Tag: turkey

Holidays…family, friends, and FOOD!

Holidays…family, friends, and FOOD!

This is the weight-gaining, cookie-eating, mouth-stuffing time of the year!  It’s the time of the year when people eat cookies, cupcakes, chips, dips, and other sugary and salty foods.  It’s the time of the year when diets seem to be filled with more junk food than fruits and veggies.  It’s the time of the year when there are parties, potlucks, and events.   And, it’s the time of the year when health educators and counselors know what to expect come January when New Year’s resolutions come around!

I am getting ready to cook my “gluten free” Thanksgiving this weekend so that I can actually enjoy it!  Otherwise the day of Thanksgiving I get stuck with meat and potatoes without all the other lovely sides that fill the Thanksgiving table (but are often filled with gluten)!

As a way to cut back on fat and to reduce the calories in my gluten free dishes I will be making roasted brussels sprouts and corn with a couple of slices of bacon rather than a corn casserole or corn pudding which are filled with heavy cream, cream soups, and other fattening additives.  This is a great way to reduce fat and calories while still having great flavor.  The bacon will provide flavor along with chili powder, but since the two bacon slices will be divided among 6 people the amount consumed is very little.

My homemade mashed potatoes will feature part cauliflower.  That may sound awful to some, but I promise you won’t taste the cauliflower and it will save a ton of calories!  I will also use potatoes, but I will combine them with cauliflower to reduce the calories and add some veggies.  I will use reduced sodium, reduced fat cream cheese or greek yogurt to add creaminess to the potatoes.

I will not have bread since I will be making cornbread stuffing.  I made cornbread with reduced fat milk and will make the stuffing using reduced sodium chicken broth.   To save calories, it is great to consider how many “bready” sides or carbohydrate sides you will serve with your Thanksgiving dinner.  Consider having stuffing or bread, pie or cake, with more sides filled with veggies or fruits (i.e. brussel sprouts, corn, green beans, cranberries, mixed fruit, sweet potatoes – healthier than regular potatoes).

If your family does a green bean casserole each year consider roasted green beans, grilled green beans (these are delicious!), or pan seared green beans to cut back on the creamy soups, butter, and fried onions that are all high in calories.

Remember to fill your plates with more veggies than “bready” items and when you go back for seconds fill up on the veggie sides rather than more stuffing, bread, pie, and other high calorie dishes.  Oh, and take a quick walk before or after dinner so your food doesn’t sit in your stomach all day or all night.  You will thank yourself later when your food has a chance to digest rather than sit and make you feel miserable all night! 🙂

Happy eating, enjoy spending time with your friends and family, and have fun making new memories that you will remember forever!

~jj

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Lunches: Soups, Salads, Sandwiches & More!

Lunches: Soups, Salads, Sandwiches & More!

It’s the summer months and soups, salads, and sandwiches seem to be go-to lunch choices for many people.  These can be relatively healthy items if you make sure you are diligent in how you make them or how you order them at your favorite restaurant (mine is McAlister’s:-) ).

During the week, I usually bring salads, lettuce wraps, or sandwiches to work.  One thing that I consistently have heard time and time again is that salads are not filling, they seem boring, and it tends to lead to snacking later because the person still feels hungry.  My best advice is to make salads frequently enough to where your body gets used to light, healthy lunches.  Further, load salads up with a variety of vegetables and fruits, nuts, craisins, deli meat, and other great add-ins.  I like to make a variety of different hearty salads throughout the week.  The key is to make different salads each day so you don’t get bored with them.  For example, I make chef salads, Olive Garden type salads, garden salads, Cobb salads, etc. that have different add-ins and different dressings. Just be careful putting too many add-ins in your salads such as cheese, croutons, dressings, or lots of bacon because these quickly add to the calories and can make a healthy one not so healthy!

For sandwiches, I typically use lettuce as my “bread” to make lettuce wraps.  These are easy, delicious, and save calories.  You can use different varieties of lunch meat and cheese to change things up such as turkey, ham, salami, roast beef, and provolone, mozzarella, colby jack, etc.  I typically enjoy the ultra thin cheese slices, but that’s up to you.  If I do make a sandwich using bread, I try to do a 1/2 sandwich and a 1/2 salad to keep it healthy.  Again, your choices are endless to what you like so you can change it up easily.  Just remember that condiments and sauces typically add a lot of extra calories to your lunch!  I try to stick to one condiment on my sandwiches such as mustard or light mayo (I also really like dijonnaise).

If you aren’t a “make and take” type lunch person because you can’t get yourself to make it the night before or can’t get yourself up early enough in the morning to make it, consider places that have great soup, salad, and sandwich combinations.  I suggest that you always get a salad with your meal and then choose a soup or a sandwich.  The greens are great for you and the sandwich or soup can be your less healthy choice.  Remember that cream-based soups tend to be higher in calories just like bread for sandwiches.  Also, be sure to ask for dressing on the side so you can control how much you put on.  I am a huge fan of McAlister’s Deli because they accommodate my food allergy.  Plus, they serve a great variety of salads and sandwiches that allow me to change things up, which I enjoy during the summer months.  One thing about McAlister’s is that it seems very healthy, but the calories add up quickly if you don’t pay attention to what you are ordering. They have a list of spud, soup, salad, and sandwich combinations on their website that are under 600 calories.  Check it out if you are curious on how many calories your typical go-to meal is!

Lastly, with your lunches and during summer in general, many people enjoy iced lemonade and iced tea, but remember these popular summer drinks add on the calories and are usually high in sugar.  You may think having a healthy meal will allow for the extra add on calories for your summer drinks, but be aware of what you are consuming.  Remember that your best option is to estimate your calories as best as you can so you aren’t mistakenly eating a “healthy” soup, salad, or sandwich combo that is actually as much as two meals combined.  Sometimes eating your sandwich at lunch and then taking your salad for later in the afternoon or vice versa is a great option.  Consider reading Find what works for YOU! and All about eating! for other great tips on eating such as full versus stuffed, eating small meals, and pacing yourself when you eat.

Happy healthy lunching (and eating)! 🙂

~jj

Tis’ the season for healthy casserole dishes!

Tis’ the season for healthy casserole dishes!

Winter is upon us again and with the cold weather comes lots of holiday favorites and casseroles being baked for dinners, parties, and holiday festivities.  Casserole dishes and holiday favorites tend to be full of cheesy, creamy, delicious goodness, which is also known as endless calories in the minds of dietitians and an extra 10 pounds in the minds of many people.  I thought it would be appropriate to share some tips that will help keep casseroles healthy, but still satisfy our appetites!  There are great ways to keep casseroles healthy this holiday season while also incorporating tons of great flavors.  People often think that without the pound of butter, whole milk, pound of cheese, or heavy cream that dishes lose their flavor, and that is definitely not the case…I promise!  Keep reading for some great tips to maintain the flavor and decrease the calories in your casseroles this holiday season…you will thank me later! 😉  There are 3 major tips that I think are beneficial when making casseroles.

First, consider replacing cream of mushroom, cream of chicken, and other cream soups with plain Greek yogurt, which you can flavor with garlic, salt, pepper, onion powder, etc or even add regular, low-sodium broth soups such as chicken broth or vegetable broth to flavor your dishes without the added calories.  Further, try to buy items that are fat-free, low fat, low sodium, or sodium free.  For example, green bean casserole calls for cream of mushroom soup, so replace it with Greek yogurt and vegetable stock.  Be sure to check the labels because sometimes low calorie, low fat, and low sodium items can be deceiving.  By this I mean that sometimes they have other equally bad ingredients for you, so you have to determine which products will be best.  This is why plain Greek yogurt, cottage cheese, and other plain, non-flavored items that are less processed can be great because you can add the flavor you want to them.

Second, cut back on the dairy products if possible and yes, this includes cheese!  I know how awful that sounds because cheese is delicious, but I am not saying cut it out completely.  Rather, be cognizant of how much cheese you are putting into your casserole dishes, especially if they have other dairy products in them such as heavy cream, milk, and butter.  What I mean by this is that a veggie casserole can easily be made unhealthy and fattening by adding tons of cheese and cream of mushroom, cream of chicken, and other cream soups.  Milk, heavy cream, cheese, and other dairy products can quickly add calories, making healthy veggie casseroles unhealthy.  So the best thing you can do is stick to what recipes call for.  If the recipe calls for one cup of cheese, use one cup of cheese rather than a cup and a half to add additional cheesy goodness.  I realize it is the holiday season, but I promise you that your guests will still love your casserole side dishes and will appreciate the fewer calories in their already high calorie holiday meal!

Third, stick with vegetable casseroles or vegetables rather than carbohydrate-heavy or starchy casseroles that are high in calories.  I realize that many people love potatoes and what says Thanksgiving more than turkey and mashed potatoes?!  I am not suggesting that you completely do away with your mashed potatoes, but consider doing a split in your potatoes of part potato and part cauliflower.  Also, consider having one potato casserole or mashed potato dish rather than several.  Instead, make up for the fewer starchy dishes by having several vegetable casseroles or vegetable dishes such as sweet potatoes with brown sugar and pecans as a side dish rather than sweet potatoes with marshmallow fluff on top.  Some other options might be brussel sprouts with bacon, butternut squash with a butter sauce, or honey and balsamic glazed carrots.

Enjoy preparing your holiday dishes and remember that while the holidays are a fun time, it doesn’t mean you should give yourself the excuse to eat whatever you want and as much as you want!  While it might sound like a novel idea at the time, it won’t be when you gain 10 pounds, can’t button your jeans, or feel so full you want to bust!  So, make some healthier casseroles that encourage cleaner eating, but still impart great holiday flavors that you and your family enjoy!  Happy clean eating this holiday season from my table to yours!

~jj

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