Change for the better

Heather Little-White, Contributor

How do you resist Grandma's rich puddings with the 'hell a top and hell a bottom'? Or can you live without that old-time favourite - fried chicken?

Even without any diagnosed disease like hypertension, diabetes, heart disease or obesity, it is advisable that persons watch their intake of fats, salt and sugars. One easy way to do that is to assess the ingredients in your recipes and do a recipe makeover.

Eating a healthy diet is one of the best ways to reduce your risk of heart disease, diabetes, some cancers and obesity. Modifying your favourite recipes is an easy way to go. Make them more nutritious and lower in fat by reducing high-fat ingredients or substituting more healthful ingredients, says Colorado State University (CSU).

Making changes to your recipe mean making changes to your eating lifestyle. Any recipe can be transformed to reduce calories, fat and sodium or to boost nutrition content without much change to flavour. Recipes are special to the developer of the recipe but they are only a guide to new culinary creations with new ingredients as well as easier and healthier cooking methods.

There are several ways to modify your recipe in your own 'test kitchen' at home. The chief makeover techniques include:

1. Modifying preparation techniques.
2. Changing ingredients.
3. Cutting portion size.

• Modifying preparation techniques.

We use the example of your favourite fried chicken recipe to show how it can be souped up in its preparation to make it more delicious and healthy.

Start by marinating the chicken in a liquid of selected ingredients. This keeps it juicy and moist and adds flavour.

Remove and discard the chicken skin, which is high in saturated fat. Typical fried chicken has 7g of saturated fat per serving, but done in the oven it only has 2g.

To maintain a crispy, 'fried chicken-like' coating, dredge the chicken in a blend of wholewheat flour, paprika, thyme and sesame seeds. This gives it great full flavour with less fat and calories. Wholewheat flour adds fibre and nutrients.

Instead of frying, place chicken on a greased, non-stick baking sheet and bake until the coating is crispy.

These easy steps give the chicken a delicious, crispy outer crust that is significantly lower in total fat, saturated fat and calories.The same procedure can used in other healthy 'fried' recipes for foods like zucchini and fish.

• Changing ingredients

1. Analyse the ingredient list and decide which ones you want to substitute or eliminate to achieve your goal of reduced sodium, fat or sugar. For example, you can reduce sugar in many baked products by a third and you can saute foods in less oil.

2. Decide on what foods to eliminate without altering taste.

3. To boost nutrient content, decide what products you can add, like shredded carrots to boiled cornmeal dumplings or to home-made pizzas.

4. Make changes gradually, especially if the ingredient has a functional purpose, such as eggs or sugar in baked products.

5. Consider taste, texture and appearance as you change ingredients. You may need to add herbs to compensate for the salt you have reduced.

• Reducing portion size

If the recipe is high in fat or sugar, reduce portion size. For example, if the recipe calls for 1/4 cup of cheese sauce with mashed potatoes, you could serve 2 tablespoons and add some culinary herbs for flavour.

The following suggestions from CSU and other nutrition specialists are designed to help you lighten up your recipes to improve your and your family's health and weight.

• For salt-restricted diets

1. Reduce by half the amount of salt requested in a recipe.
2. Use low-sodium soy sauce and chicken broth in recipes.
3. Drain liquid and rinse canned foods when cooking beans, peas or vegetables.
4. Reduce the salt in cooking water.
5. Add herbs, spices and citrus juice instead of salt.
   

Heather Little-White, PhD, is a nutrition and lifestyle consultant in the Corporate Area. Send comments to editor@gleanerjm.com or fax 922-6223.