People know that healthy eating is important at every stage of their life, this includes celebrations and gatherings. Try to eat a variety of fruits, vegetables, grains, protein foods, and dairy when possible. When you are at gatherings and celebrations and deciding what to eat or drink, choose options that are full of nutrients and limited in added sugars, saturated fat, and sodium.
It’s the holiday season again, and planning is underway for good times filled with friends, family, and of course good (and not so good) foods. It seems that every advertisement that you see, read or hear about all refer to some form of holiday eating. We often give in to the festivities and overindulge in good-tasting food, but as we know these foods may not be the healthiest for us. As we prepare food for family and friends, there are ways to make favorite holiday recipes healthier and still taste great. Yes, believe it or not, it is possible!
Here are my tips and tricks to making healthier options.
Reduce the amount of fat and sugar when baking. Cutting the fat and sugars in half in a recipe is an easy way to cut added calories.
Use half the butter and replace it with unsweetened applesauce, mashed bananas or even prune purée. You can even use avocado oil to get the healthy fats and have the recipe moister.
Reduce the amount of sugar by one-third to one-half. Add in more rich-tasting spices to bolster flavor, such as cinnamon, cloves or allspice. You can even use extracts such as almond, vanilla or wintergreen. They even make a non-alcohol version of these extracts.
Cut the amount of cheese in a recipe by half. You will be able to better taste the flavors of the other ingredients without compromising the cheesy taste of the dish.
Make healthy substitutions that will boost the fiber content.
Use brown rice instead of white rice.
Use whole-grain bread and rolls. They do make a gluten free option in all breads, rolls, buns, and pastas. They are good too!
Choose a different technique of preparation, such as broiling, grilling, or steaming. These methods of preparation can capture the flavor of your delicious foods without adding calories:
Use non-stick pans to eliminate oil when cooking.
Pay attention to your portion size. This is a big one! There are too many people that do not pay attention to their portion sizes and then they lose track of how many calories they have eaten.
When reducing portion size, add healthy choices to help fill you up. Filling half of your plate with fruits or vegetables is a great place to start.
Eating well can be difficult over the holiday season, I get that, but finding ways to enjoy your favorite family meals is possible by making mindful and healthy choices. No matter how much you indulge over the holidays, remember it is never too late to get back on track with your healthy habits.
One of the biggest things to watch for is the amount of sugar you are eating. Sugar comes in many types, forms, and names. Some whole foods, like fresh fruits and dairy, contain naturally occurring sugars. Other foods contain what’s known as “added” sugars, which is when packaged foods have extra sugar included as they’re processed. Most of the time, sugar is added to enhance the flavor. But it’s also sometimes added to packaged foods for texture or used as a preservative to increase the shelf life.
Nutrition labels
The best way to tell if your foods contain these “added” sugars or just sugar in general, is to always read nutrition labels. This will show you total sugars, which is the combination of the amount of natural sugar and added sugar. For example, if a food has 20 grams (g) of total sugars and 15g of added sugars, then you know that only 5 grams came from the natural sugar in the food.
You can also read the ingredient list on the nutrition label to understand how much added sugar is in a food. But as stated earlier, sugar can be hidden in about 20 different names that you would not normally know what they are. Nutrition labels will always list ingredients from the highest amount to the smallest amount.
In addition to the hidden words, most ingredients that end with “-ose” contain sugar. Examples include glucose, fructose, lactose, maltose, dextrose, and sucrose.
Just as with regular sugar though, it’s best to limit consumption of sugar substitutes. While the long-term effects of sugar substitutes are still being studied, research suggests that their use may be linked to health issues such as bloating and diarrhea. Always read the labels!
Here are a few recipe ideas on what to do with the Thanksgiving leftovers. Try them and let m know what you think.
Turkey Potato Salad
Ingredients
6 ounces turkey (cooked and diced)
1/4 cup celery (chopped)
1 cup potato (cooked, peeled, and diced)
1 tablespoon onion, chopped
1/4 cup green pepper (chopped)
2 tablespoons mayonnaise
1/4 teaspoon prepared mustard
1/8 teaspoon salt
Directions
Wash hands with soap and water.
Mix turkey, celery, potato, onion, and green pepper.
Mix mayonnaise, mustard and salt. Stir lightly into turkey mixture.
Chill.
Turkey Stew
Ingredients
2 teaspoons vegetable oil (or oil of your choice)
1/2 cup onion (chopped)
1 clove garlic (finely chopped, or 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder)
4 carrots (chopped)
2 celery stalks (chopped)
2 medium potatoes (chopped)
1 can diced tomatoes (14.5 oz)
2 cups water
2 cups turkey (cooked, chopped or chicken)
salt and pepper (optional, to taste)
Italian seasoning ( or fresh herbs as desired)
Directions
Heat oil in medium saucepan. Add onion, garlic, carrots, and celery and stir for 2 minutes.
Add potatoes, tomatoes, and water to pan. Bring to a boil, then lower heat and simmer 30 minutes or until vegetables are tender. Add turkey and cook another five minutes or until heated.
Turkey Tostadas
Ingredients
2 cups cooked turkey (cut into bite-sized pieces, or 2 cups ground turkey, browned in a skillet and drained)
2 tablespoons taco seasoning
1 1/2 cups water
4 corn tortillas
1/4 cup refried beans (low-fat or fat-free)
1/4 cup cheddar or Monterey Jack cheese (shredded, low-fat)
1/2 cup tomatoes (chopped)
1/2 cup lettuce (shredded)
2 tablespoons onion (chopped)
8 tablespoons taco sauce (1/2 cup)
plain yogurt (low-fat or fat-free, optional)
guacamole (or mashed avacado, optional)
Directions
Preheat oven to 375° F.
Wash and prepare vegetables.
In a large skillet over medium heat, combine turkey, taco seasoning, and water.
Bring mixture to boil, reduce heat and simmer 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Place tortillas on a baking sheet. Bake at 375° for 4 to 7 minutes or until tortillas are crispy.
Spread tortillas with a tablespoon of beans. Top with 1/4 meat mixture and cheese.
Return tortillas to oven to cook for 2 to 3 minutes or until cheese is melted.
Top with tomatoes, lettuce, onions, and taco sauce. Garnish with yogurt and guacamole, if desired.
Peter Pumpkin Squares
Ingredients
1 can pumpkin (15 ounces)
1 1/2 cups brown sugar, packed
4 eggs
3/4 cup oil (cooking)
1 1/2 cups flour (all-purpose)
1 1/2 cups rolled oats
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon margarine or butter (to grease the pan)
Directions
Preheat oven to 350 °F.
In a medium bowl, stir together the pumpkin, brown sugar, eggs, and oil. Mix well.
In a large bowl, mix the flour, oats, cinnamon, baking powder, and baking soda.
Add the pumpkin mix to the flour mix. Stir well.
Grease a 9×13 inch baking pan with butter or margarine.
Pour the batter into the greased baking pan.
Bake for 30 minutes.
Pumpkin Chocolate Muffins
Ingredients
2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1 can pumpkin
1 cup water
1/2 cup chocolate chips
Directions
Whisk all the dry ingredients together. Add pumpkin and water.
Fold the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients until just combined. Fold in chocolate chips.
Place batter into 24 prepared muffin tins and bake at 350 °F for 10 to 12 minutes.
Pumpkin Pudding
Ingredients
1 can pumpkin, 15 ounces (or 2 cups cooked mashed squash such as Hubbard)
2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice (or 1 teaspoon cinnamon, 1/2 teaspoon ginger, 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg and 1/4 teaspoon cloves)
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups milk (1% low-fat)
1 vanilla pudding, instant, 3.5 ounce (small box)
Directions
In a large bowl mix pumpkin, salt and pumpkin spice together.
Slowly stir in milk and mix well. Add instant pudding mix and stir for 2 minutes until it thickens. Refrigerate until serving time.
Pumpkin Cookies
Ingredients
1 3/4 cups pumpkin (puréed, cooked)
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
2 eggs
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 1/2 cups flour
1 1/4 cups whole wheat flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1 cup raisins
1 cup walnuts (chopped)
Directions
Preheat oven to 400 °F.
Mix pumpkin, brown sugar, eggs, and oil thoroughly.
Blend dry ingredients and add to pumpkin mixture.
Add raisins and nuts.
Drop by teaspoonfuls on greased cookie sheet.
Bake 10 to 12 minutes until golden brown.
Sweet Potato and Apple Bake
Ingredients
3 1/2 cups canned sweet potatoes, drained (save 2 tablespoons of the liquid)
2 cups apples (peeled, cored, and cut into bite-sized pieces )
6 teaspoons brown sugar (2 tablespoons, packed)
1/3 cup chopped nuts (pecans, walnuts or any other type)
2 tablespoons flour
2 tablespoons butter, melted (unsalted)
Directions
Preheat oven to 350 °F.
Put sweet potatoes in baking dish.
Add apples.
Pour 2 tablespoons of the sweet potato liquid over the mixture.
Mix brown sugar, nuts, flour, and melted butter together in a small bowl.
Sprinkle over the top of the sweet potato/apple mix.
Bake for 20 to 30 minutes, until the top is golden brown and bubbly.
Until next time,
Take care,
Darren
Harmony Shift 