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| A few changes to your menu and meal preparation can be all it takes lighten up. |
The holidays always lead us into more delicious temptation than usual. Despite how hard we might try, this is prime time for overindulging, which can result in the pounds creeping up on us. In order to protect yourself the next time you step on your scale, I have some simple ways to lighten your calorie intake without much effort.
For example, salads are wonderful and packed with nutrition. The only problem is the dressings that we put on. A tablespoon of ordinary French dressing is about 73 calories. A creamy typical Ranch dressing is about 145 calories. Of course, you always have the option of using a low-calorie or a fat-free version, but it comes with a price of substituting sugar, starch and salt in place of the fat, which is far from ideal since your mind could misinterpret it as the go-ahead to eat more. However, you have other choices.
A suggestion is to dry your salad greens thoroughly after washing them before adding any dressing.
Taking out your salad spinner will give you a workout at the same time while preventing pouring dressing over still wet greens to dilute the salad. A weaker tasting dressing may only increase the likelihood of you using more to pile on extra calories.
Soup is your friend, especially if you make it at home like chicken or beef soup. You just don’t want to eat it first day. Refrigerate the soup for a day and then skim off the fat before reheating. What you’ll be doing is better for your health and shape.
If you love meats like beef, the best thing to do is keep your portion size about three-ounces. You might compare this amount to the size of a typical bar of soap. What I find helpful is cutting meats into cube size pieces and then pulling out my meat hammer to flatten them into thinner slices before marinading. When you stretch the meat, it fools the brain into thinking that you’re eating more. The beating process allows the marinade to absorb deeper through the fibers of the meat for the best flavor. It also speeds up cooking.
Tell me what special calorie saving tips that you would like to share.
