Thanksgiving Tips From The Pros

November kicks off holiday season with one of the most food focused holidays of the year…Thanksgiving. We have gathered some tips from our pros on how to make your Thanksgiving a success.

THE TURKEY
The right tool really does make all of the difference. For a delicious turkey done right, use a thermometer. If you have typically relied on the plastic pop-up, take the plunge and buy yourself a meat thermometer. You will want to check the temperature of the turkey above the leg in the thickest part of the meat. When the temperature reaches 165°F, the turkey is done. Take it out and let it sit for a few minutes before carving. Once you see success with the turkey, you’ll want to use your thermometer on other meats and dishes you are cooking. You will have far fewer over or undercooked meals.

KEEPING IT SAFE
Food safety is such a top priority for chefs that it becomes an automatic part of what they do. Cooking for a crowd on Thanksgiving means we need to think like chefs for the day. Wash your hands and wash them often. Keep food out of the temperature danger zone of 40-140°F. This means thawing in the refrigerator, never on the counter. It also means putting leftovers in the refrigerator right after the meal. Anything out for more than 4 hours needs to be tossed.

PLANNED-OVERS
Left overs are some people’s favorite part of Thanksgiving. To reduce waste, have a plan. Know how many people you are hosting and prepare accordingly. If you want extra for sandwiches, soup or other weekend favorites, include those amounts in your planning. Make sure you will have space in the refrigerator and containers to store it in. If you want to send your guests home with food, have them bring containers or pick up some extras that you don’t mind sharing. Any leftovers stored in the refrigerator should be used within a few days. If you won’t be able to use them in that time, put them straight into the freezer. When reheating, get out your thermometer and make sure everything gets back to 165°F.

Reference:
Chef tips provided by Chris Aquilino, Corporate Executive Chef.Additional tips and recipes available at stopfoodwasteday.com and balanceittakesyou.com.

Written by Jennifer M. Roberts, MS, RD and Julia Jordan.
NOVEMBER 2018
balanceittakesyou.com

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Party like a Pro

With end of year holiday parties popping up all around you it may seem like sticking to your health goals will be impossible. We asked some of our Registered Dietitians (RDs) to share their tips for enjoying party season without sacrificing your well-being.

Before the Party
Set yourself up for success with good preparation. Don’t skip meals before the party. It might seem like a good idea to allow room for party food, but skipping meals could leave you hungry and more likely to overeat during the party. Bring something you will feel good about eating. Salads, veggie platters and other plant forward dishes are great options that fill you up without overdoing it.

During the Party
Focus on the fun. Engage in conversations and activities that keep you from mindlessly snacking. Step away from the table. After you have gotten your food, find a spot away from the buffet so that you aren’t tempted to eat things simply because they are in front of you. Watch the liquid calories. Try making every other drink a sparkling water to reduce sugary beverages and stay hydrated.

After the Party
Take a walk. Making time to exercise is well worth it. You can burn off some extra calories and help manage stress. Drop the guilt! Enjoying amazing food at a party should not mean feeling bad about your choices. If you overdid it, let it go and get back on track. Indulging at a party or two will likely have less impact on your health than worrying about it will. Your well-being is determined by what you do most of the time, not the occasional splurge.

Tips provided by Compass Group RDs:
Stephanie Bassett, Susan Cooper, Sarah Defreitas, Suzanne Landry, Lily Leung, Robyn Lorando, Tori Martinet, Sarah Nicklay, Andrea Ogden, Savina Sparker, Tracy Wilczek and Leigh-Anne Wooten.

December 2017

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Holiday Food Safety

Thanksgiving kicks off holiday party season where we gather with friends and family for delicious meals. Following a few key rules can help to keep you and your guests feeling good.

Thaw
Turkey is the main attraction at many Thanksgiving meals. Whether you buy your turkey fresh or frozen, keeping it at the right temperature in the days leading up to cooking is important for preventing foodborne illness. If you plan to thaw in the refrigerator remember that it can take up to six days for a large turkey to thaw. Thawing in cold water is a faster option, but you need to change the water every 30 minutes to make sure it stays cold enough. Turkey and other meats should never be thawed or left on the counter at room temperature.

Cook
Roasting to the right temperature can mean the difference between a delicious turkey and one that is either undercooked or dried out. While many turkeys come with a pop up thermometer, it is a good idea to invest in a separate meat thermometer. You want the internal temperature of your turkey and stuffing to get to 165°F. How long that takes will depend on the size of the turkey.

Store
While it can be tempting to leave party food out to snack on, storing it quickly means that you can enjoy it safely for a few more days. Anything left out at room temperature for longer than two hours should be tossed. Break down large items into smaller containers before putting them in the refrigerator or freezer so that they cool faster. Refrigerated leftovers should be used within 3-4 days. If you need more time, freeze instead. When it is time to reheat, bring the food back to 165°F. For more information on food safety, check out homefoodsafety.org.

REFERENCES: 1. Home Food Safety. Available at homefoodsafety.org.
Written by Jennifer M. Roberts, MS, RD.
November 2016

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Enjoying Traditional Foods on Special Occasions

Many of you may have gotten some chocolates or yummy desserts for Valentine's Day. You might have a birthday coming up or a friend's or family's birthday celebration to attend, what about the cake? How about St. Patrick's Day around the corner with corned beef and hash?

With special occasions, come special treats and, sometimes, less healthy meal options. Consider this: most special occasions are not all that frequent and only come around but once a year. When celebrating friend and family birthdays this comes about more often so what to do!? Think moderation!

Making healthier choices, choosing smaller portions of less healthy food options and choosing desserts that are lower in fat and calories- that is a good idea. When you start to restrict and depriving yourself of foods that you want and enjoy you tend to want them even more. Again, think moderation when it comes to desserts in a healthy diet!

There is nothing wrong with occasionally enjoying a calorie dense piece of cake, pie, or cookie as part of a special occasion. It's a good idea to avoid keeping these types of desserts on hand regularly. Try to save these treats for special occasions or once in awhile.

Things to think about:

• Consider the portion of the dessert or piece of cake – try to avoid overindulging.
• Same goes for those less healthy special occasion dishes
• If you got dark chocolates for Valentine's Day then you can take in some good antioxidants. Just don't forget all chocolate contains fat in calories. Choose portions wisely!
• If you are making a dessert for a special occasion, use fruit as a base or add some to a treat to add sweetness instead sugar.

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Celebrating Cultural Diversity

All of us belong to a cultural group and one’s culture most often influences daily food choices. Unfortunately, sometimes our favorite cultural dishes contain a great deal of fat and calories. One way to reduce fat and calories in these dishes is to swap out ingredients for ones that are lower in fat in calories. For example, if a recipe calls for cream or whole milk, choose low fat or skim milk instead. You can always use a little less of ingredients such as shredded cheese to cut back on calories and fat.

Foods from various cultures can be healthy or unhealthy. To balance things out, some cultures choose their large meal early in the day and have a light meal at night. Other cultures may include foods that are high in calories but were brought up practicing portion control and not overindulging on these foods. There are many cultural cuisines that contain lots of healthy foods including fiber-rich grains, protein-rich legumes along with a variety of vegetables.

When you make your favorite recipes at home, here are some ingredients you can choose instead to make them a little healthier:

Instead of this ingredient	Try this ingredient
Shortening or butter to coat pans	Vegetable spray
Butter or Margarine	Low/fat free margarine, canola, safflower, or olive oil
Whole milk	Skim milk or plain non-fat yogurt
Full fat cheese	Part-skim milk cheeses
Sour cream	Low-fat or fat-free sour cream
Baking chocolate	3 Tbsp. cocoa powder plus 2 tsp. of water for each ounce of chocolate
1 whole egg	2 egg whites
Meat with skin on it	Remove skin prior to cooking
Dark poultry meat	White meat
Frying food	Bake or broil them
Fatty ground meat	Lean ground meat (90-95% lean)
Stews and casseroles that are heavy on meat and light on vegetables	Increase vegetables and decrease meats
Regular Mayo and/or salad dressing	Low-fat mayo and/or salad dressing
Full portion of traditional food	Half portions
Canned foods	Fresh or frozen as an alternative
Red meats (bacon, sausage, luncheon meats)	Turkey, chicken, or fish

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Healthy Alternatives While Celebrating Culinary Diversity

with campus executive chef Tom Barton

Our latest Menus of Change principle is "Celebrating Cultural Diversity and Discovery" and over the next few weeks our residential dining halls will be featuring menu items that celebrate the cultural diversity of our associates. As I was reviewing recipes in preparation for these events at both International Village and Stetson, it occurred to me that some of the ingredients in the traditional recipes could be swapped out for healthier alternatives while also remaining faithful to tradition. Here are some examples of ways to make recipes even a little bit healthier (which means you can enjoy them even more often!):

• Instead of using butter why not use a fat free margarine? Canola, safflower or olive oils could also be substituted
• Rather than using whole milk try a skim, evaporated skim or even plain nonfat yogurt can be used
• Instead of using whole milk cheeses, look for ones that are made with part skim
• Low fat or fat free sour cream can be substituted for regular sour cream
• 2 egg whites can replace 1 whole egg
• Try simmering vegetables in a fat-free / low sodium chicken or vegetable stock instead of seasoning with many seasonings that have a high sodium content. Lightly tossing with freshly chopped herbs can also add plenty of flavor
• Remove skin and fat from meats before cooking – or if the flavor of the skin is important to the dish try removing the skin before serving it
• When using ground beef, look for a leaner grind such as a 90/10 blend
• Instead of frying foods look for ways to bake, broil, or roast them
• With stews and casseroles that are traditionally heavy on meat and light on vegetables, try changing up the recipe to incorporate more vegetables and less meat protein
• When making salads use lighter vinegar-based dressings instead of the heavy mayonnaise- and dairy-based dressings
• Using fruits that are packed in their own water or their own juice do not contain the added sugar that fruits packed in syrup do
• Try serving half portions of traditional foods and desserts instead of full portions
• Try using leaner cuts of meat such as turkey, chicken, and fish instead of red meats

Hopefully some of this will inspire you to go ahead and try some new ideas when approaching traditional foods!

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Avoiding Overeating During the Holidays

By Meghann McMillan

The holidays are quickly approaching and the motto tends to be “eat, drink, and be merry”. Thanksgiving with the family, friendsgiving with the friends, Christmas parties, Hanukah celebrations, New Years Eve...the next month is loaded with evens that tend to revolve around lots of food and drink. Many people surrender to the fact that they are going to gain some holiday weight, and simply over indulge in it all. This year, don’t surrender to overeating during the holidays. You can have your pumpkin pie and eat it too, if you pay attention to your intake and portion sizes.

Lets start with appetizers, the typical first course that no one can pass up as the hunger of the main course starts to set in. No need to shy away from the wonderful app table, just make sure you keep it to just a taste. Use a napkin or a small plate to place your food on. If it doesn’t fit on it, you don’t need it. Try just one of the appetizers you like. If there are too many to chose from, cut one in half so you can have a taste. Appetizers are something that hold you over for the big meal and the trick is to not fill up on this course, and to avoid extreme calorie intake.

Extra Tip: Make sure the meal before the celebration is a light one.

Moving on to the main course, again you can have all the things you’ve been waiting all year to eat, just do it in moderation. A great way to keep your portions down is to use a smaller plate. This way you don’t over eat by over filling an extra large plate. Even with a small plate, it is important to keep portion sizes in mind. Here is a portion size guide to help you...

•  1 serving of turkey is 3 oz, about the same size as a deck of playing cards

•  A serving of gravy is 1/4 of a cup, about the size of a golf ball

•  A serving of mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, applesauce is 1/2 cup, about the size of a tennis ball cut in half

•  A serving of cranberry sauce is about 1/4 of a cup, about the size of a golf ball

•  A serving of stuffing is a 1/2 cup, about the size of an ice cream scoop or a tennis ball cut in half

•  Want butter on your Thanksgiving roll? A serving is a teaspoon, about the size of a single die

•  A serving of raw vegetables is 1 cup, about the size of a baseball

•  A serving of cooked vegetables is 1/2 cup, about the size of a tennis ball cut in half

•  1 latke is about the size compact disk

If you still have room for dessert, keep in mind that a proper serving size of a slice of pie is about the size of a standard light bulb. If desserts are already portioned out, you could always cut a serving in half to enjoy. Taking your dessert home for later is another great way to avoid over eating during your celebration feast.

To top of off your perfectly portioned holiday, take an after meal walk (weather permitting), to make sure you are putting out some energy that you are putting in.

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Four Tips for Healthy Eating During the Holidays

The holiday season is right around the corner which means lots of celebrating with parties and gatherings accompanied by much to eat and drink, not all being "healthy." First up is Thanksgiving, a time to give thanks, centered around a huge feast. So how do we keep it happy and healthy without weight gain during this joyous season of eating? Here are a few tips on how to have your feast and eat it too without the weight gain.

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A Sweet End to the Semester: Gingerbread 2012

For the twelve consecutive year, Northeastern Dining provided students with a much needed respite from studying for their upcoming week of final exams with the Gingerbread House Construction Contest. More than 300 student teams entered online via nudining.com for the chance to be one of the lucky teams chosen to participate in this year's contest. After the success of the previous eleven years, the number of teams swelled to sixty-four this year leading to the decision to move this year’s contest from Stetson East to the Stetson West Eatery. The change comes after many students ran out of room to decorate their houses in the atrium of Levine Marketplace.

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Holiday Treats and a Healthy Diet

With the holiday eating season in full swing, now is a time that a lot of us are looking at what we're eating and how to maintain a healthy diet. When people try to eat healthy the first thing that usually goes is dessert. This can be a good and bad idea.

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Healthy Foods for Hectic Times

I know there is a lot of stress this time of year with final exams and assignments starting today (not to mention that we are already in the thick of the holiday season) so here are some foods you can find here on campus that can help you manage your stress during this hectic time.

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Healthy Holiday Recipe: Butternut Squash Risotto

The holiday eating season is a great time of year to harvest squash and pumpkins and much of it is grown locally and used in a variety of your favorite holiday recipes. Many of these orange flesh vegetables, such as pumpkins and butternut, acorn, and delicotta squash, are considered to be healthy super foods. Why use canned pumpkin or butternut squash when with very little extra effort you could be using a fresh and local product! Pumpkin pancakes, breads, soups and other treats are also incredibly easy to make. One of my favorite squash recipes - and one that you can do right in your dorm microwave - is a butternut squash risotto.

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Strategies for Healthy Holiday Eating

The holiday season is here! It is a great time to celebrate and spend time with family and friends. However, if you are not careful this time of year can become a time of over-indulgence and unwanted weight gain. According to the National Institutes of Health, the weight gain seen among adults each year can be the result of weight gain over the holidays. It is important to go into the holiday season with some strategies to avoid gaining those extra pounds.

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