The Co-op Food Stores of New Hampshire and Vermont

added 11/30/10

Listen to Co-op Dietitian and Better Eating for Life author Mary Choate on Tuesday mornings at 8:15 on WGXL radio! You can also meet Mary every Tuesday from 9 a.m. to Noon at our White River Junction store, where she is there to answer your nutrition questions.

Healthful eating does not mean never, ever, eating desserts or snacks. It’s all about accurate nutrition knowledge and balance. Being overly restrictive with your intake is not only no fun, it’s also not particularly healthful, and in time leads to binges and the roller coaster of overeating and then deprivation. There is a way out of this cycle.

Holiday treats can fit into your overall balanced eating plan. It’s not an “all or nothing” proposition. Being out of balance on either end of the eating spectrum –binging or starving yourself leads to less-optimal food choices. Overly restrictive eating on a regular basis is as unhealthful as mindless overeating.

Try some or all of the following strategies to help you burn additional calories, keep your “fun foods” portion size in line, or skip the foods you don’t really crave to make room for the ones you like a lot.

1. Move It!
Strolling around the stores for a couple of hours burns up about 270 calories for a 150 pound woman. More if you pick the pace. Does tonight’s party menu include fancy desserts? Make sure to take a brisk walk at your coffee breaks today, or include a walk or dancing as part of your evening.

2. Drink Up
Drinking water, flavored seltzer, coffee, or herbal or regular tea cuts down the empty calories you might otherwise get from sodas and other sugary drinks and alcoholic beverages.

3. Waste Not
You can eat potato chips and dip any day, so why waste your “fun foods” calories on these unexciting snacks at the holidays? The most wonderful treats are those that aren’t always available, like Mom’s pumpkin roll, a favorite aunt’s pie, or homemade holiday sugar cookies. Looking forward to these special, seasonal treats is often a big part of the pleasure of eating them.

4. Starve Not
Wait too long before your next meal or snack, let yourself get absolutely ravenous, and the first foods you reach for at a holiday gathering will likely be high-calorie snacks. Try planning to eat your lunch or dinner before you go, instead of making a meal of snack foods at the party. At the very least, before you go, have a small bowl of whole grain cereal, or apple slices with a little peanut butter to take the edge off of your appetite.

By planning in this way, you won’t be ravenous at the party, and you will be more likely to keep your “fun foods” portion size in balance.

5. Portion Positive
When you are eating for health and enjoyment, you are paying attention to the taste, texture, and pleasure you derive from eating. When you are fully, enjoyably conscious of the food you eat, you tend to become satisfied with a moderate portion size. Take the time to truly enjoy eating the “fun foods” you choose to fit into your eating plan.

6. Conscious Eating
Tasting and enjoying each bite of food is always a great idea, but maybe even most importantly when eating those great-tasting, high-calorie treats that make their appearance during the holiday season. Mindlessly eating these foods leads to missing out on a wonderful and satisfying eating experience. Binging is not done in a conscious, leisurely, “savor-every-bite” way.

Make a conscious choice about which of these treats you will enjoy. Don’t just sidle up to the dessert and hors d’oeuvre tables starving and ready to eat everything. Make a plan ahead of time. Scope it out and decide what you’ll choose and what you’ll leave behind this time. Then slowly enjoy every bite.

7. Alcohol Awareness
Just as with “fun foods,” your alcoholic beverage choices, if you’re not paying attention, can hinder your plan for everyday healthful eating. A 3½-ounce glass of red wine contains 75 calories; a 12-ounce bottle of regular beer contains 150 calories. A glass of wine, however, is not in the same league as a 4½-ounce piña colada at 245 calories.

A single 1½-ounce jigger of “coffee with cream” liqueur will set you back 150 calories to start, with additional calories for other ingredients in the cocktail. A standard 2½-ounce martini, shaken, stirred, or sitting quietly still “costs” about 170 discretionary calories. Restaurants and bars often serve larger-than-standard-sized drinks, so you may have to increase the calorie estimates given here.

Try alternating a caloric drink with a no-calorie water or seltzer to limit the empty calories from alcohol.

Portion Power Knowledge

Some awareness of the calories in different choices can help you to decide if you really want those ho-hum chips and dip or if that Turtle candy is where you really want to spend your holiday calories. The examples that follow may hold some surprises for you.

Approximately 100 Calories or Fewer

• 7 walnut halves— 2 Tbs. (91 calories, 9 grams fat)
• 4 milk chocolate candy kisses (102 calories, 6 grams of fat)
• 4 mini chewy chocolate rolls (102 calories, 1 gram of fat)
• 2 caramels (77 calories, 2 grams fat)
• 6 candy-coated almonds (99 calories, 4 grams fat)

Under 200 Calories

• 1 slice angel food cake with ½ cup fresh berries (182 calories, 0 grams fat)
• 1 scoop fruit sorbet (120 calories, 0 grams fat)
• 5 meringue cookies (110 calories, 2 grams fat)
• 2 pieces of candy from a box of chocolates (140 calories, 7 grams fat)

Under 300 Calories

• 1 scoop of premium vanilla ice cream (270 calories, 18 grams fat)
• 1-1/3 cup (2 oz.) caramel-coated peanut popcorn (240 calories, 4 grams fat)
• 1 donut shop sized chocolate chip cookie with nuts (230 calories, 12 grams of fat)

Under 400 Calories

• 1/8 slice of a homemade 9-inch berry pie (360 calories, 18 grams fat)
• 1 glazed honey bun (320 calories, 19 grams fat)
• 4 “Turtle” candies: caramel, chocolate, and nut candies (330 calories, 19 grams fat)