Diet Talking Turkey

Take our quiz and hold the line on holiday weight gain

1. Three ounces of dark meat turkey with skin has six grams of fat. How much skinless white meat can you eat for the same amount of fat?

a. 3 ounces
b. 6 ounces
c. 14 ounces
d. 28 ounces

Answer: D, 28 ounces. (That’s more than a pound and a half of white meat!) O.K. Not many people would eat a pound and half of turkey breast - even on Thanksgiving – but the fact remains that both removing the skin and switching from dark to light meat can save you a lot of fat. “There’s more fat in dark meant,” says Ellie Kreiger, M.S., R.D., a nutritionist and author of Small Change, Big Results. “But it also happens to have more iron.” Try mixing dark and light meats. Skin can also turn you r healthy turkey meal into a fat land mine, so peel it from your portion if you’re watching calories. (Krieger says you don’t’ have to skin the turkey before you cook it.) To add flavor to the meat so that you won’t feel like noshing on the crispy skin, work some fresh herbs and spices under the skin of the turkey before baking it. Since white meat cooks faster than dark, cover the breast with foil near the end of the cooking time to keep it moist.

2. A half cup of canned cranberry sauce has more sugar than:

a. A can of cola
b. B. a half cup of chocolate ice cream
c. C. Each of the above.

Answer: c, each of the above. A half-cup of whole berry cranberry sauce has 52 grams of sugar. Yep – for the amount of sugar you get in cranberry sauce, you may as well be noshing on half cup of chocolate ice create at 17 grams of sugar. Cranberry sauce has more calories then ice cream - 209 calories per half cup of sauce compared to 143 calories per half cup of chocolate ice cream. (To be fair, cranberry sauce has almost no fat – which we certainly can’t say about ice cream!) A can of cola has 40 grams of sugar and 155 calories. “Cranberries are very tart,” says Joy Baurere, M.S., R.D., a nutritionist and author of Cooking with Joy. “So the manufacturers put in a lot of sugar,” But you have options for reducing the sugar impact of this tasty treat. Bauer suggests making you own cranberry sauce and adding less sugar than any recipe you use requires. Or try replacing the sugar with a sugar substitute such as Splenda. Add cinnamon, orange zest or nutmeg for a little kick.

3. Which beverage will set you back the most calories?

a. A glass of white wind (3.5 ounces)
b. B. A can of cola
c. A cup of coffee with 2 tablespoons of half-and-half and 2 teaspoons sugar
d. D. A cup of apple juice

Answer: B, a can of cola, 155 calories. Believe it or not, you’re better off indulging in a glass of wine (70 calories) than downing a can of cola. “All of cola’s calories come from refined sugar,” says Bauere – about 10 teaspoons per can, to be exact.” And, keep in mind that people are even more apt to drink the 20-ounce bottles than the small cans.”

Coffee (9 calories per cup) with two teaspoons of sugar (32 calories) and two tablespoons of half-and-half (40 calories) won’t destroy your diet, but to cut calories even more you can use Skip Plus (skim milk combined with nonfat milk solids to make it a little thicker) and sugar substitute. Jazz up your coffee for a few calories with some cinnamon or cocoa powder.

If you’re watching your waistline this Thanksgiving. Bauere suggests opting for non-alcoholic beverages like water still or sparkling)or Fruit2O. If you can’t stand plain water, squeeze a section of lemon, lime or orange –spritz of juice can add a lot of flavor to this zero-calories standby. If you can’t go without soda, switch to diet soda. If you prefer to have an alcoholic beverage, Bauer recommend eschewing caloric mixed drinks and instead choosing white wine, read wine or a wine spritzer (wine or club soda).

You’d that that juice would be a good option – after all, it’s made from fruit – but it’s really a calorie-dense drink; for example, one cup of apple juice has 117 calories, and it wont’ fill you up like the whole fruit 972 calories in a minimum apple). You can cut the damage by diluting the juice with water.

4. Once slice of pecan pie equals approximately how many slices of pumpkin pie calorie wise?

a. One Slice
b. b. One and a half slices
c. Two slices
d. Whole pie

Answer C: two slices. One of our five Thanksgiving pies is also one of the most calories laden at 452 calories per slice. Many of the calories and much of the fat in pecan pie come from the pecans themselves. The good news is that they happened to be filled with healthy unsatured fat that’s good for your heart.

But for about half the calories and just as much health benefit, you could enjoy a slice of pumpkin pie at 229 calories, “Most people don’t realize that pumpkin-even canned- is one of the best sources of beta carotene, a disease-fighting compound,” says Kreiger. If you make the pie at home, Krieger suggest making it with low-fat evaporated milk instead of the full-fat kind. “The pie will still taste good for fewer calories.” If you’re served apple pie, which 277 calories per slice, cut the calories by taking off the top crust. When making your own pie, use less sugar than the recipe calls for and you still have a mouthwatering pie.

Or try making baked apples instead for a tasty treat: Fill the hold with cinnamon sticks. Then top the apple with a small dollop of whipped cream.

5. To eat less, serve out your portion using:

A. A big serving spook, because you’ll compensate by scooping less food.
B. A small serving scoop out less

Answer: b, a small serving spoon, in a study conducted by Brian Wansink, Ph.D., and his colleagues at the University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana, researchers went to an ice cream social and provided people with both large and small servings. People who use the larger scoops ended up eating 15-20 percent more. The scoop for your diet: more calories. When you serve the Thanksgiving meal, use tablespoons instead of bigger spoons and your portions will be smaller.