Miller County Newsletters
Haley's Comment
Healthy Holiday Foods to Include in your Menu
November 7, 2007
On average, a traditional Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner can contain more
than 2,000 calories, which is only 1,500 calories shy of gaining a pound. When
we are trying to plan our menu, many times we focus on what traditional foods we
will serve, and how we will fix these foods.
If you have a family member or guest who requires a special diet, you may be
panicking, thinking that you can not prepare your traditional foods. There are
still many nutritional goodies from our traditional dinner that we should not
overlook, and these goodies can be prepared for all of our guests.
There are numerous holiday foods that you can include in your menu that will
please everyone, but may leave them less likely having to let out their belt at
the end of the meal. Just don’t tell them that you have made them a little
healthier.
Here is my list of the top holiday foods to include in your menu.
Pumpkin - Pumpkins are low in calories, fat, and sodium and high in
fiber. They are good sources of Vitamin A, Vitamin B, potassium, protein, and
iron. Pumpkin is quite low in calories and is a healthy holiday food. Pumpkin
pie, however, becomes a high-calorie food because it’s made with eggs, sugar,
evaporated milk, and baked in a high-fat pie crust.
Cranberries - Cranberries are packed with Vitamin C and also provide a
fair amount of dietary fiber and manganese. Cranberries also contain a type of
antioxidant that can prevent the adhesion of bacteria to the urinary tract
sometimes causing urinary tract infection.
Sweet Potatoes - Sweet potatoes are a rich source of antioxidants such as
Vitamin C and beta-carotene. Similar to the banana, it is also an excellent
source of potassium. If you eat the skin, you will also reap the health benefits
of fiber, making the sweet potato a healthy holiday food.
Green Beans - Green beans are probably one of the healthiest holiday
foods out there. They are an excellent source of vitamin C, vitamin K, and
manganese. They also contain a good amount of vitamin A, dietary fiber,
potassium, folate, and iron. Green bean casserole is a traditional holiday dish
that is high in calories due to the cream of mushroom soup, fried onions, and
milk. If you must have green bean casserole for your holiday meal, make it using
fat-free cream of mushroom soup. No one will know unless you tell them. Or you
can make Southern Style Green Beans with only 38 calories and wonderful flavor.
Turkey - In addition to being an excellent source of protein, turkey
offers the least amount of fat per serving, among all other meats—if you pass on
the skin. It is low in fat and is an inexpensive source of iron, zinc,
phosphorus, potassium, and B vitamins. A serving of turkey is a 2- to 3-ounce
cooked portion, which is equivalent to a new deck of playing cards.
It is possible to fix your favorite holiday foods and still enjoy them. If
you love pumpkin pie, try this healthier version. You will save about 100
calories per serving over the traditional pumpkin pie.
Best Light Pumpkin Pie
16 pieces of ginger snap cookies
1 (16 ounce) can pumpkin
1/2 cup egg whites
1/3 cup sugar or sugar substitute
1 1/2 cup evaporated skim milk
2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grind ginger snaps in food processor or crush
fine. Lightly spray a glass pie pan with cooking spray. Pat cookie crumbs into
the bottom of the pan evenly.
Mix the rest of the ingredients in a medium-sized bowl and pour into the
crust. Bake until knife comes out clean from center—about 45 minutes.
Refrigerate and slice in 8 wedges.
Tried and True Tips:
Store-bought pumpkin pie has about 260 to 290 calories per slice.
If using a traditional pie crust in place of ginger snaps, increases pie from
165 to 220 calories per slice.
Slice this pie into 10 wedges, which decreases calories to 120 per slice.
For more information on Healthy Holiday Treats, contact our office at the
University of Arkansas, Division of Agriculture, Cooperative Extension Service
in Miller County at 400 Laurel, Suite 215 in Texarkana, call 870-779-3609, or
e-mail me at chaley@uaex.edu. We will gladly send you our 6 page handout
featuring healthy holiday recipes for each of the foods mentioned. You may also
visit us on the web at
http://www.uaex.edu/miller/News/dollar_stretcher/
healthy_holiday_november2007.pdf
We appreciate your feedback!
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