues.

1. The sliced turkey is very dry!

The key to avoiding dry turkey is in the preparation. Many home cooks prefer to brine the whole turkey before roasting (this involves soaking the bird in a solution of water, salt, herbs and spices for several hours or overnight). Others soak a large piece of cheesecloth in melted butter and drape that over the bird. Roasting a stuffed turkey can also cause dryness. Whichever cooking method you choose, follow your recipe or directions carefully, and don't over-cook. Use a meat thermometer to check for doneness: the temperature should be 180 degrees when you insert the thermometer deep into the thigh.

2. The pie crust is browning too quickly

Use foil to cover the crust only. For a 9-inch pie, cut roughly 10-inch circle of foil. Fold the circle in half, and then cut out the center, yielding a 3-inch-wide ring of foil. Place that ring over the crust and continue baking.

3. The gravy is too lumpy

Pour the gravy through a fine mesh strainer to remove any clumps of flour or cornstarch.

4. The potatoes are done too early

This one's easy. Go ahead and finish preparing the mashed potatoes. Transfer them to a greased baking dish, dot them with butter and cover tightly with foil. They can be kept warm (or later re-warmed) in a 325 degree oven for about 30 minutes.

 If your turkey still winds up a bit on the dry side, then heat up about 1 cup of chicken stock or broth, pour that over the sliced meat in a baking dish and wrap tightly with foil. Warm the moistened turkey in the oven at 350 degrees for about 15 minutes.

What is final piece of advice for everyone?

Just Relax. No one at your holiday table will go hungry

How to roast a Low calories turkey

Tasty way to cut the calories, not the tradition of roasting turkey

Ingredients needed

1 Whole Turkey (12 pounds)

3/4 cup olive oil

2 tablespoons garlic powder

2 teaspoons dried basil

1 teaspoon ground sage

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

2 cups water

How to prepare low fat turkey

Nutritional

Amount per Serving

Calories: 203.4

Total Fat: 12.5 g

Cholesterol: 43.0 mg

Sodium: 1,155.5 mg

Total Carbs: 5.1 g

Dietary Fiber: 0.6 g

Protein: 17.3 g

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Clean turkey and place into a roasting pan with a lid.

2. In a small bowl, combine olive oil, garlic powder, dried basil, ground sage, salt and black pepper. Using a basting brush apply the mixture to the outside of the uncooked turkey. Pour water into the bottom of the pan and cover with the lid.

3. Bake for 3 to 3.5 hours or until the internal temperature of the thickest part of the thigh measures 180 degrees F (82 degrees C).

4. Remove bird from oven and allow standing for about 30 minutes before carving.

Makes 15 servings

ABC about choosing winter tires and Driving Safety Tips

Tips for choosing winter tires and Driving Safety Tips

Every year, as the first autumn leaves fall, you start thinking about it (or at least you should be): Switching to your winter tires. Keeping in mind it is strongly recommended to use winter tires (not all-season) for an optimal grip on cold pavement and improved braking and cornering performance, these useful tips will make winter driving easier and safer for you and your family!

According to the Tire and Rubber Association of Canada, winter tires offer up to 50% or more traction than all-seasons. Even if you drive an SUV or live where the streets are cleared of snow regularly, installing winter tires on all-wheel positions will improve surface grip in every type of road condition at temperatures below 7°C.

How to choose your winter tires

Look for the Mountain Snow Flake symbol embossed on the sidewall of the tire.

Ask your tire expert to help you find the right thread design for your driving style and local driving conditions.

Make sure all four tires are the same type, size and have the same tire line, speed rating and load index.

Remember winter tires are mandatory in Quebec and some mountainous regions of British Columbia.

When you bring your car to the garage for your winter tire installation, ask your mechanic for a winter tune-up (brakes, battery, heaters, defrosters and wipers, etc.).

 

Follow winter driving tips

Always remember to test your brakes and steering as soon as you hit the road.

Reduce your speed, especially before corners and before going down hills.

Keep a safe distance from other vehicles and give yourself extra time to stop safely.

Stay alert for black ice, especially on intersections, bridges and overpasses.

Avoid using cruise control in the winter.

For rough winter conditions, always make sure to keep the following items handy: jumper cables, towing cable, flares, gloves, boots, blankets, food, a flashlight, a cell phone, a first aid kit, and an ice scraper.

Trick for getting out of a snow bank

Remove snow from around the tires and try to get more traction with salt, sand, or traction pads. Once one of these traction-aids is applied, try to slowly drive out. Avoid accelerating too hard, you will only dig yourself deeper. If you can't just drive right out at the first attempt, try to rock back and forth. Each rock back and forth should allow you to drive further, until you manage to completely get your vehicle out. If you still cannot get out of the snow bank, you may require the assistance of a towing expert.

Trick for Straightening a Skid

If your vehicle starts to skid, resist the temptation of hitting the brakes, release the accelerator and gently steer into the skid (if the rear of your car is sliding to the left, you should steer carefully to the left). If you overcorrect the skid, you'll end up sliding in the other direction. Once you have the vehicle straightened out, you can gradually accelerate to continue your forward movement.

In general, our Canadian winter conditions are not what we could call ‘driving-friendly’. But, with the right equipment, a good amount of caution and awareness, you can maximize your safety and comfort throughout the entire season.

Enjoy and drive safely in festive season!

Can you burn your FAT with fruits? (Answer below)

Top 5 Fat-Burning Fruits

This is my 10^th article on health; in this article you will see some foods which help our body in burning fats.

Are you trying to lose weight? Now you can have your fruit and your weight loss too. Most fruit contains excessive amount of natural sugars that quickly converts into fat when eaten in excess. There are some fruits that actually work to help burn fat. Adding more of these fruits to your diet can help with fat loss. While fruit has many natural healing compounds, sometimes its sugar content can be a problem for people interested in losing weight. However, some fruits actually help you to burn fat. Here are my picks for the Top 5 Fat-Burning Fruits:

 

 Top 5 Fat-Burning Fruits

Go for Avocado

Loaded with healthy Omega 9 fatty acids (the same fats found in olive oil, olives, and macadamia nuts), avocados speed the conversion of fat into energy and boost the rate of metabolism.

Eat more Coconut

Coconut is rich with medium chain triglycerides (MCFAs) which increase the liver’s rate of metabolism by up to 30 percent, according to some experts. They also help keep you full so you’re less likely to snack on junk food. Coconut oil frequently aids the functioning of the thyroid gland. Coconut oil, coconut milk (not the low fat variety), coconut flour, and shredded (unsweetened) coconut all contain MCFAs.

Love your Lemons

Excellent liver detoxifiers, lemons also alkalize our body. They may seem acidic based on taste but in the process of being metabolized by the body, they actually alkalize our bodily fluids and tissues. Maintaining the health of the liver is also imperative to the body’s ability to digest and burn fat, since the liver is one of the organs responsible for these functions.

Where is Grapefruit?

 Many studies confirm that grapefruit is an excellent weight loss food. In one study at Johns Hopkins University, women who eat grapefruit daily shed almost 20 pounds on average in only 13 weeks, without changing anything else in their diet or lifestyle.

Try Tomatoes in food or salad

 Packed with vitamin C and the phytochemical lycopene, tomatoes stimulate the production of the amino acid known as carnitine. Research has shown carnitine helps speed the body’s fat-burning capacity by one third.

How to get more Benefits

It’s easy to reap the weight loss rewards of these fruits. Use full-fat coconut milk and oil in curries, smoothies, or baking. Try my Super Fat-Busting Green Tea Lemonade as a great way to reap the benefits of lemons. Enjoy a grapefruit for breakfast or as a snack instead of something sweet. Make your own fresh salsa or add tomatoes to soups, stews, salads, or curries. Make fresh guacamole with minced onion, garlic, lemon juice, and chopped tomato and cilantro.

 

 

 

More Health Bonus

Not only will these fruits help with weight loss, they have plenty of other health benefits too. Avocado helps prevent heart disease. Coconuts help prevent cancer. Grapefruit gives the liver a boost. Lycopene is a powerful antioxidant that studies show cuts the risk of heart disease by 29 percent.