Foods to Avoid Eating Over the Holidays
The holiday season is just around the corner, and we all want to enjoy the many delicious dishes that will be available, however none of us want to be two sizes bigger in the New Year. So, what are there foods we should just avoid?
Here are six popular foods people eat and drink over the holidays. Before you indulge, ask yourself, "Do I love these foods and drinks so much that they are worth a larger waistline and tighter fitting jeans?"
1. Egg nog Egg nog is an annual favourite for many, but we all know it loaded with calories. This is one of those beverages I suggest having only if it is one of your favourites and keep your portion to a minimum. 1 cup of egg nog has 300 calories (which is also about the same as a bowl of ice cream), and drinking your calories won't reduce the amount of calories you eat.
Tasty alternative Apple Cider. It has just as much holiday cheer, with one-third of the calories.
2. Beer, wine and liquor... oh my! I wouldn't dare suggest skipping alcohol during the holidays! However, not all alcohol is created equal. One ounce of liquor has about 60-75 calories (not including what you mix it with, or if you have doubles), a bottle of beer or glass of wine has 120 to 150 calories. The best tip I can give is to choose quality instead of quantity. Choose what you love, so you are more likely to be satisfied with 1-2 servings. Health Canada suggests 1-2 drinks per day as the upper limit.
Tasty Alternative Best option is the red wine with its cardio-protective antioxidants. 1-2 glasses max.
3. Butter tarts These used to be one of my family favourites growing up. They were always around at Christmas, and little did I realize at that time, that butter tarts were literally butter and sugar, baked inside more butter and flour. A butter tart has approximately 330 calories, and to make it even worse, they`re not very big! So if you have two, that`s almost 700 calories.
Tasty Alternative A slice of apple pie can have only 280 calories.
4. Shortbread At 180 calories and 12 grams of fat per cookie, do you love shortbread that much or would 5-6 squares of chocolate be more appealing? First of all, no one eats just one cookie, so really its 360 calories that you would most likely consume with 2 shortbread cookies.
Tasty Alternative 30 grams of dark chocolate (slightly smaller than a regular chocolate bar), has about 140 calories. Milk chocolate has approximately 150 calories.
5. Candied Nuts Nuts are healthy, and that little bit of sugar on top of them isn't a big deal, right? Well, if you call an additional 140 calories on top of
the 164 calories for every quarter cup of the nuts you eat no big deal, then sure! I'm kidding. Yes it's a big deal. You'll have to go for a 40 minute walk just to burn off the sugar coating the nuts.
Tasty alternative Mixed nuts in the shell. Crack those shells and work for the calories. It looks good, it's much more fun and you'll eat less.
6. Pigs in a Blanket If you're not familiar with the term, 'pigs in a blanket' are basically sausage wrapped in pastry. The one positive thing is that they are bite-sized, so if you only have a couple it's not going to contribute an exorbitant amount of calories and fat. The challenge is when you are sitting beside the appetizer table and you keep nibbling on them. Eight tiny pigs in a blanket and 800 calories later, you can see how these innocent looking bite size snacks, can blow your diet.
Tasty Alternative Chicken Kabobs - savoury and satisfying... without adding to your waistline.
Written By: Maria Thomas, RD, Nutritionist
http://www.urbannutrition.com/
Follow her on twitter @MariaNutrition
Check out other health/diet related articles written by Maria Thomas!