November 2012 Tips and Recipes

Celebrating the Healthy Side of Holidays

It’s that time of year when celebrations are everywhere. From office parties to family get togethers, people are celebrating the upcoming holidays. With these celebrations come tempting treats and sugary snacks. Avoiding the temptation can make you seem like Mr. Scrooge himself.

So instead of being Bah Humbug, celebrate by enjoying the healthier side of the holidays.

Weight Loss Tip

You have worked hard all year to drop those pounds and trim the fat. So don’t let all that hard work go to waste (or should I say go to your waist). Here are a few tips to let you enjoy the healthier side of the holidays.

Snack Light Before Partying

Before heading out the door to your neighbor’s holiday party, try eating a light and healthy snack. Nibble on some vegetables, a small piece of fruit or even some low fat cheese and whole grain crackers.

This light healthy snack will help curb your appetite so you can walk away from the holiday cookies, cakes and pies.

Keep Out of Reach

To help you avoid indulging in the sweet savory snacks at the party, keep them at arms length. When you are chatting with friends and family, make sure the snack table is not within reach. This will keep you from absent mindedly taking a handful of peanuts or gobbling down some chips and dips.

Don’t Be Sweet

Now I’m not saying be a Scrooge with this tip. Of course you want to be jolly and sweet during the holidays, but your desserts don’t have to be packed full of sugary sweetness. When making desserts or eggnog, reduce the amount of sugar by half and enhance "sweetness" by adding a bit of citrus, more vanilla, nutmeg or cinnamon.

Try sugar substitutes, honey or molasses. These sweet flavors mean you can use less sugar. If recipes call for sugary toppings like frosting, jams and syrup, use fresh or unsweetened frozen fruit instead.

Trim the Fat

Not only can you enjoy trimming the tree this time of year, but you can also enjoy desserts that have less fat. By trimming the fats in your holiday baking, you can eat healthier and still enjoy a bite of goodness. For your baked goods, cut the fat by almost half by replacing oils with unsweetened applesauce, prune puree or mashed banana.

Instead of full-fat condensed milk, try using condensed skim milk for your famous fudge recipe, holiday drinks and desserts. You can trim the fat in gravies by using low-sodium broth instead of the fatty drippings from your turkey.

The holidays mean less time for your daily workouts as your free time disappears with the shopping days, holiday cooking and holiday decorating. But don’t let the holidays take away your time to be active. Instead, work it into your schedule by trying these holiday exercise tips.

A Snowy Tradition

This year start a new and active tradition to help celebrate the holidays. Instead of throwing a cocktail party, try planning an outing with friends and family like ice skating, snow shoeing or even a snowman building contest.

These outdoor activities will not only be a great way to celebrate, but will get your heart rate going and burning calories.

Walk the Walk

There are many opportunities this time of year to get in more walking than you might think. With your next holiday shopping outing, park far away from the building to get in those few extra steps.

Instead of going into the stores right away in the mall, walk a faster pace throughout the entire mall and do speed window shopping. Then once you have gotten a quick 10 minute brisk walk in, start on the spending spree.

Wake Up Call

While you may not have time for your typical 30 minute workout, plan for a quick 10 minute exercise routine you can do in the comfort of your bedroom.

With extra guests in the home during the holidays, it may not always be easy or comfortable for you to use the treadmill or pop in your favorite workout DVD.

So instead, do some jumping jacks, jogging in place and some sit ups, push-ups and other strengthening exercises in the privacy of your own room.

Here’s a tasty grilled Panini that will have you using up your leftover turkey in no time at all.

Grilled Turkey and Cheese Panini

Did you know Panini in Italian means pressed sandwich? Well for this recipe, you can use a Panini press or another skillet to press the sandwich. Of course, you can just use a skillet to grill your turkey sandwich.

What You Need:

• 2 Tbsp Fat Free Mayonnaise
• 4 Tsp Basil Pesto
• 8 thin slices sourdough bread
• 8 ounces sliced turkey breast
• 2 ounces thinly sliced provolone cheese
• 8 slices tomato
• Cooking spray

How to Make It:

1. Combine mayonnaise and pesto, stirring well.
2. Spread 1 tablespoon mayonnaise mixture on 4 bread slices.
3. Top each slice with 2 ounces turkey, 1/2 ounce cheese, and 2 tomato slices.
4. Top with remaining bread slices.
5. Preheat grill pan or large nonstick skillet coated with cooking spray over medium heat.
6. Add sandwiches to pan and top with another heavy skillet or use a Panini press.
7. Cook 3 minutes on each side or until golden brown.

Number of Servings: 4

Nutrition Information Per Serving

257 calories, 8g total fat, 3g saturated fat, 4g fiber, 18g protein, 30g carbohydrates, 1208mg sodium, sugar n/a.

Org Pts 4; Pts Plus 7

I've decided to add this section to give you quick updates on the website.

Mobile App

If you missed the special mailing about the android app – it’s here. The Google Play store now has NutriScore mobile app available in the market place. So if you haven’t had a chance to check it out, use the link below.

All existing restaurants are now added to the database for the mobile app and will be on the next release for both iTunes and Android versions.

If you have purchased the app and are finding it useful, then please consider letting us know by leaving a positive feedback on the iTunes or Google Play review area for the app. Thanks, your feedback is important to us and we appreciate you taking the time to give us the feedback.

Restaurants

All existing restaurants are currently being updated with nutrition information and the new page format. Restaurants that begin with a number and the letters A - P and T - W are completed.

We are making progress but at a much slower pace than I had hoped. Making the nutrition updates takes enough time alone, but adding the new page layout as well has slowed the process down.

I am grateful that everyone has been so patient while we get things done. Thanks again for being so patient.

Recipes

You may have noticed that there have been a few new recipes added lately. While I continue to work on updating existing restaurants with nutrition, points and page layout, I thought I would start diving into the recipe world. I hope to add at least 10 – 20 recipes each month, so keep your eye out for something new to try for your meals.

Exercise 4 Weight Loss 2 Achieve Fitness and Health

From your Diet Buddy