It is the New Year. You try to count the number of calories you’ve ingested, too many for a TI-95 calculator to add up! You feel full, and bloated, like “Jabba-the-Hut” from Star Wars and never want to see another piece of pumpkin pie again (maybe lemon meringue…). We’ve all experienced the difficulties of eating healthy at the holidays. Friends have parties with lard-filled tamales, 7-layer dip and wonderful Christmas cookies that they slaved away to bake. Godiva chocolates jump up and wave at you; éclairs entice you to sink your teeth into their buttery, rich crust. We have also all paid the price after the holidays and stepped onto the scale to see ourselves weigh a little (or a lot) more than what we weighed in October. The Better Homes and Gardens ads with thin women, wearing Lycra Capri pants and indulging in chocolate cheesecake are unrealistic; we all know those models eat a carrot before the shoot and wouldn’t be caught dead eating such decadence. But, there is a remedy to the dieting blues. The following are some scrumptious “substitution” dishes that taste quite similar to the real food, are actually good for you and won’t pack on the pounds.
Pumpkin pie is a delicious dessert that everyone loves. With plenty of vitamin A and fiber, it can be good for the body. The fat and extra calories in the crust; however, make it an instant “no-no” for dieters. Try buying plain canned pumpkin-stay away from the sugar added “pumpkin pie filling”- and mix in your favorite sugar substitute. I prefer Stevia because it tastes most like sugar, and is all natural. You can buy Stevia at Sprouts, Trader Joe’s or Hi-Health. It is also being sold under the name Truvia in regular supermarkets. Add a dash of cinnamon to the pumpkin mixture. Next, pour a cup of nonfat, sugar free plain yogurt, mixed with a sugar substitute onto a piece of angel food cake or whole wheat bread. Spoon the pumpkin mixture on top of the yogurt and top it with some light cool whip, cinnamon and a graham cracker crumbled onto it. This dish may sound strange, but it tastes similar to pumpkin pie. You now have a dessert that is 250 calories, has ½ a gram of fat, significantly less sugar, and is actually good for you! You may vary this to mimic the taste of different flavors of pies. Instead of canned pumpkin try unsweetened, all natural apple sauce, or canned, sugar free cherries, spiced apples and other sugar free jams and fruits.
Another delicious and healthful recipe, which I drink on a daily basis, is my non-fat, sugar free cocoa. Cocoa is a major source of antioxidants which may help stimulate dopamine, the euphoric feeling that people with obsessive compulsive disorder, like me, have trouble producing. This may account for why those of us have obsessive compulsive disorder crave carbohydrates and sweets. I take a ¼ teaspoon of regular baking cocoa, unsweetened and add it to three scoops of Stevia, although you may use any sugar free sweetener. Then pour a hot cup of skim milk or water onto it and you have hot cocoa that is 5 calories, sugar free, and fat free. It is lower in calories than the store bought sugar free cocoa, and is better for you because it is made with 100%, pure cocoa bean. It makes an excellent hot drink during the winter months, and despite the caffeine in the cocoa, helps me get to sleep! I must admit, I catch a lot of flack for my eating habits. I have had friends exclaim, “Ew, what are you eating!” or stare at my plate and ask, “What is that?” But with high cholesterol, diabetes, and high blood pressure running in my family, I cannot afford to be lackadaisical about my health. I refuse to feel deprived when it comes to eating, holidays or not. A few adapted recipes keep me healthy, and fitting into the same clothing I wore in high school (yes, I still need to get rid of those balloon legged, skinny ankle, nineties jeans). Don’t worry about looking like someone on Sex in the City; just treat yourself right by eating nutritiously. We only get one body and it needs to last us a lifetime.
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