Your friends may be downing figgy pudding and Christmas cocktails, but you’ve got something better: you’ve got eight days of presents, latkes and gold-wrapped chocolate coins! Unfortunately, that often results in extra pounds, sluggishness, and an inability to get out of bed for, well, anything.
To stay on top of the caloric dangers of Hanukkah, here’s five tips to keep your weight and appetite in check:
1.Healthify your Latkes
Add grated zucchini, eggplant and sweet potato to your latkes for color, textural variety and the health factor. Cook latkes with low-fat oils, such as peanut or canola. These oils are high in monounsaturated fats, which improve cholesterol levels. Then, drain the latkes on paper towels to get rid of excess grease. If you need to reheat, pop ’em in the oven for 15 minutes at 350 degrees. And when you serve these guys up, offer them up with unsweetened applesauce and/or low-fat sour cream.
2. Restraint!
Gobbling seems great when everyone’s doing it with you, and everything tastes great – until. Until your stomach feels like it’s hanging to the ground, and neither sitting nor standing eases the indigestion. Eat smaller portions of your favorite foods, but start any meal with a leafy salad or a light soup. This will discourage overeating. If you maintain a healthy status quo, trying to get fit in January, and in all the months afterward, won’t be as stressful. And, most importantly, go easy on the gold chocolate coins.
3. Kugel Doesn’t need to be Shunned
Refined egg noodles should be ignored in favor of whole wheat egg noddles. Processed foods are laden with sodium and preservatives, so kugel made from whole wheat is a smart option. Egg whites or liquid egg substitutes are great replacements for eggs in any Hanukkah recipe. And whenever you feel the need to reach for sugar, chop and grate apples; try spices, like cinnamon, nutmeg or clove; or just reach for a dash of honey.
4. Alcohol in Moderation, Always:
Think back to your early drinking days, and recall the cardinal rules of party boozing. For every glass of alcohol, drink a glass of water. Before you drink anything, down a glass of water (sparkling mineral water if you’d like) – it’ll quench the thirst for your first alcoholic drink.
5. Keep moving!
Before and after a meal, help out in any way you can – cook, set the table, fill water glasses, uncork wine bottles, walk to the grocery store for last-minute supplies. Invite anyone scarfing Hanukkah goodies with you for a post-dinner walk to the park, or just around the neighborhood. And do it every day. The holidays are the most important time to maintain your exercise schedule, precisely because it’s so easy to be sloth-like. But you can do it – just get someone to join you, and you’ll be able to stay fit together!
