Ethnic Eating: A Big, Beautiful World of Healthy Foods

If you haven’t tried the more exotic eating offerings in your neighborhood, consider this Healthy Eating article your invitation.

• It suggests ways to fit fun and festive foods from around the world into your nutrition plan.
• It gives you some ideas for healthy and tasty ethnic dishes you can easily prepare at home.
• It offers hints on how to eat exotic fare at a restaurant and still stay on your nutrition plan.

Fitting These Foods Into Your Plan

If you’re wondering whether ethnic cuisines can fit into a healthy, reduced-calorie, diabetes nutrition plan, the answer is YES! You just need some tips to help you make wise choices.

• Some cuisines are particularly easy to fold into your nutrition plan. Consider trying Mediterranean dishes that call for traditional ingredients like olive oil, tomatoes, onion, and fresh lemon juice and that emphasize lean protein sources like fish, seafood, and chicken.
• All cuisines offer dishes you can fit into your nutrition plan, or can at least be adapted to fit. Interested in Indian food? Tandoori chicken (chicken marinated in yogurt and spices and grilled) is an easier “fit” than chicken in a rich, creamy curry sauce. Asian food? A chicken stir-fry with a light sauce is an easier fit than wor sui gai and General Tso’s chicken (the chicken in both is typically breaded and fried).
• Just remember to plan ahead, especially when you’re eating out, and find out which foods to choose sparingly because of their sugar, fat, or sodium content.
• To a great extent, ethnic cuisines are distinguished by the spices and herbs that give them their unique flavors. This is a boon for people trying to lose weight who want to spice up their nutrition plans: Spices and herbs infuse foods with a whole lot of exotic flavor without adding fat or calories. And you don’t have to create complicated ethnically “accurate” dishes to enjoy them. You might enjoy using them in simple dishes like those described in the next section.

Eating Ethnic “In”

If you’re inspired to try ethnic cooking, you might check out cookbooks at your library or bookstore. You’ll probably find dozens of cookbooks for every type of cuisine you can imagine. The Internet is another source you can investigate.

Here’s a very small sample of some simple recipes you might like to try:

Mango Lassi: Luscious Yogurt Drink (India)
Traditionally served with a meal, but also makes a nice dessert

266 ml plain low-fat yogurt
133 ml skim milk (for a more authentic taste, use low-fat buttermilk)
133 ml canned mango pulp or 198 g from three fresh mango, stoned and sliced
25 ml sugar substitute, or to taste
Pinch of ground cardamom and pinch of salt (optional, but authentic)

Put all the ingredients into a blender and blend for two minutes, pour into four glasses, add a stick of cinnamon if you like, and serve. Serves four.

Nutrition information (per serving): 90 Calories; 15 g carbohydrate; 1 g fiber; 5 g protein; 1 g fat; 0 mg sodium

Sopa de Lima: Yummie Yucatecan Soup (Mexico)
The centerpiece of a luscious, light evening meal

28 ml olive oil
1 medium white onion, thinly sliced
6 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
2 jalapeño or serrano chilies, thinly sliced
340 g skinless, boneless chicken breasts, cut into very thin strips or shredded
1.2 liters low-salt chicken broth
59 ml fresh lime juice
1 large tomato, seeded, chopped
2 g/6 ml cumin (optional)
2 g/6 ml oregano (preferably Mexican oregano)
2 corn tortillas, cut into thin strips
12 g/59 ml chopped fresh cilantro
Fresh cilantro sprigs

Heat oil in large saucepan over medium heat. Add onion, garlic, and chilies. Sauté until onion begins to brown, about four minutes. Add chicken; sauté one minute. Add broth, lime juice, tomato, and spices. Simmer until chicken is cooked through, about five minutes.

While the soup is simmering, bake the tortilla strips on a cookie sheet in a 204° C oven for three minutes or until lightly browned.

Add chopped cilantro to the soup. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Ladle soup into four bowls. Drop ¼ of the tortilla strips on top of each bowl of soup and garnish with cilantro sprigs. For a special touch, attach a thin wedge of lime notched to the peel on the rim of each bowl. Serves four.

Nutrition information (per serving): 249 Calories; 18 g carbohydrate; 3 g fiber; 26 g protein; 9 g fat; 200 mg sodium

Moroccan Chicken: Aromatic and Absolutely Wonderful Chicken “Stew”
A hearty, healthy entrée that makes a great special-occasion meal

18 ml olive oil
6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (113 g each), cut into large cubes
2 red onions, quartered lengthwise, sliced crosswise
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
3 g/6 ml ground cinnamon
2 g/6 ml ground ginger
2 g/6 ml ground cumin
0.5 g/2 ml saffron threads, crushed (optional)
1 g/2 ml cayenne pepper
3 ripe tomatoes, peeled, seeded, and coarsely chopped (or a 454 g can chopped or puréed tomatoes)
118 ml low-sodium chicken broth
79 ml golden raisins
1 can (424 g) chickpeas, rinsed and drained
75 g/118 ml toasted, sliced almonds
525 g/710 ml cooked white rice

Cook chicken in oil in nonstick Dutch oven or large skillet five or six minutes, until browned. Transfer to plate. Cook onion in skillet four or five minutes, until lightly browned. Add garlic, cinnamon, ginger, cumin, saffron (if using), and cayenne; cook one minute. Stir in tomato, honey, chicken stock, and salt and pepper to taste. Add chicken; simmer, covered, five minutes. Stir in raisins and chickpeas; simmer, stirring, another 10 minutes.

Serve over 118 ml of cooked couscous* or rice. Sprinkle a few almond slices on top. Garnish with cilantro or parsley sprigs, if you wish. Makes six servings. (For an interesting variation, add 170 g of chopped prunes, dates, or dried apricot when you add the raisins.)

*Small grains of precooked semolina wheat. A staple throughout North Africa.

Nutrition information (per serving): 390 Calories; 36 g carbohydrate; 8 g fiber; 39 g protein; 10 g fat; 95 mg sodium

After you’ve picked out some recipes that strike your fancy, check your cupboard and fridge to see what ingredients you have and what you’ll need to buy. You may have a lot of the ingredients you need already.

If you shop at a large supermarket, you’ll probably be able to get the rest of the ingredients there. Mainstream supermarkets carry foods that most of us didn’t know existed until recently: magnificent mangoes, papayas, plantains, jicama, chayote (a.k.a., mirliton or christophene), cilantro, and ugli fruit, to name a few; canned, bottled, and packaged foods from around the world; spices our mothers never put in apple pie.

If you have ethnic markets near you, check them out. The sights, aromas, and food offerings can make you feel like you’ve stepped into another culture.

Eating Ethnic “Out”

If you want a taste of ethnic fare before you attempt to cook it yourself, try it at a restaurant and let experts cook it for you. Here are some suggestions to help guide you in making healthy choices when you’re going ethnic. You may find them useful even if you’re already an ethnic food aficionado.

Asian

• Choose steamed or boiled foods rather than deep-fat fried items when you can.
• Select steamed dumplings over egg rolls or wontons.
• Sweet-and-sour sauce and even some brown sauces contain a fair amount of sugar. If sweet-and-sour chicken is your favorite dish, consider being adventurous and trying some new dishes prepared without sugar. Or ask your server to have the sauces on the side. Then you have control over how much you eat.
• Choose entrées with lots of steamed vegetables.
• Select steamed rice instead of fried rice. (Some new Asian restaurants even offer brown rice.)
• Choose fish or white meat of chicken instead of heavily fat marbled beef, duck, or pork.
• Use soy sauce sparingly, or use light soy sauce, if you have been advised to reduce your sodium intake. Other low-sodium alternatives for seasoning your foods are ginger, garlic, and scallions.

Greek/Mediterranean/Middle Eastern

• Chicken, lamb, or pork souvlaki dishes are lower in fat than gyros, spanakopita (spinach pie), or stuffed grape leaves.
• Roast lamb or shish kebab and couscous are healthier entrée choices than moussaka or pastitsio.
• Greek salads are delicious, but ask for the salad dressing and feta cheese on the side.
• Eat plenty of roasted vegetables, if they come with the kebabs.
• If you really want a taste of that baklava, share a portion with a friend.

Italian

• A crisp, tossed salad is a good way to start your meal. Ask for the salad dressing on the side. Or use a small amount of olive oil and extra vinegar to toss your salad. Balsamic vinegar is especially delicious.
• Choose red sauces instead of cream, butter, or olive oil sauces for pasta dishes.
• Ask for sun-dried tomatoes or crushed tomatoes to flavor your entrées.
• Order chicken or veal piccata (prepared with lemon) or primavera (without cream).
• Request meat to be grilled or lightly sautéed instead of fried.

Mexican

• Instead of munching on dozens of fried tortilla chips as an appetizer, consider asking for a soft corn tortilla to dip in the salsa.
• Use salsa to flavor your food instead of lots of sour cream and guacamole. In fact, consider asking the server to leave those high-fat extras off your entrée plate.
• Consider ordering a dish with a tomato-based sauce (for instance, “Veracruz style”) instead of a creamy, cheesy, high-fat, high-calorie sauce.
• Eat refried beans sparingly: They typically contain a lot of fat. Instead, opt for boiled beans or Mexican rice as your side dish.

Indian

• Read menu descriptions of appetizers carefully before you order. Most, like pakoras (potato and chickpea flour balls) and samosas (little filled pastries), are deep-fried. Papadum (crispy wafers made from lentils) eaten with some mint chutney is a lighter (but still exotic) starter.
• Consider trying tandoori chicken, especially if Indian food is new to you. It’s very low in fat and mild — not spicy hot like many Indian dishes.
• Indian sauces are wonderfully aromatic and tend to be spicy; they also can contain a fair amount of hidden fat. If you want a dish with lots of spunk, spice, and sauce, consider splitting an entrée with a friend.
• Raita, a side dish made from yogurt, cucumbers, tomatoes, and spices, is a light, cooling accompaniment to spicy entrées.

Taking a Turn to the Exotic

How about trying one new ethnic dish this week? Do you prefer to

__ Cook and eat in?

__ Eat out?

Eat In

1. If you want to try the dish at home, find a recipe that looks good to you. Use the Internet, a cooking magazine, or cookbook — any source.
2. Write down the ingredients and determine whether you have them or need to get them.

   Got it	Need it

3. Look over Healthy Eating article 14 again to see whether you can lighten up the dish.
4. Prepare the dish. After you’ve tried it, rate it.
   
   Keeper __    OK, but I probably won’t make it again __    Didn’t like it at all __

Eat Out

1. Choose a cuisine you like or want to try and a restaurant that serves it.
2. When you go to the restaurant, take with you the set of suggestions for healthy choices that is most appropriate for the type of restaurant you’re eating in.

Summary

• You can liven up your nutrition plan by trying out some fun and festive ethnic foods. Some cuisines, like those from the Mediterranean region, are particularly easy to fold into your plan because they offer a lot of healthy choices. But with a little know-how and planning, you can eat and enjoy all kinds of ethnic foods and stay on the diabetes control track.
• You can cook a lot of good ethnic cuisine at home, with the help of food Web sites or a good cookbook. Many recipes are quite simple, and you probably already have some of the spices, herbs, and other ingredients you need. For those you don’t have, you can check out large supermarkets, ethnic markets, and — again — the Internet.
• You can eat ethnic foods out, too, and stay on your weight loss track. Here are some general guidelines:
  • Boiled, steamed, poached, or baked foods are better choices than fried dishes — especially those that are deep-fried. A chicken stir-fry with vegetables at an Asian restaurant, for instance, is a healthier choice than wor sui gai, which is usually breaded, fried, and served with a heavy sauce.
  • Watch out for sauces that hide lots of fat or sugar, like sweet-and-sour sauce at an Asian restaurant, cheese sauce at a Mexican restaurant, and cream sauce at an Italian restaurant. If you’re not sure about what’s in a sauce, ask your server.
  • When you can, order entrées that offer a lot of vegetables, like roasted vegetables with shish kebab.
  • If you want dessert, share with a friend.