MICHALUK LINDA. JOHN BENHAM “It’s like telling someone about your sex life.” So said Central Saanich’s Noel Richardson of Ravenhill Herb Farms, admitting she had eaten half an apple strudel two days earlier. Saanich-Gulf Islands M.P. Lynn Hunter confessed to nibbling two “wonderful Rogers chocolate creams’’, adding, in brackets, ‘‘oh guilt.” Hunter, cookbook author Richardson, North Saanich Mayor Linda Michaluk, Saanich Penin- sula Hospital Administrator John Benham and cooking columnist Barbara Brennan all bared their dictary souls for analysis by Saa- nich Peninsula Hospital registered dietitian-nutritionist Marlyn Davis. Their lists of all food eaten over the three days revealed how often good nutritional intentions fell before time constraints and temp- tation. A computer analysis showed four of the five exceeded their recommended fat intake of total daily calories. Brennan’s fat intake was low at 16 per cent of total calories, mainly due to the weight loss program she is following. “Normally it wouldn’t look that good,” she admits. The recommended level of fat consumption is 15 to 30 per cent of total daily calories. Most people consume 40 to 50 per cent of their total daily calories as fat. Fat adds flavor and moisture to food for many people, Davis said. A muffin may already contain butter, but people will still spread butter on top, Davis notes. “Fat is the nutrient we need least of,” Davis said. “Our body stores fat calories as body fat much more easily than calories LYNN HUNTER from protein or carbohydrates.” Eating out? Eat healthy Grazing through a restaurant menu can be hazardous to healthy eating, unless the diner keeps a wary eye on food choices. Healthy food choices are those foods rich in vitamins, minerals and fiber but low in fat and sugar says Marlyn Davis, Saanich Peninsula Hospital registered dietitian-nutritionist. Noting that an estimated one-third of meals are now eaten in restaurants, she offers tips for healthy dining. Instead of a double patty burger, choose a single patty burger. Chili is a better choice than deep fried fish or a chicken burger and a green salad with dressing on the side better than a caesar salad. Order a baked potato instead of french fries, milk, juice or water instead of a milkshake or soft drink and scrambled eggs with an English muffin instead of an egg and bacon croissant. Skip the butter if ordering pancakes with syrup and order a pizza with a single cheese, no meat and extra vegetables. Ask for low fat milk, either two per cent, one per cent or skim, instead of whole milk; milk instead of cream with tea and coffee and gravies, sauces and salad dressings on the side so the diner can control how much is eaten. Many restaurants now offer calorie reduced salad dressings. Toast, burgers and sandwiches can be requested without butter or sauce and whole grain breads, rolls and crackers ordered instead of white bread. Green salad or fresh vegetables can replace french fries and four ounce or less portions of meat, fish and poultry are better than large servings. Choose meats, fish and poultry which is broiled, roasted, steamed or poached instead of sauteed or fried. Other healthy choices are raw vegetables with low-fat dips such as cottage cheese, yogurt or beans, pasta with low-fat sauces based on tomatoes or milk and fresh fruit or fruit salad for desert.- Healthy choices in ethnic restaurants include Chinese stir fried vegetables, chop suey and chow mein; Greek pita bread, Greek salad, tzatziki, tabouli and souvlaki; Italian pasta primavera, tomato based sauces and pasta; Mexican bean or chicken burrito, tostado salad: Japanese sashimi, sushi and tofu and Indian dahl, tandoori chicken or AleB_ BRENNAN fish, dry pulka or naan. Davis also judged the diets on nutritional adequacy, variety, gen- €rous use of complex carbohy- drates/fiber and appropriate distri- bution — all ideas being promoted in March as part of a nutrition month campaign. Hunter’s guilt-laden chocolate creams, consumed as an aftemoon snack, earned the ‘“‘most indul- gent” award. But Hunter also did the best in use of carbohydrates and fibers. Davis notes many people cut complex carbohydrates from their diet by eliminating breads, pota- toes, rice and cereal products. “Most people eat too high a percentage of protein and fat and not enough complex carbohy- drates,” said Davis. ‘‘Starches have a negative concept in peo- ple’s minds. We’ve been so brain- washed into linking them with weight gain.” Up to 60 per cent of an individ- ual’s daily calories should come from complex carbohydrates, found in starches, fruits and vege- tables. Hunter came closest, consuming 85 per cent of her recommended nutritional intake. A common failing of busy peo- ple is poor food distribution dur- ing the day. A skipped or skimpy breakfast, no lunch and bountiful dinner is an ideal way to store unused calories as fat. “People don’t fuel themselves when their energy needs are great- est,” Davis said. Brennan and Benham did equally well on meal distribution, consuming roughly the same num- ber of calories at each meal. But Brennan’s highly structured diet is low in many vitamins and nutrients as well as in calories. Benham’s strength in food dis- tribution was his habit of eating his main meal at noon in the hospital cafeteria. A bachelor, he eats cereal for breakfast and a light supper. Despite a food distribution pat- term that had 70 per cent of one day’s calories eaten at dinner, Michaluk did the best overall in meeting her nutritional needs. “She needs to have an orange,” Davis said, pointing out that Michaluk only consumed 39 per cent of her daily requirement for vitamin C. Richardson got the nod for the mOst variety. Healthy eating should not be boring, Davis said, praising Richardson’s “colorful and interesting meals.” Richardson’s meals balanced fresh fruit and complex carbohy- drates. One lunch combined romaine lettuce salad with french bread, spinach and feta pie and fruit salad. Richardson’s downfall was a weekend spent away with friends, during which she ate in restau- rants, As a result, her fat percen- tage was the highest of the five participants. Deep, dark dietary secrets decip hered tes Knowing what to do but no time to do it Analysis of their diets produced no surprises for the participants. “I know what I should do — I Just don’t have time to do it that way,” says Michaluk. She thinks healthier food choices need to be made more convenient, otherwise people on busy schedules will continue to grab whatever is quickest when they are hungry. She agreed her own food distri- bution is poor. “I’m clumping it instead of spreading it out.” Davis said it is difficult to avoid high fat foods in restaurants, as food is often deep-fried or served with sauces. “Restaurants are improving but they’ve got a way to go, most of them.” After reviewing the diets, Davis decided to present a copy of the new cookbook, Eat Well, Live Well, to Brennan. ea Since Brennan is completing a weight control program, Davis felt the cookbook by the Canadian Dietetic Association would help Brennan establish her new eating pattern. Davis said the five participants turned in food lists that are typical of most people — even to the three chocolate turtles Michaluk admit- ted eating for breakfast. “They reflect how the average North American would eat,” Davis said. THE RIGHT DECISIONS starf when with healthy food choices, including plenty of fruits and vegetables, says Marlyn Davis (above). stocking the refrigerator “1 do know that I should avoid more fat in my diet,” said Richardson when she reviewed the nutrition analysis. She agreed eat- ing out was her weak point but as a food reviewer for a magazine finds she often eats out. “Food is an important part of my life.’ She is the author of Summer Delights cookbook, gives cooking classes, cultivates herbs and is writing a cookbook on using herbs in winter. - “Tm one of the people who wake up in the morning and think about what they’re going to cook for dinner.” Serious walking, an hour a day, has helped her lose 10 pounds in the last month: Brennan said even distribution of calories throughout the day is one of skills learned on her weight loss program. She agreed with Davis that her diet lacks nutrients, although she takes vitamins and supplements to compensate. Although her diet lacks variety, she said she does not like many of the foods allowed on the diet program. As a result, she only eats the few foods she enjoys. “Which means you eat one heck of a lot of chicken.” She also finds the bread choices restrictive as only dry breads like melba toast and crisp breads are pemnitted. She plans to be on the diet until the end of March, when she expects to reach'‘her goal’ weight. In six weeks, she has lost just over 20 pounds. Like Richardson, she has authored a cookbook, the Kiwi Collection. She operates a fruit farm in North Saanich, writing a cooking column and is editor of Visitor Publications.