If you thought the last remnants of the holiday festivities
were sitting on the curb
waiting for the trash pickup, maybe you haven’t stepped on the
scales yet.

Most people gain an average of five pounds over the holidays
from Thanksgiving to New
Year’s, says Connie Crawley, a food, nutrition and health
specialist with the University
of Georgia Extension Service.

"If you’re like most people, you probably gave in to
your sweet tooth or those
luscious traditional meals over the holidays," Crawley
says. "Now it’s time to
remind yourself about cutting down on the fat and
sodium."

You don’t have to go on a starvation diet to get results, she
says. Just using some
basic cooking principles can help you shed some of your holiday
baggage. Here are some
ideas:

* Use low-fat cooking methods. Roasting, baking, braising or
stewing, poaching,
grilling, broiling, steaming, sauteing, stir frying and
microwaving all can be low-fat
cooking methods, depending on how much fat you add or remove
before and during cooking.

* Chill cooked meats and poultry drippings and broths in the
refrigerator and remove
the layer of fat on top. This stock can be used as a base for
soups, to flavor vegetables
and to make gravies. Make gravy without fat by blending a
tablespoon of cornstarch with a
cup of room-temperature broth. Simmer until thickened.

* Buy only the leanest beef, pork and poultry. Ground meat
can be fatty. Ground turkey
is leaner but still fattier than regular turkey. Grind your own
meat and poultry if you
have a food processor or meat grinder. It will be leaner than
any commercial meat and
often cheaper.

* Lean meat and poultry will be moister if it is cooked in
foil or in steamed cabbage
or lettuce leaves.

* Cut fat and cholesterol in meat and poultry dishes by
adding more vegetables, pasta
and fruit. You can also add more vegetables to bread
stuffings.

To cut down on sodium in your cooking, try these ideas:

* Eliminate or at least cut the salt in half in most recipes.
Becoming accustomed to
food with less sodium usually takes two to four weeks.

* Use herbs and spices, lemon juice and wine to enhance the
flavor of food. Use no more
than one-fourth teaspoon of dried herb or spice or three-fourths
teaspoon of a fresh herb
initially in a recipe that serves four. Keep lemon and wine
amounts to less than two
tablespoons. Many commercial herb and spice blends are
excellent.

* Most yeast breads can be made without salt. Rising time
will be half as long as
usual. Quick breads need no added salt and can be made with low-
sodium baking powder if
necessary.

* Add a small amount of lemon to the water to cook pasta, and
no salt will be needed.

* When shopping for canned goods, if low-sodium versions
aren’t available, rinse salted
ones with water in a colander. This will help reduce the sodium.
Fresh or frozen fruits
and vegetables without salt are better to use.

Your county Extension agent can give you more ideas about
cooking healthy meals with
lower salt and fat.