ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Wednesday, January 1, 1997 TAG: 9701020010
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 8 EDITION: HOLIDAY
SOURCE: ALMENA HUGHES FOOD EDITOR
If the holidays left you with sugar plumps dancing on your hips or other locations, you are not alone. Nor are you by yourself if you're among the myriad Americans vowing to do something about the unwanted weight.
A recent survey by the National Cancer Institute found that Americans' top five resolutions for 1997 will revolve around taking better care of themselves. They broke out as: exercise more; eat a healthier diet; eat more fruits and vegetables; reduce stress level; and reduce fat in diet.
Worthington Foods and Morningstar Farms make a line of popular soy-based foods which many diners are using to replace part or all of their meat-based meals. The manufacturers suggest some small lifestyle changes that can make a big difference: For example: Set a goal for fat intake, not to exceed 30 percent of total calories. Find one or preferably more exercises that appeal to you, and aim for doing them at least 30 minutes most days. Find healthful substitutes for the empty-calorie junk foods in your life. Fill a 48-ounce bottle with water in the morning and make it a goal to drink it all by day's end. Eat five or more servings of fruits and vegetables each day.
Short-term seasonal produce is especially good for adding new interest to everyday fare while you work towards that five-a-day goal. One such entry, Clementines from Spain, is in most supermarkets from now through the end of February. The sweet little seedless citrus fruits - which you may have taken for tangerines - are a perfect snack out of hand. They also can be used as a topping on frozen yogurt or added during the final few minutes of cooking dried beans or chicken stir fry.
Cooking from scratch, of course, gives you more control over your food's contents. But sometimes - especially when a dish calls for marinating - time is too tight. Hormel Foods has come out with eight Super Select marinated pork products that eliminate the wait. There also are numerous preseasoned poultry, beef and fish products in supermarkets to help ease the time crunch these days. They can be real lifesavers, but be aware of the products' ingredients, especially their fat and sodium contents.
Hormel is offering a free set of recipe cards by sending your request to: Super Select Flavored Pork Recipe Card Offer, P.O. Box 892, Austin, MN 55912.
Baked goods can hide a lot of butter and other fats, but it doesn't necessarily have to be that way. White Lily Foods has written a recipe book specifically for bread machines, which can be obtained at no additional cost from coupons on bags of White Lily flour.
There's also always the possibility of substituting something else for fat, such as prune puree or extra light olive oil.
A recent survey found that although additive- and cholesterol-free olive oil has more than 75 percent monounsaturated fat, about 65 percent of bakers never think about using it instead of butter or margarine. Texture and taste-wise, olive oil is said to be tops. If you want to give it a try, here's how it converts:
1 tsp. butter or margarine equals 3/4 tsp. olive oil; 1 Tbsp. butter equals 2 1/4 tsp. olive oil; 1/4 cup butter equals 3 Tbsp. oil; 1 cup butter equals 3/4 cup olive oil.
If you've really got your heart set on getting your act together during '97, here are some other free, helpful resources:
Send a self-addressed, stamped envelope to Lea & Perrins Healthy Recipes c/o PT&Co., 320 W. 13th St., 7th floor, New York NY 10014 .
Send a self-addressed, stamped envelope to Peanut Advisory Board, Box PHM; 1950 North Park Place, Suite 525, Atlanta GA 30339. (Yes, even peanuts have a place in a healthy, low-fat diet.)
For a variety of brochures on fitting healthy habits into your lifestyle, call the Quaker healthline at (800) I-SNACK-2. See microfilm for the following recipes: TUSCANY PORK
MILK NOG
CHOCOLATE SHORTCAKE SANTA CLARA
PRUNE PUREE:
RASPBERRY SAUCE:
HONEY YOGURT BREAD (1 lb. loaf)
WHITE BEAN, BUTTERNUT SQUASH, KALE AND OLIVE STEW
HERBED BROCCOLI AND CHICKEN OVER NOODLES
LENGTH: Medium: 81 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: Tuscany pork has lean cuts of meat and plenty ofby CNBcolorful vegetables. The recipe is below, and other healthful
suggestions may be found on Page 5. color