Quick Fixes – Make it Healthy!

Caroline Le Clair, RD and Certified Chef

IRHA Community Wellness Team

About me

• Bachelor of Arts

•Certified Chef – work in the industry for 8

years

•Bachelor of Human Nutritional Sciences

•Registered Dietitian

•Health Promotion with IRHA

Nutrition Tips - Sodium

•Processed foods are the main source of the sodium Canadians

consume, as they make up over 70% of average daily sodium

intake.

•Only about 15 % of our sodium intake comes from salt added

during cooking or at the table.

•Unprocessed whole foods such as fruits, vegetables and fresh

cuts of meat contain very little sodium. The sodium “naturally”

present in foods accounts for only 10-15 % of our daily intake.

Did You Know?

Lean Cuisine’s chicken florentine has

more sodium than a hamburger & fries

at McDonalds. Calorie amount is

similar.

840 mg Sodium

410 calories

680 mg Sodium

470 calories

Did You Know?

Wendy’s apple pecan chicken salad has the

same amount of sodium as 21 teaspoons of

ketchup!

1210 mg

Sodium

Did You Know?

Tim Horton’s chicken salad sandwich has

more calories and sodium than KFC’s

ultimate cheese snacker!

340 calories

970 mg sodium 270 calories

750 mg sodium

Nutrition Tips - Sodium

•Age 1-3 1000-1500mg/day

•Age 4-8 1200-1900mg/day

•Age 9-59 1500-2300mg/day

•1 tsp of salt = ???

Nutrition Tips - Sodium

•Age 1-3 1000-1500mg/day

•Age 4-8 1200-1900mg/day

•Age 9-59 1500-2300mg/day

•1 tsp of salt = 2375mg

Favorites through the life span

•Child favourite: Hot dogs

•1 hot dog = 680mg sodium

•Age 4-8 1200-1900mg/day

Hot Dogs

Nutrition Facts

Serving Size: 1 (98 g) ___________________________________________________

Calories:242 Calories from Fat: 131

Total Fat 14.5g Saturated Fat 5.1g

Trans Fat 0g

Cholesterol 44mg

Sodium 680mg

Total Carbohydrates 18g

Protein 10g

___________________________

Est. Calories from:

Fat 54% Protein 16%

Carbohydrates 29%

54% of calories

from fat

29% of calories

from carbs

16% of calories

from protein

Favorites through the life span

•Student favourite:

Ichiban chicken flavored noodles:

1 package = 1600mg sodium

Favorites through the life span

•Adult favourite: Tim Horton’s chili

•10 oz = 1320mg sodium

Nutrition Tips – Unsaturated Fats

•Healthy Fats - use to replace unhealthy fats

•Olive, canola, peanut oils

•Non-hydrogenated margarines

•Nuts, seeds, avocados

•Safflower, sunflower, corn oils

•Fattier fish – mackerel, herring, trout, salmon, swordfish,

cod, bluefish

•Soybean oils, flaxseed, omega 3 eggs, walnuts, pecans,

pine nuts

Nutrition Tips – Saturated & Trans Fat

•Unhealthy Fats – choose less often

•Fatty meats

•Full fat dairy products

•Butter, lard, coconut, palm, palm kernel oils

•Fast foods, snack foods, ready prepared foods

•Trans Fat – daily allowance????

Nutrition Tips – Saturated & Trans Fat

•Unhealthy Fats – choose less often

•Fatty meats

•Full fat dairy products

•Butter, lard, coconut, palm, palm kernel oils

•Fast foods, snack foods, ready prepared foods

•Trans Fat – Maximum 1g/day

Quick Fixes - Changes You Can Make:

Go Skinless:

3 oz white chicken with skin 8g of fat

3 oz white chicken without skin 2g of fat

Reduce Fat:

1 oz cheese 35% Milk Fat 10.5g of fat

1 oz cheese 19% Milk Fat 5.7g of fat

Be Lean:

75g ground beef 17g of fat

75g of extra lean ground beef 8g of fat

Changes You Can Make:

Skip the oil:

• 75g tuna packed in oil 6g of fat

• 75g tuna packed in water 1g of fat

Reduce Fat:

• 1 cup whole cream 83g of fat

• 1 cup of 2% milk 5g of fat

• 1 cup of skim milk trace of fat

Nutrition Tips – Fibre

•Health Benefits:

•Combats constipation

•Lowers cholesterol

•Helps you feel full longer

Nutrition Tips – Fibre How to add Fibre:

•Use wholegrain flour for baking

•Add bran buds to your cereal, yogurt, salads or desserts

•Add shredded vegetables or bean puree’s

•Use oats as fillers in casseroles or as thickening agents in sauces

•Try adding Flax

It really does make a difference: 125 ml white flour 2 grams

125 ml whole wheat flour 7.7 grams

125 ml white rice, long grain cooked 1.5 grams

125 ml brown rice, long grain cooked 4 grams

250 ml spaghetti, cooked 2.5 grams

250 ml whole wheat spaghetti, cooked 4.8 grams

250 ml Cheerios, Honey Nut, General Mills™ 2 grams

250 ml Fibre 1, General Mills™ 11 grams

Balanced Meals

Cooking Techniques:

Healthy techniques:

•Steam

•Bake

•Broil

•Barbeque

•Poach

•Stir-fry in small

amounts of oil

•RAW - vegetables

Unhealthy techniques:

•Frying

•Deep frying

•Pan frying in oil

•Boiling vegetables

What Can You Do? Plan, Plan, Plan: 1. Weekend prep:

• Set your menu for the week

• Chop up all of your veggies and meats, label and keep in

fridge

2. Make in bulk and freeze:

• Make a soup, chili, sauce, purees, chopped vegetables or

fruit and freeze

3. Have snacks ready to go:

• Cut up vegetables and hummus in fridge

• Cut up fruits in containers

• Yogurt

• Homemade granola or trail mix

What Can You Do? Plan, Plan, Plan: 4. Keep a favourite spice mix:

• Blend and have ready to go

• Fresh ginger – keep frozen – easier to use

5. Whole grains all the way

• Whole wheat pasta, brown rice, wild rice.

6. Lean meats:

• The leaner the better! • Anything that ends in loin is lean

• Less legs it has, the better it is for you

What Can You Do? Plan, Plan, Plan: 7. Freeze, freeze, freeze:

• Pre-portion and freeze – rice, pasta, cheese, pumpkin

• Use leftovers – roast – slice up, portion and freeze

8. Add healthy foods to everything:

• Beans, vegetable purees, oats, flax, etc.

9. Say no to pop and watch out for juice

10. Homemade is the best way! Keep it simple.

Recipe Example - Lasagne

• Use: – Whole Wheat noodles

– Extra lean ground beef or ground turkey

– Dried or fresh herbs

– Low fat dairy (MF less than 19%)

• Instead Of: – White lasagne noodles

– Regular full fat ground meat

– Seasoning salt

– Full fat dairy (MF 35%)

Try:

Adding diced tomatoes, carrots, peppers, etc., for

more veggies

Adding rinsed canned beans for extra protein and fibre

Recipe Example – Fajita’s

• Use: – Whole Wheat tortillas

– Extra lean chicken breasts

– Cumin and lime juice

– Low fat dairy (MF less than 19%)

– Homemade Guacamole

• Instead Of: – White tortillas

– Regular full fat ground meat

– Fajita Seasoning that comes in package

– Full fat dairy (MF 35%)

– Store bought Guacamole

Try:

Adding diced tomatoes, carrots, peppers, etc., for

more veggies

Adding rinsed canned beans for extra protein and fibre

Recipe Example – Meatloaf

• Use: – Extra lean ground beef

– Try adding: • Black beans or lentils

• Flax – ground

• Vegetable puree

• Instead Of: – Regular full fat ground

meat

Great resources

• Deceptively Delicious by Jessica Seinfeld

• http://www.101cookbooks.com

• http://www.pulsescandada.com

• Super Natural Cooking by Heidi Swanson

• Jamie Oliver

Cooking Demonstration • Lentil Granola Bars……

1. In a medium bowl, mix coconut, oats, brown

sugar, bran buds and cinnamon.

2. Add lentil puree, oil, eggs (beaten) and vanilla.

Mix until dry ingredients are moistened.

3. Bake for 30 minutes