Month: November 2010

Just cause it’s the holidays is not an excuse to binge eat and ruin all the hard work you’ve been putting in all year! Yes, I know those comfy winter sweaters and stretchy pants make it oh so easy to forget how stuffed we are but the scale won’t. With Thanksgiving upon us, I decided I’d kick off our holiday tips but I’m sure they’ll be more to come before Christmas/Hannukah.

Thanksgiving Eve : I bet some people gain more weight on the night before Thanksgiving than on the day itself. Just because alcohol is a liquid does not mean it has any less calories! Be conscious of what you put into your body, stick to clear beverages with soda water and low calorie light beers. You’ll still get drunk I promise, which is what leads me to my next point. Don’t get drunk and binge eat. Yes, it’s 4am and I know that pizza looks appetizing but stop and think of how you’ll feel in the AM and resist!!

Wear tight clothes. Do it. Trust me. You’ll have a much better indicator of how full you are and be more likely to pace the amount of food you eat. That comfy sweat shirt is not your friend when it comes to holiday eating. Show off your cute little figure in a cute little dress or tight jeans and you’ll help keep your figure that way.

Veggies!! Vegetables are your friend. Learn to love them. While your impatiently waiting for your turkey or tofurkey to be ready, let the the vegetables in your crudite keep your mouth and tummy busy. Not only will you fill up on all that fiber and be less likely to overdose on stuffing or sweet potato caserole but you’ll save your self hundred of calories by avoiding the cheese/crackers or any other dip/fried/fattening h’ors deurves.

Help the host: (if your not hosting) Not only is this polite but it will also keep you from vegetating on the couch while watching football and eating chips. Keep yourself busy setting things up or preparing food and you won’t be tempted to eat out of boredom. Your friend or family member will surely appreciate the help and we can keep your true intentions between us. ;)

Good luck! Remember, it’s only one day, if you want to indulge pick your favorite dish and go for it but try to remember moderation and portion control. And a gym sesh on Friday if all else fails..

I absolutely adore any kind of seasonal baking, so I decided to experiment with an old classic, chocolate chip cookies, and see if I could vegan-ize them and make them festive. I put the recipe below, but you can use your personal favorite choc. chip cookie recipe or even a box mix and substitute canned organic pumpkin (make sure it’s not pumpkin pie filling! that will taste different!) for the eggs and soy butter for regular butter. Butter, I found was relatively unnecessary and if you’d like the cookies to be less cakey, you can cut the pumpkin to about half of a can, use your own judgment.

Vegan Friendly Pumpkin Dark Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients

  • 1 can of Organic Pumpkin
  • 1 cup white sugar
  • 1 cup packed brown sugar
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 3 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 2 teaspoons hot water
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 2 cups of dark chocolate chips
  • 1 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
  2. Cream together the soy butter, white sugar, and brown sugar until smooth. Mix in a can (or a half of can) of pumpkin then stir in the vanilla. Dissolve baking soda in hot water. Add to batter along with salt. Stir in flour, chocolate , and nuts(optional). Drop by large spoonfuls onto ungreased pans.
  3. Bake for about 10 minutes in the preheated oven, or until edges are nicely browned.