Sunday, December 7, 2008

Nutritional Tips for Getting Through the Holidays


The average person gains 5 – 7 lbs between Halloween and Christmas. Can any of us really afford that kind of weight gain, especially when the majority of it comes in the form of white sugar, white flour and alcohol? “But it’s the Holidays!!!” is the excuse, rather the plea, from people who want to indulge. Well, okay, but be smart about it. Here are some tips to help you:

1) Offer to be the Designated Driver and bring a bottle of San Pelligrino with lemon and limes. Be sure to drink it from a nice glass. Your friends will love you and you will save tons of calories.
2) Go for the Veggie Plate with Dip and load up on that before starting in on the other offerings. The fiber in raw vegetables will help you to fill up quickly and the antioxidants will help undo some of the damage from the other choices.
3) Avoid anything that isn’t “Special” to the season. Potato chips are NOT special!!!
4) For every alcoholic drink you consume, match it with a full glass of water. Dehydration is the main cause of hangovers. This will also help keep you full and prevent overindulging.
5) If you are baking goodies, try adding ¼ - ½ cup of ground flax seed to your recipe. You don’t have to add any extra liquid because the Omega 3 fats in the flax provide enough extra moisture. Your goodies will taste better, nuttier, have more fiber and not spike your blood sugar as much.

Here is a recipe for one of the best appetizers I know of. Whenever I take this to a party, people rave about it and ask for the recipe. You may be surprised by the ingredients but it truly tastes amazing, is very healthy, full of antioxidants and parsley is a natural diuretic.

Boniet (makes 1 cup – serves 10)
Per serving 113 cal, 11 g fat, 1.8 g carbs, 1 g fiber, 1.8 g protein.
2 bunches of parsley, finely chopped
2 ounces of anchovy paste (comes in a tube, usually in the deli section)
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 ½ tbsp tomato paste
4 tbsp white vinegar
½ cup extra virgin olive oil

Toss all ingredients together and let sit for an hour for the flavours to meld. Serve at room temperature with sliced multigrain baguette or crackers.

1 comment:

Marylou said...

Thanks for posting this recipe, LInda. I am going to make for my holiday guests this week.