A Kiddush Conundrum

HealthyLiving By Shira Isenberg A Kiddush Conundrum I am always at a loss trying to find Lack of color is just one problem charge of the cooking, implement Qsomething reasonably healthy to with kiddushim. Many shuls have a kid- them yourself: eat at our shul’s weekly kiddush. dush every Shabbat (not counting the Cholent: Beans and barley are actu- What do you suggest to improve pre-kiddush “Kiddush Club,” which, by ally good for you, with their fiber, pro- kiddush fare? the way, the OU condemns). Adding a tein, and folate. But when you take When I think of a typical kiddush, hefty amount of calories and saturated fatty meats, add oil, a hefty dose of Athe first thing that comes to mind fat on a regular basis in a communal some type of sugar (ketchup, brown is the color brown: cholent, potato setting is simply not a healthy thing to sugar, honey, et cetera), the health ben- kugel, chopped liver, chocolate cookies, do. Many of us will indulge at the kid- efits get lost. Unfortunately, leaner cuts and, of course, bourbon. Sure, a pickle dush and then go home to enjoy an of meat tend to dry out during the long, sneaks its way in, and the cake frosting oversized meal. It’s no wonder we need slow cooking of cholent, according to adds a bit of color. But overall, foods at that Shabbat nap! What kind of mes- Susie Fishbein, author of a variety of most kiddushim are monotonously col- sage are we sending to our children popular kosher cookbooks. She recom- ored—and far from nutritious. when, just after coming together to mends cutting the fat and calories by In the nutrition world, we talk connect with Hashem, we insert large either using dark meat chicken for the about color in foods as a sign of nutri- amounts of unhealthy foods into the cholent or going vegetarian. ents. Dull brown foods don’t typically bodies He gave us? Kugels: You probably can’t take the carry the range of nutrients we need. People generally want to make kugel away from the kiddush, but you Vibrant colors, particularly those found healthier choices, even at kiddushim. If can soften the nutritional blow. Stick in fruits and vegetables, are key sources healthy options are available, people with vegetable kugels; say no to challah of critical vitamins, minerals, phytonu- will eat them. For example, whenever or noodle kugels and certainly to cran- trients (other nutrients found in plants, salads are served at a kiddush, they’re berry-crunch or apple kugels—sorry, like lycopene), and fiber. always finished quickly. they’re dessert. Use egg whites or re- Shira Isenberg is a registered dietitian and With that in mind, here’s how you duced-fat mayonnaise as a binder in writer. She has a master’s degree in public can make over some typical kiddush the kugel—you don’t need both. Use health nutrition from Hunter College in foods. You can request these modifica- only heart-healthy olive or canola oil. New York. tions from your caterer or, if you’re in Skip the pie crust—you can make a de- Winter 5771/2010 JEWISH ACTION I 23 licious broccoli or cauliflower kugel mus or vegetable-packed Moroccan • Cut foods into smaller pieces— without a crust. If you want to add a lit- matbucha? Even pickled herring is a people will eat less. tle crunch, sprinkle cornflake crumbs decent choice—as long as you watch • Put out only small plates—again, on the bottom of the pan before baking. portion size. this encourages smaller portions. You’re not likely to change your • Include a pitcher of fresh water Crackers and chopped liver: Though shul in a week—but gradual changes with the other caloric beverages. Add a a good source of iron, liver is high in few slices of lemon to make it look will give shul members time to adjust. fat, especially when prepared with eggs more enticing. Also, people are less likely to notice and fried onions. You can opt for vege- • Baby carrots and grape tomatoes tarian “mock liver” (made out of peas, small changes over time, but they prob- are excellent finger foods that require onions and hardboiled eggs), but my ably will complain if you suddenly take no prep before serving. Place these choice would be to switch to other dips away all their favorite foods. Here are vegetables in small bowls on the tables. for your crackers (whole wheat, of five quick fixes you can implement • Ask the rabbi to talk about healthy course). How about protein-rich hum- quickly and easily: eating in his derashah. Taking Chanukah to Heart Monounsaturated fats: These fats lower LDL cholesterol and triglyceride levels without lowering HDL In light of all the oily food I’ll be unsaturated fat, which is the type of levels. This is why they’re often em- consuming over Chanukah, can Q fat that can help improve cholesterol phasized in heart-healthy diets. Mo- you explain how oils can be healthy if levels. There are two types of unsatu- nounsaturated fats may also help they contain so much fat? rated fats: prevent blood clots, and in patients Polyunsaturated fats: These fats with type 2 diabetes, they improve in- Ah, Chanukah, the Festival of lower total cholesterol, LDL choles- sulin resistance if used instead of AOil—I mean, Light. Because oil terol (the bad kind) and triglycerides polyunsaturated fats. and light are intertwined in this holi- (another type of fat found in your Other types of fat can be very un- day, many of us feel duty-bound to blood). The catch is these fats tend healthy for your heart. Both saturated partake of the oily goodies presented to lower HDL (good cholesterol) lev- fats (found in animal foods like butter, to us from Rosh Chodesh Kislev and els as well. Despite this, they have whole milk, and meat) and trans fat onward. In truth, oils can be very an overall protective effect against (found in margarines, fried foods and healthy. Most oils are a good source of heart disease. commercial baked goods) increase risk of heart disease and should be minimized in a heart-healthy diet. 24 I JEWISH ACTION Winter 5771/2010 Oils actually contain a combination of fats, but one type will predominate. For example, olive, canola, and peanut oil are rich in monounsaturated fat, while corn, cottonseed, and soybean oils are mainly polyunsaturated fat. And although the majority of oils are mostly unsaturated, a handful of oils—including palm kernel oil and co- conut oil—contain saturated fat. It’s a good idea to limit your intake of the latter oils. However, despite their heartening benefits, oils do have calories—a lot of calories. One tablespoon of any oil has roughly 120 calories. When you use oil liberally in cooking, it’s easy for those calories to add up fast—which can create a weight-control problem. For a balance of calorie control and health benefits, the American Heart Association recommends that less than 25 to 35 percent of your total calories per day come from fat—and most of that should be from unsaturated fats. Saturated fat should account for less than 7 percent of your calories, while trans fat should comprise less than 1 percent. For a 2,000-calorie-per-day diet, that amounts to 55 to 78 grams of total fat per day, with no more than 15 grams of saturated fat and 2 grams of trans fat. You’ll probably be eating latkes, sufganiyot and many other fried foods during the chag, so please be aware that the process of frying food in vegetable oil at a high tem- perature creates trans fat too. The good news is that nor- mal kitchen cooking is likely to produce only a small amount of trans fat, but if you reuse the oil over and over (which you might do if you are deep-frying), that trans fat will build up to unhealthy levels. So change your cooking oil often and, in general, minimize frying. Our discussion would be incomplete without men- tioning fish oils. Though not part of the Chanukah tradition, fish oils hold potential health benefits because they contain a specific unsaturated fat: omega-3 fats. While omega-3s don’t impact cholesterol levels as much, they have other ef- fects that may lower risk of heart disease, such as reducing triglyceride levels and slowing the growth of plaques in the arteries. The American Heart As- sociation recommends two servings (3 1/2 ounces each) of fatty fish (e.g., salmon, herring, albacore tuna) per week. You can also take fish oil supplements but check with your healthcare provider first. This Chanukah, be kind to your heart. Enjoy your sufganiyot—but in moderation! Winter 5771/2010 JEWISH ACTION I 25.

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