A Guide to Healthy Holiday Eating and Well-Being

The holidays are a time we look forward to all year long; a time to spend with family, time off from work and of course, a time to EAT delicious, home cooked food!! There is just something so comforting about the foods we eat during the holidays, but unfortunately, most traditional dishes take their toll on our waistlines! They are high in fat, sugar, sodium and empty calories. All the things that make them so tasty, right? Did you know the average holiday dinner has over 2000 calories? That’s more than most of us need in an entire day!!

So how can you enjoy the decadent tastes of the holidays without completely derailing your healthy eating and weight-loss progress? Here are a few tips and recipes that will help get you through the holidays.

• Drink plenty of water - it will help you feel full, help flush toxins out of your body and help keep you hydrated, especially if you’re planning on drinking alcohol or caffeine. 

• Make time for some exercise - since we all have the day off, it’s a perfect opportunity to take that morning hike with friends or family.

• Take a few minutes for yourself before the “stress” begins. Maybe a few minutes of meditation or a brisk walk by yourself and “just breathe”.

• Eat clean and listen to your body: 

• Load up on greens, skinless turkey and a bit of sweet potatoes

• Bring your own healthy dish to a holiday gathering

• Watch your portions

• Stop eating before you feel full

• Substitute ingredients in your traditional holiday dishes; almond and coconut flour are great alternatives for regular flour in baked goods, in addition, they are Paleo, low-carb and gluten-free. Applesauce is a great alternative in recipes that call for vegetable oil. Use Greek yogurt in place of dishes that require cream. Fresh mushrooms and low-sodium chicken or vegetable broth are great replacements for the Cream of Mushroom soup in your green bean casserole. Add more spices like cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and vanilla and use less sugar. Try a bit of pure maple syrup, molasses or Coconut sugar (lower in the glycemic index) instead of regular processed sugar. Always use fresh fruits and vegetables over canned or frozen. Try a few raw dishes instead of having only cooked dishes - they’re full of enzymes that will help you digest the cooked foods.

• Keep your goal in mind, but also, don’t deprive yourself - the holidays do only come around a few times a year.

• And finally, smile, laugh and cherish those you are fortunate enough to be with!! That to me is what THANKSgiving is all about. Being thankful for those we have, because we just never know what tomorrow holds.

Here are a few of my recipes if you need something new to serve!!

http://www.examiner.com/article/a-guide-to-healthy-holiday-eating-the-raw

http://loriandersonholisticnutrition.blogspot.com/2012/10/quinoa-stuffed-acorn-squash.html

http://loriandersonholisticnutrition.blogspot.com/2011/08/grain-free-lasanga.html

Info on Coconut sugar - http://www.tropicaltraditions.com/coconut_palm_sugar.htm

Health and happiness,

Lori Anderson RHN, CPT, CYT

Tofu Lettuce Wraps

My son absolutely loves P.F. Chang's chicken lettuce wraps, but I wanted to make them vegetarian, so I used tofu. They were AWESOME!!! Can't wait to make them again! Hope you enjoy them as much as we did!

Ingredients:

1/2 block of firm tofu - crumbled
1/2 onion
2 cloves of garlic
2 teaspoons grated ginger
1 small can of water chestnuts 
4 teaspoons Hoison sauce
4 teaspoons soy sauce
1 (or more) teaspoons chili paste or sriracha

Toppings:

1/2 head of ice berg lettuce
green onions
shredded carrots
bean sprouts
crushed peanuts (optional)
lime (optional)

Directions:

Saute onion, garlic and ginger in pan, then add water chestnuts, tofu and sauces. Let cook a few minutes more and then fill your lettuce cups with mix and add toppings!

Quinoa stuffed acorn squash

This was a last minute dinner I threw together with stuff I already had on hand. It's made with quinoa, and yes, I'm going grain-free, but it's technically a seed and it's my exception! ;)

Quinoa stuffed acorn squash:

2 acorn squash (cut in half and baked at 400 for 35 minutes)

1 cup of organic quinoa (cooked in vegetable broth)
1/2 onion, finely chopped
1 apple, finely chopped
1 organic zucchini, finely chopped
3 cloves of garlic
1 1/2 cups raw organic spinach
1/4 cup organic raisins
Pink Himalayan sea salt (to taste)
Crushed black pepper (to taste)

Saute all ingredients (except squash and quinoa) in olive oil, mix with quinoa and fill squash w/mixture.

Tofu Stir-Fry

OK, so I made the most AMAZING dinner last night - tofu stir fry over soba (buckwheat) noodles. Now I've made similar dinners before, but never has the marinade been so yummy that I ate half the tofu before I even put it in the pan! I mean it was seriously good!

Here's what I used for the marinade:
3 cloves of garlic (pressed)
shredded ginger root
black sesame seeds
1/4 cup (approximately) light soy sauce
chili sauce (to your liking)

1/2 package of organic sprouted firm tofu (I used Organics available at Von's or Safeway)
2 zucchini
2 carrots
1 red bell pepper
1 sweet onion
1 package of soba noodles

I just sauteed the onions in a little sesame oil, added other veggies, then the marinated tofu - put it over hot soba noodles. YUM!!

Quinoa Salad!!

1 - 2 cups organic spring mix
Soft tofu (cubed)
1/8 - 1/4 cup of organic raisins
1/4 - 1/2 avocado
Quinoa
Balsamic dressing


Quinoa recipe:
-1 cup dry quinoa
-1 organic green pepper
-5 small organic tomatoes
-4 cloves of garlic
-Tablespoon or so of olive oil
-Pink Himalayan sea salt
-Black pepper
-Cook for 15 minutes, then cool before putting it on salad

*I've made a Thai version of this before by adding peanuts, shredded carrots, green onions, peanut dressing and omitting the avocado. But I try to work with what I have at the moment, and this was it. Sooo yummy and super healthy!!! Enjoy!

A beautiful exterior starts from within!!

I met with a new client for the first time today, and I asked her a question I ask all new clients - "If you only had time to take care of the inside or the outside of your car, which one would you take care of"? The answer always amazes me, but no longer surprises me, as the majority of the people I talk to answer the question the same way. Before I share with you the "usual" answer, ask yourself that same question. 9 times out of 10, people reply with "the outside". When I ask "why", they say, "because that's what people see...nobody sees the inside". Hmmm, I get it, I get that we live in a world that is oftentimes superficial, and of course we care what people think, but what about what we think!?? What about what we see?   

People treat their bodies in the same manner - they'd rather work on the outside, instead of focusing on the inside - what they put in their bodies, their mental well-being, etc. I personally, would rather the inside of my car be clean, organized and running well and have the exterior covered in dirt! Sure I care what people think...to an extent, but I care more about what I think and how I feel - if I don't feel good one the inside, or if the inside of my car is a cluttered mess, it doesn't really matter how good the outside looks (in either case).  

So what is my point here? Why do I ask this question? Because I try to find out what's important to my clients...I try to find out why they want to workout or diet. People usually try and "better" their "physical" bodies because they're concerned with what others think about them. I met a teen girl today who is severely overweight and wants to go to extremes to change her body, but she thinks starving herself is the way to go. When in reality, it is completely counterproductive to what she wants. A beautiful exterior in ANY situation, is only as good as what's lurking on the inside.   

Now I'm off to go wash and vacuum my car! ;-)

Yummy cold weather breakfast!

1/2 cup oats
1 cup oat milk
2 tblspn chia seed
3 tblspn coconut

mix in a bowl and microwave for 2.5 minutes.

Chia seeds are high in fiber, high in Omega-3's and have a positive effect on blood sugar. They truly are a SUPERFOOD!!!

The chia and coconut provide a good dose of healthy fat!

460 calories
13 grams protein
20 grams fat (yikes!!) ;)
60 grams carbs


*For more protein add some sliced almonds or protein powder.