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Cooking light offers many health benefits by Abby Van der Veer Registered Dietitian The MUSC Wellness Wednesday program will focus on healthy cooking from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. June 28 in the Children’s Hospital lobby. The session will also offer food samples.   Picnics, vacations, boat outings and outdoor fun are all under way for the summer season. You’ve worked so hard to prepare for a beach-ready body and now you’re looking for ways to eat healthy and maintain the weight loss. But as you can probably tell, it’s hard to pack healthy foods when you are traveling for the summer. So, before the pounds start to pack on, learn how to prepare yummy meals without the extra fat and calories. Contrary to popular belief, cooking light certainly does not mean eating celery and lettuce in each meal. Above all, it means creating slight ingredient substitutions in order to cut the fat but not the flavor.   Foremost, let’s understand why it is necessary to prepare lower calorie meals. On average, many adults gain about 1 to 2 pounds a year throughout their adulthood. That may not sound like a lot, but how would you like to gain 120 pounds after your 25th birthday? Although adult weight gain is common, you should not consider it healthy or normal. More than half of Americans currently are overweight or obese and the United States is presumably one of the fattest nations in the world.   Some relatively minor adjustments in cooking and eating can help reverse the fatty trend in American diets.   Cooking light offers a plethora of benefits. Cutting just 100 calories a day from your diet may be enough to prevent weight gain throughout the years. Remember, Americans have more health problems associated with obesity than people in other nations. For example, the risk of heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, and cancer is much greater in an overweight individual than in a healthy weight individual. Diabetes also is on the rise. Nearly one third of adults are diabetic or pre-diabetic, and that number is growing. But, the good news is you can decrease your risk for developing fat-related diseases.   Cooking light is possible in a variety of ways. Pay close attention to food purchasing and preparation. For example, opt for low fat meats such as extra lean, skinless meat instead of red meat or high fat, fried meats.   Fried food is definitely unhealthy, so select baked, grilled, boiled or broiled meat instead. You’ll save a ton of calories and fat. Also, experiment with ground turkey or tofu in place of ground beef. You may not taste the difference between soy crumbles and ground beef in a spaghetti sauce.   Many recipes include dairy products, so choose low fat or fat free dairy products instead of whole milk or whole fat cheeses. Try low fat feta cheese instead of regular feta in a spinach dip and nobody will taste the difference! Pay attention to the fat content in condiments, too. Dressings, mayonnaise and butter are loaded with artery-clogging fats. Instead, try fat free or lower fat versions. Definitely make an effort to use the lighter tub margarine or cooking spray in place of stick butter. Baked goods can be enjoyed on occasion, but try substituting applesauce for the oil or butter. Egg substitutes may replace real eggs to cut the calories and cholesterol. To cut calories even more, try Splenda in place of sugar.   Other substitutions could include swapping raisins for chocolate chips in cookies, or baking pumpkin cheesecake instead of chocolate cheesecake. When in doubt, substitute fruits and vegetables in place of higher fat or sugar alternatives.   For more healthy substitutions, come by the Wellness Wednesday booth June 28 in the Children’s Hospital and try out “real” versus “fake” samples. You may not even taste the difference. Editor's note: The preceding column was brought to you on behalf of Health First. Striving to bring various topics and representing numerous employee wellness organizations and committees on campus, this weekly column seeks to provide MUSC, MUHA, and UMA employees with current and helpful information concerning all aspects of health.     Friday, June 23, 2006 Catalyst Online is published weekly, updated as needed and improved from time to time by the MUSC Office of Public Relations for the faculty, employees and students of the Medical University of South Carolina. Catalyst Online editor, Kim Draughn, can be reached at 792-4107 or by email, catalyst@musc.edu. Editorial copy can be submitted to Catalyst Online and to The Catalyst in print by fax, 792-6723, or by email to catalyst@musc.edu. To place an ad in The Catalyst hardcopy, call Island Publications at 849-1778, ext. 201.