Using the harvest into winter
By Marilyn Wiley
With winter and the holidays upon us, there continues to be a wonderful harvest of nutritious fruits and vegetables.
The dark orange of sweet potatoes, winter squash, pumpkins, and carrots indicates they are excellent sources of beta-carotene, the compound that is converted to Vitamin A in the body. The dark green of chard, kale, and broccoli show these vegetables are also good sources of Vitamin A, (the orange beta carotene is masked by the dark green chlorophyll) as well as Vitamin C and minerals. The common potato is a good source of Vitamin C. All of these vegetables are a great addition to cold weather meals. Apples add fiber and nutrients to our diet.
The problem with these nutritious vegetables is that we often try to make them better by adding unnecessary high calorie ingredients.
For example, cream soups made with any of the above vegetables which also contain cream or cheese can add extra calories that our bodies don’t need. If you are making cream soups, use fat free evaporated milk as the “cream.” This will add creaminess without the extra calories. Fat free sour cream can also be used in cooking to increase flavor and creaminess without adding fat.
Recipes with vegetables such as sweet potatoes, pumpkins, and winter squash often call for high calorie brown sugar, cream, and butter which can quadruple the calories, so don’t fry them, cream them, or mix them with cheese, cream, butter, marshmallows, or crispy bacon. A sweet potato casserole can have as many as 500 calories per serving, 400 more than a simple roasted sweet potato. Roasted sweet potato wedges sprinkled with a small amount of olive oil and herb seasonings are a great addition to any meal, but add few calories.
Hot drinks are a welcome beverage on chilly nights, but hot chocolate, pumpkin-spice lattes, eggnog and apple cider have extra calories. Be careful with hot, cold, and alcoholic beverages because they add calories that we don’t compensate for by consuming fewer other calories. If you choose to drink alcohol, choose light beer or restrict yourself to one 12-ounce beer, about 150 calories.
Pie favorites, such as pecan, apple, pumpkin, and sweet potato, start with healthy ingredients. Unfortunately, high calorie and fat extras such as buttery piecrusts, sugars, and cream are added. Skip the crusts and make pumpkin custard served with light whipped topping.
Keep the portion small and enjoy the dessert. Low-fat pumpkin or apple muffins give you the nutrients and flavor without sabotaging your daily calorie intake.
Two other comfort foods associated with cooler weather are macaroni and cheese and the stuffing for our holiday turkey. Stuffing often contains high fat ingredients such as butter and sausage. Add more carrots and celery to your stuffing recipe and omit the sausage and butter. Substitute flavorful chicken or turkey stock for the butter and keep the portion small. Macaroni and cheese can be modified by using low-fat cheese, low fat milk, and some broccoli, or other vegetables, to improve the nutrients and decrease the calories. When using boxed macaroni and cheese mix, omit the butter or margarine in the recipe, use low fat milk and add some grated Parmesan cheese for extra flavor. Be aware of the amount of food you are eating, and check the portion size on the recipe or package; it is easy to eat two or three times as much as the normal portion.
The other part of the calorie equation is activity. Stay physically active to balance the calories consumed by walking 10,000 steps a day (it sounds daunting, but it's amazing how many steps one does just around the house) and include other activities in your daily routine.
To better tolerate outdoor activities in cold weather, add synthetic winter underwear, try exercising indoors at a local health club, or go walking at the mall.
Marilyn Wiley is a Registered Licensed Dietician and the Consulting Nutritionist for Elder Services of Berkshire County.
