Photography by Renée Comet
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Nutrition Tips For Older Americans
By Arthur Boehm, March-April 2003
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"Diet" is a Dirty Word
To lose weight, you have to change the way you eat—there's no way around it. But eating better must become a lifestyle, a strategy that doesn't mean sacrificing too much pleasure. Take into account your health needs, the way you like to eat, even your interest in cooking and shopping, says Althea Zanecosky, a registered dietician with the Chicago-based American Dietetic Association. And try the following—packed with effective food substitutions and easy flavor boosters to keep you satisfied:
When and How
Eat early, eat often. Give your metabolism a calorie-burning boost with breakfast. Don't skip it! Try a fruit smoothie, or a "latte" made with instant espresso powder, yogurt, a few ice cubes, low-fat milk, and a bit of sugar. Small snacks keep that metabolism humming and stave off hunger. Go for multi-course snacks (turkey breast plus strawberries or grapes, say) to spread calories among different sorts of foods.
Technique counts. Grill pans, steamers, nonstick pans, and cooking sprays (make your own by using olive oil and a plant mister) help you cook with fewer calories.
What to Eat
Watch the (fatty) meat—and be creative. Try grilling burgers of freshly ground salmon. Portobello mushrooms make great animal-protein stand-ins. Brushed with oil, grilled, and sprinkled with herbs, they satisfy the way meat does. Use them in kebabs, too—alternate oil-brushed mushroom chunks on skewers with sliced peppers, red onion, plus cherry tomatoes, and grill or broil until tender. Or make a winey portobello ragout by sautéing thickly sliced mushrooms with chopped onion and garlic in olive oil, then adding chopped rosemary, tomato paste, chicken stock, and some white wine. Stew the mixture until the mushrooms are just soft, then finish with a drizzle of olive oil and a little shaved Parmesan.
Cheese isn't bad. Instead of the rubbery commercial kinds, try naturally low-fat goat's milk cheeses or fresh white cheeses like fromage blanc, which can be used like cottage cheese but has more flavor. Use grated cheese instead of slices to flavor food and sprinkle on sandwiches. Goat cheese with honey and nuts is a fabulous dessert. Or mix 2 cups of nonfat ricotta cheese, 1/2 cup confectioner's sugar, 1/4 cup nonfat milk, 1/2 teaspoon grated lemon zest, and 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract; then freeze in an ice-cream maker for a frozen-yogurt-like treat.
Season with abandon, and you'll enhance taste without adding many calories:
- Toss fresh herbs in with food.
- Or flavor with fat—in small amounts. Extra-virgin olive oil packs a punch, so you don't need much.
- Keep soy and hot sauces at hand; serve salsas and chutneys. Think dipping sauces like ponsu (buy it or make your own by combining 3 tablespoons of mirin—Japanese sweet rice wine—2 tablespoons rice vinegar, 1 tablespoon soy sauce, and 1/4 cup fresh lime juice). Or make a sauce for poached fish from sautéed garlic and ginger, curry powder, a bit of sugar, soy milk, and yogurt.
- For low-fat salad dressing, mix puréed roasted garlic, Dijon mustard, and enough olive oil to smooth it. Or combine buttermilk, chopped garlic and herbs, and balsamic or sherry wine vinegar. For a Roquefort dressing substitute, try puréed cottage cheese flavored with a little Roquefort.
- For desserts, simple berry purées do wonders spooned over sherbert.
Hold the mayo. Plain, low-fat yogurt is a nutrition powerhouse and a great substitute for sour cream and mayo. Just combine 1 cup plain yogurt and 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard. Season with salt, pepper, and snipped chives. To replace sour cream in baking, add an equivalent quantity of plain yogurt plus 1 teaspoon baking soda to dry ingredients.
Now, check out a healthy recipe for Grilled Moroccan-Spiced Tuna from famed chef Daniel Boulud. It's part of the AARPmagazine.org Recipe Guide.
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