HCE Blog

Flu season is in full swing, so it’s best you start taking precautions to keep your whole family flu-free!  The influenza virus can live on hard surfaces for up to 24 hours, including your child’s plastic toys. Children are extra-susceptible to catching the virus, so it’s smart to disinfect their toys regularly to keep them healthy. If you have one sick child and want to keep the other from ca...

An apple a day may not actually keep the doctor away, but did you know apples have many great benefits? Apples are packed with fiber which can help you feel fuller and satisfied longer, and it can help clear out those uncomfortable blockages. Just one medium-sized apple contains 2.4g of fiber and is just 52 calories! That one cup is also high in potassium. When you think of fruit rich in vi...

You just cooked dinner and set the food out for everyone to dig in. You sit down to eat, and after the family wants to turn on a movie. But first, should you put the food away? The movie is only a couple of hours long. The food should be good for that long, right?   Nope.   According to the FDA, food should never be left out of refrigeration for over two hours! When storing your leftovers, ...

Those with diabetes know just how important managing what they eat and portion control is. Eating too much or too little can throw your blood glucose levels out of whack. It’s a careful balance that is individual to each person, depending on the severity of the disease. If you’re diabetic and have been eating healthily but have still been dealing with fluxes in your blood sugar, maybe your port...

Not all foods are created equal!  You may not think about it when putting your groceries away, but each food you buy has a place it should go in the fridge to preserve its freshness for as long as possible— especially animal products, such as milk, eggs, and meat!  Milk Don't store your milk in the fridge door, since temperatures in that area can fluctuate! This causes dairy to spoil faster....

Not sure which pears to grab at the grocery store? It can be difficult to find a pear that’s at the perfect ripeness to snack on. There’s an easy way to check the ripeness of a pear when you’re at the store.  Gently press a finger into the top of the pear where the stem is located. If there is a small amount of give there, the fruit is ripe! The rest of the fruit should be firm. If it’s soft a...

Afraid your pears are ripening faster than you can eat them? You can store them in the crisper drawer of your refrigerator to keep them fresh for a few weeks.  Take a large zip-top bag and puncture small holes into it. Dampen a paper towel and place it in the bag. Place a few pears into the zip-top bag and place them in the crisper drawer of your fridge. This should keep your pears tasty and h...

Are your pears taking too long to ripen? Put them in a paper bag with some other type of quick-ripening fruit! If you place a pear in a paper bag with a ripe banana or an apple, it should ripen faster.

Want an easy way to remove the core from a pear? Try a melon baller!  To do this, place a melon baller on top of the core of the pear and push it in. It should be easy to scoop out! Once you remove the core, your pear should be good to eat without any hassle! 

There are so many strange toppings that people put on pizza. If you’re a fan of pineapples on pizza, then you may want to try out pears on your pie! We know it sounds strange, but this combination packs a sweet punch to your savory meal. Adding pears to your pizza also gives you a healthy dose of vitamins and minerals to help you feel a little less guilty about indulging in a portion of unhealt...