Category: Food and Drink (Page 4 of 10)

This year many of us are having a more festive time than we did last year during the pandemic shutdown. After all of our work throughout the year to be fit and strong, we sure don’t want to undo everything. However, we still want to enjoy the festivities that come our way. In 2019, I wrote about enjoying the holidays but today I want to focus on actually trying to stay fit and strong.

Ten Tips for Staying Fit and Strong Over the Holidays

Not to worry. I have some ideas that might help you not lose ground or gain weight but that will still allow you to celebrate the season.

1. Keep moving. Remember all of those tips about how to get in extra steps? This is the time to use them. Yes, take the stairs instead of the elevator. Park further away from the door at the store. Carry multiple grocery bags in from the car or take multiple trips, depending on whether you want some strength work or more steps. Exercise sometimes falls away during the holidays but at least keep your body moving.
   
2. Drink lots of water. Stay hydrated. It’s easy to get out of the routine of drinking water while we’re enjoying the holidays but water helps us in so many ways. If nothing else, it helps you feel full and it helps flush your body of all the not-so-good-for-you things you’ve ingested.
   
3. Plan your meals. I mean, make sure you’re eating before it’s time to go to a party. Make sure you’re not starving when you go to the grocery store. Don’t forget to eat according to your schedule.
4. If you are using an intermittent fasting plan, don’t break your fast with alcohol or junk food. You’ll feel terrible. Trust me on this one.
5. Pay attention to alcohol. If you drink too much, you’ll lose restraint and eat things you didn’t plan to eat. You’ll wake up feeling lousy. Of course you can enjoy some drinks during the holidays but don’t overdo it. This might a good time to include some sparkling water into your routine. It helps you with drinking water (see tip 2!) and helps you avoid over doing it with the alcohol.
   
6. Schedule a workout. Go to your regular yoga class or strength class at the gym. Jump on your Peloton bike (or other indoor bike!) and go for a ride. Do something to keep your body active. This might be the time to forget those lengthy workouts and go for a quick HIIT session.
7. Plan in advance for food you want to eat. If you’re going to a party or someone else’s house, take something that you know you’ll want to eat. Maybe this could be a veggie tray or cut up fruit. Shrimp Cocktail is a great source of protein and is a standard holiday treat. Of course, take plenty so you can share.
8. Make sure you’re getting your sleep. Try to keep to your normal schedule as much as you can and practice good sleep hygiene if possible. You know, turn off the screens earlier in the evening, have a cool, dark space for sleeping, and anything else you do to sleep well. Remember that alcohol can really mess up your sleep so that’s another good reason to limit your alcohol intake (Tip 5).
9. Plan on indulging. I know that I have a couple of days during the holidays when I’ll be joining family and friends for celebrations. I’m not going to refuse to eat delicious things and have a good time. This might be a good time to consider portion size, though. If I’m going to eat that decadent cake, I will enjoy it but perhaps I only need a small slice. Maybe not but I should at least consider it. Either way, I can go for a fantastic dinner one night and the next day get back on track with my standard meals.
   
10. Focus on yourself for at least a few minutes every day. Perhaps you meditate or do some deep breathing exercises. Just be still and find your inner self. Celebrating and spending time with family can be stressful even when it’s enjoyable. And many of us have more stress during the holidays than we do enjoyment. Either way, taking a few minutes to relax, reflect, and recharge can only help.
    

What do you do to stay fit and strong over the holidays? I’d love to hear some of your tips.

This week I have a lot of focus on family and food. It is Thanksgiving week and I’m texting lists of food with my sisters. We are trying to figure out who is bringing what part of the meal! We’re planning to have a family get together and my Mom wants all the traditional fixings.

Because we skipped Thanksgiving last year, I think this year has a whole lot more to be thankful for. I’m very thankful for the vaccine. Without it, I don’t think we would be gathering again this year. Even so, it will be a smaller group than in years past.

I went shopping several times this past week in preparation for Thanksgiving. Most recently, When I looked into my cart, I hardly recognized it. A huge bag of potatoes. Five loaves of bread. Several huge yams. A pumpkin pie. Mushroom soup and French fried onion rings. Not my usual cart, that’s for sure!

I know I could probably revise each recipe a little (or a lot) to make them more healthy. I’ve done that many times on other years. I’m still going to bring a spring mix leafy green salad and roasted vegetables. Most of the dishes I am making will have lots of leftovers that will go home with other people.

Afterwards, I always love making a turkey vegetable soup and I think I love eating that during the next few days more than the actual turkey dinner.

I also know most of the discussion that afternoon will be about recipes and food and meals we’ve had in the past. I’m going to go with the one plate plan on Thanksgiving.

This year will be the year of photos I think. Before, during and after dinner! I want to count my blessings even more this year.

Exercise
Besides family and food, one tradition that I’ve kept to the last ten years, (except during the 2020 pandemic,) is the special Thanksgiving classes at the gym. I’m looking forward to their special Thursday morning classes for turkey day because I usually get some things going in the crock pot before I head to the gym and everything is well under control when I get back from the gym.

One tradition that I’m really missing is the annual turkey trot. Jill and I did it several years in Twinsburg (see photo on the left from when Jill won an age group award!) and although it was a five mile race with hills, the weather usually cooperated.

My first turkey trot was in 2009 in Aurora and I didn’t realize that it was four miles. I had only trained for a three mile race, so I felt very accomplished when I crossed the finish line!

Due to ongoing issues with my Achilles tendon, I haven’t run much at all during the past several years. I have done bike riding, group exercise classes and some weight training, but I gotta admit I do miss the fun we had at the running races!

Do you keep family and food as your tradition during thanksgiving… and what about exercise? Any fun traditions that you would share?

I received an email from some website suggesting that I should write a blog post about the wonders of bacon because “everyone loves bacon.” I thought, yes, perhaps that’s true but it doesn’t seem to fit with the Becoming Elli motif.  We’re the group who does the Veggie Challenge. We’re a group of women who eat in a variety of ways but we do try to focus on being healthy.

Bacon is popular right now with the Keto followers because it’s a good source of fat and protein. It’s a very fatty meat, regardless of the source of the pork.

The Wonders of Bacon

I remember frying up lots of bacon to go with pancakes when my son had a birthday sleepover to celebrate turning 13. Those boys wolfed it down. One boy complained that he couldn’t eat the pork bacon so the next time I bought both pork and turkey bacon. Those boys ate all of both kinds of bacon. They weren’t fussy.

I went through a phase of cooking turkey bacon. My husband was supposed to eat a low fat diet. (This was probably close to 15 years ago.) Turkey bacon was considered to be better for him. Perhaps it was, but it was hard to say.

Continuing with my history with the wonders of bacon, I quit eating bacon for several years. Then I began to make occasional visits to a local farm’s butcher shop. They had natural bacon, not treated with anything, and it was so good. It was expensive enough that I only bought it as a treat but when I had it, I enjoyed every strip.

BLT Sandwich

Because of the pandemic for the past year and a half, I didn’t make it to that shop until this summer. I bought a package of bacon to enjoy. I fried up several slices and made myself a BLT. Because I don’t normally eat bacon and rarely eat bread, this was a treat. I bought a good loaf of sourdough bread, some locally grown leaf lettuce and tomatoes and made my sandwich. Oh, was it good.

I have no idea if my BLT qualifies as healthy eating but I enjoyed every bite of it.

Now, here’s the sad part of the story. I cooked more slices than I needed for my sandwich so decided I would use those extra strips for a sandwich the next day. When I went to put them in the refrigerator, they were gone. Penny, my Irish doodle, had counter surfed the bacon. That really expensive bacon that I bought as a treat for myself. She clearly enjoyed it too because I caught her looking for more.

So yes, when the email says write about the wonders of bacon because “everyone loves bacon,” they are correct. Even my dog loves bacon.