The American Red Cross encourages families to prevent kitchen fires today by taking some basic safety measures. In the U.S., Thanksgiving is the peak day for cooking fires, 90 percent of which are caused by unattended cooking.

“We all think of Thanksgiving as a time for family, good food and football, but it’s also prime time for cooking fires,” said Beth Ferguson, Development Director for the American Red Cross –Heart of Tennessee Chapter. “Taking a few simple precautions can help everyone have a safe and happy holiday.”

To keep Thanksgiving fire-free, the public should follow these ten tips:

1.  Stay in the kitchen when you are frying, grilling or broiling food. If you leave the kitchen even for a short period of time, turn off the stove.

2.  If you are simmering, baking, roasting, or boiling food, check it regularly, remain in the home while food is cooking, and use a timer to remind you that you’re cooking.

3.  Be alert. You won’t be alert if you are sleepy, have taken medicine or drugs, or consumed alcohol that makes you drowsy.

4.  Keep anything that can catch fire—potholders, wooden utensils, food wrappers, towels or curtains—away from your stove top.

5.  Make sure your sleeves are out of the way when cooking. Wear tighter fitting clothing with shorter sleeves. 

6.  Have a “kid-free zone” of at least 3 feet around the stove and areas where hot food or drink is prepared or carried.

7.  Never hold a child while cooking, drinking or carrying hot foods or liquids.

8.  Turn the handles of pots and pans on the stove inward to avoid accidents.

9.  Keep pets off cooking surfaces and nearby countertops to prevent them from knocking things onto the burner.

10. Test your smoke alarms by pushing the test button. Replace batteries at least once a year.

Poison Prevention Tips for Holiday Cooking

The holiday season has finally arrived. Oftentimes, the best part about the holidays is spending time with family … and eating of course!  However, even for an experienced chef, cooking a feast for a large group can be quite daunting.

“The average home chef might consider cooking for two, three or even six people a manageable or even easy task,” said Josephine Darwin, Director of Community Outreach. “But during the holidays – when your guest list can reach 15, 16 or even 20 people – it is important that your guests leave with full stomachs and not food poisoning.”

According to Tennessee Poison Center, food poisoning is generally a mild illness that most commonly results from poor food handling practices. Food poisoning usually occurs two to six hours after eating the contaminated food and can include nausea, fever, vomiting, stomach cramps and diarrhea. Depending on the exact type of food poisoning, how your body reacts to the toxin and the amount of contaminated food that was eaten, symptoms may last from several hours to two or three days. Food poisoning can be serious for people in poor health, for the very young and the elderly.

Practicing basic food safety preparation and storage is the best way to protect against food poisoning. Experts at Tennessee Poison Center offer the following recommendations to prevent food poisonings:

• Wash hands with soap and warm running water for at least 15 to 20 seconds before preparing any foods and especially after handling raw meat, poultry, fish or eggs.
• Keep preparation and storage areas clean; this includes countertops, stovetops and refrigerators.
• Wash utensils between each use. Never reuse utensils; this is a source of contamination.
• Do not defrost meat or poultry on the counter at room temperature. Thaw it in the refrigerator or microwave instead.
• Use a meat thermometer to confirm that meat, pork and poultry are properly cooked; visit www.foodsafety.gov for proper temperatures.
• Do not prepare food if you are sick or have any type of nose or eye infection.
• Store raw food below cooked food in the refrigerator so raw food cannot drip into cooked food and contaminate it.
• Use separate cutting boards for meats, poultry and fish.

And to ensure that the leftovers will be just as good the next day, properly seal and store leftovers in the refrigerator as soon as possible. Leaving perishable foods, including meats and dairy products, out longer than two hours significantly increases the risk of food poisoning. Throw food away if you are unsure how long it has been sitting out.

Be sure to keep these tips in mind as you cook and entertain family and friends this holiday season. And if you have questions about food poisoning or any other poison exposure, call Tennessee Poison Center at 1-800-222-1222.

By Tennessee Poison Center

No matter how dedicated you are to ensuring your family eats a healthy diet, hectic schedules often prevent us from making smart choices. Parents know that accommodating healthy eating habits becomes a particular challenge during the school year. Keeping up with the kids can leave little time for meal and snack planning, but it is an important step to raising healthy children.

Saint Thomas Heart at Middle Tennessee Medical Center (MTMC) is hosting a free cooking demonstration and tasting as part of Saint Thomas Heart’s Heart Healthy Cooking School series on Tuesday, Aug. 30 at 6 p.m. “Back to School…Heart Healthy Eating” is the demonstration tasting and theme.

The event, designed to provide attendees with valuable information on how to choose better ingredients and recipes for their hearts, will be held in MTMC’s Meeting Room. Free parking is available. Call 1-800-588-3270 to register for the class or to get more information.

Registered dietitian Jenna Vandiver and chef George Moran will lead the class, which will also feature a Saint Thomas Heart at MTMC cardiologist, Dr. Edward D. Rhim, who will discuss the importance of healthy eating in improving overall cardiac health.

Saint Thomas Heart at MTMC offers the following tips as parents prepare back to school snacks for their children:

• Becoming accustomed to reading labels when purchasing food is important for a healthy diet and especially when it comes to snacks. A lot of “snack food” – enticing to both children and adults – is often packed full of sugar and empty calories.
• Keep snacks to 100 calories or less per serving. Snacks such as fresh fruit, raw vegetables, nuts and low-fat yogurt are all excellent options to curb cravings.
• While you should always eat if you’re truly hungry, it is important to keep snacking to a minimum. The body benefits from a mid-day snack – so long as the snack is healthy.
• Consuming water throughout the day – a recommended 8 glasses – helps keep hunger at bay and is an essential part of maintaining overall health.
• Plan ahead and keep snacking simple. Packing a healthy snack to take on-the-go will help avoid the temptation of unhealthy eating choices during the day.

The Heart Healthy Cooking School presented by Saint Thomas Heart began in 1996 and has helped tens of thousands of Middle Tennesseans learn to prepare fun, easy and heart-healthy meals. The Heart Healthy Cooking School offers classes throughout the year at Baptist Hospital, Middle Tennessee Medical Center and other locations throughout Middle Tennessee.

Saint Thomas Heart is the cardiac division of Saint Thomas Health and includes the cardiology programs at Baptist Hospital, Middle Tennessee Medical Center and Saint Thomas Hospital. With approximately 60 cardiac specialists in more than 25 regional clinics throughout Middle Tennessee and Southern Kentucky and Tennessee’s largest network of accredited Chest Pain Centers, Saint Thomas Heart offers greater access and experience, seeing more patients than anyone in Tennessee. www.saintthomasheart.com or www.moresurvivors.com.

Papa Butt from Papa’s Hot Sauce Store has begun pre-registration for his upcoming Rib Cook Off Contest to be held on July 24^th. With a free entry fee and certified KCBS judges in attendance, why not attempt to win the ultimate bragging rights?

Whether you are an amateur or a BBQ pro, Papa Butt wants you to come out to join him for the delicious food and fun. All contestants will cook over wood or charcoal, and winners will be announced around 2 p.m. Papa will start serving his famous pulled pork and chicken at 1 p.m.

“I am basically trying to get people who love to cook to come out and get their feet wet,” explained Papa Butt.

First through third place will be recognized for their mouth-watering recipes. The deadline to enter is July 10^th, and you can stop by his store any time to register. His hours are M, T, R and F 7a.m. to 6 p.m., W 7a.m. to 5p.m. and Saturday 9a.m. to 6p.m.

Papa’s Hot Sauce Store always wants to help Murfreesboro cook better BBQ. If you ever have any cooking questions, stop by their store on Franklin Road. They have any sauce, marinade, rub or spice that can really rev up your typical dinner menu.

“I may not know it all, but I’ll always share what little I do know,” commented Papa Butt.

Papa Butt’s Hot Sauce
2910 Old Fort Parkway
Murfreesboro, TN 37128
615-225-0281

Papa Butt’s this.  Papa Butt’s that.  It seems that all around town people are buzzing about the best, most flavorful (and hottest) sauces in Murfreesboro.  As of this spring, the deals keep getting sweeter.  You can now stop at the Hot Sauce store and refill your propane tanks for the grill.  Not only can you fill the grill and cook some great meat with the assortment of rubs and different salsas, but no one beats their prices.  A propane tank refill is $14.58.

I did some undercover research around town to see how this compares.  Wal-Mart sells their propane exchange for $17.82.  Lowe’s and Home Depot refills for $18.47.  Sam’s Club and Target won’t even do it.  So straight from the horse’s mouth, Papa Butt’s Hot Sauce Store on Old Fort Pkwy half of a mile down past St Andrews is the best place to refill your propane tank just in time for this beautiful weather that has come to stay.  By the way, have you taken the Hot Sauce Challenge?  I dare you.

Papa's Hot Chili Challenge