Holiday Food

“Celebrate the happiness that friends are always giving, make every day a holiday and celebrate just living!” - Amanda Bradley

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving and if you’re a normal person, you’ll look back at the end of the day and think, “I can’t believe I ate all that!” In college I met with a dietician to lose weight and she said that best I could hope for during the Holiday season was not to gain weight. No one loses weight over Thanksgiving and Christmas.

So in the hopes of not gaining weight – here are some food tips from me and MensHealth.com,
The Best and Worst Holiday Foods.

Eggnog – this tasty concoction of milk, cream and eggs has 350 calories per glass, equal to three cans of soda. Hot Chocolate can have one-third the calories if you make it yourself at home. If you order Hot Chocolate at Starbucks for example, ask that it be made with skim milk and skip the whipped cream. For even fewer calories, try an herbal peppermint tea spiked with a cinnamon stick.

Crab Cakes – a healthy crab is made much less healthy with mayo, breadcrumbs, and cooking in a vat of bubbling fat. Try a shrimp cocktail instead but go light on the dipping sauce. It is loaded with salt.

Mixed Drinks – these pack a lot of calories; a Gin and Tonic or a beer has 210 calories. And consume these slowly (if at all). A simple drink (beer, wine, one shot of alcohol) raises the blood alcohol content (BAC) by .02% and takes one hour to dissipate. A policeman told me that he’s arrested people during the morning commute with BAC above the legal limit (.08% in NY). The four to five hours of sleep after a late party were not enough to burn off all the alcohol consumed.

Hot Spinach and Artichoke Dip is loaded with mayo, sour cream and cream cheese (and oh so yummy). Try melon balls with Prosciutto instead.

As a fourth generation Idahoan, I’m disappointed to see Backed potato with butter and sour cream on the list to avoid. The potato is OK, just be careful of what you put on it.

Prime Rib – my favorite cut of meat is also the fattiest cut. There is no escaping that fat = flavor. Men’s Health recommends a Tenderloin cut but I find most tenderloin to be flavorless (unless wrapped in bacon which adds the fat back in.)

Worst Dessert – Pecan Pie a la Mode at 800 calories a slice! You could enjoy a chocolate fondue with fruit and angel food cake for just 340 calories.

Bottom Line

The holiday foods with the most flavor are most likely those with the most fat and sugar and salt. Stick to simpler, natural foods and avoid gorging out on the deviled eggs and other appetizers. Take small samples and eat in moderation.