Enjoy the Holidays (Without Looking Like Santa): 3 Tips for Beating the Holiday Bulge

The holidays are a great time of year for people to come together and celebrate with good friends and family. Unfortunately, most of those celebrations also involve mass quantities of high-calorie foods, sugary sweets, and alcohol- all of which are contributing factors to weight gain and bloating. This holiday season, we have some tips for avoiding the holiday bulge without having to cut back on fun!

Practice the 80/20 Rule: Nobody should have to miss out completely on all the goodies that make the holidays special, but they can be enjoyed with moderation if you follow the 80/20 rule. Try to eat until you feel 80% full, like you could maybe use a little extra food...and then stop. It takes a little longer for your brain to get the signal that your stomach is full, so many of us just keep on eating until we’ve had too much of a good thing. By stopping before you feel 100 percent full and then waiting for about 20 minutes or having a glass of water, you can avoid the uncomfortable, over-full feeling that so many of us associate with holiday meals. After all, the only one that should be stuffed is the turkey!

Stick to Your Exercise Plan: With the weird work schedule, traveling to visit family, and company parties that keep you out late, the holidays can certainly wreak havoc on your routine. Many people find that it is difficult to fit a workout into all the hustle and bustle of the holiday season and skip the gym for several days in a row. Not only does this make it harder to get back to your usual exercise regimen once the new year has begun, but it also can make you feel sluggish and tired because you’re not moving enough. Try to work in at least 30 minutes of exercise three times a week during the holidays in order to stay on track with your fitness plan.

Everything in Moderation (Including Moderation!) Nobody expects you to eat a plate full of raw broccoli at a party or family feast when there are things like pie and cookies in the room! It’s the holidays, and it’s OK to give yourself a treat. As long as you limit your intake of sweets, breads and high-calorie foods to one treat or so per day, you can enjoy all your delicious favorites this holiday season. Stick to the once-per-day rule and you’ll be fine. Then again, if you fall off the diet wagon one day this season, don’t beat yourself up- just resolve to make healthier choices the next day and maybe step up your exercise game, and you can make sure you stay ahead of the holiday bulge!

What are your favorite tips for staying healthy during the holidays? Let us know in the comments section.

Recipe- Classic Butternut Squash Soup

When leaves start to fall and the night air gets crisp and chilly, nothing warms you up like a delicious bowl of butternut squash soup. Make this fall favorite for dinner tonight!

Ingredients:

• 1 large (2-3 lbs.) butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and cut into 1-inch cubes
• 1 large (8 oz.) carrot, peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 7 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
• 1 large yellow onion, thinly sliced
• 4 medium cloves garlic, thinly sliced
• 4 cups homemade or store-bought low-sodium chicken or vegetable stock
• 2 sprigs fresh thyme
• 1 bay leaf
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 3/4 cup heavy whipping cream
• 1/4 cup sour cream
• Pinch ground cinnamon
• Pinch nutmeg
• 20 fresh sage leaves (optional)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 425°F. Toss squash and carrot with olive oil and arrange on 2 rimmed baking sheets, being sure not to overcrowd the sheets. Roast until squash and carrot are very well browned on a couple sides, about 40 minutes; use a thin metal spatula to turn pieces two or three times during cooking. Set aside.

2. In a large saucepan, cook 2 tablespoons butter over medium-high heat until just starting to brown. Add onion and garlic, lower heat to medium, and cook, stirring, until soft and lightly golden, about 10 minutes; lower heat as necessary to prevent burning.

3. Add squash and carrot to saucepan and remove from heat. Pour 1/2 cup stock into each baking sheet and scrape up any browned bits, then pour into saucepan. Add remaining stock, thyme sprigs, and bay leaf and return to medium-high heat. Bring to a simmer, then lower heat and simmer until vegetables are very soft, about 10 minutes. Discard thyme sprigs and bay leaf.

4. Using a blender or stick blender, blend soup until completely smooth. Season with salt and pepper. Return soup to saucepan and thin, if necessary, with additional stock until desired consistency is reached. Keep warm.

5. Using a stand mixer, handheld mixer or whisk, beat cream and sour cream with cinnamon, nutmeg, and a pinch of salt, until stiff. Set aside.

6. If making sage leaves for garnish, melt remaining 5 tablespoons butter in a small skillet over medium-high heat, swirling gently, until foamy and just beginning to brown. Add sage leaves, swirling to submerge and cook until frizzled, about 15 seconds. Using a slotted spoon, transfer sage to a paper towel to drain. Sprinkle very lightly with salt.

7. Ladle soup into warmed bowls, spoon dollops of spiced whipped cream into each one and top of frizzled sage, if using. Serve right away.

Prep Time: 1 hour 15 mins | Cook Time: 30 mins | Makes 2 quarts (6-8 servings)

Source: SeriousEats.com

What’s your favorite autumn recipe? Share it with us in the Comments section.

Recipe- Chicken Fajitas

Turn an ordinary day into a fiesta with these healthy, delicious chicken fajitas!

Ingredients:

• 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 pounds skinless, boneless chicken breasts
• Salt
• 2 Tbsp canola, safflower, peanut or grapeseed oil (a high smoke point oil)
• 1 large onion, sliced lengthwise (root to tip) into 1/4-inch strips
• 3 bell peppers of various colors, sliced into 1/4-inch strips

Marinade

• 2 Tbsp lime juice
• 3 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
• 1/2 jalapeno, seeded and minced
• 1/4 cup chopped cilantro

Extras

• 8-12 flour tortillas
• Salsa
• Sliced avocado
• Sour cream
• Thinly sliced iceberg lettuce dressed lightly with salt and cider vinegar

Directions:

1 Cut thick chicken breasts in half, horizontally: If chicken breasts are more than half a pound, slice horizontally so that each slice is between ½-inch and ¾-inch thickness. (Note: Don’t pound chicken breasts with a meat tenderizer, as this adversely affects the texture of the meat.)

2 Marinate chicken: Mix marinade ingredients together in a glass or plastic container. Add chicken, mix thoroughly, cover and let marinate at room temperature for at least 1 hour or up to 8 hours in the fridge.

3 Wipe off most marinade, sprinkle chicken with salt: Remove the chicken from the marinade. Wipe off most of the marinade and sprinkle the chicken pieces with salt.

4 Sear chicken on high heat: Heat a large cast iron frying pan on high heat for 1 to 2 minutes. Add a tablespoon of canola oil to the pan.

As soon as the oil begins to smoke, place chicken breast pieces in the pan. Depending on the size of the pan, you may have to work in several batches.

Let chicken cook undisturbed for 2-3 minutes, until you have a good sear. Once seared well on one side, turn pieces over and cook for another 2-3 minutes until well seared on the second side.

5 Stack seared breasts, cover with foil and let rest: Once seared on the second side, remove to a cutting board and cover with aluminum foil to rest for 5 minutes.

Tip: Stack the seared chicken breasts and then cover them in foil. Together they will retain heat better as you cook the peppers and onions.

If you want to test for doneness, cut into one piece with the tip of a sharp knife. It should be just done, if not, you can put it back in the hot pan for a minute or two.

6 Sauté peppers and onions: While the chicken is resting, cook the onions and peppers. Add another tablespoon of oil to the frying pan. Heat on high. As soon as the oil is hot, add the onions and peppers to the pan.

Use a metal spatula to scrape up some of the browned bits from the chicken and stir to coat the onions and peppers with the oil and brown bits. Spread the onions and peppers in an even layer in the pan. Let them cook undisturbed for 2 minutes. You want them to sear with some blackening. Stir the vegetables and continue to cook for another 2 minutes.

7 Slice the chicken and serve: Slice the chicken across the grain into strips. Serve at once with the peppers and onions, some warm tortillas, and sides of shredded cheese, salsa, guacamole, and/or thinly sliced iceberg lettuce dressed with vinegar and salt.

Prep Time: 1 hour 10 minutes  Cook Time: 10 minutes  Serves 4

Recipe- Coconut Chicken Green Curry

With the temperature dropping and cold nights ahead of us, I wanted to share one of my favorite recipes, Coconut Curry Chicken. The sweetness from the coconut milk coupled with the robust curry flavors and spicy seasons make it a great meal when you need to warm up.

Prep: 5 minutes

Cooking: 15 – 20 minutes

Ingredients

• 6-8 Skinless boneless chicken thighs cut into bite size pieces. (You can substitute with chicken breast but I believe the thighs hold the flavor better with such a robust curry sauce.)
• 12 oz can of Coconut Milk
• Medium white onion
• 1/2 chopped red pepper
• 1 Sliced Thai eggplant
• 2 cloves minced garlic
• 1 tablespoons of fish sauce
• 1 tablespoon of brown sugar
• ½ to 1 tablespoon of cayenne pepper
• 1 bushel of minced cilantro
• 3 tablespoons of green curry paste
• 1 table spoon of vegetable oil

Step 1

Bring a large skillet to medium high heat. Add minced garlic and diced chicken thighs. Cook until chicken is browned on the outside. Add chopped white onion, red pepper, and Thai eggplant. Stirring regularly cook until onions have slightly brown ends and are soft.

Step 2

Add in all of the remaining ingredients, mix well and reduce heat to medium. Simmer uncovered for 10 minutes. When sauce has reduced and chicken is cooked thoroughly. Remove from heat and serve over white rice or toasted French bread.