Healthy Hints For The Holidays

Healthy Hints For The Holiday

by Constance Borglow

A GOOD REASON TO MAKE YOUR HOLIDAY WINE…RED

Food compounds in red wine and not alcohol, may account for claret’s reputation as a heart healthy beverage.  While it’s been known for some time that moderate drinking is good for the heart, red wine is particularly beneficial, suggesting that components in addition to alcohol make the difference.  Researchers now say claret is rich in antioxidant compounds, such as Vitamin C and E which are believed to reduce the risk of cancer and heart disease.  When eating a holiday dinner, be sure to sip wine between courses.  It will help digest your food and keep you from feeling full too fast.

HOW TO TONE DOWN THOSE TURKEY CALORIES

There are simple recipe substitutions that will make fattening holiday foods fit for your diet.  In fact, you’re already off to a good start with the main course.  “Turkey, particularly the white meat, which is already low in calories at sixty-five a slice-as long as you don’t eat the skin,” says Evelyn Tribole, M.S., R/D/. author of Eating on the Run.  Here are ways to trim the fat from the rest of your Turkey Day feast.

            Stuffing:  To save 100 calories a cup, replace the ½ cup of butter in most recipes with the equivalent amount of turkey broth.

            Gravy:  Forego the turkey fat, and use canned turkey broth mixed with 1 tsp. of cornstarch instead.  At only 8 calories a ¼ cup, this gravy saves 120 calories.

            Sweet Potatoes:  Rather than using butter, bake, peel and sprinkle with pumpkin-pie spice for 115 calories each.

            Pumpkin Pie:  Hold the egg yolks – instead, use two whites for each whole egg.

THE EASIEST EXERCISE IN THE WORLD FOR AFTER YOU CONSUME A LARGE MEAL

 We can never say enough about the benefits of walking.  All you need is a commitment and a good pair of walking shoes.  Regiment your day to include walking at least 30 minutes.  If you have no one to walk with…walk alone.  (Best time for walking is early in the morning, when the streets are bustling with people going to work.)

 A walking program gives you all the cardiovascular benefits without the risk of joint injury linked to running, and all you need is 20 minutes a day, three times a week, and a good pair of athletic shoes.  Walking is also exhilarating and mind cleansing.

Over the holidays, you should make it a point to walk either directly after you consume a large meal or the very next morning.  Also, don’t drink soda during the course of the meal.  Soda should be consumed at the end of the meal because it impedes the digestive