Ask a Dietitian

As seen on BCTV December 19/00
The Good, the Bad and the Ugly.

The holiday season brings with it many age old traditions such as getting together with family and friends to prepare and enjoy a hearty Christmas Feast. The traditional Christmas Dinner, although accompanied by many sinfully delicious treats, is actually a very healthy meal.

Cranberry Sauce. The pungent berries that make up this sauce consists of 90% water and 10% carbohydrate and fibre. Their major nutrient is vitamin C whose role in preventing scurvy is well known. Unfortunately, if you look at the vitamin C content on the label of store bought cranberry sauce you will see that most of the vitamin C was lost during processing. Luckily, cranberry sauce is easy to make yourself and this way you can retain many of the nutrients.
Cooking Tip: When making a whole berry cranberry sauce it is a good idea to add the sugar after the cranberries have been cooked, letting it dissolve in the juice. Adding sugar earlier tends to toughen the skins.

Vegetables. Dark green leafy vegetables such as Brussels sprouts and orange and yellow vegetables such as carrots and turnips are high in antioxidant vitamins such as beta-carotene (Vitamin A). Dietary antioxidants have been linked to a lower risk of heart disease and cancer. These foods also provide you with potassium, folic acid, and fibre. Potassium-rich foods help improve sodium sensitivity, which is important for regulating blood pressure. New evidence suggests that folic acid may play a role in helping to reduce the risk of heart attacks and strokes, while fibre may work to lower blood cholesterol and glucose levels, as well as reduce the risk of colon cancer. When choosing your vegetables pick those with the darkest, richest colour to ensure maximum nutrition.
Cooking Tip: To reduce the loss of essential nutrients in the cooking water, try steaming your vegetables in a little bit of water.

One potato, two potato… Though regarded in the first half of this century as starchy and fattening, the potato has now been recognized as an ideal food. It contains only a trace of fat and little sodium. A medium sized potato delivers about 220 calories, and it’s an excellent source of vitamin C and B6 and of niacin, and a good source of fibre and potassium.
Cooking Tip: The best potato for mashing is the Idaho (Russet Burbank) potato. When mashing your potatoes, try using skim or 1% milk instead of cream and butter. It works just as well and nobody will know that it’s low fat except you. This Spud’s for You!

Fat Facts about Gravy. How much fat do you think is in the gravy that you pour liberally over your low-fat turkey and potatoes? Probably quite a bit if you make it from the turkey drippings.
Cooking Tips: Skim the fat from the drippings before making gravy. Whisk in low-fat broth or the cooking liquid from vegetables for a smooth, delicious gravy.

Why stuff the Stuffing? This year try preparing your stuffing in a casserole instead of inside the bird. Add vegetables or low-fat broth to moisten the stuffing instead of letting it soak up the fat from inside.

Cheers! Eggnog is a traditional holiday beverage. However, 4oz of nog together with 1 1/2 oz. dark rum can become a fairly calorie dense drink (264 calories). Instead of having straight eggnog, why not use 3oz skim milk and 1oz eggnog. This way you still get the flavour but you cut down on the fat.

Don’t forget to save room for dessert! By now everybody is so full from dinner, yet we still feel compelled to serve mince meat pie and hard sauce. I know, old traditions die hard, so why not improvise a little. Try serving mincemeat without the crust and have some frozen vanilla yogurt on top. If Pumpkin pie is the dessert of choice than make a low fat version. Use evaporated skim milk in the filling and top with a light whipped topping. If you are a Trifle Family then use a low fat custard mix, some low calorie whipped topping and cross your fingers that Grandpa doesn’t taste the difference. As a general rule, dessert can be part of a healthy diet if it contains less that 10g of fat per serving, is relatively low in calories and provides nutrients other than the basic carbohydrate, protein and fat, such as vitamins, calcium or fibre.

Safe Storage:

• Refrigerate (40oF or 4oC) or freeze (0oF or -18oC) perishables right away after shopping.
• Don’t crowd the refrigerator or freezer so tightly that air can’t circulate.

Safe Meat Handling

• Wash hands, utensils and cutting boards in hot soapy water after handling meat. Sanitize equipment (after washing) with a bleach solution (1 oz. bleach per gallon of water).
• Don’t taste raw meat.
• Thaw turkey in microwave or for 1-2 days in the refrigerator, but not on the kitchen counter.
• Cook turkey thoroughly to a minimum internal temperature of 82°C/180°F to kill food poisoning bacteria and parasites.
• Check for rare spots, especially near the centre of the meat near the bone.
• Do not let food sit at room temperature for more than 2 hours.
• Remove all the stuffing right away(if you cooked it inside the bird) and keep hot foods hot, (above 60°C/140°F) until they are eaten.
• Wrap and refrigerate or freeze all leftovers immediately.

Live A Little! You don’t have to avoid ALL foods high in fat and saturated fat ALL the time. It’s your average intake over a few days that counts, not in a single food or even a single meal. If you eat a high fat food or meal over the holidays, then balance your intake by choosing low-fat foods the rest of the day or the next day.

Wishing You All Healthy Holidays and a Merry Christmas.

For more information, drop by the Nutrition Education Centre between 1300-1500 hours (Monday to Friday) to speak with a Registered Dietitian/Nutritionist. Distributed by the Clinical Nutrition Services of the Department of Food and Nutrition, RCH. Any inquiries should be directed to 520-4261.

Watch for the Eating for Energy segment every Tuesday on BCTV’s Noon News Hour!