Holiday Tips: Survival & Challenge
Holiday Tips: The Drinks
Another holiday tricky spot that came up was around alcohol and keeping drinks in check! Here's a holiday drinks tip sheet for you!!
Wishing you and yours a happy and healthy holiday season!
Holiday Tips: Portion Control
Earlier this fall, I asked friends to share with me their holiday struggles! My present to all of you this holiday season are healthy holiday survival tips to help get you through the season without packing on the pounds.
I'll be tackling some of the holiday struggles my friends shared including: portion control, drinking, making time for exercise, snacking, the drinks, appetizers, and more!! Stay tuned to the blog for tips and tricks for your healthiest holiday season yet!
First up, let's tackle portion control:
The best tip I can give is to arrive to a party or meal, hungry but not starved! Skipping meals leading up to a party is kind-of like a set-up for failure. Instead have a filling breakfast like whole wheat toast with avocado, grab a light lunch – like some broth-based soup, and an afternoon snack like a handful of nuts or a whole grain granola bar. This way you’ll arrive to the party, hungry – but not starved!
Hydrate! Sip water throughout the day to stay hydrated. Even mix it up with unsweetened teas, herbal teas, or naturally flavored seltzer water. Then, at parties and gatherings consider the calories that you’re drinking! Calories from drinks can pile up in a hurry (stay tuned for a holiday drink tips sheet... coming soon!). If you are throwing the party, have lower calorie and a mix of non-alcoholic drink options on hand like naturally flavored seltzer water!
Lastly, food and celebrations do bring us together – focus on enjoying the time with family and friends instead of focusing on the food! To help focus on time together, try these quick tips:
- Play a fun game to help shift the focus away from food and instead having time together!
- Get moving and take together, take a walk, hike, or play a game of football.
- Keep the food in one area and skip little bowls of snacks throughout the house to help everyone cut down on mindless snacking!
Wishing you and yours a healthy and happy holiday season! Stay tuned for more tips!!
What is Freekeh?
Recently I discovered freekeh! It's a deliciously different grain. Freekeh has a unique, toasted and slightly smokey flavor. It is made from green wheat and then roasted (pictured left).
How to prepare: In a sauce pan, combine 1 cup of freekeh, 1 1/2 cups water, and 1/2 teaspoon olive oil. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat and simmer on low for about 25 minutes, or until all of the water is absorbed.
Nutritional benefit: A perk of freekeh is that it provides fiber plus delivers minerals including: iron, potassium, and magnesium. In fact one 1/4 cup serving has about 5 grams of fiber and 5 grams of protein.
Where to find: Look for freekeh in the specialty food sections of grocery stores or check on-line retailers like Nuts.com.
Because of the toasted/smokey flavor, this grain tastes great paired with barbecue flavors, here is a quick recipe to try out!
BBQ Freekeh Salad
Serves 6
Ingredients:
2 cups cooked freekeh
1/2 cup BBQ Sauce
4 ounces grilled chicken or tempeh, diced
1/4 cup sweet onion, chopped
Directions:
1. In a mixing bowl combine the cooked freekeh, bbq sauce, grilled chicken or tempeh, and onion. Toss to combine and serve hot or chilled.
Disclosure: Nuts.com is a client of Creative Nutrition Solutions.
Recipe Round Up!
here's a Few delicious and nutritious recipes For You to Try!
Freekeh, Kale, and Peach Salad
From Alex Caspero MA, RD, click here for the recipe (shared with permission)
Whole Roasted Cauliflower with Cheddar, Pesto, and Tomatoes
From CabotRD, click here to view the recipe (shared with permission)
Pretzel Crusted Chicken Fingers
A twist on my Skinny Chicken Fingers from The Skinny Rules, check out the recipe below.
Serves 6
Ingredients:
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken tenders
1 cup pretzel crumbs*
4 egg whites (whip with a fork)
*Pulse the pretzels in a food processor or blender until crushed and crumbled
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. Place whipped egg whites in a dish and the pretzel crumbs in a separate dish.
3. Dip ti chicken fingers into the egg mixture and then into the pretzel crumbs.
4. Place on a baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes, then flip each of the chicken fingers, and back for another 15 minutes or until the chicken is cooked thoroughly.
Lunch Box Quick Tips
With back to school comes packing lunches! Here are some quick tips for quick, easy, and tasty (healthy too!) lunches.
Tip 1: Simple Sides/Snacks
Stock up on simple sides and snacks that require minimal preparation like: grapes, baby carrots, whole grain pretzels, cheese sticks, trail mix, or popcorn.
Check out snack size reusable lunch bags from lunchskins, which are a perfect size for packing sides and snacks!
Tip 2: Sandwich Fun
If you have little ones that get tired of 'regular' sandwiches, try sandwich cutters (pictured right). Somehow this seems to turn the basic sandwich into something more fun!
Check out sandwich cutters from pottery barn kids.
Tip 3: Use leftovers
Making wraps out of leftovers is a great sandwich option. Pictured right are baked chicken fingers, simply slice them up and wrap them in a wheat tortilla. Finish the wrap with some sliced veggies, cheese, and a drizzle of dressing.
Balance
Balance Is the Key to Success In All Things
When it comes to your health, the quote "Balance is the key to success in all things." comes to mind. This is especially true when it comes to nutrition! Let's look at two examples: water and food. Water A large percentage of our body is and should be water and most all things in our body need water to work. Too little water results in dehydration and too much water can result in issues like, hyponatremia as a result of flushing sodium from the body, which can be dangerous and even deadly.
The same holds true for food and food is literally fuel for the body providing calories (aka energy). Too few calories can be damaging to our health and too many calories adds excess weight which overtime can lead to obesity, heart disease, etc... When it comes to food the idea of balance holds true even when we breakdown nutrition into nutrient groups: carbohydrates, protein, and fats - each nutrient plays integral roles within the body and too little of any particular nutrient overtime can negatively impact our health.
For example - protein helps build muscles, nerves, etc... without it overtime muscle mass would decrease and our body won't work the way it should. My tip of the week is when it comes to food and water is think about balance.... Investing the time to plan your meals and balance your food intake will help your overall health and well-being. If you need help striking that balance, work with a registered dietitian, you can find one near you at www.EatRight.org.