Holiday Nutrition and Health Ideas: Whole Grains

Whitney Wolstenholm - UNL Junior Dietetic Major

• The holidays are coming and there are many ways to improve your holiday eating habits. Here are a few tips to add a healthful twist to your holiday meals and snacks:
• Add some fiber by serving fruit and vegetable trays. Try to cover 50% of the food table with fruit and vegetable dishes. Here are some winter options for your fruit and veggie arrays:
  For fruit trays or fruit salads, try apple slices (dip in lemon or orange juice to prevent browning), orange slices or wedges, melon cubes, grapes, and canned pineapple.
• For raw veggie trays, try jicama, baby carrots, celery sticks, sugar snap peas, broccoli and cauliflower florets, and cherry and grape tomatoes.
• Keep dips and spreads as light as possible by substituting nonfat sour cream, light cream cheese, light or low-fat mayonnaise, and low-fat yogurt for the more caloric versions made with sour cream, cream cheese, mayonnaise and salad dressing and whole milk yogurt.
• Look for ways to add fiber by using beans (such as garbanzo, kidney, soy, etc.) to your dishes to beef up the fiber and plant protein, which will help you feel fuller faster. It's easy to use beans in salads, casseroles, and appetizers.
• Serve whole grains or whole-grain blends. You can use half whole-wheat flour in nut breads, muffins, and even cookie recipes. You can use whole-wheat blend pastas, whole grain crackers, and whole wheat (or whole wheat blend) dinner rolls. For snacks choose whole grain chips such as Multigrain Tostitos.
• Serve lean meats and fish. Try meat options that are lower in fat (and saturated fat) and high in protein. Try cooked shrimp served with cocktail sauce, roasted sliced turkey breast, lean ham, and sliced lean roast beef. Grilled or broiled salmon filet makes a great appetizer when served with whole-grain crackers.
• Dish up lighter and smaller portions of desserts. Use a whole grain cookie for making a cookie pie crust. For a topping use light Cool-Whip or frozen yogurt. When cutting slices make them half the size you normally do. This way, you can try everything you want without going overboard.
• Offer "light" condiments on the buffet. Try spicy mustard, light or low-fat mayo, barbecue sauce, cranberry sauce, fruit chutney, relishes, and so on.

Make interesting substitutions such as:

• Use yellow or sweet potatoes instead of white mashed potatoes.
• Top green been casserole with whole wheat baked chips.
• Use whole wheat bread to make stuffing.
• Give salads more color by substituting spinach for lettuce and adding many vegetables.
• Use a light olive oil dressing to add essential fats.

Try no- and lower-calorie drinks such as:

• Holiday tea
• Mineral water with a twist of lemon or lime
  Holiday punch made with diet soda (like gingerale or lemon-lime soda) and/or light cranberry juice
• Hot chocolate made with skim milk

Try something new. Every year try a new or more healthful version of an old favorite. Your family may like it just as much (or more than) the alternative. Use free resources to help you find a healthy recipe your family would like. Grocery store dietitians have many recipes available for their customers. The internet also has endless recipe sites such as:

• http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/healthy-recipes/RE99999
• http://apps.nccd.cdc.gov/dnparecipe/recipesearch.aspx
• http://www.michigan.gov/documents/RecipeBook_9313_7.pdf
• http://www.foodnetwork.com/healthy-eating/index.html
• Have small plates to discourage over eating.

Encourage physical activity. Get your family and friends to get active. It will be fun and good exercise too. Try some of the following:

• Dancing
• Holiday caroling or a moonlight, candlelight, or flashlight walk around your neighborhood (weather permitting).
• Ping-Pong, billiards, foosball, or other games that involve some action.
• Most of all, enjoy the time with your family and friends!

Nutrition Resources

Benefits of Whole Grains
Whole Grains (gNc - Good Nutrition Counts program, Fall 2008)
Holiday Whole Grains
My Pyramid
Whole Grains Council
My Pyramid
Vegetarian Resources Group
American Dietetic Association
5 A Day for Better Health: National Cancer Institute
FDA Food Label
International Food Information Council Foundation (IFIC)
National Dairy Council
American Heart Association
American Institute for Cancer Research (AICR)
American Diabetes Association