Eating healthy all winter long

As farmers markets close for the season and grocery store aisles begin filling with cookies instead of vegetables, thoughts of eating healthy tend to get forgotten. Local dietitians say it may seem hard to choose healthy options during the winter, but there are many tricks one can put in place to ensure a healthy winter.

'The biggest thing we have to think about in the winter months is how important it is to keep healthy,” said Henry County Health Center dietitian Elise Klopfenstein. She says the body tends to be healthier during the summer months because fresh fruits and vegetables are more readily available, but there are a variety of ways to get the nutrients the body needs through produce that is in season during the winter months.

'I want to encourage people that there are really good root vegetables that are fresh and cheap throughout the winter,” she said.

Klopfenstein reccommends looking into the variety of squashes that are in season as a way to cut down on carbs, but still get fresh vegetables into the system.

Hy-Vee dietitian Melissa Boncher says that if getting fresh produce is not an option, frozen will work just fine.

'When we can't get out hands on the fresh stuff, go frozen,” she reccommends. 'Any way you eat it is better than not eating at all.”

Boncher says that frozen foods do not lose nutritional value just because they are frozen, but instead says this is a great way to keep produce that will last a while.

Klopfenstein echoes that sentiment and says even some canned foods can be useful during the winter.

In the case of fruit, she reccomends purchasing fruit only in its own juice and to avoid labels that say no sugar added. While the label is true, there is no sugar added, she says another sweetener is added instead and that often makes the caloric intake rise.

When dinner is over and it's time for dessert, Klopfenstein and Boncher agree that there are ways to substitute ingredients for healthier alternatives than what a recipe may call for.

Klopfenstein says that when baking sweet breads, such as muffins, cakes or cupcakes, instead of oil, applesauce can be substituted. One cup of oil can have over 1,900 calories while one cup of applesauce has just under 170 calories. She said the applesauce will bring in moisture, fiber and add a natural sweetness to the product.

For recipes that call for cream, she reccomends using products with less fat. For example, if a cheesecake recipe calls for four bricks of cream cheese, she reccomends using at least two less-fat bricks. She says the other ingredients in the recipe will mask the taste while reducing the fat and caloric intake.

Boncher says in the case of butter, Greek yogurt, avocado or flax meal may be used. She explains that they all hold the consistency of butter while 'lending that pleasing fat flavor we crave.”