There is nothing if not an abundance of health information at our fingertips these days. Yet, information is conflicting — carbs are good one day, bad the next; coffee cures cancer if you have three cups, but causes cancer if you have four; no one really knows the health benefits of dark chocolate. We can feel so overwhelmed that we don’t even care anymore.
Now that it’s officially the holidays, and now that we have finals, present buying and New Year’s Eve planning to stress over, who needs to exert more energy figuring out what the healthiest food and drink options are this time of year?
There is also nothing if not an abundance of food and drinks during the holidays. A holiday party here, an end of the semester happy hour or a cookie exchange there and, according to Men’s Health magazine, the average person can consume up to an extra 600 calories a day between Thanksgiving and New Years, which translates into 6 pounds!
Fear not readers, Vitamin O’s holiday edition of Eat This, Not That is here to help!
Eggnog vs. Hot Chocolate
Choose the hot chocolate. The main ingredients in eggnog are milk, cream and eggs, not exactly a one-way ticket to flat abs. Eggnog also packs 14 grams of fat as compared to 4 from hot chocolate. However, for hot chocolate, the healthiest option is homemade to avoid the full-fat milk or whipped cream when ordered out (or just ask for skim milk). Chocolate, in moderation, is also proven to lower blood pressure, lower your risk of heart disease and contains antioxidants that help lower bad cholesterol and increase good cholesterol.
Mulled Wine vs. Champagne
Go for the bubbly. A glass of champagne only has 5 grams of sugar, whereas mulled wine can have over three times as much. Even though the main ingredient in mulled wine is red wine, which has clear health benefits, all of these are cancelled out by the massive amounts of sugar usually added. In comparison to champagne, which usually has around 100 calories per glass, the sweetest of mulled wines can have close to 350 calories per glass. In order to combat this sugar overload, make your own mulled wine and just lessen the sugar and increase the amounts of spices and oranges instead.
Gingerbread vs. Fruitcake
Despite including fruit in its name, fruitcake is not healthy at all. How could it be when the three main ingredients are sugar, corn syrup and butter? A slice can set you back almost 400 calories and 13 grams of fat. Meanwhile gingerbread cookies are usually (depending on size) between 50 and 100 calories and 2 to 5 grams of fat. Gingerbread has the potential to be made healthier by swapping white flour for whole wheat and offers plenty of good spices like cinnamon, ginger and cloves, which all have health benefits.
Shrimp Cocktail vs. Crab Cakes
In this battle of the appetizers, shrimp cocktail definitely wins, as it is significantly healthier. In fact, one crab cake has the same calories as 36 shrimp! One crab cake also has 19 grams of fat and one shrimp has only 1 gram. Crab cakes are usually laden with mayo, bread crumbs and then fried, whereas shrimp is nothing more than the shrimp and, of course, the cocktail sauce which is also low calorie, but high in salt — so remember, a little goes a long way.
Happy holidays readers! Enjoy the festivities, eat, drink and be merry, but remember you can always reference Eat This, Not That for some healthy eating pointers as you celebrate into 2012!
