Here are a few of easy tips to follow in order to get the most out of Thanksgiving while staying healthy:
Portion size is key. You can enjoy turkey (white meat is healthier), stuffing and all the foods that come with Thanksgiving, but know how to ration them on your plate. Ideally, you should have three fist size servings on your plate, one for protein (turkey), one for carbohydrates (stuffing) and one of veggies (sweet potato or green beans).
So while you may want to pile on the food until you can’t see the bottom of your plate, ease back a bit and let her know that your healthy choices will keep you around for a lot longer to enjoy many more Thanksgivings with your family.
Serve breakfast. Skipping a meal to build your appetite so you can eat more at dinner is a bad idea. Not only will you be starving your body of calories needed for energy, you’ll actually eat more erratically at the big meal to soothe your hunger.
Don’t go overboard by filling your belly with a huge breakfast, but definitely eat a bowl of cereal or enjoy some fruit so your eyes don’t fill your belly before your mouth can.
Save leftovers for the next day. Remember that it takes 20 minutes for your stomach to let your brain know that you’ve had enough, so if you’re thinking about eating more, wait a bit and then re-evaluate the situation.
Eating seconds comes with the holiday territory. But instead of eating those seconds on Thanksgiving, make yourself a plate, wrap it tightly and have a re-run holiday the next day.
Make time for exercise. Although you might find yourself extra busy this time of year, you’re also probably more stressed. Exercise shouldn’t be neglected this time of year. Even 20 minutes a day of walking or some physical activity is good for you both physically and mentally. Playing games, dancing, or just taking a walk after dinner is a great idea as well.
Switch out the products. If you’re involved in preparing the food,
use products lower in calories, fat and sugar. Use healthier substitutes for ingredients like oil and butter; use evaporated skim milk instead of heavy cream and plain fat-free yogurt instead of sour cream. Start with extra virgin olive oil and you’re on your way!
Drink plenty of water. It will keep you feeling full and boost your metabolism. Add a decorative pitcher of water to your beverage table alongside the coquito. The beauty of it will attract the eye first, which will then get your guests to serve themselves a glass.
Stay out of the kitchen and dining room. Make the center of your Thanksgiving holiday the living room or outside in the fresh air, and only enter the kitchen to cook and the dining room when it’s time to eat.
If you have an entrance to your home that doesn’t allow guests to walk through the kitchen use it. Decorate the entryway with warm holiday designs and present guests with a beverage upon arrival. The smell of the food cooking can serve as an appetizer, which will build the excitement for when the food is finally ready to eat! If you decide to serve an appetizer make it something light, like celery stick stuffed with cream cheese or just carrot and celery sticks alone or with a light dip.
Junk food is contributing to skyrocketing rates of diabetes, high blood pressure, and even strokes -- and not just among adults.
Food and beverage companies spend $2 billion a year promoting unhealthy foods to kids, and while ultimately it's the parents' responsibility to feed their children healthy foods, junk food ads make this much more difficult than it should be.
A new campaign, We're Not Buying It, is now underway to help expose deceptive marketing to children, debunk industry claims, and highlight the latest research, in the hopes of ending this assault on today's youth, and I'll explain how you can get involved, too, below.
Does Your Child Recognize the "Golden Arches"?
Most toddlers recognize the sign of McDonald's "golden arches" long before they are speaking in full sentences.
Why?
Because they are often raised on French fries, fast-food hamburgers and orange soda, or if "raised" is a bit of a stretch, are taught that French fries, chicken fingers and soda is an acceptable meal. Have you noticed that even in "regular" restaurants the kids' menu options are almost always entirely junk food like pizza, macaroni and cheese or fried chicken strips?
Of course kids will probably prefer these foods if that's what they're offered; these foods are manufactured to taste good, and most kids aren't going to opt for a spear of broccoli over a French fry -- until they're old enough to understand the implications of the choice, and assuming you have taught them about the importance of eating healthy foods along the way.
The fast-food industry spends more than $5 million every day marketing unhealthy foods to children.
Kids watch an average of over 10 food-related ads every day (nearly 4,000/year).
Nearly all (98 percent) of food advertisements viewed by children are for products that are high in fat, sugar or sodium. Most (79 percent) are low in fiber.
So even under the best circumstances, your kids will probably be exposed to the latest "cool" kid foods, and this is what marketers are banking on. Then, when you go to the grocery store, your child will have a meltdown if you don't give in and buy the cereal with their favorite cartoon character on the box, or the cookies with brightly colored chips. If you're a parent, it's certainly easier to just give in, but it's imperative to be strong as shaping your child's eating habits starts very early on …
Your Child's Taste Preferences are Created by Age 3
Research shows when parents fed their preschool-aged children junk foods high in sugar, salt and unhealthy fats, it had a lasting impact on their taste preferences. All of the children tested showed preferences for junk foods, and all (even those who were just 3 years old!) were also able to recognize some soda, fast food and junk food brands.
The researchers concluded what you probably already suspect: kids who were exposed to junk food, soda and fast food, via advertising and also because their parents fed them these foods, learned to recognize and prefer these foods over healthier choices. This does have an impact on their health, as nutrients from quality foods are critical in helping your child reach his or her fullest potential!
One study from British researchers revealed that kids who ate a predominantly processed food diet at age 3 had lower IQ scores at age 8.5. For each measured increase in processed foods, participants had a 1.67-point decrease in IQ.
As you might suspect, the opposite also held true, with those eating healthier diets experiencing higher IQ levels. For each measured increase in dietary score, which meant the child was eating more fruits and vegetables for instance, there was a 1.2-point increase in IQ.
The reality is, the best time to shape your kids' eating habits is while they're still young. This means starting from birth with breast milk and then transitioning to solid foods that have valuable nutrients, like egg yolk, avocado and sweet potatoes. (You can easily cross any form of grain-based infant cereal off of this list.)
From there, ideally you will feed your child healthy foods that your family is also eating -- grass-fed meats, organic veggies, vegetable juice, raw dairy and nuts, and so on. These are the foods your child will thrive on, and it's important they learn what real, healthy food is right from the get-go. This way, when they become tweens and teenagers, they may eat junk food here and there at a friend's house, but they will return to real food as the foundation of their diet -- and that habit will continue on with them for a lifetime.
This is What Happens When You Let Marketers Dictate Your Kid's Diet …
The state of most kids' diets in the United States is not easy to swallow. As IWG reported:
Nearly 40% of children's diets come from added sugars and unhealthy fats.
Only 21% of youth age 6-19 eat the recommended five or more servings of fruits and vegetables each day
This is a veritable recipe for disease, and is a primary reason why today's kids are arguably less healthy than many prior generations. Obesity, type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure -- these are diseases that once appeared only in middle-age and beyond, but are now impacting children. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that by 2050, one in three U.S. adults will have diabetes -- one of them could be your child if you do not take steps to cancel out the messages junk-food marketers are sending and instead teach them healthy eating habits.
Make no mistake, the advertisers are doing all they can to lure your child in.
In fact, last year the food and beverage industry spent more than $40 billion, yes billion, lobbying congress against regulations that would decrease the marketing of unhealthy foods to kids. You can do a lot of persuading with $40 billion, which may explain why food manufacturers are allowed to get away with so much -- like putting pictures of fruit all over product packaging when the product actually contains no fruit.
A 2011 study by the Prevention Institute even found that 84 percent of food packages that contain symbols specifically intended to help people choose healthier foods did not meet even basic nutritional standards! In fact, 57 percent of these "Better-for-You" children's foods were high in sugar, 95 percent contained added sugar, and 21 percent contained artificial colors. So you need to be very wary when buying any processed foods for your kids, even the "healthy" ones, as they will most certainly contain large amounts of fructose with very little to offer in the way of healthy nutrition.
Help Fight Back Against Junk-Food Marketers and Stand Up for Kids' Health
The Prevention Institute's "We're Not Buying It" campaign is petitioning President Obama to put voluntary, science-based nutrition guidelines into place for companies that market foods to kids. You can sign this petition now, but I urge you to go a step further and stop supporting the companies that are marketing junk foods to your children today.
Ideally, you and your family will want to vote with your pocketbook and avoid as much processed food as possible and use unprocessed raw, organic and/or locally grown foods as much as possible. Your children should be eating the same wholesome foods you are -- they don't need bright-blue juice or deep-fried "nuggets" any more than you do.
Finally, my nutrition plan offers a step-by-step guide to feed your family right, and I encourage you to read through it now. You need to first educate yourself about proper nutrition and the dangers of junk food and processed foods in order to change the food culture of your entire family. To give your child the best start at life, and help instill healthy habits that will last a lifetime, you must lead by example. Children will simply not know which foods are healthy unless you, as a parent, teach it to them first.
Easter is a calorie laden holiday for most. Without skipping the goodies, instead of filling up those baskets with unwanted goodies, just a little comparison and information can make for a healthier basket. If you are a chocolate person, choose dark chocolate which actually contains healthy antioxidants, and just be careful to eat in moderation. So when you are deciding what to put in those Easter baskets just make them a little healthier make sure you choose the right candy and lose some of the old standby’s.
Here is one example:
CHOOSE: Special Dark Chocolate Kisses (4 Kisses)
(4 Kisses)
Calories 90
Fat 5g
Sodium 5mg
Carbs 11g
Fiber 0g
Sugar 9g
Protein 0g
LOSE: Cadbury Creme Egg
Calories 150
Fat 6g
Sodium 15mg
Carbs 24g
Fiber 0g
Sugar 20g
Protein 2g
Skipping the Cadbury Creme Egg and picking up the Kisses saves you 60 calories some fat, carbs, and sugar which will not only leave you happy, but your kids as well. The extra bonus is that it feels like you got more than you actually did with the Kisses because you get to eat 4 which feels like more of an indulgence than just chowing down on one Egg.
CHOOSE the Special Dark Hershey’s Kisses and LOSE the Cadbury Creme Egg.
Some of the healthiest candies are black licorice and Mounds made of dark chocolate, coconut and vanilla. Almond Joy’s are one of the best milk chocolate bars.
M&M’s have about half the calories of Skittles.
And choose Jelly Belly jelly beans over other brands. They are smaller, so you feel like you are getting more and they use a higher quality of ingredients. The even make an energizing sports bean.
Also… definitely choose chocolate (dark is the best) over the Peeps and those types of sugary candies.
Many moms and dads who have diabetes know how to keep their health in check – but their family might miss the fat and sugar usually found in common recipes. So how does a family chef balance the diabetic-friendly food with some treats for the clan?
For every time you cook a “rich” meal, have them eat a meal low in fat and sugar, recommends the American Diabetes Assoication(ADA). This way, you can work out an agreeable trade-off.
Over time, you can make subtle switches to your favorite meals by substituting healthyalternatives.
Some ideas:
●Use salsa on potatoes instead of heavy butter and sour cream.
●Instead of whole milk, slowly transition to 2%, then 1%, then fat-free. If children in the house need more fat in their milk (your pediatrician will let you know), have a separate carton for them, and use the lower-fat version for cooking and for adults to drink.
●Switch white pasta for whole-wheat pasta a little at a time: first a few noodles, then ¼ of the dish, then half, then the entire plate.
●To switch to whole-grain bread, make kids their sandwiches with one slice of whole grain and one slice of their usual bread for a while. They’ll like the unusual look of a “two-toned” sandwich and will get used to the taste over time.
●Introduce reduced-fat cheese, tortillas, crackers, peanut butter and other options one at a time. Most of the time, your family won’t notice.
Slow changes will be more acceptable to your family and are more likely to stick. In fact, if you fail to mention some of the substitutions, your family is likely not to notice. As you know, however, a diet that’s good for people with diabetes is good for everyone. You’re helping your whole family live a longer and healthier life.
Compiled from 101 Tips for Coping with Diabetes. Copyrighted by the American Diabetes Association. All rights reserved.
Here are a few of easy tips to follow in order to get the most out of Thanksgiving while staying healthy:
