Easy Slicer

So, recently I was browsing through some crazy products on the MEMCO website, for those who want, the link it is http://www.nemcofoodequip.com/. Anyways, I was looking for an interesting product to talk about, and I came across the Easy Slicer^TM. It is supposed to make cutting vegetables (and sometimes fruits) more effective. It seemed fairly interesting, and I watched a video about how it works. I was impressed by it, but I am still not fully convinced that it is a worthwhile product to buy for home use.

The Easy Slicer^TM, is like a hand run food processor. It is a counter top device, with cutting blades inside. The blades are moved by a hand-turned knob, located on the outside of the machine. Vegetables (or whatever you want to cut) are placed in a chamber inside of the machine. To keep the food in place there is a rod in the back of the machine that touches the food, and holds it in place. The knob and the rod both move at the same time, this allows for even and exact cutting. There are many different kinds of blades that can be used in this machine. There are also special blades designed for grating things such as cheese, carrots, and lettuce.

To me, this seems like a pretty cool machine. However, I don’t think it is practical for home use, because it is quiet bulky. I’m guessing that it would take a long time to assemble and disassemble. However, I can see how useful it would be for restaurants; as well as other facilities, that have to large amounts of food prep to do on a daily basis. It would save a huge amount of time, and would make everything run more smoothly.

I would love to try an Easy Slicer^TM, sometime so that I could see how effectively (or ineffectively) it works. However, for know I am very happy with my food processor. It has removable blades, and is probably much safer.

For more infromation on the easy slicer go to: http://www.nemcofoodequip.com/Products/FoodPrepEquip/EasySlicerVegetableSlicer.aspx

 

**Disclaimer: all options are my own. I was not payed by MEMCO to endorse their product, or asked to endorse their product. I have no connections to MEMCO and they have nothing to do with my blog. All options are of my own free will.**

Report on Healthy/Unhealthy Eating

Unhealthy eating cycles, and how to stop them!

Unhealthy eating can happen in cycles. If you start eating in an unhealthy way on a regular basis, you become accustomed to it. It becomes a part of your life, and your daily schedule. It can become a cycle that is very difficult to break. However, if you learn how to catch the cycle before it starts, you will be doing well. However, it is important to know what to look for. Below is a list of common unhealthy eating habits that can turn into cycles.

• Too few meals. Skipped meals such as breakfast, can lead to temptation later in the day. However, it is easy to skip meals because of a busy schedule. But, if breakfast is skipped, your body finds it difficult to burn calories properly later on in the day.

• Too much caffeine. Excess caffeine can make you hyperactive. Caffeine is a drug; it is easy to become addicted to it.  It is unhealthy to completely rely on caffeine to wake you up in the morning.

• Junk food. Let’s face it, junk food is tasty. Having it every once in a while is OK, but having it all the time is detrimental to your health. The thing about junk food is that it’s high in sugar, salt, and fat. All things that we as humans crave a lot. This makes junk food desirable, but also makes it very unhealthy.

Once you can recognize your unhealthy eating cycles, it is important to stop them. It can be very hard to do this, but it will have benefits. When you eat healthily you feel better, you have more energy, and are much less likely to develop diseases like obesity or type two diabetes. In order to stop your unhealthy eating habits, you have to be willing to put some extra time and thought into what you eat. The beginning will be the most time intensive. But once you get used to things, and figure out what works for you, you won’t have to put as much time in. Eventually you’ll just be putting time in to maintain your healthy eating patterns.


For some examples, I am going to use a few unhealthy eating patterns that I have found in my life, and that I’m trying to fix.

• I have an after-school job. I work three times a week. I barely have enough time to catch the bus home, get changed, and get to work on time. Because of this, I normally skip eating before my shift starts. And don’t get to eat dinner until I get home at around 9pm. Or if I do eat, it is normally something quick, unhealthy, and high in fat.
• I am trying to fix this!! What I've been trying to do is make a healthy snack the night, or morning before my shift. Then putting in the fridge for when I get home from school. I’m trying to make things such as, whole wheat pita stuffed with hummus and veggies. Protein is a must to keep me going at work

• My job is at fast food chain (for privacy reasons I don't want to say what chain I work for.) I am always tempted to eat food there. When there is a mixed up order, my boss normally puts the food out and then lets whoever is on shift to eat some of it. It is very hard not to eat the food, particularity if I didn’t eat before my shift.
• I am trying to fix this!! I don’t let myself eat, every time that food is put out. Sometimes it is hard to show self restraint, but most of the times I can do it. This is another reason, why I am trying to eat before my shifts. Something else that I do, is I always bring a bottle of water, or a mug of unsweetened herbal tea. If I have something to drink, it makes me less tempted to eat on my shift.

Side effects of unhealthy eating

Eating unhealthily can cause many health problems, and can drastically affect your quality of life. There are many health problems and diseases that can be caused by unhealthy eating. Some of these are: obesity, diabetes type two, and heart failure. All can shorten the length of life, and can lead to other medical problems.

Obesity affects thousands of people worldwide, as well as children. Now a day’s more and more children are becoming obese. Obesity is usually a result of a high caloric intake, in correlation with no or very little exercise. Because of this, excess body weight is accumulated. In some cases, extra weight is accumulated practically in the abdominal area. Obesity is very dangerous, and can result in death. When someone has obesity, it means that their body weight has accumulated enough to have a negative impact on their health. Obesity has lots of negative side effects. Some of these are......

• heart disease
• diabetes type 2
• breathing difficulties (particularly during sleep)

However, in order to develop heart disease or diabetes, you don’t need to be obese to begin with. Both of these medical conditions, can be developed unrelated to obesity and are both often direct correlations to an unhealthy lifestyle. This is why it’s so important, to eat healthily. But it is also important to stay active, by staying active it is easier to maintain a healthy body weight and stay healthy.

I know it’s important to eat healthfully. But how do I do so?

First of all it’s important to know the benefits of healthy eating, below are just a few.

If you eat healthily you will...

• Have more energy
• Will be less likely to develop diseases such as: obesity, diabetes type two, or heart failure
• Be able to help prevent some prevent some cancers
• Be able to help prevent strokes
• It will be less likely for you to have a heart attack
• Live longer
• Feel better
• Have better blood pressure
• Lower  your cholesterol
• Your immune system will become stronger

So really, eating healthily has HUGE benefits. And it’s totally worth it, however figuring out how to eat healthfully is difficult. People now days reach for convince or fast food. This is because it’s easy and tastes good. Also, it’s addictive because of all the salt, sugar, and fat. But it’s not good for you, at all. In order to eat healthfully it is important to find ways to incorporate healthy eating into your life, in ways that works for you.

• Here are some ways to incorporate healthy eating into your life....

• Eat breakfast. Make sure you get some protein first thing in the mornings. Scrambled eggs, toast and peanut butter, or granola. Are all good bets, however watch for sugar contents in breakfast cereals and peanut butter.
• DO NOT SKIP MEALS
• Cook your own food as much as you can.
• Drink lots of water. Keeping your body hydrated has huge benefits
• Cut back on the caffeine.
• Go for skim milk lattes, instead of one’s made with 2% milk (SURPRISE! it tastes just as good!)
• Cut back on sugary soft drinks
• Eat whole grain. Try whole wheat or whole grain bread, instead of white bread. Also, try whole grain pasta, and brown rice.
• Eat lots of fruit and veggies. Incorporate them to your meals.
• When you make veggies as side dishes try not to, butter, salt, or cream. For example, try steamed green beans opposed to green bean casserole.
• Eat a variety of food.
• Cut back on processed foods as much as possible
• Eat foods with NATURAL colour. This means foods such as: bright orange carrots, bell peppers, and especially bright leafy greens
• To make your food flavorful without using slat. Try fresh herbs and spices such as basil, parsley, cilantro, oregano, thyme, and rosemary. If you don’t have access to fresh ones, substitute with dried. Fresh onions and garlic are also wonderful for flavoring.

The "Danger Zone"

Today I will be talking about a concept, that I learned when I took Foods-Safe last year. The concept is called the “Danger Zone”, and it is a specific temperature range where food has the most penitential to grow harmful bacteria. 

The “Danger Zone”, is between 40F-140F, and food should never stay within this temperature zone for more than two hours, or else it becomes unsafe to eat.This is because bacteria is able to multiply and grow very easily. Any temperature outside the “Danger Zone” is not diserable for bacteria to grow. Anything below 40F is too cold for bacteria to grow, and anything above 140F is too hot for bacteria to grow.  


So, if you  keep food out of the “Danger Zone”, you will be doing well. But the important thing to know, is HOW to do this. One of the biggest causes of foodborne illness is the improper cooling of cooked food. Many people improperly cool their food, and then get sick from it. The thing is though, properly cooling food is easy. It just takes a little more time. I think that Spending a little extra time cooling your food, is worth it because it will keep you from getting sick.

So, here are some ways that you can properly and quickly cool your already cooked food.

• Store your food in multiple shallow Tupperware containers. This will allow your food to evenly and quickly cool.
• do not over pack Tupperware containers. Make sure you only have one layer of food in each container.
• Place sealed containers of food in ice baths, or cold water to quickly cool.
• If you have a big pot of soup or stew use an ice wand (http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_is_an_Ice_Wand_when_used_for_Food_Cooling) 

Introducing My Project

I am a high-school student, who lives on the rainy west coast of Canada. I am doing this  blog project to get credit for school, however it is also something that I really want to do. For the rest of the school year, I will post on this blog regularly. I will post about the projects that I am working on. My projects will be about food, cooking, food safety, and nutrition. I am really excited to be working on this project, and can't wait to see where it goes.