Deck the halls with boughs of
holly, tinsel and lights. Put on sparkly holiday fashions and let your makeup
glow. But when it comes to going all out enjoying the festive meals and sweet
goodies of the season remember to accessorize with care.
Go easy on high
calorie add-ons such as nuts, cheese, cream sauces, dips, gravy, butter, sugar
and whipped cream – small additions that can add up to plenty around your
waistline. That dress you bought on sale back in November for a New Year’s Eve
bash may not zip up as easily now. Trim calories wherever you can so you can
use them on the splurge foods you don’t want to miss.
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| Bourbon Balls from my new Slim Down South Cookbook! Only 67 calories with the crunch of healthy pecans. |
Of
course, managing calorie intake isn’t a simple task and is especially
challenging during the holidays. On a typical day, a person makes over 200
decisions about food. That’s according to Dr. Brian Wansink of Cornell
University, author of Mindless
Eating: Why We Eat More than We Think. Wansink’s research was the first to
show that choosing a smaller plate during a holiday buffet, for instance, would
help folks think they were eating more than they did.
Another Wansink study published in the
Journal of Consumer Research reveals that even plate color can affect how much
we eat – and there’s certainly plenty of color festooning holiday tables.
Wansink says, “In a groundbreaking
new study we found that the color contrast between the plate and food may have
a tremendous impact on how much people serve themselves.” Partygoers in the
study were directed to buffets serving pasta with either tomato or Alfredo
sauce and randomly given red or white plates. Participants who had low-contrast
between the food and plates (red pasta on a red plate, or white pasta on a
white plate) served themselves approximately 22% more than participants with
high-contrast food and plates (red pasta on white plates, or white pasta on red
plates). So, to help trick yourself into eating less, choose dinnerware that
contrasts the color of your food. Whether on paper or china the serving size of
mashed potatoes, for instance, is more obvious on bright red and green holiday
plates.
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| Molasses-Spice Crinkles Cookies are pretty and pretty obvious to see how many are on the snow white china from Slim Down South Cookbook |
Holiday Helpers:
Where the bowls are- Don’t sit so close to the buffet table.
Wansink’s study “Serve Here, Eat There” showed that leaving some distance
between you and the food resulted in men eating 29% fewer and women 10% fewer
calories.
Be Sociable- Wait at least 20 minutes before eating at an event. Make
at least one full lap around a party to greet people before starting in on the
appetizers.
Don’t Go Hungry- Consider it nutrition pre-gaming. By eating a
pre-party snack you won’t be so ravenous that hurdle past other guests to get
to the artichoke cheese dip.
Give the Gift of Health - Here
are a few bright ideas for last minute gifts in the
healthy cooking category.
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Salad spinner- create a gift basket with olive
oils, mustards and vinegars.
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Slow cooker- one of the best ways to tenderize
tasty cuts of lean meat and concentrate natural flavors of seasonal vegetables.
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Microplane grater - for zesting citrus, grating
whole spices to add flavor without calories
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Specialty spices – more expensive spices like
cardamom, vanilla, saffron, smoked paprika and curry powders are elegant gifts
to add flavor and healthy antioxidants with no calories.
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Immersion blender – make rich and creamy
textured soups and sauces from cooked vegetables without the need for much or
any cream.
