Thanksgiving Round Up

 Blackberry Cobbler

Are you in a last- minute-what-will-I-make Thanksgiving dilemma? No worries, I so generously spend much of my time scouring blogs for recipes just for you. I love bloggers' recipes because, unlike a generic cookbook, I know they are tested recipes and the pictures will (usually) look like the actual final product.

*Usually I use Splenda in place of sugar, whole wheat when possible, fat free options, and a low fat milk and the recipes turn out wonderfully!

Enjoy!

I have tried these desserts:
Cherry Crumble (I also made it once with apples...yum)
Apples that are perfect for fall!
Self- Crust Pumpkin Pie
Mini Cheesecakes
Strawberry Scones (or Apple, Cinnamon for a fall twist!)
Mini Apple Tarts

Pioneer Woman's Blackberry Cobbler

I am going to try these this Thanksgiving:
Zucchini Au Gratin
Pumpkin Roll
Baked Brie
Sweet Potato Cinnamon Rolls

I can't wait to try these:
Butternut Squash Puree
Quinoa Sweet Potato Salad
Twice Baked Sweet Potatoes

On a side note:
Diet Friendly Alcohol Choices

What are you making for Thanksgiving?!

Oh, I'm also making:  

Mamaw Carter's Chocolate Pie, but I can't share the family recipe;)

Thanksgiving Survival Tips

For this post, it is important for you to know that every Friday I work as a weight management RD. I work with kids, so instead of a weight loss plan, we encourage a healthy eating "weight management" plan that will allow them to grow into a healthy weight. I am sharing with you, the Thanksgiving tips I tell my weight management families - the best part? You aren't paying me for these tips!

1) Save all of your splurges for Thanksgiving day. 

Normally, if you don't splurge Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, I don't want you to make up for all three of those days in just one day...however, holidays have their own rules. We shouldn't feel like we're missing out on our favorites, so here's the game plan: Eat really well for the first 3 days of the week. No sweets, no casseroles, no splurges. Thursday, Thanksgiving day, pick your 3 or 4 favorite splurges and go for it. Then load up on the salad, turkey and other non-casserole dishes. For dessert, pick the one you wait all year for and have a slice. If you can't decide, have half a slice of a couple of different ones. You could even cut yourself a small sample of 3 desserts then go back for more of the one you liked the most. Friday = leftovers. Pick 3 of your favorite splurges and reheat the goodness. Then Saturday, get back on track!


2) Portion control.

Fist sized portions of the splurges will help keep you in a good portion controlled range. Load up on the lean turkey, and salad that is offered, or even the green beans. Just make sure your casserole type foods are portioned out. Your gut/butt will thank you later.


3)No sugar sweetened drinks.

Ever. But especially when we are already loading up on the sugar and fat in our meals and desserts. Sugary drinks are empty calories and are a complete waste. Just think: one bottle of Coke = 150 calories. You would have to run 1.5 miles to burn that off. Just skip it. Would you sit there and eat 14 teaspoons of sugar? No (I hope not), so why would you drink it?

4) Exercise.

Get out after you eat, go for a walk, ride a back. Better yet, get up early and do it all on your own before you eat and gather with people. It is always nice to start the day with just yourself. Make time for yourself (even if it means getting up at 7 am) and you may find that you're more fun to be around later on. If you are already an avid exerciser, up the cardio on Thanksgiving morning. If you normally walk a mile, walk 3 or run some! Are you a runner already? Plan your long run on Thanksgiving morning to torch those calories!

5) I will have this again!

A coworker told me that whenever she really loves a food and is having trouble with portion control, she tells herself  "I will have this again." Try it! It totally works. Sure, Thanksgiving comes once a year, but so does Christmas and those foods are pretty similar. Plus, I have eaten Thanksgiving type foods already this week and it's only Monday! Just think "I don't have to eat so much of this that I make myself sick; I will have this again." Tomorrow, probably...in the form of leftovers! It will keep you from overindulging.

6) Eat slowly!

In America, we are fast paced. Take your time during this food holiday and talk with the people around you. Set your fork down after you take each bite. It's true that it takes our brains about 20 minutes to realize when we are full so give your body a chance to tell you! After one plate of (4 fist sized portions) wait for everyone at the table to finish before going back for seconds or even dessert.

7) Bring dishes you love that are lighter options.

Substitute low fat milk in your favorite casserole and save hundreds of calories. Use olive oil rather than butter to make a dish heart healthy. Bring a lightened up pie. My little sister and I made a pumpkin pie with 1/2 of the sugar the recipe called  for and it was delicious!

8) Enjoy your holiday, but get back on track!

3 days of Thanksgiving style eating can set your previous weight loss efforts back more than you care to think about. At the very most, allow yourself Thursday and Friday, but be back on track for Saturday- you will thank yourself later! I'm not a fan of waste, so send leftovers home with other people to share the love!

What are your Thanksgiving survival tips?

Wrap It Up!

Body wrap sales are dominating my Facebook News Feed ... Don't trust the weight loss claims. They are not worth the money.

Why not?

When you wrap yourself super tight with any material, including Seran wrap or clothes you sweat... Trust me on this one. I bought a workout foam wrap thing when I worked at Curves in high school, and basically didn't know any better. It makes you sweat... a lot. When you sweat you lose weight. Water weight . Not true weight or true inches lost- it will all come back when you drink a couple of bottles of water. It will especially return when you go back to the salty, carbonated, convenience food/fast food lifestyle you' re used to. How do I know you eat like that?

Because you are looking for a quick fix in a body wrap.

I'm sorry but there is no secret fast weight loss trick. Actually, I'm not sorry. If there were a secret trick that didn't involve surgery, we would all look like a movie star. All good things (including especially health) require hard work and effort. It took years to gain weight no wrap will take it all away. Hard work, exercise and changing bad eating habits work over time. It's proven. Sure it sucks... Even the most dedicated runner says "but ireeeeally don't want to" every once in a while.... It's called discipline- doing things you may not always want to do so that you can reap the benefits. Either you do it, or you don't. In the meantime, don't waste your money on a $40 wrap. Sound harsh? I know, so I making up for it with a recipe that is really good!

Try this WRAP instead...It's much cheaper and feeds hungry football fans. What's better than that?

 These Crock Pot Buffalo Lettuce Wraps are from Skinny Taste and should be at your next tailgate! I was impatient and boiled the chicken on the stove for 45 minutes instead of using the crock pot. I followed the recipe exactly otherwise, but doubled it to make sure I had enough. It can be compared to PF Chang's lettuce wraps except for better because their buffalo!

For the Chicken:

• 24 oz boneless skinless chicken breast 
• 1 celery stalk
• 1/2 onion, diced
• 1 clove garlic
• 16 oz fat free low sodium chicken broth
• 1/2 cup hot sauce- I used Louisiana 

For the wraps:

• 6 large lettuce leaves, Bibb or Iceberg
• 1 1/2 cups shredded carrots
• 2 large celery stalks, cut into 2 inch matchsticks 

Directions:

In a crock pot, combine chicken, onions, celery stalk, garlic and broth (enough to cover your chicken, use water if the can of broth isn't enough). Cover and cook on high 4 hours. Or combine all in a large pot on the stove and boil for about an hours or until chicken easily falls apart.

Remove the chicken from pot, reserve 1/2 cup broth and discard the rest, or save it for soup later! Shred the chicken with two forks, ( I shredded mine in my new Ninja using the paddle extension for 5 seconds- so easy!) return to the slow cooker with the 1/2 cup broth and the hot sauce and set to on high for an additional 30 minutes. Makes 3 cups chicken.

To prepare lettuce cups, place 1/2 cup buffalo chicken in each leaf, top with 1/4 cup shredded carrots, celery and dressing of your choice. 

I made Gina's Blue Cheese dressing to top them, except I did not add the mayonnaise, I just added an extra Tbsp of Greek Yogurt. I also used fresh garlic instead of powder. Check out Skinnytaste.com. These are her recipes and they are delicious! 

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup crumbled blue cheese (fat free!)
• 6 oz fat free Greek yogurt
• 1 tbsp light mayonnaise  tbsp Greek yogurt
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 1 tbsp white wine vinegar
• 1/8 teaspoon garlic powder 1 clove fresh garlic
• salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions:In a food processor, blend all ingredients except blue cheese until combined. Add blue cheese, mix and pour on top! Makes 1 cup. 

 

For assembly at the tailgate, I put the chicken in a crock pot to keep it warm, put the carrots and celery together on a plate and had the blue cheese dressing (and ranch) on the side for topping. Then, I ate them!  

Roll Tide!

What's your favorite wrap?

3 Tips For Breaking a Food Habit

Photo source

You know the saying "Out of sight, out of mind"? It's completely true. Growing up, we always had sweets around. Little Debbie was a frequent house guest. I slowly changed my eating habits when I got to college. Some intentional, but mostly unintentional healthy changes I made almost without thinking as I began to learn more about our bodies and what we need to fuel them for life. So, in college I rarely ate sweets and desserts. It was definitely a " special occasion" thing- Just as it was meant to be. Since I rarely ate them, I rarely craved them. It is completely true that our bodies crave what they are used to eating. I know this from experience. 

I moved back home with my dad after college to finish my clinical rotations at nearby hospitals. My dad has a sweet tooth. Ok, that's an understatement; he's addicted! So we always have ice cream (Bluebell Vanilla--the best!), brownies, cakes and chocolate readily available. At first, I started with the ice cream. It had been a while since I had any Bluebell and I quickly decided it was delicious, especially at midnight when I got home from the late shift at the hospital. I was less than impressed with the ingredients but proceeded to have ice cream or some other kind of dessert each night for the next year. (Thank goodness I had already made exercise a habit so I didn't gain any weight!)

Two weeks ago I decided it was time to stop. I no longer wanted to crave sweets. At work, I am consistently reminding children and parents to eat desserts and added sugar sparingly. We don't need them on a daily, or even weekly basis. I realized that the more kids I counseled, the less I wanted to eat sweets myself.  For good reason, I'm a dietitian, there is no reason I should be craving sweets all the time, especially when they aren't even homemade! A rule I went by in college was if it wasn't a true, homemade dessert then I could skip it. I had no interest in boxed brownie mixes. I'm going back to that. I am on a "no sweets til Thanksgiving" kick. It takes roughly 2 weeks to break a habit...I'm counting on that and raising it 4 more! Six weeks, no sweets! Join me??

I was hesitant to blog about eating dessert because it makes me seem like I am an RD with bad eating habits, but that isn't the case. I don't want to lose weight either. I'm a good weight, I eat balanced meals and exercise daily. I just don't want to crave sweets anymore. I don't want to search for chocolate after dinner, and feel like until I eat cake, my dinner is incomplete. I decided to share this with you in hopes that if you are struggling with some kind of craving or "sweet addiction" or any kind of food habit that you will gather the will power to not be controlled by food. I also want readers to take away these tips that I often share in weight management counseling at work:

1. Get all foods that you should only eat occasionally out of the house! Don't buy them. This includes chips, desserts, and sugary drinks. Studies have proven that this works! Sometimes we just want desserts...If you get an ice cream craving, you should have to get up, get dressed and go get it. That gives you time to consider whether or not it is worth the trouble and also keeps you from downing a whole pint in front of the TV. 
2. Our bodies crave what we consistently put into them. Chips are salty, the more you eat them the more your body wants them. Put them down. Our bodies get used to what we do, get your body (and taste buds) adjusted to more veggies and less junk food. I am living proof that eating habits can be changed! I worked at Jim N Nicks and my go-to meal at work was Buffalo Chicken tenders with Bleu Cheese and French Fries. That was freshman year of college. Six years later I tried the chicken tenders and fries (from the BF's plate) and can honestly say I do not like it. It tastes bland and salty. Get your body used to good food and you won't even miss the garbage! Remember, it takes about 2 weeks to truly break a habit, so keep going!
3.  Exercising sucks if your fueling your body with junk. Exercise isn't fun all the time anyway, but exercising is even harder and more draining if you are loading your body with high calorie, low nutrient foods. Our bodies are race cars. Are you going to put garbage in your gas tank? Fuel up right with fruits, veggies, whole grains and lean proteins!

 What tips do you have for breaking a bad habit?

The first 3 days of no sweets were the days I felt most tempted. I even had to recommit a couple of times because in the beginning I was tempted with a lot of birthdays! Why is it that when we decide to do without something for a short time, we find that particular thing everywhere? A dietitian at work shared her trick for eating in moderation; if it's something she knows she doesn't need and isn't particularly hungry she tells herself "I will have it again someday, just not right now." Try it! It has worked for me a couple of times. See, even nutrition experts have to work at being healthy! I'll keep you posted on the next 6 weeks...there are 2 birthday celebrations, and a baby shower in my near future. Oh how I love birthday cake... 

My Big (less) Fat Greek Slaw!

Opa! I have never really cared for Mayo, so this Greek Slaw with a vinegar-based dressing is a no brainer! Think Zoe's Kitchen. Go. make. this. It's delish- I ate it for a week! I tasted a version of this slaw a couple of months ago in Tuscaloosa and couldn't wait to try my own! I made the dressing from a recipe I found on this site.

My friend Brittany especially enjoyed it and asked for the recipe...that was almost a week ago, and since today is her birthday I figured it's be a good day to post it!

Happy Birthday Brittany!

Ingredients:
{Click on the links if you are unsure what the ingredient is or where to find it.}

Slaw Mix:
1 bag Dole Cole Slaw Mix (aka: just shredded cabbage and carrots)
1/2 jar (10-15 olives) Kalamata (Greek) Olives, sliced in halves
1/2 Cup Fat Free or Reduced Fat Feta Cheese (It is also available in reduced sodium- but I haven't seen it in our local stores)

Dressing:
1/3 Cup red wine vinegar
1/4 Cup Olive Oil
2 Tablespoons Plain Greek Yogurt <-- don't be afraid. Just do it.
Sprinkle of Pepper
1 teaspoon dried oregano
2 cloves fresh garlic, minced (or 1 teaspoon minced garlic in a jar--easier!)
{If you don't have oregano and garlic on hand, you can sub about 3 teaspoons of Italian Seasoning, but it will increase the sodium content. So stick with fresh ingredients if you can!}


Directions:

1. Whisk (or blend) together the vinegar, yogurt, oregano, and garlic. 
2. Add the olive oil while whisking.
3. Sprinkle with pepper to taste.
4. Empty bag of Cole Slaw mix into a large bowl.
5. Sprinkle 1/4 Cup of the Feta on top.
6. Toss in Dressing.
7. **For best results, transfer to a rectangular bowl (flatter so the ingredients don't just gather on the bottom) and pour remaining dressing from mixing bowl to rectangular bowl.
8. Sprinkle remaining 1/4 Cup feta on top.
9. Sprinkle Kalamata Olives on top.

* Store in an airtight container for up to 3 days. If you have time, the dressing has more flavor if you make it a couple of hours before and let it sit in a jar in the fridge. Then mix it with the slaw just before you go to your gathering. 

I took it to a cookout, and it was a big hit! The boys said it was a little too vinegar-y for them... Boys. If you would like a less vinegar taste (I can't imagine why- I can drink the stuff!), you can simply add more Olive Oil (1/4 Cup red wine vinegar, and 1/3 Cup olive oil--but remember more oil= more added fat and calories if you are watching that).  You can also use a bottled Greek (light) dressing or red wine vinaigrette from the store...talk about a simple dish to take to a gathering!


If you care: This dish is full of protein (greek yogurt and feta chees), veggies (slaw mix) and healthy omega 3 fatty acids for heart health (olive oil)! A delicious dish with health benefits makes me one happy girl:) I will caution on the side of sodium though. Olives in general contain a lot of sodium, as do cheeses, so shoot for reduced sodium if you can find it!

Have you tried Greek Yogurt?