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CNN Live Saturday
Interview With Lisa Drayer
Aired May 25, 2002 - 22:34 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CATHERINE CALLAWAY, CNN ANCHOR: This holiday weekend means that many a barbecue grill will be hauled out into the sunlight and fired up. There is a warning out there however for one of them. Consumer advocates say that the Red Devil has a history of collapsing on itself. Over 150,000 Red Devil grills were sold between May 1998 and January 1999. And for those of you out there with safer grills, the most dangerous things you could probably do is leave your diet behind in the kitchen. And at Dietwatch.com, you can plan a healthy cookout from the appetizer, all the way to the dessert.
Our next guest, Lisa Drayer. She's a registered dietician from Dietwatch.com. She's here to make us all feel bad about what we really want to eat on this holiday. No, actually, she's here to show us how to shave about 1500 calories from your barbecue, your holiday barbecue. And we went through your -- first I should say, hello. Thanks for being with us tonight.
LISA DRAYER, DIETWATCH.COM: Thank you.
CALLAWAY: Jumped right into this because I was amazed at the suggestions that you had on your web site on what most people want to have on this holiday, on a barbecue and what you could have as an alternative. And truly, you can save about 1500 calories just by making a few changes and still have a great barbecue. Let's start off with the appetizer. You want to?
DRAYER: Exactly, sure. And like you said, the idea is that simple substitutions. We're not talking about major changes here. You can still enjoy your holiday just by saving a lot of calories.
CALLAWAY: First we have appetizer. We're going to start with tortilla chips, which a lot of people like to eat, especially when they're waiting on the barbecue.
DRAYER: Right.
CALLAWAY: To get off the grill there, you have baked -- I'm sorry you have tortilla chips at 260 calories. And if you just change to baked tortilla chips...
DRAYER: That's right.
CALLAWAY: You can save about 150 calories, can't you? DRAYER: Exactly. And 10 grams of fat. And that fat is saturated fat when we deep fry potato chips. So certainly, you can enjoy your chips, but baked is definitely a healthier option for you.
CALLAWAY: Is salsa full of fat?
DRAYER: You know, salsa is terrific. There is no fat in salsa. It's just basically tomatoes and onions. So you get a lot of nutrition and very, very low in calories. Just 20 calories per serving. So salsa is an excellent choice.
CALLAWAY: But use baked tortilla chips, right?
DRAYER: That's right, baked instead of the fried.
CALLAWAY: So you've gone through the chips and it's time to eat the main course.
DRAYER: Right.
CALLAWAY: Let's go the barbecue and see what you're suggesting. Most people have a lot of hamburgers on the grills out there, but you're suggesting using some turkey meat.
DRAYER: Exactly, turkey burgers are great. And you can save up to 130 calories and 10 grams of fat just by choosing a turkey burger over a hamburger. So definitely, that's a smart choice to make. And make sure that when you read those ingredients that when you buy those patties, a lot of times they'll grind up the skin in the turkey. You want to make sure that you avoid those types of turkey patties.
CALLAWAY: All right, so it would say on there turkey breasts, right? Ground turkey breasts?
DRAYER: Exactly, white meat turkey breasts.
CALLAWAY: And then on side dishes that you eat with your turkey burger, we're going to look at potato salad, store bought. Is that right?
DRAYER: Yes.
CALLAWAY: It says store bought with 210...
DRAYER: Right.
CALLAWAY: ...really? 210 calories?
DRAYER: Yes.
CALLAWAY: I always thought potato salad was so good for you.
DRAYER: You know, potatoes are great, but it's the mayonnaise that boosts the calories and the fat. So if you go with a low fat mayonnaise, or even a fat-free mayonnaise, if you can handle that factory taste of mayonnaise, it's really a much smarter choice to make because you do save a lot of calories. And even just adding just extra vegetables, if you like having the full fat version of mayonnaise, add extra vegetables. This way, your percentage of fat will naturally decrease, and you'll be boosting your fiber content as well.
CALLAWAY: What about putting some mustard in there, in your potato salad?
DRAYER: Mustard is excellent. Mustard doesn't have any fat. It's very tasty. And it's definitely a great choice, especially even on your burgers, if you like it there, too.
CALLAWAY: Yes, speaking of burgers, I meant to say, my tip for the day is to put soy sauce in your turkey meat, because that makes it taste like a hamburger, at least I think it does.
DRAYER: Yes, soy sauce definitely good.
CALLAWAY: All right, now ear of corn -- you can't eat corn without butter on it though, Lisa.
DRAYER: True, absolutely. You can have better. However, what I recommend is I actually have it here with me, is light butter that is whipped. In general, anything that's light means that it has a third fewer calories or half of the fat as the original brand. Then once it's whipped, there's extra air incorporated. So there's less fat in the end. So light butter that is whipped is definitely a great choice.
CALLAWAY: Yes, and you say like 80 calories, right?
DRAYER: Yeah, there's only 35 calories here per serving.
CALLAWAY: All right.
DRAYER: Right, only...
CALLAWAY: You sound like a commercial, Lisa. But hey, you're just whipped light is much better.
DRAYER: Right.
CALLAWAY: All right, let's go to desserts now.
DRAYER: Sure.
CALLAWAY: Do we have -- here we go. Yes, very cobbler. Everybody has to have cobbler.
DRAYER: Right.
CALLAWAY: But angel food cake is a good alternative?
DRAYER: Yes, angel food cake. Take a look at this with angel food cake with strawberries and blueberries. Looks delicious, right?
CALLAWAY: Mm-hmm.
DRAYER: Only 155 calories and 1 gram of fat. So you don't have to deprive yourself at all. You just need to make some healthy choices. And angel food cake is an excellent one. And you have some extra strawberries and blueberries, which boosts the antioxidant content, which are vitamins that can protect us against disease.
CALLAWAY: And you say 260 calories, which is...
DRAYER: That's right. And it tastes delicious, which is of course the most important, right?
CALLAWAY: Let's take a look at beverages, what you should drink when you're washing down that angel food cake.
DRAYER: Yes.
CALLAWAY: A lot of people want to have soda, 140 calories. Unsweetened tea? We got to have some sweetener in there. What about artificial sweetener would do?
DRAYER: Yes.
CALLAWAY: Zero calories.
DRAYER: That's right. No calories at all. If you want to have some sugar, that's still going to be much better than drinking soda. So definitely, feel free to add a little bit of sugar or an artificial sweetener, and that will save you a lot of calories over soda or fruit drinks or even a lot of these mixed cocktails, you know. Pina colada, for example. You have the 12 ounce pina colada. That's going to cost you over 500 calories. So be careful with the beverages. Those calories can quickly add up.
CALLAWAY: Well, the alcohol, too, right?
DRAYER: Absolutely.
CALLAWAY: All right. Lisa, thank you very much for being with us today, giving us a rundown on what we should be eating on this holiday.
DRAYER: Thank you.
CALLAWAY: And have a good holiday yourself.
DRAYER: Thank you. You, too. Enjoy.
CALLAWAY: Thank you.
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