- Homemade Turkey Soup
- 10 Tips to Help Avoid the Flu
- Healthy Cooking for One or Two
- Pecan Storage Tips
- Health Tip: Burn More by Moving More
- Holiday Poll
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Are you interested in volunteering? Hunt County Texas A&M AgriLife Extension office has several areas (homemaking, gardening, youth, etc.) that may appeal to you. For additional information, please email
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Homemade Turkey Soup
Wondering what to do with your leftover turkey? Warm up with Homemade Turkey Soup. Your taste buds will thank you.
Ingredients:
1 turkey carcass—it should have some meat (at least 2 C) remaining
2 medium onions
3 stalks of celery
1 tsp dried thyme
½ tsp dried rosemary
½ tsp dried sage
1 tsp dried basil
½ tsp dried marjoram
½ tsp dried tarragon
½ tsp salt
Ground black pepper, to taste
½ lb Italian pastina or other small pasta
Instructions:
- Place turkey carcass in a large 6-quart pot. Cover with water, at least ¾ full.
- Peel onions, cut into large pieces, and add to pot. Wash celery stalks, slice, and add to pot as well.
- Simmer, covered, for about 2 ½ hours.
- Remove carcass from pot. Cool soup in the refrigerator (hint: divide soup into smaller, shallower containers for quicker cooling).
- While soup is cooling, remove remaining meat from turkey carcass. Discard bones and cut meat into bite-sized pieces.
- After soup has cooled, skim off fat from top. Return soup to pot.
- Add turkey meat to skimmed soup, along with herbs and spices.
- Bring to a boil and add pastina. Continue cooking on low boil for about 20 minutes, until pastina is done. Serve at once or refrigerate for later reheating.
Serves 16 (serving size: 1 cup); 226 Calories, 5 g fat, 1 g saturated fat, 93 mg cholesterol and 217 mg sodium per serving.
For this and other great heart healthy recipes from NIH,
click here
.
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Click here
for additional information on seasonal flu prevention.
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Pecan Storage Tips
Proper storage of pecans is a very important topic this time of year. Whether you picked them yourself or purchased a bag and have some left, you want to get the most out of your supply.
As a general rule, in-shell pecans last longer than shelled. The below chart has storage times in mont
hs for a variety of temperatures for both in-shell and shelled.
Because pecan meats absorb odors and flavors readily from surroundings, a storage area free of odoriferous materials and commodities is necessary. Even faint odors of paint, wood, asphalt, vegetables, and other fruits can accumulate and appear stronger in the nuts than in the surrounding environment (NMSU Extension). For additional information,
click here
.
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Burn more by moving more...
Believe it or not, you burn calories just by being you, it's called basal metabolic rate or BMR. Our BMR is the number of calories required to keep our body functioning while at rest. Knowing your BMR can help when you are focusing on weight gain or loss (eat more calories than your BMR if you want to gain, and eat less calories than you BRM if you want to lose weight). If you are interested in calculating your BMR,
click here
.
Working out is a great way to raise your BRM; however, a regular workout routine is difficult during the holidays. There are activities you can do throughout your day to fill in when a workout just isn't going to happen.
- First, talk to your doctor and make sure you are not deficient in any areas. Vitamin deficiencies can have a negative impact in many areas.
- Make sure you are getting plenty of sleep. Sleep deprivation slows our metabolism.
- Use your hands. As wonderful as dishwashers, robot vacuums, and delivery dinners are, they don't burn very many calories. Wash your dishes by hand, use your vacuum, and cook your meal. What you may consider a small movement will add up.
- Eat breakfast. Don't skip the most important meal of the day. Your body needs to break the fast and fuel for the day.
- Move hourly. Set an hourly alarm to ensure you get up and move for at least 5 to 10 minutes each hour of the day.
- Park further from the door than you usually would. You can pick up quite a few extra steps just by passing on the front row parking spot.
- Drink more water. I can't say this enough. Your body needs water to function properly.
- Chew gum. While actually chewing will burn a few calories, the most important part is that you can't snack when you are chewing gum.
- Turn up the radio. Listening to music while doing things around the house will help you move more and at a higher pace. So go on, turn up the tunes!
- Make sure you take time for yourself to relax. Your body often needs to recharge, so take a bath or try a new yoga routine, just make time to relax.
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What's your favorite thing about the holidays?
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