Tips For Healthy Holiday Eating

When the holidays arrive, many people forget all

about their diets and healthy eating. Weight

gains of 7 - 10 pounds are common between

Halloween and Christmas. To make the holidays

easier, these tips will help you with healthy

eating through the season and not gaining weight.

Most traditional foods can be made low fat.

Turkey is very lean without the skin, and gravy

can be made without any fat. Potatoes that are

served without butter can be very healthy. The

beloved pumpkin pie is nutritious, although it

can be made into a fatty dessert with the adding

of whipped cream.

Even though the holidays are in, don't forget

about the exercise. Keeping weight off during

the holiday season is burning off the extra

calories. You should plan a walk after meals,

park farther from stores when you shop, and

take a few walks around the mall before you

begin shopping.

During holiday parties and at family dinners,

feel free to sample foods although you shouldn't

splurge. Decide on what you plan to eat in

advance, then stick to your plan. Eat plenty

of vegetables, fruit, low fat dressings, and

slices of lean meats. Before you go to a party,

eat a small snack to help curb your appetite.

If at all possible, avoid alcohol. Having too

many drinks can cripple your will power, and

also add excess calories to your diet. In the

place of alcohol, drink water with lemon. Water

can help to limit your appetite and keep you

from binging. Also make sure to avoid eggnog,

as each glass can have up to 300 calories.

Be flexible with your healthy eating, as one bad

meal won't ruin your diet. Try to balance your

calories over a few days and don't just look at

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Holiday Italian Food

Have you ever wanted to celebrate the holidays with Italian food? Maybe you want to try something different this year and love Italian food, or maybe you've been invited to spend the holidays with Italian friends or are fortunate enough to actually be spending the holidays in Italy. What Italian food is appropriate and traditional? Well, like many other cultures, Italians have certain food traditions for certain holidays.

The biggest tradition is with Christmas and it starts on Christmas Eve. The traditional Christmas Eve meal doesn't include a lot of Italian food that foreigners may be familiar with. That's because the Italians observe a type of symbolic fast which actually equates to more of a light dinner. This means that there will be no Italian food that includes the typical meats. Instead the Italian food will be centered more around seafood including fish, snails, and frogs. That may sound a little more French than Italian, but it's a great time to experience some excellent traditional Italian food that is hard to find outside of Italy.

The next day on Christmas the food may be a little more familiar. The first course is a very well known Italian food, tortellini. This pasta dish filled with meat is more in keeping with what most people envision when thinking of Italian food. After the meal dessert consists of one of two types of cake, either panettone or pandoro. If you're in Milan or spending the holidays with a family from Milan it will be panettone. This cake like bread takes days to make and is an Italian food that not many people know of, despite it being a symbol of Milan. The other traditional cake is pandoro, a sweet bread that is often made to look like a mountain complete with white sugar icing giving it a snowy finish. Christmas is a great time to taste the sweeter side of Italian food.

Easter Sunday is another holiday that brings families around the table. The holiday starts out with breakfast. Not too many people think of breakfast when thinking of Italian food, but Easter Sunday starts off with a feast of salami and boiled eggs with cakes and pizzas all washed down with fine wine. That night the Italian food of choice will be dishes that rely on lamb, avoiding other meats. The evening will be finished off with wine and cakes.

The last holiday that has importance to those who love Italian food is St. Joseph's Day. This holiday is in commemoration of St. Joseph saving Sicily from famine. This holiday centers on a rather unknown Italian food, the fava bean. It was this bean that saved Sicily from starving. So, while this bean is not native to Italy, there are many Italian food dishes that are centered on it in celebration of St. Joseph's Day. The day is spent giving food to the needy, eating doughnut like pastries and enjoying good Italian food.

Anytime is a good time for Italian food, but the holidays really make authentic Italian food shine as families get together to celebrate with traditional dishes. Try celebrating the holidays with Italian food and you'll be introduced to a side of the cuisine that many don't know exist.

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