Planning your Thanksgiving menu? Here are some healthy ideas

Few of us exercise strict dietary control on Thanksgiving Day. Most of us cut ourselves a little slack to enjoy the traditional pleasures of turkey, potatoes, stuffing, gravy, pumpkin pie--more or less guilt-free. 

While certain dishes may be non-negotiable at your house, there's usually a bit of flexibility with the side dishes. Here are some truly delicious recipes that will up the nutritional ante of the meal. (If you've been invited to dinner, offer to bring a dish. Take one of these and you're guaranteed to have at least one healthy option.)

Each of these recipes from our sister site Epicurious.com has been analyzed using Nutrition Data's recipe analysis feature, so you can see the full nutritional breakdown of each one and save it to your My Recipes for future reference.

Edamame Dip with Crudite 
A lot of the damage on Thanksgiving Day happens before you even sit down to dinner. After filling on nuts, chips and dip, and crackers and cheese all afternoon, you're likely to arrive at the dinner table already stuffed! Instead, enjoy crisp crudite with a creamy but low-fat dip.
Click here for the recipe
Click here to view nutritional analysis.

Lemon-Roasted Green Beans with Marcona Almonds
Skip the heavy mushroom soup and fried onion treatment and try this light and elegant green bean dish. You can roast the green beans in the oven along with the turkey. If you can't find Marcona almonds, blanched regular almonds work just as well.
Click here for the recipe
Click here to view nutritional analysis.

Carrots and Brussels Sprouts
This just may be the perfect Thanksgiving side dish: seasonal, colorful, delicious, and super-nutritious as well.  The sweetness of the carrots is the perfect complement to the slight astringency of the Brussels sprouts. You can prep the vegetables ahead of time to make things less hectic in the kitchen.
Click here for the recipe
Click here to view nutritional analysis.

5 Minute Slaw
Just what the over-worked cook ordered: a side dish that practically makes itself.  In addition to being low in fat and calories and high in valuable nutrients, a crisp shredded salad is a welcome contrast to the heavier dishes on the menu.
Click here for the recipe
Click here to view nutritional analysis.

From our family to yours, a healthy happy holiday!

Protect your skin without blocking vitamin D production

July is UV Safety Month, an opportunity to remind everyone that using sunscreen will reduce your risk of skin cancer and prevent premature skin aging.  As with so many things, however, it may be possible to overdo it with the suncreeen. A limited amount of sun exposure (without sunscreen) may help to prevent vitamin D deficiency. See also this related post: Sunscreen, Vitamin D, and Cancer.

Eating certain foods can help protect your skin from the inside without interfering with vitamin D production in the skin. A combination of responsible sun exposure, an antioxidant-rich diet, and appropriate use of sunscreen may be the best of all worlds.

Foods that prevent and repair UV damage

Vitamins C and E are particularly effective in preventing and repairing ultraviolet damage to the skin.  Eating foods rich in these nutrients has actually been shown to help prevent or lessen the extent of a sunburn!

Here's the tricky part: These vitamins are much more effective together than either is by itself, but there aren't many foods that are high in both nutrients. Foods high in vitamin C include red and green bell peppers, guava, kale, parsley, collard greens, turnips, and broccoli.  Vitamin E is found in wheat germ oil, sunflower seeds, safflower and sunflower oils, almonds, and avocados.

To give your skin maximum protection, you'll need to combine foods from both groups.  Guacamole with fresh red and green pepper strips would make a delicious, skin-loving snack! Try this guacamole recipe from Epicurious.com. Or, how about a crisp broccoli salad topped with slivered almonds? Here's my own personal recipe.   

These foods help nourish and protect your skin, but remember to wear your sunscreen if you will be out in the sun for an extended period of time.

Tips and recipes for a healthier Memorial Day cookout

This weekend is the traditional opening of the summer grilling season (although we pretty much grill year-round at my house, snow or no!).  Grilling is a quick, convenient, and delicious way to prepare many foods. However, grilling also presents a health risk. Two separate types of carcinogenic compounds are produced by high-temperature grilling:

• heterocyclic amines (HCAs)
  HCAs form when a meat is directly exposed to a flame or very high-temperature surface. The creatine-rich meat juices react with the heat to form various HCAs, which have been shown to cause DNA mutation, and may be a factor in the development of certain cancers.
• polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs)
  PAHs form in smoke that's produced when fat from the meat ignites or drips on the hot coals of the grill. Various PAHs present in the resulting smoke adhere to the outside surface of the grilled meat. PAH exposure is also believed to be linked to certain cancers.

Here are some tips for dramatically reducing HCA and PAH content in grilled meats:

1. Select leaner meats.
   Leaner cuts of meat are less likely to drip fat on the grill and produce PAH-laden smoke.
2. Marinate meats before grilling.
   Researchers have determined that marinating meat prior to grilling, even for just a few minutes, can reduce HCA formation by 90% or more.
3. Grill at lower temperatures.
   Lower temperature "roasting" also greatly reduces HCA formation.
4. Prevent flare-ups.
   Flames from grill flare-ups cause the formation of both HCAs and PAHs. Keep an eye on your grill and turn meats frequently to minimize the chance of flare-ups.
5. Don't overcook meats.
   While it's important to cook poultry and ground meats thoroughly, be careful not to overcook any meat. Well-done or burnt meats contain higher levels of HCAs than less cooked meats.

Or, opt for a vegetarian cookout.  HCAs and PAHs are not formed when grilling  and the options are virtually unlimited: Try veggie kabobs, portobella mushrooms, or black bean burgers.

Here are a variety of recipes (both veggie and non) for a healthy, gourmet Memorial Day cookout. (Click on "see nutritional analysis" for a complete ND analysis of each recipe!

Grilled Asian Flank Steak with Sweet Slaw

Yogurt-Marinated Chicken Kebabs

Grilled Shiitakes with Ginger and Scallions

Bulgur Veggie Burgers with Lime Mayonnaise

Spicy Grilled Chicken with Green Onions

Grilled Lemons, Baby Artichokes, and Eggplant

Grilled Pork Loin with Fire-Roasted Pineapple Salsa

Ask Monica: What's a healthy kind of cheese?

Q.  I enjoy making quiche; however, I would like to make it with a healthy type of cheese.  I have been using mild cheddar cheese by Kraft.  Is there a healthy cheese to use? 

A. It depends on what you mean by "healthy"! Cheese contains a fair amount of fat and calories and much of the fat is saturated.  But fat, calories, and saturated fat are only unhealthy if eaten in excessive amounts.

If you are trying to cut fat or calories, some kinds of cheese, such as part-skim mozzarella, feta, and goat cheese, are naturally lower in fat and calories,  (Use our Nutrient Search Tool to find more.) There are also some reduced-fat versions of higher fat cheese (like cheddar) available. Personally, I don't think they taste good enough to eat on their own but you might find them acceptable in your quiche.

Processed imitation cheese products may have less fat but they are so full of chemicals, I'm not sure they could really be considered healthy. (I'm not even sure they should be considered food.) Finally, you could use whatever cheese you think tastes the best and simply cut back on the quantity a bit.

If you are using a store-bought pie crust, however, then I think you might have more to worry about than the cheese in your quiche. Most pre-made pie crusts are made with hydrogenated vegetable oils (shortening) which contain trans fats and there is really no amount of trans fats that could be considered healthy. Look for (or make) pie crusts with no hydrogenated vegetable oils to minimize the trans fats. 

Pie crust also contains lots of calories. So, again, if cutting fat and calories is your goal, consider a  frittata. Frittatas are sort of a cross between an omelette and a crustless quiche and are a household favorite around here.  Once you eliminate the crust--which doesn't have a whole lot going for it nutritionally anyway, you can probably go ahead and enjoy the cheese guilt-free!

Here is a frittata recipe to try (Click on "see nutrition information" for a complete ND analysis):

Spring Pea Frittata

How do I convert recipe measurements into grams or ounces?

Q.  Most of my recipes give the ingredients in cups, teaspoons, and tablespoons, not grams or ounces. But when analyzing recipes on ND, I can't always find the measurements I need. For example, I wanted to add 1/3 cup of dried egg whites to a recipe but my only options were grams or ounces. How do I convert these measurements ?

A. We have a conversion tool, which you'll find on the right hand side of the page. For example, the conversion tool will convert grams to ounces or tell you how many tablespoons are in a cup.

As handy as this is, it wouldn't have helped you here, though. The conversion tool will only convert weight measurements to other weight measurements (such as grams to ounces) or volume measurements to other volume measurements (such as cups to gallons).    But it will not convert a volume measurement (such as 1/3 of a cup) to weight (grams or ounces).

There’s no way to do that because weight and volume are not a constant relationship. A cup of water weighs 237 grams but the same volume of raisins weighs only 145 grams.

Every food in our database is analyzed by weight, so all foods are listed in 100-gram and 1-ounce serving sizes. For many foods, such as the raisins shown below, the USDA also provides a variety of volume-related meaures (and their weight equivalents), as well. This comes in very  handy when analyzing recipes. 

Unfortunately, the ingredient you were looking for (dried egg whites) is only listed in grams or ounces. In this case, check the nutrition facts label on the package of the food you are using. At the right, you'll see the nutrition facts label for some dried egg whites I found, indicating that 2 tablespoons equals 14 grams.  (That may vary from product to product, depending on the texture of the powder.)

So, if you added 6 tablespoons of these dried egg whites (which  is a little more than a third of a cup) to your recipe, you would add 42 grams (or 1.5 ounces) to your recipe analysis!

Great, healthy recipes for your Mardi Gras Celebration

Mardi Gras is coming up (February 24th). Whether you're planning a big celebration or just using it is an excuse for a festive family meal, here are some healthy recipes that fit the theme:

New Orleans Shrimp, Okra, and Tomato Saute 
(ND Analysis)

Asparagus, Peas, and Basil   
(ND analysis)

Edamame Succotash Salad 
(ND analysis)

Poached Rum Raisin Pears 
(ND analysis)

Use the "cook with this" button to find recipes

Q. I am interested in finding some great, tasty recipes for black-eyed peas.  Can you lead me to a link for some? Thanks!

A. On the right-hand side of every food detail page, you'll find a box that says "Cook with this!"

Enter in your search term (the field will be pre-filled with whatever food you're currently looking at) and click to search our sister site Epicurious.com for some great recipes. Here's a list of some good ideas for using black-eyed peas.

Analyzing recipes: accounting for unused ingredients

Q. I'm analyzing a a recipe that calls for chicken breasts to be coated in 2/3 cup of Bisquick Baking Mix. But after coating the chicken, there is quite a bit of mix left over. How do I calculate this correctly?

A. This question applies not only to items that are coated but also to foods that are marinated before cooking.  Usually, a substantial amount of the coating or marinade does not make it into the final dish. If you include the entire amount of ingredients, your anaysis will be off.

The most accurate solution is to measure the amount of coating (or marinade) left over and subtract this from the amount called for in the recipe.  So, if after coating the chicken breasts, there is 1/3 cup of Bisquick left, then you'll want to include only 1/3 cup in your recipe analysis.

Get creative with mustard and win a spa trip!

Mustard is often touted as a low-fat alternative to mayonnaise--although the two condiments are very different. Mayonnaise is creamy and rich-tasting while mustard is sharp and astringent. Personally, if mayonnaise is the flavor I'm after,  I think low-fat or fat-free mayonnaise makes a better substitute.

But there are other reasons to cultivate an appreciation for mustard, in all its forms (seeds, powdered, and prepared). In addition to being naturally low in fat, mustard is a very nutritious food. It's actually a member of the brassica family. Like broccoli, cabbage, and other brassicas, mustard contains cancer-fighting compounds. It's also a good source of omega-3 fats and the antioxidant mineral selenium.

So what was that about a spa trip?

In an effort to draw some attention to the health benefits and advantages of mustard, French's mustard is sponsoring a contest. To enter, submit a recipe that features French's mustard between now and th end of the year. Prizes include a spa day for two, cash prizes, and a year's supply of mustard (!). 

I know many of you are very creative in the kitchen. If you think you've got a winning recipe that fits the bill, details of the contest can be found here: www.frenchsfoods.com

A Healthy Brunch for Mom

Mother's Day is coming up! Treating Mom to a festive brunch is a great way to show her you care. But instead of braving the crowds (and calories!) at one of those giant restaurant brunch buffets, why not prepare a healthy brunch at home? Here are several simple and delicious recipes from our sister site Epicurious.com, all featuring fresh ingredients that are in season right now.

Artichoke and Mushroom Fritatta

Asparagus, Peas, and Basil

Fluffy Baked Eggs with Roasted Vegetable Hash

Cauliflower and Feta Omelet

Egg Roulade Stuffed with Turkey Sausage, Mushrooms, and Spinach

At the bottom of each recipe, you'll find a link to a complete nutritional analysis, which you can save to your Nutrition Data pantry. 

For more healthy recipe ideas, our Healthy Dinner Tonight feature delivers a fresh new recipe to your email inbox every day, or subscribe via RSS and view them on your favorite blog reader or igoogle homepage.

Happy Mother's Day!