Posts Tagged ‘Thanksgiving’

Turkey Fryer Safety Tips

November 23rd, 2011 by Iris | Comments Off | Filed in advice and how-tos, fire insurance

Thanksgiving is tomorrow. It’s a day filled with food and festive spirits, but it’s also the top day of the year for cooking-related accidents and injuries, and one of the most common causes of them is the turkey fryer. Let’s face it: anything that involves a vat of boiling oil is inherently dangerous.

We’re not saying you shouldn’t use a fryer – after all, crispy turkey skin is one of our favorite once-a-year guilty pleasures, as well, but we think you should boost your fire insurance policy before you start to cook, have a first aid kit handy, and follow these safety tips, from Dr. Thomas Esposito, chief of the Division of Trauma, Surgical Critical Care and Burns in the Department of Surgery, Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine:

  • Look for the newer fryers with sealed lids to prevent oil spills.
  • Keep the fryer in full view while the burner is on.
  • Keep children and pets away from the cooking area.
  • Place the fryer in an open area away from all walls, fences or other structures.
  • Never use the fryer in, on, or under a garage, breezeway, carport, porch, deck or any other structure that can catch fire.
  • Slowly raise and lower the turkey to reduce hot-oil splatter and to avoid burns.
  • Never cook in short sleeves, shorts or bare feet. Cover all bare skin when dunking or removing bird.
  • Protect your eyes with goggles or glasses.
  • Immediately turn off the fryer if the oil begins to smoke.
  • Make sure the turkey is completely thawed and be careful with marinades. Oil and water don’t mix and water can cause oil to spill over, creating a fire or even an explosion.
  • Don’t overfill fryer with oil. Turkey fryers can ignite in seconds after oil hits the burner.
  • Keep a fire extinguisher appropriate for oil fires close at hand and be familiar with how to operate it.
  • Do not use a hose in an attempt to douse a turkey fryer fire.
  • If you do burn yourself, or someone else is burned, seek immediate medical attention.

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Thanksgiving and Nutrition

November 25th, 2010 by Iris | Comments Off | Filed in health insurance, medical insurance

Okay, look, we all know that health insurance is less expensive for people who need it the least – those of us who are healthy and fit – but does that mean we need to avoid all the fun of holiday eating just to make sure our premiums don’t increase? Not at all. As with anything, moderation is key. If you are counting calories though, here are the typical calorie counts of some Thanksgiving favorites, courtesy of The Coverage Corner blog.

White and Dark Turkey Meat: 3.5 ounces of white meat has 1.66 grams of fat and about 161 calories, while same amount of dark meat has just slightly more fat and calories.

Bread Stuffing: One ounce of bread stuffing has 1 gram of fat, 109 calories, and 21.6 total grams of carbohydrates.

Cranberry Sauce (canned, sweetened): One serving (277 grams) of canned cranberry sauce has 0 grams of fat, 418 calories, and 108 total grams of carbohydrates.

Cranberry Sauce (homemade): One serving (209 grams) of homemade cranberry sauce has 9.8 grams of fat, 434 calories, and 90.1 grams of carbohydrates.

Mashed Potatoes: One cup of homemade mashed potatoes with whole milk and butter has 8.9 grams of fat, 237 calories, and 35.2 total carbohydrates.

Homemade Green Bean Casserole: One serving of homemade green bean casserole has 6 grams of fat, 95 calories, and 11 total grams of carbohydrates.

Pumpkin Pie: An average slice of pumpkin pie has 18.99 grams of fat, 372.6 calories, 45.61 total grams of carbohydrates.

Oh, and, speaking of the whole white meat vs. dark meat debate, let your taste buds be your guide. While white meat has slightly less fat and calories, dark meat is higher in iron, zinc, and vitamin B.

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Deep Fried Insurance?

November 24th, 2010 by Iris | Comments Off | Filed in fire insurance, homeowners insurance

Tomorrow’s Thanksgiving. Whether or not you plan to deep fry your turkey, you should know that more cooking fires happen on Thanksgiving than on any other day of the year, and that fire insurance claims from grease and cooking accidents more than double, compared to any other day in November, at least according to data from State Farm Insurance.

If you do see flames leaping up around your kitchen, remember that the best way to stop a grease fire is to smother it with a pan lid or some flour – never water – and that sometimes the best thing you can do is call 911 and get out of the house.

And for those of you who are deep frying your turkey, here’s some advice from State Farm and the Illinois Fire Service Institute:

* Don’t overfill the fryer pot. Follow directions in the owner’s manual to determine how much oil to use. If you overfill, the oil will overflow when you lower the turkey, spill on the burner and catch fire.
* Thoroughly thaw the turkey before cooking. Placing a frozen or partially frozen turkey in a fryer can cause oil to splatter, seriously burning anyone standing nearby, and catching fire when coming into contact with the burner.
* When cooking outdoors, stay away from any structures or flammable materials. More than a third of fryer-related fires start in a garage or on a patio.
* Don’t use water or ice to cool the oil or try to put out a grease fire. Contact with water or ice causes cause oil to splatter and spread. Keep a fire extinguisher handy for putting out grease fires.

Most importantly, if you’re deep frying anything, never, ever leave the fryer unattended – you never know what the grease may do.

Most turkey fryer fires are preventable, although Evrley admits he hasn’t been tempted to fry a turkey since the blaze at his mother-in-law’s home. He also agreed to be the “poster child” for State Farm on how to avoid turkey-fryer fires.

“If it saves somebody from doing something like I did, I’m glad to talk about it,” he says.

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