Editorial
Front Page - Friday, February 26, 2010
Kay's Cooking Corner
Dieting with the turkeys!
Kay Bona
Every time I try to cut back on my food, hunger pangs start gnawing away at my insides, my stomach gurgles and “a blackout dizziness” seems to overtake me! Sounds pretty severe, huh? Well, I might be exaggerating some. While I’m not into being super-model slim, I would like to keeping fitting into my current wardrobe, and be healthy, you know?
I read an interesting article that said to lower the “energy density” of your foods. Well, I’ve never heard of “energy density” so I did some investigating.
Energy density is the number of calories in a gram of food. It’s a fact that foods with a high amount of calories per serving increase both our body weight and the amount of food consumed. The “high energy” density of foods such as fried onion rings or homemade chocolate chip cookies makes them taste great, but they don’t create feelings of fullness until we’ve eaten too much.
Foods with “low energy” density like vegetables, fruits, cooked grains, stews and lean protein have fewer calories and fat, but make us feel full, thereby promoting weight loss.
Determining energy density (calories per gram):
Find the serving-size weight in grams and the calories per serving on the food label. If the calories are less than the grams, the food has low energy density. If the calories are equal to, or higher than the grams, it’s not diet material!
Also, consider protein and water content. Make sure you get an adequate amount of protein each day. Along with protecting against muscle loss during diets, protein has a higher satiating effect than carbohydrates, so you feel less hungry on protein-rich diets.
The quantity of water in food increases the weight of the food, but doesn’t increase its calorie value. Consider that for a 100-calorie snack, you could eat two cups of water-laden grapes or one-quarter cup raisins. The volume of grapes is clearly more satisfying.
The most high-energy component of food is fat: nine calories per gram. Water has zero calories per gram. So by cutting fat and adding water (with vegetables, fruit or broth) in your cooking, you reduce energy density significantly.
Turkey is a “super-food.” It is a protein source that is very low in fat and provides many nutrients that help build a strong immune system. With eight percent more protein than chicken or beef and zero percent saturated fat, turkey is the Perfect Protein!
Turkey Risotto
3 tbsp olive oil
1 lb turkey breast, cut into
thin strips
1 lb mushrooms, sliced
3/4 cup red onion, diced
3/4 cup yellow sweet pepper,
diced
1/2 lb fresh asparagus
1 1/2 cups Arborio rice
1/2 cup dry white wine
6 cups hot turkey stock
1 head garlic, roasted
3/4 cup Parmesan cheese,
grated
Salt and pepper to taste
In skillet, heat one tablespoon of the oil. Add turkey; cook until golden color; remove to plate. Add one tablespoon oil to the pan; sauté mushrooms until tender. Add onion and yellow pepper; cook two minutes; set aside. Trim tips from asparagus. Chop stems into pieces; cook in boiling water five minutes; add tips and cook one minute longer; drain; set aside. In wok, over high heat, add remaining oil and rice; cook stirring, one minute. Add wine, cook, while stirring constantly, until almost completely absorbed. Turn heat to med-high, and stir in turkey stock one half cup at a time, stirring constantly, adding more when almost completely absorbed. (Rice will be slightly firm in center.) Stir in garlic, mushroom mixture, asparagus and one half cup of the cheese. Season with salt and pepper. Sprinkle each serving with remaining cheese.
Kay Bona can be contacted at The Daily Record, 501-374-5103, or by e-mail at dbona5@att.net.
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