Tuesday, December 7, 2010

Keeping the Weight Off for Christmas

Keeping the weight off for Christmas

It's the Holiday Season, and for many of you that means eating more of everything. From holiday cookies, to chocolate, to fatty leftovers.
Most of you will probably start a diet after New Year's to try to shed the extra pounds from the Holidays. As most of you know, the best way to keep the calorie intake is to eat meals low in fat and high in carbohydrate and protein. I want to caution on one point. You don't turn fat into muscle..... you shed the fat and build muscle due to protein intake. Muscle weighs more than fat and to that end, your scale might not indicate that you have lost as many pounds as you like, but you are likely to appear thinner and your clothes will fit better. Providing of course that you eat right and exercise at least 3 hours a week.

But.... before starting that after the holidays diet, why not start eating smart before and during the holidays. This will make the process of loosing the extra pounds for that New Year's resolution that much easier.

This does not mean that you have to deprive yourself of all the traditional holiday dishes, but rather cook them differently to keep the fat out. So.... I thought I'd give a couple low fat Christmas recipes here today. To look for more recipes, feel free to click on the numerous links on this blog to access other recipe sites. (that's how I found these two)

Cranberry Apple Glazed Pork

Glazed with a seasonal cranberry apple sauce, this lean pork roast makes an ideal holiday centerpiece. Serve with roasted vegetables and low fat mashed potatoes or with steamed green beans and wild rice.

Ingredients:

1/2 tsp ground sage
1/2 tsp ground thyme
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
1 3-pound boneless top-loin pork roast, trimmed
1 16-ounce can cranberry sauce
1/2 cup apple cider

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees

Combine herbs and seasonings to make a rub. Sprinkle mixture over all sides of the meat. Place pork in roasting pan and roast for 1 hour.
Combine cranberry sauce and apple cider in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes until the sauce is slightly thickened. Spoon 1/2 a cup of the sauce over the meat to glaze. Return meat to the oven and roast for a further 30-40 minutes, or until an instant-read thermometer registers 155 degrees. Remove pork from the oven and cover with foil. Let stand for 15-20 minutes. The meat will continue to cook and reach a safe 160 degrees while it rests. Serve with remaining sauce on the side.
Serves 10-12
Per Serving: Calories 218, Calories from Fat 55, Total Fat 6.1g (sat 2.1g), Cholesterol 64mg, Sodium 62mg, Carbohydrate 15.9g, Fiber 0.4g, Protein 24.8g

Low Fat Eggnog

If you want to enjoy one of the great sweet treats of the season without feeling guilty, try this low fat eggnog recipe. Since only one egg yolk is used here, the eggnog might look a little pale. You could always add a few drops of yellow coloring to the mixture for the full effect. Finally, if you don't want to add alcohol, try a little rum extract instead.

Ingredients:

3/4 cup sugar
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
1 egg
4 egg whites
1 1/2 cups fat free milk
1 1/2 cups fat free half-and-half
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup rum or brandy (optional)
freshly grated nutmeg to garnish

Preparation:

Combine sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg in a large bowl. Add egg and egg whites, and beat with a mixer for 3-4 minutes.

Gently heat fat free milk in a large saucepan. Gradually stir egg mixture into the hot milk. Heat, stirring constantly, until mixture is slightly thickened. Stir in vanilla extract and remove from heat.
Let the milk and egg mixture cool a little before blending with fat-free half-and-half milk. Cover and chill in the refrigerator. Before serving, add rum or brandy if desired and sprinkle with freshly grated nutmeg on top.
Serves 4
Per Serving: Calories 272, Calories from Fat 24, Total Fat 2.9g (sat 1.4g), Cholesterol 60mg, Sodium 249mg, Carbohydrate 51.1g, Fiber 0.1g, Protein 10.9g