Spending huge amounts of our income on food became an annoyance to me. I'd rather go to Europe thank you very much!! We wanted four things, to eat well and enjoy our meals while keeping our weight and our expenses under control. Incentive was born and I started to do something about it. I hope to use this Blog to share what I've discovered.

Thursday, March 30, 2006

Cooking steak

If you have ever had a steak cooked by some one else and it did not satisfy your taste buds, you are not alone.

Do you like it cooked rare, or as my brother puts it, waved over the fire.

Steak cooked the way you like it is a real art, and one that is not done without a lot of trial and error.

Well done Steak is more to my personal preference and it is hard to get one done just right.

Look for future posts on the following subjects.


cooking steak in the oven
how to cook steak in a oven
cooking tuna steak
cooking sirloin steak
cooking steak times
cooking ribeye steak
cooking perfect steak
cooking steak tip
steak cooking temperature
cooking t bone steak
cooking round steak
cooking recipe steak
cooking steak grill
cooking flank steak
cooking salmon steak
cooking cube steak
cooking venison steak
cooking porterhouse steak
cooking veal steak
cooking steak indoors
new york steak cooking
cooking ham steak
cooking steak stove
cooking deer steak
cooking steak time
cooking angus steak
cooking a fillet steak
cooking rib eye steak
chart cooking steak
cooking new york strip steak
cooking shark steak
recipe for cooking tuna steak
cooking mesquite over ribeye steak wood
cooking prime rib steak
cooking pork steak
cooking skirt steak
cooking a beef steak
cooking rib steak
cooking chuck steak
cooking indoors porterhouse steak
tri tip steak cooking instructions
bear steak cooking
steak cooking instructions
cooking london broil steak
buffalo steak cooking
cooking elk steak
cooking top sirloin steak
cooking eye round steak
cooking a good steak
steak cooking guide
tip cooking steak in oven

Tuesday, March 28, 2006

Nutrition Facts Table

Trans fats and you

In December, 2005, large food manufacturers placed new Nutrition Facts Tables on their products to include the amount of trans fat in the food. (Small food manufacturers will be required to include this information on the Nutrition Facts Table by December 2007.) The reason? Trans fat is thought to be more unhealthy than saturated fat in increasing the risk of heart disease and stroke. Armed with these new labels, you may now become a savvy trans fat detector. The less you eat the better.

What is trans fat?

Trans fat is created when an unsaturated fat is processed or hydrogenated. Hydrogen is added to liquid vegetable oils to make them solid. Hydrogenated fats extend a food’s shelf life or improve its shape or texture. These fats are found in commercial baked goods and for cooking in many restaurants and fast-food chains.

Trans fat may be found in deep fried foods from fast food outlets, partially hydrogenated margarines, crackers, cookies, popcorn, chocolate bars, candy, doughnuts, cakes and other commercially baked products. The words “partially hydrogenated” or “vegetable oil shortening” in the ingredients list on a food package will tell you the product contains trans fat. Foods with partially hydrogenated margarines and shortening are a major source of trans fat.

Impact on heart disease and stroke

Certain types of dietary fat contribute to atherosclerosis, heart disease and other conditions. For example, saturated fats (found in fatty meats and full-fat milk products, snacks and fast foods) and trans fats raise blood cholesterol – and heart disease risk along with it. A high level of blood cholesterol is a risk factor for heart disease, which can lead to a heart attack and can increase your risk of stroke. Trans fats are more hazardous to your health than saturated fat because they not only raise your “bad” cholesterol (low density lipoprotein or LDL-cholesterol) levels, but they also lower your “good” cholesterol (high density lipoprotein or HDL-cholesterol).

Unfortunately, scientists have not been able to determine any safe levels of trans fat intake. The best advice is to try to eliminate or lower trans fat from your diet as much as possible. And while Canadians are becoming increasingly aware of the health risks associated with them, our consumption of trans and saturated fat is one of the highest in the world.

What you can do

By lowering or eliminating the amount of trans fat and saturated fat in your diet, you lower your risk for heart disease and stroke, too. Here’s how:

  • Read the Nutrition Facts Table on all labelled foods to help you choose products such as margarines, snacks, cookies and crackers with less or no saturated and trans fat (less than 10% daily value) and avoid products with higher saturated and trans fat (greater than 10% daily value). Choose lower-fat versions of products that contain trans fat, such as microwave popcorn, coffee whiteners and croutons. Read more about food labels.

  • Look for the Heart and Stroke’s Health Check™ symbol on food packaging in the grocery store. Every food in the program is evaluated by the Foundation’s dietitians based on Canada’s Food Guide. The Health Check™ symbol is your assurance that the product contributes to an overall healthy diet. Visit www.healthcheck.org for a list of more than 500 products.

  • Include the “good” fats. Some fatty acids, like omega-3 (Found in cold water fish such as mackerel, salmon, herring, trout and cod, flaxseed, canola oil, soybean oil, nuts, omega-3 eggs and liquid egg products) are actually good for your heart and are an important part of a healthy diet.

  • Follow Canada’s Food Guide to Healthy Eating if you’re trying to reduce trans fats.

  • Eat a healthy diet that includes 5 to 10 servings of vegetables and fruit per day.
Advocating for change

The Heart and Stroke Foundation is co-chairing, with Health Canada, the National Trans Fat Task Force. The Task Force is working closely with food manufacturers to significantly reduce or eliminate trans fat from foods sold in Canada.

Read more about the Heart and Stroke Foundation’s recommendations

Read more about other dietary fats

Dietitians of Canada www.dietitians.ca

Last reviewed March 2006.