AICR Offers Healthy Holiday Recipes Online

American Institute for Cancer Research
Wednesday, 27 November 2002

The American Institute for Cancer Research (AICR) is featuring more than 40 delicious holiday recipes on the popular recipe section of its website. The featured recipes are intended to garnish the holiday meal with healthy yet festive dishes.

"Traditional tastes and food textures are an important part of any holiday celebration. But you can make your favorite recipes more healthy by simple substitutions and additions while still maintaining flavor and mouth feel," says Melanie Polk, R.D., AICR's Director of Nutrition Education.

Polk recommends four strategies for updating traditional holiday recipes:

• Substitute low-fat ingredients for high-fat ingredients. For example, use evaporated skim milk instead of cream. Olive oil is a healthier alternative to butter or stick margarine in many recipes.
• Add healthful ingredients to boost nutrition. Make a healthier turkey stuffing by adding diced veggies such as bell pepper and zucchini, and whole-grains such as whole-wheat bread or brown rice.
• Scale down portion size. Serve not-so-healthy desserts in smaller portions, along with more healthful desserts. Better yet, offer luscious desserts rich in fruit and grains instead of fat and sugar, like AICR's one-crust Cranberry Pie or New England Holiday Pudding.

"We all tend to feast at a festival, but a few subtle adjustments to traditional recipes and portion sizes will keep holiday eating from leading to dieting in January," Polk said.

Cranberry Pie with Lattice Crust, a fruit-filled holiday dessert, is an example of the type of recipes you will find on AICR's web site. For additional recipes go to www.aicr.org/recipe.

Cranberry Pie with Lattice Crust

1 12-ounce bag cranberries, fresh or frozen
3 medium Fuji or Golden Delicious apples, peeled, cored and chopped (1 1/4 pounds, about 5 cups)
1 cup raisins
1/4 cup chopped candied or preserved ginger
2/3 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
1 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp. ground cloves
1/3 cup apple cider or frozen apple juice concentrate
1/3 cup chopped walnuts
4 tsp. cornstarch
9-inch refrigerated pie crust
1 egg, beaten
1/4 cup sugar

Combine cranberries, apples, raisins, ginger, brown sugar, cinnamon and cloves in a deep saucepan with tight-fitting lid. Add 1/4 cup of cider. Bring to a boil over medium heat. Reduce heat and cook until cranberries pop and mixture is moist and bubbling, about 5 minutes. Stir well, cover and cook until cranberries are soft, 4 to 5 minutes. Mix in walnuts.

Combine cornstarch with remaining cider in a cup. Mix into hot filling and cook until thickened, stirring constantly, about 2 minutes. Turn filling into a 9-inch pie plate, spreading it evenly. Let sit until filling is warm, about 30 minutes. Filling can be made ahead, covered with plastic wrap and refrigerated for 24 hours.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. If filling has been chilled, bring it to room temperature.

Cut pie crust into at least 12 strips. Space 6 strips evenly over top of pie. Place 6 more strips at right angles, weaving them through to make a lattice. Trim away over-hanging crust from edge. Use remaining crust to make a border along rim of pie plate, crimping it nicely. Brush crust with beaten egg. Sprinkle sugar on lattice crust, including edges.

Place pie on a baking sheet. Bake 10 minutes. Reduce temperature to 350 degrees. If rim of crust begins to brown, cover with strips of foil. Bake 25 to 30 minutes, until lattice is golden. Remove pie and let sit 20 minutes before serving. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Makes 8 servings. Per serving: 283 calories, 5 grams of fat (less than 1 g saturated fat), 62 g carbohydrates, 3 g protein, 4 g dietary fiber, 36 mg sodium.

For more information, or to contact American Institute for Cancer Research, see their website at: www.aicr.org