Healthy Alternatives & Serving Size Tips

Serving Size Tips

One of the best tools for figuring out serving size is your hand.

The best part? It’s tailor made to fit your needs. If you are a smaller person and need fewer calories your hand will be smaller too.

Source: http://www.sarahcombschronicles.com

- Randy Jones, MBA student, University of Wisconsin-Whitewater

Healthy Alternatives

Meat/Proteins	Baked	vs.	Fried
• Beef • Chicken Breast (white) • Fish • Lamb • Pork • Sea foods	As long as fats (lipid) are limited, baking sea foods, chicken, fish, and beef is a healthy cooking method.		Each tbsp. of oil contains 120 calories. The process of frying may alter the chemical composition of the food, and increase calories from fat.
Vegetables	Steamed	vs.	Boiled
• Broccoli • Brussels Sprouts • Cabbage • Carrots • Corn	Steaming vegetables helps them retain more of their nutritional content than boiling or blanching them		Boiling vegetables results in the loss of some of their vitamins (C and B) in the cooking water.
Fruits	Raw (Fresh Fruits)	vs.	Canned
• Apple • Blackberries • Banana • Cantaloupe • Grapes • Oranges	Fresh fruits have high quantities of vitamins, which prevent us from becoming ill.		Fruits do not lose a high quantity of their nutritional value when they are packaged in a can. Healthier canned fruits are those packed in their own juice with no to little added sugar and syrup.
Tree Nuts (snack foods)	Raw unsalted	vs.	Roasted and Salted
• Almonds • Cashew • Hazelnut • Macadamia • Pistachio • Pecan	Nuts contain larger amounts of vitamin E, dietary fiber, calcium, iron, and other antioxidant. Raw nuts contain no oil or chemical additives.		If the nuts are roasted with oil they will have a little higher fat/calorie content. Dry roasted nuts are still a healthy choice.

Baked vs. Fried:

There are many low-fat cooking options besides baking or deep frying such as roasting in the oven, grilling ,sautéing or stir-frying with a small amount of oil, broiling , braising, poaching, steaming. When given the choice, one of the best ways to lower fat consumption is to switch from deep fried foods to baked foods or the other low-fat cooking methods.

Steamed vs. Boiled:

Holistically speaking, it all depends on the vegetable. Steaming uses little energy, and does the least damage to the nutrients in vegetables. Boiling tenderizes vegetables and it also results in a loss of some of the vegetables nutrients in the cooking water. However, no matter how vegetables are cooked, the result will be a loss of some of their nutrients in the cooking process. A study published by the Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture found that broccoli cooked in the microwave loses up to 97 percent of its antioxidant contents, compared to 11 percent loss when it is steamed. Microwaved spinach loses 77 percent of its nutrients, compared to little to no loss when it is steamed. In conclusion, steaming is the best way to cook vegetables.

Fresh vs. Canned

Contrary to popular belief, canned foods do not lose many nutrients when they are packaged because there are frozen at their peak. However, fresh products are known for tasting better, having the highest nutritional values, and the largest quantities of minerals and vitamins. In conclusion, if possible, select fresh fruits over canned or even frozen and processed ones.

Raw (unsalted) vs. Roasted (Salted) vs. Smoked

Here are the differences between raw, smoked and salted nuts: (All for 1 ounce)
Almonds, Raw, no salt – 163 calories, 14 gm. fat, 0 mg sodium.
Almonds, smoked – 170 calories, 15 gm. fat, 200 mg sodium.
Almonds, roasted, salted – 160 calories, 15 gm. fat, and 60 mg sodium.
Almonds, roasted, no salt – 170 calories, 15 gm. fat, 0 mg sodium.

Things to remember

• Baked or grilled foods are better than deep fried foods.

• Processing foods almost always alters their nutritional value.

• The water soluble vitamins (B and C) are the most vulnerable to processing and cooking.

• Careful cooking and storage will help retain the nutrients in your food.

• Cooked food might make it safer than raw food.

• Consume everything as natural as possible and in moderation.

Sources:

http://www.livestrong.com/article/457793-which-is-healthier-baking-grilling-or-frying/

http://www.drweil.com/drw/u/id/QAA400193

http://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/bhcv2/bhcarticles.nsf/pages/Food_processing_and_nutrition?OpenDocument

http://www.age-well.org/fresh-versus-frozen-fruit-vegetables.html