With a book of five healthy holiday recipes, the Mid Coast Hospital project Access Health hopes to show how to whip holiday meals into shape.

Five local restaurants provided samples of the recipes they created for a special tasting on Dec. 5, for the organization’s partners.

Alison Fernald, the hospital’s outpatient dietitian, said during the event at Bowdoin College’s Cram Alumni House that holiday meals including more fruits and vegetables, less meat and smaller portions are general rules for healthier holiday fare.

The dishes presented all represented small tweaks that Fernald said can make a big difference for the overall nutrition of holiday meals.

Fernald said that dishes like a citrus poached salmon prepared by chef Jonathan Merry of Solo Bistro in Bath showed how fresh fruit can be incorporated creatively with a meal.

The salmon was topped with a cranberry orange relish Fernald noted was sweetened with honey instead of fat or sugar.

Recipes like the pork loin ham prepared by chef Michael Quigg of Beale Street Barbeque provided examples of how to include meat in a dish instead of featuring meat as the centerpiece of a holiday meal.

“You don’t have to eliminate meat entirely,” Fernald said, “ but ( these recipes) show to add more fresh produce to a meal.”

Preparation can make a big difference as well, Fernald said. Quigg’s dish was just lightly salted, an attribute that Fernald said can help keep high blood pressure at bay.

The pork loin ham was paired with a slice of whole grain crostini and a cranberry orange relish.

Lois Skillings, president and CEO of Mid Coast Health Services, said that the event and special holiday recipe book aim to show that “healthy eating can also be celebration eating.”

On her third helping of a chicken roulade dish from Back Street Bistro and Lilee’s owner Chris Pillsbury, Coffin School second-grader Elianna Fochesato was surely celebrating with food she said was “awesome.”

Elianna’s mother, Melissa, is the director of Access Health and said she is happy to see the message of more healthful eating reach children through local programs focusing on putting more fresh fruits and vegetables into children’s diets and scratching sugary drinks.

For the holidays, Fochesato said she suggests keeping nuts, fruits and vegetables around at holiday meals as snacks to counterbalance the traditional holiday fare.

Chef Chris Toole of Henry and Marty’s suggested another strategy for reducing the negative health impact of holiday meals: portion control.

Aside from eating smaller portions, Toole said holiday diners can stay healthier by preparing their own meals using less butter, more fruits and vegetables, and sticking mostly to salts and vinegars instead of fat for flavoring.

Growing up, Fernald said it was typical for her family to have a smorgasbord of desserts after a holiday meal, but cutting back to meals where one “walks away feeling comfortable and not stuffed” is a better approach.

dfishell@timesrecord.com

Access Health’s Healthy Holiday Recipe book is available online at accesshealthme.org or at these participating grocery stores:

• Bath Natural Market, 26 Centre St., Bath
• Brackett’s Market, 215 Water St., Bath
• Hannaford, 35 Elm St., Brunswick
• Morning Glory Natural Foods, 60 Maine St., Brunswick