Island Life Magazine Ltd December 2013/January 2014 | Page 65

FASHION HEALTH & BEAUTY

Eat, drink and stay healthy

I

t is fast approaching that time of year when we
all tend to over-indulge a little. Eat, drink and be
merry – the tradition Christmas motto for many
Islanders.
But of course it is so easy to put on a few extra
pounds, so that little black party dress does not fit
quite as well as when you bought it. Or that slim-fit
shirt you asked for should have been a regular fit
after all.
However, there is a way to eat, drink and stay healthy,
and you don’t have to become ‘Scrooge’ at Christmas
to do so.
We asked Alison Hothersall, Head of the Dietetic
Department at the IOW NHS Trust, for a few tips of
how to have an enjoyable Christmas without going
‘over the top’. She said: “It's worth remembering that
people can gain about 5lbs (2kg) over Christmas
and eat their way through about 6,000 calories on
Christmas day!”
Alison suggests following these simple tips to help
you eat, drink and be healthy:

Alcoholic Drinks:

While a small glass of
red wine may be good
for your heart, too
much alcohol isn’t
good for our health
and contains extra
calories too. Why
not alternate your
alcoholic drinks with
non-alcoholic ones, or
even better, offer to drive
and stick to non-alcoholic
options all night?
oholic punch by
You can make a delicious non-alc
e, one tablespoon
mixing cranberry juice, orange juic
pod and a
of sugar, a cinnamon stick, a vanilla
e ingredients in
small piece of fresh ginger. Combin
il liquid gently
a saucepan and warm through unt
simmers.
saying
Alison added: “The old fashioned
truer than at
‘moderation in all things’ is never
nges for a
cha
ple
Christmas. So introduce sim
r.”
yea
healthy and happy Christmas this

Christmas Day:

For starters try a
hearty vegetable soup,
melon or smoked
salmon. Salmon
is a good source of
omega-3 fatty acids
to keep your heart
healthy.
Turkey is low in fat
and high in protein so
tuck in, but avoid the skin
where the fat and calories are. Fill
up
on vegetables which are low in calo
ries and contain
antioxidants protecting us against
heart disease and
cancer.
Roast potatoes using vegetable or
olive oil rather than
lard and cut them into large chunks
, as these absorb
less fat than small ones. You could
also just have boiled.
When making gravy, let the fat from
the turkey juices
rise to the surface, then skim it off
and use what's left
behind.
All the little extras can pile on the
calories, so either
avoid or grill your sausages and bac
on; use a fruit
based stuffing and make bread sau
ce with low fat
milk. Christmas pudding is quite
low in fat so reduce
the calories by serving with low fat
custard or crème
fraiche. Fresh fruit salad served with
natural yoghurt
would reduce the calories even mo
re.

Snacks:

With all the tasty
snacks around it'
s
easy to over-indu
lge.
Just a single mince
pie contains abou
t
250 calories. So ke
ep
tempting treats ou
t
of sight and mak
e sure
healthy options ar
e to
hand:
Satsumas are a gr
eat source of
vitamin C, so keep
a large bowl of th
ese and other fru
close by. Chestnut
it
s are the only low
fat nuts around,
so roast a few and
leave the salted pe
anuts to one side.
Choose reduced fa
t crisps, plain popc
orn or pretzels or
raw vegetables w
ith low fat dips. D
rie
d
fruit makes a tasty
snack - dates, figs
and apricots are al
l good choices.

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