As holiday meals approach, some individuals may be tempted to make unhealthy nutritional choices. However, Assistant Professor in the Dietetics department David Clark said making healthier choices may be easier than you think.
He said some foods contain healthier elements than others, such as turkey or ham.
“Turkey is a lean-meat anyway, so I normally stock up on the turkey,” he said. “I’ll go for the white meat; the dark meat has more saturated fat in it, but it’s a good protein source.”
He said that ham, however, is typically marbled with fat and is cured with salt.
“When you are comparing ham or turkey, turkey is always going to be your healthiest choice,” he said.
Clark said that gravies are high in fat. However, he said it’s still okay to eat as long as an individual doesn’t overindulge. In addition, he said purchasing the jarred fat-free or low-fat gravy is a good option as well.
He said stuffing contains B-vitamins; however, whole-wheat stuffing is the healthier option, because it also contains fiber.
He said cranberries are currently in-season and now may be a good time to discover your own cranberry sauce recipes and make it yourself, instead of using the canned cranberry sauce which contains a lot of sugar.
He said cranberries contain antioxidants and are good for the kidneys.
He said that between baked, mashed and sweet potatoes, sweet potatoes are the healthiest option because they contain antioxidants and fiber. However, he said with all three options to go light on the toppings.
He said green beans are a healthy food choice because they are a plant food and contain antioxidants and fiber.
He said his dessert choices revolve around better nutritional options as well.
“When I pick dessert, it would be easy for me to pick the chocolate pie. But I try to pick something like the pumpkin pie, because I know it has pumpkin; it has fiber, antioxidants in there, where chocolate pie is cocoa and sugar,” he said.
He said he also has his own modified recipes.
“If there’s any sugar that you can take out and replace with Splenda … I can’t tell the difference,” Clark said. “Anything with lower-fat. I try to stay as close to whole-foods as I can.”
He said before approaching a big meal, he will eat a light meal, such as a salad before- hand.
“I tend to make sure that I eat a small meal before I go to a party,” he said. “I’m not starved when I get there; so if it’s a buffet-style party, I’m not over-indulging. It just helps keep my sweet-tooth in check.”
In addition, he said it is unhealthy for an individual to avoid eating before a big meal, then gorging themselves during the holiday feast.
He said this is because when a person does this, their stomach stretches; making it harder for their stomachs to go back to normal size afterward, thus making overeating more of a possibility.
He said it is also unhealthy for an individual’s weight to fluctuate by overeating, then later working it off in the gym.
“That’s where you get that yoyo effect,” he said. “You may gain five to 10 pounds over the holidays and drop it in January, that’s not healthy. You don’t want to gain and lose weight like that.”
He said for those traveling, fast food may not be as bad of a healthy choice as one thinks.
“Fast food gets a bad rap; you just have to make better choices,” Clark said. “Your double-bacon whopper may not be your better choice there … fast food places are getting more aware that we’re looking for healthier food choices.”
Listed on page 4 are recipes directly from Clark. He said he feels that nutrition is the “preventative medicine.”