Everyone Else Had a Great Holiday and All I Got Was This Stupid T-Shirt

While it's certainly an admirable goal to try not to gain weight over the holidays... I think I would recommend focusing on something a little more positive like staying on your exercise schedule during the hectic holiday season.

I just don't like the idea of people (mainly women) worrying so much about what they are eating and the number on the scale that they feel deprived or punished somehow over the holidays. Granted, the joy of the holidays isn't altogether about the food and beverages but about helping those less fortunate and also surrounding yourselves with the people you love and who love you.

Well, it was after our Christmas lunch and my mom, sisters and I were in the kitchen cleaning up and my sister said, "I'm eating today but I'm not eating tomorrow." She proceeded to explain that her exercise program that she belongs to (which shall remain nameless) has a holiday incentive program going for not gaining any weight over the holidays. They weighed her before the holidays and they will weigh her after the holidays.

She said she now has to lose 5 pounds in a week (apparently before the final weigh in). This is what these programs can do to women everywhere. It puts them in a place where they are resorting to quick weight loss. If you are losing more than 2 pounds in a week, you are losing something other than body fat such as water weight and possibly muscle tissue. I could just picture all these well-intentioned wonderful people not having their favorite holiday dessert while they watched everyone else enjoy it, or skipping breakfast even though they are really hungry so they could feel "okay" eating lunch, or not eating at all the days after Christmas, and weighing themselves every day and becoming totally depressed if their weight went up a pound or two.

"And anyone who doesn't gain any weight, gets a T-shirt!" my sister explained. To which I answered, "Does the T-shirt say, THIS HOLIDAY SUCKED!"

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Type Of Food Fat DOES matter!

This is one of those topics that nutrition researchers will be debating for decades. Does it matter what type of fat we eat in our daily diet or does the total amount of fat matter more? I'll cut to the chase and tell you that I think both matter depending on what type of disease or condition we are talking about.

Well, a new study was just released that adds a point to the "type of fat does matter" scoreboard. In a Scottish study including 1455 people with colorectal cancer and 1455 matched controls, reductions in colorectal cancer risk were associated with an increased consumption of omega-3s, even after adjusting for total fat intake and energy intake.

The researchers concluded, "The observed different effects of different types of fatty acids underline the importance of type of fat in the etiology and prevention of colorectal cancer."

[American Journal of Epidemiology 2007, Volume 166 number 2, pages 181-195; Campbell H. et al., "Dietary Fatty Acids and Colorectal Cancer: A Case Control Study."]

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The Upside of Having the Flu

Sometimes it takes being pretty darn sick to appreciate how wonderful it is to be well. I call it the post-flu high. I'm in such a good mood afterwards, because at least for me I'm just so happy to not be sick anymore. Food seems to taste better, my husband's jokes seem funnier, and my town seems more beautiful and picturesque. Even the most mundane tasks and errands seemed more enjoyable.

Recently I was traveling home on business and about an hour before boarding the plane, a feeling of overwhelming nausea just seemed to wash over me. One minute I was getting some work done and the next I was dumping my "liquids and gels" out of my zip lock bag for a make shift bowl and seriously wondering what I would do if I couldn't make it on the plane (which happened to be the only flight to my town that day).

I won't go into details, but suffice it to say the next 30 minutes weren't pretty. After the longest flight, walk to my car, and drive home I can remember, I found out both of my daughters had been home sick that day with the stomach flu along with half of their dance studio. The day after the next when we were all back to our normal selves, I noticed I was downright giddy and oh so grateful for my health and my family. I was reminded how amazing it is to be healthy and feel good from the inside out. That's one good thing that comes from having the flu!

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Taste Test Tuesday: Mexican Wedding Cookies - Lightened!

You can't eat just one...they get your fingers all white with powdered sugar...they seem to satisfy perhaps because they contain some nuts with the flour...you see them on many a cookie platter around this time of year. I'm talking about, none other than, Mexican Wedding Cookies.

Yes, I make a light version of these and each cookie only contains 9.5 grams of carbohydrate which could be helpful to people with diabetes. You can use a plant sterol ester margarine like TAKE CONTROL (just make sure it has 8 grams of fat per tablespoon) and it may help lower your serum cholesterol too.

Mexican Wedding Cookies

Pastelitos de boda (wedding cookies) are a traditional dessert at Mexican weddings. They have nuts in them and they are sweet with powdered sugar.

Ingredients:

1 cup walnut, pecan, or almond pieces, toasted in a nonstick frying pan until fragrant
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 1/8 cup unbleached white flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3/4 cup less fat margarine (with 8 grams of fat per tablespoon)
1/4 cup light cream cheese
1 cup powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
1 1/4 cup powdered sugar

Preparation:

1. Preheat oven to 350-degrees. In food processor bowl, add the nuts, flours, salt, and cinnamon and process until the mixture is nicely blended and the nuts are finely chopped (about 30 seconds). Set aside.
2. In mixer bowl (use the paddle beater on the standing mixer) cream the margarine, light cream cheese and 1 cup of powdered sugar by beating on medium speed until fluffy (about 2 minutes). Add vanilla and almond extracts and beat until combined. Add the flour mixture and mix on low until dough comes together.
3. Roll dough into 1-inch balls and place on a two nonstick baking sheets. Bake until lightly browned around the edges (about 18 to 20 minutes). Transfer cookies to a wire rack to cookies are cool enough to hold in your hand.
4. Place 1 1/4 cups powdered sugar in medium bowl and roll the warm cookies in the sugar and return to baking sheets. Let cool 15 minutes and roll in the sugar again.

Yield: Makes 38 cookies

WebMD Weight Loss Clinic Members journal as 1 portion light dessert

Nutrition Information Per serving (1 cookie = 1 serving): 78 calories, 2 g protein, 9.5 g carbohydrate, 3.8 g fat, .5 g saturated fat, .5 mg cholesterol, .6 g fiber, 38 mg sodium. Calories from fat: 43 percent.

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Technorati Tags: Taste Test Tuesday, cookies, healthy diet, holidays

It's All About the Alcohol

Photo: Seth Anderson

If you drink more than three alcohol-containing beverages a day (no matter what type) it's like smoking a pack of cigarettes a day in terms of increased risk of breast cancer.

If you are a heavy drinker and you think you are doing yourself a favor by choosing red wine, think again. Once you get to the "more than three drinks a day" mark, even red wine increases your risk for breast cancer by 30%. That's because it appears that the risk for breast cancer has to do with the alcohol itself.

This research comes from Kaiser Permanente Researchers who looked at data on more than 70,000 women.

The next bit of research touches the lives of a HUGE amount of American women. Women who drank one or two drinks a day had a 10% higher chance of breast cancer than women who drank less than a drink a day.

This may not sound like a lot to you, but when it comes to breast cancer, a 10% increase in risk is at least 10% too much!

[Findings were presented by Yan Li, MD, PhD, at the European Cancer Conference held Sept 23-27 in Barcelona, Spain]

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Taste Test Tuesday: Nutcracker "Sweet" Holiday Chocolates

Moonstruck's Holiday Line Will Amaze Your Eyes and Your Taste Buds!

When it comes to creative chocolate making I expect a lot from the Moonstruck Chocolate Company (I've written about them before). They didn't disappoint this holiday season.

You see yesterday was one of the worst days I've had in a long time (several long stories) but what a difference a day makes because today...my Moonstruck holiday box arrived!

Oh my gosh...how adorable is everything. I took a picture of the nutcracker sweet box opened on a velvety red fabric just so I could blog about it! So far I've tried half of the eggnog truffle and half of the gingerbread cupcake truffle and life is suddenly amazing. It took me halfway through tasting the gingerbread cupcake truffle to realize the play in words (nutcracker "sweet"). Get it? Of course you did.

You see the gift box is designed to be a book, called The Nutcracker Sweet that you open up. Inside you find 15 assorted beautiful chocolates (yes, chocolate can be beautiful), many related to the nutcracker ballet story theme like:

• a hazelnut praline truffle shaped like a nutcracker


• a bittersweet truffle shaped like a Christmas tree


• two truffles shaped like a Christmas present - one in white chocolate and one in milk chocolate


• a cranberry truffle shaped like a snowman


• a coconut truffle in the shape of a snowball

Now, this is one holiday "story" I'll be reading every day for the next 7 days (LOL).

Two of my other favorite gifts are the 6 piece Polar Critter Collection (penguin, polar bear, snow owl, arctic hare, igloo and a seal) and the Holiday Cupcake Truffle Collection. To check out their holiday line for yourself, go to moonstruckchocolate.com.

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Technorati Tags: Taste Test Tuesday, chocolate, Moonstruck, holidays, healthy diet

Winter Depression? Eat Some Fish and Flaxseed!

When I wrote my book, The Flax Cookbook, I remember there was the scientific suggestion that omega-3 fatty acids may help lessen depression in some people. It made sense chemically that there might be a link, but I knew many more studies would need to be done over the next 10 years or so.

It's been almost five years since then and I have to say most of the studies done on this have added fuel to the omega-3 fire, the latest of which is from researchers in Taiwan. They analyzed data from 10 double-blind, placebo-controlled studies in patients with mood disorders receiving omega-3s for 4 weeks or longer. The type of omega-3 that seems to be used in the studies is one of the omega-3s found in fish - EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid).

Photo Credit: Claudecf

The researchers found that omega-3s significantly improved depression in patients with clearly defined depression or with bipolar disorder. Granted, we need more large-scale studies to tell us more about this. But in the meantime, why not broil some fish and grind some flaxseed a few times a week during a time of year when even the annoyingly optimistic people can get a little cranky.

[J Clin Psychiatry 2007 Jul; 68(7): 1056-61, Lin, P.Y., et al., A meta-analytic review of double-blind, placebo-controlled trials of antidepressant efficacy of omega-3 fatty acids.]

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Taste Test Tuesday: Holiday Rice Krispies Treats - with Fiber!

If you have to whip up a holiday treat to bring to a party or cooking exchange and you don't want to spend too much time on it...here's an option! Every now and then Rice Krispies Treats just hit the spot. I always make them with less margarine, and I use a less fat margarine. This time I cranked up the fiber by using a couple cups of a high fiber cereal and I added some color and nutrients by stirring in some dried cranberries or cherries!

If you want to make your Krispies a bit more fancy, you can drizzle some melted white chocolate over the top (before cutting into squares) or stir the white chocolate chips in along with the dried fruit.

Holiday Rice Krispies Treats
Makes 36 small squares (16 large ones)

2 tablespoons less fat margarine (with 8 grams fat per
tablespoon)
4 cups miniature marshmallows
4 cups Rice Krispies cereal
2 cups Kashi Go Lean (10 grams fiber per cup)
3/4 cup dried cranberries (dried cherries can also be used)
1/2 cup white chocolate chips + 1 teaspoon canola oil (optional)

1. Line a 9-inch by 9-inch baking dish with foil and coat the foil with canola cooking spray.


2. Melt margarine in a large, nonstick saucepan (coated with canola cooking spray) over low heat. Add marshmallows and stir until completely melted. Remove from heat.


3. Stir in the Rice Krispies, Kashi cereal, and dried cranberries. Spoon mixture into prepared pan and press down the top gently using a square of foil coated with canola cooking spray.


4. Melt white chocolate very gently in your microwave using defrost or very low setting (in 1 cup glass measure) or over very low heat in a small, nonstick saucepan. Stir in canola oil and drizzle over the top of the treats. When cool, cut into 4 columns each way (to make 16 large squares) or 6 columns each way (to make 36 squares).

Per large serving (without white chocolate) if 16 squares per recipe: 113 calories, 1 g protein, 25 g carbohydrate, 1.2 g fat, .2 g saturated fat, 0 mg cholesterol, 2 g fiber, 79 mg sodium. Calories from fat: 8 percent.

White chocolate chips will add (per large serving): 28 calories, 3 g carbohydrate, 1.6 g fat, and .9 g saturated fat.

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