In 2009, the International Food Information Council Foundation conducted the fourth annual, Food & Health Survey, a analysis of Americans’ attitudes towards food, nutrition and health. Before Dr. Wansink presented us his sage advice for how to navigate our way through the food-filled holidays, he discussed a few of his key findings from the 2009 survey. Below are the most salient highlights:

• Twenty-five percent of Americans said that they are active for at least 30 minutes a day on most days of the week.
• The top motivators for being active are to lose weight followed by to improve appearance.
• Forty percent of Americans do not use any resources to improve their diet – no pills, no special diet books, no hypnosis.
• At any given time, 53 percent of Americans are trying to lose weight.
• For those looking to lose weight, 71 percent are trying to change the amount of food they eat, 65 percent are trying to change what kinds of food they eat and less than 20 percent are counting calories.
• The biggest barrier to staying on track with weight loss goals is not seeing results quick enough (44 percent) followed by lack of will power (43 percent).

So before you sit down to your holiday meal, Dr. Wansink recommends to be aware of the following open invitations for overeating.

• Large portion sizes can cause us to eat more, even if we don’t really like the taste of the food being offered. His studies have shown that the larger the portion size, the more we eat. Therefore, prevent mindless overeating by using measuring devices to control how much you eat, ask yourself if you’re truly hungry for the food in front of you or whether you’re just eating because it’s there and use smaller plates and serving dishes.
• Keep tabs of just how hungry you are. Most of us think we are full when our plate is clean. But being a member of the clean plate club is not doing any favors for our expanding waistlines. Instead, pause every few minutes in between forkfuls of stuffing and sweet potatoes to determine just how satiated you are. Stop when you feel content or about 80 percent full.
• Don’t fall for diet-sabotaging mental rationalizations. From “I made it, I deserve it,” to “pre-loading” on appetizers, nuts, or turkey samples and to the “happy host,” who eats to please, mentally prepare yourself by thinking about what you are going to eat and how much you are going to eat beforehand so that you’ll feel satisfied over what you ate and proud over your self-control once all the dishes have been served, cleaned and put away.

Happy Holidays!

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Prevent Holiday Weight Gain & Avoid Mindless Eating

But could there be something else going on that has nothing to do with how the food is prepared or the portion size you choose? Heck yeah. Is your diet diva going to tell you? Absolutely.

It’s called food “complexity” and “taste satiety.” Basically, you overeat at Thanksgiving because you are eating mindlessly. You’re not taking the time to intentionally slow down, serve yourself a small amount of food, and enjoy and savor each bite. If you did this, you’d get full well before you hit the 1,500 calorie mark, maybe even before hitting 1,000 calories.

When you have too many choices of foods, it’s hard for your taste buds to feel “satisfied.” They are unpacking all the tastes and flavors of the stuffing and then here comes a bite of potatoes and while they’re working on that they got a hit of turkey and cranberries. So as you pack on the calories the “taste satiety” signals stay low and you keep eating. You may even go for seconds because the brain is like “hey, I loooooooooooved that stuffing and I want more.” Meanwhile, you cleaned your first plate 15 minutes into the meal.

Now, I’m not advocating for boring Thanksgiving meals, but I do think it is possible to get all the pleasure and enjoyment out of Thanksgiving with healthy foods, eaten in the right portions. Remember that the holiday is about the people and the only thing that should be stuffed is the turkey.

If you want to try to overcome the “taste satiety” challenge, I’d suggest making sure there is a nice, healthy low-calorie green salad to include on your plate, take 3-4 ounces of turkey (no skin) and choose between mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, stuffing, and rolls. If you take small amounts of each, you might not get that “satisfied” feeling the tastebuds want. Don’t feel bad about passing on some of the items. There are always leftovers!

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Is Your Thanksgiving Buffet too Complex?

As modern day Americans, we do not have to be concerned about weather conditions making food unavailable. We have 24-hour grocery stores and shelves stocked with options. We can be thankful for this every day. As a result, our Thanksgiving celebrations can be more than feasts. This is particularly dangerous for those who are trying to alter their approach to food.

While overeating can make one sluggish, disappointed in one’s self, and unhappy with appearance, giving thanks will help you focus on the positive things in life and improve outlook and mood. This year, instead of recognizing the day by raising your fork, try one (or all) of these tips.

1. Give Back – Serve at a soup kitchen or shelter or make a donation to your favorite charity (the Fatherless Foundation is mine). Giving to others can give you perspective on just how blessed you are.

2. Focus on Your Family – This year my family gathering will be missing members that have died in the last year, at least one of which was not expected when we gathered last year at the same time. Certain members of the family will need our hugs, comfort, and distraction, and I will be investing in them. I am very thankful for my family and would rather have a conversation with one of the kids and make sure all is well with them than watch any Cowboys game.

3. Write Thank You notes – Have you personally thanked the people who have made a difference in your life in the last year? Be the first of the holiday season and make sure your message stands out by sending Thanksgiving thank you cards rather than Christmas or holiday cards. This is a fabulous idea for business owners.

4. Make Your List and Check it Twice – Before you make your gift list and think about those things you want or how much money you are going to spend, focus on the blessings you already have and list all the things for which you are thankful. Review this list frequently to maintain a positive attitude.

If you try one (or all) of these tips, even if you run out of pumpkin pie or your team never sees the end zone, you will likely have a very Happy Thanksgiving!

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Four Ways to Celebrate with Thanks Instead of Turkey

Just in time for the holidays, DietsInReview.com had a chance to talk with Lisa as she shared with us some of her tips for making the season fun, festive and healthy. She also gave us the scoop on her soon-to-be-released, Chew the Right Thing, a perfect guilt-free gift for the holidays.

Listen now to the audio of my conversation with Lisa, or continue reading the transcipt below.

1. The holidays are upon us. What do you recommend for how we can walk the tightrope of eating our favorite holiday foods but not gain weight?

During the holidays, we don’t want to hear that we can’t indulge or that certain foods are off-limits. You have to find a happy medium, and indulge in things you really love and swap out those high calorie foods for healthy alternatives.

I’m a big believer in planning what you are going to eat before you go to an event.  If you know you’re going to a big party, have a snack ahead of time so you’re not starving and eat everything once you get there. Pay attention to the food that is there before you start eating. That way, you can make a healthy decision.

Plus, it is important to drink a lot of water throughout the day. It fills you up and keeps you hydrated.

2. What are some of your favorite pre-party snacks?

Whether I’m at home or the office, I always keep things around to help curb cravings. During the holidays, I love candy canes; They are low calorie, they taste festive, and peppermint has been shown help to reduce cravings. I also love fat-free yogurt, particularly, Fiber One Yoplait yogurt, which has only 50 calories plus five grams of fiber and three grams of protein. You get a lot of bang for that snack. And it is Hungry Girl-approved. Portion control snacks, like 100-calorie packs of almonds, are also a favorite go-to healthy snack of mine.

3. Not all holiday food is bad. Many ingredients used are made with healthy, low-cal foods like pumpkin, butternut squash and lean turkey breast. Can you give a few tips for how to use these naturally, low-cal ingredients in our favorite holiday dishes and still keep them somewhat low calorie?

Many of the foods in holiday dishes are healthy. You can do things like use chicken stock in place butter to keep dishes moist. I do this in a stuffing I make called Save-the-Day Stuffing, which is made with light bread and apples. I have the recipe for it in my first cookbook. I make my Too Good To-Deny Pumpkin Pie with Fiber One breakfast cereal for the crust and pure pumpkin, not pumpkin pie mix, for the filling.

Green bean casserole is another great example. You don’t have to use high fat, crispy-fried onions as a topping. I use garlic and onion-flavored soy crisps as a topping and 98 percent fat-free cream of celery soup rather than the full-fat versions. It keeps calories and fat grams down but it tastes just as good.

It’s about dissecting the recipe and replacing some of the ingredients with smarter ingredients.

4. Your latest creation, Chew the Right Thing, releases on December 8, 2009. This isn’t a book but rather, it is a set of 50 recipe cards. Can you tell us a bit more about these cards and how to use them?

I’m so excited about this. Chew the Right Thing is so cute and it’s a great holiday gift. Each of the 50 recipe swaps are Hungry Girl favorites like Lord of the Onion Rings and De-Pudged Pigs in a Blanket. Instead of a cookbook, they are  colorful and fun recipe cards that are easy to keep around the kitchen or on the counter. Plus, you can purchase the recipe cards for ten dollars or less, which makes it a fantastic and inexpensive holiday gift.

5. What is one of your favorite Hungry Girl holiday recipes?

That is a tough question. I love I Can’t Believe It’s Not Sweet Potato Pie, Too Good To Deny Pumpkin Pie, and Pumpkin-licicous Nog. I’m not usually a fan of eggnog but I love this recipe. It’s amazing. Sorry, I guess I listed a few more than just one.

Thanks Lisa!

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Hungry Girl’s Healthy Holiday Tips

Finding ways to eat less and stay active are few and far between, but a must during this time of year. Below are a few fitness tips and a high intensity workout that you can take advantage of during the Thanksgiving season.

Top Thanksgiving Fitness Tips

1. Take a trip: Plan Thanksgiving somewhere where the entire family can be active (Ski resort).
2. Drink plenty of water: Staying hydrated is a must and a great way to give your mind and stomach a “full” sensation.
3. Eat less, but more often: Eat several smaller meals (smaller portion sizes) throughout the day; this will help keep the metabolism fired up.
4. Stay active: Go for a walk or bike ride, or plan family activities that engage the family and the heart rate like golf, flag football, tennis, or even a Wii Fit competition.
5. Stay away from the sweets: Excess sugar gets stored as glycogen and excess glycogen is stored as fat in the body.

Thanksgiving Workout

Below is an excellent routine that pushes your heart rate, core balance and stability, muscular strength and endurance to the max – just the thing to burn those last pre-holiday pounds, or take off the turkey weight. I recommend using a weight that gets rather difficult around the 10 to 15 repetition range. I also recommend performing three sets of each of the exercises below. Good Luck!!

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Thanksgiving Fitness Tips and a Thanksgiving Workout

Hungry Girl Lisa Lillien shows you how some of the holiday’s most traditional dishes naturally contain low-calorie and nutritious ingredients. Think butternut squash, pumpkin and lean turkey.

With slimming and sneaky tips for how to revamp your recipes so that they won’t send you in a food coma, the Hungry Girl is on hand to lend her culinary creativity to make your Thanksgiving figure-friendly and deliciously decadent.

Check your local listings for show times.

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Tune In: Hungry Girl’s Thanksgiving Tips on Rachael Ray

Tryptophan, Serotonin and Melatonin

Tryptophan is an essential amino acid (protein building block the body cannot make). It is high in many protein rich foods, like turkey. Tryptophan helps build muscle like other amino acids, but it is also a specific precursor of serotonin. Nearly all serotonin is in the gut where it regulates GI movement, but about 20% is actually dispersed in the central nervous system (CNS) where it regulates mood, appetite, sleep, muscle contraction, and some cognitive functions including memory and learning. Some serotonin can become melatonin, which regulates your sleep/wake cycles.

Besides turkey, your starchy foods like rolls, potatoes and stuffing have something to do with the “food coma” that ensues. The insulin your pancreas releases after eating carbs does its job, which is partially to pull essential amino acids into muscle (yay for muscle building), but there is one lonely amino acid that doesn’t go into cells…  tryptophan. This amino acid didn’t get an invite to the party, and so left alone in the blood it increases serotonin levels and sleep eventually comes along.

Perhaps the real question is “Who cares? What’s wrong with enjoying a hearty meal with family and napping yourself into a more relaxed and carefree state, at least for a day?” If you ask me, we don’t really rest enough and enjoy our families as we should. Our inability to slow down does more to wreck our weight management hormones than one gut-busting, coma-inducing turkey dinner. Nevertheless, your best bet is balance. Strike a “happy middle” with the desire to enjoy food and the urge to overeat.

Here’s are some Turkey Day Eating Tips:

• Most meals are 1000+ calories per plate! So stick to one plate, and that’s it. Include some green vegetables on that plate. Take a little of everything that looks good and enjoy each bite. You shouldn’t need a fork lift to lift your fork!

• Start with a healthy breakfast – stay full with oatmeal made with cranberries and walnuts and have a morning snack of a handful of nuts and low-fat cheese. Try this recipe for Simple Mashed Cranberries.

• Don’t compete for the award for biggest plate and cleanest plate. Just enjoy the conversation and company. This is not about the food. It’s about people.

• Instead of seconds, have a cup of hot peppermint or ginger tea to aid in digestion and put off the dessert a couple hours.

• Make a “top crust” apple pie with thinly sliced apples. They bake crispy and people love the look and it has less guilt!

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How to Avoid the Thanksgiving Food Coma

Here is a look at the benefits of white and dark meat turkey and some surprising facts that might have you and your health conscious aunt fighting for the drumstick.

Keep in mind that the serving size for the following analysis is for a three and a half-ounce serving of Thanksgiving turkey meat without skin. This eyeballs to about the size of a deck of cards.

Round One: Nutrition

Calories per serving: White meat contains 161 calories. Dark meat contains 192 calories.

Fat per serving: White meat contains 4 grams. Dark meat contains 8 grams.

Protein per serving: White meat contains 30 grams. Dark meat contains 28 grams.

Iron: White meat contains 1.57 mg. Dark meat contains 2.4 mg.

Zinc: White meat contains 2.08 mg. Dark meat contains 4.3 mg.

Thiamine: White meat contains .04 mg. Dark meat contains .05 mg.

Riboflavin: White meat contains .13 mg. Dark meat contains .24 mg.

Selenium: White meat contains 32.10 mcg.  Dark meat contains 40.90 mcg.

Folate: White meat contains .01 mcg. Dark meat contains 10 mcg.

Round Two: Taste and Leftover Potential

When it comes to taste, dark turkey meat contains an undeniably richer taste than white meat, but its higher fat content also lends itself to tasting a bit more on the slimy side, which may detract those who are hypersensitive to the texture of their food or prefer lighter-tasting eats.

In regards to their leftover potential, dark meat’s higher fat content gives it a juicier flavor and therefore protects it from suffering from the dry taste that accompanies white meat turkey once it has sat in the refrigerator for a few days. Therefore, for a sandwich, salad or soup protein-punch, dark turkey meat is the clear winner, but if you’re looking to undo some of the gluttinous Thanksgiving Day damage, then you might want to reach for the white meat to save a few calories and fat grams.

Post-Match Commentary

Drumstick-lovers rejoice! Dark turkey meat delivers a much more nutrient-dense wallop than white turkey meat. With greater amounts of vitamin B like riboflavin, thiamine and folate and minerals like iron, zinc and selenium, dark turkey meat’s sullied reputation for being too high in fat deserves to be overturned considering these impressive nutrition numbers.

When it comes to calories and fat, the difference between the two is not that signficant. In fact, dark turkey meat contains a mere 30 calories more than white meat and just an additional four fat grams. Place your fork down just one bite shy of finishing off that slice of pumpkin pie and you will have balanced out any extra calories you consumed by choosing dark meat over white.

To reap the powerful nutrition benefits of the centerpiece of your Thanksgiving meal, whichever kind of meat you select, just make sure to remove the skin and go easy on the turkey gravy. These two items tax on some serious, albeit delicious-tasting, fat and calories, so you’ll keep your dinner on the leaner side without them.

Happy Thanksgiving.

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Food Fight: White Turkey Meat Versus Dark Turkey Meat

That’s why we’re sharing our favorite healthy holiday recipes in our first cookbook. The DietsInReview.com Holiday Cookbook is available from TasteBook and features 25 recipes that offer all the traditional flavors of the season, with less of the guilt, fat and calories.

Inside this colorful hardback cookbook we’re sharing appetizers, desserts, entrees and sides that will help you set a healthier scene as you and your family gather to give thanks and celebrate the season. These recipes are ideal for Thanksgiving, Christmas or any other winter event.

And since it comes from TasteBook, you can add up to 75 more of your own family favorites and personalize each recipe page to create a one-of-a-kind holiday cookbook.

Order your DietsInReview.com Holiday Cookbook to start preparing healthy recipes yourself, or share the gift of wholesome food with a loved one. The book comes with 25 DietsInReview.com recipes, plus credits to add 75 pages of your own, for $34.95.

Visit TasteBook now to preview the cookbook and order.

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DietsInReview.com’s Holiday Cookbook Shares Healthy Recipes

Weight Watchers Pumpkin Pie with Graham Cracker Crust

3 POINTS per serving

Ingredients

• 3 oz. reduced-fat cinnamon graham crackers, about 5 1/2 sheets
• 1 Tbsp. packed light brown sugar
• 2 Tbsp. unsalted butter, melted
• 2 large egg whites
• 1 large egg
• 1/2 cup dark brown sugar
• 1/4 tsp. table salt
• 2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice, or less to taste
• 1 cup canned pumpkin
• 1/2 cup fat-free evaporated milk
• 4 Tbsp. light whipped topping

Instructions

1. Position rack in middle of oven.
2. Preheat oven to 350 F.
3. Place graham crackers and light brown sugar in a food processor and process into crumbs (or smash into crumbs in a sealed plastic food bag with a rolling pin).
4. Spoon crumbs into a small bowl; add melted butter and combine with fingers into a coarse meal. Distribute crumbs evenly on bottom and up sides of an ungreased 9-inch pie plate.
5. Chill for 30 minutes before baking. Bake until crust starts to turn golden, about 8 to 10 minutes; remove from oven and let cool.
6. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, using an electric mixer, whip egg whites until frothy; fold in egg, dark brown sugar, salt, pumpkin pie spice and evaporated milk. Beat pumpkin custard until smooth and pour into pie shell.
7. Bake until a knife inserted in center comes out clean, about 45 to 55 minutes.
8. Slice into eight pieces, top each piece with 1/2 tablespoon of whipped topping and serve warm or at room temperature. Yields one slice per serving.

Other Thanksgiving Weight Watchers Recipes
Other Healthy Thanksgiving Desserts

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Weight Watchers Pumpkin Pie Recipe