Thursday, November 20, 2008

Holiday Survival Guide - Week 3 - Eating Healthy and Yummy Foods

Holidays sometimes bring to us huge food challenges. Although we know that the holidays aren't about the food we have to be realistic in that we know we will be facing foods and needing to bring foods with us that are both healthy and yummy or let's face it, we probably just won't eat it. I mean there is more to life than chicken and broccoli, right?

The first thing I think that we have to acknowledge is that food can be both healthy and great tasting. It takes some practice to be good at cooking with different flavors and getting used to different textures but all of this is part of getting food to taste good.

Secondly, if you are Weight Watchers member and have access to E-tools you should be using them. There is a plethora of information on the site that allows you to search for recipes and input your own recipe to find a Points value and work changing ingredients to fit into your Points area. Many times just changing eggs to egg whites or whole milk to non-fat milk can significantly change the Points value and the taste is not sacrificed in the least.

So, what if you aren't a Weight Watchers member or you are but don't have access to E-tools. There are many sites on the internet, cook books either in the meeting room or the library that provide healthy recipes and all the nutritional information for you. If you aren't interested in those two options we can even purchase software that allows the nutritional information to be figured and you can start your own recipe collection for just a few dollars. MasterCook is a great one that I use and recommend.

Fresh fruits and veggies are great to keep around on trays during this time. Almonds and other nuts are a wonderful source of fat and cheeses and yogurts are a great way to get dairy and milks in too. Combining some of these together with some creativity can make for a great snack or mini meal while we are waiting for the BIG event.

Lastly, everything in moderation people, if you must have some of grandma's pie that is only made one time per year, have that piece and enjoy it. But forgo the mashed potatoes or count on exercising a bit more to make up for it.

I would love to get comments on what healthy and yummy recipe you are making for yourself this year to stay on plan and achieve your goals while still satisfying your taste buds.

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