“Healthy eating? Think portion control”

Posted: 08 Jan 2011 12:51 AM PST

LOUISVILLE, KY. — When Mae Pike moved into an older apartment, in a house built in 1910, she had a sudden revelation about one of the most widespread problems with Americans' diet in the 21st century.

"I have a normal set of contemporary dinner plates," she said. "I found that those plates didn't fit into the cabinets.

"I said, 'What is going on here?' I realized that the cabinets were from an era before people started using these oversized plates for their oversized meals. That was a sort of light-bulb moment."

Pike is co-owner with her mother, Sandy Pike, of Home Cuisine, a home meal service focused on healthful, made-from-scratch recipes, using no canned or processed food. She has several suggestions for eating more healthfully and sensibly in the new year.

Portion control is the most important issue; we have gotten in the habit of eating too much at a sitting.

"People don't understand what a serving size is," Pike said. "It is not whatever they put in front of you. We have gotten used to these giant serving sizes, where a pasta serving is 4 cups, which is way too much."

Getting her clients used to what a normal portion size should be is the first of the issues that she confronts in her business. The next is to wean them away from expectations of what a meal should look like on the plate.

"People believe that carbs and meat should be the bulk of the meal," Pike said. "But we don't think that way. Meat servings should be the size of a deck of cards. We use tons of fresh steamed vegetables and fresh salads, so we can give a good-sized portion, but not packed with garbage."

Originally, Home Cuisine focused on providing diabetics with well-cooked meals that would help control their blood sugar, but soon Sandy Pike discovered that people who weren't diabetics also wanted her to provide their food.

"We still follow diabetic guidelines to cook really healthy food," Mae Pike explained. "We use lean meats, whole grains, lots of vegetables. We wouldn't serve anything our grandmothers wouldn't recognize as food."

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Focus on lean

The menus the staff develops and cooks provide 1,200 calories a day for women and 2,000 calories for men, with a focus on lean meat protein: fish, chicken, turkey and occasionally pork tenderloin and beef. They also provide a special "melt-down" menu program for people who want to lose weight — no starches, just lean meat and vegetables, with small amounts of fruit.

"We have a few vegetarians who have special entrees. We are now working on a vegetarian menu to make sure that we have enough protein without being so bean-heavy."

Fresh, frozen or canned?

Mae Pike has some nonintuitive insights about how to think about food in more health- and freshness-conscious ways. She avoids using canned or prepared foods in her menus, the former because canned foods often contain excess amounts of salt, and the latter because they contain chemical preservatives and other ersatz ingredients to extend shelf life or alter appearance.

But, Pike points out, while frozen vegetables are definitely better than canned, they are also often better than the "fresh" vegetables one finds in supermarkets.

"People would be surprised at the route that fresh foods take to the market," Pike said. "Often fresh vegetables are sprayed with preservatives and then sit around in a warehouse for a week, and then several more days on the produce counter. So, some fresh vegetables in supermarkets are two weeks or more old."

Frozen vegetables are usually processed within days of being picked at optimal ripeness.

Winter fruit salsa

2 blood oranges, peeled and cut into small cubes

2 navel oranges, peeled and cut into small cubes

1/4 cup pomegranate seeds

1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro

1/4 fresh jalapeno, seeded and finely diced

Juice of 1 lime

Salt and pepper to taste

Mix all ingredients in a bowl. Use as a condiment to perk up lean meat or fish dishes. Use within three days.

Makes about 3 cups.

Apple cranberry-pecan crisp

Filling:

6 crisp organic apples, cored and sliced

2 tablespoons blue agave sweetener

1 teaspoon dark molasses

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1/2 cup water

1 tablespoon cinnamon

1/2 cup unsweetened dried cranberries

Topping:

2 1/2 cups old-fashioned oatmeal (not quick-cooking)

3 tablespoons whole-wheat flour

3 tablespoons organic blue agave sweetener

1 tablespoon cinnamon

1/2 cup chopped pecans

1/4 cup Best Life Buttery Spread, melted

Heat oven to 375 degrees.

In a bowl, mix together all the filling ingredients. Pour into a shallow 9-by-15-inch baking dish.

In another bowl, toss together all the ingredients for the topping. Spoon over the filling, covering completely. Bake for 35 to 45 minutes or until the filling bubbles up at the sides. Serve with vanilla yogurt.

Serves 6 to 8.

Turkey meatloaf

1 tablespoon olive oil

1/2 cup chopped celery

1/2 cup chopped red onion

1 1/2 pounds lean ground turkey

1 cup ground oats (not quick-cooking)

3 egg whites

1/8 cup low-sodium soy sauce

1/4 cup skim milk

2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

1/2 teaspoon paprika

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1/2 cup fresh chopped parsley

5 cloves fresh garlic, chopped

1 teaspoon dried basil

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1/2 cup shredded skim milk mozzarella cheese

2 cups fresh baby spinach leaves

Heat oven to 350 degrees. In a sauté pan or skillet, add the oil, and when shimmery, add the chopped celery and onions, and cook, stirring, until softened, 6 to 8 minutes. Set aside to cool.

In a bowl, mix together (using your clean hands, if necessary) the ground turkey, oatmeal and all other ingredients, except for the spinach leaves. Divide the turkey mixture in half.

Place half of the turkey mixture in an 8-by-4-by-4-inch loaf pan, packing lightly and smoothing the top. Place the 2 cups baby spinach leaves on top, and cover with the rest of the turkey mixture, pressing lightly to pack the loaf well. Cover tightly with aluminum foil. Bake for 40 to 50 minutes, or until internal temperature reaches 160 degrees. Let rest 15 to 30 minutes before serving. Serves 6 to 8.

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Healthy Tasty Food

Saturday, 8 January 2011