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HOLIDAY HELPERS: OFFERING DIET ALTERNATIVES

THE NOVEMBER ISSUE of goodness!, the new healthy living magazine from San Antonio-based H.E. Butt Grocery Co., is entirely devoted to the topics of holiday dining and entertaining. Giant Foods, Carlisle, Pa., lists numerous seasonal recipes under the Holiday and Festive category on the Healthy Ideas section of its website. Not to be outdone, Whole Foods Market, Austin, Texas, has developed a lineup

THE NOVEMBER ISSUE of goodness!, the new healthy living magazine from San Antonio-based H.E. Butt Grocery Co., is entirely devoted to the topics of holiday dining and entertaining.

Giant Foods, Carlisle, Pa., lists numerous seasonal recipes under the “Holiday and Festive” category on the Healthy Ideas section of its website.

Not to be outdone, Whole Foods Market, Austin, Texas, has developed a lineup of healthier menu alternatives that include “natural snack ideas and one-pot meals” specifically for Super Bowl parties.

As supermarkets become legitimate repositories of healthful eating tips and nutritional information, holiday menus are starting to get attention, too. Progressive retailers aren't just pushing trays of baked ziti and deli platters with potato and macaroni salads. H-E-B, Giant of Carlisle and others are undertaking initiatives to keep health-conscious consumers from backsliding during the holidays.

Ukrop's Super Markets, Richmond, Va., cites studies showing people typically gain 1 to 7 pounds during the six weeks between Thanksgiving and New Year's Day. Food gifts, holiday parties and less time to exercise are some of the key contributors. In a handout, Ukrop's tells shoppers: “This season, eat, drink and be merry without having the holidays end up a nutrition disaster. Ukrop's can help make the holidays easy and healthy!”

Among its array of suggestions, the retailer proposes that shoppers substitute reduced-fat sour cream and cream cheese for full-fat versions in holiday recipes and replace soda in punch with seltzer water. They can also pick up a reduced-fat or fat-free version of eggnog instead of the traditional version.

Julie Bishop, manager of Wellness Products and Services at Ukrop's, pointed out that the chain offers several carry-out catering options with more healthful profiles, including Boar's Head light meat and cheese trays, fruit and cheese trays, shrimp trays, smoked salmon trays, marinated grilled vegetable trays, sushi trays and a crudite basket.

“We typically offer healthy holiday tips,” Bishop said. “This year we will include them in our Go To Market magazine as well as on the Web and in-store signs.”

Ukrop's also can provide complete nutritional information for its prepared takeout holiday meals, she added.

Quincy, Mass.-based Stop & Shop Supermarkets, too, has taken up the healthy holiday eating cause. “It may be time to trim the trimmings,” it counsels shoppers.

Andrea Astrachan, consumer adviser for the Ahold USA-owned chain, contends that the family holiday meal can remain traditional but be healthier as well.

For starters, use leaner meats such as ham, or turkey without the skin. “For a new twist, people might also serve seafood such as salmon or shrimp for a healthy entree in addition to meats,” Astrachan said.

Side dishes also can be lower in fat if consumers drop the butter and make mashed potatoes with broth, or flavor sweet potatoes with maple syrup, cinnamon or nutmeg and nuts, according to Astrachan.

Additionally, she said, “serve more vegetable dishes instead of too many starchy sides,” and “serve low-fat soup as a first course, or a light salad.”

Many retailers are also using the Healthnotes kiosk as a tool to provide dietary information to shoppers.

Jeff Seacrist, vice president of marketing at the Portland, Ore.-based information provider, said the program is now carried in some 3,000 stores across the country including the ShopRite, Fred Meyer, Meijer, Whole Foods Market and Wild Oats Markets supermarket chains. Healthnotes also provides website content for retailers. The bulk of the material is uniform but a retailer can tailor the program to add or delete information in any area, Seacrist said.

“We offer party planning and different types of buffet suggestions,” Seacrist said. “We try to lock in to the types of holidays that drive retail sales.”

Those occasions range from Fourth of July barbecues to Easter meals to romantic dinner ideas at Valentine's Day. “We will feature recipes specific to those seasonal events,” he said. “As Thanksgiving approaches, we have Thanksgiving recipes and we take a healthier approach to that.”

To encourage healthy eating through the holidays, Healthnotes presents information on different diets. Shoppers are able to print out the information at the store and take it with them.

According to a recent study sponsored by the Food Marketing Institute, consumers are apparently appreciative of the health-focused store services. Of the consumers polled in “Shopping for Health,” 56% said they are interested in having a staff person at their supermarket who can answer nutrition questions; 51% would like information about weight loss and dieting; and 45% said they would like cooking classes that teach healthy eating.

Ukrop's Bishop noted that the chain offers healthy cooking classes and, for a fee, provides one-on-one nutritional counseling with a registered dietitian. The cost is $75 for the first session and $60 for follow-up sessions.

Even with the fees, there is high demand.

“We are pretty booked,” Bishop said. “If we didn't charge, I don't know how we would handle it.”

Nutrition Time

Heidi Skolnik, nutritionist to the stars — or more precisely, star athletes — has some recommendations for supermarket operators as well.

The longtime dietitian for the New York Giants football team thinks retailers can help shoppers eat better around the holidays by merchandising complementary items together in special entertaining displays.

Skolnik suggests holiday snacking trays begin with healthier basics like whole wheat crackers, tortilla chips and pretzels. To make it festive and colorful, she recommended using lots of vegetables like beans and peppers, and cutting fresh vegetables diagonally with a waffle knife “so it looks more like a chip.”

“People's tastes are more sophisticated today,” said Skolnik, who advises forgoing standards such as French onion and ranch-type dips in lieu of more flavorful and nutritious items including hummus, guacamole and salsa.

“Everybody is so much more open to eating well and eating healthfully and trying different combinations of food and different ethnic foods today,” said Skolnik, who has worked with the Giants for some 20 years and also offers guidance to the dancers at the School of American Ballet.

When she first started working with the male athletes, the focus was on helping them cut back on bad eating habits. Today, she works on introducing them to a wide variety of foods that can be incorporated as part of a healthy diet.

Food lectures for the players are also part of Skolnik's playbook, so they understand what they are being exposed to. “As a result, they begin to expand food choices,” she said.

Skolnik believes by providing information and drawing attention to healthier foods, supermarkets can do the same thing for their shoppers.

Beverages should also be addressed in retailers' healthful holiday eating programs, Skolnik said. In conjunction with Sabra, a maker of Mediterranean dips and spreads, Skolnik has put together a list of holiday entertaining tips that suggests switching out sodas with refreshing beverages like caffeine-free iced tea, sparking juices or mint-flavored water.
— LK