Tips for Healthy Holiday Eating

• Practical holiday eating tips that will help keep your blood sugar more level and help with weight management
•  A holiday is only one day- not two months of festive eating and drinking
• It is not a time for depriving yourself- enjoy your favorite foods in smaller portions. Deprivation calls out for overindulgence
• Be selective- save room for seasonal specialties. Don’t eat the “regular food” you eat every day.
• Eat slowly and savor your food. It takes 20 minutes for the stomach to send the signal to the brain that you are satisfied
• Adjust your schedule if food will be served at a different time than you usually eat.  If you are going to have a late lunch, eat a light snack at noon time
• Don’t stand near the food table. It is too easy to nibble.  Fill your plate and go and sit down and enjoy
• Make taking a brisk walk or doing some sort of physical activity a priority. Exercise is great for stress as well as weight and blood sugar lowering.
• Offer leftovers to your guess, especially the tempting ones.
• Limit alcohol. It leads to less controlled eating and adds calories.  Limit to one drink for a woman and 2 for a man and always have food with alcohol. Avoid margaritas, and sweet drinks. Try non alcoholic Club Soda or Seltzer water and a splash of 5 calorie cranberry juice or Crystal lite lemonade.
• When the day of feasting is over, get back to your regular eating habits.
• Adjust portion sizes. Instead of slicing the pie into 6 pieces, cut into 8 pieces. That will save 90 calories per slice of apple pie.
• Be smart about fat. Dribble salad dressing on your salad and go skimpy on margarine, butter , nuts and mayonnaise.

Here are some recipes we prepared at our cooking classes that got raving reviews.

                                 Sweet Potato Casserole- Yield 6 servings
 
4 medium sweet potatoes (1 ¾ pounds fresh sweet potatoes)
½-1 cup fat free sour cream
1 teaspoon vanilla
18 packets Equal or Splenda or ¾ cup Equal Spoonful or Splenda granules
1 teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon nutmeg
 
Mash sweet potatoes with masher or beat with electric mixer until smooth. Mix in remaining ingredients and spoon into ungreased 1-quart casserole. Bake , uncovered, at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.    Serving size : ½ cup
Calories: 168  Carbohydrate: 38 grams ( 2 carb choices)  Fat: 0  Sodium: 27 mg.
 
Adapted from an Equal recipe
 
 
                           Sparkling Cranberry Punch- Yield 25- 4 ounce servings
 
1 quart lite cranberry juice cocktail, chilled
1 ½ tsp. Crystal lite lemonade mix
1      quarts sugar free gingerale
 
Mix cranberry juice and lemonade mix in punch bowl. Add gingerale.  ½ cup = 3 calories
 
                                        Fresh Cranberry Relish: yield 12 servings
 
1 orange
1 package (12 ounces) fresh or thawed frozen cranberries
2 medium tart apples, unpeeled, cored and coarsely chopped
 18 packets Equal or Splenda sweetener
1/8 tsp. Salt
 
Grate rind from orange and put aside. Peel orange, cut into large pieces. Place orange rind, orange pieces , cranberries and apples in food processor: process until finely chopped. Stir in sugar substitute and salt.  Calories: 41  Carbohydrate: 10 grams (1/2 carb choice)  Fat: 0  Sodium: 22mg.
 
                                       Heart Healthy Turkey Gravy
 
¼  cup cornstarch
¼  cup water
4 cups  turkey broth and defatted pan juices ( use gravy skimmer, cold lettuce leaf, paper towel or ice cubes to remove fat from drippings or chill over night and remove layer of fat on top)
 
In a large saucepan, over medium  heat , bring turkey broth and pan juices to a boil. Meanwhile, blend until smooth the cornstarch and water. Whisking constantly, slowly add the cornstarch mixture and continue stirring until the gravy is thickened.Season with salt and pepper. Yield: 16 servings, ¼ cup each  ¼ cup = 12 calories, 0 fat, 2 grams carbohydrate, 175 mg. sodium

Happy Thanksgiving from the staff of the Hillcrest Center for Diabetes Management