December: The gift of Healthy Food

Homemade food and cooking ingredients can be great gifts for friends and family this holiday season. It is also the time of year when local food pantries need additional food items. This season try giving health-related gifts and providing healthier food donations. The possibilities are endless, but here are a few ideas to help get started.

Healthy holiday gifts and donations:
Fruit and vegetable bouquet. Try giving a colorful selection of fruits and vegetables, keeping them at peak quality by putting the basket together shortly before giving it. Examples of items to include are green and red grapes, apples, oranges, peppers, broccoli, cucumber, or zucchini.
Holiday snack jar. Select a clear, covered container and fill it with healthy snacks such as small boxes of raisins, trail mix, 100- calorie packs of various crackers or snack mixes, dried fruit, baked chips and pretzels. Decorate the lid and/or jar with holiday cheer.
Spice up your gifts. Zest up your holiday gifts this year by giving an assortment of herbs and spices. Examples that are good at replacing or mimicking the taste of salt include black pepper, minced garlic or garlic powder, minced onion or onion powder, basil, oregano, curry powder, and ginger. Examples of sweet-tasting spices that help reduce the need for sugar in certain foods and recipes are cinnamon, allspice, cloves, nutmeg, ginger, cardamom, mace, and anise.
Mailing holiday food gifts. Food is a popular holiday gift and can be mailed safely if carefully chosen, well packaged and delivered in a timely manner. Coffee blends are easy to pack into decorative plastic or metal containers. Dried foods, nuts and dry mixes such as spiced teas, herb blends and party mixes, are also good choices.
Gift certificate from your kitchen: Give a homemade “gift certificate” for fresh, healthy treats from your kitchen. You might promise to cook a complete meal for several people or to bake one fresh loaf of bread per month for the next year.
Donating food items. Help your local food pantry improve the quality of the food it distributes by donating healthier items:
• Fruits: Canned fruit (such as peaches, pears and pineapples) in water or its own juices, no- sugar-added applesauce, dried fruits (such as raisins, cranberries and apricots) or 100 percent canned or boxed juices.
• Vegetables: Low-sodium or “no-salt-added” canned vegetables and soups.
• Grains: Brown rice, whole grain cereal, dry noodles and pastas, popcorn, and low-fat graham crackers.
• Protein: Canned chicken, turkey or tuna (choose canned in water or lower fat), canned or dried beans (such as black, kidney, navy or pinto), unsalted nuts such as peanuts, almonds or walnuts, and peanut butter.
• Dairy: Examples include non-fat dry milk, evaporated or canned milk, and pudding cups made with milk (non-refrigerated).
We all know that during the holiday season, eating healthy can seem downright impossible. Between shopping for the holidays, family and work responsibilities and sometimes not enough sleep, temptation to indulge in your favorite holiday foods can be hard to resist. This holiday season, instead of feeling bad about making and eating your favorite holiday dishes and treats, make some simple substitutions to bump up the nutrition and decrease the fat, calories, and sodium in your recipes to have a healthier holiday season. Check out the following tips on making healthy holiday substitutions.
Making Healthy Holiday Substitutions:
• Flour: Try substituting whole wheat flour for half of the called for all-purpose flour in baked goods such as cakes and muffins to increase the nutrient content of your treats. Whole grains provide many nutrients vital for health, such as dietary fiber, B vitamins (thiamin, riboflavin, niacin, and folate), and minerals (iron, magnesium, and selenium).
• Cream: Top off holiday pies with frozen or low-fat yogurt instead of whipped cream or ice cream. When recipes call for sour cream, use plain, low-fat or fat-free yogurt to make snacks that are lower in fat and calories. Dairy products that retain their calcium content such as yogurt have calcium as well as potassium, vitamin D, and protein.
• Seasoning Salt: When the recipe calls for seasoning salt, such as garlic salt, celery salt, or onion salt try using herb only seasoning, such as garlic powder, celery seed, onion flakes, or use finely chopped herbs garlic, celery, or onions. According to the 2005
Dietary Guidelines, a healthy adult should not exceed 2,300 mg of sodium a day, however many Americans consume twice that amount.
• Eggs: For cakes, cookies, and quick breads try using egg whites or cholesterol free egg substitute instead of whole eggs. Two egg whites or ¼ cup cholesterol free egg substitute can be used in many recipes in place of one whole egg. One large egg has about 213 mg of cholesterol, which is all located in the yolk, and it is recommended that healthy adults limit dietary cholesterol to less than 300 mg per day. Egg whites contain no cholesterol.
The National Institutes of Health say Americans gain about a pound every winter holiday season. Although one pound sounds small, over several years this adds up. Remember, obesity doesn’t happen overnight, pounds accumulate slowly over time. So start a tradition this holiday season by getting creative and making your holiday recipes healthier through simple substitutions.
Information shared from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension Services
By: Jennifer Duhon, MS, RD, LDN Area Nutrition Agent , St. Landry Parish, LSU AgCenter