Merry and Healthy Feasting!


It’s Christmas Season! It’s that time of year again to be merry and bond with our loved ones! The joyous atmosphere is around the corner, the days get shorter – your jeans get tighter.

There are factors why we tend to overeat every celebration, and here are some.

  1. Food-Focus Celebration – social gatherings with family and friends increases our urge to over-indulge, especially to food and beverage.
  2. Stress – we tend to overeat when we are stress, Christmas preparations can add to that strain.
  3. Exhaustion – when we are tired physically we tend to cling more to food.
  4. Emotional Eating – we cling to food when we are emotionally down.
  5. Weather – the Christmas breeze plays a factor in overeating, we find warmth in high-calorie foods.

But there are also preventive measures to avoid unhealthy feasting during this time of the year.

  1. Don’t skip meals – don’t prepare your appetite for a huge meal by skipping a meal, practice eating small frequent meals to avoid skipping.
  2. Eat small portions – never ever eat to excess, just get enough to taste.
  3. Plan a strategy to avoid overeating – USE IT!
    1. TIP #1: start first with ample amounts of vegetables on your plate then proceed to the main dish and dessert.
    2. TIP #2: Eat slowly and savor every bite, and before you go back for seconds wait 10 minutes to see if you really still are hungry.
  4. Keep moving! – never be sedentary, move!
  5. Consult a Registered Nutritionist-Dietitian – to exactly know what’s too much and what is enough for you.

It’s good to eat, but must not overeat! Too much of anything is bad. We must remember the basic principles – Variety, Balance, and Moderation. What better way to enjoy this Christmas Season is to include Gardenia Whole Wheat Raisin loaf in your dinner table. Gardenia Whole Wheat Raisin loaf is packed with essential nutrients, and here’s a special and nutritious Christmas recipe for everyone! Have a Merry Christmas and fruitful New Year!

Wheat Raisin Mini Sandwich


Ingredients

  • 2 pcs WRL
  • 1 pc Farmer’s Ham (sliced into 4 )
  • 1 pc salami (sliced into 4)
  • 1 leaf of curled lettuce
  • 2 pcs cherry tomato
  • 20 g low-fat mayo
  • 20ml olive oil

Procedures:

  1. Slice the bread into 4 pcs and brush with olive oil individually.
  2. Place the bread inside the oven and toast it until golden brown.
  3. To assemble: spread low-fat mayo on one side of the bread and tear the lettuce into small pieces and place it on top of the mayonnaise. Slice the cherry tomato in half and put 1 pc on top of the lettuce, then add the sliced salami and farmers ham. Place another bread to close the sandwich and seal the bread with a fancy toothpick in the middle to secure the sandwich.
  4. Repeat the process on the remaining bread and enjoy!

REFERENCES:

  • 5 Tips for Enjoying the Holiday Without Gaining Weight (2018). Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. https://www.eatright.org/health/lifestyle/holidays/how-to-enjoy-the-holiday-without-the-weight-gain
  • Surviving Feasting Season. https://www.webmd.com/food-recipes/features/surviving-feasting-season#3