Happy Holidays!

Happy Holidays to all my favorite readers! Even though it is the season of delicious food that you otherwise may not eat during the rest of the year (in my case..it's gravy)..Remember to eat everything in moderation.

Here's a great way to satisfy your sweet tooth without adding excessive calories and all that other "unhealthy" stuff...

Buy a fresh pineapple and dice it up. Snacking on pineapple is simply scrumptious!

You can also make a fresh fruit smoothie by blending together some diced pineapple with plain yogurt. Add flaxseed to get some more nutrients in there.

Or, make a fresh fruit salad by mixing together some pineapple, plain yogurt or lowfat sour cream, mandarin oranges and sliced cherries or blueberries. Yumm!!!


Enjoy!

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Easy & Nutritious Meal for Holiday Season

It's always nice to be able to have a homemade meal that doesn't take much time to prepare. This is especially true when you're tired for any reason including long work hours, tkr recuperation or illness. Here's a recipe that doesn't take much energy to get ready. Plus, it's nutritious. Can't beat that...I remember eating it as a kid when my grandparents would make it. I've added some modern twists..

Enjoy this recipe throughout the busy holiday season or any time of the year.

Boiled Dinner

6-8 cups water

2 large carrots, peeled and diced

1 - 2” slice of cabbage

2 slices onion

2 potatoes, peeled and however you want to cut them

1 chicken breast, skin removed

1 t. Italian seasoning

¼ t dried basil

3 sprigs broccoli

Place water into Dutch oven, crockpot or large cooking pot.

Add all ingredients.

Cook over medium heat until everything is cooked til tender. If cooking on a stovetop, partially cover. If using a crockpot, fully cover for the duration.

Stir occasionally.

There are a variety of ways to serve this:

* You can serve this as a soup by cutting the protein up.

* Remove the veggies and protein to a serving plate and serve with a dollop of plain yogurt.

*Save the broth for other uses. Use the broth instead of canned broth in any recipe.

* Place a slice of whole grain bread onto the plate and pour some broth over it. Eat this in addition to, or instead of, the potatoes.

Freeze or refrigerate unused portions for later use. Store in airtight containers.

What's nice about this recipe, is you can alter the preparation methods according to how you feel. If you lack energy, simply peel the veggies and place whole into the water.

* Or, substitute peeled baby carrots for the carrots that require peeling.

* You can also buy a package of peeled and prepared fresh veggies to open and place into the water. The choice is yours.

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An Easy Way to Avoid Overeating

The holiday season brings with it so many different foods that only come out this time of year. It's the only time of the year that star or Christmas tree-shaped sugar cookies abound, for instance. And, let's not forget everyone's favorite, fruitcake. :) For myself, it's the only time of year I consume gravy and stuffing. Everyone is different, but overeating during this time commonly occurs for many people. The less you eat the less weight you put on your joints and tkr, too. What's a good way to avoid this? Here's my suggestion...

Use a smaller plate. Have you noticed how dinner plates have dramatically increased in size lately? It seems to have simultaneously occurred with the increased obesity epidemic and larger serving portions. Go figure. Dinner plates used to average 8” width, now they can be as big as 12” Yikes. The sight of these larger plates is just not pleasant, in my opinion. It's just so much food. Way too much food.

If you don't have any smaller plates in your cupboard, go to your thrift store. Past generations commonly used dinner plates that were 8” diameter. And, these items abound in thrift stores due to families donating estates. You can get an entire 8-place serving set for $20. If you look around, you may find a better deal.

You may also want to use dessert or salad plates as your main serving plate. This will decrease your portion sizes even smaller. Filling your smaller plates up with food fools your mind into thinking you're eating a lot of food.

Give these suggestions a try. You will like it. Enjoy!

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Holiday Eating Advice & Happy Thanksgiving!

It's that time of the year when I like to bring out this piece which has been around for awhile. Enjoy and Happy Thanksgiving to all!



I hate aspects of this time of year. Not for its crass commercialism and forced frivolity, but because it's the season when the food police come out with their wagging fingers and annual tips on how to get through the holidays without gaining 10 pounds.

1. About those carrot sticks. Avoid them. Anyone who puts carrots on a holiday buffet table knows nothing of the Christmas spirit. In fact if you see carrots, leave immediately. Go next door, where they're serving rum balls.

2. Drink as much eggnog as you can. And quickly. Like fine single-malt scotch, it's rare. In fact, it's even rarer than single-malt scotch. You can't find it any other time of year but now. So drink up! Who cares that it has 10,000 calories in every sip? It's not as if you're going to turn into an eggnogaholic or something. It's a treat. Enjoy it. Have one for me. Have two. It's later then you think. It's Christmas!

3. If something comes with gravy, use it. That's the whole point of gravy. Gravy does not stand alone. Pour it on. Make a volcano out of your mashed potatoes. Fill it with gravy. Eat the volcano. Repeat.

4. As for mashed potatoes, always ask if they're made with skim milk or whole milk. If it's skim, pass. Why bother? It's like buying a sports car with an automatic transmission.

5. Do not have a snack before going to a party in an effort to control your eating. The whole point of going to a Christmas party is to eat other peoples food for free. Lots of it. Hello? Remember college?

6. Under no circumstances should you exercise between now and New Years, You can do that in January when you have nothing else to do. This is the time for long naps, which you'll need after circling the buffet table while carrying a 10-pound plate of food and that vat of eggnog.

7. If you come across something really good at a buffet table, like frosted Christmas cookies in the shape and size of Santa. Position yourself near them, and don't budge. Have as many as you can before becoming the center of attention. They're like a beautiful pair of shoes. You can't leave them behind. You're not going to see them again.

8. Same for pies. Apple. Pumpkin. Mincemeat. Have a slice of each. Or, if you don't like mincemeat, have two apples and one pumpkin. Always have three. When else do you get to have more than one dessert? Labor Day ?

9. Did someone mention fruitcake? Granted, it's loaded with the mandatory celebratory calories, but avoid it at all cost. I mean have some standards, mate.

10. And one final tip: If you don't feel terrible when you leave the party or get up from the table, you haven't been paying attention. Reread tips. Start over. But hurry! Cookieless January is just around the corner.

Holiday Eating Advice & Happy Thanksgiving!

It's that time of the year when I bring out this piece that has been around for awhile.
Enjoy! And...Happy Thanksgiving to All!

I hate aspects of this time of year. Not for its crass commercialism and forced frivolity, but because it's the season when the food police come out with their wagging fingers and annual tips on how to get through the holidays without gaining 10 pounds.

1. About those carrot sticks. Avoid them. Anyone who puts carrots on a holiday buffet table knows nothing of the Christmas spirit. In fact if you see carrots, leave immediately. Go next door, where they're serving rum balls.

2. Drink as much eggnog as you can. And quickly. Like fine single-malt scotch, it's rare. In fact, it's even rarer than single-malt scotch. You can't find it any other time of year but now. So drink up! Who cares that it has 10,000 calories in every sip? It's not as if you're going to turn into an eggnogaholic or something. It's a treat. Enjoy it. Have one for me. Have two. It's later then you think. It's Christmas!

3. If something comes with gravy, use it. That's the whole point of gravy. Gravy does not stand alone. Pour it on. Make a volcano out of your mashed potatoes. Fill it with gravy. Eat the volcano. Repeat.

4. As for mashed potatoes, always ask if they're made with skim milk or whole milk. If it's skim, pass. Why bother? It's like buying a sports car with an automatic transmission.

5. Do not have a snack before going to a party in an effort to control your eating. The whole point of going to a Christmas party is to eat other peoples food for free. Lots of it. Hello? Remember college?

6. Under no circumstances should you exercise between now and New Years, You can do that in January when you have nothing else to do. This is the time for long naps, which you'll need after circling the buffet table while carrying a 10-pound plate of food and that vat of eggnog.

7. If you come across something really good at a buffet table, like frosted Christmas cookies in the shape and size of Santa. Position yourself near them, and don't budge. Have as many as you can before becoming the center of attention. They're like a beautiful pair of shoes. You can't leave them behind. You're not going to see them again.

8. Same for pies. Apple. Pumpkin. Mincemeat. Have a slice of each. Or, if you don't like mincemeat, have two apples and one pumpkin. Always have three. When else do you get to have more than one dessert? Labor Day ?

9. Did someone mention fruitcake? Granted, it's loaded with the mandatory celebratory calories, but avoid it at all cost. I mean have some standards, mate.

10. And one final tip: If you don't feel terrible when you leave the party or get up from the table, you haven't been paying attention. Reread tips. Start over. But hurry! Cookieless January is just around the corner.