Holiday tips to control sugar, fat intake

Controlling children's sugar intake can be difficult, especially over the holidays. Natural sugars are found in foods such as milk and fruit. Refined sugars, however, are added to enhance the flavor of many foods, including traditional holiday snacks, candies, desserts and drinks. Many of these foods do not provide nutritional value and overconsuming them leaves little room for healthier food choices.

-- Offer more whole fruit, vegetables, and low-fat milk products each day. This leaves less space for non-nutritious sugary treats.

-- Teach older children to check the amount of sugar on the nutrition facts panels. Use this information to help make wiser choices while food shopping.

-- Check to see if sugar is one of the first ingredients listed on foods. There are many types of added sugar, including sucrose, corn syrup, fructose, dextrose, glucose, molasses and malt syrup.

-- Limit the number of holiday treats to only one a day. Include sugar-free or lower-calorie alternatives.

Traditional holiday favorites often contain large amounts of fat and sugar but there are some recipe substitutions that save calories and boost the nutritional value, without sacrificing flavor.

Fat carries flavor, so the goal is to cut back, but not eliminate, fat in your recipes. In addition, substitute healthier oils for solid fats.

-- Use applesauce or yogurt as a substitute for one-half of the fat called for in bread and cake recipes.

-- Substitute evaporated skim milk for the full-fat variety in pumpkin pie and sauces.

-- Use broth in place of at least half the fat in stuffing and mashed potatoes.

-- In savory recipes that call for butter, use half the butter called for or less, and half olive or canola oil to make the recipe more heart-healthy.

-- Add a pinch of fresh or dried herbs, or freshly ground pepper, to add flavor without adding fat.

To cut sugar:

-- In cake, muffins and quick breads, cut back on the total amount of sugar called for by one-quarter.

-- Increase vanilla and sweet spices, such as cinnamon and nutmeg, and sprinkle a little coarse sugar on top to increase the sense of sweetness without adding a lot of sugar.

To boost fiber and nutrition:

-- For half of the all-purpose flour called for in your baking recipes, use the new white whole-wheat flour or whole-wheat pastry flour.

For more information on healthy eating, contact your local University of Nevada Cooperative Extension office.