Page Title

Holiday Eat Smarts

By Para Mehta, RD/ www.healthfulfilling.com

As featured on WFAA's Good Morning Texas

http://www.wfaa.com/good-morning-texas/Smart-Holiday-
Eating-Tips-111194099.html

Pick up the produce. Vegetables and fruits don't have to be boring and
bland! There are creative, flavorful and attractive vegetable or fruit dishes.
Eating produce first helps fill up on fiber that helps create some fullness,
not to mention they are packed with vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants.

Apparently, most adults are not eating enough produce! Only about 33%
of adults get the recommended daily servings of fruits and only 27% get
the recommended daily servings of vegetables, according to a 2009
Center for Disease Control (CDC) report.

Get some grains. Make them whole grains, another good source of fiber
which can again help with contributing to fullness. Look for whole grains
like rye, whole wheat, oats, pumpernickel in crackers and breads, and
take advantage of whole wheat pasta and brown rice dishes. They are
heart healthy, too! If you eat them and follow healthy eating habits
regularly, whole grains can help with lowering cholesterol levels and
possibly decrease the risk of heart disease, according to the American
Heart Association.

Find friendly fats. Moving on to the rich and fattening items--the good
news is that you can choose heart healthy fats like monounsaturated and
polyunsaturated fats.

Savor the sweets. Enjoy the delicious delicacies by savoring each bite,
and the best part is you won't have too much room left to over indulge in
them.

Tasty and attractive vegetable dishes:

Assorted vegetable tray and dip

Grilled vegetables

Oven roasted vegetables

Vegetable curry

Lettuce wraps

Pasta salad with vegetables

Greek salads

Sautee'd vegetable medley

Vegetable kebabs

Veggie burger

Vegetable wraps

Vegetable casseroles

Ratotouille

Salsa

Tasty and creative fruit dishes:

Fruit salads

Glazed fruit dishes

Fruit cake

Fruit smoothies

Apple cider

Fruit punch made with 3 to 4 100% juices

Fruit kebabs

Assorted dried fruit

Monounsaturated fat examples:

Nuts-almonds, pecans, cashews, walnuts, peanuts, etc.

Nut butters

olive oil dips

bruschetta

pesto

vinaigrette

guacamole, avocados

Polyunsaturated fat examples:

low fat margarines

mayonnaise, salad dressings

hummus

Lean meats:

sirloins, tenderloins, roast, fish, seafood, ham, lamb (roast,leg or chop), skinless
poultry

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Updated 12/2010