Nutritious Delicious And Kosher

Don’t Fall Into Bad Habits

By: BONNIE TAUB-DIX, MA, RD, CDN

“In the Spring you spring forward and in the Fall you fall back.” For some people, that sentence refers to changing their clocks. For others, it means that when chilly weather approaches, it’s time to fall back into old (bad) eating habits.

Colder weather means putting on more clothing—making it easier to hide—but that doesn’t mean you also have to put on a few pounds. There are many winter classics that can tempt your palate without tightening your dresses.

Here are some tips and tricks to help you have a delicious, cozy season ahead:

• Soups on! Studies have shown that having soup before a meal can put a hold on even a voracious appetite and it’s a great late afternoon snack too. Soup provides a direct route to getting vegetables in your diet. Just proceed cautiously with soups that are high in sodium.
• A bounty of fall veggies is just as beautiful to look at as it is to eat. With an array of deep orange butternut squash, green Brussels Sprouts and ruby-red beets, you can create a colorful picture on your plate.
• Try a mug of herbal tea and cut up a fruit, like an apple, and put it inside. When you’re finished with your tea, you’ll have a baked apple.
• When making baked foods, such as banana bread, you can substitute applesauce or prune butter (lekvar) for 1/2 or all of the fat (butter or oil), depending on the recipe.
• A steamy hot cocoa can be lower in calories than you realize. The sugar-free versions can be as low as 25-30 calories and if your diet is shy on calcium, make it with hot skim milk instead of water to give your bones a boost.
• Fall is also a great time to stay fit. Go for a walk in the leaves or take your kids for a Sunday bike ride.

Personally, I was never a fan of the fall because I knew winter was a close neighbor. But ever since I had children, I’ve grown to enjoy filling the kitchen with the aroma of warm goodies to greet them when they come in from the cold. Stay tuned for my favorite Thanksgiving soup recipe in my next column.

Author Bio:

- BONNIE TAUB-DIX, MA, RD, CDN authors Kosher.com’s “Nutritious, Delicious and Kosher: Tips for Healthy Kosher Living and Eating,” providing nutritional insight to site visitors/users. She is a national spokesperson for the American Dietetic Association and Director and Owner of BTD Nutrition Consultants with offices on Long Island and in New York City. She is also a specialist in behavior and lifestyle modification, nutritional psychotherapy, obesity and weight management. - Read more...