Healthy Cooking by design

I have a few tricks up my sleeve that will help me not feel miserably full during Thanksgiving week.  I think my word for the week is going to be moderation.  No way am I depriving myself of the goodies, just using moderation to enjoy them.

Here’s my “before, during, and after” strategy:

While cooking-

• Roast the turkey, not deep fry it
• Skim the fat well off the drippings before thickening into gravy
• Make mashed potatoes with milk instead of cream
• Cut a stick of butter into teaspoon-sized pats for easy serving control
• Top sweet potatoes with brown sugar, pecans, and slivers of butter instead of marshmallows
• Cut the sugar in half in all recipes

While serving and eating-

• Limit my appetizers
• Put one spoon of everything that I want on my plate
• Skip the roll and butter (or only have one with one pat of butter)
• Eat slowly and enjoy the conversation
• If I drink calories (soda, eggnog, etc.), have only one cup
• If I go back for seconds (because it’s optional), choose the 2 items I’d like another spoon of
• If I want pie, choose which type (probably pumpkin), and cut one slice in half (that way I can have the other 1/2 slice later in the day).

After the meal-

• Send other guests home with servings of things I don’t want a lot of left in the house (pies, etc.)
• Give myself full permission to enjoy all those same things again at the next meal
• If there’s too much food left the next day, pack some up and take to the local firehouse and tell them how thankful I am for their service.

Using these tricks will allow me to enjoy all of my favorite foods but never have to loosen my belt, eat tums, or feel any guilt.  Sounds like a plan to be thankful for to me.

One of my daughters caught my attention by saying “Mmmmm, THIS is my comfort food.”  The interesting thing is she was eating tuna with a little mayo on crackers.  Now I’m sure that particular snack doesn’t make many people’s “Top 10 Comfort Foods” list.  Which made me think, “Who decides what gets called ‘comfort food’ and exactly what criteria do they use?”  The answer to the first part of the question is you; or a combination of your extended family and you.  That means not only do you get to choose the criteria, you can change it anytime you want.

We all understand that we can choose to change things for our benefit.  For example, years ago, my mother gave up salt.  Initially, she thought she could never enjoy favorites like baked potatoes or fried eggs without the salt.  But her taste buds and her thoughts about salt (and its effects) changed and now she enjoys both foods without the salt.  People who smoke cigarettes enjoy the smell, the taste, and the ritual of smoking.  If they have a brush with death, they easily give up the cigarettes in exchange for enjoying a longer time here with the ones they love.  Why?  Because their thoughts and priorities about smoking change.

But can we apply those same types of beneficial changes to comfort foods like ice cream straight out of the carton or fried chicken and mashed potatoes?  Can our taste buds and our thoughts change to no longer find those foods appealing, but find their healthier replacements delicious and comforting?  Absolutely - YES!  Although, I would suggest the change in thinking comes first and the taste buds catch up.

My change in thinking began when I started seeing unhealthy foods as enemies to my plans, no matter how familiar they seemed.  “My plans” included a nice figure, nice skin, no health limitations, and a long and happy life.  I began to associate bad fats, highly processed grains, sugar, chemicals and additives as hindering me from what I wanted to do with my life and my family.  I saw them for what they truly were - things that would make me work even harder to achieve my goals.

But I didn’t just make a “Don’t Eat” list.  I explored good foods I could substitute for them instead.  MANY of my initial trials were less than successful.  You could say I found lots of ways to NOT find healthy comfort foods.  But I kept trying and have succeeded.  My mind is made up that healthy foods are helping me accomplish my goals.  And my taste buds now enjoy whole grain foods, good fats, lots of veggies, and very little sugar even though I grew up loving biscuits with sausage gravy, ice cream with hot homemade chocolate sauce, and could down an entire bag of Ruffles potato chips in one sitting.  I have a friend who says “Nothing tastes as good as health” and I now understand and agree.

As you consider your plans with the people you love, if your list of ‘Top 10 Comfort Foods’ isn’t helping you accomplish them - change your list.  You truly get to decide which foods bring you comfort, and once you do, your taste buds will learn to agree with you.

I’m dedicating this post to the person in Iowa who needs these tips. I was pondering how to say yes to holiday parties without saying yes to thousands of extra calories to reckon with later.  There really are lots of strategies and there is at least one that will work for you.  Here are some of my favorites:

• Eat a small nutritious meal before you go the the party so you will not be very hungry.  Go for the purpose of enjoying a dessert that you get to choose (as if you had a coupon for one free dessert).
• View the party food as dinner and make a balanced meal out of what you put on your plate.  Start by choosing vegetables and fruits if available (but go very easy on any sauces), add a serving of something with meat, and end with a dessert.  Voila - one nice plate of dinner you didn’t have to cook.
• Decide ahead of time what you want to eat - i.e., one dessert and one drink.  Then take your time looking at all your options before choosing which dessert and which drink.
• Eat slowly while visiting.  View the talking as the most important thing (the reason you came), and a bite or sip as something you do only at a break in the conversation (something that is an interruption to the reason you came).
• Decide which items you will allow yourself in large quantities.  For example - unlimited water and cut up veggies (just a drizzle of ranch on your plate to touch the veggies to).  Start with water and veggies, enjoy a couple of other items, and then go back for more water and veggies.
• If it is potluck, bring something nutritious you can enjoy guilt-free .  It is likely there are other people attending who would appreciate it as well.
• Look on Calorie King to find the calories of some likely snacks at the party and what amount of exercise they require to burn.  For example 235 for a piece of chocolate cake with chocolate icing and 192 for a 16 oz coke.  That total of 427 calories requires 2 hours of walking to burn off.  On the other hand, you could eat 4 plates of mixed veggies and not even have half that amount of calories.

I think setting a goal and meeting an expectation are important keys.  If I decide ahead of time generally what I want to eat and drink at a party and then meet that expectation, I can stop at that point and feel satisfied.  If my only expectation is that there will be a lot of food that will taste good, I have no trigger signaling me to stop eating.  If my only goal is to go and eat free food that tastes good, I can do that all night.  But I will regret that choice (or lack of goal setting) at some future point.

So the next time you RSVP for a party and decide which outfit you’ll wear and if you’ll need a jacket, also decide which strategy you’ll use to help you be happy and healthy long after the holiday.

People ask me all the time to help them get started eating right.  “Eating right” is a very broad category with many differing opinions.  But I’ll make you a deal - I will hold back the teacher in me who wants to give you 30 minutes about nutrition and lifestyle if you will resist the desire to uncover a magic shortcut or quick fix.  With that said, here is my attempt at some ULTRA CONDENSED first steps to eating right.

• Set a specific goal, like “I want to: stay the same weight; lose weight; lose fat; lower my cholesterol; feel better; etc”. (No, it’s not helpful to pick more than one goal to start.)
• If the goal relates to weight, first calculate how many calories you need to eat to maintain your current weight. That formula and other tips are in my category ‘Counting Calories’.  To stay the same weight, eat that number of calories daily using food from the Mediterranean Pyramid; to lose weight, eat 500 less than you require for weight maintenance.  (No, it is not helpful longterm to eat even less to lose weight faster.)
• If you want to lose fat, replace your bad fats with healthy fats used moderation and add a walk daily.  Some specific details on fats are in my category ‘Oils’.
• If you want to lower your cholesterol, add barley and oats to your diet and avoid hydrogenated oils like those in commercially baked goods or fried fast food.  See The Mayo Clinic’s article ‘The Top 5 Foods to Lower Your Numbers’.
• If you want to feel better, begin to follow the guidelines on the Mediterranean Pyramid, take a multi-vitamin, drink water, take a daily walk, and get a good nights sleep.

I look at eating right as a lifestyle of eating nutritious food and making educated healthy choices, but hopefully these ultra condensed steps will help someone just get started.  Whatever your goal is, do a little research on how to accomplish it and then take a first step.  Feel free to comment with a specific question or email me about providing a detailed analysis, nutritional packet, and custom recipes for you.