With Thanksgiving around the corner and Christmas close behind, now is the time to start thinking about healthy eating around the holidays.
So here are my top 5 tips.
5 TIPS TO HEALTHY HOLIDAY EATING
1. STEP OUT - Exercise. Keep it simple. After supper go for a walk. After a holiday meal, take your kids for a neighborhood walk. Walk to get the paper. Take the stairs at work or at the mall. Every step counts. Every step helps.
2. EAT - Eat regularly. If you are going to a big party or dinner, don't starve yourself all day in anticipation. You're in danger of arriving there feeling ravenous and eating everything in sight. Instead, have many low-fat, healthy snacks before you go and you'll be less likely to over-indulge whilst you are out.
3. STOCK UP - Stock up on healthy snacks. When you go shopping or on road trips, be sure to throw some healthy snacking items in to your bag. Fill up on raw vegetables, such as carrots or celery, low fat granola, grapes, apples and a bottle of water. That way you eat out less.
4. LEAVE IT - Don't feel pressure to clean your plate. A good habit to get into is to leave half the food on your plate and stop eating. Push your plate away and sit and visit with your family and friends.
5. MODIFY - Modify your holiday recipes to make them healthier.
A. Fruit puree. Substitute an equal amount of fruit puree (e.g., applesauce) for oil in cake, brownie, bread, or muffin mixes. The fruit adds flavor, moisture, and tenderness to baked goods when the oil is omitted.
B. Egg whites or egg substitutes. Replace some of the whole eggs in a recipe with egg whites or a commercial egg substitute. 1 egg = 2 egg whites or 1/4 cup of egg substitute.
C. Cocoa powder. Use 2 Tbsp. cocoa powder plus 1 Tbsp. regular or diet margarine in place of every 1 oz. of unsweetened baking chocolate.
D. Fat-free milk, yogurt, sour cream, or cream cheese. Use these in place of
the whole-fat products. A dollop of vanilla fat-free yogurt makes a nice substitute for whipped cream on some desserts.
E. Light or diet margarine. Be careful when using light or diet margarine to replace regular margarine or butter. These substitutes have a higher water content and can change the texture of your baked goods. Experiment--you may need to reduce some of the liquid in your recipe when you use light or diet margarine.
For more healthy eating snacks for the holidays and GREAT gift giving tips, see http://www.snac.ucla.edu/.
So here are my top 5 tips.
5 TIPS TO HEALTHY HOLIDAY EATING
1. STEP OUT - Exercise. Keep it simple. After supper go for a walk. After a holiday meal, take your kids for a neighborhood walk. Walk to get the paper. Take the stairs at work or at the mall. Every step counts. Every step helps.
2. EAT - Eat regularly. If you are going to a big party or dinner, don't starve yourself all day in anticipation. You're in danger of arriving there feeling ravenous and eating everything in sight. Instead, have many low-fat, healthy snacks before you go and you'll be less likely to over-indulge whilst you are out.
3. STOCK UP - Stock up on healthy snacks. When you go shopping or on road trips, be sure to throw some healthy snacking items in to your bag. Fill up on raw vegetables, such as carrots or celery, low fat granola, grapes, apples and a bottle of water. That way you eat out less.
4. LEAVE IT - Don't feel pressure to clean your plate. A good habit to get into is to leave half the food on your plate and stop eating. Push your plate away and sit and visit with your family and friends.
5. MODIFY - Modify your holiday recipes to make them healthier.
A. Fruit puree. Substitute an equal amount of fruit puree (e.g., applesauce) for oil in cake, brownie, bread, or muffin mixes. The fruit adds flavor, moisture, and tenderness to baked goods when the oil is omitted.
B. Egg whites or egg substitutes. Replace some of the whole eggs in a recipe with egg whites or a commercial egg substitute. 1 egg = 2 egg whites or 1/4 cup of egg substitute.
C. Cocoa powder. Use 2 Tbsp. cocoa powder plus 1 Tbsp. regular or diet margarine in place of every 1 oz. of unsweetened baking chocolate.
D. Fat-free milk, yogurt, sour cream, or cream cheese. Use these in place of
the whole-fat products. A dollop of vanilla fat-free yogurt makes a nice substitute for whipped cream on some desserts.
E. Light or diet margarine. Be careful when using light or diet margarine to replace regular margarine or butter. These substitutes have a higher water content and can change the texture of your baked goods. Experiment--you may need to reduce some of the liquid in your recipe when you use light or diet margarine.
For more healthy eating snacks for the holidays and GREAT gift giving tips, see http://www.snac.ucla.edu/.
2 comments:
Great tips! Thanks Trish! :-)
Thanks for stopping by Katy. You'll find handy holiday tips here all the time, or search our archives for even more.
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