Happy Holidays!

"May your walls know joy; May every room hold laughter and every window open to great possibility." ~Maryanne Radmacher-Hershey

As we rush around to either finish our last minute holiday preparations or are on the road going to visit family and friends, I wanted to wish you all a healthy and happy holiday.  Sometimes the meaning of the holidays seems to get lost in the stress of the crowded shopping malls or trying to navigate December's bad weather and congested traffic.  It's easy to lose perspective, especially when our holidays don't reflect the sanitized and idealized versions presented in commericals and on TV. 

My wish for you is that you find joy this holiday season.  May you discover joy in spending time with family and friends, joy in slowing down and savoring the special foods of the season, and the joy of living in the present moment no matter what challenges you may be faced with.  

Slim Guacamole

With lots of holiday parties on tap, why spend all of your "calorie salary" on the appetizers even before you get to the main meal.  Instead substitute your usual calorie bomb dip with this recipe for slim guacamole.  While high in calories compared to other fruits and vegetables, the fat in avocados is primarily the good-for-you monounsaturated fat.  The peas add a wonderful green color to this dip and it helps keep it bright in color through the party. Who knew eating your veggies could be so tasty!

Ingredients:
2 cups frozen thawed peas
1/2 cup green onion
1 tablespoons fresh cilantro
1 ripe avocado
dash hot pepper sauce
1 lemon
 
Directions:
1. Place peas, onion and cilantro in food processor.

2. Process on high speed until smooth.

3. Add avocado, hot pepper and lemon and pulse on high until chunky.

4. Serve immediately with raw veggies (carrots, cherry tomatoes, cucumber slices, zucchini, bell peppers), toasted whole-wheat pita triangles or baked tortilla chips.


Serves 8.
Each serving: 3 ounces (around 1/3 cup)

Per Serving:  Calories: 70, Total Fat: 4g, Saturated Fat: 0.5g, Trans Fat: 0g, Cholesterol: 0mg, Sodium: 6mg, Carbohydrates: 7.5g, Dietary Fiber: 3g, Protein: 2.5g

Source: http://foodandhealthbooks.com/ Reprinted with permission.

The Downside of Downsizing

In theory, the concept of losing weight seems simple.  Eat less and move more.  Yet as I've said before, simple is not the same as easy.

Eating gets very complicated because we use food for so many other reasons than hunger.  We eat when we're happy, sad, bored, frustrated, and stressed.  Food becomes our comfort after a bad day, a reward for hard work, or a way to celebrate any occasion.  Food is everywhere, even more so during the holiday season.  Yet when we use food to soothe our souls instead of fueling our bodies, it creates a whole new set of problems.  We now carry our emotional baggage in our minds as well as on our hips. 

Here's a great article by Washington Post health columnist Jennifer LaRue Huget on what she learned on her journey to lose 10 pounds by her 50th birthday.  One of the lessons she learned is especially relevant as she realizes what happens when food can no longer be used as a security blanket:

When you learn, as I recently have, to start regarding food as fuel for your activities and not as a shield from life's difficulties, you're forced to start facing the things you were using food to hide from.

That means having the unsettling discussions you'd been avoiding, fighting the fights you'd just as soon have skipped. It means sitting down at the computer and doing your work instead of buying time with a big bowl of popcorn. And it means staring down fears, working to resolve nagging problems instead of hushing them with a chocolate bar.

I love this last sentence she wrote because I think it's so true.  How many time how you found yourself eating something - that you weren't even really tasting - out of habit as a way to cope? 

That is why keeping a food journal is so important when trying to make a change in your nutrition.  It's so easy to fall into unconscious habits that keep us from meeting our goals.  Having to write down what you're actually doing can be a real eye-opening experience.

As the columnist points out, the beauty of learning how to cope with life's challenges without using food is a new found confidence "that comes with finally being in control of your weight."  You're going to have to confront all those issues eventually.  Use food as a way to empower a healthy and vibrant lifestyle instead of hindering it.