I love the American Institute for Cancer Research's (AICR) newsletter, and in their special 50th issue, Fifty Top Nutrition Tips, I found my personal Top Fifteen Tips that I wanted to share with you. These 15 tips are all easy, quick and simple ideas you can implement for tonight's dinner. Enjoy!
1. Add more vegetables and less meat than called for in stir-fries, casseroles, soups and other recipes.
2. Instead of yogurt with fruit, try plain nonfat yogurt mixed with chopped apples and cinnamon (this is great...I tried to today and the cinnamon is surprisingly bold and sweet!)
3. Make a refreshing, lower-calorie beverage by mixing fruit juice with seltzer water and crushed ice.
4. Add more vegetables to sandwiches. Lettuce and tomato are fine, but so are cucumber rounds, diced carrots, sprouts, green and red pepper strips and broccoli.
5. Supplement store-bought pasta sauce or dishes like meatloaf with finely copped veggies: fresh onions, green and red peppers, spinach, celery or mushrooms. This is one of my favorite tips, as most of these items can be found in the frozen section, pre-chopped to save time!
6. Add more beans to soups, stews and salads.
7. Give tofu a try; it contains vegetable protein and phytochemicals that can reduce risk of cancer.
8. Take a break from rice with kasha, couscous, bulgar, barley, wild rice, millet and other less familiar grains. I tried a barley and lentil stew today, and it was fabulous! I have never tried cooking with millet...any suggestions?
9. Boost the fiber in your favorite breakfast cereal by sprinkling on a tsp of bran or adding 100% bran cereal.
10. Try unsweetened applesauce for a portion of the fat in baking.
11. Next time you bake brownies or other chocolate-y goodness, try replacing each ounce of unsweetened chocolate with three tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder for same flavor without the fat.
12. Much of the fat in cake comes from the frosting. Top instead with slices of fresh fruit, fruit sauce and/or sprinkle with powdered sugar. (the cakes at the store with fresh fruit on top look more expensive and decadent...makes sense to me!)
13. To prepare guacamole that's lower in fat, try using canned asparagus or cooked peas instead of avocado. The result will be surprisingly similar to the real thing! I'm not sure about the asparagus, but substituting one avocado for peas does actually work. My friend makes a refreshing dip with diced green apple and avocado...it's delicious!
14. You can substitute two egg whites or one-fourth egg substitute for each whole egg in most recipes. I've always wondered about what the actual measurements and substitutions would be; I do this with omelets and I can not taste a difference
15. Too busy to cook during the week? Set aside some time on the weekend to prepare low-fat vegetable lasagna, vegetable bean stew, that can be refrigerated for a quick meal on busy days. I can also add: barley lentil stew, slow-cooker lasagna, slow-cooker chili chicken for tacos, spinach pesto (for fettuccine), turkey chili, slice up veggies for sandwiches or quesadillas, spinach manicotti with low-fat cheeses...the list is endless and I would love to hear your suggestions!