February 9, 2015
Celebrate Valentine's Day in a Healthy Way Valentine’s Day brings not only feelings of love and joy, it also brings high-calorie chocolates, candies, cookies, and other treats. Since February is American Heart Month, which aims to encourage adopting permanent lifestyle changes to keep your heart healthy, let’s try to celebrate the love-filled holiday in a heart-healthy way. Here are some tips: • Indulge in homemade heart-healthy desserts, such as fresh fruit dipped in dark chocolate, which contains antioxidants that protect your heart. • Make healthy substitutions when baking, including using whole-wheat flour, using oil instead of butter, reducing the sugar called for in a recipe by a third, or replacing half of the fat with pureed fruit, such as applesauce or canned pumpkin. • Ask your significant other not to buy you chocolates or other treats. Drop hints about other presents you would like that aren’t food-related. • Celebratory foods don’t have to be off-limits if you exercise portion control and maintain your usual exercise regimen during the holiday. • Instead of going out for an intimate dinner, prepare a healthy, romantic, candlelit dinner at home with your special someone and enjoy a glass of heart-healthy red wine together. If you choose to celebrate the holiday by dining out, keep in mind a few of these healthy suggestions: • Skip the bread basket. If you’d like a roll, grab one then move it outside of your reaching distance. The same goes for chips, should you be at a Mexican restaurant. Grab a small handful and then stay away from them the rest of the night. • Start out healthy. Consider ordering a light salad or soup to kick things off. This will help to fill you up before you dive into the big meal. You also might want to split an entrée with your significant other. • Meal modifications are key. Feel free to make special requests. Ask the waiter if they can put the sauce on the side, or to substitute veggies for the french fries. Find out if your meal can be made without butter, oil or salt...anything that could help cut down on calories. And remember: in terms of calories, grilled is usually better than fried and baked is better than braised. • Practice portion control. Remember that restaurant sizes are often larger than normal. Consider eating half of your meal and putting the rest in a to-go bag. • Avoid all the bells and whistles. Don’t add a bunch of extras to your meal. When it comes to a salad, avoid topping it off with buttery croutons, grated cheese, bacon and dollops of high-fat dressing. The same goes with a burger, baked potato and other entrees. Brought to you by Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. / Sources: www.fitday.com/fitness-articles/nutrition/celebrate-valentines-day-in-a-healthy-way.html / www.caloriecontrol.org