Healthy Holidays
By Marcus A. Williams
Now that you have some dif- Other ingredient alternatives are: -Use smoked turkey neckbones or
ferent ideas for holiday dinner, -Using raw sugar (i.e. brown turkey bacon for greens instead of
don’t forget about your health. sugar) instead of refined sugar l. ham or pork for flavoring.
Nutritious cooking is the way to -Use olive oil instead of vegetable -Use evaporated or skim milk
keep yourself – and your family – or canola oil. instead of whole milk.
healthy. -Use natural herbs like ginger, gar- -Use spray butter on veggies like
lic, onion, parsley or sage instead of corn-on-the-cob instead of butter
Healthy Ingredients
the traditional table salt for season- sticks.
ing.
Cooking begins with the good,
healthy ingredients.
Vegetables are most essential to
a balanced meal, as they are low
in fat and calories.
Also, foods such as brown rice
and grains, as well as the beans
will start you on your way to
healthy meal planning.
Having the right ingredients is
only half the battle. Food should
be prepared properly for healthy
cooking. For instance, vegetables
should not be over-cooked – but
instead should be steamed.
Steaming
Steaming is fast, preserves
nutrients, and it works best for
fresh and frozen vegetables such
as carrots, broccoli, spinach and
roots like beets, parsnips, peas and
beans.
If you don’t have a steaming
basket, you can fill a pot with
mixed vegetables and add about
1 1/2 inches of unsalted water and
cover.
Then, simmer until the veg-
etables are tender. Check often to
make sure that the water doesn’t
evaporate. If it gets too low, just
add a little more water.
If you choose, keep the remain-
ing broth for soup.
24 Trends A publication of the Afro-American Newspapers
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