Deliciously Golden…on TV!

Last Thursday I filmed a TV segment for the show Across Louisiana on the local Cox station.  The topic?  Healthy holiday eating of course!  The show will air on channel 4 each morning this week at 8:00 am.  If you can’t tune it, here's a recap of what I covered:

1.  The week of Thanksgiving try to eat “extra healthfully” at all the meals YOU have control of…the ones you eat at home or by yourself.

2.  The day of Thanksgiving, eat breakfast (and lunch if you have Thanksgiving at dinner).  Skipping a meal will only make you hungrier and then you will end up overeating.  For me? I’ll either have yogurt and fruit or oatmeal with fruit and milk (fiber/carbs & protein).  We eat our Thanksgiving meal at noon.  Then I’ll have a light dinner…salad most probably!

3.  At the meal, choose the food that you can’t have on a regular basis and the items that you love.  Skip the everyday dishes…for me that’s mashed potatoes and gravy…I can have that whenever I want.  But if you love mashed potatoes and gravy with your turkey, then go for it, and pass on something else.  Load up on the lean, protein packed turkey and any fresh vegetables that there might be.

4.  Keep portions small.  Serve yourself a “taste” of everything.  You can always go back for seconds.  But, If you put it on your plate you will more than likely eat it…ALL of it! 

5.  Offer to bring a lighter side dish.  A non-casserole vegetable!  I’m the salad girl at all family holiday meals.  That way I know that there will be a healthy, delicious side item that I can fill my plate with. 

6.  If you love dessert, then SAVE room for it.  During the main part of the meal, don’t go back for seconds or pass on the store bought dinner rolls…and then enjoy your dessert!

7.  Get back on track.  The NEXT day.  Don’t wait until Monday to end the holiday eating. 

Remember, holiday weight gain doesn’t happen because of one meal…its the combination of lots of “holiday” meals/snacks/treats.  Here’s an old post on holiday eating.  Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Easter!

On Saturday I am heading to Pensacola, Florida FOR A WEEK!!!!! It is a much needed vacation and I refuse to do anything work related while I am there...no dancing/teaching/choreographing/blogging...so here is a little pre-Easter post.

Even though all of these recipes would be perfect for Easter, they could also be served for a delicious weekend meal or for another special occasion. I've included 2 proteins (lamb and ham), 1 starch (barley), lot of veggies (asparagus, carrot soufflé, a salad), and a dessert. There is also a frittata recipe to use any leftover ham you might have.

The recipes are from cookinglight.com, and if you go the website you can find more healthy Easter ideas; you can also check out eatingwell.com.

Roast Lamb with Rosemary and Garlic -

• Per serving - 165 calories, 7 g fat (2 g saturated), 1 g carbohydrates, 0 g fiber, 24 g protein (exchanges: 1 ½ fat, 3 ½ protein)
• Notes - Remember a 3 ounce serving is about the size of a deck of cards...or a little smaller than an iPhone

Fire and Spice Ham -

• Per serving - 188 calories, 5 g fat (2 g saturated), 17 g carbohydrates, 0 g fiber, 18 g protein (exchanges: 1 fat, 2 ½ protein, 1 starch)

Field Salad with Snow Peas, Grapes, and Feta -

• Per serving - 151 calories, 8 g fat (3 g saturated), 19 g carbohydrates, 3 g fiber, 4 g protein (exchanges: 1 ½ fat, 2 vegetable, ½ fruit)
• Notes - Omit the feta and save some calories

Mustard-Dressed Asparagus -

• Per serving - 51 calories, 1 g fat, 8 g carbohydrates, 4 g fiber, 6 g protein (exchanges: 2 vegetable)

Carrot Soufflé -

• Per serving - 187 calories, 5 g fat (3 g saturated), 32 g carbohydrates, 4 g fiber, 4 g protein (exchanges: 1 fat, 2 vegetable, 1 ½ starch)
• Notes - I have actually made this light version...not quite as light as the Cooking Light version, but I can actually vouch for how good it is! I use only 1 cup of sugar (I need to try again with even less) and 3 Tbsp butter...I also up the cinnamon to ½ tsp

Barley Pilaf with Sautéed Mushrooms -

• Per serving - 161 calories, 5 g fat (2 g saturated), 26 g carbohydrates, 5 g fiber, 4 g protein (exchanges: 1 fat, 1 ½ starch)
  
• Notes - I halved the serving size...therefore my version has fewer calories - my yield: 8 servings (serving size: ¾ cups)

Fresh Berry Pavlovas -

• Per serving - 200 calories, 3 g fat (1 g saturated), 41 g carbohydrates, 2 g fiber, 5 g protein (exchanges: ½ fat, ½ fruit, ½ protein, 2 starches)
• Notes - Substitute light sour cream (or even better, fat free Greek yogurt) for the creme fraiche

Ham and Asparagus Frittata -

• Per serving - 125 Calories, 5 g fat (2 g saturated), 5 g carbohydrates, 1 g fiber, 16 g protein (exchanges: 1 fat, 2 protein, 1 vegetable)
• Notes - I halved the serving size here too...4 servings instead of 2; you could also use egg-beaters or all whites; use up leftover ham and serve this frittata for a week night dinner the week after Easter with a green salad

Lagniappe...

When I worked at LifeTime Fitness, I got a free subscription to Experience Life Magazine (a LTF publication). I really liked this article as it points out the benefit of eating more whole foods and less vitamin/mineral fortified processed foods...something I completely believe in! Should you really rely on something like Vitamin Water or FiberOne for your vitamin/mineral/fiber needs? And speaking of whole foods, here are the Mayo Clinic's "10 great health foods"...

Almonds

Apples

Blueberries

Broccoli

Red Beans

Salmon

Spinach

Sweet potatoes

Vegetable juice (NO THANKS!)

Wheat Germ

How many of them do you eat on a weekly basis?

Healthy Holiday

"It's that time of year"...when you have a party to attend every other evening, someone brings a Christmas "treat" to work every day, food presents are arriving at your doorstep by the second, cocktails are flowing, life is crazy and hectic leaving little time for exercise and meal planning (and lots of opportunities for eating out or picking up take-out)...I'm already feeling it!

This past weekend I had a party on Friday and Sunday night. Next weekend is the same. Then another party on Tuesday, a lunch with friends on Tuesday too, Christmas Eve with my dad's side of the family and Christmas day with my mom's side. Then I leave for Atlanta for New Years...and then it's Mardi Gras...

What am I going to do? Well, I might be busy and get a little stressed, but I'm not going to gain weight. What's my plan?

• make time to exercise - I do it first thing in the morning, before my day gets going and I run out of time
• eat extra healthy when I have control - when I am eating at home, it will be lots of salads, fruits, vegetables, chicken, yogurt
• eat breakfast everyday - on a normal day I will have oatmeal or an English muffin; if it's the day after a party/big meal I will have a lighter breakfast like yogurt and fruit (maybe with some granola)
• give away (or throw away) temptations - don't feel guilty about throwing out the left-over dessert from a party or those yummy cookies someone baked for you...what's a bigger waste? throwing away food or throwing away your waist line?
• get back on track THE NEXT DAY - post-party day for me: I already have run and had pomegranate oatmeal with milk to drink; I have a salad planned for lunch, and vegetable soup with a turkey sandwich for dinner...and I'm sure I'll have an apple at some point

I try not to give away unhealthy food gifts (i.e. dessert) at Christmas, I figure everyone gets enough of them and no one really needs them. Last year I gave away homemade hummus and crackers and this year I'm doing homemade whole wheat English muffins with pumpkin butter (now you know Mel!). One of my friends, Danielle, is giving away homemade granola.

I also try to bring a healthy dish to the parties I attend. Friday night I made stuffed mushrooms. Last night the party was at my house and I served the following:

punch
stuffed mushrooms
green salad with lemon vinaigrette and Parmesan
wild rice salad
roasted yellow squash
goat cheese & spinach stuffed chicken breasts
peppermint brownie bites

One of my friends made the punch and brownies, but I made the rest and will post each of these recipes over the course of this week...so check back if you are interested!

When you have control of the menu, why not make it healthy? Dinner was so good last night and no one missed the calories! Who says you have to serve unhealthy food around the holidays?

What about at a party where I don't have control of the menu? I make sure I eat something before I go (maybe an apple) and then I don't eat things that I could have on any given day...no chips and salsa for me! Or crackers and cheese, average desserts (brownies, sugar cookies, etc), store-bought items...this way I eliminate half of my choices and don't waste calories on things that aren't special. I fill-up my plate once and then only go back for vegetable seconds.

Here is an article from CalorieKing.com with more tips for having a healthy holiday without gaining any weight. One thing in the article that I don't agree with is their suggestion for low-calorie and low-fat appetizers/snacks at a party. It recommends that you

"Try some low-fat dips with vegetable crudités, or bowls of raw nuts and dried fruits."

Nuts are not low-fat or low-cal and I wouldn't snack on them at a party...its too easy to go overboard (1/4 cup of peanuts has about 200 calories and 18 g of fat). And although dried fruit is fat free, its still calories dense (1/4 cup of raisins has about 110 calories).

Merry Christmas!