Offset the Baking Bites
Too Many Holiday Treats to Eat Dinner?! This year I am spreading out my holiday baking: the traditional sugar cookies this past weekend, fudge this weekend, and the seasoned nuts the following weekend. I would find myself doing this all in one day in the past. By the end of the day, I would realize I sampled too many goodies along the way. (My Mom used to call spatulas “child cheaters” since they left less in the bowl for us to lick.)
After the day or afternoon of baking and tasting, 5-6-7 pm rolls around, and it is time for dinner. Unfortunately, I realize that:
I don’t NEED any more calories, and I’m just not HUNGRY!
However, if I don’t want the tummy ache and the headache the next day, and before writing off dinner altogether, I have a strategy that reduces my chances of venturing back to the kitchen to nibble on another “tiny” bite of fudge or just a tiny cookie before bed.
I still eat a balanced “dinner” or a light snack and do it at a reasonable hour. But, while I’m not hungry, I need to eat some “real food” tonight to avoid the sugar hangover. I recommend it to people all the time: if you have overeaten sugar today (or poorly in general), you will probably NOT feel your best tomorrow. So, don’t wait until later to start eating better; tonight and tomorrow are when you start all over (not next week, or New Year’s Day, tomorrow).
To help out, have some protein-based food and whole-grain food for dinner. If you feel your calories went too high from the snacking, definitely go with something “light” but balanced – between 250 – 400 calories. What is too high? It depends on how many nibbles and bites you had, so it is impossible to know.
It is important to note that too many calories today (one day) won’t increase overall weight today. However, consistently, without a balance of activity, too many calories over many days will lead to weight gain.
Even though this dinner or snack is likely to put you over your daily calories even more, keep this in mind over the next couple of days, and don’t over sugar yourself again – and watch the empty calories over the next several days. Get back in the balance right away.
Here are some ideas for the light snack/dinner:
Greek yogurt with one to two tablespoons of granola. Plain yogurt is fine, but fruited yogurt is also acceptable.
Half to the whole sandwich: peanut butter (1-2 Tb.) and jelly/honey or lean turkey (3 oz.) with mustard on whole-wheat bread.
Any kind of soup and whole-grain crackers. I often keep soups in the pantry for quick meals. I recommend bean soups since they are full of healthy protein. Choose the lower sodium versions when available (since sodium will aid in fluid retention).
These are a few minor suggestions to balance potential baking binges.
