Healthier Holiday Parties

Healthful eating is truly a matter of balance. Pick a balance involving higher calorie favorites and lower calorie choices. Balance larger portions of special treats with smaller portions of other favorites. If you plan first it can be easy to take pleasure in healthful eating.

• When at a party, start by inspecting the food table and deciding which items you really want to eat and in what portions. Raw vegetables and fresh fruit offer fiber and are excellent fillers. If you enjoy dip, take just enough to "dip". Boiled shrimp and/or crab are great choices when topped with a bit of lemon or cocktail sauce. Once you have a full plate, leave the food table then eat in another area.

• Second, holiday parties are about visiting, so spend some time between plates of food talking with old and new acquaintances. Talking will help facilitate digestion and pace your rate of eating.

A Healthier Pumkpin Pie

1 cup ginger snaps
16 oz canned pumpkin
1/2 cup egg whites (about 4)
1/2 cup sugar
2 tsp pumplin pie spice (cloves, cinnamon, ginger)
12 oz evaporated skim milk

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grind the cookies in a food processor. Lightly spray a 9" glass pie pan with vegetable cooking spray. Pat the cookie crumbs into the pan evenly. Mix the rest of the ingredients in a medium-sized mixing bowl. Pour into the crust and bake until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean (approximately 45 minutes). Put in the refrigerator and allow to cool before slicing.

Serves 8. Each slice contains: 165 calories, 1.5 g fat, .5 g saturated fat, 1.5 mg cholesterol, 170 mg sodium, 32 g carbohydrates, 2 g fiber, 6 g protein.

Diabetic Exchange: 2 bread

**This pumpkin pie saves 151 calories and 12 grams of fat per slice from the classic version and it tastes the same!

Keys To Maintaining a Successful Exercise Program

• Don't make excuses. Some people make excuses and others make things happen. You will always make time for those things that are most significant to you.

• Choose an activity you think is fun. Exercise should be enjoyable!

• Have a plan. When you fail to plan, you plan to fail. Write out precise and measurable goals. Preferably, exercise the same time each day and write it in your agenda as you do all other important priorities.

• Most people drop out of an exercise program in the first six weeks. What takes longer than six weeks to achieve? RESULTS! Most people quit before realizing the true benefits of exercise. Don't be an exercise dropout!

• Start exercising now! Most people have good intentions; they just never get around to doing anything about them.

• Commit to 21 days straight in the beginning. It takes 21 days to form a habit and exercising every day for 21 days will help establish exercise as an important priority in your schedule.

• Be consistent. If your goal is to exercise three days per week - do it without fail. If you have to skip a day, immediately re-schedule your session during an off day.

• Those who consistently exercise for one year will almost certainly continue exercise for the rest of their lives.

• Make exercise a lifetime obligation. There are a multitude of benefits to be gained from consistent exercise, but erratic exercise has little value.

• Bodily changes happen over time and are never immediate. Give your exercise program time for results to occur. Have a long-term outlook and don't get discouraged if you do not see results when you think you should see them. While you will see an immediate increase in energy and feel better, weight loss and body fat changes will take months of consistent effort to see major changes.

Tips on Food Buying

It is important to crate a healthful environment, especially at home, because you will eat what is available . This is a very simple principle, but one that is very important and often overlooked.

1. Always make a shopping list and stick to it

2. Plan weekly menus

3. Avoid calorie-dense snack items such as chips and cookies

4. Buy canned soups, vegetable sticks, and fruits to eat as snacks with little preparation

5. Buy foods that can help you stick to your plan

6. Avoid candy and cookie grocery aisles - shopping the perimeter of the grocery store instead of in the aisles is a good practice since lean meats, fruits, and vegetables can be found there.

7 Never shop while hungry

Cooking Meats

When you overcook meat, the protein in it becomes solid, dry, and dense. If you undercook meat, you run the risk of food poisoning.

The US Department of Agriculture suggests the following temperatures because the food will be safely cooked AND still have flavor at these temperatures:

Fresh ground beef, veal, lamb, pork: 160°F (71°C)
Beef, veal, lamb roasts, steaks, chops: medium rare: 145°F (63°C)
Beef, veal, lamb roasts, steaks, chops: medium: 160°F (71°C)
Beef, veal, lamb roasts, steaks, chops: well done: 170°F (77°C)
Fresh pork roasts, steaks, chops: medium: 160°F )(71°C)
Fresh pork roasts, steaks, chops: well done: 170°F (77°C)
Ham: cooked before eating: 160°F (71°C)
Ham: fully cooked, to reheat: 140°F (60°C)
Ground chicken/turkey: 165° F (74°C)
Whole chicken/turkey: 180° F (82°C)
Poultry breasts, roasts: 170° F (77°C)

Cereal Bars

Cereal bars might sound like a better choice than chocolate, but check the ingredients and you’ll often find more than just cereal, oats, dried fruit, and nuts.

While it may be true that they are typically lower in fat than most chocolate bars (unless they’re packed with seeds and/or nuts), they usually contain just as much sugar, which might appear in the ingredients list as glucose syrup, fructose, rice syrup, raw cane sugar, honey, maltodextrin, or a combination of these.

You would be better off choosing fresh fruit if you are looking for something sweet. At the very least, check out the nutrition information before spending your calories on a cereal bar.