Simple switches can yield big results when it comes to reducing calories & eating healthier. Please feel free to add your tips & tricks!
• Think herbs & spices(cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, extracts) to add flavor in all dishes
• Use olive oil & herbs instead of butter, cream or cheese
• Use low fat/dairy free cream cheese/ low fat Greek yogurt instead of cream
• Use agave nectar/honey/Stevia instead of white sugar
• Season with fresh lemon juice or fresh herbs.
• If you have whey protein powders – replace flour with this in recipes
• Make green bean casserole with low-fat or dairy-free sour cream;
• Replace sausage, white bread and butter in stuffing with nuts, whole grains and broth or water (if you can't give up the sausage, opt for the turkey or chicken version).
• Buy French baguettes (made without fat or sugar) for stuffing; serve instead of high-cal rolls.
• For snacking - choose nuts over pretzels - sprinkle them with salt-free lemon pepper or cinnamon.
• Use chestnuts in stuffing – much lower in fat
• Cook the stuffing outside the bird to lower fat content. Add chopped spinach & spices such as fennel or sage instead of meat.
• Purée potato-&-vegetable mixtures to use instead of cream sauces.
• In fruit pies, use half the amount of sugar the recipe calls for, or substitute with stevia/honey/agave
• Use whole-wheat pastry flour – more fiber & less chemicals
• In cheesecake, substitute part-skim ricotta cheese for cream cheese = more protein & less fat
• In brownies, cookies, & fruit breads, use pureed pumpkin instead of oil.
• Use cauliflower/squash instead of potatoes, or sweet potatoes with cinnamon & spices, over white ones with butter & cream
• Roast turkey on a rack so that the fat will drain off.
• To bring out their natural sweetness without the added sugar, roast, don't boil, sweet potatoes.
• Lighten your string bean casserole by skipping the cream soup – sauté with onions instead
• If making your own cranberry sauce using Stevia instead of sugar cuts cals in half. Or choose apple sauce.
Have a wonderful Thanksgiving everyone!!
Wednesday, November 23, 2011
Monday, November 21, 2011
How to Eat, Drink & Still Shrink Over the Holidays!
Tis the season to Party! Eat! Drink! Do it all without putting on weight. It can be done! Learn how to maximize the ‘eat and drink’, and minimize the bulge!
DECIDE BEFORE YOU DIVE IN….how important is it to you not to put on weight over the holidays? Have a goal – i.e. what you’re going to wear to a particular party or NYE / an event. What/who do you want to look good for? Remember this – write it down – stick up a picture – anything that’ll be a useful jolt to resisting!
CREATE A CONTEST – with a friend/relative or group. I.e., whoever puts on most weight – pays for a salon/spa treatment for the other/24 pack of beer etc
JOURNAL IT – just for the holidays. Track your food, alcohol and exercise. It’ll help show you how much and how frequently you’re indulging, and therefore help put you back in control–
KNOW YOUR PORTIONS and try to stick to them. Know that you can easily add on one pound in a week by consuming just 500 extra calaries a day.
AVOID PASTRY & FRIED FOODS. Eat what’s in them but leave the outside. I know it’s not easy (yes, fat tastes good!), but remember ‘Nothing tastes as good as thin feels!’
BE AWARE & MINDFUL. With so many distractions it’s all too easy to miss our getting full cues…and then ‘oops… you’ve over eaten …again!’
EXERCISE/JUST MOVE! Wherever you are there’s always something you can do – but one thing is clear:-just do it! It will help with digestion, burn calories, make you feel better, sleep better. Add an extra 10 to 15 minutes to your workouts, run, walk, climb stairs, Jumping jacks/press-ups/abs, sledding, clear snow or leaves. Take gear with you - i.e. resistance bands, pump up an exercise ball)
CHECK IN WITH YOURSELF. Weigh yourself once a week
IT’S YOUR BODY! Learn ‘nice’ ways to say to friends and family who try and push more your way.
It is all too easy: - party after party, temptation after temptation, and it’s not just a couple of parties. From Halloween candy to New Year’s Eve is nine weeks of celebration…and, therefore, potential over-indulgence! And as we know, those few tasty moments on the lips - turned multiple – won’t compensate for starring in the mirror on Jan 1st and wondering why your jeans don’t fit anymore. Don’t let your mind go on vacation too! Take control now, before the holiday takes hold. Put some of these things in place & you'll wake up on New Year's Day wearing the same size, or even one size smaller.
DECIDE BEFORE YOU DIVE IN….how important is it to you not to put on weight over the holidays? Have a goal – i.e. what you’re going to wear to a particular party or NYE / an event. What/who do you want to look good for? Remember this – write it down – stick up a picture – anything that’ll be a useful jolt to resisting!
BUDDY UP. Try to find a friend or relative to exercise/party with/ to watch over each other against over indulging.
CREATE A CONTEST – with a friend/relative or group. I.e., whoever puts on most weight – pays for a salon/spa treatment for the other/24 pack of beer etc
JOURNAL IT – just for the holidays. Track your food, alcohol and exercise. It’ll help show you how much and how frequently you’re indulging, and therefore help put you back in control–
DO NOT SKIP MEALS/’SAVE’ UP! Your metabolism will slow down, so you want burn more calories – less in fact. When you do eat, you are far more likely to overeat, as your blood sugar will be low, and reach for more carb-laden foods because of this.
KNOW YOUR PORTIONS and try to stick to them. Know that you can easily add on one pound in a week by consuming just 500 extra calaries a day.
BUILD A MEAL! Focus on the protein and build your meal around that – i.e. veggies/salad, and small amount of grains/potato/bread.
AVOID PASTRY & FRIED FOODS. Eat what’s in them but leave the outside. I know it’s not easy (yes, fat tastes good!), but remember ‘Nothing tastes as good as thin feels!’
WATCH THE DRESSINGS AND SAUCES. These could be more calorific than your meal itself!
SHARE, OR SERVE YOURSELF ONLY HALF A PLATE. Then you enjoy the habit of being able to go back for seconds
DRINK UP! Sparkling water/iced water. It’ll help fill you up and ensure you are well hydrated, and not eating thinking you are hungry
BE AWARE & MINDFUL. With so many distractions it’s all too easy to miss our getting full cues…and then ‘oops… you’ve over eaten …again!’
10 MINUTE RULE – wait before indulging in seconds & desserts, or another alcoholic beverage. It really does work – try it and see. There’ll be plenty to distract you for 10mins – enjoy that, instead of focusing on your taste buds! Often some gum/purse spray Listerine will work to get you over that ‘temptation hump!’
CHEERS! – WITHOUT SUGAR HYPNOSIS. When it comes to drinking – it’s all about what and how much, so choose wisely. There is no way for your body to tell you when you’ve maxed out on liquid calories!
-Alcohol. Remember it has calories! Avoid the fruity, sugary mixers – choose on the rocks, club soda, or diet soda (if you must)
-Beware those café holiday drinks – they are packed with sugar and calories. Stick to the basics or share one as a one-off ‘treat’
- Skip the eggnog – it can be up to 450 calories a glass. Or find a ‘lite’ version
SIMPLE SWITCHES IN THE KITCHEN can yield big results when it comes to reducing calories. Same dishes - just as tasty (if not more so!) with alternative healthier ingredients
- Piling up leftover desserts/holiday "goodies" in plain sight can prompt you to eat twice as much, twice as fast. Instead, keep alternate goodies, such as almonds, hummus, cinnamon-spice tea, grapes, Greek yogurt (0%), within easy reach.
HAVE SOME SIMPLE RULES FOR YOURSELF
- Promise to put it on a plate
- Be the last person to start
- Eat & chew slow– put fork down in between (novel idea hey!)
- Choose smaller/dessert plates at a buffet
- Don’t pile it up – there’ll be plenty more available
- Focus on enjoying the people!
SLEEP. Probably the first thing to slip hey? When you sleep, hormones are released that control your appetite and the types of food you crave, as well as your ‘full’ cues. Lack in this and those ‘unhealthy holiday foods’ will be even harder to resist!
EXERCISE/JUST MOVE! Wherever you are there’s always something you can do – but one thing is clear:-just do it! It will help with digestion, burn calories, make you feel better, sleep better. Add an extra 10 to 15 minutes to your workouts, run, walk, climb stairs, Jumping jacks/press-ups/abs, sledding, clear snow or leaves. Take gear with you - i.e. resistance bands, pump up an exercise ball)
CHECK IN WITH YOURSELF. Weigh yourself once a week
IT’S YOUR BODY! Learn ‘nice’ ways to say to friends and family who try and push more your way.
Overall, practice moderation, not deprivation: as our grandmother’s used to say “A little of what you fancy does you good!”. So …eat, drink and be merry…mindfully. On New Year s Day – you’ll be thankful you did.
Happy Holidays everyone from Naked Health!
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