Good-Tasting Food Would Help the Fight Against Cholesterol and Fat

Much attention has been focused on health and fitness in recent times, leading to some confusion and frustration in the supermarket. Guests at parties and people in restaurants and in grocery store lines can be overheard discussing exercise, dietary fat and nutrition--sometimes expressing feelings of guilt for a momentary transgression with a favorite food or beverage.

Some researchers have begun to explore the possibility that professionals and educators in the field are pushing consumers too far with diets that are more restrictive than they have to be and that fail to respect the consumer’s desires for good-tasting food. The argument that healthful food should be tasty food is a valid one, indeed.

“Research shows that with some minor exceptions, people really haven’t made the major changes in eating habits that we have hoped for,” said Jennie Dillon, director of the Department of Food and Nutrition Management for Holy Cross Hospital. She spoke on this issue at a nutrition news conference in Laguna Beach recently. “Are we neglecting the consumer’s natural decision-making process in our drive to teach good nutrition? Are we expecting consumers and ourselves to make changes that are unrealistic and perhaps unnecessary?”

Taste Ranked No. 1

Dillon refers to data collected from a study conducted by the Food Marketing Institute, a nonprofit supermarket industry association that conducts programs in research, education and public affairs. The data displayed an overwhelming public interest in the nutritional content of foods. Taste, however, ranked as the No. 1 reason for some food selections among the supermarket customers queried nationwide, followed by ease of preparation and economy as priorities for selection.

In 1983, for example, sugar was the No. 1 concern listed by 20% of the respondents in the survey, followed by salt at 19%, chemical additives at 18% and vitamin and mineral content and food nutrition as fourth and fifth, respectively.

Today, research data indicates that fat, cholesterol and calories have replaced the previous concerns for chemical additives, natural foods and preservatives, indicating that interest in nutrition continues to rise while so called health foods are on the decline. Unfortunately, those same respondents ranked taste above the nutritional concerns. They are not buying foods that taste bad, no matter how good they are for them.

“Heart and cancer groups advocate cutting back fat intake from the national average of approximately 40% of total calories to 30%,” said Dillon, which is often too extreme. It dismisses foods like muffins, pancakes, some casseroles, crackers, cheeses, commercially prepared cultural foods, cakes and cookies. “But we can cut back by 10% without sweeping directives and absolutes which ignore flavor and conflict radically with current eating patterns.

“We have to be realistic. We don’t have to make major changes in our diets to reduce the fat content by 10%. We don’t have to restrict ourselves only to nonfat foods and we can meet the 30% calories from fat recommendation of heart and cancer groups by simply moving to lower-fat foods. One doesn’t have to stop eating biscuits, Ritz crackers and Triscuits, either,” she said.

Comfortable Dieting Range

Meantime, at the Border Grill, John Paul Foreyt, clinical professor in both the Department of Nutrition and Food Sciences at Texas Woman’s University and in the Department of Psychology, University of Houston, echoed those thoughts. “The truth is, we find Americans can and will get fat to 30%, but if you get below that there’s reluctancy. The American Heart Assn. guidelines are hard to get people to adhere to, but it is feasible to get it (fat intake) to 30%.” Foreyt, a co-author of “The Living Heart Diet” (Simon & Schuster, 1984), concluded that a moderately low-fat diet combined with some behavior modification will provide calorie counters with a comfortable dieting range and positive results.

“Two-thirds of all people go off diets, have a relapse, in just 60 days. They practice morning anorexia, have a light lunch, then eat heavy at night. It is so difficult to change dietary behavior--you have to emphasize exercise, no sweet tooth. Then you see a decrease in heart disease, decrease in obesity and a higher breakthrough in health of society,” he said.

Following are some simple recommendations from the Dairy Council of California to help cut fat in the diet without eliminating good taste:

--Make choices from foods you like to eat.

--Use recipes with few ingredients, those which can be made ahead and those that use low-fat ingredients.

--Involve household members in food selection process, including substitutions of one food for another to lower fat.

--Limit consumption of extra foods, including fats, oils, salad dressings, chips and sweets.

--Reduce portion sizes.

--Reduce the number of times you eat a particular food.

--Reduce fat in food preparation.

--Choose lower-fat foods from meat and milk groups.

Here are some recipes for fish dishes that call upon a variety of ingredients that accent their exceptionally good taste. The Salmon Tacos and Warm Escalope of Halibut recipes were developed by Susan Feniger and Mary Sue Milliken of the Border Grill.

SALMON TACOS

12 (6-inch) corn tortillas

7 tablespoons olive oil

6 radishes

1 cup loosely packed cilantro

1 cup chopped, peeled cucumbers

2 tablespoons chopped red onion

2 tablespoons chopped tomato

3 tablespoons minced, seeded jalapeno chiles

1/3 cup grapefruit juice

3 tablespoons orange juice

2 tablespoons lime juice

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 avocado

4 cups shredded romaine lettuce

1 (15 1/2-ounce) can pink salmon, drained

Lightly fry tortillas in 1/4 cup olive oil and drain thoroughly on paper towels. Process radishes and cilantro in food processor until finely minced. Set aside.

Place cucumbers, onion, tomato and chiles in bowl. Add grapefruit, orange and lime juices and salt and allow to marinate 30 minutes. Peel and slice avocado into 12 pieces. Assemble each taco by layering tortilla with lettuce, cucumber mixture, radish mixture, salmon, avocado slice and drizzling with 1/2 teaspoon olive oil. Makes 12 servings.

Note: For fewer calories, omit avocado and heat tortillas in low oven for soft shell tacos.

PER SERVING: 233 calories; 10 gm protein; 18 gm carbohydrate; 14 gm fat; 197 mg sodium; 392 mg potassium.

USRDA

Protein 16% Riboflavin 10% Vitamin A 20% Niacin 20% Vitamin C 48% Calcium 16% Thiamine 07% Iron 12%

WARM ESCALOPE OF HALIBUT

1 1/2 pounds halibut steaks or roast, thawed if necessary, skin removed

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

3/4 cup chopped cilantro, loosely packed

1/3 cup lime juice

6 tablespoons olive oil

Thinly slice halibut about 1/4- to 1/2-inch thick and arrange 2 slices on each of 6 (6-inch) oven-proof plates, covering entire surface. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Combine cilantro, lime juice and oil and set aside. Quickly cook under broiler about 1 to 2 minutes or until opaque. Brush with cilantro-lime mixture and serve immediately. Makes 6 servings.

PER SERVING: 307 calories; 25 gm protein; 2 gm carbohydrate; 23 gm fat; 244 mg sodium; 592 mg potassium.

USRDA

Protein 38% Riboflavin 06% Vitamin A 23% Niacin 49% Vitamin C 29% Calcium 03% Thiamine 06% Iron 07%

SALMONBURGERS

1 (15 1/2-ounce) can pink salmon

1 egg white

1/2 cup chopped onion

1/2 cup finely chopped green pepper

1/2 cup fresh whole-wheat bread crumbs

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1 teaspoon grated lemon peel

1/2 teaspoon rosemary leaves, crushed

1/8 teaspoon black pepper

1/4 cup oil

Drain salmon, reserving 2 tablespoons liquid. Flake. Combine salmon, egg white, onion, green pepper, bread crumbs, reserved liquid, lemon juice, lemon peel, rosemary and pepper. Mix well. Form into 4 patties. Heat oil in non-stick skillet and pan-fry patties about 5 minutes or until lightly browned. Turn halfway through cooking time. Serve with choice of toppings: sliced tomato, sliced pickles, chopped onion, sliced cheese, pickle or mustard relish, catsup, mayonnaise, mustard, tartar sauce or Thousand Island dressing or lettuce. Makes 4 servings.

Note: Nutrient data does not include toppings.

PER SERVING: 336 calories; 26 gm protein; 11 gm carbohydrate; 21 gm fat; 538 mg sodium; 543 mg potassium.

USRDA

Protein 41% Riboflavin 16% Vitamin A 03% Niacin 48% Vitamin C 48% Calcium 25% Thiamine 06% Iron 09%

GRILLED ORIENTAL FISH STEAKS

4 halibut steaks, about 3/4 inch thick

1/2 cup soy sauce

3 tablespoons minced onion

1 tablespoon chopped ginger root

1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds

1/2 teaspoon sugar

Rinse fish steaks and pat dry. Place in single layer in shallow pan. Combine soy sauce, onion, ginger, sesame seeds and sugar in blender. Process on low speed 30 seconds, scraping sides down once. Pour sauce over fish, turn over to coat both sides, then marinate 30 minutes, turning fish occasionally. Remove from marinade and place on grill 4 inches from moderately hot coals. Cook 5 minutes per side or until fish flakes easily when tested with fork. Makes 4 servings.

Note: For lower sodium dish, substitute low-sodium soy sauce in this recipe.

PER SERVING: 185 calories; 22 gm protein; 3 gm carbohydrate; 10 gm fat; 1384 mg sodium; 542 mg potassium.

USRDA

Protein 35% Riboflavin 07% Vitamin A 09% Niacin 42% Vitamin C 01% Calcium 03% Thiamine 05% Iron 09%

FISH STEAKS WITH MUSHROOMS BARCELONA

4 halibut steaks, about 3/4-inch thick

2 tablespoons butter

1 tablespoon oil

8 ounces mushrooms, quartered

1/2 cup chopped walnuts, optional

2 tablespoons dry Sherry

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1 teaspoon grated orange or lemon peel

2 tablespoons chopped parsley

1/4 teaspoon salt

Rinse halibut steaks and pat dry. Combine butter and oil in skillet and heat. Saute mushrooms in butter and oil over medium high heat until just tender. Add walnuts, sherry, lemon juice and orange peel. Cook 1 minute. Sprinkle with parsley and season with salt. Grill fish over medium-hot coals about 5 minutes per side. Spoon mushroom mixture over fish to serve. Makes 4 servings.

Note: One-half cup chopped walnuts adds lends taste and texture to this recipe but add 100 calories per serving, 9 grams of fat.

PER SERVING: 266 calories; 23 gm protein; 4 gm carbohydrate; 18 gm fat; 267 mg sodium; 710 mg potassium.

USRDA

Protein 35% Riboflavin 20% Vitamin A 17% Niacin 054% Vitamin C 12% Calcium 02% Thiamine 09% Iron 07%

RED SNAPPER FILLETS WITH GREEN ONION SAUCE

1 (10 3/4-ounce) can condensed cream of celery soup

1/2 cup low-fat milk

1/3 cup white wine

1/2 cup green onions

2 tablespoons lemon juice

2 teaspoons butter

2 teaspoons flour

2 pounds red snapper fillets, broiled

Dill sprigs

Combine soup, milk and wine in 2-quart saucepan over medium heat. Add green onions and simmer 1 minute. Blend soup mixture in blender or food processor until smooth. Add lemon juice. Melt butter in small saucepan and blend in flour. Gradually add soup mixture and heat through, stirring constantly. Force through fine sieve.

For each serving, place about 1/4 cup sauce on each plate. Top with fish. Garnish with dill. Makes 8 servings.

PER SERVING: 165 calories; 24 gm protein; 6 gm carbohydrate; 4 gm fat; 394 mg sodium; 455 mg potassium.

USRDA

Protein 36% Riboflavin 05% Vitamin A 05% Niacin 01% Vitamin C 07% Calcium 06% Thiamine 14% Iron 06%