Is it a Trick or a Treat?

BY: Tara DelloIacono Thies

October is in full swing and walking into the grocery store the first thing you are faced with are mountains of candy for trick-or-treaters! These tempting treats can make following your healthy eating plan a big challenge.

It’s certainly no trick that fat should be part of a healthy diet. Fat gives our food flavor, holds our hunger at bay longer, and provides us with essential fatty acids that our body can’t produce on its own.

But the trick to incorporating fat into your diet is in moderation!

Too much fat, especially saturated fat and trans fats, can also raise cholesterol, which increases your risk of heart disease.

Tricky Trans Fats

Trans fats are produced when a fat is put through the hydrogenation process. Hydrogenation is chemical process, which creates the widely used hydrogenated oils.

Trans fats have been proven to be artery cloggers and potentially increase risk of other diseases.

It may surprise you to find out that your favorite low-fat treats may actually contain hydrogenated oils and thus trans fats. Food companies currently are not required to list trans fats and many low-fat products contain them.

Do you buy low-fat foods thinking they are better only to find that you eat twice as much as the regular version? If that low-fat food has processed hydrogenated fat you are not doing your heart any favors.

Trans fats may soon be listed on the food labels, making sources easier to identify. Until then, you can scan the ingredient list for the word hydrogenated oil, the source of trans fat.

Following the American Heart Association guidelines, moderating your total trans fat intake and finding alternatives to foods containing hydrogenated oils is the way to a healthy heart.

The American Heart Association also recommends keeping total fat intake at 25-30% of your total calories and to limit saturated fat to 10% or less of your total calories.

Tricky Treats

• Fruit snacks packs: These often come in fun shapes like cars or dinosaurs. Sometimes they have a tiny amount of real fruit juice to add a little vitamin C but many of the brands contain hydrogenated oils! I wouldn’t count on these snacks as your vitamin C source, instead, try dried fruits or fresh fruits. Not only do you get vitamin C, but you also get the added advantage of fiber.
• Yogurt-covered nuts, raisins and fruits: Many of these are coated with a hydrogenated fat. Choose the yogurt-covered goodies made with less processed saturated fat, often found at your local health food store. But remember, too much of any fat leads to high cholesterol, so limit it to a small portion.
• Bran Muffins: Careful! Many bakery items are made with hydrogenated vegetable oils or shortening and they can be high in fat. Your best bet is to make muffins yourself with less oil and butter. See my recipe below. If you don’t have time to bake, choose a good whole grain (such as whole wheat) bread or bagel, lightly toasted with a teaspoon of butter.
• Rice cakes: Many are great snacks using good oils such as safflower or sunflower oil. The rice cakes to be weary of are the mini-sized flavored versions. Take a good look at the ingredient list to check for hydrogenated oil.
• Crackers: Almost all crackers are made with hydrogenated oils. Again, you may want to check out new products and take a visit to your health food store for better options.

Treat Yourself!

You may think it’s a cruel trick that fat tastes so good and adds flavor to our foods! Just remember there is room for some decadence in your diet—keep moderation in mind when treating yourself!

And when you feel like you truly are challenged to find healthy treats you can always count on daily treats of fruits and vegetables to fill you up and keep you healthy. Trick or treat!

BRAN MUFFIN RECIPE

1 cup whole wheat flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1/2 cup wheat bran or 2 cups whole bran cereal
1/2 low-fat milk
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1/4 cup safflower oil

Heat oven to 400 degrees F.
Mix bran, milk and brown sugar.
Stir in egg and oil.
In a separate bowl mix flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg.
Add bran mixture to flour and stir until mixture is moistened. Don’t over-mix.
Add walnuts.
Spray muffin tin with non-stick cooking spray.
Fill each muffin slot about 2/3s full.
Bake for about 18-20 minute or until the top should be gold brown.