***Just because its the crazy holiday season, that's no excuse to go crazy and resort to unhealthy habits. We feel festive, we feel entitled (especially when we're stressed), we may feel childlike and like this sugar laden, ooey-gooey something is a "gift for me"! Get a-hold of yourself people! It's a gift for your hips and although "hips don't lie", don't trust them! They'll get squishy real fast if you feed them too much of the wrong stuff and not enough of the right stuff. It's all about balance.
***Eating healthy doesn't mean doing without; or being sad and forlorn at the buffet. It means adding a little "girl math" to your meals. (You don't have to ba a girl!) Rachel Ray says that if you eat right you can eat more.
Its like shoes. If you save $$ on a pair of earrings, you can spend that on shoes! -You know, girl math! Eat well, don't be a pig and make sure you get your whole grains and veggies. Here are a few more ideas...
***No matter what the corn syrup lobbist says, there's a difference in how your body metabolizes sweeteners. Dr. Oz, world renowned cardiologist, author and TV host says that high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) isn't seen by your body as food. And without going all technical on you, our bodies won't
turn on the 'stop eating' chemical. Yikes! No wonder we feel like we're
going to burst! Read labels. Adjust your diet.
***Agave syrup (right next to the honey on the grocery shelf) has a lower glycemic index than honey or sugar. Again simply, glycemic index means how fast your blood sugar shoots up. High blood sugar = not good. Agave has no
specific taste. Use for baking or instead of honey or sugar in anything.
And, while we're on syrup: Get the real thing! Real maple syrup costs more than brown colored HFCS so you'll use it sparingly!
***Soda is bad- the worst waste of your calorie investment. Try this:
Mix frozen orange juice concentrate with a small amount of seltzer. When smooth, add more selzer to taste. No guilt orange soda! Works with grape juice (make sure you get the good stuff with no sugar or fake chemical sweetener)or pineapple juice, or apple juice.
***Apple juice is a great sweetener too. Use instead of water to cook Old Fashioned Oatmeal. (Not the instant gunk! In fact, the best is steel cut oats, but they take the longest to cook.) I'm not expecting miracles! If you use apple juice and maybe some raisins, you'll use less sweetener. If you miss brown sugar (no better than white sugar), add a dab of molasses. Brown sugar is just white sugar with molasses added. I make my own.
***Get some whole wheat flour and use it for thickening gravy, coating chicken, baking, etc. Forget you ever heard of white flour! Use ONLY 100%
whole grain bread, tortillas, rolls, pitas, etc. (100% means they can't lie about how much white flour they sneak in there!)There is no excuse, they're all available. You have too much else to think about around the holidays to be worrying about if you're getting enough fiber. Make more things automatic and it won't be hard to incorporate good habits.
***Oh, and at the buffet, visit the veg platter first so you can use your girl math when it comes to dessert!
*** It may seem like we're all too busy to start changing things, but if not now then when? There's always something going on. Then again, there's always plenty of time while recovering from any number of diet-related conditions! Too snarky? Consider it a holiday wake-up-call, my little Naturegirl gift to you! Try some little things. Let me know how they work out.
***Rachel Ray has some good healthy ideas, and Drs. Oz and Roizen (Oz's brilliant co-author) have written a wonderful series of "YOU" books; ie
"You on a Diet" and "You, the Owners Manual". All of their books are found on Amazon. For your convenience, you can reach them through the carousel on the right.->
***Have a happy and healthy, guilt free holiday season right through New
Years Eve...less Resolutions on Jan. 2nd!
