Healthful Holidays> A Hospital Nutritionist says that reducing fat, sugar and salt during preparation to make food more nutritious doesn’t necessarily result in dishes that taste bland or boring at special meals

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PITTSFIELD — Thanksgiving and Christmas — two holidays that have become synonymous with food, food and more food, and a challenge for anyone focusing on healthy eating.

Reducing fat, sugar or salt intake doesn’t mean blah holiday meals, according to Bob Sedgwick, director of Nutrition Services at Sebasticook Valley Hospital. Sedgwick says you can have your dinner — and pie, too.

Planning, adapting, moderation and appearance are key elements in a healthy holiday meal.

“By teaching people a little moderation, and how to make good choices,” he says. “They may still have that traditional pie after a healthy holiday meal.”

Turkey can be prepared without excess basting and added fats. Seasoning can be natural herbs and not salt. Potatoes can be baked, rather than mashed with excess butter and milk. Gravy may be “au jus,” meat juices, or a thickened broth, sans the fat. Margarine, preferably a low-fat variety, can be substituted for butter. Pumpkin pie can be planned for dessert minus excess fat or sugar.

Planning ahead is the key, says Sedgwick, along with simple substitutions and adaptations of traditional recipes.

Roasting bags for turkey are one of the best ways to reduce basting with excess butter or oil, says the hospital official. With the cooking bag, Sedgwick suggests adding a little water and flour to the bottom to prevent scorching, and create a base for a gravy. Using a minimum amount of oil, preferably olive or canola oil, will still provide enough liquid to serve the turkey au jus or by thickening the broth with a little cornstarch. Additional fat can be trimmed from turkey before cooking, and from the gravy by allowing the broth to set in the refrigerator long enough for the fat to come to the top to be skimmed off.

“You can eliminate an extra 2 to 5 grams of fat by removing the skin on the turkey or simply not eating it,” he says. “There is some variation in the fat content of white and dark meat, but it’s minimal — white being the preferred choice.”

Stuffing can be prepared with a traditional herb-seasoned stuffing mix, but with a butter substitute such as Butter Buds or a low-fat margarine. Adding vegetables to the stuffing will also add color, an important element in any meal, he says.

“We eat with our eyes first,” says Sedgwick. “Presentation is everything. Garnishes may be particularly important with a holiday meal to make the occasion more festive. Fresh cranberries around the turkey. A lemon twist on the peas. A little nutmeg or cinnamon on the squash.”

Simple substitutions can go a long way in making a meal healthier. In baking, Sedgwick points out that two egg whites equal one whole egg. The substitution removes the cholesterol, but maintains the volume. Using egg substitutes is another method of achieving the same goal, with a quarter of a cup equal to one egg.

“In most any recipe that calls for sugar, you can cut the sugar in half and not notice it,” continues Sedgwick. “If it calls for a pinch of salt, you don’t need it at all.”

In using a sugar substitute, 1 teaspoon equals a 1/4 cup of regular sugar. In cakes, applesauce is a good substitute for half the shortening or oil in the recipe. If a recipe calls for sour cream, Sedgwick substitutes low-fat yogurt in an equivalent amount.

“It will bake the same,” he maintains.

To reduce fat in recipes using milk, substitute low-fat milk for whole milk to cut the fat content in half, or eliminate fat with the use of skim milk. In recipes using butter, margarine is the healthier choice, while low-fat margarine is even better.

Here are two recipes recommended by Sedgwick:

Turkey Stuffing

1/2 cup chopped onion

1/2 cup chopped celery 3 tablespoons vegetable margarine

1/2 cup salt-free chicken broth Non-caloric vegetable spray 8 slices toasted, whole-grain bread, cut into cubes 1 1/2 teaspoons poultry seasoning

1/4 teaspoon pepper

Saute onion and celery in margarine until they are golden. Pour sauteed vegetables over cubed bread and toss. Add poultry seasoning and pepper and toss again until well mixed.

Spray a small baking pan with non-caloric vegetable spray. Put stuffing in and bake at 325 F. for approximately a half hour.

Per 1/4-cup serving: 120 calories, 13 grams carbohydrates, 3 grams protein, 6 grams fat, 0 milligrams cholesterol, and 232 milligrams sodium.

Diabetic exchanges per serving: 1 start/bread exchange and 1 fat exchange.

Savory Giblet Gravy

Defatted broth from roasted turkey 1 can (15 ounces) defatted chicken or turkey broth 3 to 4 tablespoons of cornstarch 2 1/4 to 2 1/2 cups cold water

To get defatted broth from a roasting turkey, use a broth separator (available where kitchen products are sold) or a baster. Tip the pan and place the baster tip under the fat so it sucks up the fat-free drippings.

Put the broth into a separate saucepan. Add one can defatted chicken or turkey broth with one can of water (about 2 cups).

Mix the cornstarch and 1/4 to 1/2 cup water (depending on how thin you want the gravy), and add to gravy. Mix with a wire wisk until smooth and bubbly.

If desired, chop turkey giblets and add to gravy. Season further, if necessary or desired. Yield 1 1/2 quarts.

Per 1/4-cup serving: 13 caolories, 2 grams carbohydrate, 1 gram protein, 0 gram fat, 0 milligram cholesterol, 130 milligram sodium.

Diabetic exchanges per serving: free food.

Both recipes are provided by Heather Leclerc, M.S., R.D., nutrition coordinator for Eastern Maine Medical Center Diabetes and Nutrition Center.