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The New Year holidays are coming soon. This is the time when we can afford to relax in every way. And meals is not an exception. In the pre-New Year fuss, we do not notice how in the pursuit of tying up some loose ends of the outgoing year, preparing surprises for ourselves and people in our life, planning vacations and the whole coming year, we begin to wait for the anticipated festive table with delicious food and the opportunity to exhale and break the cycle of your daily routine that keeps you busy whole day. So, how to spend holidays with benefits for health and safety for a tired body? Valentina Botvinnikova, Head of the Quality Department of the Test-Pushchino Testing Laboratory, Moscow Region, graduate of SUSU, Candidate of Sciences (Engineering) gives some advice:
- There is no reason to starve in anticipation of treats on the 31st of December. Spend the day not changing your eating habits. Be sure to have breakfast, find time for lunch and have a light meal before the night feast. Sitting down at festive table hungry may cause instant overeating;
- Use tricks. If you choose a small plate for eating, you will give a signal to your brain that there is a lot of food on the plate, and it is a large portion. And thereby you psychologically reduce the amount of food eaten. If the etiquette of the event allows, choose a cake plate. If you are not sure that you can control yourself, then control the size of your plate;
- Take a break from eating. Moving is living. Active pastime on New Year's holidays is the key to easy entry into the new year without overloading the stomach. Dance, go for a walk, think over the entertainment programme, besides the feast. Enjoy the holiday. Remember that small meals at two or three sittings are better than eating lots of delicious food at one sitting;
- Safety comes first. Last year’s salad, which was not put in the refrigerator on time, can play a dirty trick on you. Food poisoning is one of the most common types of health problems during New Year holidays. Bacteria celebrate the New Year to the chiming of the clock together with you and wait viciously for something that you will forget to remove from the table this time. It is better to keep the bulk of the cooked treats in a cool place, set the table with small portions and refill the salad bowls as they are emptied. The shelf life of most prepared dishes does not exceed two days;
- Do not forget about water. During the holidays, the usual norm of 1.5-2 litres of water consumption per day, unless otherwise prescribed by nutritionists, remains the same. Water will help fill tired cells, moderate appetite, and detoxify your body. Drinking pure water in combination with baths would be even better for detoxifying your body, if there are no contraindications to it;
- The most obvious advice is to give preference to light dishes. Fill the table with fruits, vegetables, and snacks. Replace mayonnaise in salads with oils and natural dressings. Change fried meat for boiled or stewed one. Do not forget about fish and seafood. Minimize salty and pickled foods on the table. Surprise guests with healthy desserts instead of night cakes. If you are going on a visit and do not know whether you will find light dishes there, then bring with you something you have prepared, the healthiness of which you have no doubt about.
And most important, do not to make a cult from eating. You can always try this or other dish on weekdays. Choose yourself, not food. You are responsible for your health. Try to implement these simple rules of eating behaviour to your everyday life. Maybe this is just your chance to enter the new year according to the new game rules, the rules of the health and longevity game?