December 2008

Getting through the Holidays with a Healthy Mind, Body and Spirit

By Brenda McChesney

Event planning, guest travels, gift giving and holiday cheer can quickly cause wear and tear on you and your family. Nurturing yourself during the busy holiday season is essential and we have some quick and easy ways to keep your mind, body, and spirit energized and healthy.

 

Whether it is in-laws visiting, traveling long distances, or merely juggling the many hats we wear in our lives, keeping a sane and calm mind during the holiday season can prove to be a challenging and stressful. While the holiday season is thought to be a time of reflection, family bonding and slowing down, if you’re a over-the-top over overachiever like I am, than you need an extra reminder every now and then to slow down and breath. Here are my recommendations for living with a healthy mind, body and spirit:

-Sleep. Be sure to get a minimum of eight hours rest each night. While you may function just fine on five or six hours, our bodies can only begin to rejuvenate once a full and restful night sleep enters into our daily routine. Don’t underestimate the power of a good nights sleep!

 

-Exercise. The current minimum recommendation for exercise is 30 minutes per day, five days a week. However, if you are one of the 65% of US adults that are considered overweight, the recommendation increases to seven days per week. A combination of cardio workout (10-30 minutes of run, walk, bike, and aerobics) with weight training (10-30 minutes) will produce a stronger and leaner body. Remember: The more muscle you have, the more calories you burn

 

-Appreciation. Take a moment each evening before going to bed and each morning before starting your day to reflect on what you have to be thankful for, acknowledge and appreciate. A positive mind strongly influences our actions, the way we view ourselves and others, and the way we live our lives.

 

-Set Goals. During your morning moments of reflection and appreciation, set a daily goal for yourself. While lofty aspirations can provide challenge and excitement, for the purposes of keeping a peaceful and calm mind during the holidays, keep your goals short term and attainable. Short term goals can link to larger ones, as long as they stay manageable during the holiday season. Too much on your plate can set you up for head aches, stress, and sleepless nights.

 

-Focus and Relaxation. The power of intention and focus does wonders for our ever running mind. Whether you enjoy yoga, cooking or journaling, there’s never a more needed time to start a meditational practice than during times of increased demand and stress.  Dedicate a set amount of time for nurturing yourself in a quiet and calm environment doing an activity that rebuilds your energy and spirit.

 

- The Importance of Liquid.  Drink 10-12 8oz glasses of water a day- Every time you feel thirsty, hungry or tired, have another glass of water. Cut out the caffeine- eliminating coffee, soda, and energy drinks from your diet. These tend to be filled with artificial ingredients, sweeteners, and coloring causing toxins throughout your body and spikes in blood sugar levels that cause a crash worse than not having the caffeine in the first place. Water helps flush these toxins out and revives your muscles and body, making for a healthier YOU.

 

-  Reduce Your Refined Sugar and Flour Intake. Perhaps you’re reading this and thinking that it is way too much, especially during the holidays. However, you do have a weapon against all of the butter infused, sugar coated, chocolate dipped, creamy, bliss we call November, December, and January!  That weapon is the know-how of fun and festive food that won’t tip the scales but will make your holiday gatherings a healthy feast, not a holiday disaster. Below are alternatives to popular holiday recipe ingredient that replace the fat and sugars for the holidays:

 

· Applesauce and other fruit purees: you can replace up to ½ of the fat in baked items with applesauce.  If a recipe calls for 1 cup of oil, add ½ cup oil and ½ cup applesauce.

 

· Cocoa:  you can reduce the amount of baking chocolate with cocoa.  Three tablespoons of cocoa plus 1 tablespoon of water equals 1 square of baking chocolate.  Mix the cocoa into the dry ingredients and the water in with the wet ingredients.

 

· Confectioners Sugar:  use this as a substitute for frosting.  Using a mesh tea strainer will make the tops of your baked goods simple and beautiful.  Another trick is to put a cookie cutter or a cut out shape on top and sprinkle around the shape.

 

· Nuts:  these contain fat, but it is good fat for the most part.  To maximize flavor, toast the nuts in a sauce pan or oven before adding to the recipe.  Toasting brings out more of the nut flavor, therefore you can use less.

 

· Yogurt:  you can replace up to ½ of the fat in a recipe with yogurt.  Yogurt is a great substitute for sour cream, butter, or shortening.  Here’s how:

- When a recipe calls for 1 cup of butter, use ½ cup butter and ¼ cup yogurt.

· When a recipe calls for shortening or oil, replace half the oil with ¾ the amount of yogurt.  (example: 1 cup oil replace with ½ cup oil and ¼ cup yogurt plus 2 tablespoons of yogurt)

 

· Eggs:  here is how to substitute these out:

- 1 large egg = 1 ½ large egg whites

- 1 large egg = 3 tablespoons egg substitute

- 1 large egg white = 2 tablespoons egg substitute.

 

· Squash and Sweet Potato:  Mashed pumpkin and other squashes as well as mashed sweet potato can replace all of the fat in cakes, quick breads, muffins, biscuits, scones, and brownies.

 

· Reduced Fat Margarine and Light Butter:  Even though the label on most of these products tells you not to use it in baking/cooking, you can substitute up to half of the fat in biscuits, scones, cakes, muffins, quick breads, cookies, brownies, pie crusts, and crumb toppings.(for example if a recipe calls for ½ cup butter, you can substitute ¼ cup of light butter and ¼ cup regular butter or another fat free option)

 

A FEW OTHER TIPS!

 

-Foods that have had the fat reduced or eliminated cook a lot more quickly.  Lowering the recipes temperature by 25 degrees and shortening the baking or cooking time will ensure you fat free cooking success.

 

-Fat free products can have higher moisture content (they will mold easily).  If your kitchen is warm, place fat free baked items in the refrigerator if they have not been eaten after 24 hours.

 

-Modifying recipes is a trial and error process.  When you are picking the substitute you want to try, make sure it is complimentary to your final product.  Also, when modifying a recipe, eliminate one thing at a time.  If the one ingredient substitution works, then try eliminating another.  Keep trying till the final product is to your satisfaction.