Staying Healthy During the Holidays (and Year Round)

[Healthy Eating - Healthy Diet - Portion Control]

'Tis the season of so much food! So much amazingly good food that we only seem to have this time of year (pumpkin IS available year round. We COULD eat pumpkin all year round.)  And I love to eat, especially sweets.  But I also love to feel good, to feel good about myself and to feel good physically: healthy and energized (plus I need it, to keep up with a two-year-old.) So while I do indulge during the holidays (come on, YOLO, right?) I balance it out with (mostly) healthy eating on a daily basis.  

This time of year when the temptations are more prevalent, I find it helps to keep track of what I'm eating and my calorie count, with the help of an app (I use My Fitness Pal, but there are other options.)  These apps are great because you can scan the bar code or search the database for a food item and the nutritional info will be added to your day's count.  But it's not quite as easy when it comes to fresh items or self served portions.  A serving size of grapes is considered a cup (which has approximately 62 calories), but I don't always want a cup (or have a cup remaining after my toddler gets his share, LOL), so how many calories are in the 7 grapes I have left?

That's where this fantastic little scale comes in.  First of all, isn't it pretty? ;)  It is super thin and light and takes up hardly any room in the kitchen (which is very important when you have a tiny kitchen like we do.) And it is so simple to use.

As you can see, the readout is large and clear.  You have the option of weight in grams or ounces.  If it's an item that needs to be measured in a container (like the noodles above), you obviously don't want to have the weight of the container included in your reading.  To solve that problem, you just place the empty container on the scale, press the "ON/OFF/TARE" button and it will set the scale at zero with the empty container.  Add what you want to the empty container and you'll learn the weigh/amount of the food alone.

If you're just weighing for a recipe, then you're ready to go once you get your desired amount.  If you're weighing for calorie information, the scale even comes with a very extensive food index that tells you the number of calories per ounce or gram of food.  So you could look up green grapes, see how many calories there are in one ounce (there are 20), then multiply by your weight (here 3.8) and get your total calories ( in this case 76 calories.) Viola!

It might sound like a lot of work when all you want to do is just eat, but the scale takes up so little room, it's easy to leave out handy, and it only takes a couple seconds to get your readings. And once you start with the portion control and calorie tracking, it can become a little game with yourself:  What are the things I can eat in the greatest quantities and have the lowest calorie impact? And how much extra calories can I get to eat if I do a 20 minute walk at lunch.  Making it a game makes it more fun and thus easier to stick to.  And of course treat yourself in moderation, because no one wants a sugar-deprived Grinch around . ;)

[ Thank you to Moderna Howewares for sponsoring this post.  All opinions are my own. ]