---------------------
Washing Produce
---------------------
Keeping those magnificent summertime fruits and vegetables safe tops the food safety list.  Please enjoy LOTS of fresh produce this summer.  It's so good and so good for you.  We've touted the benefits of eating raw fruits and vegetables many times and for many different health reasons.  Here's another little reason to keep in mind this summer - the more fresh fruits and veggies you eat, the less junk food you'll want!

The USDA has lots of good food safety advice on their web site.  Here's what they have to say on washing produce:

"Before eating or preparing, wash fresh produce under cold running tap water to remove any lingering dirt. This reduces bacteria that may be present. If there is a firm surface, such as on apples or potatoes, the surface can be scrubbed with a brush.  Consumers should not wash fruits and vegetables with detergent or soap. These products are not approved or labeled by the Food and Drug Administration for use on foods. You could ingest residues from soap or detergent absorbed on the produce.

When preparing fruits and vegetables, cut away any damaged or bruised areas because bacteria that cause illness can thrive in those places. Immediately refrigerate any fresh-cut items such as salad or fruit for best quality and food safety."

http://www.fsis.usda.gov/OA/pubs/washing.htm

Keeping fresh produce in the refrigerator that has been cleaned, chopped or sliced, and put in containers for easy access, is a great way to see that your family enjoys lots of the good stuff this summer.  But only clean and prepare what you can use in the next few days, as washed and prepared produce spoils more quickly.  Store unwashed produce in the refrigerator and wash as needed to keep fresh longer.

---------------------
Keeping it Clean
---------------------
Food safety begins where food preparation begins - in the kitchen.  Now I know what you'll say, because I've said it myself:  "My kitchen is clean - I use my washcloth to wipe everything all the time."  But wait!  Our friendly USDA web site calls this statement "Myth #11" and here's their reply:

"Every time you clean your kitchen, you could be spreading bacteria! Bacteria need moisture, food particles, and room temperature in order to survive and multiply.  Washcloths and sponges can provide the perfect environment for breeding large colonies of harmful bacteria. To ensure that you're not spreading bacteria, use the following steps:

-Do not use sponges in the kitchen, since they are hard to clean and can harbor bacteria in the nooks and crannies.

-Start off each day with a clean and dry wiping cloth.

-For proper cleaning, all surfaces (counters, cutting boards, etc.) should be washed, rinsed, then sanitized. Use hot soapy water followed by a clear rinse...."

http://www.state.ak.us/dec/deh/sanitat/april/myth11.htm

A handy tip we practice at our house is using a sturdy plastic dish brush to prepare dishes and utensils for the dishwasher.  At the end of the day, the dish brush goes into the dishwasher too.  We also place our vegetable scrubbing brushes in the dishwasher at the end of the day.  And while we're talking about handy tips, try running your dishwasher at the end of the day, so you're greeted with clean dishes and a clean kitchen the next morning.

-------------------------
What's the Big Deal?
-------------------------
If you're not convinced that food safety is important, get a load of the USDA's "Myth #1":

"'Oh, I'll be OK. I just have a touch of the 24-hour flu.'

There is no such thing as the 24-hour flu. It's food poisoning.

Most of the time when you or a family member has a brief bout of the "flu" (the aching, upset stomach, diarrhea), it is not flu at all. Food poisoning often produces the same symptoms as the flu, and we often never associate these symptoms with something we ate.

Part of the problem is that most people don't realize that it takes from 24 hours with salmonella to 72 hours with camphylobacter for you to get sick. Therefore, you often don't associate the illness with the food that you ate the day before.

Next time you have the 24-hour flu, think about what you may have eaten yesterday!"

"'Foodborne illness is no big deal. After all, even if I get it, it's just a temporary mild discomfort. I'll get over it.'

The sad fact is that foodborne illness can be very serious, even deadly. Some pathogens ("bugs" that cause foodborne illness) give rise to diseases far more serious than the uncomfortable vomiting or diarrhea accompanying what most people call "food poisoning." Foodborne infections can cause spontaneous abortion, reactive arthritis, Guilliain-Barre syndrome (the most common cause of acute paralysis in both children and adults), and HUS (hemolytic uremic syndrome), which can lead to kidney failure and death."
 

Check out more food safety info from the USDA (including picnic safety) at http://www.state.ak.us/dec/deh/sanitat/safetips.htm

---------------------------------------------------------------------
HEALTHY EATING AT SUMMERTIME SHINDIGS
---------------------------------------------------------------------
With all the fun you're going to have this summer, please try to stay healthy by eating right, even when faced with temptation.  I know you will probably be offered Cousin Gertrude's famous chocolate fudge cake at that reunion.  And, of course, your Uncle Milton makes the juiciest grilled steaks at his backyard barbecue.  And how about those ice-cold soda pops in the cooler at the beach party?  How do you overcome these temptations?  To tell you the truth, it's easy.  That's right!  You just need some strategies -- be prepared.  Here are some suggestions.

-If you're going to a potluck-type affair, bring a healthy dish you and others will enjoy (see this month's recipes below for some ideas).

-If you're attending a buffet, select the healthiest offerings, and fill up on those.  Also, eating something healthy (or drinking a tall glass of carrot juice or Barleygreen) before you leave home helps you avoid temptation.

-See the article, "Healthy Tips for Holiday Partying," in the December 1999 issue of Your Healthy Perspective at http://www.healthyperspective.com/yhparchivevol2.html for more "healthy partying" ideas.

-If you're going to a barbecue, bring your own healthy items to grill.  Try some of these:

-Veggies for grilling.  You could bring them on a skewer, kabob-style, or just sliced to be placed on the grill.  Corn is good cooked on a barbecue too -- remove the silk and rinse the ears, but leave the husks and grill the ears in the husks.  Or slice some fresh corn off the cob and grill along with your other veggies.  [By the way, corn is good eaten raw too!]

-Vegetable-based "burgers".  We like the vegan Boca Burgers.

-Tofu hot dogs.  We like Wonder Dogs and Smart Dogs.

-Or avoid the grill altogether.  Eat salad, fruit, bread, etc.

-And if you do bring goodies to grill, bring extras to share.  After all, there might be others who would rather avoid Uncle Milton's steaks and Grandma's hamburgers!

COMING NEXT MONTH - we'll talk about healthy eating in restaurants and on vacation (really, it can be done -- with style and good taste!).

--------------------------------------------------
HEALTHY SUMMERTIME RECIPES
--------------------------------------------------
------------------------------------------------
Quick & Dazzling Crowd-Pleaser Salad
-----------------------------------------------
This salad is so beautiful (the oil in the salad dressing brings out the bright colors) and so delicious -- no one ever needs to know that it's quick and easy to make!

2 cups raw broccoli florets (or 1 cup broccoli and 1 cup cauliflower)
1 can black olives, drained
1 small basket cherry tomatoes
1/4 pound small mushrooms
1 16-oz. bottle olive oil and vinegar or Italian salad dressing

Wash and prepare veggies as you usually would for salad.  Make the florets bite-sized.  If the mushrooms are button-sized, leave them whole; otherwise cut in half or quarter.  Mix all ingredients together and let marinate in the refrigerator overnight.

A favorite at picnics, parties, and buffets.

------------------------------------
Clarence's Vegan Potato Salad
------------------------------------
Clarence's potato salad has always been a family favorite.  So when we became vegetarians, he took his recipe and made it healthy.  The result is delicious -- the same old-fashioned potato salad taste, but no cholesterol!  Here's his secret.

8 baking potatoes, boiled in their jackets, cooled, and diced
1 medium onion, white or yellow, diced fine
4 Cascadian (or other healthy brand) dill pickles, chopped fine
1 4-oz. jar pimentos, drained and diced
2 tablespoons prepared mustard
1/2 cup dill pickle juice
1/3 cup vinegar
1/2 cup Nasoya Creamy Dill dressing (or a healthy eggless mayonnaise-type dressing)
approx. 1/4 cup Braggs Liquid Aminos (in place of salt)
dash or two of cayenne pepper (optional)

Mix all ingredients in extra-large mixing bowl.  Cover and let sit in refrigerator several hours for flavors to mingle.  Enjoy!

----------------------------------------------
Garbanzo (or Chick Pea) Salad Spread
----------------------------------------------
This is along the same line as last month's "Eggless 'Egg Salad'" (see http://www.healthyperspective.com/yhparchivevol7.html).  Some have called similar concoctions "Fishless 'Tuna Salad,'" but I think that would insult this recipe.  It has no fishy taste, but it is a little like tuna salad in appearance, and can be used in similar ways.

1 1/2 cups prepared garbanzo beans* (cooked and drained), then mashed with fork
approx. 2 to 2 1/2 tablespoons Nasoya "Nayonnaise" (or other healthy eggless mayonnaise-type dressing)
1 5" stalk celery, finely chopped
1 dill pickle (or approx. 2 tablespoons) finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon prepared mustard
1 teaspoon parsley flakes
dash of garlic powder
a couple of shakes of Vegit all-purpose seasoning
a couple of shakes of Schilling "It's a Dilly" seasoning
Braggs Liquid Aminos (in place of salt) to taste

Mix all ingredients.

This is good stuff.  It makes hearty sandwiches (on whole grain bread, of course!).  It's also great in sandwich wraps, pitas, canapés and hors d'oevres; tossed in a green salad; and as a spread on rice cakes, crackers, etc.

You may want to make a larger batch, as it keeps in the refrigerator, tightly covered, for about a week-and-a-half, and is wonderful to have on hand for a quick meal or snack.

*Not so coincidentally, this is the approximate amount in a can of garbanzo beans (but it is healthier to prepare garbanzos from the dried beans).

---------------------------------
NICOLE'S QUICK BYTES
---------------------------------
Slow poison.  In one of his books, evangelist Charles Hunter relates a story about a woman who murdered her husband slowly by putting a little poison in his food each day.  Hunter then draws an analogy to some of the very things we put in our bodies on purpose.  This is such a cogent illustration. Science has proven and verified that the tobacco, alcohol, drugs, sugar, meat, and processed foods we consume contain carcinogens and other toxins and deadly factors that will kill us as sure as any poison we might find in a bottle.  They just take longer.  If you discover what you're eating right now is tainted, and while it's killing you it's causing painful medical problems, can you bring yourself to keep eating poisoned food?

--------------------
God bless you,
-Rev. Clarence Russell, Kimberly and Nicole
--------------------

Please feel free to forward, copy, post or share this newsletter (in its entirety only, please) with those who might enjoy or benefit from it.

If such a friend sent this newsletter to you and you enjoyed it, you can have your own free subscription. Simply send an e-mail to
subscribe@healthyperspective.com.  Or you may visit the Healthy Perspective web site at http://www.healthyperspective.com/subscribepage.html and follow the simple SUBSCRIBE directions.
___
We only send this publication to individuals who wish to receive a free subscription, and we do not make this e-mail list available to anyone else for any reason.
___
If you ever wish, for any reason, to discontinue your free subscription, please send an e-mail to unsubscribe@healthyperspective.com.
___
The material in this file is provided for informational purposes only. We do not prescribe nor diagnose. If you use the information in this file without the approval of a health professional, you prescribe for yourself, which remains your constitutional right, but the author(s) assume no responsibility.
___
Copyright (c) 2000 by Clarence Russell . All rights reserved. As long as this file is left intact, permission is granted for use on web sites or in newsgroups or mailing lists.