Making stuffings healthier and tastier.

• Position: Your Life

High in fat and loaded with refined carbohydrates, the typical stuffing (or dressing) for the Thanksgiving meal is a prime candidate for a remake. The American Institute for Cancer Research has retooled time--honored holiday stuffings so they are more healthful, yet retain their "family favorite" taste.

"Holiday dishes are special, part of cherished family traditions we look forward to each year," Melanie Polk, the AICR's Director of Nutrition Education, indicates. "But holiday foods can also be made more healthful without sacrificing the rich flavors we expect at a festive meal."

She suggests that the first, easy way to improve the healthfulness of stuffings is to use whole grains. "Most Americans eat only half the servings of whole grains recommended, shortchanging themselves in health-protective dietary fiber and nutrients. But this is a problem easily remedied when making a stuffing. Just replace refined bread with 100% whole-grain bread or with a whole grain like brown rice or bulgur."

Most stuffing recipes call for sauteing vegetables, often adding more fat than is really needed, Polk points out. "If you use a nonstick pan and just enough olive or canola oil to prevent sticking, you can significantly cut calories and fat in the process." Moreover, "many stuffings...