|
December 2008 - Posts
-
Let's be honest: it wouldn't be a holiday party without holiday desserts. Many holiday traditional desserts such as pies, cheesecake, and cookies are loaded with fat and sugar. There are ways to modify these recipes and save a couple hundred calories. Plain cheesecake can range from 800-1000 calories per slice! Cookies can easily be 400 calories per cookie!
You can make your holidays a little healthier this year and still enjoy dessert. Here are some tips that may help:
- Offer dessert trays with bite-size samples. For example, think about portions that are two to four bites – just enough to taste and enjoy. Use cupcake papers to hold bite-sized portions (small-sized cookies and even cake or pie can be cut into petite portions) and use mini cupcake pans to make bite-sized cupcakes, cakes, brownies and cheesecake.
- Use applesauce in cake and pie recipes as a healthier alternative to butter, margarine, or oil.
- Save the fat by using cocoa powder instead of chocolate. Substitute three tablespoons of unsweetened cocoa powder for each ounce of unsweetened chocolate in baked goods such as cakes or cookies.
- Replace heavy cream in puddings, cheesecakes, and cream pies with evaporated skim milk.
- Use nonfat yogurt as a substitute for sour cream.
- Substitute the frosting in a recipe by topping cakes with fresh fruit, fruit sauce, or a sprinkle of confectioner’s sugar.
- Reduce the amount of chocolate chips or nuts in a recipe by one-fourth. You can try putting these tips into action with a lower calorie pumpkin pie recipe – see recipe and labels below. A piece of pumpkin pie traditionally has 340 calories, but you can save over 100 calories with this lighter recipe.
Lighter Pumpkin Pie
| Ingredients: |
Directions: |
1 (9 inch) unbaked deep-dish pie shell
½ cup granulated sugar
1 Tbsp cornstarch
1 tsp ground cinnamon
½ tsp ground ginger
½ tsp salt
2 egg whites
1 (15 ounce) can 100% pure pumpkin
1 (12 fluid ounce) can evaporated fat-free milk |
1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
2. Combine sugar, cornstarch, cinnamon, ginger, and salt in small bowl.
3. Beat egg whites lightly in large bowl. Stir in pumpkin and sugar mixture.
4. Gradually stir in evaporated milk and then pour into pie shell.
5. Bake for 15 minutes. Reduce temperature to 350 degrees and bake for additional 30-40 minutes or until knife inserted near center come out clean.
6. Cool on wire rack for 2 hours. Serve immediately or refrigerate. Do not freeze. |
 
** If Lighter Pumpkin Pie is made without the shell, each slice has 110 calories, 0 g fat, 0 mg cholesterol, 23 g carbohydrate and 5 grams protein.
Rebecca
|
-
If you are cooking a holiday meal with all the trimmings, it’s a great opportunity to save some calories without your guests knowing. Holiday meals don't have to be full of fat, sugar, cream, gravy and lots of butter to taste good. It's easy to trim a little fat, sugar and calories from traditional holiday foods without sacrificing flavor. Here are some ideas for making those favorite holiday dishes lower in fat and calories:
· When selecting a turkey, choose a plain bird rather than a self-basting bird.
· Remove the skin from the turkey before eating.
· Refrigerate the pan juices and skim the fat off the top before making gravy.
· For stuffing, use less bread cubes and more onions, celery and other vegetables. For something different, try adding cranberries or apples. Moisten with low-fat, low-sodium chicken broth or vegetable broth.
· When mashing potatoes, use skim milk, garlic powder and Parmesan cheese in place of whole milk and butter.
· Steam vegetables or cook in liquids such as broth or water rather than oil. Use herbs and spices for flavor in place of margarine or butter.
· Put orange juice concentrate and a touch of cinnamon in the center of squash instead of margarine or butter.
· Prepare fresh green beans with chunks of potato instead of cream soup. Top with almonds rather than fried onion rings.
· Cut the sugar in ½ in all holiday baked goods.
· Substitute 2 egg whites for every egg in a recipe to cut back on fat and cholesterol.
Below is a sample recipe showing how much a difference you can make if you make some substitutions. Take a look at the two labels. The original version of sausage stuffing has 365 calories, 17 grams of fat and 44 grams of carbohydrate per 1 cup serving. The lighter version has 242 calories, 8 grams of fat and 34 grams of carbohydrate per 1 cup serving.
If you have a favorite holiday dish, you can often find a lighter recipe. Here are some places to look on the web for healthier holiday recipes:
www.cookinglight.com
www.eatingwell.com
www.foodfit.com
With a little effort and planning, healthy eating can be a realistic and tasty option this time of year. Happy holidays!
Rebecca
Cornbread Stuffing (from Eating Well)
Makes 12 servings, 1 cup each
| Ingredients |
Directions |
1 pound sweet Italian turkey sausage (about 4 links), casings removed
2 cups finely chopped onion
1 ½ cups finely chopped celery
¼ teaspoon salt
Freshly ground pepper to taste
2 pounds prepared cornbread, cut into 3/4-inch cubes (about 12 cups)
¼ cup chopped fresh parsley
1 tablespoon chopped fresh sage
1 ½ to 3 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth |
1. Preheat oven to 325°F. Coat a 9-by-13-inch baking pan with cooking spray.
2. Cook sausage in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat, stirring and breaking up with a wooden spoon, until browned, about 10 minutes.
3. Add onion and celery; cover, reduce heat and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender, about 10 minutes.
4. Transfer the mixture to a large bowl. Season with salt and pepper. Add cornbread, parsley and sage.
5. Bring broth to a simmer in a small saucepan. Pour 1 cup over the stuffing mixture and toss gently (the cornbread will break into smaller pieces). Add as much of the remaining broth as needed, 1/2 cup at a time, until the stuffing feels moist but not wet.
6. Spoon the stuffing into the prepared pan and cover with foil. Bake the stuffing until thoroughly heated, about 25 minutes. Serve warm. |
 
|
-
Thank you to everyone who participated in our recent Live Chat with Dr. Tony Linares on The Culprit & The Cure. We received a lot of interesting questions and comments and we had a lot of fun. If you missed the Live Chat, feel free to check out the transcript for some great healthy tips. If you have any follow up questions, please respond to this blog or e-mail us (ignite@lumenos.com). We’ll make sure to get the question to Dr. Tony. We’re planning for our next Book Club now – if you have any suggestions, please feel free to comment to this blog. Thanks again! Kerry
|
-
It’s almost time for Jolly Ol’ Saint Nick to squeeze through each and every chimney in town and well to be quite honest, I get just as excited about Christmas as my kids do. But do you want to know what I wish for more than Christmas? A white Christmas! I don’t think I ever remember it snowing on Christmas Day. That's just doesn't happen very often in the lovely state of Maryland  . If anyone out there remembers the last time they saw a White Christmas in Maryland, please let me know when it happened.
Picture this - A steady snow, a nice fire in the fireplace, and some hot tea or apple cider. Mmm mmm good. Oh and don’t forget – not a place in the world that you have to be other than on your sofa or in your bed. Ha...and the kids wonder why I can’t wait for it to snow, or better yet for it to snow on Christmas Day. The funny thing is, while I am ready for it to snow, they aren’t, and I couldn’t figure out why. I asked my ten year old why he was so opposed to it snowing on Christmas and he told me that if it snowed, he knew he wouldn’t be able to go around and collect his Christmas presents from his grandparents’ houses. I knew there had to be some underlying cause.
|
-
The holidays are upon us now and the season will bring many opportunities for eating various appetizers. Dips are usually around when it comes to holiday parties, so let’s take a look at lower calorie dip choices and what foods are best for dipping.
When we think of dipping foods, usually the first thing that comes to mind is snacks like potato chips or corn chips. You can find an array of choices at the store, including baked chips and multigrain chips, which are better than fried potato and corn chips. Fresh vegetables are another excellent choice for dipping, like raw carrots or green beans. Raw vegetables can be made more flavorful with the addition of dips and as a bonus, it may be easier to convince kids to eat vegetables if they can use a dip with them.
If you’re watching your weight, you should keep in mind that commercially prepared dips can be extremely high in saturated fat and not very high in nutrients. You will want to consider dips made from yogurt, instead of cream or mayonnaise. For example, guacamole dip is made from avocadoes, tomatoes, lemon juice, and salt. This dip is an excellent source of Vitamins E and C and it has no cholesterol. Hummus is another healthy dip which is made from chickpeas, garlic, olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper. This dip is high in protein and has no cholesterol. Both of these dips do have some fat and average 50 calories per tablespoon so limit serving size to ¼ cup or about 4 tablespoons. Lastly, salsa is a very low calorie, fat-free dip with an average of 10 calories per tablespoon. Salsa is made from tomatoes, onions, lemon juice, olive oil, chili peppers, garlic, salt and pepper. (It also makes a great low calorie topping for salads and baked potatoes.)
The Spinach Artichoke Dip is a classic, but very high fat dip. Below is a lighter recipe, which has big calorie and fat savings, by using part-skim cheese, fat free cream cheese and reduced fat cream cheese. The labels below compare the original and light versions. The original recipe (¼ cup or 4 tablespoons) has 200+ calories and a whopping 18 grams of fat compared with just 148 calories and 5 grams of fat for the lighter alternative.
Spinach Artichoke Lighter Dip (from Cooking Light)
|
Ingredients
2 cups shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese, divided
½ cup fat-free sour cream
¼ cup (4 tablespoons) grated fresh Parmesan cheese, divided
¼ teaspoon black pepper
3 garlic cloves, crushed
1 (14-ounce) can artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
1 (8-ounce) block 1/3-less-fat cream cheese, softened
1 (8-ounce) block fat-free cream cheese, softened
½ (10-ounce) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed, drained, and squeezed dry 1 (13.5-ounce) package baked tortilla chips (about 16 cups) |
Preparation
1. Preheat oven to 350°.
2. Combine 1 ½ cups mozzarella, sour cream, 2 tablespoons Parmesan, black pepper, garlic, artichoke hearts, both kinds of cream cheese and spinach in a large bowl; stir until well blended.
3. Spoon mixture into a 1 ½ quart baking dish.
4. Sprinkle with remaining ½ cup mozzarella and remaining 2 tablespoons Parmesan.
5. Bake at 350° for 30 minutes or until bubbly and golden brown. 6. Serve with tortilla chips. |
 
Rebecca
|
-
|
Well, the busy holiday season is here. It’s the time for gathering with family and friends, giving gifts and reflecting on the year that has passed. It’s also the time when many of us, me included, have a difficult time keeping healthy. In fact, the average person gains 1-5 pounds during the holiday season.
It seems to start with Thanksgiving. We eat a ton of food and lay around the house watching football. Then December comes and we attend holiday parties filled with yummy (and unhealthy) treats, go on stress-filled shopping trips to find the perfect gift and don’t exercise as often as we should because we’re too busy. When January finally rolls around, we feel sluggish and our pants are snug. But that doesn’t have to be the case.
I think the key to staying healthy during the holidays is planning and moderation. For example, if I go to a holiday party, I eat a snack before so I'm not starving when I get there. Or I try a few appetizers and avoid the food table. If I know I have a busy weekend of shopping ahead of me and don’t know where when I'll fit in my exercise time, I incorporate it into my shopping. Either I bring my gym clothes and walk at the mall or I park far away from the store to get my exercise. These are a few of the ways I stay healthier. Do you have any tips on how to stay healthy during the holiday season?
Justin
|
-
The week before Thanksgiving Day, I was fortunate enough to attend a nutrition class at the California Health and Longevity Institute (www.chli.com) that was hosted by an excellent dietitian-chef. Our group had great hands on experience and the chef reminded us that the “natural flavors of fresh foods can be a wonderful surprise”. I discovered some tasty and easy to prepare recipes and brought them home to share with my wife. We stopped by the local farmers market and stocked up on fruits and vegetables. My wife used the new recipes the entire week and we ate healthy meals at home that were tasty, nutritious and heart-wise healthy. At the end of the week, and before I read Chapter 12 of Steven Aldana’s book, we were squeezed for time and on a tight schedule so we decided to order out. I ran out to the fast-food “Urban Jacks” restaurant and the rest is history.
The Culprit & The Cure tells us that over 50% of Americans are trying to eat healthier, yet six out of every ten are overweight or obese. On average, we will spend 40% of our food budget for meals outside our homes or at least one of every three meals. Aldana tells us that a person’s diet behavior falls into three groups: those of us who are already eating healthy foods, individuals who are exploring the idea of eating better and finally, those who are just reluctant to eat healthy foods. It is also understandable that we will falter in our diet habits from time to time and that is normal human behavior. Chapter 12 provides a list of “Simple Nutrition Goals” that can help you stay on course. For the more highly motivated people, there are also some advanced goals to strive for. It is important to set goals to work towards on a daily basis.
I enjoyed the section of the book that talks about “the paradox” of food in our lives and how to overcome the three big barriers to healthy eating: taste, cost and convenience. Just as I experienced first hand in the Wellness Kitchen (that tasty foods can be prepared in a relatively short time and at a reasonable cost), people need to find ways to prepare healthy meals at home. Aldana provides some excellent web sites for healthy tips and for nutritious recipes like www.deliciousdecisions.org, which is sponsored by the American Heart Association. Take some time to comb through these pages and frequent some these sites to see how you can improve your culinary skills and impress others with some fun, tasty and healthy dishes.
The important aspect of a culture shift is to realize that a change in lifestyle that includes better nutritional choices and daily exercise will also help you maintain a healthy weight. You begin to feel better about yourself, enjoy a greater sense of balance in your personal relationships and become more productive in your career.
This Blog concludes the The Culprit & The Cure book review and I look forward to the Ignite online Live Chat later today – I hope you can join me.
Dr. Tony Linares
|
-
Whole grains are nutritionally superior to refined grains, richer in dietary fiber, antioxidants, protein, dietary minerals (including magnesium, manganese, phosphorus, and selenium), and vitamins (including niacin, vitamin B6, and vitamin E).
Manufacturers are sometimes required by law to fortify refined grain products to make up for the loss of vitamins and minerals. Of the grains listed below, those with the highest amount of fiber include whole wheat, quinoa, and bulgar. Whole wheat has 8 grams protein and 7 grams fiber per ½ cup dry. Quinoa beats whole wheat with 12 grains protein and 13 grams fiber per ½ cup dry. Bulgur has 9 grams protein and 13 grams of fiber. See sample labels below.
|
Common Types of Whole Grains: |
Less Common Types of Whole Grains: |
|
wild rice
brown rice
whole wheat
oatmeal
whole oats
barley
whole rye
bulgur
popcorn |
amaranth
millet
quinoa
sorghum
triticale |
In terms of health, the greater amount of dietary fiber (which can be as much as 4x that found in refined grains) is the most important benefit. It has been shown to reduce the incidence of some forms of cancer, digestive system diseases, gum disease, coronary heart disease, diabetes, and obesity. The protective effects of higher fiber occur because carbohydrates from whole grains are digested and enter the bloodstream more slowly (as measured by the glycemic index).
Many health studies have shown that whole grains have numerous cardiovascular benefits. Consuming foods rich in fiber, such as whole grains, as part of a healthy diet, reduces the risk of coronary heart disease. Also consuming whole grains, as part of a healthy diet, may reduce constipation.
Whole grains are particularly rich in complex carbohydrates which help keep the body energized through the whole day. Complex carbohydrates may have a positive effect on weight control. Eating at least 3 ounce equivalents a day of whole grains may help with weight management.
 
Rebecca
|
|
|